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Jay Gotwahls Francis Papers

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Box 2-1

Oversize Box 3

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Title: Jay Gotwahls Francis Papers

ID: MSS/CoB V Francis

Extent: 0.0

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.