Uncle Daniel's Bible Class Book

   

  The Edgars, brothers John and Morton, are well-known to collectors of Watch Tower history. They were responsible for the volumes of Great Pyramid Passages, as well as a series of small booklets that were widely circulated. One of them, Where are the Dead (not to be confused with the Watch Tower Society’s official publication of that name) was instrumental in Fred Franz becoming a Bible Student. He later served as a Watch Tower Society president.

     One book bearing the Edgars’ names that is available for internet download is called Uncle Daniels Bible Class Book, and dates from 1890.

     The book was published by Bone and Hulley, a company that later handled the pyramid books. A close up of the title page clearly shows the Edgars as authors.

     

And yet, this is not actually true.

     Research has shown that this book was originally published back in 1850. Then it was simply called The Bible Class Book. The author and compiler was Charles Baker.  Below is the title page of the second edition which dates from 1860.

     

The book covers the whole of the OT with articles, maps, and notes, using the Ussher chronology.

     Charles Baker (1803-1874) was a prolific author. His Wikipedia entry lists around seventy-five works on a variety of subjects, including the Bible. Although he wrote on the NT as well, there does not appear to be a companion volume to The Bible Class Book, which concentrates on the OT. One of his nephews became the Archbishop of Canterbury. His main focus in life was producing school textbooks for the teaching of children who were deaf and dumb.

     When he died The Sheffield and Rotherham Independent for May 30, 1874, gave a brief obituary:

    

Yet 20 years after the last publication of Baker’s work, the Edgar brothers claimed it as their own.

     How could this happen? Modern sensibilities might question the ethics of giving no acknowledgement to Baker, but it was all perfectly legal. The British Copyright Act of 1842 granted copyright to an author for his lifetime and then for seven years after his death. As noted above, Baker conveniently died in 1874, so by 1890 his work was in the public domain and the Edgars – or anyone else for that matter - could do what they liked with it.

     The British 1842 Copyright Act was eventually replaced by one of 1911, which extended copyright to a more realistic fifty years after an author’s death.

     Since the Edgars weren’t going to give Baker any credit, they took out his introduction, which he had revised for the second edition. In its place they inserted a Watch Tower advertisement.

    

This Watch Tower material only took up one page whereas Baker’s introduction in both editions took up two, so the Edgar volume simply has an extra blank page following the Watch Tower advertisement. One assumes this is so that the remainder of the plates would not need their pagination adjusted.

     We are on firmer ground with the Edgars’ pyramid volumes and the series of small booklets which were original and reflected the Bible Student theology of that time. But as far as “Uncle Daniel’s” work, all was not as it appeared. It may still be viewed as collectable, but perhaps not as much as might be hoped.

La préhistoire des témoins de Jéhovah

 La préhistoire des témoins de Jéhovah

Edition of the AEIMR (Association for Study and Information on Religious Movements); BP 70733, F. 57207 Sarreguemines cedex). 250 pages. Index €18 + €6 postage. (The AEIMR offers postage to subscribers to the Mouvements Religieux magazine )

I seldom allow book reviews. If my memory is accurate we’ve reviewed four books since I started this blog in 2007. I’ve read Professor Blandre’s newest book, despite my inadequate French. It is a worthwhile read. I take exception to his chart of origins found at the end, and there are a few points to which I will give some thought and some which are incorrect. But those are few. Bernard’s book dramatically contrasts with another recently published book; La préhistoire des témoins de Jéhovah is neutral, ethical research without an agenda.

Professor Blandre’s description of his book follows:

This book reviews the historical origins of Jehovah's Witnesses, but also many religious organizations which refer to the teaching of Charles Taze Russell without having ever belonged to the Jehovah's Witnesses: Bible students, Aurorists, Lay Interior Missionary Movement, friends of man ... Russell, founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses? 

It is said that Russell was the founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses. It is true that they refer to him, that part of their teaching comes from him and that he was the creator of the Society of the Watchtower ( Watch Tower Bible an Tract Society ) which distributes the magazine  The Watchtower  and for which several million Jehovah's Witnesses circulate. 

But for Jehovah's Witnesses, Russell's teaching is outdated and after his death "the truth" has progressed.

