Wesley Matthias Stanford
Encyclopedia
Wesley Matthias Stanford (born 15 March 1846) was an American bishop
of the United Evangelical Church
(predecessor to the United Methodist Church
), elected in 1891.
, Venango County
, Pennsylvania
. He was the son of Abram and Susanna (Domer) Stanford, and grandson of Robert and Mary Stanford and of Matthias and Martha (Lusher) Domer. Wesley's mother was of German and his father of Scottish ancestry. Wesley married Rosa A. Weimer of southern Stark County, Ohio
, 2 August 1870.
Earning money during the winter by teaching, Wesley attended school in the summer. He first attended the Greensburg Seminary, a school operated by the Evangelical Association in Greensburg, Summit County, Ohio
. Wesley attended there from the spring of 1865 through the fall of 1866.
Wesley earned the S.B.
degree in the scientific and commercial courses from Mount Union College
, Mount Union, Ohio
in 1871. He worked on a railroad, digging and shoveling, to pay for his college courses. Being ambitious in his studies, he nearly always stood at the head of his classes, and was a most formidable antagonist to meet in debate.
After his marriage, he and his wife taught a graded school of two departments during the winter of 1870-71 in Osnaburg, Ohio. With the money earned he was able to finish his collegiate course the next summer, graduating without debt.
The Rev. Wesley Matthias Stanford was awarded an honorary degree
of A.M. by the Central Pennsylvania College
in 1890. Bishop Stanford was honored with a Doctor of Divinity
degree in 1896 by his alma mater
, Mount Union College.
of the Evangelical Association
in Spring 1872. He was appointed as a missionary
to Franklin, Venango County, Pennsylvania
. He remained there three years, seeing about sixty conversions
per year as the fruit of his labor.
His next two years were spent at Homeworth, Ohio
. While there he pursued the study of Greek
and German
again, at his alma mater, Mount Union College. He then spent a most successful three years' pastorate in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Then two years in Johnstown, Pennsylvania
.
. He served in this position until 1888. His Chief Editor was the Rev. Dr. H.B. Hartzler, who afterwards became one of Mr. D.L. Moody's co-workers in the great training schools at Northfield, Massachusetts
(Hartzler also, later, becoming a Bishop of the Evangelical Association). During the more than six years of this assignment, the paper attained the highest circulation ever.
Rev. Stanford served as a delegate to General Conferences of his denomination in 1883, 1887, 1891, 1894 and 1898. He was also a delegate to the annual sessions of the Board of Missions. During the memorable 1887 General Conference of the Evangelical Association, meeting in Buffalo, New York
, the beginnings of the 1891 schism
were felt. Rev. Stanford, along with Dr. Hartzler, were allied with the so-called American spirited element of the Church, which opposed the so-called ecclesiastical autocracy
of the denomination. This opposition, being in the minority at that time, was defeated.
In the Spring of 1888 Rev. Stanford was appointed again to the pastorate, this time in Canton, Ohio
(in his old home conference). During the eighteen months of his work there, he gathered a harvest of over one hundred souls. In 1889 Rev. Standford was elected as Editor
and Publisher of an independent church paper, The Evangelical, with headquarters
in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
. He conducted the business of this periodical very successfully, especially during the stormy years (for his denomination) of 1890 and 1891.
Bishop Stanford served as the Chairman of the Publishing Committee for the new Evangelical Church Hymnal in 1894. He was also an alternate delegate to the Ecumenical Conference of Methodism
in London
(1901). Bishop Stanford also took a leading part in the establishment of Western Union College
, Le Mars, Iowa
.
In 1902 the General Conference of the United Evangelical Church made Rev. Stanford the Editor
of the official church paper, The Conference Journal, with headquarters in Pittsburgh. He was also elected President of the General Church Extension Society, and served as a fraternal delegate to the General Conference of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ
, as well.
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the United Evangelical Church
United Evangelical Church
The United Evangelical Church was created in 1891 when some members of the Evangelical Association left to form the new church. Thirty-one years later the two groups reunited in Detroit and renamed themselves "The Evangelical Church." In 1946, the Evangelical Church merged with the...
