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. 
    

Final resting places

Graveyard memorials are an interesting adjunct to genealogy and history. They often tell us about attitudes towards death and also fame, going right back to the pyramids of Egypt. It is notable in the 19^th century with the attempts of Victorians (in the UK at least) to outdo their dead rivals in the cemetery with spectacle. It’s been said that the attitude in 19^th century Britain was – if you can’t take it with you, you can at least show the rabble you once had it.

With that in mind, it is interesting to note the grave markers of the first six presidents of the Watch Tower Society.

William Henry Conley

Conley was a wealthy industrialist who became first Watch Tower president in 1881. By 1884 he had left regular association with Charles Taze Russell to go on a different religious journey. But his memorial is typical of wealthy men who made their name.

Photograph by the author

In fairness to Conley, his actual grave marker was quite standard, alongside almost identical ones for his wife and adopted daughter. But the family memorial for his name is quite striking, even today.

Charles Taze Russell

CTR was the first president of the incorporated Society in 1884, and founder of the magazine now known as The Watchtower (originally Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence). He gave instructions for a simple funeral at the Society’s own plot in United Cemeteries, Ross Township, Pittsburgh. His first marker pictured in the 1919 convention report was very simple, but something more elaborate was installed in 1920. Even so, it was a fairly modest affair, when compared with other markers of the time, including in the same series of cemeteries.

Photograph by the author

It should be noted that the pyramid installed near the grave marker, was not for CTR but for the whole Bethel family along with colporteurs of the day. Like a war memorial it was originally intended to commemorate the names of 196 people. In practice only nine names were ever engraved on it before the idea was abandoned. The structure was taken down in 2021.

Joseph Franklyn Rutherford

The second president of the incorporated Society was Joseph Franklyn Rutherford. Originally a grave space was reserved for him on the same site as CTR. But the headquarters were now in New York and a new graveyard was established on Staten Island. The Society bought land in 1922 and established both a farm and a radio station there. The radio station had the call letters WBBR and opened for transmission in 1924. Adjoining this property was a famous landmark, the Woodrow Road Methodist Church, with a number of graveyards surrounding it. The Society was to have its own section here. It is not known when this began, but the last interment of a Bethel worker at the old cemetery in Pittsburgh was that of Charles Buehler in 1925.

When JFR died he was buried at Staten Island.

Below is a snapshot from Google Earth taken from Woodrow Road showing part of the cemetery.

The Woodrow Road Methodist Church is on the right. On the left is a fence separating a housing development, which was where the Woodrow Road entrance to the Society’s property used to be. The radio masts for WBBR were behind the Methodist church and their own graveyard adjoined the WBBR property. The graveyard is noted for the policy of having no grave markers at all. This was used for Bethel workers until the end of the 1960s, even though they sold off the radio station in 1957. The last recorded interment was in December 1968. (See The Watchtower magazine for February 15, 1969, page 125.) So J F Rutherford has no grave marker at all. He is buried in this private cemetery area with five others who went to prison with him in 1918.

Nathan Knorr, Fred Franz and Milton Henschel

In the 1970s a new private cemetery was established at Watchtower Farms in Walkill, Ulster County, NY. It is also a private cemetery but this time on private land, and now the decision was taken to have simple grave markers flat on the ground.

Here are the markers for the next Watchtower Society presidents, Nathan Knorr, Fred Franz, and Milton Henschel.

Nathan Knorr and Fred Franz

Milton Henschel

It is an interesting progression from the memorial for William Henry Conley.

Some Reminders

 

We have strayed from this blog’s purpose. It is my fault, but I am with this post remedying the problem.

1. This is not a news site. I do not intend it as a forum for current news about Jehovah’s Witnesses or related groups. While I have allowed the posts on the Pyramid monument, doing so has led us away from this blog’s focus which is solely to present well-researched history of the Russell era. I will not allow news features in the future.

2. This is a history site, not a controversialist site. Accordingly, I do not accept links to videos that are polemic in nature. Don’t post any links to a youtube video. If you believe a video adds value to my blog, enquire.

