Tomlinson, A. J. (Ambrose Jessup), 1865–1943
Person
Biography
Ambrose Jessup Tomlinson was born to a Quaker family in Westfield, Indiana on September 22, 1865. After marying Mary Jane Taylor in Fayette, Indiana in 1889, he worked as a Bible salesman and home missionary which brought him to Appalachia in the mountains of southwestern North Carolina. He operated a children's home, school, and farm in Culberson, North Carolina. In 1903, he joined with the Holiness Church at Camp Creek, North Carolina alongside R. G. Spurling and W. F. Bryant. He quickly ascended to leadership in the group and in 1909 was selected as the first general overseer of the group that had been renamed the Church of God. He served in that office until 1923 when he became the leader of the group now known as the Church of God of Prophecy.
Tomlinson was instrumental in moving the Church of God from the mountains into a growing city of the New South, Cleveland, Tennessee, which enabled the movement to utilize tools of modernity to spread the Full Gospel. He was a prolific publisher having steered the publication of the periodicals, Samson's Foxes, The Way, Church of God Evangel, The Faithful Standard, and later the White Wing Messenger. He also wrote The Last Great Conflict and other stand-alone works. He was an orphanage director, pastor, Bible college superintendent, and denominational leader.
Tomlinson passed away on October 2, 1943 after serving as a church leader for four decades. He and Mary Jane had four children, Homer, Milton, Halcy, and Iris.
Gender
- male
Occupations
Found in 170 Collections and/or Records:
Church of God minister’s monthly report with instructions by A.J. Tomlinson, April 1918
Item — Box: M0015-3, Folder: 33
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
This collection consists of business and personal items belonging to members of the Tomlinson family spanning the years 1900 to 2015. The items have been divided into series according to family members, and organized chronologically within each series. The first series contains photographs, papers, books, and artifacts relating to the patriarch of the family, Ambrose Jessup Tomlinson. These items trace Tomlinson’s early work in the Church of God and the birth of the Church of...
Dates:
April 1918
Church of God Publishing House Catalog, circa 1917 – 1918
Item — Box: M0015-3, Folder: 28
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
This collection consists of business and personal items belonging to members of the Tomlinson family spanning the years 1900 to 2015. The items have been divided into series according to family members, and organized chronologically within each series. The first series contains photographs, papers, books, and artifacts relating to the patriarch of the family, Ambrose Jessup Tomlinson. These items trace Tomlinson’s early work in the Church of God and the birth of the Church of...
Dates:
circa 1917 – 1918
Church of God Publishing House Price Lists and Vendor Catalogs, 1919 – 1922
File — Box: M0015-3, Folder: 29
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
This collection consists of business and personal items belonging to members of the Tomlinson family spanning the years 1900 to 2015. The items have been divided into series according to family members, and organized chronologically within each series. The first series contains photographs, papers, books, and artifacts relating to the patriarch of the family, Ambrose Jessup Tomlinson. These items trace Tomlinson’s early work in the Church of God and the birth of the Church of...
Dates:
1919 – 1922
Church of God vs. A.J. Tomlinson collection
Collection
Identifier: M0021
Scope and Contents
For microfilmed collection:
The Church of God Court Records, Cleveland, Tennessee, 1919 – 1953, includes approximately six cubic feet of documents brought together from three different archive locations for microfilming. The three archives contributing to this collection are the Dixon Pentecostal Research Center in Cleveland, Tennessee, The History Branch and Archives of the Cleveland Public Library of Cleveland, Tennessee, and the Tennessee State Library and Archives of Nashville,...
Dates:
1919 – 1953
Clergy Reduced Fare Certificate, Florida East Coast Railway System, A.J. Tomlinson's signature, 1925
Item — Box: M0015-3, Folder: 41
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
This collection consists of business and personal items belonging to members of the Tomlinson family spanning the years 1900 to 2015. The items have been divided into series according to family members, and organized chronologically within each series. The first series contains photographs, papers, books, and artifacts relating to the patriarch of the family, Ambrose Jessup Tomlinson. These items trace Tomlinson’s early work in the Church of God and the birth of the Church of...
Dates:
1925
"Cleveland Daily Banner" ["Fourth Annual Special Edition: Church of God Assembly"], photocopy, September 8, 1937
Item — Box: M0015-3, Folder: 17
Scope and Contents
Article: "Church of God, 2,000 Years Old, Dates Back to Time of Christ, Declares Overseer," page 1
Dates:
September 8, 1937
"Convention Dates," [out-of-state convention visits for many of the same who conducted Tomlinson’s religious census], 1940, 1943
Item — Box: M0015-3, Folder: 35
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
This collection consists of business and personal items belonging to members of the Tomlinson family spanning the years 1900 to 2015. The items have been divided into series according to family members, and organized chronologically within each series. The first series contains photographs, papers, books, and artifacts relating to the patriarch of the family, Ambrose Jessup Tomlinson. These items trace Tomlinson’s early work in the Church of God and the birth of the Church of...
Dates:
1940, 1943
"Convention Itinerary," [2 pages handwritten; 1 page typewritten] , 1940
Item — Box: M0015-2, Folder: 26
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
This collection consists of business and personal items belonging to members of the Tomlinson family spanning the years 1900 to 2015. The items have been divided into series according to family members, and organized chronologically within each series. The first series contains photographs, papers, books, and artifacts relating to the patriarch of the family, Ambrose Jessup Tomlinson. These items trace Tomlinson’s early work in the Church of God and the birth of the Church of...
Dates:
1940
Copy of Samson’s Foxes title explanation, “A Plea for Mount Zion Mission Home” and “A Brief History of Mission Work in North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee”
Item — Box: M0015-1, Folder: 25
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
This collection consists of business and personal items belonging to members of the Tomlinson family spanning the years 1900 to 2015. The items have been divided into series according to family members, and organized chronologically within each series. The first series contains photographs, papers, books, and artifacts relating to the patriarch of the family, Ambrose Jessup Tomlinson. These items trace Tomlinson’s early work in the Church of God and the birth of the Church of...
Dates:
1900 – 1943
Copyright consent by Joy Thornton (daughter of M. A. Tomlinson and granddaughter of A. J. Tomlinson) for the Church of God to publish A. J. Tomlinson materials in a devotional guide, June 1, 1995
Item — Box: M0015-3, Folder: 44
Scope and Contents
From the Collection:
This collection consists of business and personal items belonging to members of the Tomlinson family spanning the years 1900 to 2015. The items have been divided into series according to family members, and organized chronologically within each series. The first series contains photographs, papers, books, and artifacts relating to the patriarch of the family, Ambrose Jessup Tomlinson. These items trace Tomlinson’s early work in the Church of God and the birth of the Church of...
Dates:
June 1, 1995