Gilmer County, West Virginia Biography of James William ENGLE, D. D. ************************************************************************** USGENWEB NOTICE: Material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor. Submitted by Ann Schwirian, , March 2000 ************************************************************************** The History of West Virginia, Old and New Published 1923, The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, Volume II, pg. 286 JAMES WILLIAM ENGLE, D. D. For almost thirty years the West Virginia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church has recognized in Doctor Engle one of the ablest and most devoted ministers, a man of exalted character who has not only represented his church but has made his life an expression of the essential meaning of Christian service. A native of West Virginia, James William Engle was born in Barbour County, December 19, 1865, youngest of the nine children of William and Tabitha (Criss) Engle. His father was born in Pendleton County, son of Solomon Engle who was of English lineage. His mother was born in Barbour County, daughter of Isaac Criss. Doctor Engle had an example to direct his choice of a profession in both his father and grandfather who were local Methodist preachers. His father was also a carpenter by trade and lived on a farm. When James William Engle was seven years of age his parents removed to Gilmer county, where he grew to manhood on a farm, attended rural schools, and was further educated in the West Virginia Academy at Buckhannon, West Virginia, and the Ohio Wesleyan University. At the age of eighteen he began teaching and for five or six years alternated between teaching and attending school. Grove City College conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1911. Doctor Engle was converted and became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church at the age of nineteen, and at the age of twenty-seven he began preaching. After two years of supply work he joined the West Virginia Conference in 1894, and since then has been pastor of churches at the following places in the order named: Weston Ct., Beverly, Ravenswood, McMecken, Parkersburg, Terra Alta, Grafton, Huntington and Clarksburg. Between the pastorates of Grafton and Huntington, he was District Superintendent of the Charleston District for three years. Doctor Engle is now engrossed in his congenial and important responsibilities as pastor of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Clarksburg. Besides the service represented in the pastorate and the district superintendency several other honors commensurate with his abilities have been conferred upon him. He is a member and president of the Publishing Committee of the Pittsburgh Christian Advocate, is a member of the board of the Epworth League representing the Fourth General Conference District of the Methodist Episcopal Church, is a trustee of West Virginia Wesleyan College, and trustee and president of the West Virginia Anti-Saloon League. He was a delegate to the General Conference of the church in 1920. Doctor Engle is a republican, and fraternally is a Knight Templar Mason and Shriner. October 15, 1895, Doctor Engle married Miss Dora B. McCray who was born and reared in West Virginia and was a successful teacher before her marriage. Her parents, now deceased, were Evan David and Martha Jane (Bartlett) McCray, the former was born and reared in Lewis County, West Virginia, and the latter was a native of Charlottesville, Virginia, and as a child came to Upshur County, West Virginia, with her parents. Her father, Eleazer Bartlett, was a prominent farmer and citizen of Upshur County, and served as a Confederate soldier. Evan McCray was a son of Robert and Margaret (Bennett) McCray. Margaret Bennett was a daughter of William Bennett, who was a son of Joseph Bennett, a native of New Jersey, and son of an Englishman who came from London to this country as a soldier under General Braddock in the French and the Indian war. After the conclusion of his military service he settled in what is now Pendleton County, West Virginia. William Bennett was born in Pendleton County, after his marriage moved to Lewis County, his wife being Rebecca McCally, daughter of James McCally who was a captain of British Marines, but resigned in order to join the colonists in their struggle for independence. One of the oldest and most prominent families in the annals of West Virginia is the Bennett. Doctor and Mrs. Engle have one son, James Paul, who is now eighteen years of age and is a student in West Virginia Wesleyan College.