3. Keep your feelings for or against the Watchtower to yourself. They have no place here. If you must express them, post them on a more appropriate site. This blog draws interest from academics, from Witnesses, from former Witnesses and from the merely curious. It is not, however, a place for you to express your pro- or anti-Witness beliefs. We’ve had too much of that lately. I’m not taking down articles or comments that cross that line, but I will not allow them in the future.

4. DO NOT LINK TO THIS BLOG VIA FACEBOOK. EVER

More on the United Cemeteries' Pyramid

WHAT PYRAMID?

 

The pyramid was removed very carefully on September 1. These photographs are from September 2. On top of the CTR grave stone is a small piece of granite salvaged from the pyramid site. 

For the background as to what led up to this, see the post from August 22.

The Pyramid

Please see addenda from August 24 and September 1, 2021 (below)

Visitors to Pittsburgh with an interest in Watch Tower history have often visited the United Cemeteries in Ross Township where CTR is buried. A famous landmark is in the center of the site, a 7 feet high pyramid which was designed as a memorial for all those buried on site. The idea was to have all the names engraved on the sides. In the event only nine names were ever recorded before the plan was dropped.

Below is a photograph of the pyramid taken by the author in 2014.

 and

This is the north face of the pyramid showing the inscriptions for Arabella Mann and Mary Jane Whitehouse.

Sadly in recent times this has been badly vandalized. Below are some current photographs.

Some months ago, the cross and crown motifs on each of the four sides were hacked out. The structure was built as four triangular pieces leaning towards each other, with a capstone holding it all together. But now the capstone has gone, and the sides appear to have been partly prized open.

It was put together in 1920 and unfortunately publicity was given to a treasure trove of memorabilia buried inside it. This was all stolen back in 1994, so there is no value to anyone getting inside it again.

The pyramid has now lasted a little over one hundred years. But now weakened, with its extremely heavy granite sides it may present a danger to the public. If not restored, it may be necessary to take the whole structure down.

Addenda from August 24

When this article first appeared, I received reports back-channel that the pyramid may have been taken down. I can confirm that the two photographs below were taken on August 23.

Ultimately, any issues of public safety may decide what happens to the monument.

Addenda from September 1

The pyramid was carefully taken down today. No doubt pictures will circulate in due course.

Edgars and the Pyramid

 These are on ebay. Some of you may be interested.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265094356174?hash=item3db8dadcce:g:A00AAOSwIEFgS~6s

https://www.ebay.com/itm/313487186373?hash=item48fd4ad9c5:g:uoIAAOSwMU1gcQyo

JOHN ADAM BOHNET

His face and head with its distinctive bald pate looked out of various convention reports between 1907 and 1927, including the one above from 1911. He testified at two legal trials involving Charles Taze Russell. He was responsible for the pyramid monument near CTR’s grave. He was the man who actually grew “miracle wheat.” He compiled at least one small book and wrote numerous articles and letters for Watch Tower publications, as well as various newspapers. And unlike many of those who were very close to Russell, he stayed loyal to the Watch Tower Society after the change in administration. Although occasional anecdotes about his work in the 1920s have appeared in modern Watchtower literature, he is not as well remembered as many less public figures of the day. This article tries to redress that balance for John Adam Bohnet.

In 1915 Bohnet was asked to write his life story for the Bible Students unofficial newspaper, the St Paul Enterprise. Many of the facts about his conversion and early work with the Society are taken from this account, first found in the August 27, 1915 issue and then republished unchanged on February 8, 1916.

Additional facts about his life over this period are taken from his testimony in two trials, Russell vs. Russell (1906) “the divorce trial” and Russell vs. Washington Post (1913) “the miracle wheat trial.” Bohnet was a key witness in both trials, where he was quizzed about his own history and his connections with CTR and the Watch Tower Society. For a fuller summary of his St Paul Enterprise testimony, see Separate Identity volume 2, pages 261-271.

Adam’s parents, Johann Adam Bohnet (1830-1926) and Christina Dorothea Unkel (1829-1924) were born in Freudenstadt, Germany, but came to America in 1852 and settled in Michigan, ultimately in Ann Arbor. They had four children, all born in Michigan. Our subject John Adam (May 11, 1858 – April 14, 1932) was the first, and as the story will show, both his parents and some of his siblings also became Bible Students.

