Adamson's last address was Chicago, Illinois. On this basis it appears that our man is John Bartlet Adamson, born 1837 in Pennsylvania. He married Amelia Whitney, August 1882. It appears that there was a second marriage to Emily Moore, in Allegheny City, PA, Nov. 15, 1893. This explains earlier confusion over wife's names. He died in Chicago, Jan. 22, 1904.
So ... can we prove this beyond doubt?
This does indeed seem to be our guy. His address in as given in and 1898 newspaper matches that on the death record for John Bartlet Adamson. Some of the marriage details are puzzling. They may be wrong.The birth date as given in the newspaper matches John Bartlet.
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
J. B. Adamson
We need a birth and death date for John B. Adamson, an early Watch Tower evangelist. Anyone? Early life details would help too.
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
From "New Workers" - Rough, uncorrected draft.
Alfred C. Malone
Alfred
Malone, a physician from Palestine, Indiana, though aged, was preaching the
message at least by 1885. He wrote to Russell explaining that he had preached a
series of sermons at Paris, Illinois, and sending a synopsis of their contents
which Russell published in the September 1885, Zion’s Watch Tower.
Malone
was born in Indiana March 20, 1819, and was sixty-six years old in 1885. A
brief biography of Malone says he went to school in Owensville, Indiana, but
was “mainly self-educated.” He was a clerk early in life, then a school
teacher.[1] In
1846, he graduated from Ohio Medical College in Cincinnati and practiced as an
Eclectic physician. He moved to Palestine in 1850, opening a general store and
a drugstore as an adjunct to his medical practice.[2] Shortly
after graduation, he wrote to the editor of The Botanico-Medical Recorder,
addressing a controversy in medical education. His article is slightly
biographical, and we take from it this fragment: “Before I commenced the study
of medicine, but coetaneous with the idea, I commenced pouring over my Latin
Grammar, and Lexicon so that I might, at least, have a smattering of Latin ...
. This idea was so preponderant, that I studied so intensely, and after night
by the dim light of a taper, that I have almost studied out my left eye.”[3] His
biographer said, “In politics, Mr. Malone is neutral; he has not voted since he
helped elect Abraham Lincoln.” He was twice married, his first wife dying in
1861.[4] Malone
was a prolific writer, contributing articles to the Cincinnati, Ohio, Gazette,
and “three other political papers.” He contributed articles to various medical
journals.
We do
not know what his religious affiliation was in the 1840s. But we know something
of his religious views, and they tend toward Literalism. He expressed them in
response to another physician’s suggestion that doctors maintain a certain mysticism
about medicine. Malone rejected this, and compared it to the state of
Christianity:
As in the political, so in the religious world,
mystery is the watch-word. Let us keep the people in ignorance. Thus it was that
the “man of sin – the son of perdition – who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is called God, or that is worshiped,” usurped the throne of the
King Eternal; and, thus it is, that the leaders of the
belligerent parties of the day, in some measure, now keep up the
divisions which have been made by the same potent enemy of man – mystery. They
teach the people that the word is a mystery; that it must be spiritualized;
and that, until this is done, the common people cannot understand it –
that they are called and qualified to explain it:
but each sectarian establishment explains it differently, hence, so much
division. Mystery is mighty you see, ... to subserve party purposes, and
unduly exalt a certain class at the expense of the Bible. ...
This is all taught to be religion, and the
religion of the Bible. But we know it all to be a farce, and why?
Because it has been stripped of its mysteries by God-loving, God-honoring, and
God-serving ministers, so that we see all its native deformities. “Technicalities”
indeed! They only serve to create a stupid admiration for those who use them.
The glorious gospel of the ever-blessed God was noted for its introduction
among the poor, and its perfect adaptation to their understanding and
condition. “To the poor, the gospel is preached” was one of the Messiah's confirmatory
evidences of his mission. The divine philanthropy of the King Eternal encircled
in the arms of his benevolence the whole human race, by adapting his gospel to
the capacity and condition of the needy as well as the affluent, the
illiterate as well as the learned, the rud& as well as
the 'polite.
As in the religious, so shall it be in the medical
world. Every thing should be plain, and adapted to the capacities and
understandings of all as far as practicable. The same arguments that
will apply to the abolition of mystery and “technicalities” in the religious
world, will apply with equal, if not greater force in the medical world.[5]
So
much of this is Literalist belief that we suspect he had already been exposed
to it. There is a confusing bit of Disciples history that associates the
Malones with that church in the 1850s. In 1858 he and a few others withdrew (a
Disciples history says ‘reorganized’) and formed a separate congregation. We
suspect that the division was on doctrinal grounds, but we cannot prove that.
Malone connected with One Faith believers as associated with The Restitution.
Writing that he was “known as a gentleman and a scholar,” his biographer noted
that Malone contributed to Prophetic Watchman, (Howard, Illinois), The
Gospel Banner, (Geneva, Illinois), The Herald of the Coming Kingdom,
(Chicago), and The Restitution, (Plymouth, Indiana). These are all
Age-to-Come and One Faith journals. He wrote to books as well, Bible
Religion and The Age to Come. W. H. Perrin, the biographer noted above,
described Malone’s books as works of merit. We failed to locate Bible
Religion and cannot comment on it. But we think The Age to Come is a
thoughtful and well-written book.
