Monday, October 7, 2013
William Vessle Feltwell
W. V. Feltwell played a small but significant part in Watch Tower history in 1878-1879. We have located a very poor photo, but haven't received persmission to use it yet. If you can locate a public domaine photo, please let me know.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
My take on this ...
I think we have enough to finish volume two and tell a
creditable story. About half of it is finished already.
I’ve thought about what we need to proceed. We need some
relief from research issues. The “rub” there is that research is at the heart
of accurate, well-told history. We will need to rely on willing helpers who can
find and organize documentation. If we
move on to book three, this will be especially vital.
Book three enters into really controversial events. Some of
them have been overlooked. We have no plans to overlook them. Events such as
the Russells marital problems are coated with myth and misunderstanding. We are
interested in telling the story as accurately as possible. There were
personality conflict issues between Russell and some of the most prominent
workers. This takes on into murky waters. Some of our readers want to protect
Russell at all costs. We won’t do that, though we will be “fair” to all
parties. Most of this is un-researched and we expect a difficult time following
the trail.
We will need help with it. To be truly helpful you will have
to approach issues in the same spirit we do. We follow the trail no matter
where it goes.
There are several collections of letters and personal
papers. Almost without exception they are closed to researchers. We need help
contacting the owners and prying things out of their hands. An example is a
large lot of Bible Student era letters sold a few years ago through e-bay. We
would like to see those. We can’t pay for photocopying or scanning. We don’t
know who owns them.
Pursuing the next era in Watch
Tower history will be time
consuming and difficult. We can’t do it alone. We’ve received some significant
help with the current project, but most of the research is our own. If we move
on to project three, we will need even more help.
I’m more interested in the transitional era, the era between
1916 and 1919. I’d rather skip book three and move right on to that. I’m
certain that won’t happen. But you can help us gather material. This is more
difficult than you can imagine. We will need access to material in the US
and Canadian and UK
archives. Usually this requires travel. In the United
States , the National Archives has proved very
reluctant to answer requests for relevant material. When someone else requested
documents from them in the early 1990s, they came inked out to almost solid
black. This should be less of an issue now because of time limitations on
secrets expiring. But we would need a volunteer (unpaid) to visit the archive
in Washington D. C. and in Canada
and in the UK
to dig for papers, photocopy or photograph them at their own expense and get
them to us. Is this worth the bother to anyone? We have our doubts.
We think there are World War I era documents in Germany
archives too. We haven’t a clue how to find them. I don’t read German well. We’d
need a copy of the original and a translation. Finding someone to do this as a
labor of love seems unattainable.
Even with the small amount we know of these two eras, I can
tell you that what you’ve been told is largely wrong by omission, sometimes
wrong in factual presentation or point of view. The detailed story is always
more interesting.
Even if we decide to proceed (I can’t see Mr. Schulz not
doing so, even if he’s unwell.) we will need significantly more help than we’ve
had with this project. And with this project we’ve had three really dedicated
researchers adding to our work and a fair number who just send an occasional
item or move us forward by a well asked question. We will need someone willing
to contact libraries and other institutions for us. They’ll have to be a good
negotiator with a more pleasant personality than my own. (I’m sickish and
cranky at the moment.)
Organization is an increasing problem. I don’t know how to
improve our archival organization. I’m reorganizing our archival notebooks to
account for current needs. I really need a secretary.
We continue to find things. The latest is a letter from A.
D. Jones’ father written in September1892. All of it but one sentence is
irrelevant to our story. But it’s good to have the one sentence. It explains
something his son did. So the issue is, can we enlist more help and can we
streamline our research?
Comments?
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Where we are
Because of health issues, the last chapter is languishing. We still intend to finish and publish by mid year next. We will take a break with the publication of volume one to reassess the project and to attend to other issues. There is a very real possibility that we will end this project with volume one. This may disappoint some, but I don’t think it will matter to most of those who visit this blog one or twice a month or less frequently.
There are several deeply personal reasons why we may not continue this project. I’m certainly not discussing them here, and I won’t engage with you in email if you press the issue. I think they’re good and sufficient reasons to suspend maybe drop totally, the rest of this project. During our planned break, we will consider where we stand. If we decide to end this project with “volume one,” we will close the private blog and put this one into stasis, closing comments but leaving up the posts.
Original research is increasingly expensive, and though some of our readers have contributed money to this project, it is unacceptable practice to beg money from readers. As we approach more modern times, documentation is harder to obtain. Some of it is held by private persons unwilling to share. We, on that basis alone, are faced with a nearly impossible task. However, if there were not more personal reasons, we would persist.
It is fun to live in the past. But there are pressing issues in the ‘now’ that are separating us from this project. We’ve made no firm decision. We’re in no hurry to do so. When we do, either Rachael or I will post it here.
There are more important things in life that musty history.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
The Watchtower (IBSA) recordings
The Photo Drama discs were 12" in diameter. Note that the dates on the label refer to the various patents of the recording company, and do not refer to recording dates.
The Angelophone discs were only 7" in diameter.
The Rutherford recordings were 12" in diameter. The transcription records were 16"
Introduction by Jerome:
Back in
September 2011, I was given permission to reprint an extract from a 1993
article on the Watchtower recordings. The selection dealt with the Angelophone
recordings. Noticing that this proved quite popular in the intervening months,
I have now obtained permission to reprint the whole article here on Blog 1,
after it recently appeared on Blog 2.
The only stipulation
made by the original author is that it should be printed as a time capsule,
with no updating. So the current facts and figures given are those current in
1993, not today. Then there is certain information the writer would not have had
available at that time, such as our more detailed understand of CTR’s religious
background, and William Conley being the first Watch Tower president. The
latter information was only published for the first time later in 1993. So
there may be little inaccuracies to find; however, they have no real bearing on
the subject of the article – the historic recordings.
