Background

Ezekiel Boring Kephart was born on November 6, 1834 in Decatur Township, Pennsylvania, United States, the son of Henry and Sarah (Goss) Kephart, of Swiss and Pennsylvania German ancestry. He was the fifth of thirteen children. In his youth he was subjected to the rigors of pioneer life and had little opportunity for reading or schooling. In early boyhood he responded to religious appeals and made a public profession of faith. On a cold winter day when the snow was deep, his father, at the boy's request, baptized him in a running stream.

Education

Kephart spent a few months each winter in a log schoolhouse and later took a partial course in Dickinson Seminary, Williamsport, Pennsylvania. In 1857, with his brother Isaiah, he entered Mount Pleasant College, a United Brethren institution. This same year the college was merged with Otterbein University, Westerville, Ohio, and he continued his studies there. He graduated from the university in 1865. Otterbein university gave him the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1881.

Career

In 1859 Kephart was received as a member of the Allegheny Conference and assigned to the Troutville mission. During the next three years he served churches in Johnstown, Altoona, and Greensburg. He then served for a year as president of Collegiate Institute, Leoni, Michigan, and was afterward pastor at Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. In 1868 he was elected president of Western College (later Leander Clark College), at Western, Iowa, where he served until 1881. During his presidency at Western College he was elected to the state Senate of Iowa, serving from 1872 to 1876. Here he was chairman of the committee on Temperance, and, in 1874, of the committee to investigate the Iowa State Agricultural College. He was always interested in legislation for the improvement of schools. The Republican party offered him nomination for the governorship.

The largest service he rendered, however, was as bishop of the United Brethren church. He was first elected in 1881. About this time he was invited to the presidency of Iowa Agricultural College, but he preferred to remain in the bishopric at a much lower salary. After serving as active bishop for twenty-four years, from 1881 to 1905, he was elected bishop emeritus. In 1890-1891 and again in 1892-1893 he made visitations to the missions abroad. On January 24, 1906, while assisting in the promotion of Indiana Central College, a new institution in Indianapolis, he died very suddenly.

Achievements

• During his career, Kephart was noted for his high standards of church education and for his contribution to the development of educational institutions. Among his important writings on the religious subject were: A Manual of Church Discipline (1895), Apologetics; or a Treatise on Christian Evidences (1901), and A Brief Treatise on the Atonement (1902).

Works

More photos

• book

  • A manual of church discipline of the United Brethren in Christ

    (A manual of church discipline of the United Brethren in C...)

  • Apologetics or a Treatise on Christian Evidences (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from Apologetics or a Treatise on Christian Evide...)

  • A Brief Treatise on the Atonement (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from A Brief Treatise on the Atonement I. The la...)

Personality

Kephart had a dignified and majestic appearance, strong religious faith and a deep sense of fairness. These characteristics made him a strong leader, a wise executive, and a dependable churchman.

Connections

Kephart was married November 4, 1860, at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, to Susan J. Trefts. There were four children of this marriage.

Father:

Henry Kephart

Mother:

Sarah (Goss) Kephart

Spouse:

Susan J. Trefts

Brother:

Isaiah Kephart

References

• History of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ
• The Life of Ezekiel Boring Kephart: Statesman, Educator, Preacher, and for Twenty-Five Years Bishop of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