It is only after Russell that the Jehovah's Witnesses refuse to celebrate the religious holidays of other Christians: Christmas, Easter, etc. It is only after Russell that Jehovah's Witnesses consider the cross to be a pagan symbol. It is only after Russell that the Jehovah's Witnesses refuse blood transfusions…

Russell taught that the soul is not immortal and that hell does not exist; but he only took over these beliefs from the Adventists who received them from George Storrs. 

Russell rejected belief in the Trinity; but he only took up what Henry Grew taught who had made Adventists admit this denial.

Russell is the one who taught that 144,000 anointed ones would be specially selected for leadership in the millennium. He had fixed the year 1914 as the end of the present "system of things." He taught that the great pyramid of Egypt announced this year 1914 by its dimensions. But he only repeated what Adventist Nelson Barbour had written before him. Jehovah's Witnesses no longer refer to the pyramid and have revised the 1914 meaning.

Russell taught that the restored Jewish people in Palestine would have leadership in the millennium. It was at a time when Israel did not exist. But he took this belief from Adventists in the age to come, and Jehovah's Witnesses now reject this doctrine.

Jehovah's Witnesses celebrate only one religious holiday each year: the memorial. It was George Storrs who introduced him to Russell. 

In fact Russell was not the creator of a new religion. He took up what his predecessors taught. His historic work has been to spell out details of a belief system that existed before him, and to have effectively made it known to a large number of people, groups and organizations, many of whom have remained more faithful to him than the Jehovah's witnesses.

The content of my book   La préhistoire des témoins de Jéhovah:

    This book presents the progressive creation of the belief system that Russell took up and disseminated. 

     The story begins in the late 18th century and ends in 1879, when Russell founded  Zion's Watch Tower magazine and became the true leader of the Bible Students, after his to be freed from the influence of one's main thought leaders. 

    This book is the result of research work which, without neglecting what has already been published, is based on the original sources published at the time of the events. 

    It is a book that respects the method and ethics of historical research: establishing the facts as they really happened. It is neither a book of propaganda, nor denigration, nor controversy. Jehovah's witnesses and Bible students who want to know the origin of their religion can read it without putting themselves in contradiction with their co-religionists, except intolerance. Those who have separated from the Jehovist organization, those who militate against the Jehovah's Witnesses can read it; they will be able to find objective arguments that they can interpret and avoid erroneous argumentation (No, the number of people saved is not limited to 144,000). And, perhaps most importantly, the author will take note with interest of the criticisms which could be addressed to him. 

Bernard Blandre

 

Pyramids

     The examination of Egyptian pyramids caused massive speculation in the 19^th century. Reflecting the religious beliefs of the Egyptians, with their concept of the afterlife, mixed in with astrology and the shape of the sun’s rays, the structures soon inspired theories as to their construction and purpose. In particular this applied to the Great Pyramid of Giza.

     The founding father of what came to be commonly known as pyramidology was John Taylor who published The Great Pyramid: Why was it Built? And Who Built it? in 1859. He greatly influenced Charles Piazzi Smyth, Astronomer Royal of Scotland, who followed with Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid in 1864. Smyth visited Egypt – something Taylor never did – and as a respected astronomer gained considerable attention. Moved by his beliefs, when he died in 1900, his monument in the graveyard of St. John’s Church, Sharow, near Ripon, was a pyramid.

Smyth’s pyramid – photo credit Julia & Keld

     After Smyth’s book, the baton was taken up by an American Lutheran minister, Joseph Augustus Seiss, in 1877, with the publication of The Great Pyramid of Egypt, Miracle in Stone. As a result, in the last few decades of the 19^th century many religious groups believed that the Giza pyramid was not a tomb, but had been constructed to reveal God’s plan for mankind to future generations. The measurements of certain features would equate to time periods, and would tie in with scripture.

     The concept was widely accepted, although the interpretations of the “evidence” varied from writer to writer. It also changed as different surveyors re-measured the edifice and came up with revised figures from those accepted by Seiss and early writers. Today it is often associated with Anglo-Israelites, those who believe that the ten lost tribes of Israel can be traced down to the British nation.

     Charles Taze Russell would be one of many who mentioned the pyramid. In his 1916 forward to Volume 3 of Studies, he wrote: “We have never attempted to place the Great Pyramid, sometimes called the Bible in Stone, on a parallel or equality with the Word of God as represented by the Old and New Testament Scriptures – the latter stand pre-eminent always as the authority.”

