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Ordination Certificate of J.J. Graf

Photo from Otto J. Graf Collection, Folder: 1. Center for Adventist Research, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI.

Graf, Julius J. (1851–1927)

By Denis Kaiser

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Denis Kaiser, Ph.D. (Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan). Kaiser is an assistant professor of church history at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Andrews University. He has published numerous articles and book chapters. He was the annotation project editor of The Ellen G. White Letters and Manuscripts with Annotations, volume 2 (1860-1863), and is a co-editor of the Oxford Handbook of Seventh-day Adventism and of the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventism’s history of theology and ethics section.

First Published: January 29, 2020

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Julius J. Graf served as a missionary, pastor, and administrator of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the United States.

Early Years

Julius Johann Friedrich Graf was born on November 22, 1851 at Lobsens, in the Province of Posen, Prussia (now Łobżenica, Poland), to parents Wilhelm Graf and Caroline née Hinz .1 Julius was the oldest of six children. The family immigrated to the United States about 1869 and settled in the area of Good Thunder, Minnesota.2

Marriage

On November 20, 1874 Julius Graf married Bertha Marie Antonia Meilicke.3 Bertha was born on January 9, 1855 at Woldenberg, Prussia, one of five children of Friedrich Christian Meilicke and Wilhelmine née Schmidt.4 The family immigrated to the United States in 1866.5 The Meilickes were earnest students of the Bible and devout members of the Moravian Church. On his deathbed, Bertha’s father told his children that he had hoped to see Jesus come again and that his children would certainly live to see that glorious event.6

Julius and Bertha Graf had three children, two sons and one daughter: Alma J. (1876-1932), Otto Julius Graf (1879-1950), and Carl Herman (1883-1968).7 Due to Bertha’s ill health, Alma had to care for her mother and the home from her early teens. Later, she served as dean of women at Emmanuel Missionary College from 1908 to 1918 and Pacific Union College from 1920 to 1932.8 Otto, who received a Masters from the University of Nebraska, became widely known as president of Emmanuel Missionary College where he exerted a molding influence from 1908 to 1917.9

Work and Ministry

Julius was a merchant, dealing with hardware and machinery.10 In the fall of 1884 the Graf family encountered the Seventh-day Adventist faith through the labors of William Brown Hill.11 It may have been the remarks of Bertha’s father on his deathbed that helped to prepare the way for their acceptance of the Adventist faith.12 When a church was organized in Good Thunder, Julius was chosen as an elder.13 From 1889 to 1893 Julius served as a member of the executive committee of the Minnesota Conference.14 Eventually the family sold their possessions, donated most of the proceeds to the Church, and Julius entered the ministry.15 In 1892 he received a ministerial license from the Minnesota Conference.16 On March 6, 1893 Julius was ordained to the gospel ministry by Stephen Nelson Haskell and Alonzo Trevier Jones at Battle Creek, Michigan.17 The General Conference decided to send him as a missionary to South America,18 yet he continued working among the German-speaking people in North America. In the summer of 1894, he was found laboring among interested people in North Dakota and Manitoba, Canada, baptizing new members and organizing churches.19 From 1896 to 1897 he was vice-president of the Minnesota Conference.20

About 1900, the family moved to College View, Nebraska, to provide a better education for their children by allowing them to attend Union College.21 Julius began to work among German-speaking people in the vicinity.22 In 1903 he became a member of the executive committee of the Nebraska Conference and a counselor of the International Publishing Association at College View, Nebraska.23 The following year he served as vice-president of the Nebraska Conference and became a trustee of the Publishing Association.24 In 1906 he was a member of the Committee on Foreign Literature (for German) of the Publishing Association and served on the editorial committee of Der Deutsche Arbeiter, an eight-page monthly periodical, and Christlicher Hausfreund, a sixteen-page weekly periodical.25 On account of failing health, he settled on a farm at Plateau, Roosevelt County, New Mexico, shortly afterwards.26 From 1908 to 1910 he served as treasurer of the New Mexico Mission.27 In the spring of 1910 he accepted work as a minister in the Kentucky Conference to work among the German population in Louisville.28

