A state archive holds a letter written by S. T. Tackabury. We're arranging to get a scan, but have low expectations for the letter.
A search by another of a pertinent YMCA archive shows that Adamson probably played a far smaller part in a revival than he suggested to Watch Tower readers. We'll use this result with caution because we didn't make the search ourselves. But even a negative result adds to the story.
Monday, February 22, 2016
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Thomas Hickey - Early Bible Student
by Jerome
The 1922 Cedar
Point, Ohio, convention of the IBSA is a remembered historical event for
several reasons. But a little known one that can now be added is that a member
of CTR’s early Bible class from the mid-1870s was there, and was interviewed in
the New Era Enterprise newspaper about those early days. His name was Thomas
Hickey and in 1922 he was billed as “the only one now living who was a member
of Pastor Charles T. Russell’s first little class in Allegheny”.
The above report is found in the New Era Enterprise
for December 26, 1922, page 2. We will transcribe the account a little bit
later, but first, some background information about Thomas Hickey.
He was born on November 11, 1844, in Tredegar
in South Wales, UK. In the 1851 census returns for Tredegar, his father (unnamed)
is noted as immigrated, leaving a wife, Joanna Hickey, to support three young children
as a dressmaker.
Tredegar was a boom town in the 19th
century linked to expanding iron works with their tram road and then steam
links down the valley to the aptly-named Newport. But horrendous sanitary
conditions and cholera epidemics made it a place to leave if you could. Your
religion was probably one of several competing varieties of Baptist or
Methodist non-conformism.
According to the Wales-Pennsylvania
project, at one point one-third of the population of Pennsylvania was Welsh,
and even today there are 200,000 people of Welsh ancestry in the State. From the original Welsh Quakers moving to
Pennsylvania, there were soon floods of industrial workers from Wales - slate
quarrymen from the North, and from the South coal miners and iron workers,
whose skills would be welcomed in industrial centers like Pittsburgh. At the
time Hickey lived in Pittsburgh there was a large Welsh St David’s Society
there, which still flourishes today.
So Hickey followed a well-trodden path to reach
Pittsburgh. He was married to Gwendolyn Bowen with one child, John, when they
made the decision to leave Wales and travel to the States in the 1860s. He ultimately
had seven children, but all the others, barring one, were born in the States.
The exception was his fourth, daughter Anna, who was born around 1874 back in
Wales, so - assuming the census enumerator got it right - they must have made a
trip back to the old country.
In the 1870 census Thomas is now in
Pittsburgh as a puddler in a roll mill. (A puddler was a specialized furnace
worker, who converted pig iron into wrought iron.) In the 1880 Pittsburgh
census he is still listed as a puddler, with wife Gwennie, and the seven
children.
And between those two dates he attended
early meetings with Charles Taze Russell.
The account in full from the Enterprise
reads as follows:
(quote)
Among the thousand attending the
convention is the venerable Thomas Hickey, of Newcastle, Pa. He is the only one
now living who was a member of Pastor Charles T. Russell’s first little class
in Allegheny.
He relates that the first convention held
was in a building on Federal St., Allegheny, when less than a hundred were
present. This was about 1875. The first testimony meeting was held in 1876 in
the home of Brother Russell, when six consecrated hearts were present. This
gives an amazing contrast when compared with this great convention of over
12,000, with many, many times that number at home all over the world.
In listening to Mr Hickey relating his
experiences, it can be seen that this movement grew, not by any organized
effort, but simply and spontaneously by a gathering together of consecrated
Christians to study their Bibles as their hearts yearned to do.
“Charlie would give them little talks,” he
said, “and after awhile he began to go around and speak here and there. When
they started to call him Elder Russell, the question arose as to what would be
the proper title for their minister. When they asked Brother Russell, he
answered simply, ‘We will just go on without any name, for are all one in
Christ Jesus.’”
Mr Hickey said he never expected to attend
such a convention as this one, and considers it the greatest privilege of his
life.
(end of quote)
We have to accept that this is anecdotal
evidence from an old man about events nearly fifty years before. We don’t know
how good his memory was, or how accurately he was reported by the Enterprise
writer, but it gives us a flavour of those early times.
A search in the early ZWTs provides a
number of references to a “Brother Hickey” but these all appear to be Samuel I
Hickey, a former Presbyterian minister, who had quite a high profile in those
early days. So all we have - unless other researchers can find out more - is the
Enterprise interview, and also Thomas’ obituary in his local paper.
The above obituary from the New Castle
News, January 14, 1927, firmly identifies Thomas as an active member of the International
Bible Students Association. It states that he moved to New Castle 22 years before,
which would be around 1904, and his final employment status was as a boiler
maker.
There is a Thomas Hickey in New Castle
trade directories for the 1890s, and this Thomas is described as working in the
Vulcan Iron co., so there may be an error in the obituary dates and this is
him. Or maybe the 1890s feature some other Thomas Hickey. It was not an
uncommon name.
Thomas was certainly well-known enough in
his New Castle community to warrant the 1927 obituary, which also detailed two
fraternal societies he belonged to, one of which was back in Pittsburgh.
One wonders how many of his surviving five
children, fifteen grandchildren and seventeen great-grandchildren continued in
the same religious persuasion.
Friday, February 19, 2016
Ernest - By G. P.
The
Importance of Being Ernest
The 1973 Yearbook relates an event
in 1910 when Pastor Russell visited the town of Otley, in Wharfedale,
Yorkshire. Apparently, as a result of
reading Russell’s Plan of the Ages, three Methodist lay ministers left the
church and started a Bible Study group which by 1910 had grown to a class of
about 40 persons. But who were these
three ministers?
The 1910 Convention Souvenir relates
the same event with more detail, informing us that the event occurred some
years earlier and giving us the names of two of the three: a Brother Ted Smith
and a Brother Waterhouse, who had become elders of the Otley Ecclesia by
1910. But when precisely did the event
take place? The
Leeds Mercury for 6 March 1906, carried an article entitled Millennial Dawn – A
New Sect in Wharfedale – Some of its Strange Tenets. It explained that:
The religious beliefs of a band of
Otley people have just attracted attention from the fact that three of their
number, who were at one time prominent local preachers on the Primitive
Methodist plan, have rendered their resignations, and these have been accepted
by the district meeting.
