Now on ebay:
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
J. C. Sunderlin - Newspaper extracts
From The Manchester, Vermont, Journal, June 22, 1876
Saturday, October 19, 2024
George Butterfield - A Forgotten Benefactor
This is the story of an almost forgotten donor to the Watch Tower Society, whose financial contributions played an important part in its history. Two of his donations in the second decade of the twentieth century totalled around $15,000. If we allow for over a century of inflation this would not be far short of $400,000 in today’s values.
His full name was George Augustis Butterfield. He lived until 1959. Much of his life story comes from an obituary in The Bismarck Tribune, North Dakota for April 7, 1959.
The reproduction of the cutting is quite poor, but we will quote from this as needed in the rest of this article. His early days are described as follows:
“He was born in
Garrison, Iowa. He grew to manhood in that state and in 1900 drove a covered
wagon to a site near Haxtun, where he homesteaded and began farming.”
The obituary noted that George had been
married three times and outlived all three wives. His first wife was Allie (Alice)
Rice, born c.1872. They were married in 1894. There is no record of any
children in the 1900 census and they divorced in 1901. His second wife was
Ethylin Addie Woods (1878-1947). They married in 1903 and had three children,
but divorced in 1910.
When George eventually started his
interest in the Bible Student message is not known. Two newspaper accounts have
been found in that part of the United States linking the name George
Butterfield with religion, but they may refer to a different person or persons.
The name is a surprisingly well-used one in newspaper and genealogical records
of the day.
The first account comes from two Iowa newspapers. The Daily Times for April 8, 1913 and The
Gazette (Iowa) for April 4, 1913.
The Times has an unfortunate combination of terms – linking George Butterfield, religion and demented.
Whereas The Gazette (Iowa) adds a crucial detail:
According to The Gazette this disturbed
George Butterfield was “a young man.” Our George would have been 45 years old
at this time.
The other reference to a George
Butterfield comes from the Bible Student newspaper the St Paul Enterprise. In its
issue for November 5, 1915 the St Paul
Enterprise mentioned a colporteur of
his name losing his voice.
If this one is our George he obviously
got his voice back later, but the account as it stands does not suggest a
person of means.
On perhaps firmer ground, genealogical records
show that OUR George’s parents, Edgar and Sarah, died within a few weeks of
each other in April/May 1915. Edgar was both a farmer and a landlord, so George
may have inherited some of his assets. George’s own death certificate described
him as farmer (retired) in both grain and cattle. Farming in Colorado was very
profitable at that time (see Boulder County’s
Agricultural Heritage by Deon Wolfenbarger, 2006) which may have allowed
George to build up a reasonable fortune on his own account.
Where we can be more positive about the
story is when George started making donations. The first example is found in
the transcript of the Rutherford vs
United States trial. He made a contribution that was used towards the
publication of The Finished Mystery.
The transcript below has Joseph F Rutherford being cross-examined by the
prosecution:
.
A few pages later in the trial
transcript, the “certain sum of money” was specified:
It was clarified that George had not
just made a loan, this was a straight donation and in line with existing
arrangements he received Watch Tower Society voting shares in return.
The trial resulted in eight defendants
being found guilty and sentenced to long years in prison. The Brooklyn
properties were either sold off or closed down and operations returned to
Pittsburgh. However, once the eight were released in early 1919 the decision to
move back to Brooklyn on a permanent basis happened very quickly. It was another
donation from George that helped make that possible. The account was given by A
H MacMillan in his book Faith on the
March in 1957.
Over pages 110-111 MacMillan describes
how he had a visitor at the temporary headquarters in Pittsburgh. A man walked
in “who had been associated with the work for many years and whom I knew well.
He was a man of considerable means from one of the Southern states.”
They went to a private room and MacMillan
continued: ”He began to take his shirt off as I talked to him. I thought he had
gone crazy. He looked a little dirty and travel-worn, whereas ordinarily he was
a tidy and well-kept man. When he got down to his undershirt he wanted a knife.
Then he cut out a little patch he had on there and took out a bundle of money.
It was about $10,000 in bills.”
The visitor had sat up all night in a
train sleeper guarding the money. Seeing people he knew and trusted at the
headquarters he gave MacMillan the money.
MacMillan
quoted him as saying “I didn’t know who was in charge of the work, but now that
I see you brothers here whom I know and I trust, I am glad that I came!’’
