Born: near Dawson, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, October 8, 1871
Died: Burbank, California, September 17, 1929

Lawrence O. Newcomer, the subject of this sketch, was born near Dawson, in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, October 8, 1871. When a boy he worked on his father's farm during the summer, and attended the district school during the winter months. At the age of seventeen he entered the State Normal School at California, Pennsylvania. After attending school here for one term, he followed teaching school until the fall of 1891, when he entered Bethany College, graduating in 1895.

After his graduation he took up work at Duquesne, Pennsylvania, where a few brethren had organized a Bible school and were meeting in an old hall. From this nucleus a good congregation was built up and housed in a comfortable building in one of the most desirable locations in the city.

In 1899 he entered Hiram College where he took his master's degree after one year of post-graduate work. He then accepted a call to Canton, Pennsylvania. Here his labors were crowned with unusual success.

Upon the advice of his physician, he went to California to regain his wasted energies from a severe attack of illness. It was not long, however, after reaching California, that he was able to accept an invitation to minister to the little church at Glendora. While here his audiences grew at almost every service, and few Sundays passed without accessions to the church. In accordance with the increase in membership, the salary grew from six dollars to twenty dollars per week.

After about eighteen months he returned East, locating with the church at Eaton, Indiana. Here he remained for two years, then accepted an

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invitation to a larger work at Mt. Vernon, Ohio. It was here that Mr. Newcomer came into prominence as a Bible-school worker. During his ministry of four years he built up the great Adelphian class of Loyal Men to an enrollment of 535 men, with an attendance of from two hundred to three hundred men per Sunday. In the meantime, the Bible school increased from an enrollment of 200 to 1,240, including the Cradle Roll department. Mr. Newcomer is a hard-working pastor, and in the pulpit he is scholarly and artistic. Besides having written a number of tracts he is the author of "The Bible Student's Manual."

He is now located at Connersville, Indiana.