Apparently therefore, the event had
occurred early in 1906, but who was the third man?
Recently the writer stumbled across
the war record of an IBSA conscientious objector in World War One who had been
placed in the 6th Northern Company of the Non Combatant Corps. Like many a Bible Student, the man was refused
total exemption at his Military Service Tribunal but was given exemption from
combatant service only. Thereafter he refused to follow orders and received
court martial before being sent to Wormwood Scrubs Prison. Eventually he took what was considered ‘work
of national importance’ working under the Home Office Scheme at the Princetown
Work Centre, the former Dartmoor Prison.
The surviving WO 363 (Burnt record)
for this man suggests that he was first called up on 24/06/1916 but that a
delay resulted in him not being put into the Non Combatant Corps until March
1917. It states his name was Ernest
Yeoman Renton, aged 33, and his home address was Holme View, Arthington,
Yorkshire. His religion is stated as
‘Bible Students Association’ and his occupation as ‘Lay Evangelist - Bible
Students' Association.’ But what would
account for the delay? At this time the
War Office had consented to cancel the papers of elders who had been called to
the army, pending the decision of a case referred to the High Court. The case was decided in February 1917 but
sadly failed to establish the exemption of IBSA elders as ministers of
religion. As a result, Ernest Yeoman
Renton, an elder in the nearby Otley Ecclesia, was expected to take his place
in the Non Combatant Corps in March 1917.
The fact that Arthington is a small
village close by Otley is unremarkable by itself. However it just so happens, that Ernest
Yeoman Renton wrote a letter to Edmund Harvey, a Quaker MP sympathetic to
conscientious objectors, in late 1916, which can be seen in the Friends House
Library, London. In convincing Harvey of
the genuineness of his position, Renton mentions that “these Christian
principles have governed my life for the past ten years.” If Renton took to Bible Student teachings some
10 years previous to 1916, this places him precisely at the time of the
incident in question.
A search of Ancestry details for
Ernest Yeoman Renton shows him living at Arthington during the 1911
census. It is also apparent that he
married a 36 year old named … wait for it … Lucy Waterhouse. The event took place in Morecambe, Lancashire
on 17 May 1916. The reader may not be
surprised to learn that Lucy Waterhouse had formerly lived in Otley (according
to the 1911 census) with her family. She
was the daughter of John George Waterhouse, a Master Baker, and appears to have
worked as a shop assistant for him.
We cannot be 100% sure, of course,
but it seems extremely likely that the three Primitive Methodist lay ministers
of 1906 that became Bible Students therefore were:
Ted Smith
Ernest Yeoman Renton
John George Waterhouse
P.S.
As an aside, it also seems likely that Leonard Renton of nearby Leeds,
who was a member of the Richmond 16 and became one of the eight Bible Student
conscientious objectors to have faced the infamous ‘death sentence’ episode,
was in some way related to Ernest Yeoman Renton.
Home Movies
by Jerome
For some time I have been working my way through a visual search of the
St Paul Enterprise newspaper (later named the New Era Enterprise) for Rachael.
Some of the published life stories (and obituaries) in this paper take us back as
far as the 1880s, and in a few cases even link up with early letters in ZWT. As
a spin-off though, there is a lot of other interesting material to be found.
Although more recent than the general timeframe of this blog, I found the following
item which certainly interested ME.
The Cedar Point,
Ohio, convention of 1922 is an historical milestone for the Bible Students who
later adopted the name Jehovah’s Witnesses. What is not generally known is that
a short “home movie” was produced of the proceedings and sold commercially
thereafter.
Above is an
advertisement that appeared in the New Era Enterprise newspaper on October 3,
1922. According to the pitch, anyone could purchase the film for home viewing,
and perhaps see if they could spot themselves amongst the audience.
The film was made
to be shown for home audiences with the Kinemo equipment. We know that the
first three films made for this system - basically travelogs linked to J R
Rutherford’s visit to Egypt and the Holy Land - have survived, even if currently
unavailable. But has anyone out there still got a reel of film about Cedar
Point, Ohio, in 1922?
There is an element
of good news and bad news about these kinds of film. The good news is that film
produced to be shown in private homes was generally not on nitrate stock.
Unless stored under very specific conditions, nitrate tends to crumble to dust,
unless it goes up in flames first. But safety film, although not having the
translucent properties of nitrate, can survive a lot longer.
The bad news is
that the Kinemo system used one of the very first “amateur” film sizes - 17.5
mm. Basically this film size started life as 35 mm stock split down the middle,
and even then, different manufacturers had different ways of organizing the
sprocket holes. It was only commercially available for a short time and was
soon superseded when Kodak popularised 16mm and Pathé 9.5 mm. Ultimately 8 mm
became the standard amateur gauge for home viewing.
So even if someone
had the film, they would have great difficulty projecting it without very
ancient equipment - and probably not just any 17.5 equipment, but specific
Kinemo equipment. That is assuming Kinemo equipment still existed in working
order and wouldn’t automatically chew up the product and spit it out in bits.
But back to the good
news - many of the classics of the silent screen have only survived to our day
because someone had the forethought to produce copies for these smaller sized
film stocks that had the capacity for survival. In many cases, film archives
have re-photographed them frame by frame to preserve them for modern audiences.
No-one is going to
say that Cedar Point, Ohio, is a classic lost film. But does ANYONE know if it
is still out there? Somewhere? The Instructo Cinema Service Company of Chicago
must have sold a few at the time.
Thursday, February 18, 2016
S. D. Rogers - 1887
We can attach this ad to Rogers through his letter to Russell:
Grand Rapids, Mich.
DEAR BROTHER RUSSELL:--I will tell you briefly of my
efforts here. Have been here two weeks and have been
working
in the business part of the city nearly all the time.
I have sold
300 DAWNS--nearly half of them being Vol. II. When
here two
years ago, I sold only about 35 in the business part
of the city.