(predecessor to the United Methodist Church
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...
), elected in 1891.
Birth and family
Wesley was born in Rockland TownshipRockland Township, Venango County, Pennsylvania
Rockland Township is a township in Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,346 at the 2000 census. The township is quite remote, containing one general store and a volunteer fire department...
, Venango County
Venango County, Pennsylvania
Venango County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 54,984. Its county seat is Franklin.-History:Venango County was created on March 12, 1800 from parts of Allegheny and Lycoming Counties...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. He was the son of Abram and Susanna (Domer) Stanford, and grandson of Robert and Mary Stanford and of Matthias and Martha (Lusher) Domer. Wesley's mother was of German and his father of Scottish ancestry. Wesley married Rosa A. Weimer of southern Stark County, Ohio
Stark County, Ohio
Stark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 375,586. It is included in the Canton-Massillon, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, 2 August 1870.
Education and teaching
Being a farmer's son, Wesley was raised to hard work on the farm until he was twenty years old, receiving but three to four months of schooling each year. When he was eighteen he began teaching in the winter season for only $23.00 per month. He taught every winter thereafter until he was twenty-five.Earning money during the winter by teaching, Wesley attended school in the summer. He first attended the Greensburg Seminary, a school operated by the Evangelical Association in Greensburg, Summit County, Ohio
Summit County, Ohio
Summit County is an urban county located in the state of Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 542,899. In the 2010 Census the population was 541,781. Its county seat is Akron...
. Wesley attended there from the spring of 1865 through the fall of 1866.
Wesley earned the S.B.
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in the scientific and commercial courses from Mount Union College
Mount Union College
The University of Mount Union is a 4-year private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Alliance, Ohio.Mount Union enrolls 2200 undergraduates. Approximately 50 percent are women and 50 percent are men, representing more than 22 states and 13 countries. Mount Union has an active alumni base of...
, Mount Union, Ohio
Alliance, Ohio
Alliance is a city in Stark and Mahoning counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 22,322 at the 2010 census. Alliance's nickname is "The Carnation City", and the city is home to the University of Mount Union....
in 1871. He worked on a railroad, digging and shoveling, to pay for his college courses. Being ambitious in his studies, he nearly always stood at the head of his classes, and was a most formidable antagonist to meet in debate.
After his marriage, he and his wife taught a graded school of two departments during the winter of 1870-71 in Osnaburg, Ohio. With the money earned he was able to finish his collegiate course the next summer, graduating without debt.
The Rev. Wesley Matthias Stanford was awarded an honorary degree
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
of A.M. by the Central Pennsylvania College
Central Pennsylvania College
Central Penn College, formerly known as "Central Pennsylvania College", is America's largest career-oriented college located in the suburban Harrisburg, Pennsylvania neighborhood of Summerdale, Pennsylvania....
in 1890. Bishop Stanford was honored with a Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity
Doctor of Divinity is an advanced academic degree in divinity. Historically, it identified one who had been licensed by a university to teach Christian theology or related religious subjects....
degree in 1896 by his alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
, Mount Union College.
Ordained ministry
The Rev. Stanford entered the Pittsburgh Annual ConferenceAnnual Conference
An Annual Conference in the United Methodist Church is a regional body that governs much of the life of the "Connectional Church." Annual conferences are composed primarily of the clergy members and a lay member or members from each charge . Each conference is a geographical division...
of the Evangelical Association
Evangelical Association
The Evangelical Church or Evangelical Association, also known as the Albright Brethren, is a "body of American Christians chiefly of German descent", Arminian in doctrine and theology; in its form of church government, Methodist Episcopal....
in Spring 1872. He was appointed as a missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
to Franklin, Venango County, Pennsylvania
Franklin, Venango County, Pennsylvania
Franklin is a city in Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was estimated 7,212 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Venango County.-Geography:Franklin is located at ....
