Remembering the Past

January 3, 2014

As I mentioned on my Welcome page, this blog is not meant to be a genealogy site, but a personal blog celebrating family members whose DNA runs through my blood. As www.ancestry.com states on their site, your family history is in your DNA. You never know what you will find out about your great, great grandfather, or good old 4X grand uncle Charlie. Hmmm, that could be scary! :)

 I am excited about my latest find......my 2nd cousin, 5X removed on my great grandmother Eliza (Ewig) Evans side. His name is Daniel Brenneman. He is the first photo you see on my home page site. Of course, just because he is first, does not make him anymore important than the rest of the diverse collection of ancestors in my family line. I must say though, that everyone of them holds a significant place in my heart.

Daniel Brenneman, son of Henry Brenneman, and great-grandson of Melchior Brenneman, a Mennonite exile from Switzerland who was one of the first settlers of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (1717), was born June 8, 1834, near Bremen, Fairfield County, Ohio. In 1838 his mother, a brother, and a sister died of smallpox, and he himself narrowly escaped. He was raised on the farm and attended the local school. He was converted in 1856 and soon after joined the Mennonite Church. 

On March 22 1857, he married Susannah Keagy of Augusta County, Virginia. To this union 10 children, 5 sons and 5 daughters, were born. The youngest daughter, Phoebe (Mrs. C. F. Snyder), was a missionary to China, from 1904-1941. The oldest son, Timothy, was editor of the Gospel Banner (Mennonite Brethren in Christ), from 1882-1885. In 1864 he moved to Elkhart County, Indiana, where he lived until his death in 1919. In March 1908 he lost his wife of 51 years of. In April 1910 he was married to Delia Troyer, who survived him.

From his youth Daniel Brenneman expected to be a minister. His father, Henry Brenneman, was a godly man who exerted a great and good influence over him. In 1857 Daniel was chosen by lot and ordained to the ministry in the Mennonite Church in Fairfield County, Ohio. As time went on, he became a vigorous speaker and was considered one of the ablest among Mennonite preachers. He traveled extensively and was eagerly listened to wherever he went. He was noted for his progressive views and early in his ministry began to preach in English. In 1872 he with J. F. Funk conducted the firs revival meetings ever held in the Mennonite Church in the United States, at Masontown, Pennsylvania.

Gradually Daniel became involved in the controversy between the progressive and conservative elements of the church, and in 1874, about 10 years after he located in Elkhart County, he found himself unable to remain with his denomination, having been excommunicated for disagreement with the church over methods of work. Together with Solomon Eby of Ontario he organized the Reformed Mennonites, a group that later became part of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ church (later the United Missionary Church).

In 1876 he compiled and published a hymnbook, The Balm of Gilead. In July 1878 Daniel began publishing the Gospel Banner, which became the official journal of the church. He served as editor and publisher until October 1882. For two years (1883-1884) he edited and published the Youth's Monitor, a religious monthly paper for young people and children.

For 63 years he was a faithful herald of the Gospel. He served for many years as a pastor, and for 12 years as Presiding Elder, in the latter capacity doing the work that later required two men. He was a member of the first seven General Conferences of the Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church, and during his entire career he never missed an annual conference.

Daniel Brenneman retained his mental alertness to the end. His travels extended from Virginia to California and through Canada, and his ministry was abundant both in sowing and the reaping. He reached the ripe old age of 85, dying on 10 September 1919. His body was interred in the Oak Ridge Cemetery, Goshen, Indiana. The Brenneman Memorial Church (Missionary Church) in Goshen is named after him.

The Strength and Fortitude of the Welsh and Scots

Until about 20 year ago I thought I was mostly Welsh, Scottish, and English, with only a tad bit of German thrown in the pot to stir things up. I was having a hard enough time trying to convince the Welsh and Scottish side of me, they had to share me with my English side.........a feud that originated back to 1692 and the Massacre of Glencoe, or in Scottish Gaelic Mort Ghlinne Comhann (murder of Glencoe).

Massacre of Glencoe Video

Ah, but the English eventually came to know the strength and fighting spirit of the Welsh and Scottish as they fought to defend their homeland and preserve their culture. My grandfather Reese once told me that his mother, Martha Griffiths Rees, who was born in Wales, insisted her children speak Welsh in the home, in hopes of holding onto their Welch heritage; while at the same time speak English outside of the home, the language of their new country.

A few years back while living in Pennsylvania, I started doing research on my grandmother Nora Ellen (Spencer) Reese's side. The photo on the left is of her father, my great grand-father, William Spencer. While doing the research, I found a "cousin" who was also doing research on our Spencer (English) line.

I knew my great grandfather was married to a Lydia Miller. I did not know, until I started comparing notes with my new found cousin, that not only was Lydia's family from Germany, but nearly all the ancestors in my grandmother Reese's line if not English, were of German descent such as,  Waltenbaugh, Lutabaugh,Shotts, Hartman, Sexauer, and Schaudt. Since then, I also found out that all of the ancestors on my great grandmother Eliza (Ewig) Evans side (see above), were from Prussia (now Germany) and before that from Switzerland. As a result, I have come to realize that I have a bit more than just a tad of German in me.

Still working on this page