The increase, I think, is owing somewhat to the
interest formed
by hearing of the book; but perhaps more directly by a
better
presentation of its merits. It requires considerable
tact,
earnestness and experience to interest business men in
a
religious work. Though if once interested the
influence is apt to
be good, as they are generally at the head of
practical and
representative families.
The principal object now, I think, is to find the
"sheep" and
minister unto them; but in doing this, we can do good
unto all,
as we have opportunity. I have not yet decided whether
it will be
well to canvass the whole city again now. If the
exceedingly
warm weather continues it will perhaps be better to
work in
smaller towns for a while.
It is interesting to note the way in which the truth
and harmony
brought out in DAWN is being circulated and found out.
Being
good tidings, they who find it go and tell their own
brother,
sister or friend. These likewise go and tell others,
even as it was
when the Savior was first discovered among men. And
how
blessed are they who are permitted to publish these
things!
I greatly enjoyed the "View" in last TOWER.
Truly, the Elisha
class will be more numerous than that of the Elijah.
And though
the former class will be highly favored, I am striving
and hoping
to be one of the overcomers. In considering the
subject I have
been interested in trying to trace the import and
typical meaning
of 2 Kings 2:10--where we read "If thou see me
taken from thee;
but if not, it shall not be so." Will it be that
the Elisha class will
need to know, or see, when the Elijah class is taken
from them
in order that they may inherit a "double"
portion of the spirit?
[This would seem to teach that it will be only such as
keep in
fellowship with the Elijah class, such, therefore, as
will know
them and realize that they are being exalted, who will
constitute
the Elisha class and be inspired to fresh zeal and
redoubled
earnestness in the service of the truth from a
realization of the
facts.--EDITOR.]
With Christian love to you and Sister R. and others of
them that
are His, I remain, Yours in service, S. D. ROGERS.
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
We get many more visits
We get many more visits than a few months ago. This is good. Comments are few and far between. This is not so good. The recent visitor map:
More Adamson
Once we identified Adamson's peculiarly phrased sermon topic and paired that with the places we know he lectured, we found these advertisements:
Indianapolis 1884
Wheeling, West Virginia 1884
W. E. Richards - as it now stands
W. E.
Richards was born in Illinois in March 16, 1861, and with his family moved to
Ohio sometime before 1870. As a youth he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church.
By the time he appeared in the pages of Zion’s Watch Tower, he was
married with children. Writing to Russell in February 1892, he recalled his
youthful interest in the Bible and his desire to preach: “From a child I have
read the Scriptures, and all other books that I thought or hoped would make
plain to my understanding the truth, as I was hungry to know and anxious to
teach it.”[1] By
the mid-1880s he was “quite active in the M. E. (Methodist Episcopal) church at
Akron, Ohio.” His “great ambition was to become a Methodist minister.”
To pay for his education he
sold his home and bought a store. Someone advised him that a store could be
sold for cash more quickly than a house could, but the advice was poor, and he
lost all he had. “Just as I seemed to be defeated,” he later recalled, “a man
came to the store room and called my attention to a book, saying ‘it will
unfold to you the deep things of God.’ He glanced at it, “and saw that it
referred to earth’s dark night of sin to terminate in the morning of joy.”
He described
the Watch Tower evangelists as “some old gentleman, with a serene countenance.”
Richards said that “he had learned that I was quite a Bible student, and that
he had a book that would unfold some of the deep things taught in the
Scriptures.” The Watch Tower evangelist seems to have handed Richards a folder
advertising The Plan of the Ages. Two of those differing in content and
format exist, but which he saw is irrelevant. He was intrigued and wanted to
know more:
By his tactfulness he got my attention quickly, and
glancing over the outline of its contents, and noting its purpose … I became
very anxious to learn what it meant and began the study carefully and
prayerfully. As I learned from it, I began to tell others and to loan the books
to others who professed to be sanctified … .
I tried to persuade them to get acquainted with the
message, but my books were returned unread. One said he would like to burn my
books and decided I was beside myself. [ie: insane] I usually replied by asking
whether I should prefer the teachings of Christ and the Apostles, or the
teachings of men who could not prove what they taught from the Scriptures, and
asked them why pope and preachers ignored what was taught by Christ … and teach
that we did not die, in accord with Satan’s lie of Gen. 3:4, and asked them
what Christ meant when he said: “marvel not at this, for the hour is coming, in
which all that are in the grave shall hear his voice, and shall come forth” …. [2]
The date of his initial
interest is uncertain, though it seems to have been before his marriage in 1887.
Though John B. Adamson was working in Ohio in this era and the description
matches his age, we do not know who the serene gentleman was. Other aged
believers worked through the American Midwest. We’re left with guesswork. Richards
purchased the book, and it altered his belief system. He shared his newly found
beliefs. The result was disappointing:
Seeing more real gospel or glad tidings in a brief
glance and all in accord with a God of love, and in accord with reason and by
examining the Scriptures to see if these things were so, ... [I] found it all
in accord and began to tell others about it. My own father was one of the
first, and he said, ‘Be careful my boy and do not run the risk of losing your
never-dying soul. I also delivered the message to fellow members of the M. E.
[Methodist Episcopal] Church, but they were afraid of it; they were taught fear
of life in fire.[3]
Richards
wanted to meet Russell and traveled from Ohio to Allegheny City to do so. He “called
at the then small office and study room and met a comparatively young man with
real black beard and a sublime face, reminding me of the face of pictures of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and said to myself and other friends, that I saw the
most Christ-like face I ever looked at, and I have been endeavoring to live in
accord and teach such a wonderful Gospel ever since.”[4]
While
sharing the Watch Tower message with fellow Methodists and meeting rejection
for it, he remained within the Methodist Church, reluctant to sever pleasant
associations. He finally left Methodism in 1892, sealing with a letter what had
been the case for several years. He explained to Russell:
After
having been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for about twenty years,
I have to-day sent to the pastor a letter of withdrawal. I have hesitated long
to take the step, as it is a coming out from pleasant associations, and
fellowship with many who are apparently perfectly honest in their belief; but
it is also a coming out of Babylon or confusion. My prayer has been, “Lord, what
wilt thou have me to do;” and now, with an honest desire to do God's will, and to
walk in the footsteps of our Lord and Master, I have taken the step. ...
