Jay Gotwahls Francis Papers | Earl H. and Anita F. Hess Archives and Special Collections

Collection Overview

Title: Jay Gotwahls Francis Papers

ID: MSS/CoB V Francis

Extent: 0.0

Collection Historical Note

Jay Gotwahls Francis (1870-1958) was born to John and Mary Jane Francis in Oaks, Pennsylvania on January 13, 1870. He graduated from Ursinus College in 1891 with an A.B. degree. After, Francis spent a year at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City, followed by 15 months at Mt. Morris Bible School. In 1895, Francis was licensed as a minister in the Green Tree congregation, achieving his second degree of ministry in 1899. In 1897, he earned his B.D. degree from the Ursinus School of Theology. He married Mary Ann Zug in 1900, with whom he had eight children. Francis was one of few ministers of the Church of the Brethren to receive a seminary education beyond college and was an advocate of higher education for all members of the church. In 1898, he organized a meeting of several Church of the Brethren elders to discuss establishing a Brethren college in Eastern Pennsylvania. Francis was part of the ten-person committee in charge of choosing a location for the school as well as developing a constitution. Although partial to establishing a school in Ephrata or Pottstown, the final location of the institution became Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, and the school was called Elizabethtown College. Though Francis was part of the initial establishment of the school in 1899, soon after he broke from the committee in an attempt to create another Brethren college in Ephrata, Pennsylvania. This venture failed, and Francis would only return to Elizabethtown College twice in 1908 and 1950. In 1911, Francis served on a Historical Committee tasked with writing a District history for his region of the Church of the Brethren. Further, Francis was part of the purchasing committee for the Lebanon Church of Brethren building. Known for his interest in history, he was a member and organizer of the Lebanon County Historical Society, established in 1916. He also did genealogy work for the Daughters of the American Revolution. Francis was listed in the U.S. Census for 1910 as a painter, as for a period of time he was not closely affiliated with the church and held services in his own home rather than the church. However, in the 1920, 1930, and 1940 Census, he was listed as a minister or preacher. From 1933 until his death in 1958, Francis served in the ministry for the Lebanon Church of the Brethren. He is best known for his work in the establishment of Elizabethtown College, with a statue in his memory having been placed outside Alpha Hall on the College’s campus.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Box:

[Box 1],
[Box 2],
[Box 2-1],
[Oversize Box 3],
[Box 4],
[Box 5],
[Box 6],
[Box 7],
[Oversize Box 8],
[Box 9],
[Box 10],
[Box 11],
[Box 12],
[All]

Box 1

Folder 1: Descendants
Folder 2: Insurance Paper
Folder 3: Francis, J.G. Speeches, etc.
Folder 4: Francis Family Letters, 1945-1957
Folder 5: Newspaper Clippings
Folder 6: Francis, J.G. Letters Record
Folder 7: Letters, 1910-1943
Folder 8: Will and Descendants
Folder 9: Written Articles, 1887-1951
Folder 10: Written Articles, unknown dates
Folder 11: Papers on Family History
Folder 12: Newspapers
Folder 13: Booklets, 1930; unknown

Box 2

Folder 1: Biography

Folder 2: Brethrenism

Folder 3: Scanned Articles on Brethrenism

Folder 4: Notebooks

Folder 5: History- Congregations

Item 1: Berks
Item 2: Chiques
Item 3: Conestoga
Item 4: Coventry
Item 5: Fairview
Item 6: Green Tree
Item 7: Midway
Item 8: Mingo
Item 9: Myerstown
Item 10: Parkerford
Item 11: Sandblook
Item 12: Tulpehocken
Item 13: White Oak
Item 14: Big Swatara

Folder 6: Elders

Folder 7: Education

Folder 8: History- Meetings and Groups

Folder 9: History- Lebanon County

Folder 10: Membership

Folder 11: Miscellaneous Records

Box 2-1

Folder 1: Elizabethtown College: Founding (Letters), 1898-1917

Folder 2: Elizabethtown College- History

Folder 3: Elizabethtown College: COB Historical Associations, 1898-1957

Folder 4: Elizabethtown College: Lebanon County

Folder 5: Elizabethtown College: COB Preachers

Folder 6: Elizabethtown College: Mt. Morris College

Photograph 1: "A circle of friends at Mt. Morris, Ill. College", 1892-1893

Folder 7: Glass paper weight with Elizabethtown College photograph

Folder 8: Elizabethtown College: Miscellaneous Papers

Oversize Box 3

Folder 1: Church History

Folder 2: History Notes

Item 1: Notepad
Item 2: Lecture of Mr. Lehman delivered before the Citizens of Lebanon on the evening of December 18, 1851 (35 Pages), 1851
Item 3: Notebook: History of Pennsylvania, -1923

Folder 3: Lebanon County Historical Notes, 1734-1933

Folder 4: Fire Company Histories

Folder 5: Perkiomen Valley

Folder 6: Sauer Printers

Folder 7: Scheme to educate the Germans

Folder 8: Valley Forge History

Item 1: Providence's Part in Provisioning the Camp
Item 2: Jacy Richardson's Ride

Folder 9: Valley Forge Newspapers

Folder 10: Historical Notes, Misc.