As
its title suggests, it presents Age-to-Come belief. Malone’s opening words
were: “That the Bible teaches the grand and glorious doctrine of ‘the age to
come,’ embracing ten periods of a hundred years each, otherwise called ‘the age
of ages,’ I think is fully revealed in that Book, and will be thoroughly shown
as we proceed in the investigation.” As cogent as much of Malone’s book is, it
is significantly at odds with Storrs and Russell beliefs about the nature and
scope of salvation. Malone rejected Fair Chance doctrine.[6]
Malone’s Age to Come is an effective statement of where the Allegheny
Bible Study Group was in 1870 or so. To adopt Russellite views, he had to
travel similar paths. Not many One Faith believers were able to do that, but
Malone gives a clue to the impulse that took him to Watch Tower belief. We find
it in his book: “Catering to a theory, is not conversion to Christ. An entire
acceptance of the Divine Word, a child-like study of its teachings, and an
implicit obedience to its commands, not a hunting out of what is pleasing and
peculiar in some points only, is the only safe path.”[7]
We do
not know when he finally accepted Watch Tower doctrine, but he was preaching it
by 1885. He wrote to Russell, sending a précis of lectures he had given in
Paris, Illinois, “hoping that it will not be uninteresting to yourself and the
readers of the tower.”[8]
Finding the detailed content of a Watch Tower worker’s message is a rare event.
Malone reasoned from Scripture that God is the Savior
of all men from the Adamic sin and death. He is first the savior of “very few,
a ‘little flock.’ Then he saves a “great crowd.” Salvation is “builded upon
God’s philanthropy and the eternal fitness of things.” The work of the present
age is to bring the Little Flock to salvation because it is “destined to be
kings and priests with Christ.” The Little flock assists in bringing the many
to salvation. However, God is “not now the Saviour, in fact, of all men, nor
indeed of any as generally taught – a Saviour from famines, pestilences,
earthquakes, cyclones, etc., etc. But he will be ‘the Saviour of all’ from the
effects of the Adamic sin and death.”
“Adam
and Eve wrecked themselves and the race in the loss of innocence, in the loss
of God's image, and in a gain of sin and death,” he said. Animal creation was
affected because perfect human dominion faded. When perfect, Adam and Eve “only
fell a little short of the angels of God.” Using concepts anyone familiar with
current Watchtower doctrine will recognize, he amplified his view of paradise:
And all intelligences were put under contribution to administer
to their necessities and happiness. His sight was flooded with glory; his taste
was satisfied with richest viands, and his ears were thrilled with grandest
melodies, his lungs were filled and bathed in the life-inspiring atmosphere,
and his blood was made to leap and dance with a perfect manhood – God's
inexpressible gifts for the perpetuation of a glorified manhood.
And this perfect state of manhood might have been
continued forever, as the means to this end were placed within their reach. But
with the entrance of sin, Eden was lost, lordship was lost, innocence was lost,
happiness and a glorified humanity were lost, and pain and woe and misery were
gained! ...
Through the disobedience of one man the world was
flooded with sin and woe and death; and these could never have been lifted had not
another perfect and obedient Man Redeemed-Ransomed the race.
This
salvation is universal, and "God will have" it, no matter who may
oppose; for "He works all things after the counsels of his own will."
Malone did not advocate Universal Salvation, and that’s not what he meant here.
He meant that salvation was available to all, through the sacrifice of Christ
who filled Adam’s place. He rejected Universalism. Instead he believed that, “As
all sinned and died in or by Adam, so God being just, after the ransom was
paid, the Redeemer controls all and may restore all to Adamic life and
perfection; and then put them upon trial for themselves, not Adam for them;
they will live for, or in, their own obedience; or die for their own sins.”
God
accomplishes this through the selection of “a little flock” who are made rulers
in the Kingdom of God, administrators of divine blessings. Malone described
them as a “race immortal rulers.” This “is an election by grace for kingship
and priesthood in the kingdom. This salvation is only for "the little flock,"
for the Bride of Christ, for members of his Body; and here there can be only so
many. Christ's Body is not to be a monstrosity, but perfect and complete.” This
‘truth’ has been “lost sight of” by the many. Instead:
Now it is popular, honorable, and leads to wealth and
fame to belong to some so-called orthodox church, but in Paul's day, it meant
the loss of caste, of riches and honor, and even life itself to be a member of
the true Church. Pure Christianity is unchanged; now, as then, "they that
live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." And, if we are not
partakers of this persecution, of this dishonor, we "are bastards and not
sons." That is, many claim to be children of God, to belong to "the
little flock," to the consecrating ones, whereas they only have "a
name to live while they are dead" to this life of toil and labor and
entire obedience to God!
True
members of the Little Flock must live as Christ lived, suffer the insults and
persecution he suffered, and accept rejection for the sake of faith. Christ
also saves a great crowd. The Little Flock exists for the blessing of the bulk
of humanity, including those who fell short of grasping the “crown.” “These,
though losing the crown, may be ‘saved in the day of Christ.’” Most of
Christendom believed that the world is on trial now. This is not Scriptural.
