Daniel Bertolet › Texts

Bertolet, Daniel. (1781-1868). Evangelical Association layman. A farmer in the Oley Valley of Berks County, Pennsylvania, his home was open to Evangelical preachers as early as 1809. the journals of John Walter, Dreisbach, and Seybert tell of staying overnight and holding services there.

Bertolet was a member of the Evangelical Association's Book Commission until laymen were dropped in 1822. He was a local preacher-on-trial for a while. In mid-century, he withdrew from the denomination over questions of local autonomy.

He was clever in writing German verse on various social problems. Six of his hymns are included in his Eine Sammlung neuer geistlicher Leider (1821). Cf. John H. Ness, 150 Years, a History of Publishing in the Evangelical United Brethren Church (1966).

--Leonard Ellinwood, DNAH Archives