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

By Tanner Simon '20

Printer-friendly |

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 16: Sappington's Graduate Work, 1950-1992

Box 16

Folder 1: Duke University & Publications & Letters Concerning Sappington's Graduate Work
Folder 2: Dranesville, VA 1959
Folder 3: Durham Church of the Brethren
Folder 4: Brethren Home-OH Between 1955-1958
Folder 5: Christian Education 1956
Folder 6: District Conference NW OH 1950-1956
Folder 7: Membership Class
Folder 8: Visual Education
Folder 9: Rural Life
Folder 10: Publications on Temperance
Folder 11: Various Church of the Brethren Media
Folder 12: The Computer and Research in the Humanities, March 1967
Folder 13: History Dept. Documents
Folder 14: Bridgewater College, Misc.
Folder 15: Elizabeth A. Kessel Papers
Folder 16: Museum-History 508 Class taken at JMU 1982 and Pritchett Museum 1970's
Folder 17: History Department 1 (typed)
Folder 18: History Department 2 (typed)
Folder 19: Bridgewater College Inter-Professor Communications
Folder 20: Library
Folder 21: Lambda, 1962-1974
Folder 22: Theoretical Statistics 1965-1966: Contains Lambda Society Items
Folder 23: Religion and Science Chapel Talks
Folder 24: Contemporary Ideologies (Bridgewater College May 1962)
Folder 25: Bridgewater Church
Folder 26: Federal and State Aid, Debate-BC Photos 1963 and others
Folder 27: Comparative Government BC: Course Outline and Lecture Notes