8For most of his life, Millard was a Methodist Episcopal minister. He was converted early in life at the White Oak Methodist Church in Ritchie County. In 1883, he entered the ministry of the United Brethren Church and served in West Virginia until 1890 when he transferred to the Rock River Conference, Illinois, where he served until 1898. That year, he returned to West Virginia and entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, remaining there until the end of his life. In West Virginia, he served at: Winifred, Parsons, Littleton, Wallace, Zane Street in Wheeling, Sistersville, St. Marys, Ash Chapel in Clarksburg, Shinnston, West Union, Pennsboro, and Hammond in Clarksburg.
Millard Fillmore closly resembled Abraham Lincoln, had a wonderful sense of humor which he utilized in his sermons, and was greatly loved and admired by his congregations and friends wherever he went.
b. Pulman, Ritchie, Wv
Died: 27 Jul 1927
5Millard Fillmore Pritchard was born Sept. 22, 1857 on the south fork of the Hughes River in Ritchie County, WV, and died July 27, 1927. He is buried in the Masonic Cemetery hear the Hammond Methodist Church, Clarksburg, WV, where he last served. He first married Margaret Cerilda Kelly June 11, 1884.the Barbour County Clerk's Office Marriage Record says that he was 27 and she was 20 at the time of their marriage by S. A. Shanabarger, minister. Samuel Alexander Shannabarger (b. 1844) was the husband of Catherine Haller, daughter of Sarah E. Nestor and Michael Haller. Maggie died January 12, 1887 shortly after childbirth. He next married Rosa Bell Nestor, the daughter of one of his church members in Nestorville, WV, on October 12, 1887. At that time, he had a two-year-old son, Enoch, and a baby daughter, Amelia Gay. After his first wife's death, one of her relatives, a sister-in-law of Garrett Kelley, persuaded him to let them take the baby, as it was difficult for him to care for a newborn. Subsequently, they went west to Oregon state and he never again saw his daughter.
For most of his life, Millard was a Methodist Episcopal minister. He was converted early in life at the White Oak Methodist Church, Ritchie County, WV. In 1883, he entered the ministry of the United Brethren Church and served in WV until 1890, when he transferred to the Rock River Conference, Illinois, where he served three churches in Compton, Coleta, and Oregon, until 1898. In that year, he returned to West Virginia and entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, remaining there until the end of his life. In West Virginia, he served at Winifred; Parsons; Littleton; Wallace; Zane Street, Wheeling; Sistersville; St. Mary's; Ash Chapel, Clarksburg; Shinnston; West Union; Pennsboro; and Hammond, Clarksburg.
A portion of a Tribute to Rev. Millard Fillmore Pritchard by Daniel Westfall, D.D. written at the time of his death: "Brother Pritchard was a good preacher. His people always spoke highly of his pulpit work. He was evangelical in his type of preaching and witnessed many revivals. He was not sensational but so sincere that he won for Christ. Preaching was his passion, and he gave himself to the work. Though seventy years of age, he knew no place for rest. During his forty-four years of ministry, he was not off more than six months' time.
"The funeral was conducted from the Hammond Church under the direction of District Superintendent G. D. Smith...By their presence, a large number of pastors of different denominations bore testimony to their high esteem for their fellow-worker. Interment was made in the Masonic cemetery near the church."
He closely resembled Abraham Lincoln, had a wonderful sense of humor which he utilized in his sermons, and was greatly loved and admired by his congregations and friends wherever he went. His full impact on others is recorded in "Duet: Hymn to My Father," by Ernest Markwood Pritchard, his son, published in 1991 by McClain Printing Company, Parsons, WV.