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Overview
Biographical Note
Scope and Content
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Preferred Citation
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| Creator: | Seybert, John | |
| Title: | Bishop John Seybert Papers | |
| Date Span: | 1805-1992 | Click here to view the finding aid format suitable for requesting material at the Archives. |
| Abstract: | John Seybert (1791-1860), American minister and pioneer bishop of the Evangelical Association, was born near Manheim, Pennsylvania, on July 7, 1791. Seybert united with the Albright People at Manheim. He entered the ministry in 1820 and became an ardent builder and first bishop of the church Albright had founded. From New York to Iowa, his wagon carried him and his books. His journeys ended at a revival meeting appointment at a church near Flat Rock, Ohio, where he died on January 4, 1860. He was buried in the church cemetery. | |
| Extent: | 3.95 cubic feet | |
| Identification: | gcah.ms.621 |
John Seybert (1791-1860), American minister and pioneer bishop of the Evangelical Association, was born near Manheim, Pennsylvania, on July 7, 1791. In 1804, his parents joined the followers of Jacob Albright, founder of the Evangelical Association. After a remarkable conversion on June 21, 1810, John Seybert united with the Albright People at Manheim. He entered the ministry in 1820 and became an ardent builder and first bishop of the church Albright had founded. Seybert's diaries (eighteen volumes) yield these amazing figures: 175,000 miles (horseback, 1820-1842; one-horse wagon, 1843-1860); and 46,000 pastoral visits. He saw the church grow from one to eight conferences. On the eve of an epochal era of expansion in the late 1830's, as a bachelor minister, he declared his desire to be found at the front. In 1838, organized missionary societies arose through his inspiration. He was president of the parent society when elected bishop in 1839. Forthwith he directed the attention of his workers to the German settlements of the Northwest Territory. With the dearth of German reading material in the west, Bishop Seybert in 1842 loaded his wagon at the publishing house in New Berlin, Pennsylvania, with an order of 23,725 volumes, charged to his account, and delivered these books to ministers in Ohio and westward. The fruit of Seybert's labor was in evidence throughout the church in his time. From New York to Iowa, his wagon carried him and his books. His journeys ended at a revival meeting appointment at a church near Flat Rock, Ohio, where he died on January 4, 1860. He is buried in the church cemetery.
This collection centers primarily on Seybert's journals. The original journals are written in German and are incomplete. Of the eighteen total volumes that Seybert compiled, only ten volumes have survived. They are volumes 2, 4, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18. In 1956 the Reverend J. G. Eller translated all volumes into English and this translation was microfilmed. The typescripts of chapters 16 and 17 are located at the end of the journals series.
Most of the journal entries are laconic with a few entries being the exception to the rule. What these journals do illustrate is the far reaching itinerancy that Seybert followed during his ministry. Other records would include a class book for the Canaan District (Pennsylvania) which was compiled by Seybert in 1825 and a constitution and subscription for the Manheim church which Seybert wrote in 1826. This is the very same church in which Seybert was originally converted.
Seybert's keen interest in church architecture can be found throughout the journals as well as in the holograph file. Photographs, flyers, a biography written by Andrew Gramley, and a letter dated April 23, 1853, that Seybert wrote to Daniel Bertolet are situated in the biographical file.
Seybert's traveling trunk (circa 1844), writing desk, and saddle bags round out the collection. The trunk is eighteen inches in length, eight and one- half inches in height, and nine and a half inches in width. The exterior covering is made from an animal skin with leather trim, a brass handle on the top of the lid, and hasp with locking mechanism. The interior of the trunk is lined with newsprint from 1844. On the interior top of the trunk lid is an identification card that states: BISHOP SEIBERT"S TRUNK. I Rebecca Ocker of Troxelville Snyder, Co., a grand-daughter of the sainted Rev. Philip Smith do present this little trunk to Albright College as a token of my interest in the same. When a little girl of a few summers I saw the sainted Bishop carry this trunk and heard him preach with wonderful power from the text, "TOD, WO IST DEIN STACHEL?" If this trunk had a mouth to talk, what wonderful things it could divulge! Rev. P. Smith resided about one mile west of Troxelville and his home was a stopping and preaching place for the Bishop. He traded this trunk on a saddle-bag, during one of his annual visits to my grandfather's house. Secured for Albright College Dec. 26, 1904. by Rev. A. D. Gramly (pastor). The trunk is in poor condition.
