1855-1867, Pennsylvania—Kishacoquillas Valley area and Millersville, Lancaster    County

• Teacher and principal in public schools at McVeytown, left home
  against his parents wishes to study at Pennsylvania State Normal
  School, Millersville.
  
• 1860--Graduated, B.E. degree, Pennsylvania State Normal School, Millersville (pictured at right)
  
• 1860--At sister Lydia’s death bed was reconciled with parents who opposed his desire for higher education
  
• 1860--September, was baptized and joined Spring Run German Baptist Brethren (Dunker) Church, McVeytown; this church had its origin in a Pietist renewal movement in Germany when Alexander Mack baptized the first members by immersion in a river near Schwartzenau, 1708

• 1860--Purchased the Kishacoquillas Seminary with money borrowed from his brothers; served as principal and teacher; He said of this experience: I "taught forty-five years, was connected as chairman of the faculty or president of four of the Brethren colleges, all of which passed through a baptism of fire, but in none of which was the fire hotter, nor the difficulties to be overcome greater than at this first effort to establish a high school at Kishacoquillas" (Bicentennial Address, Des Moines, 1908).

• 1861--April 1 classes opened with 36 students

Tommy Prugh at Kishacoquillas, August 1999

• 1861--Drafted for service in the Union army, but paid $300 exemption fee as conscientious objector to war (20 months wages at average wage of 50 cents per day); later he reflected: "While many professed Christians met each other on the field of battle, and thrust the bayonets into each other’s hearts, our Brethren, North and South, met each other with the right hand of fellowship and the salutation of the kiss of peace."
  
• 1862--Ordained minister, Spring Run German Baptist Brethren Church, McVeytown
  
• 1862--April 15, Married Salome Zook, former student and daughter of Shem and Veronica "Fannie" (Yoder) Zook; born March 21,1839; married by Elder Joseph Hanawalt
  
• 1863--Agnes born
  
• 1863--July, walked to the Gettysburg battlefield, saw the dead gathered and hauled off by wagon teams commandeered from neighboring farms for burial, Confederates in mass graves; November 19, attended the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery, heard Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address; before he died he was listed by Ripley’s Believe it or Not newspaper column as the last living person to have heard the Gettysburg Address
  
• 1863--Graduated, M.E. degree, Pennsylvania State Normal School, Millersville
  
• 1865--April 9, Anna born (the day Lee surrendered at Appamattox) Anna named herself "Annie Laurie" from the poem so named by Robert Burns, whom she admired:
  
• 1866--Sold Kishacoquillas Seminary
  
• 1866--September 30, Horace born
  
• 1866-1867--Taught, Pennsylvania State Normal School, Millersville
  
• 1867--March 27, Horace died (age 5 months, 27 days), buried Locust Grove Cemetery, Belleville
  

During this era he earned his first degrees, bought and ran a teacher’s training school, was ordained, married, had three children and buried one; studied languages under a fellow instructor at the Kishacoquillas Seminary, a former teacher at Princeton University and studied Bible by correspondence from Boston School of the Bible; witnessed the Gettysburg events; preached regularly every three weeks at McAlevys Fort, across Stone Mountain, 1862-1865; attended his first General Conference of the German Baptist Brethren Church, and there met Elder John Kline of the Shendandoah Valley in Virginia, who was later murdered by a Confederate soldier; When he heard the news of an oil strike in Titusville, Pa, SZS with a number of others, pooled resources and drilled the second well with a kick drill, but struck no oil. The lack of additional resources ended their search for black gold, which later produced a fabulously wealthy Rockefeller legacy.

Annie Laurie by Robert Burns Maxwellton braes are bonnie, Where early fa's the dew, And 'twas there that Annie Laurie Gave me her promise true. Gave me her promise true, Which ne'er forgot will be, And for bonnie Annie Laurie, I lay me doon and dee. Her brow is like the snowdrift, Her throat is like a swan, Her face it is the fairest That e'er the sun shone on. That e'er the sun shone on, And dark blue is her ee, And for bonnie Annie Laurie I lay me doon and dee. Like dew on th' gowan lying, Is the fa' o' her fairy feet, And like winds in summer sighing Her voice is low and sweet. Her voice is low and sweet, And she's a' the world to me, And for bonnie Annie Laurie, I lay me doon and dee.

