Seybert, John

John Seybert (1791-1860), American minister and pioneer bishop of the Evangelical Association, was born near Manheim, Pennsylvania, on July 7, 1791. In 1804, his parents joined the followers of Jacob Albright, founder of the Evangelical Association. After a remarkable conversion on June 21, 1810, John Seybert united with the Albright People at Manheim. He entered the ministry in 1820 and became an ardent builder and first bishop of the church Albright had founded. Seybert's diaries (eighteen volumes) yield these amazing figures: 175,000 miles (horseback, 1820-1842; one-horse wagon, 1843-1860); and 46,000 pastoral visits. He saw the church grow from one to eight conferences. On the eve of an epochal era of expansion in the late 1830's, as a bachelor minister, he declared his desire to be found at the front. In 1838, organized missionary societies arose through his inspiration. He was president of the parent society when elected bishop in 1839. Forthwith he directed the attention of his workers to the German settlements of the Northwest Territory. With the dearth of German reading material in the west, Bishop Seybert in 1842 loaded his wagon at the publishing house in New Berlin, Pennsylvania, with an order of 23,725 volumes, charged to his account, and delivered these books to ministers in Ohio and westward. The fruit of Seybert's labor was in evidence throughout the church in his time. From New York to Iowa, his wagon carried him and his books. His journeys ended at a revival meeting appointment at a church near Flat Rock, Ohio, where he died on January 4, 1860. He is buried in the church cemetery.