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JOHN W. HOOVERJ. W. Hoover was born in York Township, two miles below Edgeley, in 1845. His father, David Hoover, was of Mennonite descent. His brother, Christian, was a minister in the Mennonite church in South Cayuga, and his oldest brother, Henry, belonged to the old order Mennonite church. J. W. Hoover was converted under a Mr. Palmer, a Methodist minister in South Cayuga. He was married on Christmas Day, 1867, to Harriet Bristol of Gainsborough. He felt, after his conversion, that he had a direct call from God to preach the Gospel. Soon after he left the Methodist church and united with the Tunker church, and around that time one of the ministers died and the mantle fell on him. He labored at Springvale under Bishop Walpole Abraham Winger, who was one of the old pioneer ministers of that place. His wife, Harriet Bristol, had a cancer and was treated by David Byer, twin brother of Elder John Byer who preached in Markham district. While being in his home she received some deep impressions, by the love of the Byer family, that lead her to our church. In 1895 he was sent by the Home Mission Board to Chicago for one year in city mission work. Then they moved to Buffalo and were used of God in starting the Brethren in Christ mission at 25 Hawley Street. They remained there for five years. Then they moved to Toronto where they built and operated the mission at 51 Edwin Ave. After a few years they went to the Canadian North West for two years then returned to Toronto. While here, Mrs. Hoover passed away in 1919. He lived 22 years after his wife died and departed this life at his son's home at Ridgeway, Ont., in his 96th year. Funeral services were held in the Black Creek church at Bertie. He was a mason by trade and was one of the strongest and supplest men of his day. He was an outstanding man at barn raisings. He held evangelistic meetings in Penn., Ohio and Indiana and in the Ontario church and was very much in demand. He was one of the first ministers to hold special meetings and had very good success. A lot of our old ministers that are preaching today came out in his meetings. He was President of the Hoover clan at Markham in 1933 and Unionville in 1931 and Vineland in 1935. I got a lot of this information from Mrs. Omer Hoover who is 80 years old. Bro. Hoover was a great man and a good singer. I will try and tell you some hymns he often sang at Love Feasts and when he held meetings: The first hymn I remember was taken out of the old Spiritual Hymn book, No. 374.
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