Page 53 - History of UB Church in Hburg Region
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History of U.B. Churches in Harrisonburg-Staunton Region December 26, 2024
6. U.B. Churches in Rockingham County, 191214
In the Rockingham Register of February 26, 1864, appeared this paragraph: “Virginia annual
conference of the United Brethren in Christ will meet at Frieden’s Church, Rockingham County, Va., on
the 11th of March.” Inasmuch as Whitesel’s Church is near Friedens, the-former may be the one
referred to in the above notice.
The United Brethren have been at work in Rockingham for more than a century. In 1809, when
the Baltimore-Methodist Conference met for the second time in Harrisonburg, Christian Newcomer,
who succeeded Otterbein and Boehm as bishop of the United Brethren, was present in the effort to
arrange for the union of the two churches. Although the plan for union was never formally
consummated, Asbury received Newcomer warmly, and cordial relations have always existed between
the two bodies. The United Brethren have-frequently been called German Methodists. Practically all of
their preaching up to 1820 was in the German language,, and the teaching is like that of Methodism.
Like the Mennonites, the Dunkers, the Methodists, and at least some of the Lutherans and
Reformed, the United Brethren opposed the institution of slavery. Their well-known attitude on this
question subjected them to no little unpopularity and to some persecution. In 1830 there were only three
[U.B.] church houses in all Virginia, one of these being Whitesel’s Church. So heavily did the storms of
the civil war fall that Bishop Markwood, in 1865, or thereabouts, is said to have exclaimed, “There is no
United Brethren church in Virginia.” In view of this statement, and the discouraging situation that
warranted it, the present large number of churches in Rockingham and adjacent sections of the State is
the more remarkable.
One of the indefatigable leaders in building up the waste places after the war was Rev. John
Williams Howe. He was born December 4, 1829; and lived long enough to see much rejoicing in the
blessings that followed his labors. He died June 17, 1903. A fitting sketch of his life and work is given
in the second volume of “Our Heroes,” by W. M. Weekley and H. H. Fout. The same book contains an
extended tribute to Rev. James L. Hensley, another leader of the church, a native of Rockingham. The
establishment of a church school at Dayton,15 in 1876, which has since grown to large proportions and
influence, contributed greatly to the success of the religious work now so much in evidence. In this
connection the influence of the Ruebush-Kieffer publishing house at Dayton should also be mentioned.
The membership of the United Brethren churches in Rockingham in 1906 had reached a total of
2,917.16 The following are the U.B. congregations in Rockingham County as of 1912:
Broadway—Church dedicated in 1893.
14 [Wayland 1912, pp. 273-275].
15 Wayland: Now Shenandoah Collegiate Institute and School of Music.
16 Wayland: For aid in securing information regarding the United Brethren Church in Rockingham, I am under special
obligation to Rev. A. S. Hammack and Mr. Joe K. Ruebush, of Dayton.
I.A.6 The Freedmen’s Missions 39
6. U.B. Churches in Rockingham County, 191214
In the Rockingham Register of February 26, 1864, appeared this paragraph: “Virginia annual
conference of the United Brethren in Christ will meet at Frieden’s Church, Rockingham County, Va., on
the 11th of March.” Inasmuch as Whitesel’s Church is near Friedens, the-former may be the one
referred to in the above notice.
The United Brethren have been at work in Rockingham for more than a century. In 1809, when
the Baltimore-Methodist Conference met for the second time in Harrisonburg, Christian Newcomer,
who succeeded Otterbein and Boehm as bishop of the United Brethren, was present in the effort to
arrange for the union of the two churches. Although the plan for union was never formally
consummated, Asbury received Newcomer warmly, and cordial relations have always existed between
the two bodies. The United Brethren have-frequently been called German Methodists. Practically all of
their preaching up to 1820 was in the German language,, and the teaching is like that of Methodism.
Like the Mennonites, the Dunkers, the Methodists, and at least some of the Lutherans and
Reformed, the United Brethren opposed the institution of slavery. Their well-known attitude on this
question subjected them to no little unpopularity and to some persecution. In 1830 there were only three
[U.B.] church houses in all Virginia, one of these being Whitesel’s Church. So heavily did the storms of
the civil war fall that Bishop Markwood, in 1865, or thereabouts, is said to have exclaimed, “There is no
United Brethren church in Virginia.” In view of this statement, and the discouraging situation that
warranted it, the present large number of churches in Rockingham and adjacent sections of the State is
the more remarkable.
One of the indefatigable leaders in building up the waste places after the war was Rev. John
Williams Howe. He was born December 4, 1829; and lived long enough to see much rejoicing in the
blessings that followed his labors. He died June 17, 1903. A fitting sketch of his life and work is given
in the second volume of “Our Heroes,” by W. M. Weekley and H. H. Fout. The same book contains an
extended tribute to Rev. James L. Hensley, another leader of the church, a native of Rockingham. The
establishment of a church school at Dayton,15 in 1876, which has since grown to large proportions and
influence, contributed greatly to the success of the religious work now so much in evidence. In this
connection the influence of the Ruebush-Kieffer publishing house at Dayton should also be mentioned.
The membership of the United Brethren churches in Rockingham in 1906 had reached a total of
2,917.16 The following are the U.B. congregations in Rockingham County as of 1912:
Broadway—Church dedicated in 1893.
14 [Wayland 1912, pp. 273-275].
15 Wayland: Now Shenandoah Collegiate Institute and School of Music.
16 Wayland: For aid in securing information regarding the United Brethren Church in Rockingham, I am under special
obligation to Rev. A. S. Hammack and Mr. Joe K. Ruebush, of Dayton.
I.A.6 The Freedmen’s Missions 39
