Prophetic Faith of our Fathers

 This set is on ebay at what I think a good price. 

The end of Nelson

     Nelson Barbour’s paper, first The Midnight Cry and then Herald of the Morning, ran from 1873 to 1903.

     Nelson died on August 31, 1905. Some sources say 1906, but the correct year is 1905. This is confirmed by newspaper reports of his death. Until recently the main news of his death was a short notice in John Paton’s World’s Hope magazine. But a couple of newspapers have gone online which confirm the event and the date.

     He died while on a visit to Tacoma, Washington State. The story was taken up first by The Tacoma Daily News on the day he died, August 31, 1905:

     With nearly the same wording, the next day’s Tacoma Daily Ledger for September 1 also carried the story:

     There was only a very brief reference to his death in the papers in Rochester. He was no longer a “name” – if he ever had been – and no special attention was drawn to his passing.     The Tacoma papers however gave two names of associates – a Mrs J E Moore and a Mrs N W Fuller.

     Nelson had been staying at the home of a Mrs J E Moore for about two months. She appears to be Julia Elizabeth Jenks Moore (1850-1937). Originally Julia Jenks, she married James W Moore in 1871 who was about 26 years her senior. In the 1900 Tacoma census she is 49 years old and James is 75. In the 1910 census she is a widow living with her son and his family. For several years during the first decade of the 20^th century she is in Tacoma trade directories as running her own business as a piano teacher. It may be that she was recently widowed at the time Nelson Barbour and Mrs N W Fuller came to stay with her.

     Mrs N W Fuller, the friend who came with Nelson for the stay, has a more obvious connection with his Church of the Strangers. In the 1900 census for Rochester, she is living at home with Nelson and Emeline Barbour as a “boarder.” When Emeline died in late 1901, Nelson wrote her obituary in the January/February Herald page 174. He mentioned how Sister Fuller had been with them for nearly four years, and had accompanied Emeline on her last trip when she died in Florida. He also wrote that she would be making her home with him. The 1900 census shows Sister Fuller to be Nancy Fuller, a widow with no children. Nelson is 75 and she is 68, the same age as Emeline.  Nancy was born in New Hampshire in November 1831. In the 1905 census, the year of Nelson’s death, she is with him in Rochester, listed as: relationship “servant” and occupation “house-keeper.” Something strange has happened to her age. By all accounts she should now be around 73 but only admits to 66.

     So the 1905 newspapers tell us that when Nelson died, Nancy arranged for the body to be taken back to Rochester for the funeral. Nelson would be buried alngside his late wife, Emeline, in the Throopsville Rural Cemetery, Auburn, New York.

     However, that wasn’t the end of the story. There was an interesting sequel with Nancy center stage.

     As recounted in the Rochester newspaper The Democrat and Chronicle for June 12 and July 11, 1906, there were big problems in Nelson’s church after his demise. He had made a will about a year before he died, providing money for a special book to be called “Washed in His Blood” as a final message to the world. It wasn’t a simple affair, there was work to be done putting it together from material that appeared in the Herald. His last will and testament also left all his household belongings to Nancy Fuller.

     So far so good. But then, reportedly on the day he died, Nelson executed a codicil to his will which now included Nancy as one of the executors. The other two executors were Charles A Naramore and Leonidas B King.

     The book project involved someone being employed to put it all together. King claimed Naramore agreed to pay him $15 per week to do this. This became a bone of contention – if paid weekly, how long was it all going to take and how much from the estate would it cost? Then Nancy decided that she would produce the book herself. She had one key thing on her side – having inherited all Nelson’s household goods she also inherited his library. She then refused King access and took steps to get back what had already been used. On his side, King took steps to try and wrest back the project and also secure a fee now upped to $18 per week. So it went to court as yet another drain on the estate.