Malone said so:
The world is not now on trial, nor has it ever yet
been. Adam was tried and failed, and all men in him. The new trial of the world
cannot take place until the Head and Body of Christ are prepared to offer it.
The Head of the Christ has been tried and triumphed. "The little
flock" is now on trial, and when it shall have triumphed and been joined
to the Head, then the trial of the world shall commence. When the King and
Queen – the Christ and his Bride – shall have been married, then, and not until
then, shall "the times of restitution" bear their perfected fruits.
The "little flock" are not to be restored; they are to stand out as
bright stars, and shine as the sun over a restored earth. The restored earth
and its restored lord- mankind-will be indeed grand, but the "little
flock," the Body of
Christ, his Bride with the Head is the grandest of
all! far above angels as well as men.
The pure wife is the glory of a pure husband; the
redeemed, glorified Bride is the glory of Christ, and Christ is the glory of
God! Everything in its own proper place and time; but "God over all blessed
forever”!
Malone
was an old man when he entered the Watch Tower ministry. In the spring of 1888
he met General Benjamin Harrison. A record of their meeting describes him as “an
elderly physician of Palestine, Illinois.” Malone told Harrison, “I have wanted
to meet you, as I am firmly convinced that you will be the nominee for the
Presidency by the Republican National Convention ... and that you will be
elected next November. I am an old man and do not expect to live to cast a vote
in another Presidential election after this year, but it will be a source of
great satisfaction during the remainder of my life to know that
I have met the next President of the United States and
to have cast my last vote for him.” Alfred Malone died July 28, 1892. Benjamin Harrison
served as President of the United States from 1889 to 1893.
[1] The store that Alfred clerked for in Owensville was
Hall & Warrick.
[2] We read several of his medical journal articles. Only
one of them contribute to this history, but, for the record, we found articles
by him in the August 1872, Chicago Medical Times; the October 1856, American
Medical Journal; the January 1861, Eclectic Medical Journal;
[3] A. C. Malone: The Physician’s Character, The
Botanico-Medical Recorder, October 23, 1847, pages 337-339.
[4] W. H. Perrin: History of Crawford and Clark Counties,
Illinois, Part III, Biographical Sketches, 1883.
[5] A. C. Malone: The Physician’s Character, The
Botanico-Medico Recorder, Pages 337-338.
[6] see pages 48-50.
[7] page 105.
[8] A. C. Malone: Fruits of the Ransom, Zion’s Watch
Tower, September 1885, page 4.
OCR Newspaper article - 1914
In Ocean Grove Police Get After New Doctrine preacher BUT
GOOD FOLK SHOWER $20 BILLS UPON HIM
"Millennial Dawnism" Gets in Hands of Blue Coats
While Originator of the Doctrine Gets Hand Much Coin Pastor Talks on.
New York, July 1. What if the police were called out
yesterday to escort out of Ocean Grove, N, J., the disciples of Pastor Russell
when they tried to distribute pamphlets on "Millennial Dawnism" in
front of the Tabernacle after a meeting in that stronghold of Methodism.
What if the police herded and hustled the Russelites all the
way to the Ik'ck Street bridge and seeing them over it into Asbury Park? Pastor
Russell he should worry! ' "The objection," Pastor Russell said when
seen at Asbury Park after, the rout of his evangelists, "to my association
by the, Ocean Grove pastors and others in opposition to me over the country is
that I tell the truth that they do not dare tell and I get money without
taking; a contribution. It keeps coming in to me. "
"For instance" be drew forth an envelope, ripped
it open and extracted five $20 bills, which he slipped into his waistcoat
pocket forthwith "There you are now. That's the way we get them every day.
I don't take collections. The spirit of need and help prevails in my
association;- There is a true spirit of giving. This is what irks the
ministers; they don’t get much voluntary gifts. That is the chief reason for
their dislike of me."
In the course of the interview the question came up whether
Pastor Russell had been separated from his wife. "Oh, yes," said he,
"she left me twenty years ago. She tried to get too much space for her
writings in our publication and we had to cut her off. That's what made her
leave me. We are better off without her.
Escort Pastor Russell Out
July 1, 1914
Greenwood Daily Journal from Greenwood, South Carolina · Page 1
Anyone in France?
Hello again: I want ask you something with William I. Mann.
We all search a long time to get a photo from him.
In the french book/magazine
there gives an biography about him. I tried to get this book, but no
chance. I have the hope that - maybe- is a photo included, but maybe
not. The book titled:
"Le petit inventeur - ed. albin michel, paris 1930 complet"
Do you know readers from the blogg in France which can look in a library in Paris or so???
According to Worldcat, this is a periodical. A library in Paris and a library in Switzerland have it, but we do not know if the library in Geneva has the complete run. Do we have the exact page where Mann's photo appears? - R
According to Worldcat, this is a periodical. A library in Paris and a library in Switzerland have it, but we do not know if the library in Geneva has the complete run. Do we have the exact page where Mann's photo appears? - R
Monday, February 1, 2016
The Shoe Maker. Remember him?
