Pearl Howard "P. H." Welshimer (April 6, 1873 – August 16, 1957) was an American Christian minister and author from Canton, Ohio, and well-known leader in the Restoration Movement.Williams, Paul S., How Do They Grow? Church Growth and Independent Christian Churches (Part 1), Christian Standard, 2006Moore, W. T., The New Living Pulpit of the Christian Church: A Series of Discourses, Doctrinal and Practical, by Representative Men among the Disciples of Christ, St. Louis: Christian Board of Publication, 1918. pp. 361-362. Online edition by James L. McMillan.
Pearl Welshimer was born to Samuel and Louisa Jane Wilson Welshimer at Union Center, Union County, Ohio, on April 6, 1873. As a boy he selected for himself the middle name "Howard." In his adult years he was most often known simply as "P.H."Arant, Francis M., "P.H." - the Welshimer story, Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing Foundation, 1958. pp. 17
Welshimer graduated from Ohio Northern University at Ada in 1894. In his final year of school there, university president Henry Lehr pulled Welshimer aside and urged him to abandon the study of law for the ministry. As a result, Welshimer attended Hiram College to study preaching.Arant, Francis M., "P.H." - the Welshimer story, Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing Foundation, 1958. pp. 22, 24 After graduating from Hiram in 1897, Welshimer accepted a call to a church in Millersburg, Ohio.
Welshimer met his wife, Clara Hornig, in Millersburg. The two were married in her parents’ home in Vermilion, Ohio, on May 15, 1900. They had three children: Helen, Mildred (Phillips), and Ralph.
Welshimer resigned from the pulpit in Millersburg to accept a call from the First Christian Church of Canton, Ohio, on January 1, 1902.Church History , First Christian Church of Canton, Ohio He stayed at this church for the rest of his life. Under Welshimer's guidance, the Canton congregation became one of the largest Christian Church congregations in the country, especially well known for the unusual methods Welshimer used to attract people to worship and the success of its Sunday School program.Arant, Francis M., "P.H." – the Welshimer story, Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing Foundation, 1958. pp. 45-47Foster, Douglas A., Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004. pp. 770 Welshimer himself published a number of books, sermons, articles, and tracts. He was also a highly sought-after speaker, a member of the Commission on Restudy,Foster, Douglas A., Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004. pp. 228-230 president of the short-lived Phillips Bible Institute,Arant, Francis M., "P.H." - the Welshimer story, Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing Foundation, 1958. pp. 63, 64 as well as an active member and thrice president of the North American Christian Convention.
P. H. Welshimer died August 16, 1957. In October 1957, Harold L. Davis was chosen as the successor to Dr. Welshimer. Mr. Davis served as P.H.’s assistant for four years and would serve for 12 years until 1969.
Bibliography Arant, Francis M., "P.H." – the Welshimer story, Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing Foundation, 1958 Foster, Douglas A., Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2004 P. H. Welshimer, Facts Concerning the New Testament Church, Standard Publishing Company, 1996
Notes
References Browning, Don S., Christianity and the new psychologies: 1979 P.H. Welshimer- Alumni Lectures (P. H. Welshimer-Alumni Lectures) W. R. Warren, The Pastor the Pivotal Man, Centennial Convention Report, ed., Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing Company, 1910. pp. 160–162