Item 1: Notebook
Item 2: Journal on People, "Origins of our Brotherhood and its Transplanting to America"
Item 3: Paper on Henry W. Longfellow

Box 4

Folder 1: Bachman Family

Folder 2: Bason Family

Folder 3: Bollman Family- Handwritten Notes

Folder 4: Bollman Family- Family History Manuscripts

Folder 5: Bollman Family- Correspondence

Folder 6: Bollman Family- Photographs

Folder 7: Brandt Family

Item 1: Correspondence
Item 2: Notes
Item 3: Family History Manuscripts

Folder 8: Dubbs Family

Item 1: Notes
Item 2: Correspondence

Folder 9: Eby Family

Item 1: "A Visit to an Aged Mennonite Farmer"
Item 2: Newspaper Articles

Folder 10: Eisenberg-Jones Family

Item 1: "Poley Ancestry"
Item 2: Handwritten Notes
Book 3: Eisenberg-Jones Family Record
Item 4: "Will of Peter Jones"
Item 5: History of Eisenberg Descendants
Item 6: Eisenberg-Jones Family Association Reunion
Item 7: Eisenberg-Jones Ninth Reunion Flyer
Item 8: Family History Manuscript
Item 9: "Historical Sketch of the Eisenberg-Jones Family"
Item 10: "Eisenberg-Jones Family Reunion" by George E. Fry
Item 11: "Eisenberg-Jones Family Association Report for the Year", July 1922- July 1923
Item 12: Reunion Post Cards, 1926-1937; incomplete
Item 13: Letters from Elle E. Hartley, June 4, 1927 and June 15, 1927
Item 14: 14th and 15th "Annual Reunion of the Eisenberg-Jones Family" Association Programs
Item 15: Newspaper Articles

Folder 11: Gingrich Family

Item 1: Newspaper Article, "The History of Bachmanville that was..."

Folder 12: Gotwahls Family

Item 1: Handwritten Notes
Item 2: Letters from Henry S. Landis, 1948
Item 3: Family History Manuscript and Outline
Item 4: Letter from Nelson H. Bergey
Item 5: Letter from Ralph L. Johnson
Item 6: Newspaper Clippings

Folder 13: Graby Family

Item 1: "Plain People of Lebanon County" Articles

Box 5

Folder 1: Harnish Family

Folder 2: Kohr Family

Folder 3: Kreider Family

Item 1: "Family History of Kreider Family" Newspaper Articles (in a flat box), May 22, 1919- Sept 9, 1919

Folder 4: Light Family

Folder 5: Long Family

Folder 6: Meiley Family

Folder 7: Oberholtzer Family

Folder 8: Reinwohl Family

Folder 9: Reist Family

Folder 10: Roop Family

Item 1: "The Genealogy of the Roop Family: Descendants of Christian Roop" book

Folder 11: Royer Family

Folder 12: Schaeffer Family

Folder 13: Spangler Family

Box 6

Folder 1: Tice Family
Folder 2: Umberger Family
Folder 3: Umstad Family
Folder 4: Walker Family
Folder 5: Weber Family
Folder 6: Yordy Family
Folder 7: Zug Family

Box 7

Folder 1: Notes

Photograph 1: West End of Tunnel and Lock No. 1
Item 2: Misc Notes: "Development and Passing of the Union Canal by J.G. Francis; "George M. Lebanon"
Photograph 3: Picture (of West End Tunnel?)
Item 4: Coal Yard Pictures and Notes (Development and Passing of the Union Canal: biographies)
Item 5: Newspaper Article "Lebanon Park Increases Access to Tunnel"
Item 6: Union Canal: The Great Flood, June 4, 1862
Item 7: Newspaper Articles "Surviving Boatmen of Penna. Canal in Reunion"
Item 8: Cleaning of the Canal and Swinging Bridge, 1866-1878

