John Sideman Gingerich was born in 1819 in Walker Township, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania. (In 1831 that area would become Juniata County.) He was the third son of John and Martha Magdalena (Kopff) Gingerich. In 1845 he married Elizabeth Wallis in Lewistown, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania. In 1855 John Sideman was given a license to preach by the United Brethren in Christ church. In the same year, he went to do missionary work in "Bleeding Kansas" along with the Reverend Samuel S. Snyder. During the Civil War, he served for a short time as a chaplain at Fort Gibson, Indian Territory. After the war, he resumed his duties as a minister and traveled a very wide circuit that included Missouri. He died in California at the age of 91 years. This book provides details about John's life and experiences, as well as information about his descendants.