Guide to the Edward L. R. Elson Papers

Edward L.R. Elson was born on December 23, 1906, in Monongahela, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Asbury College (Wilmore, Kentucky) in 1928. After studying one year at Asbury Theological Seminary, he pursued post-graduate study for nearly four years in the Graduate Schools of Religion, Philosophy, and Education at the University of Southern California, receiving the degree of Master of Theology in 1931. In 1929 he married Frances Sandys, who died in 1933. Elson was remarried in 1937 to Helen Chittick.

Edward Elson was ordained by the Presbytery of Los Angeles at Santa Monica, California on April 27, 1930. He served as assistant minister in the First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica from 1929 until 1931. In September of 1931 he was called to be minister of the First Presbyterian Church of La Jolla, California and served there for ten years.

In 1930 Elson was appointed Chaplain in the U.S. Army Reserve, and prior to the outbreak of World War II entered extended active duty. He completed nearly five years of continuous service and rose to the rank of Colonel. At the end of the war, Elson was General Eisenhower's emissary to the German Protestant Church Consistory and consulted on the reconstruction of the German Protestant Church. He was present at the capture of Landsberg and Dachau Concentration Camps, conducted investigations of the imprisoned clergy at Dachau, and witnessed the execution of Private Eddie Slovik in 1945.

In 1946, Elson was called to the Pastorate of the Covenant-First Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. He served as Pastor ad Interim until 1947. When he became pastor, Elson succeeded in establishing the National Presbyterian Church on the foundation of the Covenant-First Presbyterian Church in October of 1947.

As pastor of the National Presbyterian Church, Elson served presidents and heads of state, including Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower (he baptized and confirmed President Eisenhower in 1953). Elson was also instrumental in the campaign for a new building for the National Presbyterian Church. The campaign began in 1960, and resulted in the completion of the new church in 1969. Edward Elson was pastor at the National Presbyterian Church until 1973, when he was named Minister Emeritus.

Elson served as moderator of the Presbytery of Los Angeles in 1938, moderator of Washington City Presbytery in 1966, and commissioner to the General Assembly six times. He served as president of the Council of Churches of Greater Washington from 1952-54, and headed the Military Chaplains Association from 1957-59. Edward Elson became Chaplain of the United States Senate in 1969 and served in this capacity until he retired in 1981.

In the late 1950's, Elson made regular visits to the Middle East and was chairman of the National Council of the American Friends of the Middle East. President Eisenhower consulted Elson on Middle East issues, and had him carry a message to the King of Saudi Arabia in 1957. In 1967, Elson was appointed by President Johnson to a special team to observe the elections in Vietnam.
Edward Elson is also the author of numerous articles and five books, including: Wide was His Parish, One Moment with God, America's Spiritual Recovery, And Still He Speaks, The Inevitable Encounter.