Roger E. Sappington Research Collection | Earl H. and Anita F. Hess Archives and Special Collections

By Tanner Simon '20

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Collection Overview

Title: Roger E. Sappington Research Collection

ID: MSS/MSS-0006

Extent: 24.88 Linear Feet

Collection Historical Note

Roger Sappington (1929-1989) was born on March 6, 1929 to Ross and Beulah Sappington in Avon Park, Florida. He attended Manchester College and Bethany Theological Seminary before attaining his Ph.D from Duke University in 1959. In 1949, Sappington married LaVerle Hochstetler, with whom he had four children. In 1951, Sappington was ordained as a minister for the Church of the Brethren, serving a congregation in Lima, Ohio. In 1958, he took a position at Bridgewater College in Virginia as a professor of history, where he would teach for 31 years until his death in 1989. In addition to being a professor, Sappington was also the debate coach at the College. He was a member of the National Historical Committee of the Church of the Brethren, serving as chairman between 1958-1963 and 1970-1973. A dedicated Brethren historian, Sappington authored a number of books, including Brethren Social Policy (1960), Courageous Prophet (1964), The Brethren Along the Snake River (1966), The Brethren in the Carolinas (1971), The Brethren in Virginia (1973), The Brethren in the New Nation (1976), The Brethren in Industrial America (1985) and The Brethren in Tennessee and Alabama (1988). Sappington passed away in 1989 at the age of 60.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Brethren Service Committee, 1938-1952],
[Series 2: Brethren Social Policy, 1959-1961],
[Series 3: Research Material, 1800-1985],
[Series 4: Brethren in Virginia, 1889-1989],
[Series 5: Meeting Minutes and Committees, 1957-1980],
[Series 6: The History of the Bridgewater Virginia Church of the Brethren, 1813-1978],
[Series 7: Sappington's Sermons, 1935-1958],
[Series 8: Brethren Committee Meeting Notes, 1912-1985],
[Series 9: Professorial Papers, 1962-1987],
[Series 10: Assorted Biographical Research and Resources, 1833-1988],
[Series 11: General brethren Research, 1865-1970],
[Series 12: Brethren in Industrial America & The Brethren in the New Nation, 1893-1970],
[Series 13: The Brethren in the Carolinas: the history of the Church of the Brethren in the district of North and South Carolina, 1869-1986],
[Series 14: General Notes on Conscientious Objection and Peace, 1926-1988],
[Series 15: Correspondence, 1955-1988],
[Series 16: Sappington's Graduate Work, 1950-1992],
[Series 17: The Courageous Prophet: chapters from the life of John Kline; The Brethren Along the Snake River; Reuel B. Prichett: Tennessee churchman and antiquarian, 1964-1972],
[Series 18: Sappington's Classes, 1937-1991],
[Series 19: Sappington's Undergraduate Class Papers, 1946-1959],
[Series 20: Index Cards],
[All]

Series 4: Brethren in Virginia, 1889-1989

Box 4

Folder 1: Draft (a) of The Brethren in Virginia
Folder 2: Draft (a) of The Brethren in Virginia
Folder 3: Draft (a) of The Brethren in Virginia
Folder 4: Draft (b) of The Brethren in Virginia
Folder 5: Draft (b) of The Brethren in Virginia
Folder 6: Draft (c) of The Brethren in Virginia
Folder 7: Draft (c) of The Brethren in Virginia
Folder 8: Church Histories
Folder 9: Church Histories: publications
Folder 10: Church of the Brethren Mission Board Minutes Book
Folder 11: Church and District Directories, Misc.
Folder 12: Ephrata (1940) Germantown (1923) VA Booklet
Folder 13: Klaus Wust
Folder 14: Brethren in VA Correspondence and Material
Folder 15: Brethren in VA-New Material (1989)
Folder 16: Southeast Regional Board Minutes c. 1930
Folder 17: Second VA District Minutes, 1931-1941
Folder 18: Second VA District Minutes, 1935-1939
Folder 19: Second VA District Minutes, 1941-1949
Folder 20: Brethren in Virginia
Folder 21: Brethren in VA-Much Correpondence, Some Wine Papers
Folder 22: Gifts in Kind/CPS, 1945
Folder 23: District Merger
Folder 24: Paul H. Bowman, Board of Administration, N. VA
Folder 25: Brethren in Virginia: Board Minutes N. VA, 1958-1959