Page 84 - United Brethren Preachers
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Volume 9 Preachers of U.B. and EUB Virginia Conferences December 26, 2024
(Penna.) Mt. Gretna, Jan. 1922-June 1922; (Okla.) Stillwater, Sep. 1922-Aug. 1927; (Ohio) Alpha, Dec. 1927-
Aug. 1930; So. Branch, Sep. 1930-Sep. 1935; Inwood-Pikeside, Oct. 1935-Sep. 1940; Martinsburg First,
Sep. 1940-Sep. 1947; Winchester First, Sep. 1947-Sep. 1959; Verona, Sep. 1959-Aug. 1963; Calvary,
Cumberland, Md., Aug. 1963-June 1967. Superannuated, 1967. He was elected Secretary of Va. Conf. and
served in that capacity until his retirement in 1967. He built Fern Hill Church (Swift Run Circuit, 1919). He
was a meticulous keeper of the record of the Conference, and some of his own papers reveal that he
represented his church seven different times to the General Conference and was a reserve delegate three
times. When he retired, he had recorded that he had preached 5,123 sermons in 400 different communities;
had conducted 523 funerals, and had officiated at the marriages of 1,766 couples. After his retirement from
Va. Conf., Dr. Hiser moved to Tampa, where he immediately accepted work as a chaplain in the W. T.
Edwards Tuberculosis Hospital and also served in the same capacity in the Tampa General Hospital. He also
served as chairman of the council on ministries of the Memorial Otterbein UMC in Tampa and assisted the local
pastor, Duncan Gray, in many different ways as a volunteer. He died Feb. 4, 1979. He was married to Miss
Bertha Abbott, who preceded him in death, and his final memorial service was conducted in his home church
in Tampa on Feb. 9, 1979, conducted by his close friend and pastor, the Rev. Duncan L. Gray. He “served his
Lord in a very outstanding way as clergyman, friend, and efficient leader in building the Kingdom of God on
earth. He served many rural pastorates, and, during those years, he was recognized by his church as one of
its finest leaders in the work of rural pastorates.52 His memoir is provided in Section II.A (below).
[Funkhouser 1921, p. 168; see also pp. 129, 137, 195, 307-309, 311-312]; [Glovier 1965, p. 279, which
provided the picture in the middle; see also pp. 3, 14, 15, 85, 86, 91, 127, 131, 161, 179, 182, 254, 257,
259, 279, 282, 317, 339]; and [Lycoming 2013] The picture on the right is from a pamphlet Dr. Hiser wrote
in 1932 on South Branch Circuit [Hiser 1932, p. 6].
HISEY: Frederick Hisey became a member of Conference in 1831; ordained 1835; died at Edinburg, Va.,
June 26, 1862, aged 71 years; grandfather to L. M. Hisey. In the midst of the confusion of ware times,
Frederick was buried in haste and without a funeral sermon. He was a member of Va. Conf., always a local
preacher, for about 25 years. “He was an excellent blacksmith and worked hard at his trade on the main
street in the center of Edinburg. His home was the preacher’s home. He was of the strictest integrity and his
conversation was always turned o he religious. He reproved, warned, and expounded the Scriptures on the
street, at the shop, and in the social circle, to saint and sinner alike. He died triumphant, endeavoring to sing,
‘A Charge To Keep I Have, A God To Glorify’” (Charles Wesley). Rev. Frederick Hisey married Harriet Boehm
in Shenandoah Co., Va., ca. 1860, his third wife. He gave the land for Jerusalem Chapel, the first U.B. church
in Edinburg—in 1967 when the United Brethren Church merged with the Methodist church, the building was
sold and made into a home. It still stands, minus its steeple.53 [Funkhouser 1921, pp. 87-88; see also
pp. 125, 138, 242-246, 248-256, 258-261] and [Glovier 1965, pp. 50, 88, 349]
HISKEY: George Hiskey became a member of Conference in 1827; ordained 1830. He moved to Ohio in
1833 and became a charter member of the Sandusky Conf. in 1834. Note: the 1880 History of Richland
County Ohio lists George Hiskey as a founder of the U.B. church in Johnsville in 1850 (page 554), a founder of
the U.B. church in Clear Fork in 1852/3 (page 553), an early preacher in Worthington township (page 631),
and a ca-1850 preacher in Williamsport [now Morrow County](page 680). There is a Hiskey/Riblet cemetery
in Perry township – west of state road 546 and south of county road 31 [Bellville-Johnsville Rd]. The
relationship between George Hiskey and Valentine Hiskey is unclear. A Rev. George Hiskey died a Monroe,
Iowa, Apr. 6,1883, aged 80—he had come to Richland Co., Ohio, in 1832 and settled near Lexington, where
he lived until he removal to Iowa in 1874, the father of 8 children (The Mansfield Herald, Vol. 33, No. 22, Apr.
