by Jerome
Rachael mentioned in a
recent post that I had several articles in the planning stage for the blog.
This is true and they will eventually cover what I hope others may find
profitable lines of research.
However, this is not
one of them. This is just an incidental post covering some material uncovered
when researching Basil Stephanoff. It will not have a place in the forthcoming
book, because it is irrelevant to the religious history. But still - I, at
least, found some of it fun.
Many early associates
of CTR, like people in general today, had what can only be called “feet of
clay.” Lapses from moral grace don’t have to be the exclusive preserve of
religious people, but the contrast between theory and practice is often fodder
for the tabloid press. And this is history - these people aren’t our relatives
to cause us any embarrassment today, so that is Okay.
Quoting from an earlier
post by Rachael, “Basil Stephanoff gets short mention in Proclaimers. He was active in Macedonia (European Turkey and
Bulgaria in the late 1880s. He was imprisoned because (he claimed) false
testimony at the hands of false brethren. He escaped to America, settling in
Michigan. He was still a Watch Tower adherent in 1894.”
The 1894 reference is
to a letter of support he sent CTR as published in the special Conspiracy
Exposed and Harvest Siftings Watch Tower extra.
Basil’s personal
history has its mysteries. At one point in researching this article, I rather
gleefully assumed we had a case of bigamy here, but alas, a discovery of not
one but two divorces settled that in Basil’s favor - if that is the right
expression to use. But I am getting ahead of myself.
The fuller chronicle of
Basil that makes the history book explains he was in the United States in the
1880s, although on census returns he only ever admits to entering the country
in 1891 or 1892. We know from passenger lists that he travelled from England to
the States in January 1892, giving his occupation as laborer.
Within a short space of
time Basil gets married to Annie Brook, on April 12, 1892, in the Children of
Zion Church, and his marriage certificate (registered in Kent County, Michigan)
gives his occupation as minister of the gospel. The officiating minister at his
wedding is H A Olmstead, Pastor Children of Zion Church. Annie is a dress maker and comes from England.
A 1900 census return says she came to America in 1886, six years before Basil, and
a 1920 census return says she became a US citizen in 1892.
At the time of the
marriage Basil is 31 and Annie is 28. His father’s name is down as Stephan
Boginoff, which suggests the registrar had a silly moment, since the correct
name in all other documents is Bogin Stephanoff. Basil’s mother’s name is Mona.
Annie conceives almost immediately and their only son, John Basil Stephanoff is
born on January 26, 1893 (information from John B’s WW1 draft card). John B
becomes a judo instructor during WW2 and lives until 1976. John B married and
had one daughter, whose married name was Jean Schmit, and who died in 1980, but
there the trail ran cold for this researcher.
In trade directories
for the late 1890s through to 1901 the family are in Grand Rapids, Michigan,
and Basil is listed under Boots and Shoes, or shoe dealer in the 1900 census.
But all is not well in
the Stephanoff household. On November 5, 1900, Annie files for divorce on the
grounds of Basil’s cruelty and the uncontested divorce is granted on June 18,
1901. Annie will stay in Grand Rapids. In quite short order, and while still giving
his residence in Grand Rapids, Basil ties the knot again, this time marrying
Alvesta S Nagle of Bellevue, Ohio, on October 8, 1902. The marriage is
registered in Kent County, Michigan. Basil is still a shoe dealer, Alvesta has
no profession, and Basil’s parents are down as Stephanoff and Mona. But just
four months later there are divorce proceedings again. This time the
uncontested charge is cruelty plus fraud, and the decree absolute is granted on
June 30, 1903.
Alvesta disappears from
the record, but first wife Annie with son John B continue to appear in Grand
Rapids directories, she as a dress maker and John B when he leaves education as
a salesman.
Basil then reappears in
Marion County, Indiana, in the 1910 census. The age, place of origin, and year
of immigration show it is our man. He has now become a lawyer. And the census
specifically asks him whether he is single, married, widowed or divorced. His
answer is plain - SINGLE.
Whereas Annie in the
Grand Rapids trade directories for 1915 and surrounding years puts herself down
as the widow of Basil.
Basil dies of nephritis
in Marion County, Indianapolis, on May 19, 1925. He must have kept certain
documents with him because his death certificate lists his parents as Bogin and
Mona. But he is now listed as a widower, with the name of his former partner
unknown.
Basically Basil dies
alone, and out of touch with his son.
I suppose I was looking
for a “bad boy” in Basil, and these snippets from records show someone who
could bend the truth at times, along with two failed marriages and the accusation
of cruelty.
It makes me think of
another “bad boy” who lived at the same time and who also associated for a
while with the Bible Student movement. That was Albert Royal Delmont Jones, who
was the editor of Zion’s Day Star before his fall from grace. Jones deserted
his first wife, the mother of his children, and married a society beauty. She
in turn dumped him when he lost his fortune, and his third attempt at matrimony
was to someone later convicted of bigamy, who featured in the Fatty Arbuckle
scandal. If that wasn’t enough excitement for one life, somewhere along the
line there is a possible fourth marriage, which if true, suggests a less than
truthful response to the registrar. All of this can be read by newer readers if
you track back on this blog to when Albert was dissected a few years back.
There are some similarities
in the stories of former Watch Tower adherents, Albert and Basil, although
Albert wins the prize for major league “bad boy”. But with their tangled
personal histories, there is one thing they do both have in common. Both had
family who survived them. Both died alone. Maybe they deserved it, but I still
find that rather sad.