I
preach the truth wherever opportunity affords; and if circumstances would
permit, I would gladly go out into all the world and preach the gospel to all
having hearing ears; but it is not my privilege so to do. Occasionally I have
the opportunity to teach it to individuals.
I
ask that you will remember me at the throne of grace, that I may be led by the spirit
of Christ into all truth, that I may be enabled, by his grace, to walk worthy
of the gospel wherein we are called, that my will may be fully submitted to
God's will and that I may soon be buried with him in baptism; and, being filled
with the spirit of Christ, that I may be permitted to go forth bearing the
precious seed (truths) of the Lord.[5]
Richards
remained an active evangelist, working mostly locally in Pennsylvania and Ohio
through 1917. We know little about him after that. He spent his last years as a
farmer, dying June 17, 1932.
[1] “Out of Darkness into his Marvelous Light,” Zion’s
Watch Tower, March 1, 1893, page 78.
[2] Voices of the People: What our Readers Say, The St. Paul,
Minnesota, Enterprise, November 20, 1917.
[3] Letter from Richards to editor of St. Paul,
Minnesota, Enterprise, March 6, 1917.
[4] Letter from Richards to editor of St. Paul,
Minnesota, Enterprise, March 6, 1917.
[5] Letter from Richards to Russell, Zion’s Watch Tower,
March 1, 1893, page 78.
Monday, February 15, 2016
William Ellsworth Richards
For rough draft of his bio. see the recent long post. We need a photo. Anyone?
A note from a blog reader
One of J. P. Martin's sons, Homer, and Homer's wife Clara, were very
well-known Jehovah's Witnesses in the Dayton congregation, both of them
professing to be anointed Christians. They later lived at an address on
Illinois Avenue, in east Dayton. I lived in the Dayton area when I was
growing up, and I was acquainted with several Witnesses who knew them,
including the Witness who purchased their house after their death (they
both spent their last years in nursing homes due to dementia).
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Temporary Post
We're combining parts of several chapters into one. This is work in progress, unfinished, and it will change. Don't repost it anywhere. Don't rely on it. However, I want you to see where we are going, what current work is.
The Russell myth is that the Watch Tower movement was Adventist. We show in this chapter the beliefs and denominational origins of Watch Tower evangelists. You will note that they were not Adventists.
I'll take this down in a day or so. If you copy it for personal use or to further our research, please do not share it off this blog.
New Workers Enter the Field
Mostly
ignored by historians are adherent’s the efforts to spread the message through
the religious press. Finding examples from the period before The Plan of the
Ages was published is difficult. Most believers addressed doctrine and did
not reference Russell or his associates or any of their publications. This is
not surprising since affiliation was fluid and loose. Many – most in this
period – who read and circulated Zion’s Watch Tower saw sectarian organization
as a “mark of Babylon.”
An
article by G. W. Cone entitled “Is Christ on the Throne of David” appeared in
the November 30, 1882, issue of American Christian Review, a Disciples
newspaper not generally read by One Faith or Adventist believers. A copy was
passed on to John B. Cox of Crawfordsville, Indiana, and he wrote a lengthy
reply. His review was published in the January 4, 1883, issue. He refuted Cone’s
contention that the kingdom promises were fulfilled during Jesus’ lifetime,
referencing the Emphatic Diaglott’s rendering of Colossians chapter one
and citing an many other verses to prove future, literal fulfillment. He
concluded by saying: “We have an abundance of evidence to show that Christ is
not yet seated on the throne of David, but is seated at the right hand of the
Majesty on High, and in the fullness of time will descend from heaven and take
the Throne of David and rule the nations of the earth.”
A debate
followed with Cone asserting Whitbian views and Cox reaffirming
pre-millennialism. In the February 1, 1883, issue, Cox focused on the earthly
nature of Christ’s kingdom: “It will at once be seen that if the Church is the
Kingdom, then the Kingdom is flesh and blood. This theory of the Church-Kingdom
is contrary to teachings of the apostle Paul.”
Substituting
ridicule for scriptural reasoning, Cone wrote a blustering reply which filled
nearly the entire front page of the February 15th issue. He
sneeringly referred to the Millenarian (and Watch Tower) conception of Christ’s
kingdom as the “imaginary kingdom established in Palestine with Jerusalem as
its capital” and the twelve apostles as the cabinet. He assigned cabinet posts
to the various apostles. The editors of the Review tired of the debate,
but Cox was allowed one last reply which was published in the March 29, 1883,
issue. Cox refocused the debate on the Bible’s message. “The kingdom of God and
of his Christ is too sacred and important a subject for us to indulge in
joviality,” he wrote. Mildly rebuking Cone for resorting to ridicule, Cox
restated Millenarian belief:
This post has been deleted. Thanks for looking.
This post has been deleted. Thanks for looking.
Both Bruce and I have ...
This letter from Adamson to Russell appears in the April 1886 issue of Zion's Watch Tower. Adamson says he wrote letters to the newspapers in and around Binghamton, New York. Our only access to these is through fultonhistory.com. You can't view them by issue there, only through search terms. We couldn't locate Adamson's letters or articles. Can you?
Not in Reprints:
Binghamton, N.Y., March 15, 1886.
DEAR BRO. RUSSELL: We are still here, and enclose a list of
names and report. I think my course of lectures closed auspiciously
as I could think, if not wish.
Some told me that if the series did no other good, it at least softened
the attitude of the fiery dogmatic Free Methodists, who expect to
run away with all that dare try conclusions with them. At the
meeting yesterday they showed, as a result of my answers to their
questions at the stand and in the papers, that they were better
disposed and had "changed their minds," both as to methods and as
to denying all except tradition. At first they knew everything. The
congregation increased, and many expressed regret that the lectures
closed. The last lectures were received with great warmth and
expressions of benefits received. I stay till to-morrow to have
conversations with parties to-day. You see work is plenty for the
willing. Surely I begin to see why the Lord sent me this way. Mrs.