In 1913 Julius and Bertha moved to Berrien Springs, Michigan, where both their daughter Alma and their son Otto worked at Emmanuel Missionary College. Julius believed in the importance of Adventist schools and in supporting them. While he believed that God could run them without human support, he felt that giving could help develop a character in us akin to that of God who “gives us life and truth and all things and His Son.”29 During that time, the West Michigan Conference granted him honorary ministerial credentials.30 He continued to hold evangelistic meetings with the German-speaking churches. Thus, in 1916 he spent some time at different places in the Manitoba Conference in Canada.31

Later Years

Bertha died of cancer on February 4, 1916 after forty-two years of marriage, in Berrien Springs, Michigan.32 Two years later Julius moved in with his youngest son Carl in Arlington, Tarrant, Texas.33 There he died of a stroke on February 12, 1927 at the age of seventy-five.34

Contribution

Julius Johann Friedrich Graf is a prime example of someone who was a missionary at heart. He was already in his thirties when he accepted the Seventh-day Adventist faith and in his forties when he entered the ministry. He nevertheless sacrificed his possessions and security to share the good news of salvation with fellow Germans in North America. Julius and Bertha further felt the need to grant their children an Adventist education and at least two of them put their lives in the service of the church, following the self-sacrificing example of their parents.

Sources

Allee, N. W., and D. P. Curtis. “Minnesota Conference Proceedings.” ARH, July 7, 1896, 428.

Anderson, Pauline Always. “Good Thunder.” Northern Union Reaper, December 11, 1917, 5, 6.

Benton, R. L. “Texico Camp Meeting Reminiscences No. 1, Alamogordo, 1909.” Southwestern Union Record, March 25, 1924, 10.

Blue Earth County, Lyra. 1885 Minnesota State Census. Digital images. Ancestry.com, October 14, 2016, http://ancestry.com.

California Death Index, 1940-1997. Digital Data. FamilySearch. October 14, 2016, https://familysearch.org.

“Field Notes.” Signs of the Times, August 20, 1894, 652.

“General Conference Notes.” ARH, March 14, 1893, 169.

Germany, Select Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898. Digital Images. Ancestry.com. October 14, 2016, http://ancestry.com.

Graf, J. J. “Minnesota.” ARH, August 25, 1896, 542.

Graf, J. J. “From the Field: Oakdale, Nebraska.” Central Advance, March 11, 1903, 3.

Graf, J. J. “From the Field: Norfolk, Nebraska.” Central Advance, August 12, 1903, 6.

Graf, J. J., and Bertha A. Graf. “New Mexico: Field Reports, Plateau.” Southwestern Union Record, February 1, 1910, 3.

Graf, J. J. “Kentucky Conference: Louisville.” Southern Union Worker, October 20, 1910, 275.

Graf, J. J. “Kentucky Conference: Louisville.” Southern Union Worker, February 2, 1911, 36, 37.

Graf, J. J. “Kentucky Conference: A Harvest Ingathering Experience.” Southern Union Worker, December 21, 1911, 403.

Graf, J. J., C. R. Clark, and C. F. McVagh. “Church School Maintenance.” Lake Union Herald, March 24, 1915, 14.

Hoopes, L. A. “Morden (Manitoba) Camp-Meeting.” ARH, August 21, 1900, 540.

Hoover, H. L. “New Mexico: Notice.” Southwestern Union Record, April 5, 1910, 6.

“Items: Manitoba Conference.” Western Canadian Tidings, August 10, 1916, 3.

Julius J. Graf Certificate of Ordination. Otto J. Graf Collection, Folder: 1. Center for Adventist Research, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI.

“Kentucky News Notes.” Report of Progress [Southern Union Conference], May 12, 1910, 97.

“Labor Items.” Signs of the Times, March 27, 1893, 333.

“Manitoba News Notes.” Western Canadian Tidings, August 24, 1916, 6.

McVagh, C. F. “Manitoba Camp Meeting.” ARH, July 20, 1916, 16.

Michigan Deaths and Burials, 1800-1995. Digital Images. FamilySearch. October 14, 2016, https://familysearch.org.

