This is found in the Monroe County Mail, a paper published in a suburb of Rochester, New York. This may seem insignificant, but announcements such as this one sometimes lead us to other things. Here are my working notes:
"Conventions remained small, hardly
more than local meetings. In late September 1901 a meeting held in the room 16
of the Durand Building
in Rochester , New York ,
was advertised as “a convention of believers in the great redemption sacrifice
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” The Rochester, New York, Democrat and
Chronicle said that Russell “was heard with interest and close attention by
an intelligent audience which occupied the entire seating capacity of the hall.”
Still, the gathering seems to have been small.
An announcement appearing in the Monroe
County Mail the Thursday prior described Russell as “one of the greatest
Bible students of the age.”
While this probably tweaked Barbour’s nose, it wasm't directed at him. This descriptor
or something like it was used in most of Russell’s announcements and
advertisements. There are a number of similar examples. One is found in the November 9, 1907 , Philadelphia ,
Pennsylvania , Inquirer: “Rev.
Mr. Russell is said to be one of the foremost Bible scholars in this country.”
Barbour was a factor, though to
what extent is uncertain. By 1901 Barbour’s influence was significantly
reduced. But in Rochester there was
still interplay between Watch Tower
adherents and the Barbourite congregation. And some continued to read Herald
of the Morning, though at this point the Herald’s circulation
reached fewer than a thousand. Barbour continued to preach insult and
half-truth about Russell. In the …"
So you see that small things can lead to a larger story. If you have in your files anything like this, please share it.
4 comments:
Here you have a quotation from a 1904 newspaper in which M.L. McPhail and C.T. Russell are mentioned.
"M.L. McPhail, of Chicago, author of 'Zion's Glad Songs,' will preach at K.P. Hall, corner Third and Piasa streets Thursday night, Sept. 29th. Mr. McPhail is enroute to St. Louis to attend the Bible Students' Convntion, to be held Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 1st and 2nd, in Coliseum building 13th and Olive streets. Pastor C.T. Russell, (editor of The Watch Tower, of Allegheny, Pa.) and many other well known bible students will take part in the St. Louis convention."
(Alton Evening Telegraph [Alton, Illinois], 1904, September 27th, p.5)
Your work is much appreciated up here in Ontario! You have probably been using this archive already but will mention it anyway ---Chronicling America-Library of Congress.....chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn88064237/1893-06-10/ed-1/seq-1/ (I dont know how to send you the actual image) Thanx for your blog- pollymath
Thank you very much Anonymous from Canada for giving the link to that archive, which I personally have never consulted before. I have been looking through it and there is masses of excellent material there.
Perhaps the wording about the greatest or one of the greatest Bible students of the age or of the world, came from the revivalist movements???
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