MacMillan responded: “We’re certainly glad that you came too.”
MacMillan’s
account only called the visitor by his first name, George. But when the story
was repeated word for word in the 1975 Yearbook
on page 121 the account was prefaced: “One morning a Christian, George Butterfield, a person of considerable
means, walked into the office.”
George had still been alive, although very elderly,
when MacMillan’s book first came out. However, by the time the same account
was given in the Yearbook he had
died, so now his full name was given.
It was after these events that George was
to marry for the third time.
Wife number three was Nellie Krakel
(1889-1957), and she came from a Bible Student background. At the time of the
marriage there was a considerable disparity in their ages. George was 51 and
Nellie was 29. From The Democrat, of
Kearney, Nebraska, for January 16, 1919 – George and Nellie were planning to
exchange single blessedness for married blessedness.
Nellie had previously been listed in the
1917 St Paul Enterprise newspaper as
eclessia secretary for Sterling, Colorado. Her family were Bible Students and
when her father, Henry Krakel, died in Sterling, his Bible Student obituary in The New
Era Enterprise for November 1926 listed Nellie Butterfield as one of his
children.
The 1920 census has George down as married
to Nellie and working as a book agent. However, his obituary stated that “in
1925 George retired from farming and traveled throughout the mid west in
connection with the Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
George and Nellie were to have one child,
Edgar Leland Butterfield (1921-2007).
In the 1930 census the family of three
are in Nebraska, and George’s occupation is given as colporteur, working on his
own account as a distributor.
Their one son Edgar grew up to work for the Watch Tower Society. In his Draft Registration document dated February 16, 1942, he gave his employer’s address as Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 124 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn and his next of kin as George Butterfield of Haxtun, Colorado. He also made the newspapers when he failed to report for the draft. From the Greely Daily Tribune for February 6, 1943:
Edgar was to marry Antonetta Bradley
(born 1928) and raise a family. In a 1952 Colorado trade directory they are
running a sewing machine company.
Returning to the previous generation,
George’s wife Nellie died, seemingly quite suddenly, in 1957. The newspaper
report from The Daily Sentinel (Grand
Junction, Colorado) for June 25, 1957, noted that a “presiding minister for
Jehovah’s Witnesses” conducted the funeral.
Returning to George’s own obituary, when
this happened in 1957 he went to live with Edgar who was now based in North
Dakota.
So looking back on George’s life and the
Watch Tower – as a grain farmer and rancher he donated very large sums of money
to the cause when he could. Later when retired from business he represented the
Watch Tower Society as a colporteur for virtually no renumeration. Both showed his
serious level of commitment.
(With grateful thanks to Gary who started me on this particular journey and Jeff who supplied some of the references)
Friday, October 4, 2024
Paton Debate
This booklet is important because it contains the best explanation of Paton's Universalism (in my opinion anyway) and shows that he eventually abandoned his Sibellianism, finally seeing Christ as a created being.
It is available online.
Thursday, September 19, 2024
Way off topic
I am close to publishing a middle grade / young adult novel. This was prompted by my experience teaching. My last ten years teaching were spent in a Parent Partnership K-12. I taught history and other classes including a literature class based on mid to late Twentieth Century YA novels. Many of my students came from ultra-conservative families that rejected stories with magical elements or paranormal creatures such as Dragons and Elves. As a Christian parent, I was not without sympathy. With those students in mind, I've written this story.
It has subtle Christian elements. We follow the main character through adventures and difficulties in a medieval-like setting. She encounters dilemmas through which she references her parents' instruction. She's an orphan girl, and we follow her from age eleven and fourteen.
During one of my worst health collapses I wrote Falcon's Crown: Kidnapped. I will publish it using my Fluttering Wings Press imprint. I need a volunteer or two to proof read it. Any takers?
Friday, September 13, 2024
Since the World Began
This postcard was sent from Boston, Mass. on 8 May 1907. It gives no
space for a message, so the sender has written the words “Since the world began”
wrapped around the portrait of CTR. There follows one last word: Auntie? Until?
Any suggestions anyone?