Bohnet’s parents were Lutheran, and though he was baptized in infancy he never made that faith his own. His father was a blacksmith, and Adam started his working life in farming, before moving from Michigan to Portland, Oregon, in 1883, to work first at brick making and then to work for a San Francisco publishing firm in Seattle. After set-backs he contemplating renouncing what little faith he had, but then an encounter with a revivalist preacher at the YMCA reawakened his spiritual interest. He became a Bible Class leader for the M.E. Church, linked to travelling widely for his firm. He described his commitment at Ogden, Utah: “My pew on Sunday was never vacant, and my loose change jingled merrily on the collection plate.”

Returning from a business trip he found his own Church temporarily closed so visited a Presbyterian Bible class nearby where an unnamed leader invited him to his home and enthused about a book that had “wonderfully opened the Bible to him.” Bohnet never saw the book because the owner had loaned it out, but another copy had been ordered from the East. When Bohnet called to say goodbye before departing for Nevada on business the book had arrived. In fact, three books had arrived, the first three volumes of Millennial Dawn. A letter Bohnet wrote to the National Labor Tribune for May 18, 1911, confirmed that this first encounter with the Divine Plan of the Ages was in 1892.

Bohnet was always quite outspoken, and his comments on his first encounter with Volume 1 as his train rattled towards Reno are typical: “While on the train next day I read with interest and astonishment the preface of Volume 1 – the wording of which, to my regret, was changed for all subsequent editions…” He struggled on the noisy train and then read through the night at his hotel. He was convinced he had found the truth. The local Methodist preacher was less than impressed – Bohnet described him as “bitterly antagonistic” – but there was no stopping Bohnet. He wrote: “By the Lord’s grace I was instrumental in locating and assisting out of Mystic Babylon, within the next twelve months, twelve dear saints.”

Bohnet attended the 1893 Bible Students convention at Chicago, where he was baptized and met CTR in person for the first time. He noted that his beard and hair seemed as black as coal.

CTR and Maria as part of group picture at the 1893 convention.

Bohnet does not appear in this particular photograph.

As we will see later, Bohnet became an indefatigable letter writer. His first was published in Zion’s Watch Tower for the September 1 and 15, 1893 double number and he kept up a steady stream over the years down to 1931. From very early on he described his witnessing experiences, and was soon on the list of speakers representing the Watch Tower Society. The 1894 annual report in the December 15 ZWT mentions him on page 393 as one of a number of “traveling salesmen, colporteurs and business men” who used their spare time at their own expense to visit groups and give talks. According to a letter in the St Paul Enterprise for February 13, 1917, he gave his first ever chart talk in Portland, Oregon, in October 1894.

At this point we might note that many years later Bohnet described how CTR gave him the address of Benjamin Wilson, the translator of the Diaglott, and how he called on Wilson in Sacramento, California for several revealing conversations. The report is found in the St Paul Enterprise for April 4, 1916, and it should be noted by modern writers that in the conversation Wilson flatly denied ever being a Christadelphian. While there is no reason to doubt the account, Bohnet’s article says this was in 1892. That appears too early for his biography – would CTR really entrust such an important visit to a neophyte he’d not even met at the time? This writer assumes that the visit on Wilson, who lived until 1900, probably happened around 1894.

Zion’s Watch Tower magazine for August 15, 1894, put out a call out for a stenographer to assist CTR at the Bible House. Bohnet quickly saw an opportunity, and as he wrote: “I knew nothing about shorthand writing. But immediately wrote Brother Russell that I was sending to Chicago for stenographic instructions; and when sufficiently proficient would join him.”

Blandishments to stay in his present employment in San Francisco fell on deaf ears, and in April 1895 a very determined and focused John Adam joined the Bible House family as CTR’s stenographer.

