Weaver, Benjamin (1853-1928)
Benjamin Witwer Weaver: Mennonite bishop in the Lancaster Mennonite Conference; the second child and oldest son of Isaac Weaver and Catherine Witwer, was born 27 November 1853. He was a direct descendant of both Henry Weaver and Deacon Michael Widower, Weaverland, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Swiss pioneers. Benjamin Weaver's brother, John W. Weaver, was a Mennonite evangelist-pastor, and brothers George Weaver and David Weaver were elders in the Church of the Brethren. Benjamin married Barbara Sauder (1851-1916). They had seven children; Benjamin Weaver, a preacher of Bowmansville, was a grandson. Benjamin died 3 September 1928. Four children, 32 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren survived him.
In 1882 Benjamin Weaver bought the Upper Windsor gristmill from his father and successfully operated it for many years. His integrity was unquestioned, and his wit in crises was quite medicinal. He retired near Union Grove, then to Terre Hill, and spent his last days in Goodville.
Benjamin Weaver's first active church work was as the first Sunday-school superintendent in the Churchtown congregation in 1894. In 1898 he was appointed to the board of the Welsh Mountain Mission. In 1899 he was ordained as minister of the Weaverland circuit, and on 23 January 1903, as bishop of the district from Groffdale to Allegheny. He became familiar with the Bible as a boy; in fact he memorized many stories before his eighteenth birthday. With his genial disposition, warm handshake, and oratorical ability in both German and English, he held a large circle of friends, both within and outside the church, gaining most of the children of members and also many whose fathers and grandfathers had left with the schism of 1893. Entering the Bishop Board when Jacob N. Brubacher, Isaac Eby, and Martin Rutt were the influential trio, he soon became a valuable asset. He was an organizer of both the Oreville Old People's Home and the Millersville Children's Home. He served as moderator of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference 1922-28. Noah H. Mack was his assistant bishop 1919-26, and John M. Sauder from 1926, who succeeded him when he died in 1928.
Bibliography
Hollinger, John H. "Benjamin W. Weaver (1853-1928)." The Historical Journal 22, no. 2 (October 2016): 4.
| Author(s) | Ira D Landis |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Landis, Ira D. "Weaver, Benjamin (1853-1928)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 24 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Weaver,_Benjamin_(1853-1928)&oldid=176713.
APA style
Landis, Ira D. (1959). Weaver, Benjamin (1853-1928). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Weaver,_Benjamin_(1853-1928)&oldid=176713.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 903-904. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.