Gottshall, William Shelly (1865-1941)

Christlicher Bundesbote obituary: 25 Mar 1941 p. 11

Birth date: 1865

text of obituary:

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 12 Mar 1941 p. 1

text of obituary:

FUNERAL FOR W. S. GOTTSHALL HELD AT SCHWENKSVILLE MENNONITE CHURCH

Schwenksville, Pa. — Funeral services for the Rev. W. S. Gottshall, widely known Mennonite minister and evangelist, who passed away in Cleveland, Ohio, were held here at the Eden Mennonite church Friday morning, March 7.

Rev. Gottshall died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. H. H. Geiger in Cleveland on March 2.

In 1934 Rev. Gottshall celebrated the fiftieth anniversary in the active ministry, having been ordained to the ministry in 1884. For many years he has served as president and as secretary of the General Conference Home Mission Board.

Gifted with a strong personality and forceful manner of speech, he was much in demand as an evangelist.

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2 Apr 1941 p. 5

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Rev. William Shelly Gottshall, the son of Rev. Moses and Mary Shelly-Gottshall, was born June 23, 1865, near Schwenksville, Pa. Early in life he responded to the call of Christ and was baptized and admitted into the church by his father. His ability and interest in the Cause of Christ, was noted and he was called to assist his father, who in November, 1884, ordained him, at the age of 19, as minister. His leadership being recognized, he was ordained to the Eldership, at the age of twenty-one.

The marriage to Nancy K. von Nieda, Bowmansville, Pa., was an event of September 22, 1886. Into this union the following children were born: Aaron Elmer, Chevy Chase, D. C.; Jennie May Boehr, died March 4, 1936; Flora Geiger, East Cleveland, Ohio; Paul Herbert, Wilmington, Delaware; Hannah Alieda, died in infancy. On May 27, 1939, his faithful life companion was called from his side in death.

Feeling the need of more than a common school education, he attended Perkiomen Preparatory School, Pennsburg, Pa.; Ursinus College, Collegeville, Pa., and Ursinus Theological Department, where he was graduated in 1889.

Pastoral fields: Pastor Schwenks- [sic Schwenksville] Charge, 1884-1905, including Eden, Schwenksville, Bertolets, Pottstown and Boyerton; Allentown-Upper Milford Charge, 1905-1909; Swiss Mennonite Charge, Bluffton, Ohio, consisting of three churches, First Mennonite and Ebenezer, Bluffton, Ohio, and St. John, Pandora, where he labored 1909-1924; Salem Mennonite church, Freeman, South Dakota, 1924-1930. In 1930 he returned to Pennsylvania, locating in Quakertown, where he assumed the leadership of the East Swamp Mennonite church, until 1938 , when he had to lay down the work on account of failing health. Here he was made Pastor Emeritus, until his end.

Conference activities: Rev. Gottshall was an active and efficient man in conference circles. He held various positions in the respective districts where his churches were located. In the General Conference he served a three year term on the Foreign Mission Board. He was elected to the Home Mission Board in 1896, and remained a member for 42 years. For 22 years of this period he served as Chairman and for 12 years as Secretary.

Rev. Gottshall was widely known as a forceful Bible expositor, and frequently churches asked him to deliver series of Bible lectures. Many ministers in the General Conference and especially those in the Home Mission fields, have been ordained by him. A long and fruitful ministry has come to a close, but while health and strength permitted, Brother Gottshall’s chief joy was “preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.”

In the fall of 1939 he was taken to the home of his daughter, Mrs. Homer Geiger, East Cleveland, Ohio, where he was tenderly cared for until the Lord called him home, early in the morning of March 3rd, bringing his age to 75 years, 8 months and 10 days.

“Servant of god, well done!
      Thy glorious warfare’s past,
The battle’s fought, the race is won,
      And thou art crowned at lat.”

Funeral Service, Friday, March 7, 10:30 a.m., Eden Mennonite church, Schwenksville, Pa., Rev. A. J. Neuenschwander and Rev. Freeman H. Swartz, officiating. Interment at Eden burial ground. — (From The Mennonite.)