Miller, C. H., and A. T. Robinson. “Twenty-sixth Annual Session of the Nebraska Conference.” Central Advance, September 22, 1903, 4.

Minnesota, Blue Earth County, Good Thunder. 1880 United States Census. Digital images. Ancestry.com, October 14, 2016, http://ancestry.com.

Minnesota, Blue Earth County, Good Thunder. 1900 United States Census. Digital images. Ancestry.com, October 14, 2016, http://ancestry.com.

Minnesota Marriages, 1849-1950. Digital Images. FamilySearch. October 14, 2016, https://familysearch.org.

“Miss Alma J. Graf.” Pacific Union Recorder, March 24, 1932, 15.

“Miss Alma J. Graf.” ARH, April 21, 1932, 382.

New Mexico, Roosevelt County, Elida. 1910 United States Census. Digital images. Ancestry.com, October 14, 2016, http://ancestry.com.

“News and Notices.” Central Advance, December 2, 1903, 12.

“News and Notices.” Central Advance, April 6, 1904, 12.

“News and Notes.” Educational Messenger, September 15, 1906, 10.

“Notes.” Workers’ Bulletin, March 20, 1900, 148.

Obituary of Bertha Antonia Meilicke-Graf. Otto J. Graf Collection, Folder 1. Center for Adventist Research, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI.

“Otto Julius Graf.” Lake Union Herald, October 31, 1950, 1.

“Our Work and Workers.” Signs of the Times, February 1, 1905, 13.

Richards, H. M. J. “New Mexico Colorado.” Echoes from the Field, June 19, 1907, 2.

Robinson, A. T. “Annual Meeting.” Educational Messenger, September 15, 1905, 4.

Santee, Clarence. “New Mexico: Field Reports.” Southwestern Union Record, November 7, 1908, 6.

Seventh-day Adventist Year Book. Battle Creek, MI: Review and Herald Publishing Company, years 1889-1894.

Seventh-day Adventist Year Book. Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1904.

Texas Deaths, 1890-1976. Digital Images. FamilySearch, October 14, 2016, https://familysearch.org.

Texas, Eastland County, Justice Precinct 1. 1920 United States Census. Digital images. Ancestry.com, October 14, 2016, http://ancestry.com.

Thompson, P. L. “Elder J. J. Graf.” ARH, April 21, 1927, 22.

Wolfert, Marion, comp. Brandenburg, Prussia Emigration Records. Digital Images. Ancestry.com, October 14, 2016, http://ancestry.com.

Woodward, C. N. “Notice for New Mexico.” Southwestern Union Record, March 17, 1908, 6

Year Book of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, years 1905, 1906, 1909-1918.

Notes

  1. Germany, Select Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898, microfilm numbers 245514, 245515, 245517, digital image, “Julius Johann Friedrich Graf,” Ancestry.com, accessed October 14, 2016, http://ancestry.com; P. L. Thompson, “Elder J. J. Graf,” ARH, April 21, 1927, 22.↩

  2. Thompson, “Elder J. J. Graf,” 22.↩

  3. Minnesota Marriages, 1849-1950, date: November 25, 1874, FHL microfilm 1309276, digital image, “Julius Graf and Bertha Merlick,” FamilySearch, accessed October 14, 2016, https://familysearch.org; Thompson, “Elder J. J. Graf,” 22; Obituary of Bertha Antonia Meilicke-Graf, circa 1916, Otto J. Graf Collection, folder 1, Center for Adventist Research, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI.↩

  4. Obituary of Bertha Antonia Meilicke-Graf.↩

  5. Marion Wolfert, comp., Brandenburg, Prussia Emigration Records, digital image, “Bertha Marie Antonie Meilicke,” Ancestry.com, accessed October 14, 2016, http://ancestry.com; Obituary of Bertha Antonia Meilicke-Graf.↩

