John Heer Mosemann, a Mennonite (Mennonite Church) bishop and leader, was born in Lancaster, PA, on 1 December 1877, the fifth of the eleven children of Philip and Elizabeth Heer Mosemann, who immigrated from near Trappstadt, Bavaria, Germany, in 1854-1855. On 22 December 1901 he married Lillie Swarr Forry. Their six children were Paul, Martha, Esther (Mrs. John R. Mumaw), John, Rhoda (Mrs. J. Clarence Denlinger), and Daniel. His formal education was limited to a short course at the Millersville Normal School 1898-99.

Mosemann became a member of the church in 1895 and was ordained a minister in the Chestnut St. (Lancaster) congregation in 1904, where he served until his death in 1938, being ordained bishop in 1926. He was active in the early missionary and Bible conferences of the Eastern Pennsylvania conferences, and participated in the organization of the Rockland Street Mission in Lancaster, and in founding the later outposts of the East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church. In the Lancaster Conference Mosemann was active in numerous capacities, serving as secretary of the Conference 1931-1937. He was a member on the Publishing Committee of the Mennonite Publication Board 1924-1931, was coeditor of The Way 1917-1938, and wrote numerous tracts and articles. He was a promoter of Christian education, and served as instructor in the winter Bible school at Eastern Mennonite School. Throughout his ministry he supported his family by means of retail marketing and the manufacture of peanut butter. His death came 28 August 1938 in Lancaster, with burial in the Millersville Mennonite Churchcemetery.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, pp. 755-756. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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