     The newspaper had a touch of glee in its tone when it reported on what it called “a tempest in a teapot”:

     “Of legal controversies there have been enough and to spare, but the personal jealousies and heart-burning that the brethren have endured are not to be mentioned in the same breath. Those who figure chiefly in the proceedings are Charles Naramore, Leonidas B King and Mrs Nancy W Fuller, all of whom were on friendly terms with one another and Mr. Barbour before his death… Because the brethren could not agree on who should continue the work of preparing the manuscript…it seems likely that the most of the $4,000 left for that purpose will be exhausted in “claims” against the estate and lawyers’ fees before the matter is settled…

     “There are not lacking those who take sides…One faction declares that if Naramore has anything to do with the publication of the book he will get no help from it, and the same attitude is taken by the King faction. Then there are those who declare they will not touch the work if either Naramore or King has any hand in its preparing. And there you are… For the peace of mind of the brethren it is certainly well that they believe the dead sleep unconscious to the judgment day, for otherwise their consciences might be troubled over the effect of this strife on the consciousness of their late pastor.”

     The newspapers do not appear to have published a resolution to the conflict, but “Washed in His Blood” was eventually published in 1907. There was a very small advertisement in The Democrat and Chronicle for May 4, 1907:

     The book was published by the Unique Book Company. There is no mention of Nancy or any other faction in the book, which does not even carry Nelson Barbour’s name,

     I have not been able to establish any more of Nancy’s family history. It is always more difficult with married female names, expecially if they had no descendants to trace. I could not find her in the 1910 census for Rochester. It may be that she moved away. It may be that she died. In case there is a story of interest to tell here, other readers are very welcome to try. And of course, a key question – whatever happened to Nelson Barbour’s library that Nancy Fuller inherited?

Question from the comment trail

This question is probably too far down to be seen. I'm copying it here for your comments:

Commenting on "The Franz brothers and the draft," donrayjay asked:

Does anyone have information on the later theocratic careers of Albert, Herman, and Alvin? And their parents too, for that matter. The life course of Frederick Franz is of course well known.

Nelson Barbour

As many, if not most, of our blog readers know that Barbour styled his church as "The Church of the Stranger," borrowing the name from a widely known church in New York City. It continued to be called that until his death in 1905. However "Jerome" has located a newspaper article that shows they used the more formal name, "Brethren of Restitutionist Faith."

Jerome is working on an blog post that follows events immediately post Barbour's death. It will appear on our blog in not may days.

Jehovah's Witnesses: A New Introduction

George Chryssides' book of that title has been released. I have room on this blog for two thoughtful reviews. Anyone?

Key Puzzle - 1912

From current listing on ebay.

 

The Iron Trade

There is an interesting swipe at CTR in Nelson Barbour’s Herald magazine for May 1880, page 72. It was one of many, and one must remember that most readers of the Herald were also receiving Zion’s Watch Tower at this same time. Barbour’s comment is typical of him –

“Perhaps C T Russell could write some well digested matter if he had less money and more time. He is certainly an intelligent and first-class business man, or he could not successfully carry on the iron trade, run three gentlemen’s furnishing stores, lecture on Sunday, and run a theological paper. And under all the circumstances, even if what he writes is not very Scriptural, I think he shows great diversity of talent.”

But it raises a question. “Carry on the iron trade.” What was that?

Way past the era this blog is meant to research

Many of these photos appeared first in The Consolation or in convention reports. Depending on your browser, you may need to click on the youtube link at top of video to see clearly. Might have been better with songs from the period.

Emma Martin

Back on February 19, 2019, this blog carried an article on Emma Martin, who was arrested and sentenced to a prison term for circulating The Finished Mystery. The article more or less ended with her publicized release from prison, with the comment: "Emma’s subsequent history is unknown. She lived until 1949 and died aged 79 in Fresno, California."

We now know a little bit more. Here is a letter she wrote to The Watch Tower in 1932.

As often happens, I found this by accident while looking for something quite different.

More Memories

I was there. Were you?

A new review of Separate Identity vol. 1

 I depend on royalties to fund research. Your reviews matter. Of course, I wish they were all five star reviews, but any review helps. 