1867-1877, Maryville, Blount County, Tennessee

• 1867-1874--Principal, New Providence Institute, Maryville, Tennessee
  
• 1868--Ordained elder by George W. Dove and Samuel Molsbee, Oak Grove church
  
• 1869--Theodore Solomon born August 15
  
• 1873--Agnes, age 10, died from eating poisonous berries in the mountains where the family had gone to escape the heat
  
• 1874-1877--Professor of German and Bookkeeping and Superintendent of the Normal Department, Maryville College (his institute became incorporated into Maryville College)
  
• 1874--Maurice A. born
  
• 1875--Grace born
  
• 1875--Graduated, A.M. degree, Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsylvania
  
• 1876--Grace died, age 1

While living here he studied conchology, University of Cincinnati, and collected specimens for the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; studied geology at Vanderbilt University and Harvard University; made geological surveys in Kentucky, Tennessee and South Carolina; elected member of the Association for the Advancement of Science; founded the Oak Grove congregation, financed building of a meetinghouse; after ordination as elder he exercised oversight of a congregation in Oakland; three children were born, two died, both his parents died.

1877-1881 Ashland, Ohio

Founding president and Professor of Moral and Mental Science , Ashland (Ohio) College

• 1877-1878--Traveled, raising funds and goodwill for the new school
  
• 1879-1881--Founding President,
• 1879--Published first Sunday school lessons Our Sunday School, March 26; founded the Brethren Quarterly and the weekly periodical, The Gospel Preacher
  
• September, opened school with 60 students
  

Ashland College

1881-1887 Mount Morris, Ogle County, Illinois

Professor of Mental and Moral Science and chairman of the faculty (one year), Mount Morris (Illinois) College

• 1887--June 15, Annie Laurie married Benjamin G. Davis, Mt. Morris, Illinois; moved to Takoma Park, Montgomery County, Maryland, 1895; Ben worked in the War Department; clerk and treasurer, town of Takoma Park, 1901-1925; chief clerk, State Department, Secretary to William Jennings Bryan, 1913-1924; move to Cuba, 1924; Chief Dispensing Officer, Havana, Cuba, 1925; moved back to Takoma Park, became Assistant Cashier, Takoma Park Bank; mayor, Takoma Park, 1926-1932; appointed Montgomery County Commissioner, 1932; Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, 1935; died 1946, age 80; Annie died, June 15, 1958, age 93;

Above left: Linda, Jeff Goldbeck, 1988. Center: Four generations--Anna Sharp Davis, Mary
Davis Prugh holding Tommy Prugh and SZS. Right: Tommy and Lorraine Prugh, Carolyn
and John Prugh, 1999.

During this time he founded and edited the Sunday School Quarterly; during summer vacations he studied elocution, oratory and French in Chicago; founded education meetings held at the times of the annual General Conference sessions; pastor of congregation at Lanark, Carroll County; his only living daughter, Annie, was married.

Founding President and professor of Mental and Moral Science and Bible History, McPherson (Kansas) College

• 1888--September 5, opened classes with 60 students

• 1889--Awarded L.L.D. (honorary degree), Mt. Morris (Illinois) College

• 1890--Theodore, began service as Superintendent of Indian Reservation, U. S. Civil Service, Ft. Apache, Arizona; was sent there because he had developed a cough and feared it was tuberculosis, arid climate was thought to be good antidote for TB; left after five years, because he refused a direct order to sign leases giving away mining rights; he believed it was a crooked deal and that the Indians would suffer as a result; moved to Washington, D.C., lived with sister Annie Davis, worked as clerk in the Navy Department; reentered Indian Affairs, Winnebago Reservation, Walthill, Nebraska until 1908; married 1902, McPherson, Kansas; Margaret was born,1907; Nez Perce Resevation, Fort Lapwai, Idaho, Ted K. Born, 1909; year-long research/survey of Oklahoma Indians, 1915, family lived in Long Beach, California to avoid TB, which was rampant among the tribes; Flathead Reservation, Dixon, Montana, 40 miles northwest of Missoula, 1917-1920; was shot to death, July 24, 1920, Ravalli, Montana, age 51
  

Sharp Administration Building, McPherson College
named for its founding president (below right).

• 1894--appointed state geologist (1894-1897) R. E Mohler, who later joined the faculty, commented on SZS's wide range of interests in an unpublished manuscript when he noted that the president "was by training a psychologist and theologian yet it seems that at heart he was a naturalist with a special interest in geology. I personally was told by Dr. H. J. Harnly that at least two specimens that are today in the museum were placed there by President Sharp, the two specimens are a fossil fish from the cretacious chalk beds of western Kansas (Museum number 67-13-27) and the other was slab well marked with dendrites which was found in the Dakota sandstone of northeast McPherson County (Museum number 67-13-67)."