The card was sent to:
Mrs Ethel Fairfield
North Isleboro
Maine
Ethel Bolton (1885-1976) was born in Massachusetts, but her family originally came from Scotland
and Ireland. She married widower Lllewellyn Fairfield on 25 December
1906. That might suggest a working class background, where the groom chose to
use holiday time to get married. (Ethel’s obituary incorrectly gives the year
as 1907). But she was not long married when she received this postcard. Her
obituary also says she made her home in Isleboro in 1915, but she and Llewellyn
are living there in the 1910 census.
The paper trail for Llewellyn and Ethel’s life is quite uneventful. They had no children. Although both could read and write the census returns state that neither attended school nor college, other than elementary school. In 1910 Llewellyn was a merchant seaman, in 1920 and 1930 a general laborer, in 1940 a caretaker and finally in 1950 (at a different address to Ethel) a caretaker of a number of small summer cottages. He was in his mid-70s by then and died aged 86 in 1960. Other than keeping house Ethel appears to have had no other occupation. She lived to be 90 years old. Her obituary below gives no indication of any religious affiliation. We don’t know if she responded to the convention invitation.
Friday, September 6, 2024
Submissions
I am open to articles on any facet of Russell era Watch Tower history. Articles must be footnoted to original sources using the following formats:
Books: Author, Title, publisher, place, date, page.
Magazine articles: Author if known, article title, name of magazine, date, page.
Newspaper articles: Author if known, article title, name of newspaper as The Austin, Texas, Times, date.
NO Exceptions. I will not publish something that does not follow the formats above. I'm too sick to reformat your work.
Articles MUST be in Times New Roman, 12 point, fully justified.
Controversial is okay as long as you support your argument with proof. Speculation is not wanted.
Wednesday, August 28, 2024
1912 World Missionary Tour
Thanks to a friend of this blog, the handbill for Russell's speech in Japan. Click on the image to see it entire.
Sunday, August 18, 2024
Grave number 2095
In 1948 Jimmie
Skinner wrote the song Doin’ my Time.
The version
I remember went:
Doin’ my time
With a ball and chain;
They call you by your number
Not your
name.
Someone to whom this ultimately applied was Albert Delmont Jones aka Albert Royal Delmont. His life story has been covered on this blog in the past (for example see -
https://truthhistory.blogspot.com/search?q=albert+delmont+jones
– or use the search term Albert Delmont Jones). This material covers his work
with Charles Taze Russell, his magazines, his marriages, his fraudulent
schemes, and ultimately his death alone and in obscurity.
But a
little more original source material has to come to light. Hence, Albert’s
number. When he died his grave marker had no name – just his number, 2095.
Rewinding slightly – after all the publishing, marriages, scams and scandals, Albert disappears from the 1920 census, although if any other researcher can find him there please do so and enlighten us. Down on his luck with his heady days long behind him he turns up in the 1925 census for Buffalo, New York. A slight malfunction of a pen probably turned an entry for Albert R Delmont into Albert K Delmont, but the age is right.
Albert is living with more than 25 other men as a roomer in three linked dwellings. The head of the family, one Geo Van Nese, calls himself a “hotel proprietor.” This appears to be a hostel for single men. Albert, who owns up to being 70 years old, is retired.
At the
end of February 1929 Albert moved into the New Castle County Hospital in
Delaware. We know this from his death certificate which is now available on
Find a Grave. He died there on May 15, 1930. He had been attended there by a
doctor since February 28, 1929, for Chronic Diabetes. Insulin injections transformed
the treatment of diabetes in the 1920s and Albert was quite fortunate to live
as long as he did, especially after what we might assume as to his lifestyle.
No family
details are given on the certificate. Albert was survived by several ex-wives
(by my reckoning four) and three adult children. But no-one knew where he was.
And no-one cared.
New
Castle County Hospital started life as the New Castle County Almshouse in 1885. It was designed to house people who were
generally single, elderly or infirm, and crucially – poor. It was an effort of
the state to care for people who had no family to help them, one suspects a bit
akin to the British workhouse (Think Charles Dickens and Oliver Twist).
A postcard
exists showing the building.
The
caption reads: “New Castle County Hospital and Delaware State Hospital for
Insane. Near Wilmington, Del.”
The
building housing Albert was the one on the left. Why anyone would choose to send
such a miserable postcard to anyone else is open to question.
If you
lived there, then you could well die there, and unless relatives claimed your
body you were buried in a nearby pauper’s cemetery today known as the New
Castle County Hospital Cemetery (Farnhurst Potters Field).