This is where we are in raw, rough draft:
The Shoemaker
An
aged shoemaker wrote to Russell from Delhi, New York, in the fall of 1883. He
described himself as over seventy years of age, “a poor man, a shoemaker, or
rather a shoemender.” He was raised in the Presbyterian faith, but after
immigrating to America in 1839, converted to the Baptist faith “from
conviction.” He encountered George Storrs sermons in 1845 or 1846, and would
have read Storrs material after his exit from Millerite Adventism. He was
convinced by Storrs Six Sermons to abandon belief in inherent
immortality and expelled from the Baptist church for it: “The hand of
fellowship was withdrawn from me, because I believed I had no immortality now,
but rejoiced I had it as a prize before
me, and also because I believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God.
The Bible then seemed to me like a new book, and I bless God it has been
brighter and brighter all along.” He also adopted Age-to-Come belief as
reflected in Bible Examiner.
He
was an active evangelist locally at least by 1882, subscribing to ten copies of
Zion’s Watch Tower that he used as missionary papers. He was less
successful than he wish, and reduced the number in August 1883: “I find some
actually refuse them; others refused to be interested; and as I do not believe
in forcing men, nor think it proper to cast pearls in an unseemly place, this
year you may send me five copies. It would give me pleasure to increase rather
than decrease the number, but when Jesus says, ‘Let them alone,’ I obey.”[1]
Despite
the many clues to identity found in his letter, we were not able to firmly attach
this letter to a name. However, of our limited choices, we believe the most
likely identity of our shoemaker is A. W. Webb. His biographical details fit
those of our letter writer. He was an immigrant, born in the United Kingdom in
1826. He came to Delhi in 1840 and was “actively engaged in the boot and shoe business.”
He was a temperance worker.[2]
Near Future
We are
entering on some of the most complex and difficult research we’ve undertaken. (I
wish Ton were still alive!) Here’s what we have before us.
1. After
Russell established Zion’s Watch Tower the controversies over the
Ransom/Atonement doctrine continued and grew more complex. There is little you
can do to help us with this. It requires a massive amount of reading, and even
more “thinkin’ ‘bout it.”
What you
can do:
We need to
see the issues of Jones’ Day Star in the Library of Congress. This
requires a personal visit and a good digital camera. The LC is over 3000 miles
from my front door, and I can’t afford the trip, but if you live near or will
visit soon, please help.
We have
four years of A. P. Adams’ Spirit of the Word. This is a very small
collection compared to the total we know were published. If you have any, even
a single issue, please scan them for us.
We need a
clear copy or scan of Myers’ The-At-One-Ment.
Newspaper
articles touching on this issue are illusive. Anyone?
We need any
issues of Paton’s World’s Hope. Ask before you copy or scan. We have a
fair but very incomplete file.
2. We think
it important to connect Watch Tower adherents and their beliefs to contemporary
events. This is very time consuming, and it will require some perceptive
re-reading of Zion’s Watch Tower. This will spill past the 1887 date
that is the putative end of Separate Identity. We are equipped to do this. We
aren’t as well prepared to analyze how events in Europe influenced Watch Tower
belief and opinion. Russell’s comments on European events were drawn from
American newspapers and from clippings and letters sent from adherents in the
UK. We need perceptive comments on the Watch Tower’s view of European events.
We don’t
expect you to write an essay. Just read through the early issues, and, if you
find something that ‘clicks’, email me.
3. We are adding
a part 2 to the Food for Thinking Christians chapter. As written, it presents
the first circulation of Food in satisfying detail. There is an unexplored
after story that we can’t leave out. At first we saw it as a minor issue worthy
of a paragraph. It’s far more important.
I don’t see
anything here with which our readers can help. Perhaps newspaper articles from
1883 and 1884 that mention Food.
There is
more, of course, but these are the difficult issues for the days ahead.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
And then there is this one ...
A shoe mender/ maker in Delhi, New York. An immigrant probably, born about 1813. He arrived in America in 1839. We need a name. His letter to Russell, written in 1883 is below:
Delhi,
N.Y.
DEAR
BROTHER: -The time is come when a remittance is due. I enclose $15. Last year I
took ten papers in the hope of interesting and doing good to some. I find some
actually refuse them; others refused to be interested; and as I do not believe
in forcing men, nor think it proper to cast pearls in an unseemly place, this
year you may send me five copies. It would give me pleasure to increase rather
than decrease the number, but when Jesus says, "Let them alone," I
obey. Please send me a Variorum Bible, and, if you can, send me two more of
"Food for Thinking Christians," and two more "Tabernacle
Teachings," as a reserve for opportunity to do good. I know that the
others I got have done good. What remains of the remittance place where you
think best. I think the claim of the Swedes is good.
Perhaps
you would like to know who I am or what I am. I am over seventy years of age;
what the world would call a poor man, a shoemaker, or rather a shoemender. But
I bless God for his goodness to me. I was brought up a Presbyterian; came to
this country forty-four years ago. From conviction I became a Baptist;
afterwards in 1845 or 46 George Storrs sermons were the means of a great
theological revolution with me. The hand of fellowship was withdrawn from me,
because I believed I had no immortality now, but rejoiced I had it as a PRIZE
BEFORE ME, and also because I believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God.
The Bible then seemed to me like a new book, and I bless God it has been
brighter and brighter all along.