• 1897--After nine years as president, SZS resigned under pressure. Financial support did not materialize as the city had promised and Brethren from the east did not flock to Kansas has had been hoped. The president became the scapegoat for the apparent failure of the fledgling college. Some members of both the trustees and the faculty were of the opinion "that President Sharp was not equal to the task before him, and that he should tender his resignation." Professor H.J. Harnly was among those who were critical. In an interview by R. E. Mohler, Harnly said (in Mohler's words), "Professor S.Z. Sharp who was so completely trusted and admired by his church, was one with 'Feet of Clay'. His fellowship and activities with Mr. Bass (agent of A. Bass Real Estate Company, who was to sell lots) very soon took on a somewhat cloudy appearance, and his actual ability as a leader was far from good. After a very short time, those closest to the college would have been very happy to have secured a different leader, but it seems that he was so completely engulfed by the "machine" that to unlodge him was nearly impossible." Harnly reported that SZS had started at least 6 schools (actually there were 3) before coming to McPherson and that his tenure with each had been short. He was further of the opinion that "his character shows just a bit by his actions after being dismissed from McPherson by his attempted establishing of Plattsburg College for the sole purpose of destroying McPherson College."

Mohler , in a more measured tone, noted "It would not have been possible at this time to get a true evaluation of S. Z .Sharp by friends of McPherson, but it is fortunate that he lived to the very ripe old age of 95, and that he had opportunity to show his real self, as he seemed to hold no bitterness against McPherson, and in fact served as a trustee for a number of years. Sharp was truly quite an educator for his day, and had great dreams hopeful that the Brethren might make a real contribution to the educational world. His closing years were spent at Grand Junction, Colorado where he operated a small vegetable acreage, and continued to the end to be quite a church and community leader. "

In an effort to present a balanced assessment of both strengths and weaknesses, Mohler wrote, "President S. Z. Sharp . . . was a talented man and far better educated than one would have expected to find in the Church of the Brethren at that time, as they were largely a rural people and the majority had not been given very wide educational experiences. He possessed boundless energy and enthusiasm and a great desire to be a leader. He was, however, a bit weak in the fine art of working with people and serving as a leader, this latter trait was much in evidence as one reviews his history in the number of colleges in which he worked. He tenure was generally quite brief, and his popularity among those with whom he worked was not too good."

During this era SZS was recognized by the Kansas Board of Education for excellence in teacher training; was elected to the state historical society and the Kansas Academy of Science.

1897-1900 Plattsburg, Missouri 

 
During SZS's deposition, April 9, 1901, he testified that all charges brought against him were false, that he had been fulfilling his end of the contract, that he had, indeed, operated other educational institutions on behalf the Brethren Church in Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois and Kansas. He further testified that malicious rumors had been set afloat to discredit him and that the perpetrators of those rumors were at that moment under indictment to be tried by a committee of the General Conference of the German Baptist Brethren Church. Furthermore, the plaintiffs had not fulfilled their obligations under the contract to first raise the $10,000. Inspite of that, a dormitory had been built and all promised courses had been offered and a full faculty had been procurred. Regarding the Church's interest, he reported that each of the surrounding districts had elected a representative to the school, and that the local congregation had endorsed a petition of the trustees to the general conference that a board of visitors be appointed. Furthermore, $58,000 had been contributed toward the endowment, but when Plattsburg citizens failed to contribute the specified $10,000, the money had been given to the denomination's mission board instead.

Judge A. D. Burner ruled in favor of the defendants and cleared SZS of any wrongdoing. He said the plaintiffs had failed to prove the charges, had failed to cite a single case to support their claims, and had no rights to the "relief" (financial settlement) they demanded.

By this time, however, much goodwill and financial backing had eroded, the school had been closed and SZS had left Missouri and it's ill-fated Plattsburg College. In an address in 1908, the bicentinnal year of the Brethren Church's founding, SZS stated simply and undramatically "The management decided, on account of the strong oppostition, to close the school." Surely the sting of the Plattsburg controversey led him to the relative isolation of western Colorado, where he lived another 31 years. SZS's distinguished career of founding educational institutions came to an abrupt end. But his passion for education continued through his preaching and teaching in congregational and confernce settings, his service as a trustee of McPherson College and his contributions to church periodicals.