As a secretary Bohnet’s work involved taking dictation and typing out a number of confidential documents. These included letters CTR wrote to his wife and her relations and also drafting Joseph Lytle Russell’s last will and testament. He was also called on to give testimony in the Russell vs. Russell hearing of 1906. At the Bible House most workers lodged outside, but from 1894 the Russells lived in. CTR had to go away for a few days in 1897, which could have meant leaving his wife Maria on her own. Bohnet witnessed a telephone conversation where CTR tried to arrange through Ernest Henninges (then office manager) for Bible House worker Clara Taylor to stay with her. Maria declined the offer as she had other plans. In fact, she was shortly on her way to stay with her brother Lemuel in Chicago and never came back under the same roof as Charles.

Going by a date he gave in his father’s obituary, Bohnet’s work at the Bible House was to be interrupted in 1896. In his life story he explained it this way. Traveling back from a speaking assignment he had a fall and badly damaged an ankle. Not wanting to be a burden on a busy Bible House family he arranged to go back home to Ann Arbor to his parents’ home to recuperate. He had another secondary motive which was to share his faith with his family. As noted above this was very successful and we will learn more about some of his family later.

Bohnet was not back in harness at the Bible House for very long. Learning that the Society needed to borrow money, late in 1897 he suggested to CTR that he should go back into business with his old firm and make a financial contribution which would allow for several others to replace him in the office. After assuring CTR of his steadfastness to the truth he received this reply. He said that in substance, CTR’s words were:

“True, we need more money, and since you have this opportunity, which may be of the Lord’s appointment, and it is your desire to help out in the running expenses, go, and God bless you. But bear in mind, my dear brother, you are still counted as a member of the Bible House family.”

The exchange as told may seem somewhat unusual. All we can say from this distance is that his account was published while CTR was still alive, and was known to read the Enterprise from time to time.

Back in the secular field, Bohnet still did what he could for the message but for the next seven years worked in Washington DC for a company promoting a proprietary remedy called “Viavi.” (Russell vs. Brooklyn Eagle transcript, page 64). It was marketed for “female complaints.” Checking contemporary literature there’s a suggestion it might have been partly marketed as a female contraceptive. It seems a strange choice of employment for a confirmed bachelor. He left this company’s employ around 1904, which was probably just as well as the California State Journal of Medicine for April 1907 was to go after them with all guns blazing. Next, according to court testimony, he worked selling home supplies from a base back in Pittsburgh. This failed, and he went back into the Bible House. It would appear that this time it was CTR helping HIM.

In 1905 he published a scripture compendium by subject called “Features of the Plan of God.”

Back in the Bible House he worked at correspondence and in the dispatch department and was soon going out as a visiting speaker again.

A huge change took place in Watch Tower history in 1909. The Society moved its headquarters from Allegheny to Brooklyn, New York. Here the Bible House family became a much larger Bethel family.

Bohnet was the man they left behind. He still visited groups to give talks, and became extremely well known as a convention speaker. However, the main item of business he cared for was the Watch Tower Society’s own cemetery.

The 1910 census lists Bohnet as “Superintendent United Cemetery.” This was originally a series of three small cemeteries put together and called United Cemeteries, in Ross Township about five miles north of Pittsburgh.

As to why the Society would deal in business like a cemetery company, the Society’s secretary-treasurer W E Van Amburgh explained in the court case Russell vs Brooklyn Eagle (1913 – trial transcript pages 203-204) that many donations for their religious work were conditional; the donation could in fact turn out to be just a loan, depending on the circumstances of the donor. Consequently, they needed assets that could generate income and in case of emergency could be turned back into cash. A cemetery company seemed a good idea at the time – to quote direct from Van Amburgh: “The Society thought well to have some place where we could have a good asset…they found a farm, and they arranged for a United Cemeteries company as being the most stable, it could not run away, something satisfactory that could always be used as an asset.”

The cemetery charter was granted in 1905, and in 1907 CTR’s last will and testament made provision for his own burial there, in a special area reserved for Watch Tower workers. The whole area they owned totalled 90 acres, but only about 18 acres ever became a cemetery. The rest was either unused or kept as farming land. Getting permission was not difficult because there was already an established Roman Catholic Cemetery on the adjoining property.

