January 23, 1995
Dear Member of the Historical Society,
It’s time for another installment of our newsletter. I know it’s time because I have time to sit here in front of the computer and put it together. If I don’t have the time, then it’s not time for a newsletter. I guess that will make sense to you.
I don’t want to imply that putting this newsletter together is a big chore for me. Actually I love to do it. Like many of you, I have come to enjoy history and welcome the opportunity escape to the world of the past. I don’t always understand why I feel the way I do about things historical. It is a way out stepping out of the rat race of current times to a time when everything waits for you. When I am reading about a Civil War battle, I can put it down and not come back for weeks and find that the battle waited for me. Try that approach to your daily work. I think I have found a word to describe someone like me – historic. I am not a historian. I am a lover of stories and enjoy the past to the point of being a maniac. So, I’ve coined this new word – historic. I should probably get this printed for bumper stickers. Well – enough of this chatter.
I did my best to identify all our new members in our last letters. I like to let you know who they are. We are glad to add them to our family of people who enjoy Bible Fellowship History. A couple of other folks are new members: Gerry and Dolly Schlonecker of Emmaus and Dave Watkins of Graterford. Welcome.
In this installment, I will wrap up our papers on Jakie Moyer. You really have an excellent collection of reminiscences now. The paper included comes from Ward Shelly, another grandchild of Jakie Moyer. Willard Cassel shares some thoughts. Roy Bellesfield, who has contributed a number of memories has a few more.
(Ward Shelly lives in Metamora, Illinois. He is a grandchild of Jacob H. Moyer. He is a retired minister who has served a number of Mennonite. This paper was delivered at a meeting at Delp’s Meeting House in Harleysville on August 19, 1990.)
Who Was Jacob H. Moyer?
Jacob H. Moyer, my grandfather, was born almost 150 years ago. The times were not too much unlike our own. He lived in the days of the Mexican War, the Civil War, the Spanish American War and the Financial Panic of 1876. He saw the start of World War I. In 1862 Henry Adams wrote, “These are great times. Man has mounted science. Before many centuries science will master man; the human race will commit suicide by blowing up the world.”
Jacob had a rough beginning. In his infancy he was pronounced dead by a member of the family but he revived. Later, he went with the hired girl to the stream to do the washing. He fell in and was carried down the stream. The hired girl saw his raised hand. She pulled him out and held him upside down to revive him.
He attended school a total of four months; but he learned to read. His parents and his grandmother taught him about the Bible and prayed for him – so that he says he knew he was a sinner. But, all his life, Jacob was a rebel, first against God and then he fought the devil and later rebelled against what he called the spiritual stagnation of the church.
At the age of 24 he want to Canada. Fifty years later, my brother contacted the hotel in Ontario where he had stayed and they confirmed his visits there. For three years he spent his spare time in drinking, dancing and gambling. All this while he was filled with the fear of going to Hell. He was afraid of going to sleep at night for fear of waking up in hell.
In 1870 a revival broke out in the Mennonite Church in Waterloo County, Ontario. This was the period of the Moody – Sankey Revivals with meetings in Lyric Hall in New York and the famous Fulton Street prayer meetings. Jacob wrote that some of his friends got saved. He writes, “This surprised me for I did not know what it meant to be saved.” He then asked some of his friends about it. They told him how the Lord had forgiven their sins. They persuaded him to attend some meetings in Port Elgin. They travelled 100 miles by team. There the church people prayed for him for several days but he wrote, “I felt everyone could be saved except me. It seemed my sins reached to heaven.”
Finally, Amos Bowman showed him that Jesus had taken away all sin. That hit Jacob for he knew that would include his sins. After his conversion, he went from house to house telling people what the Lord had done for Him. His landlady said, “You don’t have to make such a fuss about it.” Others told him, ” What if everyone went around talking and praying with people?”
Now he had a business problem. He was in partnership with another man in making cigars. The Lord told him that was not the right business for a Christian. Also, his partner was not a Christian. He turned the whole business over to his partner without any remuneration.
Jacob wrote of his almost constant conflict with the devil who he said tried to keep him from speaking in public and even made him doubt his salvation because he did not have the same experience as some others. Because he spoke very poor English (mostly he spoke Pennsylvania Dutch) he says, “Sometimes the devil would win.”
For 10 or 12 years he travelled thought Ontario, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Indiana selling Bibles and other books. He held many meetings and visited from house to house. Later he added patent medicines and also the healing salve, Rose Jelly. In the Souderton / Silverdale / Telford area, he was known as Rose Jelly Jake. Later, he added pots and pans to his list.
