Good, Israel B. (1861-1945)
Israel B. Good was an influential minister in the Weaverland district of the Lancaster Mennonite Conference; he was born 2 October 1861 in Brecknock Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and died 17 April 1945 at East Earl, Pennsylvania. He taught school for 26 years, beginning at 18 and ultimately serving as a high-school principal at Terre Hill, Pennsylvania. Among his pupils were John M. Sauder, later a Mennonite bishop at Weaverland, and the local historian M. G. Weaver of New Holland. On 8 September 1885 he was united in marriage with Hettie Witmer. In 1899, then a man of about 38, he and his wife were baptized into the Weaverland congregation by Martin Rutt (1840-1905), who cared for the Weaverland district for a time following the secession of Bishop Jonas Martin (1839-1925). On 17 December 1903, Israel Good was ordained as a preacher. Although he was not a fluent speaker, especially in his early years, he was a deep thinker and a good teacher. He wielded a tremendous influence in Lancaster County, and held a large number of effective evangelistic meetings (one thousand converts). All through his life he read widely; as an aged man he was still reading both philosophical and theological works. During World War I he was very active in behalf of the Mennonite young men who had been drafted, interviewing Congressman W. W. Greist, General Crowder, and even Secretary of War Baker. He was impatient with some of the new influences which he saw entering the brotherhood during his lifetime such as premillennialism, and frequently made statements which caused some criticism, probably mostly by being misunderstood. He was a fast friend of Bishop Benjamin Weaver (1853-1928), his senior ministerial colleague at Weaverland and Conference moderator.
| Author(s) | John C Wenger |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1956 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Wenger, John C. "Good, Israel B. (1861-1945)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Good,_Israel_B._(1861-1945)&oldid=177238.
APA style
Wenger, John C. (1956). Good, Israel B. (1861-1945). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Good,_Israel_B._(1861-1945)&oldid=177238.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, pp. 540-541. All rights reserved.
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