As noted above, when the headquarters staff all moved to Brooklyn, Bohnet stayed behind in Pittsburgh to look after the cemetery. Below is a picture taken around 1920-1921, looking down the hill over the Society’s plot. CTR’s grave marker is there, and then there is a pyramid monument, rather like a modern War Memorial with names inscribed on the sides. It is in the center of the Society’s plot and was installed at the beginning of 1920 (see The New Era Enterprise, February 10, 1920). Two small grave markers can be seen for Bible Students Arabella Mann and Mary Jane Whitehouse, which sadly have long since disappeared. On the slightly rising hillside in the background is an old farmhouse, which became the cemetery superintendent’s house. This is where Bohnet lived. He is in the aforementioned 1910 census at this address, along with another family of helpers.

It should be noted that the headstones in front of the house are not actual graves. At the time the picture was taken the cemetery company sold headstones and these were samples for purchase.

During the 1910s, when Bohnet was well known as a convention speaker, he was photographed many times. He was also involved with the pyramid in the above photograph. It was reported that it came from his design, and when CTR died in 1916 he supervised various funeral details, and then also supervised the eventual installation of the monument over 1919-1920.

Having come from a farming background, while in residence he used some of the spare land for farming purposes, which included what came to be called “Miracle Wheat.” This has been discussed elsewhere on this blog, but basically Bohnet was impressed with the wheat, and donated seed for sale through the pages of the Watch Tower magazine in 1911. An unexpected drop in prices from the original source and an attack by a tabloid-style newspaper created difficulties and led to the aforementioned Russell vs Brooklyn Eagle trial in 1913. Bohnet gave evidence and also revealed more of his personal history in examination and cross examination. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but in retrospect he would probably have done better to have just sold the seed direct, and made his own personal donation to the Society’s work.

In October 1916 CTR died and was buried in the United Cemeteries. In January 1917 Joseph F Rutherford was elected as president. In the division that followed, Bohnet put his full support behind Rutherford. When, in July 1917, Rutherford appointed four new members to the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Bohnet (still resident in Pennsylvania) was one of them.

Events then moved quite rapidly for him. The cemetery company had ticked over and generated a certain amount of income, but it was not spectacularly successful. The decision was taken to realize the asset in 1917. It was probably wise. The land cost them $27,000 in 1905, but with a functioning business on it they realized $90,000 in December 1917.  

But it all happened very quickly. Bohnet was still advertising for cemetery help in April 1917 (Enterprise: April 17, 1917) but by December 1917 the property, apart from selected areas for Bible Student burials, was gone. The purchaser was the Catholic Northside Cemeteries association, which owned the adjoining cemetery.  It meant that both Bohnet’s work as superintendent and the house that went with it disappeared.

As a Society director one might have thought that a life in Brooklyn Bethel beckoned. Instead, Bohnet became a Pilgrim, an official visiting speaker sent out to groups by headquarters. He missed a memorial service at CTR’s grave on May 30, 1918 (a federal public holiday called Memorial Day when businesses were closed and people could gather together), because he was away on a Pilgrim visit (Enterprise: June 25, 1918). Apart from trips back home and coming back to Pittsburgh to supervise the installation of the pyramid, he spent the next ten years “on the road.”

To give an idea of the distance he covered, we can examine the speakers’ appointments on the back page of The Watch Tower. In 1918 he visited congregations in Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin. In 1919 he added Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina and Texas. In 1920 he added Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New York and Oklahoma. We could go on, but the picture is clear – Bohnet did not stick to one small area of the United States, he was sent everywhere.

Over the years he became an untiring writer for first the Enterprise, and later The Golden Age magazine. He staunchly supported the direction taken by the new administration of the Watch Tower Society with its emphasis on personal evangelism with campaigns like the Golden Age work from 1919. In the splits that occurred at this time he urged all to return to the IBSA, but wasn’t averse to laying into those who had left. The original split with its “committee of seven” (Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Divine Purpose [1959] page 73) Bohnet dismissed in the Enterprise for August 23, 1921: “It seems to be inoffensive – doing little or nothing” and contrasting it with the activity of the Watch Tower Society.

