Joseph up a Ladder

 

     It is always nice to see snapshots of well known people, not posing but caught in some action. This little article is about a casual snapshot of Joseph F Rutherford (Judge Rutherford) perched on top of a ladder. It was taken at the 1924 Columbus, Ohio, convention.

     The quality is not very good, but below is the complete picture as found in a photo album belonging to someone who was there.

     The photographer had written in the book:

     The book belonged to Lillian C. M. Engelhardt. Her name is written on the cover.

     Another photo in the book shows Lillian behind a nice “IBSA” and “Millions” display on the back of a car.

     A further photo in the book shows Lillian with a young man, and the picture caption reads “Us.” However, on the reverse of the photo are two names – H. W. Carpenter and Lillian’s.

     How could Lillian and H.W. be “Us?” A check on Ancestry shows they were both single at that 1924 convention. Nevertheless, they viewed themselves as an “item” and were subsequently married on November 6, 1926. Their marriage certificate shows they were married by a minister of the International Bible Students Association.

     Herbert M Carpenter (1896-1977) and Lillian Caroline M Engelhardt (1902-1999) were to have one daughter, Rose Joy Carpenter, born in 1929. Trade directories show them having a clothes cleaning (laundry) business in Houston, Texas. They have an entry on the Find a Grave site.

     Their subsequent history is unknown. It may be that, although Joy later married, the direct family line died out. This could explain how, sadly, their photographic record ended up with strangers on eBay.

     But it does provide us with a nice little candid shot of JFR on top of a ladder!

Herald of Gospel Liberty 1904

 Your observations welcome:

Herald of Gospel Liberty – December 15, 1904, page 790. 

Private Interpretation.

By Rev. S. B. Bloomfield. 

There appeared in the HERALD an account of a division, into two parties, of a certain church in Indiana, over the teachings of two certain ministers, one of the Christians, the other a Holiness minister. Setting forth in the decision of the judge is the fact (if it be a fact), that every member of the church has the right to interpret the Bible for himself and to believe, teach and practice the doctrine, taught in the Scripture, according to his own belief of their meaning; Christian character being the test of Christian fellowship, Christ, the only recognized head and master of said church. Brethren, do you or do you not stand by these principles. Has a brother the right to teach and preach the Bible, and to expound the same as he may understand it? Say Yes, and No. Yes, if he is being led by the Holy Spirit into all truth, he has; and No, if he has not been so led. But did not the brethren of Paul's time find some that had not even heard that there was a Holy Spirit, and they were taken and taught more perfectly? And is not that the proper way? God’s people are one, and the one spirit holy; and it should teach them not that which we conceive to be proper, but try them by the word and the Spirit in the spirit of a sound mind. We must first believe, understand, that the Jehovah, the creator of the universe, whose only son, (begotten son) was Jesus Christ, and we by him, and by whom all things were made, and "without him was not anything made,” this same personage is the author of our Bible, that it is his word. Second, that salvation, deliverance, is from that which was lost (all was lost in Adam) and that it is by grace, favor that we are granted life on any plane,) but by the favor of Jehovah through Christ. Says the apostle. We have grace upon grace; called to have shares with Jesus; immortality, hence, we are to seek immortality. That death is destruction, and not life in torment; "God is a God of love." Paul in first Cor. says, "If we in this life only have hope, we are of all men most miserable." Why? Because Satan is the prince of this world, and has the power of death, but Christ will destroy him, and open the grave in the resurrection. The great atonement sacrifice is Christ , head and body ; we are his body, and bring up that of the suffering of Christ, for the sins of the world, in this our day, atonement day, which is from Christ's first advent in the flesh till his second as a quickening spirit, the first fruits of the spirit.  

We are now in the harvest of this age of this age Christ is chief reaper, and is present as such though invisible, and his kingdom is now in process of organization, which will in a very short time overturn all the nations of earth, destroy evil, bind Satan and rule the earth, as its rightful Prince, fill the earth with life, beauty and glory, for God says "I will give you beauty for ashes." These brethren, are some of my conclusions, drawn from that old Bible, having been a minister of the word for fifty years, and first a member of the Miami Christian Conference, ordained in said conference, when I. N. Walter was its president, at Carysville, Ohio, yet I have been in the state for years, and have not so much as been asked by any of its ministers to give an address or preach a sermon.

 Maybe the reason lies in the fact, that I am a student of C. F. Russell. [sic] His works, the Millennial Dawn series of helps to Bible study, which help to the understanding of the Word, I consider superior to any other. And so with the tracts; I consider Russell, Hastings, Miles Grant, Couch on the Prophets, the deep thinkers of our day; not but what there are others, but that these stand out in bold relief as minds led by the spirit of God; if this be true, brethren, remember that the church stands for the principles first named; then why your treatment of brethren who may see different? 

Eaton, Ohio.

Judge Rutherford's Grave

    

 While this is way outside the general time frame for this blog, a couple of interesting pictures have come to hand, and this is probably the best platform on which to share them, with permission.

