Musselman, Emma Good Sweigart (1880-1966)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1966 Feb 10 p. 3

Birth date: 1880 Feb 3

text of obituary:

Donor of Bluffton College Library Dies in Maryland

Bluffton, Ohio. — Bluffton College received word last week of the death of Mrs. Emma G. Musselman of Gettysburg, Pa., who with her family was a major donor to the college over a period of many years.

The Musselman family donated the original structure of Musselman Library and a large endowment for books, periodicals and other equipment. the family continued to show interest in the college, and their contributions helped stabilize the school during times of financial struggle. the Musselmans also made large donations toward the building of Founders Hall.

Mrs. Musselman died Jan. 31 at a Church of the Brethren nursing home in Maryland. Rev. Harry Yoder, assistant to the president of the college, attended the funeral Feb. 3 in Gettysburg, Pa.

Mrs. Musselman was a member of the Fairfield, Pa. Mennonite Church.

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Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1966 Feb 17 p. 3

text of obituary:

MENNONITE INSTITUTIONS AIDED

Musselmans Supported Wide Range of Philanthropies

Gettysburg, Pa. — The death of Mrs. Emma G. Musselman on Jan. 31 marked the end of an era for a family which donated thousands of dollars to a wide range of philanthropic interests.

Mrs. Musselman and her husband, the late C. H. Musselman, pioneered in a fruit processing business which became the largest apple processing firm in the world. The C. H. Musselman Co. of Biglerville is now a part of the Pet Milk Co.

Among the earlier gifts of the family was approximately $100,000 given to Bluffton College (Ohio) for the erection of Musselman Library there completed in 1930. The family made other large donations to the college over the years, including substantial help in the building of Founders Hall.

Following Mr. Musselman's death in 1944, Mrs. Musselman established the Emma G. Musselman Foundation for disbursement of earnings from a trust fund for "religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes."

Among the benefactors of the fund was Brook Lane Farm Hospital near Hagerstown, Md., which received $35,000 in 1963 and smaller annual grants of $1,000 to $1,500.

Locally, substantial contributions have been made to the Annie M. Warner Hospital, the Adams County Public Library, the YWCA, a number of churches, and Gettysburg College, which received a new dormitory as well as $250,000 for a new stadium.

Mrs. Musselman, the former Emma Good Sweigart, were natives of Lancaster County, Pa. They came to Biglerville near here by horse and buggy in 1906 to take over a struggling canning plant being operated by Mr. Musselman's father, brother and sister. About a dozen employees were engaged in canning apples and beans.

In the early years the Musselmans both worked long hours in the office and plant. They opened a second plant in Gardners in 1912, and a third one at Inwood in 1920. During World War I Mrs Musselman managed the Gardners plant. As a horticulturist, Mr. Musselman promoted apple production throughout this area.

The Musselmans' were formerly members of the Lancaster Conference Mennonite congregation at Mummasburg. In 1927 they helped found the Fairfield, Pa. Mennonite Church, which is a member of the General Conference Mennonite Church.

Mrs. Musselman died at the Fahrney-Keedy Memorial Home at Boonsboro, Md. where she had been a guest a little more than a year. She would have reached her 86th birthday Feb. 3. Funeral services were conducted at the Bender Funeral Home Feb. 3, with her pastor Rev. Gerhard Klaassen, and Dr. Henry W. Sternat of Biglerville officiating. The only survivors are a daughter, Mrs. W. S. Paul, Biglerville Rd., and several grandchildren.

The Mennonite obituary: 1966 Feb 22 p. 130