As
proof texts for the restitution of the human race, although I have no
remembrance of seeing them alluded to, I would quote "Ps. 90:3\ "Thou
turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men," I
used to look upon the word return, as to return to dust, but I was forcibly
impressed by noticing that word marked by a capital R as being an emphatic
word-and the reason assigned in the "following verse\ "For a thousand
years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the
night." God is not limited by years nor ages for the accomplishment for
his gracious purposes.
Again,
"Jeremiah 12:15-17": "And it shall come to pass, after that I
have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will
bring them again every man to his heritage, and every man to his land. And it shall
come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of, my people to swear by my
name the Lord liveth; (as they taught my people to swear by Baal;) then shall they
be built up in the midst of my people. But if they will not obey, I will
utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the Lord." By carefully
reading the "preceding part of the chapter", I came to the conclusion
these promises are yet in the future. "Oh, that men would praise the Lord
for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men."
Yours in love,
Seeking the lost ...
Here's our current research challenge, or one of them at least. We need the name of the physician:
The Doctor
We
have no name for this person, though we know he was active in Georgia, handing
out one of the extensively printed ‘sample copies’ of Zion’s Watch Tower.
A letter to The St. Paul, Minnesota, Enterprise written by a “Mrs. W”
tells the story. In 1885 the local physician was noted for his personal
evangelism in behalf of the Watch Tower faith:
Like others of our town, in Georgia, I thought the
physician who tried to give me the Truth was “As crazy as a March hare;” for
his talk was so different from anything I had ever before heard as Scripture.
Providentially, however, the old Doctor left on my table a copy of the Watch
Tower – at that time a little sheet about the size of a Bible Student’s
Monthly, or a little larger; and after reading one article, I began to “search
the Scriptures daily whether these things were true.” From that time on I have
never for one instant doubted that what I had found was indeed the Truth.[1]
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Hummm
The Cleveland, Ohio, Directory for 1909 lists the "Millennial Dawn Mission." The only other use of that name that we can find is in India in the early 1920s. (The book that appears in is vague and it may have been in use in an earlier period.)
Can you find additional uses of that name?
Can you find additional uses of that name?
Monday, January 25, 2016
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Looking forward ...
It's never too early to plan ahead. After bunches of emails, phone calls, and face to face, Bruce and I think we should divide book three in our history series into books three and four. As we see it now, book three will cover the years from the publication of Plan of the Ages to 1912, ending with the Missionary Tour and report.
We aren't near done with volume 2 of S. I., but it's time to put material together. You can help. We need someone to scour the newspaper archives (such as fultonhistory.com; the Library of Congress Newspaper archive, etc.) for Russell's Newspaper sermons and, more importantly, for comments on his newspaper ministry. Also search Google Books.
Instead of sending articles piecemeal, or sending entire newspaper pages, open the .pdf versions of the articles, cut and paste them into a Word document (or Word Perfect), include name and date of newspaper; include title of article. When you accumulate significant material, send it via google documents or dropbox.
This will help me stay organized. (Bruce seems to thrive on chaos; I throw up my hands in dismay.)
Other than the two famous debates (1903, 1908) there were other proposed debates and some actual debates between Watch Tower adherents and others. We need to document this as above. Again, poast it all into one document and send it that way.
Jerome has his hands full. So I need other volunteers for this. This is not a rush assignment. Book three is only in the planning stages.
We will need "country histories" too. Most of the Yearbook histories omit significant detail. You are interested in the history of your country? Research it in depth for the period 1885-1915. We want newspaper clippings, magazine articles, extracts from books. If in a foreign language, please translate them for us. I can translate German, but not well. (It gives me a headache. Save me the headache.)
Anyone?
We aren't near done with volume 2 of S. I., but it's time to put material together. You can help. We need someone to scour the newspaper archives (such as fultonhistory.com; the Library of Congress Newspaper archive, etc.) for Russell's Newspaper sermons and, more importantly, for comments on his newspaper ministry. Also search Google Books.
Instead of sending articles piecemeal, or sending entire newspaper pages, open the .pdf versions of the articles, cut and paste them into a Word document (or Word Perfect), include name and date of newspaper; include title of article. When you accumulate significant material, send it via google documents or dropbox.
This will help me stay organized. (Bruce seems to thrive on chaos; I throw up my hands in dismay.)
Other than the two famous debates (1903, 1908) there were other proposed debates and some actual debates between Watch Tower adherents and others. We need to document this as above. Again, poast it all into one document and send it that way.
Jerome has his hands full. So I need other volunteers for this. This is not a rush assignment. Book three is only in the planning stages.
We will need "country histories" too. Most of the Yearbook histories omit significant detail. You are interested in the history of your country? Research it in depth for the period 1885-1915. We want newspaper clippings, magazine articles, extracts from books. If in a foreign language, please translate them for us. I can translate German, but not well. (It gives me a headache. Save me the headache.)
Anyone?
Saturday, January 23, 2016
This is what ...
