Pearl Howard Welshimer was born in York, Ohio 6 April 1873 and died 16 August 1957 in Canton, Ohio.
Educated at Hiram College (graduated 1897) near Cleveland, Ohio, his ministerial legacy is in Canton, Ohio, where he led First Christian Church to become one of the first true megachurches in the Restoration Movement.
Claude Spencer (An Author Catalog of Disciples of Christ and Related Religious Groups. Canton: Disciples of Christ Historical Society, 1946. 347-348) lists the following items from P. H. Welshimer’s pen:
A Bible school vision…Cincinnati, Standard, c1909. 123p. (Training for service series)
Concerning the disciples; a brief resume of the movement to restore the New Testament church. Cincinnati, Standard, c1935. 205p.
The dissolution of the United Christian missionary society. n.p., n.d.
Facts concerning the New Testament church. Cincinnati, Standard, n.d. 19p. price omitted. Large Bible on cover. [I blogged this tract some months ago; click here]
——-. Cincinnati, Standard, n.d. 19p. price omitted. Small Bible on cover.
——-. Cincinnati, Standard, n.d. 19p. price 5c each, 75c per hundred, postpaid. Large Bible on cover.
——-. Cincinnati, Standard, n.d. price omitted. Closed Bible on cover.
How to build up a Bible school. Cincinnati, Standard, 1915.
The Lord’s Supper. St. Louis, U. C. M. S., n.d. 6p. folder.
The New Testament church the only community church, address delivered at Winona convention, Saturday, September 3, 1921. [Cincinnati, Standard] n.d. 12p.
The open membership question, correspondence between A. R. Hamilton and P. H. Welshimer. Published in the “Christian Standard”, May 31, 1919. Cincinnati, Standard, [1919] 24p.
[348]
A restatement of an old question. [4]p.
A sermon to quitters. [Cincinnati, Standard, n.d.] 4p. inc. cover.
What church shall I join? Cincinnati, Christian restoration association, n.d. 7p.
“Why I did not baptize the baby.” [4]p.
Welshimer’s sermons [with an introduction by E. W. Thornton] Cincinnati, Standard, c1927. 252p.
Among the British churches; The faith of the church in immortality. (In International convention, 1938, pp. 104-110; 1937, pp. 307-315)
Kingdom builders. (In Dawson, F. F. ed. The Christian man at work, 1940, v. 2, pp. 71-78)
The remission of sins. (In Meacham, E. J., comp. Training to teach, c1913, pp. 149-151)
The reproach removed. (In Thornton, E. W., ed. Lord’s day worship services, c1930, pp. 191-194)
A sermon to the moral man. (In Moore, W. T., ed. The new living pulpit of the Christian church, 1918, pp. 363-371)
Work your own garden, commencement day address. (In Thornton, E. W., ed. Special sermons for special occasions, 1921, pp. 183-197)
with WELSHYMER, Mrs. C. C.
Supplemental work used in the junior department of the First Christian church-school, Canton, Phio. 23p.
joint author see
McFadden, Mrs. R. H. Supplemental lessons, third primary department.
about see
Moore, W. T. The new living pulpit.
Welshimer, Helen. One of the busiest of men.
To these we can add:
The Great Salvation, Cincinnati, Standard, 1954.
Francis M. Arant, “P. H.”–the Welshimer Story. Cincinnati: The Standard Publishing Foundation, 1958.
James B. North, “Welshimer, Pearl Howard 91873-1957),” Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement, 770.
and a few others; see worldcat here: http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=au%3AWelshimer%2C+P.+H.&fq=&dblist=638&start=11&qt=next_page
About First Christian Church where PHW preached 54 years, see the congregation’s website here. It was was a megachurch built largely on the Sunday School Welshimer led. For photos of the 1981 fire that destroyed the old First Christian facility pictured below, scroll down here. During PHW’s ministry First Church became the largest congregation among Christian Churches with over 5,000 members.
There are over six columns of entries under his name in the index to Christian Standard and another column and a half in the index to Christian-Evangelist. Restoration Herald and Lookout very likely hold many dozen more items.
Last but not least, the library at Milligan College is named in his honor and holds in its archives some of his recorded sermons.