     CTR was buried at the Society’s own cemetery plot in United Cemeteries, Ross Township, Pittsburgh, in 1916. The 1919 convention report stated that a grave plot had also been put aside on site for J F Rutherford for when the time came.

     However, Pittsburgh soon faded into the background in major Society events. By the time JFR died in January 1942, he was spending his time between the Brooklyn N.Y. headquarters, the Staten Island radio station, WBBR, and Beth-Sarim in San Diego, California. He died at Beth-Sarim.

     He’d wanted to be buried on the Beth-Sarim property, but that was not to be. The full story can be checked in Consolation magazine for May 27, 1942.

     Ultimately he was buried in the Society’s graveyard adjacent to WBBR on Staten Island, New York. The WBBR property, which included dwellings and a small farm as well as the radio transmitter, adjoined the historic Woodrow Road Methodist Church. This had a variety of graveyards surrounding it, some pre-dating the church.

     Hayden Covington, in an interview shortly before he died, described how he, along with William and Bonnie Heath, traveled across the United States by train to bring the coffin to New York.

     The brief graveside funeral was conducted by Nathan Knorr and was reported in the press:

Source of cutting unknown

     The same news story was reproduced in a number of papers including The Carlisle Sentinel (Pennsylvania) for April 27, 1942, and The Los Angeles Times for April 26, 1942. These added an extra section before the last paragraph in the press release above.

“Today’s services were brief. The body was taken in a hearse from a funeral home to the cemetery without cortege. At the cemetery entrance a small group of followers was waiting. They carried the casket from the hearse to the grave.”

     The policy at the time was to have no grave markers at all on this site, which had been in use at least since 1932 when Robert J. Martin, a Society director and Factory Overseer, died. This remained the case for JFR. Because of this the place did not receive many visitors. However, that changed slightly in 1950.

     In 1950 the Society held the Theocracy Increase Assembly in New York over July 30 – August 6. During that time a series of photographs was issued – possibly as part of a photobook. They appear to have been produced by a private company, from this information stamped on the back of one of them.

     Over the assembly period visitors were offered tours of the Brooklyn factory and Bethel Home, as well as the WBBR radio station property with the Society’s cemetery adjacent. The photo series included various assembly scenes, and a visit to Kingdom Farm (where Gilead School was then housed). Many of the scenes look like they may have come from official sources.

     However, a visit to J F Rutherford’s grave was included and the “snapshot” nature of the picture suggests this was very unofficial.

     Since the whole point about the cemetery was that there were no markers for anyone, we have to accept that these visitors were at the right spot.

     Perhaps based on that photograph and the positioning of the tree, at least one visitor to the 1950 assembly had his own photograph taken at the same location.

     The WBBR property was sold in the late 1950s, and the cemetery was last used in the mid-1960s. To replace it, a new cemetery was created at Wallkill. What was called The Watchtower Farms Cemetery had a new policy to provide small grave markers with just the name and dates of the deceased.

     In 2015 a visitor took this picture of the Woodrow Road site.

     It is interesting to note that of the eight who went to jail together in 1918, six of them (in reality all those who remained in fellowship) continued to work together as one and were ultimately buried together at this location.

     With grateful thanks to Tom S., Chris G., Kris M. and Vincent B. for the images.

Addenda

     When this material was first published elsewhere, a question was raised about the six buried together in the Bethel plot in Woodrow Road. Robert J Martin was buried there in 1932 - see Awake February 22, 1952. Although Find a Grave states that MacMillan and DeCecca were buried at Wallkill, this is incorrect. The WT 1966 10/1 plainly shows that MacMillan was buried at Woodrow Road, and DeCecca died a few months before him. Apart from these two names, all those whose dates of death are listed for Wallkill in the Find a Grave index only date from the 1970s onward.

George Darby Clowes

     A few years ago I did a filler article on this blog about George Darby Clowes, adding to information published in Volume 1 of Separate Identity. I was able to use Ancestry to trace modern descendants of George and find a photograph of him which I was given permission to publsh. As happens all the time on the internet, that picture is now everywhere. Recently I returned to the subject of George and did research on the 1862 Allegheny Arsenal disaster which greatly affected him. I decided that George needed a whole article to pull various threads together. This is it.

 

GEORGE DARBY CLOWES

George Darby Clowes (1818-1889).

Photograph reproduced by kind permission of his great-great-grandson, William J. 3^rd.

     In the March 1889 issue of Zion’s Watch Tower, in response to a letter from his father, Joseph Lytle, Charles Taze Russell wrote a brief obituary for George Darby Clowes (1818-1889). It shows that George had a part to play in the very early history and pre-history of the Watch Tower movement. CTR’s comment is below:

     George had previously appeared in the pages of Zion’s Watch Tower in May 1886 (page 1) when the annual Memorial celebration held in Pittsburgh was “adjourned with praper by Brother Clowes.”

     This then is his story.