Dr. Carlos Rodrigues left this review of Amazon-Brazil:

This is an extensive study of the history of Bible students led by Charles Taze Russell and others religious groups of the time, that had an influence on his beliefs and subsequent works, covering a period that goes up to the year 1879. The work impresses by the accuracy through hundreds of consulted references (including interviews and excerpts from newspapers of the time) for the generation of the information, with the same accuracy expected from an academic work. At the same time, brief biographies of Nelson H. Barbour, John H. Paton, George Stetson, George Storrs, William H. Conley, Henry Dunn, Joseph Seiss and others with their work are presented, shedding light on their influences, along with excerpts of their related writings. The circumstances and influences that led to the creation of the Watchtower magazine by Russell and his associates are also presented.The book belies the belief that Russell was an Adventist, having been a One Faith Millenarian with Age-to-Come concepts.

1959

 

We attended in Tacoma, Washington. You?

The Rules

It is necessary to restate the rules. 

This is a history blog. Polemics have no place here. We do not make room for posts or links to praise for men. Especially is that true for men who led disreputable lives. You may see men like that as a hero of the faith, but they still have no place here.

Today someone using the name Louis tried to post a link to the biography of a disaffected, former Witness. I disallowed it. I should add that the man in question and I were life-long friends. I know how he behaved when a Witness and I know how he behaved after leaving the faith. He wasn't the wise man you seem to think he was. I can tell you this from first-hand experience. But even if he was a complete stranger to me, I would not allow the link. 

This is a history blog. That is all it is. If you come here to promote your beliefs, or to justify yourself, you've come to the wrong place.  This blog is moderated. Either Jerome or myself will toss your post if you cannot live by the rules.

Amazon Japan Review of Separate Identity vol. 2

I have not read the entirety of this over 600 page behemoth of a book but what I have read is probably the most extensive, well researched, unbiased piece of scholarly work I have ever read, this should be the standard in which all scholarly work should strive for. Worth every dollar.

New to my Research Collection

 An early article refuting the Hell-Fire conclusions from the parable of The Rich Man. Some browsers will crop the image. Click on it to see the entire picture.

 A Mrs. Chas. Alkyer read the Eaton Debate pamphlet and converted from Methodism to Watch Tower belief. She recounted this in: Mrs. Chas. Alkyer to Editor St. Paul, Minnesota, Enterprise, July 25, 1916.

Can you identify this person? Can we find her first name?

Other Debates

While researching the Russell-Eaton debate of 1903, I've discovered many debates taking place in the 1920s. This wasn't exactly new. But the number of them was surprising. They are documented in the Enterprise. 

I do not have time to craft an article about the debates of the 1920s. Perhaps onr of our blog readers can do this.

Volunteer anyone?

I need - Eaton v. Russell

 I need your observations, documentation, anything about the Russell - Eaton debate of 1903.

A few more paragraphs

 Same as previous post. This won't stay up. If you wish to comment, now is the time to do it.

            He [Eaton] entered the Methodist Episcopal (Wisconsin Conference) ministry in the spring of 1871 with a License to preach. Clergy were admitted on “trial.”

remainder of this post has been deleted.

Three paragraphs

 These are from a history journal article I'm writing. Posted for your comments. It will come down soon, so comment now.

            Eaton just is. No discussion of the Russell-Eaton debate of 1903 describes him as anything but a pastor of a Pittsburgh church and as “Dr. Eaton.”

Remainder of this post has been deleted.

Listen to the entire lesson

 

M. Russell taught in this school

 Found this picture today. Enjoy.

Update of sorts

My thanks to those who sent well wishes. Along with other issues, I've been fighting an infection. The antibiotic is working, and I feel some better. 

A test revealed that the arteries in my extremities are in good shape. However an MRI shows significant deterioration in my neck and upper spine. Nerves are impinged. I will forego the surgery. At least for now.

They located three more tumors, one of which 'looks suspicious.' I will have that surgery sometimes early summer. 

I'm on two 'strong' medications that leave me dizzy and a bit disoriented. They affect my memory too. So I'm slow moving and mostly confined to my house. My neurological problems have increased. Pills for that too. 

While 'down and out' I've written a young adult/new adult novel. It required little thought. Will it be published? Probably not, but it was a mentally relaxing project. I'm calling it "Falcon's Crown: Kidnapped." 

I'm writing a journal article about Ephraim Llewellyn Eaton and the Eaton-Russell debate. The magazine for which I'm writing may refuse it because its editor is a partisan of Eaton. If so, I'll find another home for it. If you have any thoughts or information about Eaton, please share them, even if you think it's something I already know.