Here is
where the numbering system came in. Each grave had a small stone marker about 5
inches square. Each stone had a number. If it had been a bad week for deaths,
then once a grave was dug it could have multiple occupants.
The
hospital closed down in 1933. The building was eventually destroyed by fire, and
some records thought lost. However, in recent years the Death Book for 1926–1933 was rediscovered and painstakingly
recorded in a database by Dr. Katherine A. Dettwyler. The original register
gives us the entry for Albert. Below, courtesy of the Delaware Public Archives
is his entry. It goes right across a double page.
The right
hand page reads:
That this
is the right Albert is made clear from the census held earlier in 1930 where
Albert was still sufficiently lucid to give his place of birth.
Albert’s
stone is not visible today. In the early 1960s the bulk of the cemetery was just
covered over to make a ramp for an approach road to the Delaware Memorial
Bridge. No records were then extant for those buried there and there was scant
concern for the graveyard. Below is a modern photograph showing part of the
site where a few stones can still be seen, but the numbers in the photograph
show these are quite early ones. Albert is definitely buried under the bulk of
the site that disappeared in the 1960s.
Photograph by Hal G. Brown, reproduced with permission.
There is
one quirk of fate to complete this tale. After editing his religious paper Zion’s Day Star in the 1880s, Albert
tried his hand again with a political journal in 1900. It was called American Progress.
I make no
attempt to understand American politics of this era, and Albert no doubt was a
product of his times. However, a clear tenet of his paper was that Negroes
should be banned from government.
Careful work by Kathy Dettwyler and Hal Brown sifted through the entries in the New Castle Death Book and thousands of on-line Certificates of Death for New Castle County, and revealed that Albert was not alone in grave number 2095. You can now check out the details on Find a Grave.
Here is Albert’s entry.
But in the same grave, plot number 2095, there is also a child.
No sex was recorded, and Baby Crompton was stillborn. But the original entry for grave 2095 shows that Baby Crompton, forever sharing Albert’s final resting place under the freeway, is African-American.
There is a certain irony there.
Thursday, August 8, 2024
Your input wanted.
UPDATED
I'm reluctant to point my readers to poorly researched, often opposition, web sites. Yet, the most pointed complaint form academics was that I failed to footnote comments about defective web pages. So there is this, but I'm conflicted. I may not keep any of this, or I may keep it as is. What do you think?
3 Albert Delmont Jones and William Conley
Albert Royal Delmont Jones played a
significant though until now unexplored role
in Watch Tower history. One finds brief mentions of him in the
relevant books and articles, usually never giving us more that a reiteration of
Russell’s 1890 biographical article. With the exception of two blogs devoted to
Watch Tower history in the Russell era, no one has returned to the original
documents. A Catholic web site devoted to apologetics has a more extensive
article devoted to Jones and J. H. Paton. It is built primarily from secondary
sources and contains errors of fact. It is meant to portray Russell in as poor
light was possible. It is neither consistently factual nor balanced.[1]
Worse is a web site devoted to
anti-Watchtower and anti-Russell polemics. Its anonymous author is given to
speculation, especially when he is unable to find a factual basis for
criticism. Billed as “The Internet’s Best Financial Biography of Charles Taze
Russell,” its writer suggests that Russell’s financial history is purposely
hidden by the modern Watch Tower Society. His intention is to suggest that
there is a hidden scandal. In fact, the Watch Tower is simply disinterested.
Their interest is in their doctrinal and spiritual antecedents.
Apparently reluctant to disclose his
name or contact information, the writer presents what he saw as his best effort
to disclose A. D. Jones’ history.[2]
Without doubt Jones is, as one writer described him, “the bad boy” of Watch
Tower history. But this writer’s attempt to connect Jones’ thefts to Russell
falls into wild speculation. Speculation may lead to a research trail, but
presenting it as probable is unethical. While considering the events connected
with a failed investor’s suicide, he writes:
How do we know that russell had
not given those worthless notes to Jones for whatever reason, or how do we know
that russell had not directed Jones to use
those three worthless notes to pay debts accrued while Jones acted as russell’s agent? Or better
yet, considering Creighton’s known “insolvency”, russell could have directed Jones to attempt to pawn off the
known worthless notes to whatever local NYC sucker would accept them (who
would take or buy them in Pittsburgh?), so as to recoup some or all of russell’s already obvious
losses. Interestingly, one of the two Plaintiffs was a large Paper Distributor.