A. joins in kind remembrance, sympathy, and prayers for all saints,
but especially for you, dear Bro. and Sister Russell. In Christ,
J. B. ADAMSON.
Not in Reprints:
Binghamton, N.Y., March 15, 1886.
DEAR BRO. RUSSELL: We are still here, and enclose a list of
names and report. I think my course of lectures closed auspiciously
as I could think, if not wish.
Some told me that if the series did no other good, it at least softened
the attitude of the fiery dogmatic Free Methodists, who expect to
run away with all that dare try conclusions with them. At the
meeting yesterday they showed, as a result of my answers to their
questions at the stand and in the papers, that they were better
disposed and had "changed their minds," both as to methods and as
to denying all except tradition. At first they knew everything. The
congregation increased, and many expressed regret that the lectures
closed. The last lectures were received with great warmth and
expressions of benefits received. I stay till to-morrow to have
conversations with parties to-day. You see work is plenty for the
willing. Surely I begin to see why the Lord sent me this way. Mrs.
A. joins in kind remembrance, sympathy, and prayers for all saints,
but especially for you, dear Bro. and Sister Russell. In Christ,
J. B. ADAMSON.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Solving Puzzles
by Jerome
This article takes us
away from the time period being currently researched, but is an example of how
sometimes puzzles CAN be solved. That can only be encouraging in our present
search for names to go with faces, or more likely faces and details to go with
incomplete names. The material is slightly expanded from an article on the now
defunct blog 2, where it might have been read by about three people.
I like solving mysteries. The photograph above has
raised questions for many years. The two women sitting on a swing seat or
hammock are the subject of a photograph in a photo album that dates from 1909.
The simple question is - who are they?
The cover of the photo album was reproduced on blog
1 some time ago. It is an album of various scenes around the United Cemeteries.
This was an amalgamation of three cemeteries in Ross Township, Allegheny. The
Society founded the cemetery on farming land, next to an existing graveyard,
and this is where Charles Taze Russell was subsequently buried. The cover of
the album is reproduced again below.
The middle picture is of John Adam Bohnet who looked
after the cemetery, and who later supervised the building of the pyramid on the
Society’s plot. The bottom picture is of the main farm house and cemetery
office. Familiar old pictures of CTR’s grave and the pyramid show this building
from a different angle in the background, looking down the hill.
The rest of the photograph album shows various views
of the surrounding landscape. But it does include the picture of the two women
on the swing seat or hammock which appears to be taken from the farm house
looking up the hill.
So who were they?
The wonders of the internet and sites like Ancestry
have finally yielded the probable answer. In the 1910 census of Ross Township
there are four people living on the property. Their names are given below:
So there are Edward Hollister, Head, Male, White,
aged 66. His wife, Jane, aged 62. His daughter, Clara, aged 28. And then Adam J
Bohnet, Boarder, aged 52. Further along the same line we get their occupations.
Hollister is Cemetery Superintendent, his wife is not officially employed, his
daughter is the book-keeper for the business, and finally, John Adam Bohnet
(rendered here as Adam J Bohnet, just to make life difficult for researchers). Bohnet
is specifically Cemetery Superintendent for United Cemeteries.
The women therefore are mother and daughter, Jane
and Clara Hollister.
At some point the Hollister family moved on, because
Bohnet is afterwards given sole credit as cemetery manager. There are pictures
of him supervising at the time of CTR’s funeral, his bald head clearly
recognisable. Shortly thereafter the newspaper, St Paul Enterprise, contained
advertisements from him asking for help - manual help from men and also clerical
help from women, to run the business. However, if any responded their
employment was only short-lived because the bulk of the land was sold off in
1917, and the Society only retained ownership of certain sections.
It is interesting to note that the Hollister family,
Edward, Jane, and Clara (who subsequently married J C Jordan) were all
eventually buried in the United Cemeteries. (Edward in 1920, Jane in 1933 and
Clara in 1958). However, it is significant that none of them were buried on the
Society’s plots.
But it IS nice to put names to faces.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Last Ditch Effort
We still need a firm identity for the "Brother and Sister McCormack" mentioned in
C. T. Russell: View from the Tower, Zion’s Watch
Tower, July 1882, page 1.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
William & Mary
We need someone who lives reasonably near to visit William & Mary University for some documentation. Otherwise we will have a 50 dollar fee plus scan/photocopy fees for something that may be of marginal value.
Horace Randle
After separating from Russell, Randle published from London a paper entitled Good New for the Coming Age. Does anyone have copies?
Worldcat says at least one copy is in the British Library. Anyone?
Worldcat says at least one copy is in the British Library. Anyone?
We need more information on this man
SCHUTZ, John
The funeral of Mr. John Sheetz[sic] who died at the Western Maryland hospital, Cumberland, last Wednesday night, took place Sunday afternoon from the Presbyterian Church on Broadway. A presentative from Zion’s Watch Tower and Bible Society of Pittsburgh, conducted the services. Interment was made in Allegheny cemetery.
The Evening Times, Wednesday, August 19, 1908
The funeral of Mr. John Sheetz[sic] who died at the Western Maryland hospital, Cumberland, last Wednesday night, took place Sunday afternoon from the Presbyterian Church on Broadway. A presentative from Zion’s Watch Tower and Bible Society of Pittsburgh, conducted the services. Interment was made in Allegheny cemetery.
The Evening Times, Wednesday, August 19, 1908
Monday, February 8, 2016
The Biographies
I’ve
been posting many brief biographies; I should probably explain why we’re pursuing
these. The current mythology that passes for history suggests that early
believers were all poor, disenfranchised, marginally educated, and probably
Adventists of some sort. The early influence of Zion’s Watch Tower is also
questioned, even by its friends. The best way for us to analyze this is to examine
the issue in detail.
So ... we’re examining all the
newspaper articles and letters to Russell we can find. If we can put a name to
a letter, so much the better. But even the anonymous letters have detail. They
tell us what the writer’s previous religion was. (Often Methodist; almost never
Adventist.) The biographical details, minor though they seem, tell a better,
more accurate story than the myth that floats around the Internet.
Maps
Bernard is making maps that show early meeting places and places were believers lived. We're working on 1880-1882. If you can add to the list, please do. We need the source of your information.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Never Ever ...
