Earl Irvin West was a historian

Historian

A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

 of the Restoration Movement

Restoration Movement

The Restoration Movement is a Christian movement that began on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century...

. He was known for his multivolume work Search for the Ancient Order, published incrementally from 1949 to 1993. He was baptized by Hugo McCord

Hugo McCord

Hugo McCord was a preacher and biblical scholar within the Churches of Christ in America. He produced his own translation of the New Testament , titled The Everlasting Gospel, which he affectionately called the Freed-Hardeman Version .McCord attended a number of schools: Freed-Hardeman College ,...

 in 1935. A graduate of Butler University

Butler University

Butler University is a private university located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university offers 60 degree programs to 4,400 students through six colleges: business, communication, education, liberal Arts and sciences, pharmacy and health...

, he received his Ph.D in American History at Indiana University

Indiana University

Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...

. Although he lived in Indianapolis

Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

, Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, and was the minister for two different congregations, he also served for many years as professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 of church history at Harding Graduate School of Religion in Memphis, Tennessee, now Harding School of Theology

Harding School of Theology

Harding School of Theology, known until 2011 as Harding University Graduate School of Religion, is located in Memphis, Tennessee, in the United States. It is an entity related to the private Christian university associated with the Churches of Christ known as Harding University, the main campus of...

, commuting once a week to Memphis. West founded Religious Book Service.