His greatest ire was reserved for the Standfast movement, which suggests in context that it may have had a greater impact on readers at the time. Bohnet ridiculed it and debated its teachings (see for example: St Paul Enterprise for March 11 and 18, 1919). The Standfasters were to fragment, one group started a commune, another insisted on membership cards and it wasn’t long before they generally disintegrated; although they were still in sufficient memory to be mentioned by J F Rutherford in The Watch Tower for September 15, 1931, page 279.

Bohnet’s choice of subjects in the Enterprise was eclectic. Excluding actual reprinted sermons, here are some more examples, with the issue date of the St Paul Enterprise in parenthesis: a letter explaining that rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated (July 9, 1915); his aforementioned life story (August 27, 1915); how and why they moved the headquarters from Allegheny to Brooklyn (October 1, 1915); a campaign mounted to obtain a Ford motor car for CTR (October 1, 1915) subsequently vetoed by CTR (October 22, 1915); visiting Benjamin Wilson (April 4, 1916); reviewing the funeral of CTR (November 14, 1916); Noah’s Ark found on Mount Ararat (January 16, 1917); a recent visit made by a sister on Maria Russell (February 20, 1917); a tribute to William Abbott, late editor of the Enterprise (March 27, 1917); a letter urging all to vote for Rutherford et al at the forthcoming election of Society officers (December 18, 1917); attacking the Standfasters as noted above (March 11 and 18, 1919); visiting the “Brooklyn eight” in Atlanta Federal prison (March 18, 1919); and visiting a seriously ill Rutherford after his release (June 24, 1919).

At the end of 1919 the St Paul Enterprise became The New Era Enterprise. Bohnet continued his contributions. He marketed a cancer cure (January 6, 1920) which hits problems (January 27, 1920); he installed the pyramid monument on the United Cemeteries site from his own design (February 10, 1920); Miracle Wheat was now Weber Wheat and winning prizes (October 19, 1920); a suggested substitute for coffee (June 15, 1920); problems with the other Bible Student supporting paper, the National Labor Tribune (November 16, 1920); vigorous backing for the Golden Age work (December 14, 1920); a character assassination of Judge Howe who presided over the trial of the “Brooklyn eight” (December 14, 1920) and resulting complaints from Enterprise readers (January 11, 1921); God was now blessing the Watch Tower Society with a swipe at those who had left as noted above (August 23, 1921); vigorous encouragement for readers to embrace the Golden Age work (December 27, 1921); a recipe for cleaning wallpaper (January 19, 1922); praising The Harp of God as a masterpiece (January 24, 1922); the only true Bible Students were those still with the Society (March 7, 1922); and perhaps most entertaining, a fanciful alternative version of the Garden of Eden. Maybe it still existed in Armenia. Maybe Enoch transferred there and still lived there. Maybe if a plane flew over the area, Enoch might throw an apple at it… (April 18 and May 2, 1922 double issue, followed by some lively correspondence thereafter).

From 1923 Bohnet’s personal contributions to the Enterprise more or less dried up, although he was still featured in news items such as giving the Million talk over a local radio station (March 6, 1923). There is a letter in the June 1926 issue where he corrected inaccuracies about the Russell family – he (Bohnet) typed up Joseph Lytle Russell’s last will and testament and CTR declined to accept an inheritance. His last known contribution for the paper was writing his father’s obituary in 1927, which we will come to later.

As his output for the Enterprise dropped off, Bohnet began to write regularly for the new magazine, The Golden Age, edited by Clayton J Woodworth. Perhaps the most important of his articles was in The Golden Age for April 9, 1924, where he outlined the “true story” of the Miracle Wheat episode. Having been the one to grow the wheat on cemetery property he was well placed to write this article.

As already noted, his Pilgrim work took him all over the United States and numerous advertisements for talks in different regions can be found on newspaper databases throughout the 1920s. In addition, he spoke on several radio stations. His activity has been briefly remembered in more recent Watchtower literature.