The writing desk measures eighteen and three-quarter inches in length, five and three-quarter inches high, and nine and three-eights inches wide. The outside is a cherry laminate with an ivory knob to open the desk. The interior contains compartments in the front which held various writing implements. There is a felt cover located behind the compartment section. When lifted reveals a storage space for paper. A label on the velvet cover reads as follows: First writing desk of Bishop Seybert who presented it to Rev. Solomon Neitz in appreciation of his great interest and success in the soul-winning for Christ's Kingdom.
Seybert's leather saddle bag is thirty eight inched long and fourteen and a half inches wide. It is in poor condition. A typed note pasted on the left saddle bag reads as follows: "This saddle bag and dress outfit of Bishop John Seybert, was left at the home of Mr. and Mrs. David Fisher, of Manheim, Pa, by Bishop Seybert, between the years 1855 and 60. He was usually entertained in the above home when he came to Manheim to preach. At the death of Mr. and Mrs. David Fisher, these mementoes were given to their Daughter, Susan, who married John Fisher. After their death, they were handed down to their daughter, Louise, who married William McCauley. After the death of Mrs. McCauley, these relics came into the possession of Mrs. McCauley's daughter Edith. Thro [sic] her pastor Rev. I. E. Johnson, of Manheim, Pa. they have been transferred to the ‘Historical Society' and she wishes them placed in their room at the Publishing House. A very brief history of these articles as they were associated with life and labors of the late Bishop John Seybert. Signed and dated I.E. Johnson May 24, 1920."
Materials have been arranged in the following manner.
Journals
When citing material from this collection please use the following format: Direct reference to the item or its file folder, Bishop John Seybert Papers, United Methodist Church Archives - GCAH, Madison, New Jersey. Do not make use of the item's call number as that is not a stable descriptor.
There are no restrictions on this collection.
Detailed use restrictions relating to our collections can be requested from the office of the archivist at the General Commission on Archives and History. Photocopying is handled by the staff and may be limited in certain instances. Before using any material for publication from this collection a formal request for permission to publish is expected and required.
Records of the United Methodist Publishing House
Daniel Bertolet Papers
GCAH Microfilm HS-66
GCAH Microfilm UM-162
Index Terms |
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| Subject Terms | ||
| Geographic Terms | ||
| Indiana | ||
| Ohio | ||
| Pennslyvania | ||
| Subject Names - Person | ||
| Bertolet, Daniel | ||
| Gramley, Andrew | ||
| Genre Terms | ||
| Artifacts | ||
| Diaries | ||
| Transcripts | ||
| Occupation Terms | ||
| Bishop | ||
| Minister | ||
| Call Number | Folder Title | Date(s) |
| 1584-5-3: 1 | Journal: Volume 2 (German) - June 3-May 25 | 1822-1825 |
| 1584-5-3: 2 | Journal: Volume 4 (German) - March 19-August 8 | 1827-1828 |
| 1584-5-3: 3 | Journal: Volume 9 (German) - March 25-April 7 | 1839-1841 |
| 1584-5-3: 4 | Journal: Volume 12 (German) - April 7-November 21 | 1841-1843 |
| 1584-5-3: 5 | Journal: Volume 13 (German) - November 3-March 2 | 1843-1846 |
| 1584-5-3: 6 | Journal: Volume 14 (German) - March 4-December 3 | 1846-1847 |
| 1584-5-3: 7 | Journal: Volume 15 (German) - September 29-October 27 | 1847-1851 |
| 1584-5-4: 1 | Journal: Volume 16 (German) - October 1-September 18 | 1851-1855 |
| 1584-5-4: 2 | Journal: Volume 17 (German) - September 19-October 5 | 1855-1859 |
| 1584-5-4: 3 | Journal: Volume 18 (German) - October 5-December 28 | 1859 |
| 1584-5-4: 4 | Journal: Volume 16 (English) - 1851-1855: J. G. Eller, Translator | 1956 |
| 1584-5-4: 5 | Journal: Volume 17 (English) - September 19, 1855-October 5, 1858: J. G. Eller, Translator | Undated |
| Call Number | Folder Title | Date(s) |
| 1584-5-4: 6 | Class book - Canaan District | 1825 |
| 1584-5-4: 7 | Constitution and Subscription List for Manheim Evangelical Church | 1826 |
| 1584-5-4: 8 | Holographs | 1817-1924 |
| 1584-5-4: 10 | Retraction | 1858 |
| 5044-3-1: 1 | Artifact: Writing Desk | Undated |
| 5044-3-2: 1 | Artifact: Traveling Trunk | 1844 |
| 5044-3-3: 1 | Artifact: Saddle Bags | Undated |
| 1584-5-5: 1 | The Doctrines and Disciplines of the Methodist Episcopal Church | 1805 |
| 1584-5-5: 2 | Memorial Scrapbook | Undated |