Our blog visitors are important to
us. Some of you help us as you can. Many of you are repeat visitors, sometimes
viewing the blog several times a day. Comments help. Even a question helps, because
it can point the way to further research. Most of our visitors are well-behaved.
Sometimes we get one that is not.
The recent Korean troll is an
example. All of his comments were marked spam and we no longer see them. In the
last few months we had a semi-regular visitor who wanted to insult a religion.
He left of his own accord; at least he no longer comments. He’s welcome to
comment as long as he keeps it within blog rules. This is a history blog and
not open to disputatious comments or insults. Apparently his feelings were hurt
by the reminder, and he’s gone. We’re not responsible for your personal angst,
peevishness, or rude behavior, and you may not bring it here.
In the last few months a Russian visitor
has emailed me privately, asking questions. I’ve pointed him to answers. But
this is a really good place to say that I don’t do basic research for others. I
don’t have time. If you want to know what we have to say about Watch Tower
history, buy our books. Now ... back to our Russian visitor. He signs himself
Vlad.
Vlad thinks that because I’m a woman
and Mr. Schulz’ name comes first on our books, I know less; I’m less capable
and pretty much inadequate. So he wanted to email Mr. Schulz. I reminded him
that Mr. Schulz is not taking emails. His health is fragile and he’s old.
Vlad has an agenda. He’s a nominal
Witness who believes 1914 is not the date of Christ’s parousia. (I’m
sympathetic. But I’m not a Witness trying to sway others to change doctrine.)
Vlad wanted Mr. Schulz to agree with him, thinking that because we write
independent research he must hold similar opinions. Vlad wrote to Bruce anyway.
My cousin answered him.
Vlad shouldn’t expect further
assistance with his research, not because he has views contrary to Witnesses,
but because of the sexism and lack of respect for Mr. Schulz’ health issues.
My screen name may be frivolous,
but I am an exceptionally well qualified researcher. I have two bachelors degrees
(history, education); two masters degrees (history, education) and a PhD
(history). I’m a certificated teacher, with the “Highly Qualified” designation
and board certified. What’s between my legs does not make me a second rate
researcher, hardly more than a secretary.
My frivolous blogger name derives from a novel
of mine published in 2007. It’s out of print. But some of you have read it. I
created the name to comment on the Miss Snark writer’s blog.I see no need to change it.
My last thought on this matter is,
Never, ever peeve a Pixie.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Help!
I want to bring this back to the top. Bernard, who
contributes much to our work, needs help finding “Le Petit Inventeur,” a French
language periodical. William I. Mann’s photo and a brief biography appears in
the 1930 issues. Copies are in a Paris Library. Anyone in France willing to
search for it?
Adamson - Partial, rough draft
John Bartlet Adamson
Adamson
(1837-1904) was a businessman. There is some confusion as to his occupation,
but Russell described him as having “a profitable and increasing business
paying about $1,500 a year as well as other things.” One presumes Russell meant
he had other sources of income. How much beyond that he had in “other things”
is impossible to calculate. While fifteen hundred dollars is a paltry sum
today, it was a large income in 1881. Later in life he said that he had “always
been a church worker of an independent sort” and that he “always took a great
interest in religious matters.”[1]
He
was introduced to the Watch Tower message sometime in 1881, while staying at
the YMCA in Columbus, Ohio. He found a copy of Zion’s Watch Tower and “was
attracted at once, finding in it so much Gospel (good news) and so much
better than I had.” He traveled to Pittsburgh, searching for the Watch
Tower office. He asked for it “among various religious newspapers,” each of
which disparaged the paper. Adamson thought that gave it “Scriptural marks of
saintship – being ignored, ‘cast out,’ and ‘suffering reproach’ for Christ’s
sake.[2]
Russell’s
explanations confused him: “I could hardly follow Bro. Russell in his
explanations and see at once that there really is a plan of God in the Ages,
and that all the Scriptures fall into line and harmonize with it. It was too
good.” He left Allegheny unconvinced. “Still pondering these things in my
heart,” he wrote, “I went East to attend Dr. Cullis’s training school, and
finding it unsuitable for me, I went on to Providence, where I acted with the
Y.M.C.A. in a revival; thence to Bridgeport, Conn., where I attended the
Mission revival services. From that I purposed to return to Boston again, but
there was no opening except toward Pittsburgh.”
We
are left wondering if he was confused by Russell’s explanation or if he found
it “too good to be true.” Which ever was so, he left Allegheny unconvinced and
sought out Charles Cullis in Boston and enrolled in his Faith Training College.
Cullis, a graduate of the University of Vermont and a Holiness-oriented
Episcopalian, was a homeopathic physician in Boston. He advocated Faith Cures
and founded among other agencies the Faith Training College (1876) to advocate
his views. Adamson enrolled but terminated his studies, finding the college “unsuitable.”
He doesn’t explain if he had a doctrinal difference or if he found he was not
an apt scholar.[3]
He
was introduced to Watch Tower readers in the same issue as the two men
mentioned above, but only by the initials “J.B.A.” A brief letter of greeting
from him and some introductory words by Russell form the basis of most of what
we know of him. Russell introduced him as a “very dear saint” and “brother in
Christ” and explained that Adamson had decided to “give up all that he has of
time, reputation and ability … for the Crown of Life.” Adamson’s
self-introduction to Watch Tower readers is worth reproducing in full:
Beloved: It is fitting that new recruits should cheer,
if nothing else presents that they can do. It is well that overcomers should
continue to use the “word of their testimony.” In true life of faith there must
be habitual obedience to the revealed will of God. The just shall live by
faith. To the one that lives by every word that proceedeth out of they mouth of
God, [sic] it should not appear strange that God should present objects of
faith one by one, and not all at once; neither should we stumble if our faith
meets with higher truths than those first presented. Faith, like muscular
organs, is strengthened by use – the whole gymnasium is open to the athlete; he
would spurn the gentle and easy exercises of the invalids. But how often we
rebel when this principle is used in the acts of faith: It is trying to the man
who has arrived at the justified plane to be told about the entire consecration
demanded of the “overcomer.” For a week I have been instructed in the things of
the Kingdom especially referring to the presence of Christ doing the separating
work preparatory to the marriage. And most joyfully do I receive these
teachings.