     George Clowes was born in the British Isles on April 26, 1818. He was baptised into the established church (Birmingham, St Martin) on December 29, 1818. At the age of 19 he was married at the same church to Sarah Fearney on December 6, 1837. His occupation is given as “brass founder.” He would cast items in brass, which could be anything from shell cases to intricate parts for clocks and watches.

     George and Sarah were to have nine known children over the next 24 years. The first two were born in Britain, Emma (b.1841) and James (1843-1916). After James’ birth the family moved to the United States, specifically Pennsylvania, because the remaining seven children were born there. These were Hepzebah (1845-1864), Israel William (1848-1915), Fredrick (b.1851), George Darby Jr. (1854-1932), Stephen (1858-1920), Sarah (b.1861) and Sumpter (b.c.1865).

     The name George Clowes was to be carried on through at least three generations. As well as George Darby Jr. (1854-1932) who was the original George’s sixth child, the original George’s fourth child Israel also named a son George Darby Clowes (1877-1946). While it makes for complications in research it does allow one to track down through the ages, and in this case to make contact with a modern descendant a few years ago, who provided the photograph of our subject at the head of this article.

     George did not apply for American naturalization until 1861, but the document with his signature has survived

     George’s wife Sarah died in 1881. From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 14 March 1881 page 4:

     George became a minister in the M(ethodist) E(piscopal) church. According to a letter he wrote to George Storrs, which we will come to later, this was “about 25 years before” the year 1871. That would take us to before the American Civil War.  But he was to change direction and become part of the small congregation that first attracted CTR when he dropped into a dusty dingy hall (Quincy Hall on Leacock Street) to hear Adventist Jonas Wendell preach.

     The Adventists (specifically the Advent Christian Church) were keen to claim George as a prize. In their paper, The World’s Crisis for December 27, 1871, Wendell had a letter published about his recent travels. The letter dated December 6, 1871, showed that there had been problems of some sort in the Pittsburgh group. He had worked there, along with George Stetson, for a few weeks, but now there was a need for a local person to take over pastoral care.

     Clowes’ expulsion from the Methodists, and his new role in the Pittsburgh Advent Christian Church, is remembered elsewhere. In The Advent Christian Story by Clarence Kearney (1968) he is mentioned in dispatches:

     Although the Pittsburgh group was branded as Adventist in the Advent Christian press, in reality it had an eclectic mix. Advent Christians and Church of God (Age to Come) believers would often meet together at this time. They were united on a keen interest in the return of Christ and conditional immortality, while generally divided over such subjects as the destiny of natural Israel, how many would benefit from future probation through the resurrection, which key events yet to happen were timed for the start or the end of the millennium, and the advisability (or otherwise) of date setting.

     As long as everyone remained tolerant and unofficial and generally disorganised the situation could continue. But while Age to Come believers were generally averse to organization, Second Adventists into the 1870s were increasingly anxious for recognition as an established religion. This required an official statement of belief covering not just vague generalities but specifics.

     So people began to make choices, and Clowes embraced the Age to Come belief system. Up to 1873 we find references to Advent Christian meetings at Quincy Hall, Pittsburgh, but by 1874 Elder G. D. Clowes was billed at the same venue but now in the main paper of the Age to Come movement, The Restitution. From the November 5, 1874, issue:

     This shift meant that independent mavericks like George Storrs, who edited Bible Examiner (and who increasingly detested the Advent Christian Church) would be more than happy to visit them. He did so in May 1874 and Clowes was subsequently mentioned several times in his paper.

     In the June 1874 issue of Bible Examiner Storrs reviewed his recent visit. In the editorial, under the heading “Visit to Pittsburgh, PA” Storrs wrote: “The editor of this magazine spent the first and second Sundays in May in the above named city. He found there a small but noble band of friends who upheld with the full hearts the truths advocated by himself. Among them is a preacher who was formally of the Methodists.”

     We must assume that the former Methodist preacher was George Clowes. In the same issue, Storrs lists the parcels he had just sent out to fill literature requests. These included several to Pittsburgh, the recipients including G. D. Clowes Sr., Wm. H. Conley, and J. L. Russell and son. (The latter was obviously a business address, but the “son” Charles Taze Russell would have his own letter acknowledged the next month, July, and would subsequently write articles for Storrs’ paper).

     There are further requests for literature from Clowes and the Russells, and then in the November 1875 Bible Examiner there is a full letter from Elder G. D. Clowes of Pittsburgh dated September 8, 1875. In it, Clowes expresses appreciation for Bible Examiner, and regrets the spirit manifest by “some of our brethren who do not see these precious truths.” It is in this letter, referred to earlier, that he reflects on how he “had been cast adrift a few years before by those he had labored with for a quarter century.” That would take his Methodist connections back 25 years before 1871. He also writes that a “Brother Owen is labouring with us.”

     The next page of Storrs’ magazine has a letter of appreciation from Joseph Lytle Russell, CTR’s father. Joseph also mentions “Brother Owen” visiting, which shows that he and Clowes were involved with the same meetings.