At the age of 43, in 1885, he married Jane Blackburn. The marriage ceremony was performed on Hanover Avenue in Philadelphia by Elder L. Frank Haas, Presiding Elder of the Heavenly Recruiters Association. When he married Jane, who was about 20 years his junior, some people laughed and some got mad. They said, “What will this fellow do with a wife? He cannot even support himself.” He had no money and no credit. Some said he was too lazy to work.
During his life time he suffered from malaria, tuberculosis, diphtheria and a weak heart. Yet, he travelled to church conferences and conventions. One time he was anointed by Bro. Wm. Gehman and O. S. Hillegass which brought healing from malaria without a drop of medicine. One of his familiar phrases was, “Glory to God!”
He wrote that the Lord told him to give a tenth of his income and the Sunday eggs to the Lord’s work. later he was able to pay all his debts, had plenty of credit and for the next 20 years, lacked nothing.
Jacob and Jane had ten children and a large house where they could have quarterly meetings and other meetings. They were quite charismatic. Dancing for joy in their meetings was not unusual (sometimes to the upsetting of furniture).
It was in this situation that they got involved in the Delp Meeting House near Harleysville, PA. Jacob was a lay preacher and became involved here because of what he considered to be the spiritual stagnation in the Mennonite Church. It is said that one time he told a story using a walnut as a symbol. Hew picked off the outer shell and said that represents the Church of the Brethren- their religion is a shell. Then he said the hard shell of the walnut represented the Mennonite Church – hard to crack. He then added that we represent what was inside. When he cracked open the walnut, there was nothing inside.
One of Jacob’s children survives, Katie Shelly, who at age 90 lives in Emmaus, PA. She remembers her father as a man of prayer. He never did anything or went anywhere unless he would first talk to the Lord about it. If the children wanted to go somewhere he would first pray about it. Sometimes he would say the Lord did not want them to go. It is interesting to note that at least 18 of Jacob’s descendants are in various Christian ministries. Olive Rawn is at the age of 69 returning to the mission field in Africa. Much of the credit for raising the family falls on Jane because Jacob spent a lot of time on the road selling his products and attending church conferences.
Katie remembers her father as a very stern man. If the children did something that was not right he would give them that stern look and they knew he meant business but his wife would sometimes use the strap. He was very strict with the children at the table. Everyone ate together and no one left the table until all were finished eating. If they did not sit up straight at the table he would say, “Huck dich iver da dish.” When all were through eating they sang a German thanksgiving hymn.
This life story was never completed by Jacob. He suffered a heart attack and passed away in 1914. His wife and family had been at Mizpah Grove Camp Meeting in Allentown, PA. When the family returned home he failed to come out and assist in tying the horse. His wife went inside and there beside the huge desk where he often spent long hours in prayer he lay in such a position indicating that he had been having a talk with his Master. “He was not for God took him.” “Who being dead yet speaketh.”
Thank you, Ward Shelly.
Remembrances from Willard Cassel
Our next offering comes from Willard Cassel. Willard’s father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Emmanuel N. Cassel, come from the same kind of roots as Jacob Moyer. Willard writes, “My memory was jogged at the recent meeting of the Historical Society.” For anyone who knows Willard Cassel, you know it doesn’t take much to jog his memory.
“Previous to their marriage and after, my parents were members of the Church of the Brethren. Dad was a member at Hatfield; mother at Indian Creek. After their marriage the moved to Harleysville and brought his membership to Indian Creek.
Father was a prosperous saddler and fly net manufacturer in the little village of Harleysville. Mother told me that she began to cook for five upon her marriage – the three extra were apprentices of my father.
Sometime previous to the marriage, father attended West Chester Normal School for a year. While a collegian he attended a Methodist church where an elderly retired pastor preached. Father related that one Sunday morning his heart was “strangely warmed.” He never elaborated on this experience but maybe this was his conversion.
After their marriage they discovered a group of Mennonites who were worshipping the Lord in Graterford with unusual enthusiasm. They began to worship there. On one occasion they engaged in feet washing and communion with no feeling of guilt as the leader invited all believers to participate. Word of their participation got back to the elders at Indian Creek. The Council accused them of sinning in taking communion with the Mennonites. I learned from Clarence Kulp that a mitigating reason of the Council’s accusation was the fact that Indian Creek practiced closed communion.
Mother related that on a certain evening she and father paced the paths outside the Indian Creek Church, holding hands, as the Council debated their fate. They were found guilty of sinning and were expelled from the membership of the Indian Creek Church of the Brethren.
This did not daunt their spiritual zeal as they continued to attend the Graterford Mennonite Brethren in Christ Church at Graterford. Father received Quarterly Conference License in 1900 and was elected as delegate to the Annual Conference.