     However, he did view the Great Pyramid to be a corroborative witness.

     Certain other Bible Students focused on the pyramid far more extensively. William Wright corresponded with Piazzi Smyth (the correspondence is in Studies volume 3) and two brothers, John and Morton Edgar of Glasgow, wrote several books on the subject, including Great Pyramid Passages volumes 1 and 2.

     When the Watch Tower Society arranged for its own burial plot at United Cemeteries, Ross Township, a central memorial for the plot was designed by John Adam Bohnet in the shape of a pyramid. However, this was not a special sign or even a grave marker for any individual, but rather a communal monument designed to record the names of those buried on site in four quadrants around it, linked to the four pyramid sides. As it happened, only nine names were ever recorded before the idea was abandoned. The structure was eventually removed for safety reasons.

Pyramid (L) and CTR’s grave marker (R) c. 1921

     As time passed, general interest in pyramid theories waned in the mainstream. Finally, in 1928, after little comment for several years, the Watch Tower magazine produced two articles on the subject in the November 15 and December 1, 1928, issues. The gist of their arguments, which were against the Giza pyramid being of God, were reproduced in more recent times, in The Watchtower for May 15, 1956.

     The correspondence columns of the Watch Tower had various responses after the 1928 articles, best summed up by a future president of the Watch Tower Society (issue of July 1, 1929):

     The Golden Age magazine (January 23, 1929) had some fun naming certain individuals who no longer associated with the I.B.S.A. and who had made new predictions based on the pyramid. One was Morton Edgar.

     Of course, those who did not agree with the Watch Tower’s new position continued to believe in pyramidology, and in at least one case, tried to emulate Smyth. From a Yeovil (Somerset, UK) cemetery is this example.

     The last inscription on its sides was for Clara Hallett, who died in 1938.

     Her husband, Bible Student William Henry Hallett, had died in 1921.

     Perhaps surprisingly, the family who had done so much to promote the concept, the Edgars, did not go for a pyramid monument themselves. Most of the Edgars, including writers John and Morton, are buried in a family plot in the Eastwood (Old) Cemetery, Glasgow, and chose to have no monuments or headstones at all.

     With thanks to the Glasgow and West of Scotland Family History Society volunteer who checked the printed records and then took the photograph. There are sixteen Edgar graves (four plots, four deep) on either side of the tree in the middle of the picture. One wonders what size the tree was when the plots were sold originally,

     Perhaps to end on a really bizarre note:  London could today have had the largest pyramid in the world if the plans of architect Thomas Willson (1781-1866) had been realised. Detailed plans were drawn up and investors invited for what would be called The Metropolitan Sepulchre.

     It was designed to work a bit like a modern multi-storey car park and was to be built on top of Primrose Hill. Had it been approved it would have been four times the height of St Paul’s Cathedral, and would hold an estimated five million dead Londoners.

     What a landmark that would have become, towering far higher than the Great Pyramid of Giza if put side by side. The plans were first put before parliament in 1830, and later at the Crystal Palace Great Exhibition of 1851 for another proposed location. But ultimately garden cemeteries (out of town with help from new-fangled railways) and later crematoria were more practical solutions.

     Can you imagine the problems Willson’s pyramid would have caused for future generations when it was full? And what a useful landmark it could have been for German bombers in World War 2. One clear strike and there could have been five million extra cadavers spread across London. Now there’s an alternative history for you.

Who built the pyramid?

 

Edmund Kohler from 1927 newspaper

So who built the pyramid?

No it wasn’t Djoser or Khufu or other ancient Egyptians. We are talking about the pyramid monument that stood for a little over one hundred years on the Watch Tower Society’s plot in United Cemeteries, Ross Township, near Pittsburgh, PA.

From 1905 to 1917 the Watch Tower owned a cemetery company called United Cemeteries. Charles Taze Russell was buried there in November 1916. Most of the 90 acre site was sold at the end of 1917 to the Northside Catholic Cemetery, which adjoined their land. The Society just kept back certain small areas for their own use, the most notable one having a central monument in the middle of the plot. A seven foot high pyramid was erected in early 1920, designed to list the names of all those buried nearby.

When the Bible Students held a convention in Pittsburgh in 1919 some visited the grave and also visited the stoneworks “nearby” to see the pyramid under construction. It was natural that as well as new cemeteries springing up off what was now called Cemetery Lane, some companies would also provide monuments to order. One such company built the pyramid.