     Very soon the independent Bible study group linked to Charles Taze Russell would take center stage, and this would link up with Nelson Barbour. This is another chapter and in extant records George Clowes does not appear in it. But then, after Zion’s Watch Tower began publication we find him attending that 1886 Memorial celebration and then being remembered by both Joseph Lytle and Charles Taze when he died in early 1889.

      George never made his living from a paid ministry. He did various jobs but the most consistent was working at the Allegheny Arsenal in Lawrenceville for a number of years. In the 1860 census he is a “nail plate heater.” In the 1866-67 Directory of Pittsburgh and Alleghen Cities he is “assistant laboratory superintendent at the Arsenal.” In the 1870 census he is “master laboratory A” – the A probably standing for Arsenal. As late as 1875, from the US Register of Civil, Military and Naval Service, 1875 volume 1, dated September 30, 1875 we have George working as a Foreman at the Allegheny Arsenal for three dollars a day.

     As noted above, his original occupation of “brass founder” could include making shell cases and that may have had some bearing on where he worked, and even why he relocated from England to Pittsburgh.

     His close association with the Arsenal is shown by the aftermath of the September 17, 1862 disaster. There was an explosion in the Laboratory building where they were filling shells with gunpowder for Union forces in the Civil War. This caused a massive fire and 78 people – mainly young women – died. Loose powder on a roadway and a spark from an iron horseshoe was one possible cause. Another theory is that it was caused by static electricity from the women workers’ hoop skirts. It ended up being Pittsburgh’s worst industrial accident and the Civil War’s deadliest civilian disaster. 

     Clowes was present on the day and initially was thought to be one of the casualties. From the preliminary list of the dead in the Pittsburgh Daily Post for September 18, 1862:

     It gives his occupation as Superintendent of Cylinder Department and says that his daughter Emma died along with him. The Pittsburgh Gazette for the same date, September 18, only listed Emma and gave her age as 21, and listed her as “missing.” Daughter Emma was born in 1841, so this has to be the right family.

     A day or two later it was clarified that George had survived, and had tried to calm down the girls in the chaos and panic to get out of the buildings. From the inquest report in the Pittsburgh Daily Post for September 23, 1862:

     The reason for the confusion over casualties was that the explosion and fire meant many bodies could not be identified. The remains of over 40 unidentified people were buried in a mass grave in the Allegheny cemetery. The final list of these included Emma. Years later the Pittsburgh Dispatch for May 25, 1899, told the story and listed the names on the Allegheny Cemetery monument. You can see Emma’s name four lines up from the bottom of the clipping.

     The monument was later replaced and the one you can now visit in the cemetery lists all 78 names of victims.

     The memorial was the result of a special campaign, and understandably George Clowes was heavily involved in this project. From the Pittsburgh Daily Post for September 18, 1863:

     George was linked to the Arsenal again in 1869 where the Pittsburgh Weekly Gazatte for January 29, 1869, carried a story about a new Library Association and Reading Room to be assisted financially by the Arsenal Lodge of Good Templars. The Vice President of the new association was G. D. Clowes.

     He was also an officer of the Temple of Honor in Lawrenceville, PA, which was a fraternal order supporting the temperance movement. He also appeared on a list of names for the “Reform Republican Vigilance Committee” for his area.

     Returning to his work history, while the above-noted US Register of Civil, Military and Naval Service 1875 still has him working at the Arsenal, the 1875-1876 Directory of Pittsburgh and Allegheny lists him as the Rev. George D. Clowes. He also appears to be in newspapers of the day as a clergyman. As an example, the report of the dedication services for a new M.E. Church near the Arsenal in the Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette for June 14, 1869, listed those present. There are no initials to confirm we have the right man, but the report included “Rev. Clowes and local preachers.”

     When George died there was just a small notice in the paper. From the Pittsburgh Dispatch 26 January 1889, page 7,

     He was George D. Clowes, Sr. His son, George D. Clowes, Jr. also lived and worked in Pittsburgh for nearly all his life in the iron and steel industry.

     The records are incomplete, but George Sr. was probably buried in the Allegheny cemetery, where his wife and many other family members were laid to rest. This historic cemetery also contains the Arsenal memorial with Emma’s name, and the grave plots for nearly all of CTR’s immediate family.

Arp Tracts: Small but Effective

 

Guest post by Leroy

     From 1887 to 1891 the Society produced millions of copies of a tract known as the Arp Slip, Arp’s Joy or the Arp tract. This little tract was very effective to convince people to read CTR´s books, in particular the first volume of the Studies in the Scriptures series, known at the time as Millennial Dawn or The Plan of the Ages¹. The tract was designed to be handed out to people outside of churches on Sundays, and also to be included in letters and in any other post sent by readers of Zion´s Watch Tower to friends, family, etc.²

     By December 1887, two months after their first appearance, more than 100 thousand copies had been printed, and the goal was to print a million of them.³ Two months later, in February 1888, the TOWER mentioned the following:

     “Seeing the good results from the slips already distributed, it is proposed to deluge the country with them. Order all you can use. Labor while it is called day, for the night cometh werein no man can work.”⁴