Bruce

End of the Enterprise

 

from The Golden Age for July 10, 1929, page 655

(depending on your device you may need to click on the graphic to see it in full)

     The New Era Enterprise (originally called The St Paul Enterprise) was an unofficial Bible Student newspaper for much of its history. It started publication in 1910, and was devoted increasingly to Bible Student news from 1914. Its first editor, William Abbott, became a Bible Student. The paper published pamphlets from time to time including the public speaking booklet The School of the Prophets in 1922.

     For historical research it is invaluable, especially in its life stories in obituaries, and many well known names appeared in its columns.

     Most library sources say the paper ended in 1930, but they all carry a question mark after that date. However, The Golden Age referred to its passing in the extract reproduced above. The writer noted that it had folded “sometime ago.” This information ties in with the extant file on microfilm belonging to the Minnesota Historical Society. The last issue on microfilm is for May 1, 1928.

     As The Golden Age became more well-known it took over the role of The Enterprise in some respects. Also The Enterprise was heavily criticised in the article “The Misleading Press” by Judge Rutherford (see Golden Age for December 2, 1925). The paper had censored one of his speeches while claiming to print it complete, and had been selling subscriptions on that understanding. From then on it was only a matter of time before the paper folded.

     Of interest in the above clipping – C E Stewart had been the editor of The Enterprise from 1918-1922, and felt the need to warn readers not to send money to its defunct offices. Stewart left the post in 1922 to go into Bethel, to work first on The Golden Age and then become part of The Watch Tower editorial committee.

Can you help?

 Bruce needs the talk outline for "Who are God's Ministers." The date is uncertain but probably from the 1950s.

A. d'I.-Stewart

Bruce

 Bruce passed out at work last night. He was helped by a couple of strangers who saw him. He will be away from serious blog posting for some time. -A. d'I. Stewart

Issues

I've stated this before, but it's time for a refresher. I am not interested in having this blog or my books translated into other languages. If I ever find that attractive, I will hire a professional translator. Please don't ask.

If you contact me, use your real name. Fake names are easy to spot. Picking the name of a dead comedian is a dead give away. 

I have limited control over how material on this blog is used. I can insure accuracy. Even then, understanding changes as research develops. If you use older posts without using the search function to find newer content - or contacting Jerome or me - you may not be using the best research. Many of the questions I receive can be answered by reading my books. Look there first. I will insist that you take down material copied from this blog without permission. This blog is copyright protected under US and International Copyright law.

What you believe is between you and God. In this setting, I will not argue theology with you. I've heard it all. I've been a Witness since 1952, and it is unlikely that you have an argument I haven't heard dozens of times - thousands of times. Also, our blog editors are not stupid. We're at least as educated as any of our readers, and we're old guys who are difficult to deceive. Don't even try.

You disagree with some element of our research? Fine, that happens in academic circles all the time. Write a blog post, footnoted to original sources.  Prove your point. If it's well-written, accurate, and derived from original sources, I'll publish it. Otherwise? Make your own blog and post your nonsense there. 

You want to help with our work? Good. Fine. Dandy. I post research requests. Tackle one of those. You find something interesting and pursue it? Write up the result and send it on. You want to send a photo? Make it the best quality you can. If it's poor quality, I probably cannot use it.

I'm not your personal encyclopedia. Do your own research before asking me questions.

 

The Swedish Work

 

Two images sent by a friend of this blog,

An article by E. L. Eaton

 Eaton wrote an article entitled "Between the Lines in the Book of Acts," which was published in the Methodist Review of July 1923. It's reproduced on books.google.com.

https://books.google.com/books?id=XoTTAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA6&dq=ephraim+eaton+methodist&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjP-KWt_Yf2AhWVJ0QIHUv2DpQQ6AF6BAgzEAI#v=onepage&q=eaton&f=false

You would be of immense help if you would read it and post your thoughts to this blog post.

I was there. Were you?

 

Lawyer's Viewpoint

 I need a scan of the original of Rutherford's Salvation booklet. Anyone?

New to my Research Collection: Bell on the Resurrection

 

For another project

 Can you translate this for me, please?