It was the Kohler Company, founded by Eugene Adrian Kohler (1865-1922). Eugene was born in Germany, came to America in 1892, was married in 1893, and was finally naturalised as an American citizen in 1917. He and his wife Lena had six children including Edmund Kohler (1894-1971), who joined the family business and eventually took it over. In the 1910 census Eugene is listed as Proprieter, Monumental Works.

Eugene died comparatively young from pulmonary tuberculosis, directly linked to his work as a stone cutter. He was buried in 1922 in the former Northside Catholic Cemetery, now known as the Christ Our Redeemer Catholic Cemetery. But it was Eugene who cut the stones for the pyramid. The monument was hollow, made up of four triangular sides leaning towards each other on a concrete base, with a capstone holding it all together. Originally it contained a casket full of books and documents and photgraphs as a kind of time capsule of Watch Tower progress and history. Ultimately, this “treasure” would cause the pyramid’s downfall.

While Eugene cut the stones for the pyramid, his son, Edmund, then sandblasted the sides to carve out the names of those buried nearby. When the pyramid was put together in early 1920 there were nine names inscribed over three of the four sides. As it happened, the idea was soon abandoned. More were buried there, in fact today one can safely say that the site is fully used, but no further names were ever added to the monument.

Edmund’s history is summed up in census returns from 1920 through to 1950. In 1920 he is stone cutter (monumental works), 1930 he is letter carver (monument), 1940 he is letter cutter (stone cutting company), and 1950 he is proprieter (monumental business).

On an undated business card the business is described as: Edmund Kohler, Modern Cemetery Memorials.

When he died, his obituary in the Tampa Tribune (Florida), 25 January 1971, stated the company’s title was Memorial Art Works.

In the mid-1960s, Edmund retired and the site was sold to Fred Donatelli Cemetery Memorials. They still operate there. The new company inherited some records from the Kohler business including those relating to the pyramid’s purchase and construction. However, in the early 1990s the Donatelli Company was visited by a representative of the Watch Tower Society, who was given the documents. We can be reasonably certain that the pyramid was broken into in early 1993 and the casket of memorabilia stolen. The edifice was left in a dangerous state, and it may be that the documents were needed to see how best to quickly repair it before a side fell on someone and killed them.

Move forward to recent times. The pyramid was broken into again on several occasions – probably because idiots didn’t realise the contents were long gone. It was patched up from time to time. But in 2020 the capstone disappeared (again) which held it all together. Also this time the cross and crown motifs were badly damaged on all four sides.

What was interesting this time is that someone took a photograph of the revealed space. Someone had written in the cement what appear to be the initials F K and the year 1919. Allowing for cement dust to encroach on this in part, we can reasonably assume that the Initials were E K.

Was that Eugene, or more likely Edmund? Yet again the whole structure was in a dangerous state, and the decision was ultimately taken that enough was enough and it was to be taken down and taken away.

It was taken down on September 1, 2021, and now lives on in photographs, as a time capsule of how things once were. What was nice to see is that the nine names on the pyramid sides - that disappeared with it - have been restored on simple stones now placed in the same area.

(With grateful thanks to Corky Donatelli who provided valuable information and sent me on my journey, and James S Holmes, Watch Tower of Allegheny Historical Tour, for the modern photographs)

End Chapter

 I'm writing this out of order, as I often do. I write based on the documents I have. They do not all come to me in a nice order. The last chapter is more analytical than usual. It's a summary of the main points of the S. I. series. So, here's a portion. I'm writing about those spiritualist influenced by Russell and the degree of secondary influence that accrued from their writing. Do you have anything to add?

The Intellectuals

 

            None of those we consider here were intellectuals, of course. They or someone else saw them that way, and I’ve obligingly listed them as such.

 I.

The Spiritualists 

            When Food for Thinking Christians was published, one of the first to publish a critique was William White, the editor of The Psychological Review.[1] [continue] 

William Augustus Redding 

            Redding [November 12, 1850 – October 31, 1931], was a Pennsylvania-born lawyer practicing in Philadelphia, New York City and elsewhere. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1876 and served in the state House of Representatives from 1884-1886, not running for reelection at the expiration of the term. He was a respected patent attorney, though he wasn’t averse to making unsustainable claims. In 1916 he was appointed to the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. Though married as a Quaker he became a spiritualist and a close associate of Ernest Loomis, a Spiritualist writer and publisher. Redding was a prolific author, writing on prophetic themes. Though scarcely admitting it, Redding was heavily influence by Russell’s writing.

