| Suffix |
D. D. |
| Birth |
3 Nov 1845 |
Goderich, Huron Co., Ontario [2] |
| Sex |
Male |
| Eby ID |
00031-2506 |
| Person ID |
I7836 |
| Last Modified |
27 Mar 2004 |
| |
| Father |
Jonas Eby, b. 3 Jan 1815, , Lancaster County, Pennsylvania |
| Mother |
Hannah Fessant |
| Group Sheet |
F2409 |
| |
| Family 1 |
Nellie Keppel |
| Married |
Jun 1845 |
[3] |
| Children |
|
| Group Sheet |
F2412 |
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| Notes |
Charles S. Eby, D. D. "was born November 3rd, 1845. He was married to Nellie Keppel in June, 1871. they have five children, namely Nellie, born in 1876; Charles Albert, born in 1879; Mary, born in 1881; Winnie, born in 1883; and Harold, born in 1889."
"Following is a biographical sketch of Dr. Eby who is a missionary of the Canadian Methodist Church, at Tokyo, Japan:
Charles S. Eby, fourth son of the late Jonas Eby, was born at Goderich, Ontario, November 3rd, 1845. The early years of his boyhood were spent in Elora where his parents moved before he had completed his second year. When only eleven years of age he was converted to God while attending a camp meeting on the old Peel circuit. He soon after joined the Wesleyan Methodist Church, and has always remained loyal and true to God and the church of his choice. When about fifteen years old he was apprenticed to a saddle and harness maker in Guelph, but his heart was not in his work; he took more interest in his Latin grammar which he kept tacked before him while at work at the bench. He remained there nearly two years; then thought there was no use spending any more time in a harness-maker's shop, as the ambition of his life was to study for the ministry, to which he felt called. He taught school for some time, a few miles from Guelph, and at the age of eighteen began to preach. The late Rev. Dr. Carroll, then chairman of the Guelph District, recommended him to the Conference, and he spent one year (the first year of his probation), on the Peel circuit. In the fall of 1865 he went to Victoria University, Cobourg, with the determination to go through a college course, and to work his own way along. Something seemed to draw him to the German work, and when he had been two years at Cobourg, Providence opened up a way for him to go to Germany to perfect himself in the German language. He attended the Theological University at Halle, and spent two years and a half there and in other parts of Europe. He made good use of the time in preparing himself for the mission work that lay before him. Before leaving Europe he preached in both German and French. In the latter part of 1870 he returned to Canada, much stronger in body and enjoying far better health than ever before. He again went to Cobourg to continue his studies, and the following May graduated with honors, and received the degree of B. A. In June he was ordained and received into full connection by the conference. The same month he was married to Miss Nellie Keppel, of Brooklyn, New York, and settled down at Preston, Ontario, as superintendent of the German Mission in connection with the Methodist Church. He spent five years in the German work, - three in Preston and two in Hamilton, Ontario. Then came a change. God had other work for him, and a great future lay before him in a far distant land. Just at this time (in 1876), a call came for two more men for the foreign mission--Japan. Consecrated, whole-hearted men were wanted. Bro. Eby was one of the men the conference chose for that important work. Always ready to obey the Saviour's command, and willing to go anywhere for Christ, he at once responded to the call. Preparations for the journey were immediately made, and in August of the same year he bade a long good-bye to friends, home and native land, and with his wife and two little children sailed for the islands of Japan. He threw his whole soul into his new work. It was not easy work. The Japanese language had to be learned, and many other difficulties overcome. His powers for learning languages are wonderful, and it was not long before he had mastered the Japanese, and could preach in that language as freely as in English. For several years he remained, doing a noble work for God, then his health failed and he was obliged to leave for a time and return to Canada. Early in the spring of 1885 he left Japan and did not return for nearly two years. He and his family were welcomed by their many friends in Canada and the United States. His visit and the change were of great benefit to him and, through the blessing of God, he soon regained his health. During his stay here the degree of D. D. was bestowed upon him by the Victoria University, Cobourg. He lectured and gave missionary addresses from one end of the Dominion to the other, and in some places in the United States. He was ready when the time came for him to return to Japan, and was anxious to get once more at the work he loved so well. Since his return his heart has been more than ever in the work. God is crowning his labors with success, and he is looking forward to a long term of usefulness in the Empire of Japan. He is a minister of superior ability, with strong mental powers and decided convictions. He is a master of his subject, and he pours out his heart with fervent eloquence, holding his audience with intense and absorbing interest. His rhetorical ability and literary skill will obtain him a hearing anywhere. He possesses a master mind, and his hearers feel that more than an ordinary man is addressing them. He has chosen a field where his superior powers will find ample scope in delivering and enforcing that gospel which has done so much for himself." |
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| Sources |
1. [S1] Vol I A Biographical History of Waterloo Township and other townships of the county : being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin..., Ezra E. Eby, (Berlin, Ontario, 1895), 575 [View page(s) from the 1895-96 edition]
2. [S1] Vol I A Biographical History of Waterloo Township and other townships of the county : being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin..., Ezra E. Eby, (Berlin, Ontario, 1895), 575 [View page(s) from the 1895-96 edition]
3. [S1] Vol I A Biographical History of Waterloo Township and other townships of the county : being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin..., Ezra E. Eby, (Berlin, Ontario, 1895), 575 [View page(s) from the 1895-96 edition]
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Region of Waterloo