     There are many experiences that demonstrate the effect that these tracts had, such as that of S. O. Blunden, who went out one Sunday to distribute the tracts outside a church in Harrisburgh, Pennsylvania. Church leaders were furious, with two of them threatening Blunden with arrest. Blunden ignored their threats and continued with his activity. One of the leaders grabbed him by the throat to try to drag him out, but Brother Blunden continued to distribute the tracts and warned the man that if he did not let him go, he might be the one to have him arrested. The man then stood between Blunden and the people and asked the people not to receive the tracts, to no avail. Failing to stop Blunden, he sent someone to the police office to bring in an officer and arrest the brother, arguing that there was a man "stopping people from going to church." The policeman came and arrested Brother Blunden, and then took him to the police station. There, without a trial or hearing, they set a $100 bond to let him go free. Brother Blunden expressed his happiness at having experienced something similar to what happened to Peter and John in Acts 4:1-21.⁵

     Another brother reported: “The Arp slips have been scattered broadcast throughout this locality, and […] have caused a grand confusion. The nominal churches are denouncing us, and specially warning their congregations to not even allow a scrap of paper of any kind we may send out to come into their homes, and warning their children not to read anything of the kind.But […] it is only stimulating us to greater efforts, and we can already see some fruits of our labor.”⁶

     A young Methodist, after reading the tract began to cry with emotion, bought the book The Plan of the Ages, and said that he could not believe the doctrines taught by the nominal church, such as universal damnation and eternal torment. Many others had similar experiences.⁷

     Some had their own methods for distributing them: “I find it is a good plan to leave them in the seats in the R. R. depots. I notice the passengers read them carefully, and fold them up and put them in their pockets, which shows, I think, that they are interested.”⁸

     Some even distributed them door to door, and came back a few days later to offer the Plan of the Ages.⁹

     But, what, exactly were Arp Slips? What was their content?

     Arp Slips were small single-sheet tracts measuring 7 cm wide by 34 cm long (2 ¾ × 13 ½ inches). On the front they contained Bill Arp's comments on the book The Divine Plan of the Ages, (hence the name) and on the back the poem "The Minister's Daughter" by John Greenleaf Whittier. There were several versions with slight modifications to the text accompanying Arp's comments. Below, you can see a photo of one of these tracts:

     It reads:

“Let every man read, ponder and take comfort, for we are all prisoners of hope.”

     “BILL ARP’S” JOY

     UPON READING
     MILLENNIAL DAWN,
     THE
     “PLAN OF THE AGES.”

     FOOD AND COMFORT FOR ALL THINKERS.

     READ HIS COMMENTS.

     [From Atlanta Constitution.]

     A kind lady has sent me a book of 350 pages called “Millennial Dawn,” published by the Tower Publishing Co., in Pittsburg, Pa., which will, I believe, awaken the thinking world. I see that its sale is already over twenty-five thousand. It is impossible to read this book without loving the writer and pondering his wonderful solution of the great mysteries that have troubled us all our lives. There is hardly a family to be found that has not lost some loved one who died outside the church—outside the plan of salvation and if Calvinism be true outside of all hope and inside of eternal torment and despair. We smother our feelings and turn away from the horrible picture. We dare not deny the faith of our fathers, and yet can it be possible that the good mother and her wandering child are forever separated—forever and forever?
     I believe it is the rigidity of these teachings that makes atheists and infidels and skeptics— makes Christians unhappy and brings their gray hairs down in sorrow to the grave—a lost child, a lost soul!

     Let us see how many lost souls. The geographers give the world a present population of fourteen hundred million, of whom only one hundred and sixteen million are Christians,— that is, who live in Christian countries. Of these, only sixteen million are adult members of the church; and of these, about one million walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. That is a beautiful picture.—Only one million of truly good, pious Christian people in all the world, and thirteen hundred and ninety-nine millions who are elected to be eternally damned. Add to these figures one hundred and forty-two billions, who have already lived and died in the ages past, and if all these are damned, it does look like God’s plan of salvation was a miserable failure. He gets one soul for glory while Satan captures thousands.
     This wonderful book teaches that trial is yet to come—that all are to rise from the dead when Christ comes, that He will offer His salvation to all people ; not only to the living, but to those who rise from the dead. His kingdom will be supported by the saints and by good people everywhere, and the mother will have another chance to reclaim her wandering child and bring him unto the kingdom. This wonderful book makes no assertions that are not well sustained by the Scriptures. It is built up stone by stone, and upon every stone is the text, and it becomes a pyramid of God’s love, and mercy, and wisdom. There is nothing in the Bible that the author denies or doubts, but there are many texts that he throws a flood of light upon that seems to uncover its dark and gloomy meaning. I see that editors of leading journals, and many orthodox ministers of different denominations, have indorsed it and have confessed to this new and comforting light that has dawned upon the interpretation of God’s book. Then let every man read and ponder and take comfort, for we are all prisoners of hope. This is an age of advanced thought and more thinking is done than ever before,—men dare to think now. Light—more light, is the watchword.   BILL ARP.