Folder 2: Notes

Item 1: Pennsylvania Institutes
Item 2: The Lebanon Canal Feeder
Item 3: "...commenced their labors in Pennsylvania..."
Item 4: Water Works Aqueduct
Item 5: "...numerous writers give credit to Robert Faloin..."
Item 6: A Notable Position
Item 7: "Montgomery in his theory of Berks Country..."
Item 8: Programming
Item 9: "Have showed some words by way of Preface..."
Item 10: The Union Canal Pre-eminently a Lebanon County Affair
Item 11: Traffic
Item 12: Canal (Old and New)
Item 13: "The statement of Wilham M..."
Item 14: The Union Canal
Item 15: "...some other young lady..."
Item 16: A History of the Union Canal, established about 1834
Item 17: Rich
Item 18: H. Dale for the Leb. Co. Hist. Society
Item 19: Canal in Feb.
Item 20: Union Canal Project
Item 21: The Report of Engineer W.N. McBullongh, August 2, 1894
Item 22: The Brandt Family
Item 23: Misc Notes
Item 24: "Another prominent business man..."
Item 25: East from Lebanon
Item 26: Lock
Item 27: Stroll (Lay)
Item 28: Locks, Warehouses, and Bridges
Item 29: Stroll, Myerstown
Item 30: "Allen Bollinger moved in 1956..."
Item 31: Leekners
Item 32: Snyder
Item 33: Seltzer
Item 34: From Palmyra
Item 35: Store Houses
Item 36: The Basin Here
Item 37: West of the Tunnel
Item 38: Kreider
Item 39: Stroll

Folder 3: Notes

Item 1: A Stroll across the Sixteen Lock Section
Item 2: Stroll from Jonestown Road to Water Works, August 1941
Item 3: Galen
Item 4: John Adam
Item 5: Note on paper from Ursinus College
Item 6: Public Forum
Item 7: Canal Superintendents
Item 8: Bio: William Lebanon
Item 9: A Life of the... As Early Means of Transportation, Conceived by Penn
Item 10: Land Purchases
Item 11: Great Dawn
Item 12: Land on Canal in Lebanon
Item 13: The Weslian Locks
Item 14: Canal, July 30, 1845
Item 15: June 14, 1866
Item 16: January 2, 1868
Item 17: Relative to the Enlargement of the Union Canal
Item 18: Canal, January 19, 1866
Item 19: Retrenching
Item 20: Weber
Item 21: From Feb.
Item 22: Strolls along the Union Canal

Folder 4: Notes

Item 1: Postcard "Oldest Tunnel in the United States, Built 1822-1823, Lebanon, Pa."
Item 2: Letters from Philip G. Nordell, August- September 1953

Folder 5: Notes

Item 1: "2 Annville Teen Score in Dreamboat of a Dig" Sunday Patriot News
Item 2: Misc Notes
Item 3: Notebook: "The Old Canals"

Folder 6: Drawing Records- Location of Canal

Oversize Box 8

Folder 1: Union Canal- Lebanon Courier, June 18, 1845
Folder 2: Map Union Canal
Folder 3: Union Canal- in the Courier, July 9, 1845
Folder 4: Union Canal and Reading R.R., Swinging Bridge
Folder 5: Union Canal Letter Philip Nordell
Folder 6: Land Purchases on Lebanon/ Weston Locks
Folder 7: Union Canal- Snyder
Folder 8: Union Canal- List of People
Folder 9: Union Canal
Folder 10: William Lehman- Resident engineer and General Sept of Union Canal. He and wife Elizabeth Keyser were German Baptist Brethren of Germantown. [Lorenzo L. Lehman, Benjamin B. Lehman, Samuel B. Lehman]
Folder 11: Union Canal Review from Courier, July 30, 1854-August 4, 1886
Folder 12: Lebanon Canal Feeder
Folder 13: Pa. Canals- Sec. of Internal Affairs, June 30, 1900

Box 9

Item 1: Ursinus College Commencement Herald, June 25, 1891
Item 2: Elocution (Prof. Roberts)
Item 3: Dogmatics. Fall Term, 1896
Item 4: Doctrine
Item 5: Church History (Prof. McGiffert)
Item 6: Hebrew (Prof. Fagnani) and Greek (Prof. Vincent)
Item 7: Church Polity (Prof. Prentiss)
Volume 1: Record Book: Life of Christ
Volume 2: Record Book: Genesis
Volume 3: Record Book: Book of Isaiah
Book 1: Bible (personal copy)

Box 10

Item 1: Photographic Plates

Box 11

Item 1: Photographic Plates

Box 12

Item 1: Photographic Plates

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[Box 2-1],
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[Oversize Box 8],
[Box 9],
[Box 10],
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