  6. Obituary of Bertha Antonia Meilicke-Graf.↩

  7. Thompson, “Elder J. J. Graf,” 22; 1880 U.S. census, Good Thunder, Blue Earth County, Minnesota, enumeration district 10, roll 615, FHL microfilm 1254615, page 355D, digital image, “Graf, Julius G. [sic],” Ancestry.com, accessed October 14, 2016, http://ancestry.com; 1885 Minnesota census, Lyra, Blue Earth County, FHL microfilm 565734, page 3, digital image, “Graff, [sic] Julius J.,” Ancestry.com, accessed October 14, 2016, http://ancestry.com; 1900 U.S. census, Good Thunder, Blue Earth County, Minnesota, enumeration district 10, roll 615, FHL microfilm 1254615, page 355D, digital image, “Graf, Julius G. [sic],” Ancestry.com, accessed October 14, 2016, http://ancestry.com; “Otto Julius Graf,” Lake Union Herald, October 31, 1950, 1; “Miss Alma J. Graf,” Pacific Union Recorder, March 24, 1932, 15; “Miss Alma J. Graf,” ARH, April 21, 1932, 382; California Death Index, 1940-1997, date: January 21, 1968, digital data, “Carl H. Graf,” FamilySearch, accessed October 14, 2016, https://familysearch.org.↩

  8. “Miss Alma J. Graf,” March 24, 1932, 15; “Miss Alma J. Graf,” April 21, 1932, 382.↩

  9. “Otto Julius Graf,” 1.↩

  10. 1880 U.S. census.↩

  11. Thompson, “Elder J. J. Graf,” 22; Obituary of Bertha Antonia Meilicke-Graf.↩

  12. Obituary of Bertha Antonia Meilicke-Graf.↩

  13. Thompson, “Elder J. J. Graf,” 22.↩

  14. Seventh-day Adventist Year Book (Battle Creek, MI: Review and Herald Publishing Company, 1889), 31, 61; Seventh-day Adventist Year Book (Battle Creek, MI: Review and Herald Publishing Company, 1890), 26; Seventh-day Adventist Year Book (Battle Creek, MI: Review and Herald Publishing Company, 1891), 28; Seventh-day Adventist Year Book (Battle Creek, MI: Review and Herald Publishing Company, 1892), 28.↩

  15. “Otto Julius Graf,” 1; “Miss Alma J. Graf,” March 24, 1932, 15; “Miss Alma J. Graf,” April 21, 1932, 382.↩

  16. Seventh-day Adventist Year Book (Battle Creek, MI: Review and Herald Publishing Company, 1893), 23, 29.↩

  17. Julius J. Graf, Certificate of Ordination, March 7, 1893, Otto J. Graf Collection, folder 1, Center for Adventist Research, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI.↩

  18. “General Conference Notes,” ARH, March 14, 1893, 169; “Labor Items,” Signs of the Times, March 27, 1893, 333; Seventh-day Adventist Year Book (1893), 64.↩

  19. “Field Notes,” Signs of the Times, August 20, 1894, 652.↩

  20. N. W. Allee and D. P. Curtis, “Minnesota Conference Proceedings,” ARH, July 7, 1896, 428; L. A. Hoopes, “Morden (Manitoba) Camp-Meeting,” ARH, August 21, 1900, 540; H. F. Phelps, “Business Proceedings of the Minnesota Conference,” ARH, August 21, 1900, 540; J. J. Graf, “Minnesota,” ARH, August 25, 1896, 542.↩

  21. “Otto Julius Graf,” 1; “Miss Alma J. Graf,” March 24, 1932, 15; “Miss Alma J. Graf,” April 21, 1932, 382.↩

  22. “Notes,” Workers’ Bulletin, March 20, 1900, 148; J. J. Graf, “From the Field: Oakdale, Nebraska,” Central Advance, March 11, 1903, 3; J. J. Graf, “From the Field: Norfolk, Nebraska,” Central Advance, August 12, 1903, 6; “News and Notices,” Central Advance, December 2, 1903, 12; “News and Notices,” Central Advance, April 6, 1904, 12; “Our Work and Workers,” Signs of the Times, February 1, 1905, 13.↩

  23. Seventh-day Adventist Year Book (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1904), 46, 85; Year Book of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1905), 52.↩

