John Kline: A Beloved Man of God

The old pine floor boards in John Kline’s house are bare now. The footsteps of this beloved Brethren elder have not been heard on them for 144 years. Yet, the memories still linger about this 19th century missionary, herbal doctor, Annual Meeting moderator, farmer and friend.

The Klein family traces their heritage to great-grandfather Georg Klein, who emigrated with his wife, Dorothy Rebman and father-in-law, from Zweibrucken in Bavaria, Germany, to America in 1738. Georg Klein was a Lutheran minister and settled near the early Brethren at Amwell, New Jersey. In 1739 Georg Klein joined the German Baptist Brethren, being baptized by Johannes Naas. He bought land in Berks County, PA, and attended a love feast led by Elder Michael Pfautz. Later, he organized the Northkill congregation in 1750 and became its first minister. He then was ordained by Elder Pfautz and Elder Martin Urner (Coventry congregation) in 1757, and later that year organized the Little Swatara congregation and became its elder. Georg Klein’s spiritual zeal became embodied in his great-grandson, John Kline, Jr., in similar ministry and missionary efforts.

John Kline was born June 17, 1797, in Dauphin County, PA, the second child and first son of John, Sr., and Mary Hershey Kline. His grandparents George, Jr., and Elizabeth Altaffer Klein were part of the early settlers to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia in the 1780s, buying several acres on the west side of the Linville Creek near the trading post known as Broadway. John Kline, Sr., moved his family to take over George Klein, Jr.’s farm in 1811 with John, Jr., driving the horse-drawn wagon along the way.

Writing about "Elder John Kline: A life of pacifism ended in martyrdom," Klaus G. Wust comments that "he went to school very seldom while he lived in Pennsylvania, but his parents, the preacher, and family friends instructed the boy in the essentials of learning. He was trained to read and write both in German and in English and acquired whatever arithmetic a farm boy ought to know. John Kline had a great penchant for reading; unlike most Valley Germans of that period, he not only read religious works, but eagerly consumed everything he found in print, including a good deal about politics and economic questions. In later years, he kept abreast of the news of the state and local governments." (VIRGINIA CAVALCADE, Autumn 1964, page 27)

Here in the Shenandoah Valley the younger John Kline, Jr., would marry Anna Wampler, daughter of early Brethren settlers John and Magdalene Garber Wampler, on March 18, 1818. Their home was built in 1822 on land given to him by his father. Its interior construction allowed for movable walls to be hung from the ceiling for the 8-12 families who would come for worship. The meetinghouse worship rotated between the 1794 Yount house (now Tunker House) across the road and his younger brother Samuel Kline’s 1830 house on their grandfather’s farm on the west side of the Linville Creek.

John and Anna Kline had only one child, a daughter, who died shortly after birth on March 15, 1819, and is buried in the family plot cemetery near his grandparents’ graves on the original farm. With no other children, John Kline would nurture a love for youth throughout his life, paying indentures for young boys to learn the farming trade, and creating a school (The Cedar Grove Academy) on his farm for their education. On frequents visits to the homes of members or on missionary trips, John Kline would find an opportunity to speak to the youth about a life of devotion and discipleship to Jesus Christ and service to others.

In 1825, John Kline gave part of his farmland to the Linville Creek congregation "for religious purposes" (the present site of the Linville Creek Church). The congregation recognized John Kline’s zeal for ministry and elected him as a deacon in 1827. He was chosen to be a minister in 1830. On February 8, 1835, he preached his first sermon. He then embarked on his first missionary journey with Elder Daniel Miller to neighboring counties, a relationship which continued frequently with Elder Miller preaching in German, and John Kline following in English. His creative use of real-life experiences in his sermons made him a welcomed guest in every home. Many congregations in Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio began from his missionary trips.

These preaching journeys impressed upon John Kline the poverty of the mountain folk. Frequently, he shared wheat or produce from his farm, even a few dollars from his pocket, to relieve their struggle. And, he would talk to them about Jesus Christ, and out of compassion for their ignorance of the outside world, he offered practical advice for daily living.

It may have been such visits to rural, mountainous regions that led John Kline to explore herbal medicine. His diary entry on January 1, 1836, records his interest in the work of Dr. Samuel Thompson of Vermont, who "is introducing a new system of medical practice which I believe to be more in accordance with the laws of life and health than any I know of. His maxim, applied to disease, is: ‘Remove the cause, and the effect will cease.’ Every diseased condition of the body is the effect of some cause. This cause being removed, the disease, either simple or complex, must yield to the restorative forces of nature."

John Kline would use his missionary travels to coincide when particular roots and herbs could be harvested. Returning home, he’d dry the herbs and create potions for ingestion or application to a wound to naturally restore the individual to health. The result of his practice brought reasonably better results than the harsher traditional medical practice, so he was called upon frequently to visit neighbors. During the Civil War, John Kline was enlisted by nearby Union and Confederate camps to treat the wounded.