More Cedar Point Ohio 1922 - Then and Thereafter

 

Guest post by Leroy

Note: you may need to click on some of the photographs to see them to full advantage

Where, exactly, was the ‘Advertise, advertise, advertise’ call given?

In the 1922 IBSA Convention at Cedar Point, Joseph F. Rutherford gave the famous talk in which he made the important declaration “Advertise, advertise, advertise the King and Kingdom!” Even though photographs of the event do exist, few know the exact spot where this talk was given. Next, we can see two historic photos taken during the discourse. The first one is looking towards the stage, and the second one is from the stage towards the audience:

Many collectors and history enthusiasts have tried to locate the place where the above photos were taken. Today, we can discover it by analyzing a few old as well as recent photographs of the buildings that were present at Cedar Point in 1922.

The building in the next photo is identified in old postcards as the “Convention Hall”:

This building was originally known as the Grand Pavilion and it’s the first big structure erected in Cedar Point which is still standing today. The Grand Pavilion was opened during the 1888 season and had a capacity of 4000 people seated (Francis, Cedar Point - the Queen of American Watering Places (AP Books, 1995), 41). However, this was not the place where the iconic speech took place.

A photograph exists of the interior of the Grand Pavilion, in which we can notice that, even though they are similar, it is not the same place as the one we see in the photos taken during Rutherford’s talk.

The Grand Pavilion is an open hall with a very high vaulted ceiling; it has a second floor with an interior balcony, and doesn’t have columns among the audience, contrary to the building we see in the convention pictures. Also, in the photos from the IBSA Convention we see arch-shaped windows, different from the ones in the Grand Pavilion, which are squared. The Grand Pavilion was lit by 24 chandeliers (Francis,26), as opposed to the 1922 Convention auditorium, in which we can see only bare lightbulbs as a means of illumination.Also, the attendance at the 1922 convention was more than 10,000. A bigger place was required to accommodate such an audience during JFR´s talk, so we can conclude the Grand Pavilion was not the place where the talk was given.

Was there another structure capable of holding such a large amount of people? Yes, there was. Soon after the opening of the Breakers hotel in 1905, a new massive structure was erected; this new building would have two floors, the upper being an enormous dance hall, with capacity for 10,000 people. This structure is known as The Coliseum and is also still standing today.

Unfortunately, I have been unable to locate a photograph taken inside the Coliseum before 1939, the year in which the interior was remodeled into art deco style. However, written accounts of the appearance of the interior of the Coliseum tell us that it did not have a great amount of decoration. The pillars and the ceiling structure didn’t have any cover, and the means of illumination were bare lightbulbs (Francis,106). Despite the remodeling, a few fundamental aspects were preserved and they help us identify the Coliseum as the hall where the famous 1922 speech was given.

Let’s see a photo of the interior of The Coliseum in the beginning of the 1940s:

We can see at the back, the windows with a staggered design, with smaller squares in the upper levels. These same windows are visible in the 1922 photo. Here is a side by side comparison of both photographs:

In the 1922 photo we can see that behind Rutherford, as well as at the back of the audience, there are three arch-shaped windows at the center, followed by two narrower arch-shaped windows, and then the staggered windows. Although this is not seen in the 1940 photograph because the arch-shaped windows are covered by a stage, in other photographs taken from outside the building both styles of windows can clearly be seen.

In the above postcard we can see the arched windows at the center, and if you look closely to the window at the farthest right, you can see the staggered design at the upper part of the window.

This one shows clearly the staggered windows in the wall to the right, and in the wall facing the left of the postcard, we can also see the arched ones.

Finally, in a current photograph of the Coliseum, we can see that the Arch-shaped windows are still there, but the staggered windows have been changed for a different style of new ones.

Now, let’s see a photo side by side comparing the central windows of today’s building with the ones in the 1922 Convention.

As we can see, even today these central windows preserve the same style they had in 1922.

All of this makes clear without a doubt that the building where this famous talk was given is the Coliseum, a building that can still be visited today if one wants to revive those exciting moments in theocratic history.

Note

 

I cannot leave the Russell-Eaton notes up for very many days. If you wish to comment or add to my research, now is the time.

