1860 John Winebrenner, founder of the "Church of God" died in Harrisburg on September 11.
The Summit County Beacon, Akron, Ohio, October 4, 1860. [3]
1830 Rev. John Winebrenner, pastor of the Reformed congregation at Friedens Kirch, resigned and started the Church of God with regular meetings held at the Walnut Grove schoolhouse. [1]
1850 John Winebrenner (age 52) and Mary H Winebrenner (age 39) lived in Harrisburgh, south ward, Dauphin, Pennsylvania with John A (age 8), Albert (age 6), and Marshall (age 3). [2]
Winebrenner. Elder John Winebrenner, of Harrisburg, died September 11th after a lingering illness. For years past the deceased has been prominently connected with tho "Church of God," in various capacities. As the founder of this branch of the Christian Church, he accomplished a vast amount of good, and was honored and esteemed by the entire membership, embracing many thousands in different States of the Union. The deceased was a man of considerable ability and adomitable energy, and triumphed over obstacles that would have proved impassable barriers to many men of less determined will similarly situated.
He enjoyed the respect of our citizens generally, and his death will be sincerely lamented. Harrisburg Telegraph.
1885 Albert Mitchell Winebrener, son of John Winebrenner and Mary Hamilton, married Georgia Barton in Howard County, Iowa. [4]
An obituary for Mary Hamilton, wife of Rev. John Winebrenner of the Church of God, reports her parents as John and Elizabeth Mitchell. [5]
Research Notes:
A biosketch reports [6]:
John Winebrenner was born March 25, 1797, in Frederick County, Maryland. He was baptized and confirmed in the Glades Valley Church, part of the Frederick County German Reformed circuit. His father, Philip, a second-generation German American, wanted him to prepare for a career in business, law, or medicine. But John decided to follow the advice of his mother, Eve, a pious woman of Scotch and German ancestry, who encouraged him to pursue his interest in the ministry. …
The German Reformed Church did not develop its own seminary until 1825, so John followed the common practice of persons wishing to enter its ministry and served an apprenticeship under a wellknown pastor. After preparatory study at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, he spent three years under the tutelage of Dr. Samuel Helffenstein Sr. of Philadelphia, a pastor who trained twenty seven persons for the ministry. Helffenstein came from a prominent ministerial family. His father, three brothers, and three sons were all German Reformed pastors.
A biosketch reports [7]:
John Winebrenner, born in 1797 and died in 1860 aged 63 years. He founded the Church of God in 1830, and was widely known in religious circles. He married Charlotte M. Reutter of which union there were six children. After her death he married Mary Hamilton Mitchell, of which union there were four children.
[1] J. Robley Schwarz and Jeremiah Zeamer, The Cumberland Blue Book: A Compendium of Information of Lower Cumberland County (J.R. Schwartz, 1908), 91, [GoogleBooks].
[2] United States Federal Census, 1850, [FamilySearchImage], [FamilySearchRecord].
[3] The Summit County Beacon, Akron, Ohio, October 4, 1860, page 4, [NewspapersClip].
[4] Iowa, County Marriages, 1838-1934, [FamilySearchRecord].
[5] William Henry Egle, Notes and Queries Historical Biographical and Genealogical Vol. 2, no. 1-7 (1887-91), 186, [GoogleBooks].
[6] Barbara Brown Zikmund, ed., J. Harvey Gossard, "Chapter 8, John Winebrenner: From German Reformed Roots to the Churches of God," Hidden Histories in the United Church of Christ 2 (NY: 1987).
[7] Arthur G. Gibbony, Winebrenner Genealogy (1942), Ph-1, a more detailed biography starts on page Ph-32.