19, 1883). He performed the marriage of Samuel Eby and Barbara Shuler Aug. 30, 1822. [Funkhouser 1921,
p. 125, 138, 239, 241-242; Glovier 1965, p. 88; Lycoming 2013]
HISKEY: Valentine Hiskey (b. Dec. 24, 1786; d. Aug. 11, 1861; mar. Mary Rhodes) became a member of
Conference in 1815; ordained 1822. At the Conference of 1832: “Of the money to the conferences of the
German United Brethren in Christ it was agreed that Bishop Kumler should give Valentine Hiskey ‘as much as
seemeth good to him.’” Member of Pa. Conf. of 1833. He was Presiding Elder, Carlisle District, 1836-37. He
transferred to Sandusky Conf. Note: While in Pennsylvania, he lived in southwest of Carlisle in Stoughstown.
Mrs. Rhodes is the daughter of the Jacob Rhodes who gave the land for the Oakville church, and she is an
aunt to William H. Wagner. The relationship between Valentine Hiskey and George Hiskey is unclear.
[Funkhouser 1921, pp. 124, 138, 230, 235, 237-238, 241, 244; and 236 (“Hickey”)] and [Glovier 1965,
p. 87; Lycoming 2013]
52 Taken in part from the memoir written by John R. Sawyer and published in the 1979 Journal of the Virginia Annual
Conference, pp. 205-206.
53 Stephen W. Kerr, Executive Director, Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission, The Town of Edinburg, Va.
Biographical Sketches 72
(Penna.) Mt. Gretna, Jan. 1922-June 1922; (Okla.) Stillwater, Sep. 1922-Aug. 1927; (Ohio) Alpha, Dec. 1927-
Aug. 1930; So. Branch, Sep. 1930-Sep. 1935; Inwood-Pikeside, Oct. 1935-Sep. 1940; Martinsburg First,
Sep. 1940-Sep. 1947; Winchester First, Sep. 1947-Sep. 1959; Verona, Sep. 1959-Aug. 1963; Calvary,
Cumberland, Md., Aug. 1963-June 1967. Superannuated, 1967. He was elected Secretary of Va. Conf. and
served in that capacity until his retirement in 1967. He built Fern Hill Church (Swift Run Circuit, 1919). He
was a meticulous keeper of the record of the Conference, and some of his own papers reveal that he
represented his church seven different times to the General Conference and was a reserve delegate three
times. When he retired, he had recorded that he had preached 5,123 sermons in 400 different communities;
had conducted 523 funerals, and had officiated at the marriages of 1,766 couples. After his retirement from
Va. Conf., Dr. Hiser moved to Tampa, where he immediately accepted work as a chaplain in the W. T.
Edwards Tuberculosis Hospital and also served in the same capacity in the Tampa General Hospital. He also
served as chairman of the council on ministries of the Memorial Otterbein UMC in Tampa and assisted the local
pastor, Duncan Gray, in many different ways as a volunteer. He died Feb. 4, 1979. He was married to Miss
Bertha Abbott, who preceded him in death, and his final memorial service was conducted in his home church
in Tampa on Feb. 9, 1979, conducted by his close friend and pastor, the Rev. Duncan L. Gray. He “served his
Lord in a very outstanding way as clergyman, friend, and efficient leader in building the Kingdom of God on
earth. He served many rural pastorates, and, during those years, he was recognized by his church as one of
its finest leaders in the work of rural pastorates.52 His memoir is provided in Section II.A (below).
