Preacher and Missionary Cousins

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Boys and Girls Christian Home Ministry (BGCHM)

Over the last few weeks of each year, like many people, I receive a large number of requests for charitable giving from various non-profits. Many of these requests come from organizations that I have supported in the past. One such one came from the “Boys and Girls Christian Home Ministry” which runs an orphanage and home for widows in India. My wife and I had sponsored a young girl, Anita, through this ministry for many years – beginning when she was a young child, and continuing until she completed high school and occupational training and was able to move out and support herself.

I was led to look over the organization’s website to see how they were doing these days. As I looked at the portion of the website dealing with the history of BGCHM (https://www.bgchm.org/our-history), I noted the various names and dates on that webpage. Although the ministry has been working there since the late 1800’s, there were only a few families involved in its operation. These included the following:

·       Mary Elizabeth Kelly Norton and her husband Albert Norton were introduced at Oberlin College in 1872 by the evangelist and college president, Charles Finney. They were married in 1874 and went into the “hinterlands” of India. In the early 1890s, they returned to the US so that their five young sons could learn English and attend school.

·       Meanwhile, an Indian woman, Pandita Ramabai, had become a Christian and wanted to open a school for girls and widows. In 1898, the Nortons returned to India to help in this ministry. This ministry was successful and in 1899, the Nortons, together with four of their sons, began another ministry called the Boys Christian Home (BCH).

·       Over the next several decades, the Norton family continued with this ministry with both Albert and Mary dying in India (in 1923 and 1911 respectively), as well as some of their sons. By 1956, all the Norton boys had passed away and the ministry was being run by one daughter-in-law and her daughter. They needed help.

·       Returning home, in 1958, they approached a radio evangelist in Philadelphia, George Palmer. George was also the founder of Sandy Cove, a Christian camping ministry just outside of Philadelphia, that he began in 1946. George took on the care and financial responsibility for BCH, later to become BGCHM when they began accepting girls into the orphanage (it was not long after that my wife and I began sponsoring Anita). Since then, George, then his son Bob, then his grandson, Brad, have run this ministry.

This ministry has been going on for over a hundred years, but only a few names show up in its history. I wondered if any of the individuals involved might be related to me. So, I decided to build out the ancestral genealogy tree of these individuals. Here is what I found:

·       Charles Finney (1792-1875) – 5^th cousin, 5x removed

·       Mary Elizabeth Kelly Norton (1845-1911) – 6^th cousin, 5x removed (of both myself and my wife)

·       George Palmer (1895-1981) – 8^th cousin, 3x removed

 

Pinebrook

With such great success, I then wondered about another Christian camping ministry that my wife and I take advantage of each year – Pinebrook in the Poconos. This ministry began in 1933 and was started by Percy Crawford. Doing the same sort of genealogical work, I found that he, too, was related to me.

·       Percy Crawford (1902-1960) – 8^th cousin, twice removed

·       Ruth [Duvall] Crawford (1916-1986) – 8^th cousin, 3x removed (of both my wife and myself)

But as I looked at some of the old pictures of Pinebrook, it is obvious that one of the frequent attendees was Billy Graham and the singer from his organization, Cliff Barrows. Could these individuals be related to me as well? Here’s what I found:

·       William Franklin “Billy” Graham (1918-2018) – 9^th cousin, twice removed

·       Cliff Barrows (1923-2016) – 7^th cousin, once removed (of my wife), 11^th cousin (of myself)

 

Other Well-known Individuals

I then began focusing my attention on other well-known Christians. There are several lists of the “Top xx Preachers” and the like, so I pulled off those individuals who had names that I recognized. First, I looked at those from past generations, then at those who are still active today:

·       Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), Puritan preacher – 2^nd cousin, 8x removed (married to my 6^th great-grandaunt)

·       Fanny Crosby (1820-1915), Christian poem/hymn writer – 7^th cousin, twice removed

·       Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899), Evangelist – 7^th cousin, twice removed

·       Nate Saint (1923-1956), Missionary – 9^th cousin, once removed

Those still living:

·       Pat Robertson (1930-), Preacher – 10^th cousin, 3x removed

·       James Dobson (1936-), Writer, speaker – 11^th cousin, twice removed

·       John Piper (1946-), Preacher – 9^th cousin, once removed

·       Rick Warren (1954-), Preacher, book writer – 8^th cousin, once removed

·       Mike Huckabee (1955-), Politician, Commentator – 10^th cousin