Excerpt from History of the Church of the Brethren of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania History, whether ancient or modern, is always interesting, and instructive to the average reader. It is, however, of special interest to him when he studies the history of his own native land, his own people, his own kindred. So while our people read with deep interest the history of other religious denominations, once they turn to the narrative that chronicles the history of our own fraternity, her organization in the Fatherland, her early trials and persecutions, the flight across the ocean, the settlement in the new world, the bitter trials and sufferings, as well as the remarkable deliverances, triumphs and blessings, the spread of the Gospel, the new organizations through her consecrated efforts, the story becomes intensely interesting and fascinating. At District Meeting of 1911 a committee composed of the following brethren was appointed, viz.: S. R. Zug, John Herr, G. N. Falkenstein, J. G. Francis and D. C. Reber to gather statistics and facts concerning the activities and work of the Church of the Brethren in the territory then constituting the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from the beginning of the Brethren in America to the present time and compile the same in book form. This beautiful volume placed into the hands of the reader is the result of the untiring, persistent faithful effort of these men of God. We do not stop to quote Eccl. 12: 12, or to apologize for introducing this new history of the Church of the Brethren of Eastern Pennsylvania for reasons that follow. The volume fills a unique place and a long-felt want with our people, and will be hailed with joy by thousands in our own State District and throughout the brotherhood. In reading and examining the manuscript, the writer was impressed with the amount of new data and material that is here given in book form for the first time. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Committee: S.R. Zug, John Herr, G.N. Falkenstein, J.G. Francis and D.C. Reber.

Excerpt from History of the Church of the Brethren of the Western District of Pennsylvania The title of this book does not hint at the extent of interest that will center in it. Herein is a well-prepared account of the rise and development of the congregations of the Church of the Brethren of Western Pennsylvania; but interwoven in it is an inevitable thread whose strands reach almost Brotherhood-wide. In Western Pennsylvania the Brethren labored long and well in behalf of the Master. Through many hardships in earlier days they established the faith in the midst of the beautiful Alleghanies. No service has ever been rendered more cheerfully and hopefully than theirs. But the valleys were too narrow for all their children and scattered throughout the West in almost even State one finds "Somerset County stock" prosperous and flourishing. All these scattered descendants will be interested in the story of beginnings in the old home District; and thus the usefulness of the book grows and grows until who can forecast where its presence will not be felt? The author is well fitted to write the book. Born and reared in one of the stronger congregations of the District, breathing fully the spirit of his environment, in full sympathy with the ideals of the people who have built up the organization, he could fully enter into a proper appreciation of all the data gathered and give due stress to salient facts. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.