This is what happens when we get help solving mysteries:
Macon Carter van Hook was born in North Carolina sometime in December 1843 to Southern-born parents who after living in Ohio for a period, immigrated to North Carolina. Though attached to the South by birth and parentage, he served as a sergeant in Company K of the 6th Iowa Volunteer Infantry, applying for a pension in July 1865, as an invalid soldier. Russell mentions his work in 1887 and we hear nothing more of him until 1894 when a letter from him appears in Zion’s Watch Tower. Sometime before 1887, he and his family moved to Columbus, Ohio. The 1910 Census shows him as retired, but he continued to present Bible lectures in Ohio. Our last notice of him seems to be an advertisement for a lecture entitled What Happens After Death, given in Portsmouth, Ohio, in January 1914. He died in Columbus, Ohio, April 27, 1917
and this:
Van Hook, Macon C. (Veteran.) Age 18. Residence Oskaloosa, nativity North Carolina. Enlisted July 12, 1861. Mustered July 18, 1861. Re-enlisted and re-mustered Jan. 26, 1864. Wounded severely in side May 13, 1864, Resaca, Ga. Promoted Fifth Corporal Jan. 1, 1865; Fifth Sergeant March 1, 1865. Mustered out July 2, 1865.
Thanks to Miquel we now have this:
Macon Carter van Hook was born in North Carolina sometime in December 1843 to Southern-born parents who after living in Ohio for a period, immigrated to North Carolina. Though attached to the South by birth and parentage, he served as a sergeant in Company K of the 6th Iowa Volunteer Infantry, applying for a pension in July 1865, as an invalid soldier. Russell mentions his work in 1887 and we hear nothing more of him until 1894 when a letter from him appears in Zion’s Watch Tower. Sometime before 1887, he and his family moved to Columbus, Ohio. The 1910 Census shows him as retired, but he continued to present Bible lectures in Ohio. Our last notice of him seems to be an advertisement for a lecture entitled What Happens After Death, given in Portsmouth, Ohio, in January 1914. He died in Columbus, Ohio, April 27, 1917
and this:
Van Hook, Macon C. (Veteran.) Age 18. Residence Oskaloosa, nativity North Carolina. Enlisted July 12, 1861. Mustered July 18, 1861. Re-enlisted and re-mustered Jan. 26, 1864. Wounded severely in side May 13, 1864, Resaca, Ga. Promoted Fifth Corporal Jan. 1, 1865; Fifth Sergeant March 1, 1865. Mustered out July 2, 1865.
Thanks to Miquel we now have this:
We
don’t know who “Brother” van der Ahe was. The most likely candidates are two
Pittsburgh residents living and working near the Russell’s Fifth Avenue store.
The Pittsburgh directories spell the name as Vandera. Thurston’s 1869 Directory
lists William, a salesman, and Louis, a shoemaker. There is no firm identification
of Van der Ahe.
Macon Carter van Hook was born in
North Carolina December 8, 1843 to Southern-born parents who after living in
Ohio for a period, immigrated to North Carolina. Though attached to the South
by birth and parentage, he served as a sergeant in Company K of the 6th Iowa Volunteer
Infantry, enlisting at Oskaloosa July 12, 1861, when he was eighteen and
reenlisting in January 1864. He was severely in the right side at Resaca,
Georgia on May 13, 1864. He applied for a pension in July 1865, as an invalid
soldier and was granted four dollars a month.
Russell mentions his work in 1887
and we hear nothing more of him until 1894, when a letter from him appears in Zion’s
Watch Tower. In 1883 he and his family lived in Miamisburg, Ohio. Sometime
before 1887, he and his family moved to Columbus, Ohio. The 1896-1897 R. L.
Polk directory for Columbus says he was employed as an “agent.” The 1910 Census
shows him as retired, but he continued to present Bible lectures in Ohio. Our
last notice of him seems to be an advertisement for a lecture entitled What
Happens After Death, given in Portsmouth, Ohio, in January 1914. He died in
Columbus, Ohio, April 27, 1917.[1]
[1] Residence in Miamisburg, wound, and pension details: List
of Pensioners on the Roll: January 1, 1883, Government Printing Office,
Washinton, D. C., page 233.
HELP!
So at some point the blog post index and the 'search this blog' box went missing from this blog. I don't know how to fix that. Anyone?
Stuff
So we have many secondary research issues, things it would be nice to know but we can live without if we must. I'm enlisting your help with some of these.
We want to know the name of the Methodist clergyman in Americus, Kansas, in 1883.
We want to know J. B. Adamson's exact occupation.
We need to identify "brothers" M. C. van Hook, Myers and Cobb - early Watch Tower evangelists. Thanks to Miquel, we now know that M. C. van Hook is Macon C. van Hook, born in North Carolina in 1844 and later a resident of Columbus Ohio! Super stuff!
We need a reasonable biography of William Dow of Albany, New York. He supported Russell in an article appearing in The Albany Morning Express in 1895.
We want to know the name of the Methodist clergyman in Americus, Kansas, in 1883.
We want to know J. B. Adamson's exact occupation.
We need to identify "brothers" M. C. van Hook, Myers and Cobb - early Watch Tower evangelists. Thanks to Miquel, we now know that M. C. van Hook is Macon C. van Hook, born in North Carolina in 1844 and later a resident of Columbus Ohio! Super stuff!
We need a reasonable biography of William Dow of Albany, New York. He supported Russell in an article appearing in The Albany Morning Express in 1895.
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Out of Babylon: Current Work - Temporary post
If you copy this for personal use, please don't share it off the blog.