            Much of Redding’s writing mirrors that of other 19^th Century Premillennialists, and occasionally one can find – at least in my opinion – an insightful comment on a Bible verse or narrative. If the Spiritualist elements were omitted Redding’s work would join the large list of 19th Century students of prophecy who believed they had solved the problem of end-times numbers. As did Russell, Redding believed he had an important message and that he was if not the prime divinely appointed messenger, at least one of the most important. Redding pointed to 1896 as the end of Gentile times but extended affairs to 1914 on the same basis as did Russell.[2] Without other evidence we could not say that he was influenced by Watch Tower theology in this. Others pointed to 1913-1918, and more specifically 1914 as the end of Gentile Times using the familiar count of 2520 years from an ancient even to modern times.[3]

            But Redding takes us to Russell’s influence in his Mysteries Unveiled: The Hoary Past Comes Forward with Astonishing Messages for the Prophetic Future.

---

[1]               William White was a member of The New Church (Swedenborgian). We have no biography beyond that. The Psychological Review was published by Edward W. Allen. As with W. White, there is little reliable biography for Allen. He was a member of New Church (Swedenborgian) and published one of its journals. He also edited or published at various times The Spiritualist Newspaper, Spiritual Notes and The Spiritual Record, and The Psychological Review.

[2]               Our Near Future: A Message to All the Governments and People of Earth, page 25.

[3]               Among those who pointed to 1914 or years near it were Elliott [Horae, vol. 4, pages 104, 237-238]; Henry Grattan Guinness [Approaching End of the Age]; Blanton Duncan [Near Approach] pointed to 606-607 B.C. as the start of the 2520 years which were to end in 1913-1914. See page 15. W. H. Coffin [The Millennium of the Church, 1843] Dated Gentile times from 606 B.C. to 1914, see page 42.  Richard Gascoyne suggested 1914 as a possible date. [Calendar of Prophecy] The list is long and we need not continue it.

                Various writers used a supposed Great Pyramid measurement to derive the 1914 date. While Russell used Pyramid measures as an adjunct, he did not base his belief on them. Pyramid enthusiasts still point to 1914.

Update on United Cemeteries

Most readers interested in Watch Tower history will already know about the changes made in the United Cemeteries in the last twelve months. Earlier posts on this blog detailed the damage done to the pyramid monument in the center of the site, and how after just over one hundred years the decision was taken to dismantle it.

I now have photographs from a source I can freely copy with permission. So thanks to Jim H, and here is what has recently happened on site.

The first picture shows the pyramid as it was in 2014, when I personally visited the site and took the photograph. On the right you can see the site after the monument had been taken down, with just the concrete base left. CTR’s grave marker is at the top of the picture.

Where the pyramid once stood nine flat grave markers have been installed. Here you can see the scarred land after the original concrete base for the pyramid was removed. Again, you can see CTR’s grave marker at the top of the picture. No doubt the grass will soon grow over the barren areas.

Below is a close up of the nine markers. These modest stones are similar to those found at the Society’s current burial site at the Watchtower Farms Cemetery in Walkill, Ulster Co. They give the names exactly as they appeared on the original pyramid sides, along with the ages of the Bible Students concerned.

The figures, A-1, etc. refer to the actual grave numbers in the original plots.

Lost Films

     There are several “lost” films in the history of the Watch Tower Society. The 1914 Photodrama of Creation was a big success and since at least twenty complete sets were produced, the majority of it survived – both in private hands as well as official archives. But subequent Bible Student films have not fared so well.

     There was a Photodrama “sequel" produced by Bible Students in 1917 called Restitution. It really needs its own article, but sad to say, only a few minutes have as yet been discovered. It was renamed several times in a troubled history and was finally rebranded as Redemption and sold in pieces on 16 mm film in the late 1920s.

     Some film was taken by secular sources. In 1913 when CTR arrived at the Hot Springs, Arkansas, convention, his arrival was filmed (see 1913 convention report page 66). The Hot Springs New Era newspaper for June 7, 1913, also said that the baptism ceremony was filmed by the same cameraman. But at the end of the year (Hot Springs New Era for 30 December 1913) in response to an IBSA enquiry, there were recriminations between cameraman, studio and express company when the negatives disappeared in transit. So I wouldn’t hold your breath for film of Pastor Russell alighting from a 1913 train any time soon.