For example, the Watchtower for September 1, 1983, features the life story of Grant Suiter who became Secretary-Treasurer of the Watch Tower Society in 1946.  Referring back to the 1920s he wrote: “J A Bohnet made a particular impression and was of special help to me. He was a man who had characteristics that endeared him to some people but had the reverse effect on others. He loved Jehovah and evidently was modest, but he kept this quality somewhat concealed under a gruff exterior.” A talk he gave moved the Suiter family to all get baptized. The article contains a small picture of Bohnet. The 1975 Yearbook (page 49) gives a very human pen portrait of Bohnet as a pilgrim visitor, making a kite for a young boy and helping him to fly it.

The dedication to this work involved personal sacrifices. For example, his Bible Student parents died in their nineties and both had obituaries in The New Era Enterprise, His mother Christina was featured in the issue for November 25, 1924 and his father, John (Johann) in the issue for March 1927. As noted above this last obituary was written by Bohnet himself, and recorded that his pilgrim work had taken him so far away he never heard about either death until after the funerals had taken place.

Bohnet was featured in a photograph in the 1927 IBSA Convention Report (Toronto: July 25, 1927) sitting in a row next to W F Salter and J F Rutherford, looking less than comfortable with a child on his knee. The sub-caption (probably a joke from Clayton J Woodworth) reads: “Take a look at Bohnet fathering some little boy.”

He remained on the regular list of speakers on the back page of the Watch Tower until mid-1928, and was also featured extensively in newspapers for speaking engagements and radio talks, up to that year. He last appeared on the official list of Society representatives in the 1929 Yearbook.

This was a time of change. From 1926 the role of Pilgrims started to change from visiting speakers to supervisors and promoters of active witnessing. This culminated in a name change to Regional Service Director in 1928 (see Proclaimers book page 223). As already observed Bohnet was fully behind the emphasis on personal evangelism, but he would have been 70 years old in 1928. At some point he went back to the family home. Writing from Michigan in the June 1, 1930 Watch Tower magazine he explained his situation:

 “While I am not situated now to engage in the regional director service, much to my regret, I can spare the time and the use of my car to drive sisters to distant towns and villages on regularly appointed days to place books in the service work at my individual expense of gas and oil, and thus herald the glad tidings of Messiah’s kingdom to those who have a hearing ear and an open mind.” He signed off “With much love to all at Bethel, Faithfully yours in Christ.”

The bulk of this letter was praising the book Creation, contrasting the activities of those currently loyal to the Society with those who weren’t. He followed this up with another letter in the February 1, 1931 Watch Tower magazine that enthused about the two volume set called Light and in his usual recurring theme, he urged all those who had left to reunite with the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. The published letter was given the heading “Inspiration to Greater Zeal and Service.” This was the last letter from him published in The Watch Tower. It was followed by his last article for The Golden Age called “The Myrtle” (about the myrtle tree with an allegorical application) published in the issue for August 19, 1931.

He died on April 14, 1932. His death certificate confirmed that he had never married; that he had gone into the University Hospital, Ann Arbor, Michigan, in March for a gastrectomy, and that he died in hospital four weeks post-operation just short of his 74^th birthday. His occupation was given as “lecturer for the IBSA for the last 30 years.” The information was supplied by his brother Jacob Bohnet. He was buried in the family plot in the Ann Arbor cemetery.

There is one coda to this story. As noted above, when Bohnet went home to recuperate after an injury in the latter half of the 1890s he witnessed vigorously to his family. It resulted in his parents and three other relatives becoming Bible Students. One of these was his sister, Elizabeth Octavia who was born in 1859. Elizabeth married Lyman Pettibone in 1882 and lived to be 102. She died on January 10, 1961. As befitted a very old resident, her funeral made the local newspapers. After giving her family history the paper commented on who was to take the funeral.

Source of newspaper unknown. Cutting from the Find a Grave site.

The funeral announcement notes that someone from the (quote) “Jehovah Witness Church in Ann Arbor” would be officiating.

This means that the family trail of association with the Bible Students/Jehovah’s Witnesses that started in 1892 ran for at least 70 years. Sadly, the modern descendants the writer contacted when preparing this article knew nothing of the connection.