Person Page 1,321

The surname "Geeting/Gutting/Guting/Guding" was the original German name. This name became "Keedy" when it was Americanized. Some of the family used the old German, while others used the "new" Keedy. And some would use both at various times. As time went by, most switched to the Keedy, but not all, so you would have family members with any of these surname spellings.

George Adam (Keedy) Geeting was born in NASSAU, SIEGERLAND, NEIDERSCHELDA, GERMANY on 6 Feb 1711. He was the son of Johann Ebert Guting and Elizabeth Margareta Giebeler Guting. His parents did not come to America. George Adam married Barbara Snavely Berghman (1748-1806) about 1765. George & Barbara had ten children. They were: Peter (1766), Henry (1768), Barbara (1772), Christina (1774), Elizabeth (1776), George Adam (II)(1781), Jacob (1782), Mary (1785), Rosanna (1786), and Simon (1788).

He was born in Germany, in the town of Niederschelden, ten miles from Dillenburg, William OTTERBEIN's birthplace. When Otterbein was the pastor of the church in Frederick from 1760 to 1765, he preached occasionally at Antietam. George heard him and was greatly influenced. In 1760 he decided to open a school and built a small schoolhouse on his farm. Otterbein conducted a class which met in the schoolhouse. George was pursuaded by his neighbors to be class leader, and to read sermons from a book during the Sunday services. Otterbein heard him and decided George could preach sermons on his own. A later church historian described George as the "most eloquent" among the early United Brethren.

About 1774 George built a chapel beside the schoolhouse as a more proper place for worship. This became known as the Geeting Meeting House. The site of the Mt. Hebron Cemetery and Geeting Meeting House (near Keedysville, Washington Co., Maryland), is designated as Historic Site Number 31 of the United Methodist Church.

"In 1783, William Otterbein and William Hendel 'laid hands upon him' as one set aside for the preaching ministry. Geeting, whose religious background was German Reformed, desired full ordination. In 1788 he applied to the Pennsylvania Coetus for examination and ordination. Although some of the members claimed that Geeting was 'fanatical', the coetus formally ordained him."

The charge of fanaticism was not forgotten, however, and in 1798, the coetus issued a warning to him. In 1804, he was again brought before the synod for "disorderly conduct", the same charge expressed differently. There was no question of his moral character or preaching ability; but the synod voted to dismiss him. [THE HISTORY OF THE EVANGELICAL UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH, Behney & Eller]

Meanwhile, he had become an influential leader in the United Brethren (Otterbein's) movement, an off-shoot of the German Reformed Church. He continued to travel and preach for the United Brethren Church and served the early United Brethren conferences as secretary. Another church historian, Drury, states "He was Mr. Otterbein's closest personal friend." George Adam Geeting is listed as the third Bishop of the United Brethren Church.