  24. C. H. Miller and A. T. Robinson, “Twenty-sixth Annual Session of the Nebraska Conference,” Central Advance, September 22, 1903, 4; Year Book of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination (1905), 52, 97; A. T. Robinson, “Annual Meeting,” Educational Messenger, September 15, 1905, 4.↩

  25. Year Book of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1906), 104, 109.↩

  26. “News and Notes,” Educational Messenger, September 15, 1906, 10; H. M. J. Richards, “New Mexico Colorado,” Echoes from the Field, June 19, 1907, 2; Clarence Santee, “New Mexico: Field Reports,” Southwestern Union Record, November 7, 1908, 6; 1910 U.S. census, Elida, Roosevelt County, New Mexico, enumeration district 172, roll 917, FHL microfilm 1374930, page 22A, digital image, “Graf, Julius J. F.,” Ancestry.com, accessed October 14, 2016, http://ancestry.com;.↩

  27. C. N. Woodward, “Notice for New Mexico,” Southwestern Union Record, March 17, 1908, 6; R. L. Benton, “Texico Camp Meeting Reminiscences No. 1, Alamogordo, 1909,” Southwestern Union Record, March 25, 1924, 10; Year Book of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1909), 88; Year Book of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1910), 84.↩

  28. J. J. Graf and Bertha A. Graf, “New Mexico: Field Reports, Plateau,” Southwestern Union Record, February 1, 1910, 3; H. L. Hoover, “New Mexico: Notice,” Southwestern Union Record, April 5, 1910, 6; “Kentucky News Notes,” Report of Progress [Southern Union Conference], May 12, 1910, 97; J. J. Graf, “Kentucky Conference: Louisville,” Southern Union Worker, October 20, 1910, 275; J. J. Graf, “Kentucky Conference: Louisville,” Southern Union Worker, February 2, 1911, 36, 37; J. J. Graf, “Kentucky Conference: A Harvest Ingathering Experience,” Southern Union Worker, December 21, 1911, 403; Year Book of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1911), 73; Year Book of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1912), 78.↩

  29. J. J. Graf, C. R. Clark, and C. F. McVagh, “Church School Maintenance,” Lake Union Herald, March 24, 1915, 14.↩

  30. Year Book of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1913), 42; Year Book of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1914), 49; Year Book of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1915), 50; Year Book of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1916), 51; Year Book of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1917), 56; Year Book of the Seventh-day Adventist Denomination (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1918), 57.↩

  31. “Items: Manitoba Conference,” Western Canadian Tidings, August 10, 1916, 3; “Manitoba News Notes,” Western Canadian Tidings, August 24, 1916, 6; C. F. McVagh, “Manitoba Camp Meeting,” ARH, July 20, 1916, 16.↩

  32. Obituary of Bertha Antonia Meilicke-Graf; Michigan Deaths and Burials, 1800-1995, date: February 4, 1916, FHL microfilm 1321501, reference P58 and 59, digital image, “Bertha A. Graf,” FamilySearch, accessed October 14, 2016, https://familysearch.org.↩

  33. Thompson, “Elder J. J. Graf,” 22; 1920 U.S. census, Justice Precinct 1, Eastland County, Texas, enumeration district 94, roll 1797, FHL microfilm 1821797, page 6A, digital image, “Graf, J. J.,” Ancestry.com, accessed October 14, 2016, http://ancestry.com.↩

  34. Thompson, “Elder J. J. Graf,” 22; Texas Deaths, 1890-1976, date: February 12, 1927, FHL microfilm 2114274, citing certificate number 6832, digital image, “Julius John Graf,” FamilySearch, accessed October 14, 2016, https://familysearch.org.↩

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Kaiser, Denis. "Graf, Julius J. (1851–1927)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. January 29, 2020. Accessed September 12, 2024. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=7AGJ.

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Kaiser, Denis. "Graf, Julius J. (1851–1927)." Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. January 29, 2020. Date of access September 12, 2024, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=7AGJ.

Copy to clipboard Download Word File

Kaiser, Denis (2020, January 29). Graf, Julius J. (1851–1927). Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Retrieved September 12, 2024, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=7AGJ.

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