With shame I record that for three days I rejected
these truths, almost wishing they were not scriptural and the very truth of
God, instead of joyfully welcoming them with grateful heart. Following closely
came another trial of faith and measure of my obedience and consecration, when
I as one of God’s stewards, was urged to do the work of a steward and deal
out these truths exactly in the measure of my ability to proclaim them.
This meant for me the preaching service; the proclamation of truths so
unwelcome to many up and down the land everywhere and always.
I ask pardon of the blessed Master – Christ Jesus,
that I ever hesitated to accept His place in true humility, and the
obedience of faith. I bring not a parade of the Christianizing and civilizing
elements to elevate and liberalize the world, and thus make it fit for a coming
Messiah; but we proclaim: “The times of restitution spoken of by all the holy
prophets since the world began” – the glorious manifestation of the sons of
God, so near.
Glorious body of Christ, take courage. “Now I beseech
you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Sprit,
that ye strive together with me in prays go God for me; that I may be delivered
from them that do not believe in Judea (the nominal church), and my
service that I have for Jerusalem the Baide [Bride] may be accepted of all the
saints.”[4]
This
is more than an expression of newly found faith; we see something of his
personality in this. He is verbose, as if many words enforce his thoughts.
Though he would become an effective colporteur, he was not an effective preacher.
He tells us that he once believed it a Christian duty to improve the world, to
make it a fit place to which Christ could return. This was a common belief and
the belief that stood behind social improvement schemes. We can’t psychoanalyze
the dead, at least not successfully. But we come away from his letter wondering
about his stability. Angst over new understanding is foreign to the authors’
nature, and we are – perhaps – unsympathetic as a result. We see in this letter
an immense pride of self.
Adamson
explained that he had “always” been religiously inclined because he had “godly
parents,” but “I failed to get as clear an idea of consecration as I wished. I
never believed in lukewarm or disobedient Christians, but I had no wise, loving
saints to confer with in my early religious experience. Few or none thought of
the Bible as the only rule; therefore, I was sometimes cast down and
discouraged. I never could join a church, or enter the ministry, though I had
tempting offers of the necessary funds. .. Yet, I always worked heartily in all
churches, Y.M.C.A., or other revival work.”[5]
We
have the benefit of hindsight. We know what outcomes were for Adamson, so we
can see elements from his letters Russell and Watch Tower readers could
not. Odd, ungrammatical phrasing characterizes some of them. In this one he
says he never “believed in lukewarm or disobedient Christians.” He meant that
he rejected their behavior, not that he didn’t believe they existed. He wrote
as he spoke. He tells us he considered a career in the ministry but found no
church satisfactory enough to seek membership. He was a frustrated preacher,
and within his Watch Tower ministry often included street preaching, though not
always successfully because of the flawed grammar. He confused people, not an
uncommon outcome when a speaker makes his audience mentally translate his
words. Adamson impresses one as vague. His letters leave an indistinct trail He
uses a common vocabulary, but one is occasionally left wondering if he meant
exactly the same thing as did everyone else. His description of his first
meeting with Russell falls into this category. At first it appears plain and
straight forward, but on analysis it becomes imprecise.
He
left Boston for Providence, Rhode Island, where he “acted with the Y.M.C.A. in
a revival.” Again, his statement lacks specifics. He doesn’t say if he merely
handed out tracts or if he picked up litter, or explain in anyway what “acting
with” the YMCA meant. From there he made his way to Bridgeport, Connecticut, to
attend “the Mission revival services.” He “proposed to return to Boston again,
but there was no opening except toward Pittsburgh.” Again, the lack of
specifics is maddening. What, exactly, does he mean by the phrase “no opening
except toward Pittsburgh”? That he had no more money than a fare to Pittsburgh?
That makes no sense because Boston is far closer to Bridgeport than is
Pittsburgh. Business took him toward Pittsburgh? Who knows? The man is
frustratingly vague. Nevertheless, six months after he’d visited Russell
(December 1880 or January 1881) he returned for another conference. In his
verbose, confusing way he reported the results of his second conference with
Russell:
With shame I record that for three days I rejected
these truths, almost wishing they were not scriptural and the very truth of
God, instead of joyfully welcoming them with grateful heart. Following closely
came another trial of faith and measure of my obedience and consecration, when
I, as one of God’s stewards, was urged to do the work of a steward and deal out
these truths exactly in the measure of my ability to proclaim them. This meant
for me the preaching service; the proclamation of truths so unwelcome to many
up and down the land everywhere and always.
I ask pardon from the blessed Master – Christ Jesus,
that I ever hesitated to accept His place in true humility, and the obedience
of faith. I bring, not a parade of the Christianizing and civilizing elements
to elevate and liberalize the world, and thus make it fit for a coming Messiah;
but we proclaim: “The times of restitution spoken of by all the holy prophets
since the world began”— the glorious manifestation of the sons of God, now so
near. Glorious body of Christ, take courage. “Now I beseech you, brethren, for
the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive
together with me in prayers to God for me; that I may be delivered from them
that do not believe in Judea (the nominal church), and my service that I have
for Jerusalem the Bride) may be accepted of all the saints.” Rom. 15:30, 31.[6]
Russell’s
account differs in minor detail. Adamson says about six months elapsed between
his first meeting with Russell and his second. Russell says it was nearly a
year. We have no sure way to harmonize their accounts. Russell was impressed by
Adamson’s earnestness, telling Watch Tower readers:
It gives me pleasure to thus introduce to the readers
of the watch tower one whom we
have recently come to know as a very dear saint – a brother in Christ. We first
became acquainted about one year ago and his interest has been growing in the
precious truths advocated in the tower.
Again visiting this city, we have had very pleasant and profitable interchanges
on the all important themes – the presence, the “high calling” and the “narrow
way” of entire consecration by which it may be reached.