His faithful ministry resulted in John Kline’s ordination as an elder April 13, 1848. He frequently helped in the discernment of Annual Meeting decisions, especially clarifying the Brethren position on slavery in 1853. The encroachment of a War Between the States prompted Elder Kline to pen this entry to his diary on January 1, 1861, "The year opens with dark and lowering clouds in our national horizon. I feel a deep interest in the peace and prosperity of our country; but in my view both are sorely threatened now. . . . Secession means war; and war means tears and ashes and blood. It means bonds and imprisonments, and perhaps even death to many in our beloved Brotherhood, who, I have the confidence to believe, will die, rather than disobey God by taking up arms." Later that spring, he would be elected as Annual Meeting moderator, a post he served until the spring of 1864.

His passion for non-resistence prompted Elder Kline to write to Governor Letcher of Virginia and legislators John Hopkins, John C. Woodson and Charles Lewis, explaining the faith and disciplines of the Brethren, as well as the Mennonites. He feared a draft would force these peace people of the Shenandoah Valley to violate or compromise their faith. So he appealed for an exemption from military service. His efforts succeeded in the Exemption Act passed March 29, 1862, for anyone who is "bona fide prevented from bearing arms, by the tenets of the church to which said applicant belongs," including a payment of $500 plus 2% of the assessed value of the applicant’s taxable property. These exemption fees Elder Kline helped to raise, paying many from his own resources. He led the renewal of similar exemption efforts when Virginia seceded from the Union and the Confederate Congress did not recognize previous Virginia Legislature actions. Just after this, John Kline would be imprisoned with other Brethren and Mennonite leaders in the jury room of the Rockingham County courthouse on April 5, 1862, because of their opposition to the war.

Kline’s diary editor Benjamin Funk makes this comment at the beginning of 1862: "At this time medicines were scarce and [also] physicians in the army. As a consequence of this the demands for Brother Kline’s professional services as a physician were largely increased. The Diary for this year shows an almost incredible amount of labor performed by him in this line. He was called to go twenty miles to see patients on Lost River. He also treated patients in Pendleton and Shenandoah counties, and many in Brock’s Gap and in his own and adjoining neighborhoods. He had no day of rest. In connection with all this labor and responsibility, the Brotherhood looked to him for counsel and comfort on every hand. At the same time, he wrote many letters, not only to distant Brethren, but to men in civil and military place and power."

His freedom of movement during the Civil War, and his frequent travels across battle lines raised several threats on Elder Kline’s life. He would say in closing remarks on May 19, 1864, to the Brethren gathered at the Annual Meeting in Hagerstown, IN, "Possibly you may never see my face or hear my voice again. I am now on my way back to Virginia., not knowing the things that shall befall me there. It may be that bonds and afflictions abide me. But I feel that I have done nothing worthy of bonds or of death; and none of these things move me; neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I may finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the grace of God."

After repairing a clock at a church member’s house four miles west of his home, Elder John Kline was killed June 15, 1864, by a few local military irregulars unsympathetic to his cause.

Roger Sappington summarized the contributions of John Kline to the church in his epilogue of Courageous Prophet: He was a good steward, who used his property and his life well. He was a good pastor, attending to the spiritual needs of others, especially to the young and the aged. He was a missionary with a passion for the unchurched. He was a diligent physician and progressive scientist. He was an articulate and ardent defender of the Brethren faith. He was a social activist for eliminating slavery, opposing war, and working to settle disputes with reason and respect. He was a courageous prophet, speaking frequently and widely to social concerns. "And finally, John Kline was a dedicated Christian who used all of the personal strength and the physical prosperity which God had given him for the glory of God and his neighbor’s good. When the time came for him to give his life rather than turn his back on his God, he gave his life. No man could ask more than this of a man of God!" (page 117)

Paul Roth is pastor of Linville Creek Church of the Brethren in Broadway, Va., and an avid historian.

PRESERVATION EFFORTS
Efforts are currently under way to save the John Kline Homestead in Broadway, Va., from likely destruction for development. A trust has been established in hopes of purchasing approximately nine acres of the original homestead-including the 1822 house, spring house/summer kitchen, smoke house, and carriage house. For details, see www.johnklinehomestead.com. Groups wanting to tour the site en route to Annual Conference in Richmond this summer should call 540-896-5001.

DID YOU KNOW?
For 10 years the John Kline Memorial Riders have followed trails frequented by the historic preacher to share history, fellowship, and worship with churches in Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Organized and led by Emmert Bittinger, the riders have been hosted by more than 30 churches.

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The Homestead./ Board of Directors /John Kline Memento Sales

Church of the Brethren Shenendoah District/ Brethren Encyclopedia / CrossRoads Valley Heritage Center