Another thought, if A. D. Jones had also defrauded russell out of $10,500.00 ($350,000.00 in
2016 dollars – HALFHILL), then why did russell not
later pursue criminal charges, or even a civil lawsuit, against Jones?
We may never know!!! The full facts of this case were never
developed because Creighton was found dead of assumed suicide – a drug overdose –
the day before the three court opinions were filed. But-for that suicide, the following trial
would have publicly exposed the specifics of the ongoing business relationship
between A. D. Jones and Charles Taze Russell to Russell’s religious
constituency. As it was, Creighton’s death, and apparent insolvency, ended the
matter.[3]
All of this is unfounded, and it is based on haphazard research. The details he claims are lacking are easily found, and we consider them later in this chapter. This anonymous web site stands for many similar which are plagued by logic and research flaws. He raises questions that lack concrete evidence or reasoning to support his implied claims. Phrases such as how do we know and we may never know suggest that the author recognizes that his arguments are speculative. He shifts blame without justification, a polemicist’s argument of choice but unprincipled. He leaves the connection between Russell, Creighton and Jones undefined. The claim that Creighton’s suicide prevented the exposure of Russell’s business relationship with Jones is speculative and dramatic; it ignores more probable reasons why Russell failed to sue Jones. The assumptions made regarding the relationship between Jones, Russell, and the legal system are overly generalized and oversimplified. Bolded capitals and misuse of explanation marks do not prove anything. Finally, some claims are factually incorrect. His argument has no foundation. Now, let’s replace disreputable polemic with solid fact.
[1] https://www.apologetyka.info/swiadkowie-jehowy/a-d-jones-i-j-h-paton-poczatkowi-wspopracownicy-c-t-russella-i-pierwsi-porzucajacy-go,1634.htm
[2] My research assistant used the web site’s contact form to ask the author’s name. There was no response.
[3] http://jwdivorces.bravehost.com/russell.html
Albert
Royal Delmont Jones played a significant though until now unexplored role
in Watch Tower history. One finds brief mentions of him in the
relevant books and articles, usually never giving us more that a reiteration of
Russell’s 1890 biographical article. With the exception of two blogs devoted to
Watch Tower history in the Russell era, no one has returned to the original
documents.[1] A
Catholic web site devoted to apologetics has a more extensive article devoted
to Jones and J. H. Paton. It is built primarily from secondary sources and
contains errors of fact. It is meant to portray Russell in as poor light was
possible. It is neither consistently factual nor balanced.[2]
Worse is a web site devoted to anti-Watchtower and anti-Russell polemics. Its anonymous author is given to speculation, especially when he is unable to find a factual basis for criticism.[3] Billed as the best among many internet web pages, its writer suggests that Russell’s financial history is purposely hidden by the modern Watch Tower Society. His intention is to suggest that there is a hidden financial scandal. In fact, the Watch Tower is simply disinterested. Their interest is in their doctrinal and spiritual antecedents.
Without doubt Jones is, as one writer described him, “the bad boy” of Watch Tower history. But this writer’s attempt to connect Jones’ thefts to Russell falls into wild speculation based on haphazard research or imagination. He raises questions that lack concrete evidence or reasoning to support his implied claims, using phrases such as how do we know and we may never know which suggest that the author knows that his arguments are speculative. He shifts blame without justification, a polemicist’s argument of choice but unprincipled. He leaves the connection between Russell and others. The claim that a suicide prevented the exposure of Russell’s business relationship with Jones is speculative and dramatic; it ignores more the more probable. The assumptions made are overly generalized and oversimplified. He uses bolded, capitalized words and misuses explanation marks as if that alone proves a point. Now, let’s replace disreputable, unethical polemic with solid fact.
[1] The blogs seeking in-depth, accurate articles are
truthhistory.blogspot.com and jeromehistory.blogspot.com/. I’m owner of the truthhistory blog. So, I’m ‘patting
myself on the back’. Take that as you will.
[2] https://www.apologetyka.info/swiadkowie-jehowy/a-d-jones-i-j-h-paton-poczatkowi-wspopracownicy-c-t-russella-i-pierwsi-porzucajacy-go,1634.htm
[3] Using the web page’s contact form, my research assistant contacted him seeking his name. She received no reply.