     Another version of the tract has Arp´s comments abbreviated, and then comment by other people praising the book. They all have advertising information at the end on how to get the volume. Here you can see two other versions, front and back:

     So, as we see, the tract basically contained Bill Arp's comments recommending the Plan of the Ages. The goal was to whet the appetite to read the publication. This was the type of tract that Russell preferred to use, and not a tract that explained a biblical subject in very few lines. The reason is that he thought that a biblical topic explained in a few words did not have the power to convince someone to change their belief, instead, a little treatise like the Arp Slip, could encourage that person to read a more profound publication like The Plan of the Ages, and then this could really help them accept the truth.¹⁰

     Who was Bill Arp?

     Major Charles Henry Smith, better known by his nickname "Bill Arp," was born in Gwinnett County, Georgia in 1826 and was a highly influential figure in the American South. He held various government posts but his best-known facet was as a writer, humorist and lecturer. He was a highly respected opinion leader and deputy editor of The Atlanta Constitution newspaper.

     “A woman” (you'll see why I put this in quotes later) from Allegheny sent him a copy of Volume 1 of Studies in the Scriptures, and he was so fascinated by what he read that he decided to publish a column about it in The Atlanta Constitution. This was printed in the issue of July 24, 1887, which I show you below:

     The column reads:

     “THE MILLENIUM.

      Arp Pleased with a Book He Has Been Reading,

     THAT TELLS ON THE COMING OF CHRIST.

     When Peace Will Reign on the Earth for a Thousand Years - Some Strange and Startling Figures.

     So many have written to me to know where Baxter’s pamphlet on the millenium can be had that I must answer publicly and say, I do not know—nor do I know who sent it to me, nor where it was mailed. An old friend wrote me to send it to him and I sent it. I do know that it is no ordinary interpretation of the prophecies and that it contains many wonderful and startling facts. But a kind lady from Allegheny has sent me a book of 360 pages called the Millennial Dawn, Charles T. Russell, and published by the Tower Publishing compay (SIC) in Pittsburg, Pa., which is far more comprehensive, and will, I believe, awaken the thinking world. I is in paper cover, and worth I suppose, not more than fifty cents. I see that its sale is already over twenty-five thousand. It is impossible to read this book without loving the writer and pondering his wonderful solution of the great mysteries that have troubled us all our lives. There is hardly a family to be found that has not lost some loved one who died outside the church—outside the plan of salvation and if Calvinism be true outside of all hope and inside of eternal torment and despair. We smother our feelings and turn away from the horrible picture. We dare not deny the faith of our fathers, and yet can it be possible that the good mother and her wandering child are forever separated—forever and forever.

     I believe it is the rigidity of these teachings that makes atheists and infidels and skeptics—makes Christains (SIC) unhappy and brings their gray hairs down in sorrow to the grave—a lost child, a lost soul.

     Let us see how many lost souls. The geographers give the world a present population of fourteen hundred million, of whom only one hundred and sixteen million are Christians, that is, who live in Christian countries. Of these, only sixteen million are adult members of the church; and of these, about one million walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. That it is a beautiful picture. Only one million of truly good, pious Christian people in all the world, and thirteen hundred and ninety-nine millions who are elected to be eternally damned. Add to these figures one hundred and forty-two billions who have already lived and died in the ages past, and if all these are damned, it does look like God's plan of salvation was a miserable failure. He gets one soul for glory while Satan captures thousands.

     This wonderful book teaches that man’s trial is yet to come—that all are to rise from the dead when Christ comes, and that He is coming soon—very soon—within a few years and will reign on earth a thousand years, and will offer His salvation to all people; not only to the living but to those who rise from the dead. His kingdom will be supported by the saints and by good people everywhere, and the mother will have another chance to reclaim her wandering child and bring him unto the kingdom. This wonderful book makes no assertions that are not well sustained by the Scriptures. It is built up stone by stone, and upon every stone is the text, and it becomes a pyramid of God's love, and mercy, and wisdom. There is nothing in the Bible that the author denies or doubts, but there are many texts that he throws a flood of light upon that seems to uncover its dark and gloomy meaning. I see that editors of leading journals, and many orthodox ministers of different denominations, have indorsed it and have confessed to this new and comforting light  that has dawned upon the interpretation of God's book. Then let every than read and  ponder and take comfort for we are all prisoners of hope, This is an age of advanced  thought and more thinking is done than ever  before, men dare to think now. Light – more light is the watchword.

