BRETHREN ARCHIVES
The Brethren Church Archives is the sole repository of artifacts and materials for the Brethren Church.
The Brethren Church was formed in 1883 in a division with the German Baptist Brethren (now the
Church of the Brethren). The Brethren movement originated in 1708 in Germany and combined
elements from both Anabaptism and Pietism.
The archives houses a wide variety of artifacts related to the Brethren Church and to the Brethren
movement in general: periodicals; some 2000 books and pamphlets; congregational, district, and
regional records; ministerial records; materials related to boards, committees, and auxiliaries of the
denomination; General Conference and Executive Board records; artifacts and records from Brethren
missions, and numerous photographs and videos, as well as electronic media.
The archives are open throughout the year, Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, except for
the week of the Brethren General Conference in July, the week of Thanksgiving, and between Christmas
and the New Year. Visitors and researchers should contact Dale Stoffer via email at dstoffer@ashland.edu
in preparation for their visit.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Hosts numerous Brethren periodicals dating between 1851-2000.
The Brethren & Mennonite Heritage Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Provides assistance with Brethren genealogy.
The Brethren Heritage Center in Brookville, Ohio.
Collection of historical documents related to the Brethren movement. Housed at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Virginia.
Collection housed in Elgin, Illinois and overseen by the Church of the Brethren.
Brethren documents housed at Juniata College in Juniata, Pennsylvania.
The Progressive Christian, a periodical published by the Progressive Brethren between 1879 and 1883.
Documents related to Anabaptism, Pietism, and the Brethren movement housed at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.