by Jerome
Important note: Grateful thanks are due to correspondent Bernhard who supplied some of the information below.
Regrettably I am not able to give references in support of some dates, but I
have no reason whatsoever to doubt the accuracy of the information.
The title “Three Sisters” may
bring to mind a famous play by Anton Chekhov, likely inspired by the three
Brontë sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne.
However, this article is
going to briefly consider three who were classed as sisters within the
framework of the ZWT fellowship. They all had something remarkable in common –
they all served as directors of Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society (from 1894 the
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society) during the time of CTR’s presidency.
If this concept is a surprise
to modern readers, there are two facts about those early days that must be
recognized. First, women had a much more public role in the Society’s affairs
in those days. CTR’s wife, Maria, for example was an associate editor of the
Watch Tower for a number of years. (See Proclaimers book footnote, page 645).
And second, it must be
realized that the role of directors in those early days was mainly figurative.
In A Conspiracy Exposed (pages 55-60) CTR explained that for legal reasons they
needed directors, but it was always understood that matters were so arranged to
allow him (along with Maria at that time) to retain control. There was no
annual meeting, and elections, such as they were, took place on the first
Saturday of each New Year. Hence J B Adamson in that same document complained
that as a director he never made a decision. Later, Maria in the separation
hearing testimony, made a similar comment about her role as
secretary-treasurer. Directors would include some of CTR’s contacts in
Pittsburgh and Allegheny, and in many cases, those who were on hand by living
in or at least working in the Bible House. But they didn’t “direct” – they were
just names on paper. As time went on, a number of members of the Pittsburgh
Bible House family (and later Brooklyn Bethel family) simply stepped in and
filled gaps as directors – often for quite brief times – under the
administration of CTR.
So, our three “sisters” who
were directors?
The first female director,
was of course, Maria Russell herself. Maria Frances Ackley was born in 1850.
She married CTR in 1879 and
later that year worked with him as the fledgling ZWT magazine was launched. Her
sister Emma married CTR’s father, Joseph, the following year, 1880.
In 1881 Zion’s Watch Tower
Tract Society was formed with William Conley as president, Joseph L Russell as
vice president and CTR as secretary-treasurer. On Monday, December 15, 1884
this society was legally incorporated in Pittsburgh. Maria became a director
and an officer of the new incorporated Society – as secretary-treasurer. On
paper this meant that she replaced CTR who had previously held that position,
but who now became president of the new official arrangement.
Maria remained as secretary-treasurer
in name until the annual meeting on January 5, 1895. Although no longer an
officer, she remained on the books as a director until February 12, 1900 when
she resigned. She was replaced by either Albert E Williamson or Clara Taylor
(two new directors were required at this election).
Her subsequent history is
quite easy to trace. The contemporary newspaper St Paul Enterprise in its
Memorial number when CTR died gives an account of her in the funeral cortege.
She later moved to Florida with her sister, Emma, and died in St Petersburg,
Florida, in 1938. There is some biographical material for her on the Find a
Grave site, under Maria F Ackley Russell.
The second female director
was also a Vice-President of the Society for a very short time. This was Rose Ball Henninges. Early
census returns list her as Rosa (rather than Rose) J Ball - but no-one seems to
know what the J stood for. She and her brother, Charles, came to Pittsburgh.
Charles died in March 1889 and Rose became part of the Russell household and
then Bible House family. She is included in many group photographs of the day,
along with a young man named Ernest Charles Henninges, whom she would marry in
1897. (He too would be a director at one point).
A young Rose Ball
sitting in a group photo with her future husband Ernest Henninges in 1893.
Rose became a director on
April 11, 1892. Two directors were replaced on that date, William I Mann and
Joseph F Smith, so she replaced one of them. On January 7, 1893, Rose became
Vice-President for a year, until the next year’s elections on January 6, 1894.
After that she remained as a director until she resigned on February 12, 1900
(the same official date as for Maria Russell). As noted above, she was then
replaced by either Albert E Williamson or Clara Taylor.
A few years after her
marriage to Ernest Henninges, Rose and Ernest travelled abroad to further the
cause. They spent some time in Britain (you can find them in the 1901 UK
census) and then Germany, before eventually travelling to Australia. They spent
the rest of their lives there. A split occurred between them and CTR over the
understanding of “the New Covenant” and they founded their own journal in 1909,
which ran until 1953. Charles died in 1939, and Rose in 1950. She was survived
by two sisters still living in America, Miss Lilian Ball of Buffalo, NY, and
Mrs Daisy Mabee of Paterson, NJ.
As already mentioned in
passing, the third female director was Clara Taylor. Clara became a director on
February 12, 1900. On this date both Maria F Russell and Rose J Ball (now
Henninges) resigned, so Clara replaced one of them. As already noted, the other
replacement director appointed that day was Albert E Williamson.
Clara served as a director for less than a year. At the next election on the first Saturday of the New Year, January 5, 1901, she resigned and was replaced by William E Van Amburgh. He would become one of the longest serving directors in the Society's history. (Only Milton Henschel, Lyman Swingle and Frederick Franz would serve for longer).
Clara served as a director for less than a year. At the next election on the first Saturday of the New Year, January 5, 1901, she resigned and was replaced by William E Van Amburgh. He would become one of the longest serving directors in the Society's history. (Only Milton Henschel, Lyman Swingle and Frederick Franz would serve for longer).
Clara is featured in some
group photographs of the Bible House family in the first decade of the 20th
century. Below is a selection from a photograph showing the mailing room c. 1907.
Clara in the
Bible House mailing room c. 1907
All we know at present about
Clara Taylor comes from the separation hearing Russell v. Russell from
1906. She was called as a witness to
support the testimony of J A Bohnet, and was both examined and cross examined
in the case.
Her testimony shows that she
was working at Bible House in 1897 before Maria Russell left for Chicago to
stay with her brother, Lemuel. CTR had been called away from home and
telephoned Ernest Henninges (misspelled Hennings in the transcript) to ask if
could arrange for someone to stay over at Bible House so that Maria would not
be left on her own. (Most workers lodged outside the building). Clara was asked
and agreed, but was then told by Henninges that she no longer needed to do this
because Maria had told him via the internal speaking tube that she’d made her
own arrangements. That was the sum of
her testimony. But it showed that Clara worked at Bible House in 1897 before
Maria left. A passing comment indicated that she had not been there the
previous year, 1896. She was also still working there in 1906. And crucially
for subsequent attempts to trace her, she was addressed several times as Miss
Clara Taylor. So she was single at the time.
When the headquarters moved
to Brooklyn in 1909, Clara apparently didn’t go. Or at least, she is not in the
census returns from 1910 onwards. Whether that was due to the New Covenant
controversy, or just a matter of geography and family, is not known. She may
well have married, in which case the surname Taylor would disappear, making
tracing her subsequent movements somewhat problematic.
So Clara remains a bit of
mystery, even though she spent around ten years working at the headquarters,
and was one of the three sisters who became directors of the Society in the CTR
era.
More details on the
unsuccessful search can be found in the comment trail.