     Still we have plenty to do besides thinking about the millennium. That may be a century off or it may be only a few years. Baxter says that a mistake of a hundred years was made in the number of years that the judges of Israel ruled and that all modern chronologists admit it, and that this is really 1987 instead of 1887, and that the 6,000 years since the creation of  Adam have nearly passed. Mr. Russell says that 6,000 years must pass before Christ comes, and that they have nearly passed. But we have a good deal to do and need not be selling out or making white garments for we are not going to ascend up to heaven even if the millenium does come, Jesus Christ is going to descend down here and set up his kingdom, and we will have to live on and work on under a government where not a stain will mar the harmony of society, not a bitter thought nor an unkind word, not an  ache nor a pain nor any decay, nor the fear of it. The human form and feature will be perfect in its beauty, and-although human as it is—now will be of surpassing loveliness. Won't it be glorious to live at such a time and never die-no toothache nor backache nor lingering rheumatism, no empty sleeves nor crutches nor glass eyes nor bald heads; no quarreling about the State road and the convicts and prohibition and the pay of the jurymen. Why, if Mr. Baxter’s count is right, the general assembly needent lease the State road for more than ten years, for it will be run under a new regime, and one man will have no more privileges than another. Every man will have to do his share of work It will go mighty hard with some, I know, but maybe they will  get used to it. Money won’t relieve a man, neither will his pedigree, but all will have to work for the common good. Mr. Russell says that the earth will have abundant room for the 260 billions who have died, and the one and a half billions who now live, and that they all can stand erect within the limits of Ireland, allowing two square feet of space for each. The earth will then yield her increase, and the desert will blossom as the rose, and waters shall  break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. With the help and power of such a king I reckon we can all get along if we deserve to. But if the time is near at hand our people had better begin to get used to some things. The rich and greedy had better begin to divide out a little along by degrees, The malicious and quarrelsome had better begin to cultivate the virtues of love and charity. The lazy had better rouse up and work a little. White folks had better quit cheating and darkies quit stealing, for it will be awful hard to stop all of a sudden. It will be safest anyhow for us all to live just like we knew the millenium was coming very soon, whether it comes or not. Let us have our lamps trimmed and burning.     

BILL ARP.”

     From this column were taken the comments that came to form the Arp Slip, which helped many people to get closer to the truth, and in many cases, become Bible Students.

     Apparently, Bill Arp did not adopt the faith that he admired so much, since his funeral was held in the Presbyterian Church, and was officiated by the Reverend T. J. Christian, of the Methodist Church.¹¹

  Their use and promotion

                                      

(Photo caption:)

(bottom part of the first edition)

     The Arp Slip was first mailed to subscribers of Zion's Watch Tower free of charge as a supplement to the October 1887 issue. Explanation and recommendations on how to use the tract were given in the following issue:

“THE “ARP SLIPS,” of which samples were sent you with last TOWER, seem to meet with general approval. A sister greatly interested expresses the desire that these slips might be circulated generally among Christian people, believing that they would awaken new thoughts in many minds, and lead them to study God’s plan anew, and thus prove an entering wedge to let in the true light. She thinks an excellent plan would be, to distribute these slips Sundays, to church-goers, either as they go in or are dismissed after service. She donates fifty dollars to pay for printing and mailing these, to be used thus, the sum to be applied to some one state, leaving it for the publishers to decide which.

We think this an excellent plan. Should it become very general it will make quite a stir, by throwing cold water [truth] upon the “hell-fire teachings.” The ministers and officious members of churches, will doubtless try both arts and threats to stop those who engage in this crusade, but as the slips are free, and the sidewalks public, and the tract a religious one—calling attention to the genuine gospel, good tidings, there is no cause for either shame or fear. Since it is left to us to decide, and since “charity begins at home,”—the sister is a Pennsylvanian—we apply the above donation to the state of Pennsylvania, and accordingly invite all the friends of the cause in Penn’a., to send in their orders for as many as they will use according to the plan mentioned. Many can serve the cause we love, in this way, who cannot preach in any other manner. Take a boy or girl to help, where the congregations are large. The fifty dollars will print and stamp a great many as we now have electroplates to print from.

The above offer must not hinder all other readers from using these slips in a less extravagant manner among their friends, enclosing them with their letters, etc., etc. Order freely; we have them in packs of pounds, half-pounds, quarter pounds and two ounces. Order all you can judiciously use FREE.”¹²

     This of course generated a lot of interest and orders started pouring in from all over the state of Pennsylvania. But of course, readers from other states didn't want to be left behind. The following month the TOWER announced that a brother named Weber had donated 40 dollars to distribute these tracts in Maryland and West Virginia,¹³ and the following month another donation would arrive for the state of Ohio.¹⁴ The success was so great that just a month later, in February 1888, Russell decided to use the money from the TOWER TRACT FUND to print enough tracts to flood the entire country, and it did.¹⁵

     In addition to producing the tract as a loose leaf, it was printed in newspapers across the country, including, in addition to Arp's comments, the “response” of “Mrs. Lemuels”, as can be seen in this newspaper clipping from the Miami Republican:¹⁶

     Comments from Mrs. C. B. Lemuels say:

     “The truths set forth in the above described work so benefited me, so opened my eyes to God’s great, just, loving, wise plan, and so opened the Bible before me, that with others who have read and been caused to see, I have concluded to spend such means and strength as I possess in passing this cup of refreshing truth to other thirsty souls. To this end I am loaning this book, postage prepaid, to all who will promise a careful reading of it and to pay return postage. The above came voluntarily and unexpectedly from Mr. “Arp’s” pen after reading the book, sent him by me, and is well matched by hundreds of letters from people in every station of life. I want every intelligent, thinking man and woman to read the book, for as “Arp” truly says, “It is impossible to read this book without loving the author [Doubtless God through the writer was the real Author of the plan unfolded,] and pondering his wonderful solution of the great mysteries that have troubled us all our lives.”

