Hello Listers, Peter Phillips has sent me the following correspondence concerning Rockingham County, Va. & my 3rd Gt. grandfather William Edwards who died in Cedar County, Iowa: "I saw on Root's web that you said Whitesel's Church was still there. I'm Pete Phillips, and work with the EUB Archives at Shenandoah University. Could you give me direction to that church so that we can document it for the Archives? Thanks Pete Phillips Waynesboro, VA" Sue: Thanks for your quick reply. The information you have about the Whitesel's UB Church is incorrect. I recently got in touch with some people who went to the Whitesel Church from that area, and they gave me directions to the church. My wife and I visited it last week. All that is left is the cemetery, but it is well kept. Here are directions to and, info on, the church from the Rockingham Historical Society. "Whitesels United Brethren Church Cemetery from Rockingham County Historical Society Location Pleasant Valley area, Rockingham County, Virginia. From the corner of Route 11 south (Main Street) and Route 659 (Port Republic Road) travel east 5.3 miles on Route 659. Turn right onto Route 276 (Cross Keys Road). Go a short distance and turn right onto Route 679 (Battlefield Road). Go to Route 681 (N Whitsel Church Road) and turn left. Cemetery is on the left side of the road. Notes Cemetery is well maintained with fence around it. In 1987 Brett & Judy Nordgren provided the data and notes in the Remarks Column. They also noted; The site is presently occupied by a small Mennonite Church, the original United Brethren Church building having been removed in 1976. Inscription on historical monument: "Mary Whitesel, widow of Peter Whitesel Sr. and her eight children came from Maryland to Virginia in 1778. In 1824 her son Peter Jr. donated the land on which a log church building was erected. The first United Brethren Church building in Virginia. The log structure was replaced in 1874 and in 1893 the second building was replaced by a frame building which was removed in 1976. Mother Mary Whitesel is buried in an unmarked grave." Note by Brett & Judy Nordgren: The Widow Mary story is not correct. Peter Weitzel, Sr., his wife Anne and 6 or 7 of their children, who eventually numbered 9, came from Leitersburg, Maryland sometime around 1791." I have enclosed three pictures I took at the Pleasant Grove Church and four taken at Whitesel's Church Cemetery. The Whitesel Church and the Pleasant Valley Church combined after Whitesel's was abandoned. The Pleasant Grove Church is referred to as Whitesel's in the Cemetery Records, but that is incorrect. I might add that there are some Whitesel's buried in the Pleasant Grove Cemetery. I have a record of your Third Great Grandfather as a United Brethren . We don't have any information on him in the UB/EUB archives, except that he was ordained or admitted to the Virginia Conference in 1838. We would like to have any information such as Churches served, birth and death dates, or any other info about him. I will add this info to the Ministers Data Base. Some of the info we have on these early ministers is limited at best. We are trying to document as much information on the UB/EUB churches and ministers as we can before it's too late. The youngest ordained EUB alive today are in their 60's. Many of these early churches were torn down or sold after the EUB/Methodist merger in 1968, and a lot of information was lost. Sincerely, Pete & Caroline Phillips" Sue: After I wrote you, I went through some old Virginia Conference Minutes and found this info for you about William Edwards. In 1838 he was appointed to the Staunton Va. charge, 1939 to the Woodstock Va. charge, and 1846 to the Winchester Va. charge. The records also show that he was either present of absent at all annual conferences from 1838 to 1851. I didn't see his name mentioned after 1851. Thanks again Pete Phillips" "Sue: Hope I'm not bothering you with information, but it's rare that we find descendants of these early ministers. When we do I start looking for information on them. Here is some info from A. P. Funkhouser's 1921 History of the Virginia Conference. Edwards, William - 1838 - Ordained 1841 - Transferred to Iowa Conference 1853 - Reared at Whitesel's Church - Strong in Prayer - Wife a Ganger - d. in Iowa. Sincerely, Pete Phillips" "Sue: Feel free to share any information I may find. That is the whole purpose of the UB Archives at Shenandoah University. I won't be at the school until March 1 again, but will look to see if I can find anything else. One of our members is searching the old charges to see what individual churches were in each charge. That could be helpful also. A lot of information is in the A. P. Funkhouser "History of the Virginia Conference. It is on line at the Huntington University Archives. Here is the web site. http://www.huntington.edu/ubhc/publications/ebooks/virginia/virginiatitle.htm Thanks much for the info you sent on Rev. William Edwards. This is precisely the information we trying to collect on the Ministers and Churches. Later Pete Phillips"