[Funkhouser 1921, p. 168; see also pp. 129, 137, 195, 307-309, 311-312]; [Glovier 1965, p. 279, which
provided the picture in the middle; see also pp. 3, 14, 15, 85, 86, 91, 127, 131, 161, 179, 182, 254, 257,
259, 279, 282, 317, 339]; and [Lycoming 2013] The picture on the right is from a pamphlet Dr. Hiser wrote
in 1932 on South Branch Circuit [Hiser 1932, p. 6].
HISEY: Frederick Hisey became a member of Conference in 1831; ordained 1835; died at Edinburg, Va.,
June 26, 1862, aged 71 years; grandfather to L. M. Hisey. In the midst of the confusion of ware times,
Frederick was buried in haste and without a funeral sermon. He was a member of Va. Conf., always a local
preacher, for about 25 years. “He was an excellent blacksmith and worked hard at his trade on the main
street in the center of Edinburg. His home was the preacher’s home. He was of the strictest integrity and his
conversation was always turned o he religious. He reproved, warned, and expounded the Scriptures on the
street, at the shop, and in the social circle, to saint and sinner alike. He died triumphant, endeavoring to sing,
‘A Charge To Keep I Have, A God To Glorify’” (Charles Wesley). Rev. Frederick Hisey married Harriet Boehm
in Shenandoah Co., Va., ca. 1860, his third wife. He gave the land for Jerusalem Chapel, the first U.B. church
in Edinburg—in 1967 when the United Brethren Church merged with the Methodist church, the building was
sold and made into a home. It still stands, minus its steeple.53 [Funkhouser 1921, pp. 87-88; see also
pp. 125, 138, 242-246, 248-256, 258-261] and [Glovier 1965, pp. 50, 88, 349]
HISKEY: George Hiskey became a member of Conference in 1827; ordained 1830. He moved to Ohio in
1833 and became a charter member of the Sandusky Conf. in 1834. Note: the 1880 History of Richland
County Ohio lists George Hiskey as a founder of the U.B. church in Johnsville in 1850 (page 554), a founder of
the U.B. church in Clear Fork in 1852/3 (page 553), an early preacher in Worthington township (page 631),
and a ca-1850 preacher in Williamsport [now Morrow County](page 680). There is a Hiskey/Riblet cemetery
in Perry township – west of state road 546 and south of county road 31 [Bellville-Johnsville Rd]. The
relationship between George Hiskey and Valentine Hiskey is unclear. A Rev. George Hiskey died a Monroe,
Iowa, Apr. 6,1883, aged 80—he had come to Richland Co., Ohio, in 1832 and settled near Lexington, where
he lived until he removal to Iowa in 1874, the father of 8 children (The Mansfield Herald, Vol. 33, No. 22, Apr.
19, 1883). He performed the marriage of Samuel Eby and Barbara Shuler Aug. 30, 1822. [Funkhouser 1921,
p. 125, 138, 239, 241-242; Glovier 1965, p. 88; Lycoming 2013]
HISKEY: Valentine Hiskey (b. Dec. 24, 1786; d. Aug. 11, 1861; mar. Mary Rhodes) became a member of
Conference in 1815; ordained 1822. At the Conference of 1832: “Of the money to the conferences of the
German United Brethren in Christ it was agreed that Bishop Kumler should give Valentine Hiskey ‘as much as
seemeth good to him.’” Member of Pa. Conf. of 1833. He was Presiding Elder, Carlisle District, 1836-37. He
transferred to Sandusky Conf. Note: While in Pennsylvania, he lived in southwest of Carlisle in Stoughstown.
Mrs. Rhodes is the daughter of the Jacob Rhodes who gave the land for the Oakville church, and she is an
aunt to William H. Wagner. The relationship between Valentine Hiskey and George Hiskey is unclear.
[Funkhouser 1921, pp. 124, 138, 230, 235, 237-238, 241, 244; and 236 (“Hickey”)] and [Glovier 1965,
p. 87; Lycoming 2013]
52 Taken in part from the memoir written by John R. Sawyer and published in the 1979 Journal of the Virginia Annual
Conference, pp. 205-206.
53 Stephen W. Kerr, Executive Director, Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission, The Town of Edinburg, Va.
Biographical Sketches 72