Tuesday, August 6, 2024
Thursday, July 25, 2024
17 Years
Last May was this blog's seventeenth anniversary. It has, I believe, become a valuable resource for historians and the merely curious. What do you think?
Only known photo of Jonas Wendell
Our thanks to Bernhard for his hard work. He rescued this from the previously posted group photo, a truly significant contribution to preserving our history.
Wednesday, July 24, 2024
Wednesday, July 17, 2024
A temporary post
This is in very rough draft, the introductory matter to chapter three, Separate Identity, vol. 3. This post will come down within the week. Comments are welcome. Fact checking is even more welcome.
3 Albert Delmont Jones and
William Conley
Early Years
Albert Royal Delmont Jones played a
significant though until now unexplored role
in Watch Tower history. He was the son of Albert Delmont Jones,
Sr. (born c. 1835) and Martha McCleary. His father, “a well-known riverboat
engineer,” most often used his middle name in place of his first. Albert Senior
was a Civil War veteran, serving as an engineer on one of
the Mississippi gunboats.[1] After
the war he returned to riverboat service, serving on the famous Boaz and on a
lesser-known boat. He was a staunch Republican until near his death when doubts
over tariff policy led him to question party loyalty: “I’ve been a Republican,
voting that ticket, thinking it was right, and thinking by doing so it was
keeping up wages for the workingman, but I … have begun to think that we are
only helping the capitalists and not benefiting the public and ourselves.”[2]
remainder of this post has been deleted.
Tuesday, July 16, 2024
J B Kepner revisted
The discovery of the undertaker’s bill for Pastor Russell was behind a recent article on Josiah Bushy Kepner. This covered what happened when CTR died. If readers of this post have not read that previous article, it would be of benefit to first do so, and it can be found here:
https://truthhistory.blogspot.com/2024/05/j-b-kepner-of-waynoka.html
The position
taken in that article was to give a bit of Kepner’s background and to defend
him from harsh criticism of his work. While this writer still believes the
basic premise behind that article, in the interest of completeness and accuracy
we need to look at the criticism is more detail. I am very grateful to
correspondent Freddy who provided additional material that needs to be
considered.
W H Wisdom
made the criticism in his 1923 book Memoirs
of Pastor Russell that “through some more
bungling the body was removed from the train at the first small town, where it
was very improperly cared for in the way of embalming.”
From where
did Wisdom get his information?
There are
two accounts from the early 1920s that likely provided Wisdom with his
material.
The first,
and least compelling, is a letter found in the New Era Enterprise newspaper. This was the newspaper used by Bible
Students at the time for news and views and much found in it cannot be found
elsewhere.
In the 27
December 1921 Enterprise, Joseph
Greig while visiting Texas, including Pampa (where CTR actually died on the
train), wrote a short column “Pastor Russell’s Death Route.” Recounting the
story he said: "Orders were given to remove the body at Wynoka, Okla.,
where an old gentleman cared for the embalming. One who knew this person said
while he was not expert in his profession by reason of poor eyesight,
nevertheless, he was possibly the only embalmer who never extracted the blood,
but used his fluid in connection with the blood as a preservative."
There are
several problems with Greig’s account. “Old gentleman” has to be subjective – Kepner
was slightly younger than CTR. Then the concept of embalming by just introducing
embalming fluid without replacing cadaver blood does not make sense. The whole
point of embalming was to replace the blood to preserve the body temporarily and give a lifelike appearance
for viewers. The procedure was quite straightforward for anyone with the basic
training and equipment – with or without good eyesight. Embalming fluid was
pumped into the body, generally through the carotid artery, and was able to
displace the blood through an incision in a vein (often the jugular). It used
the human circulatory system to work. Sometimes massage was applied to help the
embalming fluid to circulate fully. The procedure was refined during the
American Civil war and after the body of Abraham Lincoln was so treated became
quite standard practice where a body needed preservation for transportation or
a delayed funeral.
This account
came from someone touring Texas, who never visited Waynoka in the next State and
never met Kepner, although he was still very much in business in Waynoka at the
time. It was written several years after the event. It falls into the category
of “an unnamed person told me…”
Of greater
weight is a talk given by A H MacMillan on The
History of the Society from 1910-1920.