     When the Chicago 1921 Pageant of Progress exhibition was filmed, the IBSA stand was reportedly featured (see write-up by Fred Franz’ brother Albert in New Era Enterprise for September 6, 1921). However, most newsreel material was very short-lived. Once shown, if shown at all, such films were usually melted down to reuse the silver and nitrocellulose base.

     But returning to the Bible Students’ own endeavors, the bumper year for lost films seems to be 1922.

     That year the Bible Students held a convention at Philadelphia over four days, April 13-16. It started in the Moose Hall and later transferred to the Metropolitan Opera House for the public meeting, where Joseph F Rutherford gave the public lecture. The review of the whole event as found in the New Era Enterprise newspaper for May 30, 1922, page 4, mentioned a special film show.

     So on the Friday evening, at Moose Hall, to an audience of around 1500 people, 8 reels of moving pictures were shown. For that size of audience it would have been on regular 35 mm film and would have been the length of a modest feature film. The convention program showed what this film contained.

     Whether this was raw unedited footage or a professional presentation we do not know, but what is obvious is that these films were soon edited down quite severely to make two one-reelers, one on Palestine, and one on Imperial Valley. This was as part of the Kinemo project, described in the New Era Enterprise for July 11, 1922, and also in The Watch Tower for May 1, 1922.

     There were three films in total in the original Kinemo project, the two aforementioned and a third on the Great Pyramid. They were produced on safety film (rather than dangerous nitrate stock) on a substandard film gauge, 17.5 mm. They could only be seen with a special Kinemo projector, designed for home or parlor use. All three films featured Joseph F Rutherford in cameo appearances.

     As earlier articles on this blog have covered, the three Kinemo films survived in private hands and have been painstakingly copied frame by frame, which is why you can see them on YouTube.

     But the question we are left with is – what about the remaining six reels as shown in Philadelphia in April 1922?

     The 1922 convention that everyone remembers today is the much larger event held later that year in September at Cedar Point, Ohio. This too provides a tantalising glimse of lost films.

     First, most will have seen the Watchtower Society’s recent call for the footage actually taken at this Cedar Point convention. This is based on an advertisement in the New Era Enterprise over several issues in October and November, 1922.

     This venture (or something similar) was suggested in the Convention Notes as found in the Enterprise for October 31, 1922.

     It is hoped that someone somewhere still has this footage. In this 100^th anniversary year of this convention, it would be special indeed if it survived and could be restored. Extant photographs of the event show a full sized camera filming J F Rutherford as he spoke out of doors in “The Grove.” Time will tell. It should be noted that as well as the 17.5 mm Kinemo version, it was also possible to buy a standard 35 mm print from the same source.

     However, motion pictures were also shown at this convention, which provides even more “lost” films to consider.  Again from the Enterprise for October 31, 1922:

     The views of Egypt, Palestine and Imperial Valley were obviously the current Kinemo trilogy in some shape or form, but what about the other films?

     The description talked about “Views of the Bible House (back in Pittsburgh?) and other organization buildings and offices in Brooklyn, the Bethel Home, etc., the printing and binding of books and pamphlets, etc.” These films were shown on three evenings, Friday to Sunday.

     But what happened to them thereafter?

     Since the Society did not retain 1922 footage that was actually sold to the public at the time, this does not bode well for these other films ever surfacing.

     But stranger things have happened.

     We might end by asking why such films became “lost?” The Society’s experience during the Great War, and its view of the future, meant that archiving was not always a high priority, certainly not for material viewed as ephemeral at the time. Even when the Society produced a reprint of the first 40 years of (Zion’s) Watch Tower they had to appeal to private collectors to help them complete their file for the project. And who would know that a hundred years after these events there would be interest in these old moving pictures? We might easily make the same mistakes today in choosing what or what not to keep in our personal video DVD collection.

     Material in private hands may survive for a while, but when people die their relatives may well throw out things because they don’t realize their significence. Like many collectors I have followed up leads only for them to repeatedly end this way. It is good that now there is now far more interest in preserving the past and that technology allows for greater sharing.

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.