By Abigail Sholes '23
Title: Oberholtzer Chinese Artifact Collection, 1916-1937
ID: RG01/Art-0006
Extent: 13.92 Linear Feet
Ella Baugher (Mrs. A.C. Baugher) was born in Montgomery, Pennsylvania on September 20, 1898, to Charles and Elizabeth Cassel Booz. She attended Elizabethtown College from 1914-1916, eventually becoming a schoolteacher in Harleysville, Pennsylvania. She married A. C. Baugher, with whom she had three children. A. C. Baugher was president of Elizabethtown College from 1941-1961. Baugher was a member of the Elizabethtown and Lancaster Churches of the Brethren and would serve as a board member and director for children’s work programs and mother and daughter programs for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. As wife of the College’s president, Baugher was part of the Elizabethtown College Auxiliary, Women’s Club, President’s Club and Rotary Ann Club. She was also part of the Business and Professional Women’s Club of Elizabethtown and the Cliosophic Society of Lancaster. Further, Baugher served as a Sunday School teacher and public speaker for various civic and church groups. Baugher passed away in Neffsville, Pennsylvania in April 1987.
Isaiah Oberholtzer was born in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania on May 11, 1883, to Christian and Elizabeth Ebersole Oberholtzer. He was raised on a farm and later attended Elizabethtown College for two years until 1904. After graduating, Oberholtzer received his teaching certification and taught at Daleville College in Virginia. Oberholtzer continued his education at Juniata College until 1910 before moving on to Union Theological Seminary. In 1915, he married Elizabeth Weybright, with whom he had three children. Oberholtzer continued his education at Oberlin Seminary in Ohio until 1916, and at one point was also enrolled at Yale University. In 1916, Oberholtzer and his wife began careers as missionaries to China. The Church of the Brethren mission in China had evangelistic, medical, agricultural, and educational goals. Often, missionaries faced dangerous conditions from famine, warlords, and war with Japan. The Oberholtzers were part of this mission until 1937, the year Japan invaded China. Upon their return to the United States, Oberholtzer served various churches in Indiana and Ohio until his retirement. He passed away in Ohio on July 11, 1956.
Repository: Earl H. and Anita F. Hess Archives and Special Collections
Acquisition Source: Mrs. A.C. Baugher (Boxes 1-9); Elizabethtown Church of the Brethren (Box 10 and banner)