Thanks for the comments, everyone! Helpful and encouraging. The rest of this post is deleted.
Out of Babylon
There
is almost no record of the earliest congregations’ internal structure or of the
nature of their meetings. Though meeting guidance was given as early as 1884, a
standard meeting format wasn’t introduced until the 1890s, and nature of meetings
varied by place. To understand them we must rely on comments made in later
decades. While some of his observations were appropriate to later years, the
anonymous author of the Watchtower series “The Modern History of Jehovah’s
Witnesses” accurately describes affiliated congregations in the period before
1900:
James E. Fitch - As we have it now.
James Edwin Fitch
J. E.
Fitch (1830-1926) was an early Washington Territory pioneer and Methodist clergyman. In the late 1850s
Fitch was in Wisconsin, working in cooperation with a Baptist missionary “for
the purpose of showing to the world how well Christians could agree, and to
show their love for the churches; and a revival ensued whereby many were saved
from the sin of the world, taken into the Churches.” About two hundred converts
were added to the Methodist church during the first year (1857-1858) of Fitch’s
ministry in Wisconsin.[1] In
1868 Fitch was in Iowa.[2]
His ministry within the Methodist church seems to have been successful.
In
1882 Fitch was living in North
Prosser, Washington. Fitch
read Food for Thinking Christians and was convinced by it. He recounted
his conversion to Watch Tower doctrine in a letter to The St. Paul, Minnesota,
Enterprise: “The Holy Sprit led my companion and self out of darkness into
light, 36 years ago, by reading and studying that blessed little booklet, ‘Food
for Thinking Christians,’ and the later restitution publications, ‘Searching
the Scriptures daily whether these things were so.’ We have never doubted these
precious harvest truths from that day to this.”[3] He
and his wife left the Methodist Church which he later referred to as the “barren desert of Methodism.”
We
did not find a reference to Fitch in The Watch Tower, so his work within
the Watch Tower movement is unclear. However, we run across him in
one of the first person interviews that sometimes contribute to our research. In
the late 1970s and early 1980s the elder of us interviewed surviving members of
the Hazen family, long time residents of the lower Yakima River Valley. Kermit Hazen, an elder in the Pasco,
Washington, congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses recalled his
father’s interaction with an aged and infirm former colporteur. Though the connection
is tenuous, we think this is Fitch. He lived in the right place, near Prosser, Washington. The aged colporteur’s family opposed Watch Tower teachings. Fitch’s family presents him as a
Methodist. The 1900 United States Census
notes Fitch as “a preacher,” hence a colporteur within Watch Tower parlance.
Friday, January 15, 2016
James E. Fitch
Letter from Fitch in March 12, 1918 St. Paul Enterprise
He lived in Washington State at the time of writing.
We need some basic biography for him. Can you help?
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Just a reminder ...
Some of our readers feel a sense of ownership when it comes to this blog. But the blog belongs to Mr. Schulz and myself. We set the rules, enforce them and make policy.Often if you see a scold or a restatement of the rules, we will not tell you why we did that. Assume you don't know the whole story.
We do not care what religion you are; you many not break the rules.
We do not care what religion you are; you many not break the rules.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Jerome or Roberto
Help me if you can. I want to block visits from S. Korea and Russia, the entire countries.
I'm asking politely. Since neither the Russian nor the Korean visitors to this blog can abide by the rules, I'm asking you to stop visiting this blog. I don't want you here. You have absolutely no ethical standards. A thief is a thief. You are not free to use our material without our consent. Stop it and go away. Be nice little boys.
I'm asking politely. Since neither the Russian nor the Korean visitors to this blog can abide by the rules, I'm asking you to stop visiting this blog. I don't want you here. You have absolutely no ethical standards. A thief is a thief. You are not free to use our material without our consent. Stop it and go away. Be nice little boys.
In the past week ...
In the past week we've had about 100 visits from South Korea, and in the past month 150 visits, but NO comments. Why is that? Do you feel free to use our material without even a thanks? Civilized behavior demands a thank you when others further your research, does it not?
You are making me uncomfortable and suspicious. It takes effort to block an entire country. I'm asking you to state your reason for coming to this blog or to go away and stay away. If I have to block the entire country of South Korea I will. I'd rather you just respect the rules here and GO AWAY.
The material on this blog is copyrighted. You are not fee to use it without permission. Even if that's the usual practice in Korea.
You are making me uncomfortable and suspicious. It takes effort to block an entire country. I'm asking you to state your reason for coming to this blog or to go away and stay away. If I have to block the entire country of South Korea I will. I'd rather you just respect the rules here and GO AWAY.
The material on this blog is copyrighted. You are not fee to use it without permission. Even if that's the usual practice in Korea.
Saturday, January 9, 2016
So you know
I'm swamped with end of semester stuff and planning a teacher (and para-educator) training day for staff. So you may not see much new material on the blog for two or three weeks.
We have a new reader (or readers) from Korea. If that's you, leave a comment and introduce yourself. We lost a couple of readers to a fit of temper. Shame on you. All we ask is that you keep your comments to historical matters. We respect everyone's religious views, but we do not debate them here. If that bothers you, then you do not belong here. Restating rules that have been in place here since the blog was started is not a scold.
We need Russell era controversialist booklets and articles, especially those published before 1910.
