Edwin Rumball Papers

The Reverend Edwin Alfred Rumball was born in London, Enland in 1881. He came to the United States in 1906 to serve a parish in Maine. From 1908 to 1915, he served as minister of the First Unitarian Church in Rochester, New York. Rumball was an energetic and, at times, controversial figure. Early in his time in Rochester, he became a governor of the Brotherhood, the socio-religious organization led by defrocked Episcopal priest Algernon Crapsey. Rumball also published the journal Common Good, focused on social reform, in connection with his pastoral duties. Rumball led the First Unitarian Church deep into social reform in Rochester, with his own interests in sociological work leading to a social survey of the Fourth Ward, home to the Church, in 1913. He also oversaw the expansion of the First Unitarian Church, including the erection and naming of Gannett House (after former minister William C. Gannett).

By 1914, it appears that Rumball wanted to leave Rochester. After taking a 3 month leave of absence, he accepted an appointment from the American Unitarian Association to organize a new church in Huntington, West Virginia and resigned his Rochester appointment on March 10, 1915. It appears, however, that he did not stay long in Huntington. During the First World War, he served on the staff of Herbert Hoover’s Food Administration and the European Children’s Relief Organization. Following the war, he was an advisor to the United States Office of Education, founded and directed the Institute for Foreign Travel, and was a member of the executive staff of the Trans-Atlantic Steamship Conference in New York City.

In the post-World War I period, Rumball also took to importing and dealing in rare Bibles. He become a notable authority on the subject, writing numerous articles and two books: America’s First Bibles (1940) and Rare Bibles (1938, second edition 1954). He also used the name A. R. Rumball-Petre in this period; the origin his name change is unknown. Rumball married twice. During his time in Rochester, he was married to Catherine, with whom he had two children, John M. and Grace. He divorced after leaving Rochester, remarrying with Clara and having a son, Hugh, with her in 1922. Edwin Rumball passed away on July 19, 1954 in Los Angeles, California.