| I.L. Kephart | 21st Pennsylvania Cavalry |
| by Amanda Overby |
Dr. Isaiah Lafayette Kephart was born in Decatur Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania on December 10, 1832. He was the fourth of thirteen children born to Henry Kephart Jr., a reverend of Swiss-English ancestry and Sarah Goss, a skilled weaver of German-Irish ancestry. Henry and Sarah Kephart were farmers who were both active members of the United Brethren Church.1 Throughout his boyhood, Dr. Kephart was educated at log cabin schoolhouses that were designed and built by the settlers of the Clearfield County community. During his teen years, Dr. Kephart worked as a lumberman, teamster, raftsman, and river pilot, acquiring enough money to pursue his passion for entering the ministry. Along with his younger brother, Ezekiel Boring Kephart (who eventually became a bishop of the United Brethren Church), Dr. Kephart attended Mount Pleasant College in 1857, and then transferred to Otterbein University (now Otterbein College) in Westerville, Ohio in the fall of 1857 after Mount Pleasant College closed.2
Dr. Kephart attended Otterbein University on and off from 1857-1861. While a student at Otterbein, he assisted in the organization of the Philophronean Literary Society as a charter member and entered actively into the ministry of the gospel.3 In 1859, Dr. Kephart obtained his license to preach and traveled back to Pennsylvania to join the Allegheny Conference, where he was assigned sermon duties in the Mahoning, Brush Valley, East Salem, and McVeytown Circuits. While in Brush Valley, he met Mary E. Sowers and married her on November 28, 1861. The Kepharts had two children: a son, Horace Sowers and a daughter, Elizabeth Belle.
Dr. Kephart continued in the active ministry until June, 1863, when he enlisted in the Union army and was mustered as Chaplain of the Twenty-First Pennsylvania Cavalry. In February, 1864, Dr. Kephart’s regiment was reorganized for three years’ service, at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and joined the Army of the Potomac on June 1, 1864. The Twenty-First Pennsylvania Cavalry served in the first division of the Fifth Army Corps, dismounted until October 6, 1864, and was then remounted and served until the close of the war. From June 2, 1864 until April 19, 1865, the regiment participated in nineteen engagements, losing 417 men in killed and wounded, and approximately 200 being captured. As chaplain of the regiment, Dr. Kephart was present and under fire in every one of these nineteen battles, which included the Second Battle of Cold Harbor and the Battle of Petersburg. Dr. Kephart survived the Civil War, and was neither wounded nor captured.4
Following his military career, Dr. Kephart traveled throughout the United States, serving in various posts as an educator and editor. He served as a Professor of Natural Science in Western College, Iowa from 1871-1876 and as a Professor of Mental and Moral Science at San Joaquin College in Woodbridge, California from 1883-1885. Otterbein University awarded him with an A.M. (Master of Arts) degree in June, 1872 and Western College honored him with a D.D. (Doctor of Divinity) degree in June, 1884. Dr. Kephart served as editor of The Religious Telescope until 1889 and wrote many books, including the renowned manuscript, The Holy Spirit of the Devout Life in 1904. Dr. Kephart died on October 28, 1908 and is buried at Woodland Cemetary in Dayton, Ohio. 5
1 Cyrus J. Kephart and William R. Funk, Life of Rev. Isaiah L. Kephart, D.D. (Dayton, OH: United Brethren Publishing House, 1909), 18, 23-32.
2 Lewis F. John, The Life of Ezekiel Boring Kephart: Statesman, Educator, Preacher (Dayton, OH: United Brethren Publishing House, 1907), 104-108.
3 Kephart and Funk, Life of Rev., 87-91.
4 Ibid., 90, 102-132.
5 Ibid., 135-155.
Bibliography
"The Civil War Archive Files Index." The Civil War Archive Home Page. http://civilwararchive.com/files.htm (accessed September 30, 2008).
"Genealogy Data." RootsWeb Genealogical Data Cooperative. http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cfbush/html/dat30.htm#19 (accessed September 30, 2008).
John, Lewis F. The Life of Ezekiel Boring Kephart: Statesman, Educator, Preacher. Dayton, OH: United Brethren Publishing House, 1907.
Kephart, Cyrus J. and William R. Funk. Life of Rev. Isaiah L. Kephart, D.D. Dayton, OH: United Brethren Publishing House, 1909.
Kephart, Isaiah L. The Holy Spirit in the Devout Life. Dayton, OH: United Brethren Publishing House, 1904.