The following letter was received by Father.”
753 Lance Place, Reading, Pa.
October 1, 1900
Bro. E. N. Cassel
Dear Brother:-
I have spoken with the brethren at Blandon and appointed you to take charge of the work at Athol and Blandon, and trust it will meet with your approval. You are requested to move to Athol, where rooms are rented for the year at I think $3 a month. There are only three rooms, and I think you had better take only the things you need with you and store the rest away. No house can be had at Blandon at all. I announced services for you at Blandon on Sunday, October 14th. If you move at once you can preach at Athol this coming Sunday. Perhaps you would better go and see the place and make arrangements or if you ship goods at once, you could save the expense of traveling to and fro. Will give you $10.00 a quarter – Home Mission money. Please write to me at once, how this suits you. Please address me at Berlin, Ontario, Canada, in care of H. S. Hallman.
May the dear Lord abundantly bless you and ever lead you\, and make you a great blessing. Please let me know by when you expect to go to Athol.
Yours in Him,
H. B. Musselman
(The reason Father was supposed to respond to Berlin, Ontario, Canada [Now Kitchener, Ontario] was that H. B. Musselman and the Pennsylvania delegation would be attending General Conference there.)
Thanks, Willard.
Remembrances of Bethel Church 8th St. Allentown
Roy Bellesfield is from the Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church. He has tucked away some real gems. They take us “into the pew” in church life.
I have been thinking lately about my boyhood days at Bethel Church on 8th Street in Allentown, PA. I was thinking about prayer meeting nights we held on Tuesday thru Friday nights. Our prayer meeting night was Friday. I can still see and hear the different people getting up and testifying (in my mind) what times of blessing when recalling those wonder memories. It was there we met our friends and prayed together, and in many cases some met future mates there for life. I will not mention any names as surely I would miss someone which would not be right. I must admit that sometime we rather balked at going to prayer meeting again, but being obedient to our parents we went. I thank God for parents who led the way for their family.
I shall never forget seeing people stand to their feet and tell of an answer to prayer, or a request for a loved one, and those prayers were from the heart, and many tears were shed by all the brothers and sisters in Christ. I often wish it were possible to go back to just one of those wonderful prayer meetings.
As I look back at those kids who went to those meetings, some went on to become missionaries, or pastors or wives of pastors, or workers in church in different ways, but always for the Lord. So, train up a child in the way he should go, and when grown up will not depart from them.
I know I am old fashioned in my thinking, and do not say this to put down present way we worship, as in junior church, but I thank God we were brought up setting among the older folds of our congregation who led the way with their prayers, testimonies and those choruses started by any all between testimonies. I feel the children are missing something we old timers will always hold near and dear to our hearts.
We had children’s meetings at camp meetings, but we also went to early prayer meeting in the prayer tent, and the daily meetings. Things were so much different then as our preachers from our sister churches all took turns at preaching when called. It was an inspiring sight to see them all setting in a semi-circle on the platform.
It was also a great time to hear the musical groups of our member churches, as choruses or instrumentalists or duets, trios, etc. Uplifting is the word to tell of those wonderful days of long ago.
I am a lover of old hymns, and shall always be, and our church organist has allowed me to make lists of our old hymns which he plays as a prelude to our Sunday morning services. Many people remark to me the joy of hearing those gems of the past, and I am sure they will keep on blessing hearers until Christ returns, as he promised. I hope these memories of the past bring joy and blessing to your hearts as it has to mine.
Thanks, Roy, I can see the far away looks in the eyes of some of our readers who just took a journey through their memories.
That will wrap up another letter. Unfortunately, I must share some bad news. If you have not sent in your membership dues to Loretta Heist, this is your last newsletter, not to mention that you will have to pay your way to our next meeting. It you have not renewed your membership, do it now, Send your dues ($20.00 for a married couple, $14.00 for an individual) to Loretta Heist at PO Box 67 Zionsville, PA 18092. Don’t forget. We don’t want to lose you. If you would like to give a special introductory gift membership, we will only charge you $16.00 for a married couple or $10.00 for an individual.
Remember that our next meeting will be held on Saturday, November 4, 1995, at Calvary Bible Fellowship Church in Coopersburg. Richard Paashaus will recount the history of the Coopersburg Church and Harold Shelly will tell the story of Dr. Jonas Schultz, one of our early evangelists. As always, I await your letters filled with the treasures of our heritage. Share your story or memory with me so that I can get it out to others. Richard Taylor, 723 South Providence Road, Wallingford, PA 19086