. He remained there three years, seeing about sixty conversions
Conversion to Christianity
Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to some form of Christianity. It has been called the foundational experience of Christian life...
per year as the fruit of his labor.
His next two years were spent at Homeworth, Ohio
Homeworth, Ohio
Homeworth is a census-designated place in Knox Township, Columbiana County, Ohio, United States.Located in southwestern Knox Township, aside from homes, the area around Homeworth has farms, hills, fields, and cows....
. While there he pursued the study of Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
and German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
again, at his alma mater, Mount Union College. He then spent a most successful three years' pastorate in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Then two years in Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...
.
Service to the greater church
In 1882 Rev. Stanford was called to be the Associate Editor of The Evangelical Messenger, the official English-language periodical of his denomination, with offices in Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. He served in this position until 1888. His Chief Editor was the Rev. Dr. H.B. Hartzler, who afterwards became one of Mr. D.L. Moody's co-workers in the great training schools at Northfield, Massachusetts
Northfield, Massachusetts
Northfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 2,951 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area...
(Hartzler also, later, becoming a Bishop of the Evangelical Association). During the more than six years of this assignment, the paper attained the highest circulation ever.
Rev. Stanford served as a delegate to General Conferences of his denomination in 1883, 1887, 1891, 1894 and 1898. He was also a delegate to the annual sessions of the Board of Missions. During the memorable 1887 General Conference of the Evangelical Association, meeting in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, the beginnings of the 1891 schism
Schism (religion)
A schism , from Greek σχίσμα, skhísma , is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization or movement religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a break of communion between two sections of Christianity that were previously a single body, or to a division within...
were felt. Rev. Stanford, along with Dr. Hartzler, were allied with the so-called American spirited element of the Church, which opposed the so-called ecclesiastical autocracy
Autocracy
An autocracy is a form of government in which one person is the supreme power within the state. It is derived from the Greek : and , and may be translated as "one who rules by himself". It is distinct from oligarchy and democracy...
of the denomination. This opposition, being in the minority at that time, was defeated.
In the Spring of 1888 Rev. Stanford was appointed again to the pastorate, this time in Canton, Ohio
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
(in his old home conference). During the eighteen months of his work there, he gathered a harvest of over one hundred souls. In 1889 Rev. Standford was elected as Editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
and Publisher of an independent church paper, The Evangelical, with headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
. He conducted the business of this periodical very successfully, especially during the stormy years (for his denomination) of 1890 and 1891.
Episcopal ministry
When the United Evangelical Church was established in 1891 as a division from the Evangelical Association, Wesley Matthias Stanford was elected one of its first Bishops at the General Conference held in October in Philadelphia. His episcopal term expired in October 1902 by the law of the church.Bishop Stanford served as the Chairman of the Publishing Committee for the new Evangelical Church Hymnal in 1894. He was also an alternate delegate to the Ecumenical Conference of Methodism
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(1901). Bishop Stanford also took a leading part in the establishment of Western Union College
Westmar University
Westmar University was a private four-year liberal arts college in Le Mars, Iowa, U.S. It permanently closed on November 21, 1997.Westmar University was founded in 1887 as the Northwestern Normal School and Business College by Jacob Wernli, the Plymouth County Superintendent of Schools...
, Le Mars, Iowa
Le Mars, Iowa
Le Mars is a city in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Iowa, United States. The population was 9,237 at the 2000 census. Le Mars is the home of Wells' Dairy, the world's largest producer of ice cream novelties in one location and is the self-proclaimed "Ice Cream Capital of the World". Wells...
.
In 1902 the General Conference of the United Evangelical Church made Rev. Stanford the Editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of the official church paper, The Conference Journal, with headquarters in Pittsburgh. He was also elected President of the General Church Extension Society, and served as a fraternal delegate to the General Conference of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ
Church of the United Brethren in Christ
The Church of the United Brethren in Christ is an evangelical Christian denomination based in Huntington, Indiana. It is a Protestant denomination of episcopal structure, Arminian theology, with roots in the Mennonite and German Reformed communities of 18th century Pennsylvania, as well as close...
, as well.