Clergy Crimes in the Russell Era

 One of the things that attracted new adherents to Watch Tower belief was its insistence on Holy Conduct. Though there were those who fell short, on the whole Watch Tower adherents took righteous conduct seriously. This was in stark contrast to clergy behavior in the period. The following is from a table of reported clergy misconduct from 1877 to about 1910. 

Abduction 22; Abortion and attempts to procure 19; Abusive language 22; Adultery 676; Alienation of affections 17; Arson 62; Assault with intent to murder 61; Assault with intent to rape 50; Assault with intent to do great harm 26; Assault and battery 66; Attempted suicide 15; Bastardy 77; Bigamy, attempted and accomplished 144; Breach of promise to marry 27; Burglary 17; Cheating, swindling, grafting, malversation, misappropriation, etc.   288; “Conduct unbecoming a minister of the gospel” 44; Conspiracy 11; Contempt of court 13; Counterfeiting 16; Cruelty to wife or children 130/35; Debauchery 52; Desertion or non-support of wife or children 207; Disorderly conduct 44; Divorced or sued 56; Drunkenness 202; Elopement, attempted or accomplished 163; Embezzlement, fraud, defalcation, etc 162; Enticing women and young girls 15; False impersonation 13; Fighting 51; Forgery 123; “Fornication” 14; Gambling 19; Grave robbery 1; Gross immorality 40; Horse stealing 19; Illicit distilling 12; Illicit liquor selling 15; Immoralities with women and girls, miscellaneous and variously described 223; Larceny 181; Libel 50; Lying and deceit 138; Malicious destruction of property and malicious mischief 22; Manslaughter 14; Murder generally 119; Murder of child 12; Murder of wife 27; Obscene language 16; Obscene print, circulation of 14; Obtaining money or property under false pretenses 65; Perjury or subornation of 12; Plagiarism or literary piracy 14; Praying for death of neighbor, who died 1; Profanity 11; Quarreling 19; Rape in general 43; Rape of girls under age of consent or puberty 76; Seduction in general 273; Seduction of girls under fifteen 28; Slander 109; Sodomy or unnatural crime 67; Stealing religious funds or property 23; Suicide  117; Threatening life 16; Violation of postal laws 17; White slavery and pandering 15; Wife or woman beating 57. 

By incident of reported bad behavior Methodists led the list with 728 reported. Baptists followed with 492 incidents; Catholics with 325 incidents of clerical misconduct; then Presbyterians with 187, and Episcopalians with 164. In the same period only two Millennial Dawn believers were reported.

Russell-Eaton

 As I noted in a previous post, these are notes for a history journal article. They are far from complete. But here they are for comment, and, if you wish, your contributions. Corrections welcome. This post must be temporary.

These notes have been deleted.

E. L. Eaton Again

 Can you clean up this rough newspaper photo from 1912? Click on image to see it entire. 

John P. Brushingham

 I need help with this. J. P. Brushingham, B.D. was a Methodist Episcopal clergyman serving in various Illinois cities. In 1888 he was tried in a Chicago criminal court for seduction and fathering a bastard child. The first trial resulted in a hung jury because two jury members were Methodists and unwilling to see one of their own blameworthy. 

I need the results of the second trial. I cannot find them, and with an impending surgery do not have the time or energy to follow this further.

Also,

He was tried in a Methodist Ecclesiastical Court the same year. Indications are that he was found not guilty, but I cannot find a record of the proceedings. Can you?

Never presume I have something you've found.

The relevance to my history research lies in this: Brushingham and E. L. Eaton were best friends. Each had a seriously flawed character. Their flaws are relevant to the Eaton-Russell debate of 1903, which I am researching for a journal article. Eaton misrepresented his credentials on many occasions before and after the debate. Later he described himself as a scientist only on the grounds of his amateur astronomy and creation science lectures. In fact he had no relevant education. He called himself a well known scientist and lecturer, Dr. E. L. Eaton without noting what his degree was and that it was only honorary.  Eaton supported Brushingham despite the evidence that he was in fact guilty of seduction. 

So, can you help? Any? Even a little?

Personal Update

 I have surgery on Friday. There will be a period of recovery. If you have something for this blog, please send it. 