Our brother has concluded as ... to give all that he
has of time, reputation and ability for the Pearl of great price, the “Crown of
life,” – immortality and joint-heirship. He leaves a profitable and increasing
business ....[7]
As
vague as Adamson was as a speaker, he was an adept colporteur and reported
success in personal evangelism. He played a significant part in the circulation
of Food for Thinking Christians. Russell reported that, “Brother Adamson
is now in Illinois and Iowa distributing pamphlets from city to city, and
preaching as he goes. An extract from a letter in another column, shows that he
is enjoying the work. The Lord give him grace for every time of need – though
showing him how great things he must suffer for the truth’s sake.”[8] We
do not know what Adamson suffered, but we suppose it was partly financial. He
abandoned his business interests and was dependent on the goodwill of his
hearers.
In He reported work among Methodists late in [congtinue]
After
some weeks of silence, Adamson wrote to Russell, reporting his progress. Detailed
reports from Watch Tower evangelists are rare, and, though his letters reflect
his personality, they give us clear insight into methods. Adamson traveled from
camp meeting to camp meeting, circulating Food for Thinking Christians
and meeting sharp opposition:
After several months engaged in distributing and
preaching the Gospel, you will doubtless be glad to hear from me again. I have
had good opportunities for observing how this Gospel of the grace of God is
received by the different classes in and out of the nominal churches. Only
those who go forth into the world, with the real Gospel of gladness, can have a
full idea of the joy and rejoicing of God's true people, when presented with
these truths. And only such can realize how bitter is the opposition of many of
the clergy (Scribes) and false religionists (Pharisees) who abound in the
churches now, as they did in the Jewish.
I worked in nearly all the large towns of twenty
states, being present also at nearly all the leading Camp Meetings,
Conferences, and Assemblies of the year: distributing thousands of books, and
addressing many people. At Camp Meetings it was impossible to give away books
with much discrimination, but after the season for such gatherings ended, I
found time and place for seasonable words about our hope, joy, heirship, and
the restitution of the world at "the manifestation of the sons of
God." I soon began to realize what a blessed work I was engaged in, and
the glorious privilege of being a mouthpiece for the Lord.
The true people of God who are really making good
their promises of entire consecration of all to the Lord, received me with
every sign of gratitude and love, and praise to God for this message of grace
and love, expressing surprise that the "Food" had reached
them, and gratitude to God for "meat in due season." Limited in time,
I devoted it principally to those who seemed to "have an ear to hear"
– the truth hungry, passing by those who seemed to think themselves rich and
increased in goods and needing nothing; thus following the example of our
Forerunner--convinced that now, as then, no man can come into the light except
the Father draw him by his Word and Spirit of truth. There is no inducement of
a worldly character to lead one of the world-conforming, Babylon people into
the narrow way and race for glory. On the contrary, this teaching is
most repulsive to the larger portion of the nominal church, and those who
deliver them are continually subject to contempt, reproach, and dishonor. Those
who for years have been carrying the honors of the world with the name of
Christ in self-indulgence, feel outraged by the teaching that glory, honor, and
immortality will only be given to those who take up their cross, deny self, and
follow their Leader in a life separate from the world.
Most bitter in their opposition are the clergy who
doubtless feel their craft endangered--some of whom obtained the books from
their people when I was gone and burned them. This was especially true among
the sect calling themselves "Second Adventists," strange as it may
seem. They greatly fear, that which they cannot gainsay.
I now gladly recur to the effect of the truths we
hold, upon the dear sainted people of God who only are the church – yet for the
present much mixed up in Babylon except to God's clear vision. These were glad
to get out of her, and hailed the message and the result, as a deliverance from
sin. Many infidels and worldly people got to hear the message also, and often
spoke of God's plan in the ages, as something reasonable, and as demonstrating
his Wisdom, Justice, and Love.
Being a willing instrument in God's hand, subject to
any use I can be fitted to, I now try a preaching tour, and expect to meet many
of the brethren and labor together with them. Again desiring your prayers, I
remain your brother and fellow worker in Christ Jesus.[9]
Indiscriminately handing out tracts at camp meetings
produced little result. We see that from this letter. Yet, for some years it
remained Watch Tower practice to dispense tracts at church doors, most of which
went unread. Adamson was more effective in personal conversation. He doesn’t
say which of the Second Adventist camp meetings he attended, but knowing does
not matter. They were especially opposed to the Watch Tower message. Some would
have seen it as a continuation of Barbour’s work, though by 1883, Barbour had
moved onto other doctrine. Adventists did not see kinship between Watch Tower
adherents and themselves. In his last paragraph, Adamson proposed a ‘preaching
tour.’ He was an indifferent, discursive speaker. Apparently he meant to visit
other believers, working with them.
In May
1882, Russell reported that “Bro. Adamson is holding some very successful, and
we trust profitable meetings in Mercer County, Pa.”[10]
[1] A Curious Sect, The Wilmington, North Carolina,
Semi-Weekly Messenger, January 21, 1898, page 7.
[2] J. B. Adamson: Letter from Brother Adamson, Zion’s
Watch Tower, February 1883, pages 1-2. [Not in reprints.]
[3] Ann Taves: Fits, Trances, and Visions:
Experiencing Religion and Explaining Experience from Wesley to James,
Princeton University Press, 1999, page 227; Randall Herbert Balmer: Encyclopedia
of Evangelicalism, page 166; See also the article Faith Cure: McClintock
and Strong, eds., Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical
Literature, Supplement, Volume 2, 1889, page 372.
[4] J. B. Adamson: To the Readers of the Watch Tower, Zion’s
Watch Tower, July 1881, page 8.
[5] J. B. Adamson: Letter from Bro. Adamson, Zion’s
Watch Tower¸ February 1883, pages 1-2. [Not in reprints.]
[6] J. B. Adamson: To the Readers of the Watch Tower, Zion’s
Watch Tower, July 1881, page 8.
[7] C. T. Russell’s comments on: To the Readers of the
Watch Tower, Zion’s Watch Tower, July 1881, page 8.
[8] C. T. Russell:
[9] J. B. Adamson: A Word from Brother Adamson, Zion’s
Watch Tower, March 1883, page 4.
[10] C. T. Russell: View from the Tower, Zion’s Watch Tower,
May 1882, page 1.