1900-1931, Fruita, Colorado

• 1900--Purchased 640 acres, Fruita, Mesa County, Colorado; President, Grande Valley Oil Association
  
• 1902--November 26, Theodore married Margaret Effa Kuns, McPherson, Kansas; she studied medicine at Stanford University; graduated from Northwestern University School of Speech
  
• 1907--Margaret Catherine born to Theodore and Margaret; married David Z. Williams; died 1996, Bellingham, Washington
  
• 1909--September 26, Ted K. (Theodore Kuns) born to Theodore and Margaret Effa (Kuns) Sharp, Ft. Lapwai, Idaho; married Alice Lucille Canter, Washington, D.C., 1934; married second, Mildred Reddick
  
• 1910--Published New Testament Baptism
  
  

  Margaret Kuns Sharp, 1912.

  Theodore Sharp, 1912.

  Solomon and Salome with grandchildren Ted and Margaret, 1912.

  Ted, Ft. Lapwai, Idaho.

  
  
  
• 1920--July 2, Salome Zook Sharp, 81, died, Fruita, Colorado, buried McPherson, Kansas
  
• 1920--July 24, Theodore, 51, shot and killed by "sub-agent" at Ravalli, Montana
  
• 1923--Published The Educational History of the Church of the Brethren, Brethren Press, Elgin, Illinois
  
• Awarded D.D. (honorary degree), McPherson (Kansas) College
  
• 1931--Died August 8, Fruita Colorado, result of car-buggy accident two weeks earlier; while driving his horse, "Daisy" to church on a Sunday morning was struck by a reckless driver of a car; funeral services, Fruita, Colorado and McPherson, Kansas; burial, McPherson, Kansas
  
  
  The Brethren Church in Fruita, built 1904 Rim Rock overlooking Fruita and Grande Valley
  
  SZS apparently formed the Grande Valley Oil Association, hoping to gain profit from oil that could lie beneath the surface of his land. There is no evidence of any such profit. Presumably he sold off portions of his property, since later, as Ted recalls, his grandfather owned only 80 acres on which he attempted to raise Alfalfa hay. About half of the acerage was ruined by alkalai, which came to the surface through saturation irrigation. In another ill-fated venture, SZS filed a claim on public lands at the Bookcliffs, which formed the eastern border of the Grande Valley, to mine the seams of coal it contained, sandwiched between layers of limestone like the pages of a book. Although he was warned about the dishonesty of the mine manager he hired, he chose to trust his own judgement. When a friend in McPherson ordered a train car load of lump coal, and received mostly slag instead, SZS sadly discovered that his profits were being swindled away by his manager. The final venture was a claim filed to drill for oil or gas in northwestern Colorado. Solomon's long life came to a close before he received any return on his investment. Since none of his entrepreneurial enterprises rewarded him, his financial resources were meager. As a result of Theodore's death in 1920, SZS received a government death benefit of $10 monthly until after his ninety-third birthday. Government statistical charts of life expectancy did not reach any higher. Ted recalls that his mother helped when she could; on one occasion she had Theodore's business suits altered for her father-in-law. On SZS's occasional visits to Margaret's home in Lawrence, Kansas, she connived to get his gravy-stained suit off so it could be cleaned.
  
  Though his business ventures were disappointing, SZS's interest in his beloved church never waned. Ted remembers that his grandfather usually scraped enough money together to travel to the annual general conferences held in various parts of the country. He also spent several winters in California, where he was later eulogized by the members of his LaVale Sunday school class. Another passion that seemed to continue unabated was his passion for reading and writing--letters to friends and articles for the church papers. Unfortunately few letters have survived, but his many articles on matters of doctrine and practice can be found in church periodicals in various Church of the Brethren archives. It is abundantly evident, despite whatever his portion of human weaknesses may have been, SZS gained emense respect and admiration. One expression of honor is the following poem written by pastor Russell Green West. The adjoining photo, taken during a visit to his native Kishacoquillas Valley, gives a visual representation of the strength of an oak tree that has endured much and has weathered well.
  
  

  What Went Ye Out To See? Behold, what went ye out to see? A man in soft array? If that is what you seek to find, Just look some other way. Behold what went ye out to see? Some bruised and shaken reed? Then do not view this sturdy oak, But seek some worthless weed. Behold, what went ye out to see? A rugged mountain high? Then I have found a snow-crowned peak That juts into the sky. Behold, what went ye out to see? A prophet, tried and true? Then lift your hat to Brother Sharp, This lad of 92! --Russell Green West

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