Elliott, Albert R.
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AL B ER T
R
E L L I 0 T T
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-oAlbert Ransom Elliott was born February 28, 1875,
at Shelby, Oceana County, Michigan.
Mr. Elliott
has no record of his ancestors further back than his
grandfather, David Elliott, who was born in New York
State, but came to Ohio as a young man, and married,
living there for several years on a farm.
He lived
for a few years at LaGrange, Indiana, and came to
Shelby, _·.1 ichigan, in the early seventies, settling
on a farm in that newly developing section of the
std.te.
Albert's father, Sylvester Elliott, was born in
Ohio January 25, 1851, and came to Shelby, Michigan,
with an uncle in 1868, when the only means of transportation in that section of the state was by stage
coach.
Sylvester Elliott later returned to
LaGrange, Indiana, and married Jane E. White and
together they returned to Shelby to make their permanent home.
Mrs. Jane Elliott died April 7, 1917,
and Sylvester· Elliott passed away December 30, 1927.
Albert R. Elliott attended the village grade and
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high school at Shelby, leaving school after he fin-
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ishing his junior year.
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He began working in a stave
mill at the age of twelve and followed that occupation during the summer vacation periods for seven
years.
He then obtained employment in commercial
life, first in a general store and later in a furniture store and undert aking establishment.
Albert R. Elliott was married to Della M. Springer of Shelby June 10, 1899.
In 1905 Mr. and Mrs.
Elliott moved to Juskegon, Michigan, where he worked
in a large wholesale and retail grocery and bakery
for three and one-half ye a rs.
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It was while at this
employment that he felt called to the ministry.
Having had several years experience in Epworth League
work, the pastor of the Wood Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, Reverend William H. Wright, persuaded
Mr . Elliott to t ake a local preacher's license and
to assist in some re ligious work at North Muskegon
and in two country school houses.
The experience in
this work confirmed t he call to the ministry and in
the spring of 1909 he resigned from his position in
in th e store and accepted an appointment to
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Cannonsburg Circuit under the District Superintendent,
Reverend G. D. Chase.
After finishing out this first year
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~
th~
~ r.
Elliott
bega n the conference course of study and was admitted
into the .!ichigan Annual Conference of the Mehhodist
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Episco pal Church in 1910.
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He was ordained Deacon
in 1912 and Elder in 1914.
Up t o this date,
November 1936 , he has served the following charges:
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Cannonsburg Circuit, two and one-ha l f years; Ravenna,
three years; Holton, four years; Lakeside Church,
~uskegon,
five years; Potter Park Church, Lansing,
five yea r s ; Kent City and Ca snovia, one year; Joy
Memorial Church, Grand Rapids, two years; Const a ntine,
fou r yea rs, and is now serving the second year at
Augusta.
~hen
a ppointed to Holton in 1914, Mr. Elliott
found t · e people planning to remodel an old church
building , but persuaded them to sell the building
a nd erect a n ew and mo dern brick structure.
This
was completed in t h e early part of his second year
there and was completely paid for dur ing the four
years he served the church as its pastor.
On go ing to
Lan~ing
i n 1923 Mr. Elliott found
a newly organ ized Methodist class with a partly completed c hur ch building in t he suburbs and a temporary
s tructure in a new but growing section of the city.
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During the five years he served this church the
suburban church was completed and an
~ 18,000
brick
buildi n g was erected on the Potter Park location.
A parso nage was also purchased and partly paid for
during this period.
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On account of his previous business experience
Ur . Elliott was selected as an assistant to the
Conference Statistician early in his ministry.
He
served i n this capacity for five years and was then
elected as Conference Statistician for three years.
He then served seven years as an assistant Secretary
of t h e Conference and is at this time the Conference
Biographical Secretary and a member of the Board of
Stewards.
Mrs. Elliott had several years of experience as
a school teacher before her marriage to Mr. Ellett
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and has been a very faithful and efficient pasto r's
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wife and assistant.
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Most of her activities in the
work of the church have been given to the Sunday
School and to the training of junior choirs in the
various parishes where they have served.
Mr. and
t~ rs.
Elliott have three children: Paul A., .
city editor of the Muskegon Chronicle; Lois A., who,
after three years as a
mission~ry
in South Africa,
married Paul G. Dickey, a fellow missionary, at this
time a student at the Chicago Theological Semina ry,
preparing to enter the ministry in the Congregati ona l
Church; Merton
creamery at
s., who is a chemist in a large
onstantine, Michigan.
As a sport for personal participation, Mr.
Ellio~ '
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prefers volley ball.
While attending school he
usually kept score for the boys who played base ball,
marking the runs for the two teams by cutting
notches on the two edges of a stick.
Later in life
he has become quite a base ball"fan", and is usually
seen at all the games played by the high school teams
where he is located and often listens in over the
radio to the national games.
Mr. Elliott has always been an ardent worker in
the temperance cause and took an active part in a
local option campaign in Muskegon County while pastor
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of the church at Holton .
He has been affiliated
with the Republican party, but has never held public
office.
For five years he was engaged in Boy Scout
work, three years as a Scout Master and two years
as
a
member of the City Scout Council in Muskegon .
He is now
.Augusta .
d
member of the Scout Troop Committee at