E. L. Eaton

 I need a volunteer to clean up this photo. Anyone? You may need to click on the image to see it in its entirety. 

For another project.

 I need a solid translation of this. Can you help?

Cedar Point Ohio 1922 - Then and Thereafter

 

Guest post by Leroy

This article will locate the exact spot of the 1922 Cedar Point Convention panoramic photograph.

Note: You may need to click on some of the photographs to see them in full.

 

Most of you will know this photo from the 1922 IBSA convention taken at Cedar Point, Ohio, but, where exactly was it taken?

A close examination of the buildings in the background can give us a precise location. Let’s take a closer look, starting from right to left.

 

In this image we can identify four landmarks, and with a nice closeup and the help of old postcards and photos, we can positively identify those buildings. In the next four photos you can see a closeup of the IBSA Convention Photo to the right, and a reference photo to the left. Some of the photos were taken from the book Cedar Point – The Queen of American Watering Places, by David W. Francis and Diane DeMali Francis.

First landmark: The Coliseum

 

In this old postcard you can clearly appreciate the features of this massive building, called The Coliseum, inside of which was probably given the famous talk by Brother Rutherford when the ADV banner was displayed, Friday, September 8, 1922.

Second landmark: The pagoda styled restrooms

 

Just in front of the coliseum there was a small building shaped like an oriental Pagoda, with three levels, and square windows in the second level; this building was a restroom, as you can see in the left photo featured in the mentioned book.

Third landmark: The pagoda styled post office

 

Between the trees in the 1922 IBSA Convention photo we can see another pagoda shaped structure, this time it is the post office. This building is still standing today, but it has been recycled as the main gift shop.

Fourth landmark: The Crystal Rock Castle

 

In the 1922 Convention photo closeup, you can clearly see one wall of this building, with two arcs at the bottom, and a watchtower and battlements at the top. This building is the Crystal Rock Castle, built in 1904. It was closed to the public in the 50s and later demolished when the current main midway was constructed.

These four landmarks are visible in the next aerial view from 1950. I’ve added the location of the IBSA crowd when the 1922 photograph was taken:

 

Today, only two of these buildings are still standing, as you can see in the photo below

 

In this 2018 photo you can see the pagoda gift shop and the coliseum in the background with its peculiar domes still visible. (Photo: themerica.org)

And finally, here is a current satellite photograph from Google, to which I have overlaid two maps from Francis’ book to show the locations of the different landmarks. This will allow us to locate the exact spot where the crowd and the photographer were standing when the famous panoramic photo was taken back in 1922.

 

The same photo without the map overlay:

 

As shown in this example, looking closely at the details in photos can give key information. When that information is combined with some research sometimes we can reach interesting and new conclusions. These can give color and life to a story and set the scene for important events of the past.

Can you add to this?

Because this may end up as a history journal article, this will come down in a few days. If you wish to add to it, do so promptly. Additional data of any sort is good. Don't presume I have something and fail to pass on something you've found. Fact and reference checking is useful. 

Assault and Response

Methodist Response to the Millennial Dawn Movement

B. W. Schulz, FRHistS

Remainder of this post has been deleted. I'll update the research in a later post.

Ephraim Llewllyn Eaton

"Dr. Eaton," of the Russell-Eaton debate rested his reputation on being called doctor. I've been probing that. Here is the result:

Hello,

 

I am writing to follow up with you regarding a research inquiry made to our library reference chat yesterday evening. According to our records Ephraim L. Eaton was awarded an honorary Doctor of Sacred Theology from Lawrence University at our Commencement exercises in 1890. Unfortunately I have no further information on Mr. Eaton or why he was awarded the honorary degree.

 

Best,

Lina  

 

Lina Rosenberg Foley

University Archivist

An honorary doctorate is not an earned doctorate. It is doubtful that he would be so recognized today. His word and views were not extraordinary then and are not now. The Eaton family connection to Lawrence University probably accounts for his honorary doctorate. 

I need more information relevant to Eaton. Anyone?

Update

It turns out that while Eaton attended Garret Biblical Institute, his degree there [Bachelor of Divinity] was also honorary, given some years after he left the college in 1877.  [1883-1884 Catalogue of the Graduate School of Theology.]