The talk was transcribed, as was a short question and answer session
after it, and some of the material – almost word for word – was to appear in MacMillan’s book Faith
on the March (1957). Taken from
this transcript:
MacMillan
was scathing about Menta Sturgeon. Quote: “Poor Sturgeon didn’t know enough to
take care of a sick chicken, much less a dying man. What he said himself about
Brother Russell was enough to kill the man if he was half alive.”
Reading
Sturgeon’s detailed description of CTR’s last hours and his attempts to care
for him; and in the heightened emotion of the moment “spiritualizing” some of
those events, one can understand MacMillan’s comments.
MacMillan
also blamed Sturgeon for the body having to be removed from the train at Waynoka,
where Kepner Undertaking was the only game in town. Sturgeon had chosen to
publicize the death and Railway and State regulations kicked in. As MacMillan
states “if he had any sense and kept his mouth shut” the situation could be
been avoided.
In his
talk MacMillan was to further criticise Sturgeon for not giving the Bethel
family the news. Sturgeon wrote to his wife, Florence, in Bethel, and told her.
Only by intercepting the letter did MacMillan and others learn the news, before
the newspaper reporters started banging on the doors.
MacMillan
could be caustic about Sturgeon because by the time this talk was given Sturgeon
had ceased fellowship with the IBSA. He ultimately left all strands of the
Bible Student movement and ended up canvassing for a Universalist group, The
Concordant Bible Society.
MacMillan’s
distain for Kepner came across in his continued description: “They pulled the
body off the train in Pampa, Texas, and took him to a furniture store.” As
noted in the original article it was quite normal in small towns for the
undertaker to have another business. A man selling furniture and perhaps making
furniture could easily diversify into coffins, and if qualified, to provide the
whole funeral experience.
That was
the next point MacMillan made. In his estimation, Kepner was not qualified. His
account continues: “There a man who didn’t know how to embalm tried to embalm
the body and made a mess of the whole thing.”
Did
Kepner know how to embalm? As the original article explained, he was licensed
and the only licensed embalmer in the city. When he moved to Waynoka in 1913
and took over new premises The Woods
County Enterprise (Waynoka) for April 18, 1913, stated he had been in
business for 30 years and praised him as
a graduate of the best schools of embalming in the U.S.
Even
allowing for self publicity, embalming was something Kepner did. He remained in
active practice for over a decade after attending to CTR, only retiring in
1929. His company, managed by his
second wife likely hired someone else to do the embalming, and was still
advertising in the 1940s. While embalmers may bury their mistakes (literally!)
this man ran a successful business for decades. There was no hint of any issues
in the many references to him in the newspapers of the day.
We must
remember that his brief was not to present a body for lying in state, rather to
preserve it to meet existing laws for transportation. Kepner appears to have
done what was needed. Contemporary accounts of the events surrounding CTR’s
death spoke highly of him and there was no criticism from those who first saw
the body before it continued on its journey.
However,
for lying in state, after a long journey being bumped about on cars and
railroads, more work would be needed, including final cosmetic touches.
MacMillan
is then critical of finding suitcases packed around CTR’s feet in a twenty
dollar casket. But this was not a casket for viewing; it was a simple coffin (actually
costing thirty five dollars) to meet the requirements of transporting a body
across America. Possessions that had been taken off the train with the body
also had to be forwarded, personal effects, clothes etc. and the logical thing
was to store them in the coffin if there was room. This may have been Kepner
(and Sturgeon) just being practical, but MacMillan seems to have taken it as insensitive
and disrespectful.
So what was the problem? Everyone was very upset. Their beloved Pastor Russell had died. He looked old before his time, had been failing in health for quite a while, and sadly died in great pain. Opening the coffin in New York and seeing him was very distressing. There was turmoil in Bethel at the time. After giving the Bethel family the news, MacMillan described how “they met in little groups to talk and whisper, "What is going to happen now?"” Once the glue that held them together – Pastor Russell in person – was gone, then there were going to be problems, as events later proved.
So there
was an inclination to lash out. Sturgeon came under fire and Kepner came under
fire. But after further work by New York undertakers several thousand were able
to view CTR in a proper casket, first in the Bethel Home, then in the New York
City Temple and finally, six days after he died, in Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Hall
before the interment at United Cemeteries.