There are several Hessler family obituaries that might lead to living family. The obits suggest the family continued as Jehovah's Witnesses. Anyone volunteer to trace living family and contact them?
If you email me and don't get an immediate reply, know that I'm not ignoring you. I'm very busy. Sometimes you have to wait. If you don't hear from me in a week, resend the email.
Mr. Schulz is some better, but please do not email him. He works on our project, sleeps a lot, and his work is limited to a few hours a week. Please direct your questions and comments to me.
I was asked about blog 2, the private blog. It is inactive.
We have a new reader (or readers) from Korea. If that's you, leave a comment and introduce yourself. We lost a couple of readers to a fit of temper. Shame on you. All we ask is that you keep your comments to historical matters. We respect everyone's religious views, but we do not debate them here. If that bothers you, then you do not belong here. Restating rules that have been in place here since the blog was started is not a scold.
We need Russell era controversialist booklets and articles, especially those published before 1910.
There are several Hessler family obituaries that might lead to living family. The obits suggest the family continued as Jehovah's Witnesses. Anyone volunteer to trace living family and contact them?
If you email me and don't get an immediate reply, know that I'm not ignoring you. I'm very busy. Sometimes you have to wait. If you don't hear from me in a week, resend the email.
Mr. Schulz is some better, but please do not email him. He works on our project, sleeps a lot, and his work is limited to a few hours a week. Please direct your questions and comments to me.
I was asked about blog 2, the private blog. It is inactive.
Friday, January 8, 2016
Comment
Mr. Schulz and I invest a huge amount of money and work to further our research. We don't ask you for money. We do like comments. The same two - sometimes three - people comment. Everyone else that visits this blog avoids commenting. Even an "interesting" or "well done" is good.
Lack of comments is personally discouraging. You want this work to continue? An occasional comment helps.
Lack of comments is personally discouraging. You want this work to continue? An occasional comment helps.
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Remember this?
From the chapter titled Out of Babylon (with slight revisions)
We do not know who the
class “leader” was, but we do know something of George Hessler. [died May 1913]
He was a cabinet maker, “well known in building circles,” and a member of the
Improved Order of Heptasophs, a fraternal organization. Hessler was an
inventor, holding patents for a ‘book holder’ and a toilet chair.[2] A
German immigrant, he became a citizen in February 1909.[3]
Later in life he invested in a Cuban gold mine and he was swindled.[4] As
with Daniel Hessler, we do not know if he maintained his interest. When his
daughter Hazel was married in 1905, it was by the “Reverend Stahl.”[5]
This cannot be taken as evidence of later belief because in this era adherents
turned to clergy for weddings. Few Watch Tower evangelists were recognized by
state or county officials to perform marriages.
The Woodworths were not alone. Others represented
pre-existing interest in Scranton. Among them was D. M. Hessler. We know little
about Daniel Milburn Hessler. (1860-1917) He was a prominent citizen, owning a
laundry business in Scranton with branches in New Jersey, Indiana and
Pennsylvania. He appears once in the Watch Tower through a letter to
Russell in February 1891, and he named a son born that year Charles Russell
Hessler. Commenting on a new cover design for Zion’s Watch Tower, we
find him expressing his strongly held belief:
I
received January number last night and quickly noticed the new suit in which
the tower is clothed. I feel sure
that the improvement will be greatly appreciated by its readers. The emblem of
the cross and crown is an appropriate and beautiful design to be worn by the tower. Its presence should ever
encourage, sustain and comfort the household of faith. It should also be a
warning or reminder; for as the cross and crown are inseparable in the design,
so the two are to be inseparably associated in the experience of the
overcomers. If we would wear the crown we must bear the cross.[1]
Hessler drops out of the record with
this letter. We do not know if he maintained his interest or how active he was
within the Scranton congregation. By
July 1895, meetings were held in George W. Hessler’s home at 728 Green
Ridge Street. Erlenmyer would have directed the Woodworths to this meeting. The
one notice of it appears in the July 13, 1895, Scranton, Pennsylvania,
Tribune:
The
Watch Tower Bible class will meet at the residence of G. W. Hessler, 728 Green
Ridge street, [sic] Sunday, July 14, at 10 a. m. The subject will be “Restitution
of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all the holy prophets since
the world began,” Acts, iii 21. The leader will also explain from the “Chart of
the Ages” the special call of this gospel age, “The straight gate and narrow
way to life, and the few there be that find it.” Matt. Vii, 14.
[1] Extracts from Interesting Letters, Zion’s Watch
Tower, February 1891, page 29.
[2] U.S. Patents numbers 263,290 and 752,551.
[3] Scranton Wochenblatt, February 25, 1909.
[4] The Scranton, Pennsylvania, Truth, January 12,
1911.
[5] The Scranton, Pennsylvania, Truth¸ June 7, 1905.
D. M. Hessler's son Charles Russell served at Bethel in the 1940s and is mentioned in the 1943 Yearbook. Can anyone help us connect with Hessler relations who are still Jehovah's Witnesses?
Benjamin Ford Weatherwax
1836-1903
With grateful thanks to Diana via Ancestry.com who is a vaguely distant relation. She gives permission for the photograph to be reproduced as we see fit.