Munger Family

Harvey Munger (1812-1862) was a Baptist minister active in southwestern Michigan; his son William Munger (1845-1908), also a Baptist minister, graduated from Kalamazoo College in 1871 and, after attending the Rochester Theological Seminary, married Octavia Griffin Munger, in 1877. While attending the seminary in Rochester, Munger befriended Walter Rauschenbusch, a prominent Baptist minister and the founder of the Social Gospel Movement. The two remained very close throughout their lives and greatly influenced each other's theological beliefs. William Munger was also active as the field secretary of the Michigan Anti-Saloon League. He was also on the board of Kalamazoo College for nearly forty years.

Octavia Griffin Munger, too, came from a line of Baptist ministers including her father, Harold Griffin, and her grandfather, Solomon Brown--a veteran of the American Revolution who then settled in New York State. Octavia was born in southwest Michigan and attended Kalamazoo College where she met Harvey Munger. She was active in the Michigan Woman's Baptist Missionary Society. William and Octavia had four children, Griffin, Lura, Nelson, and Florence.

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