Today in Wheeling History: September 10--Edgar Amos Love, co-founder of Omega Psi Phi, the first international fraternity founded at an HBCU, future Methodist Episcopal bishop and civil rights spokesman who served as pastor of Simpson Methodist Episcopal Church in Wheeling, was born in Harrisonburg, Virginia (1891).
Edgar Amos Love (1891-1974) was a distinguished Methodist Episcopal bishop, educator, and civil rights leader who served as pastor of Simpson Methodist Episcopal Church in Wheeling, West Virginia for three years. Born in Harrisonburg, Virginia, to Methodist ministers Julius C. Love and Susie Carr Love, Edgar followed his parents' path into ministry after an exceptional academic career.
Love graduated from Morgan College Academy in 1909 and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from Howard University in 1913. While at Howard, he co-founded Omega Psi Phi Fraternity in 1911 with fellow students Frank Coleman and Oscar James Cooper, serving as the fraternity's first Grand Basileus. He completed his Bachelor of Divinity at Howard in 1916 and earned a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from Boston University in 1918.
During World War I, Love served as a chaplain with the 368th Infantry Regiment in France, seeing action in the Vosges Mountains and Argonne Forest. After the war, he taught at Morgan College before beginning his ministerial career with appointments in Maryland, Washington D.C., and Wheeling. A 1930 Wheeling Intelligencer article documents his participation in Lincoln Day observances at Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church, demonstrating his commitment to interracial cooperation.
Love later became District Superintendent of the Washington Conference (1933) and was elected Bishop of the Central Conference in 1952, serving until retirement in 1964. Throughout his career, Love worked alongside civil rights leaders like Mary McLeod Bethune and helped integrate Methodist churches. He died in Baltimore in 1974 and is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery.
To learn more: BlackPast biography of Edgar Amos Love (https://tinyurl.com/2zyj5ep9), Find a Grave memorial for Edgar Amos Love (https://tinyurl.com/z2ph75xx), Wikipedia entry on Edgar Amos Love (https://tinyurl.com/3th6595w), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/mvjshbuv), WikiTree (https://tinyurl.com/3r329v2x)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Wikimedia Commons, Find a Grave, Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation, Wheeling Intelligencer
Edgar Amos Love (1891-1974) was a distinguished Methodist Episcopal bishop, educator, and civil rights leader who served as pastor of Simpson Methodist Episcopal Church in Wheeling, West Virginia for three years. Born in Harrisonburg, Virginia, to Methodist ministers Julius C. Love and Susie Carr Love, Edgar followed his parents' path into ministry after an exceptional academic career.
Love graduated from Morgan College Academy in 1909 and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree cum laude from Howard University in 1913. While at Howard, he co-founded Omega Psi Phi Fraternity in 1911 with fellow students Frank Coleman and Oscar James Cooper, serving as the fraternity's first Grand Basileus. He completed his Bachelor of Divinity at Howard in 1916 and earned a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from Boston University in 1918.
During World War I, Love served as a chaplain with the 368th Infantry Regiment in France, seeing action in the Vosges Mountains and Argonne Forest. After the war, he taught at Morgan College before beginning his ministerial career with appointments in Maryland, Washington D.C., and Wheeling. A 1930 Wheeling Intelligencer article documents his participation in Lincoln Day observances at Wesley Methodist Episcopal Church, demonstrating his commitment to interracial cooperation.
Love later became District Superintendent of the Washington Conference (1933) and was elected Bishop of the Central Conference in 1952, serving until retirement in 1964. Throughout his career, Love worked alongside civil rights leaders like Mary McLeod Bethune and helped integrate Methodist churches. He died in Baltimore in 1974 and is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery.
To learn more: BlackPast biography of Edgar Amos Love (https://tinyurl.com/2zyj5ep9), Find a Grave memorial for Edgar Amos Love (https://tinyurl.com/z2ph75xx), Wikipedia entry on Edgar Amos Love (https://tinyurl.com/3th6595w), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/mvjshbuv), WikiTree (https://tinyurl.com/3r329v2x)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Wikimedia Commons, Find a Grave, Mary McLeod Bethune Foundation, Wheeling Intelligencer
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