Stanelly S. Fisher, pastor of the Methodist Protestant church at Coshocton, was born on a farm near Woodsfield, Monroe county, Ohio, August 8, 1865. The same locality was the birthplace of his father, Simon A. Fisher, whose natal day was September 18, 1845. The father was educated for the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church and filled several different charges, being pastor at New Comerstown, Steubenville and other places. He engaged in preaching for nearly forty years and in 1898 accepted the pastorate of the Methodist Protestant church in Coshocton, where he continued in the active work of the denomination until 1903, when he was stricken with paralysis and passed away. For two years he was president of the Muskignum conference and served on all the principal church boards under the direction of the general conference. For sixteen years he was president of the Home Mission church and was the first president of the board of trustees of the West Lafayette College. He acted as a delegate to all the conferences of his church during his ministerial career with the exception of two, and many honors came to him in recognition of his abiltiy and his consecration and zeal in his holy calling. The degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by the Kansas City University, which is the principal educational institution of his church. He was instrumental in erecting several houses of worship, including one at Cambridge and one at Coshocton, and from the period of his earliest identification with the ministry he was unfaltering in his efforts to promote the growth of the demonination with which he was identified. He was widely recognized as one of the most prominent divines of the Methodist Protestant faith and the church met a distinct loss in his death, which occurred September 22, 1905. His memory, however, remains as a blessed benediction to all who knew him, while his words linger as a source of inspiration and encouragement to those who came under his teaching. He married Maria Westbrook, a native of Woodsfield, Monroe county, Ohio, who is still living at the age of sixty-two years. Her father was a veteran of the Civil war, serving as captain of a cavalry company.

Dr. Fisher, whose name introduces this record, attended the public schools of the various towns to which the itinerant customs of the Methodist ministry took the family. He was graduated from the Cambridge (Ohio) high school in 1882 and afterward attended the Adrian (Mich.) College, the principal institution of learning of his denomination. However, he had entered the ministry at the age of seveteen years and was regularly ordained at the age of nineteen, before he completed his college course. His first charge was at Wellesville, Columbiana county, Ohio, and later he served the churches at Byesville, Empire, Attica, Cambridge, West Lafayette and Coshocton. In 1895 he accepted the presidency of the West Lafayette College, continuing at the head of that institution until he came to Coshocton in 1897.

In all the intervening years Dr. Fisher had been a close student of literature and science and pursued non-resident work under the direction of various colleges. In 1883 he brought forth his first volume of poems, published by G. L. Manchester, of Columbus, and this was followed by other editions in 1884 and 1886. From that period on he did little work in that direction until a recent date, when he resumed his literary interests and is a regular contributor to various standard magazines and religious publications. His early poem of greatest note is Lelia Lee. He is also the author of a number of essays on scientific subjects, treating of microscopical biology. His superior scholarship has won recognition from different schools, the Kansas City University conferring upon him the Doctor of Divinity degree in 1904, while from West Lafayette College, in 1905, he received the degree of Doctor of Science.

On the 1st of July, 1886, Dr. Fisher was married to Miss Alwilda Adelee Smith of Fairview, Ohio, and they became the parents of seven children, but Charles W., born December 11, 1887, died on the 17th of October, 1905. The others are: Stokely M., born February 6, 1890; Mary Lillian, whose birth occurred December 26, 1891; Ruth Gertrude, whose natal day was July 4, 1894; Edith Adelee, born December 13, 1896; Thomas Smith, who was born May 19, 1899; and Melville Eugene, born September 25, 1907.

Dr. Fisher is a member of the American Microscopical Society, the American Geographical Society and several other organizations for scientific research. He is independent in his political views, nor is he a man of biased opinions in any line. Broad thought, wide research and careful consideration characterize his ideas upon all subjects of importance. He has gone beyond the higher plane which recognizes the universal brotherhood and the need of humanity for something that will lead to the unfolding of character in accordance with the highest ideals of Christian living. He preaches a doctrine of faith and hope rather than one of criticism and since called to the pastorate of the Methodist Protestant church of Coshocton in September, 1906, has been regarded as one of the ablest ministers of this city. Although the church is young in years, it is now the third largest in Coshocton and its attendance is greater than that of any other in proportion to its membership. He is a popular pastor, honored and respected alike by people of all denominations, and under his guidance the church is making rapid progress and proving a potent influence for good in the community. Dr. Fisher has filled almost all the positions of honor in his church, his history being, in this respect, practically identical with that of his father.

Return to Index Volume 2

Return to Bahmers Main Page