     Address      Mrs. C. B. Lemuels, Allegheny, Pa.”

     During 1888, these advertisements signed by C. B. Lemuels appeared in many newspapers in the United States offering to lend the books to anyone who was interested, and many people approached the Bible Students because of this, but…

     Who was C.B. Lemuels?

     In those years there were many very devout women who were willing to give everything in order to make known the message of the Bible Students, and many of them in later times did so, as in the notable case of Gertrude Seibert or of the sisters persecuted in 1918, but the reality is that Mrs. C. B. Lemuels was not one of them, in fact, C. B. Lemuels never existed. She was a character created by C. T. Russell, who would represent his wife Maria, to attract more people to his message. Russell himself explained it in 1894:

“No wrong was done to any one by the use of the name; but, on the contrary, much good was accomplished. Many readers will remember seeing Mrs. C. B. Lemuels’ advertisements in different newspapers, all over the United States, offering to loan free of charge a book that would be very helpful to honest skeptics and infidels. Many of you first learned of the truth by this means. The book was The Plan of the Ages—DAWN, VOL. I, and the name Mrs. Lemuels represented Mrs. Russell. I esteemed that the matter would be better received from a lady than from a gentleman. I could have arranged for the use of Mrs. Russell’s name, or the name of some other sister, but reflected that a confusion of letters might result and prove inconvenient. Besides, I bring my own name as little into prominence as possible. This will be noticed in connection with everything I have published—the O. T. Tracts, the DAWNS, etc.

The name Lemuel is from the Hebrew and signifies Son of God. The initial letter C, stands for Christ, and B. for before; hence the whole name signifies, a son of God, after Christ. I consider the using of the name for a good purpose entirely proper and not a deception, in the proper meaning of that term; for it could make no difference to the party blessed whether the instrument of his blessing had the name of Smith, Brown, Lemuels or Russell. Indeed, our Lord was known by a variety of names, other than the name of Jesus, given by the angel. He is called also Immanuel, the Son of Man, the Redeemer, the Good Shepherd, Lord of Glory, Prince of Peace, Prince of Life, the Word of God, Lamb of God, the Just One, the King of Israel, Living Stone, the True Vine, Wonderful, Counsellor, Savior, Mediator, the Amen, the Alpha and Omega, the Second Adam, the Messiah. Our Lord and the Apostles and the Prophets, did not think it a deception to apply these various names and titles, nor do I. Had I used the name for a wrong purpose, the entire transaction would have been sinful; but as it is conceded that it was used for a good purpose the entire transaction is faultless. Many eminent writers for the press cover their identity under a nom de plume, and justly without reproach.” ¹⁷

     Bill Arp's comments were used as publicity in various publications, for example in some issues of the Old Theology tracts and in the back pages of the volumes of Studies in the Scriptures, among others. The Arp tract in its entirety was translated into German in its tract format, but it was also translated into other languages in the form of advertising included in books.

     What happened to the Arp Slip?

     In November 1891, the TOWER announced that a new small tract was in the works to replace the Arp Slip¹⁸, and apparently it was, as that is the last mention in its pages of this small, but very powerful preaching tool.

     

Notes

1.      Notes

1.      Over time as the other volumes in the series came out, the title changed to The Divine Plan of the Ages, and the entire series became known as Millennial Dawn, and later the series name was changed to Studies in the Scriptures.

2. 2.   ZWT 11/1887 p. 1
3. 3.   ZWT 12/1887 p. 8
4. 4.   ZWT 2/1888 p. 1
5. 5.   ZWT 3/1888 p. 2 Extracts From Interesting Letters
6. 6.   ZWT 5/1888 p. 2 Extracts From Interesting Letters
7. 7.   ZWT 9/1888 p. 8 Extracts From Interesting Letters
8. 8.   Ibid
9. 9.   ZWT 12/1888 p. 8 A Suggestion to the Reapers
10. 10,  ZWT 6/1888 p. 1 About Tracts
11. 11.  The Atlanta Constitution, Aug 27, 1903, p3
12. 12,  ZWT 11/1887 p. 1
13. 13,  ZWT 12/1887 p. 8 ARP Slips for W. VA. And MD.
14. 14,  ZWT 1/1888 p. 8 Extracts From Interesting Letters
15. 15,  ZWT 2/1888 p. 1 More Arp Slips
16. 16.  The Miami Republican, Jul 6, 1888, p. 3
17. 17.  ZWT 1894 4/25 pp. 35-54 Brother Bryan’s Grievances
18. 18.  ZWT 11/1891 p. 150 View From the Tower
19.