Just one
interpolation has been made in red as a result of comments made when the
Angelophone extract was published, but that only serves to vindicate the
original writer.
The
article as it stands was first published in April 1993 in issue 27 of The
Historic Record, a specialist magazine for collectors of shellac records,
generally playing at 78 revolutions per minute (rpm). The magazine had an
international readership, but was published in Britain; so the article comes
from that angle, including British rather than American English spelling. The
general readership had no interest in the Watchtower as such, but in subsequent
issues several collectors from around the world came forward who had examples
of its output.
The
article concentrates solely on recordings in the English language. There is a
vast untapped field for research out there for all the foreign language
recordings that were made, both for different countries and for different
language groups existing within the United States.
At the
end of the original article were a number of pages detailing the various recordings
that had been published: Photodrama,
Angelophone, Rutherford lectures, Watch Tower Male Voice Quartet, Organ
Records, Advertising Records, etc. These lists have been omitted because this
information can now be readily obtained through the internet for any who may
have sufficient interest.
It was
noted in the comment section on Blog 2 that shellac has proved to be a
surprisingly durable storage medium, far superior to current electronic media
such as CDs and DVDs. A recent sound archive discussion list commented that
commercial coarse groove discs (78s) and vinyl (33s and 45s) do not immediately
need to be recopied, as long as the originals are kept in good condition.
Unlike recent media storage systems, they have proved to be quite stable
information carriers. In practice it means that the recordings of CTR and
Rutherford, going back nearly 100 years, could well be more durable than modern
Watchtower DVDs.
A religious organisation that
issued over 200 different titles on 78 rpm shellac, and who once produced over
a hundred thousand records in a year at its peak. A religious group that sent its workers from
house to house in the 1930s with portable phonographs to play 12” recorded
sermons on the doorstep. A group that had previously compiled an eight hour
audio/visual experience, using dozens of specially produced records. An
organisation that in over a hundred years had four presidents, all of whom made
recordings – in one case, singing! An overview of historic recordings would not
be complete without considering the output of the Watchtower Society – the
official arm of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Today the Witnesses are
well-known for that unexpected knock on the door, to share their views on
scripture. Active in Britain since the 1880s, vigorous proselyting has been one
of their distinguishing features. For thirty years (1914-1944) the gramophone
or phonograph was an essential piece of their equipment.
The Watchtower magazine was
founded in July 1879 by Charles Taze Russell, later known as Pastor Russell. He
had been involved in one of the independent Bible study groups common in
America at the time, and contributed a number of articles to small Adventist
journals like George Storrs’ Bible Examiner and Nelson Barbour’s Herald of the
Morning. He differed from the mainstream Adventist belief in a visible return
of Christ, and also common beliefs on the end of the world. His journal
promoted the second coming as an invisible presence – Christ turning his
attention to the earth – and far from being burned up, the earth would one day
become a paradise during a literal millennium. The first issue of ‘Zion’s Watch
Tower and Herald of Christ’ Presence’ was an ambitious six thousand copies.
Today the (retitled) ‘Watchtower Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom’ – with much the
same basic message – has a circulation of over fifteen million copies each
issue in 112 language. It is also produced on cassette: the historic successor
to the 78s. By the time of Russell’s death in 1916 there were 1,200 known
congregations of Bible Students as they were then called, including nearly 200
in Britain.
In 1881 Zion’s Watch Tower
carried the article ‘Wanted – One Thousand Preachers’ – setting wheels in
motion that eventually lead to a worldwide organisation of evangelisers. That
same year proselyting started in Britain. In 1884 ‘Zion’s Watch Tower Tract
Society’ was incorporated in the State of Pennsylvania. To hold property and
conduct business in the British Empire, the ‘International Bible Students Association’
was later formed. The names ‘Watchtower’ and ‘IBSA’ are the key to identifying
official historic recordings today. Charles Russell became the first president
of what would commonly be called ‘The Society’.
Prior to the First World War, the
Bible Student movement was still numerically small. However, they were very
adept in making their message heard. In America there were well-publicised
debates with recognised clergy. (Note the warnings about ‘Russellism’ in the
film ‘Elmer Gantry’). In Britain there were large public meetings at venues
like the Royal Albert Hall and the Bible Students’ own London Tabernacle in
Paddington. Hundreds of millions of free tracts were distributed. At one point
‘Pastor Russell’s Sermons’ were being carried by over three thousand
newspapers. It was not surprising that recorded sound and the fledgling film
industry would be utilised in the campaign.
THE PHOTODRAMA OF CREATION (1914)
In 1914 the Society premiered its
own audio/visual production called The Photodrama of Creation. It contained
about five hours of 4 inch lantern slides and three hours of motion pictures –
both slides and films being coloured by hand. The total eight hour production
was eventually shown in four parts. It took over two years to make and cost the
Society over $300,000 to produce. Running costs were met by local groups.
After visiting key cities in
America, the British premiere took place in July 1914 at the Princes Theatre,
Shaftsbury Avenue. Russell travelled over in person to introduce it. It told
the history of the Bible and the world to date, and then the Bible Students’
view of the future. The whole commentary was recorded on 12 inch records,
produced by the American Gramophone Co., Bridgeport, Conn.
Russell’s voice could reportedly
hold an audience for hours, but it was not suitable for the Photodrama, lacking
sufficient ‘bite’ for the acoustic recordings of the day. So only two records
actually featured him in person. These contained mini-lectures to introduce and
conclude each part, and to cover the intermissions. They were designed to
synchronise with films of Russell speaking on the screen. This early attempt at
a ‘sound’ film depended on the projectionist keeping a variable speed projector
in line with the records played on two large turntables at the front of the
hall. It was easier said than done. In the first showings it was not uncommon
for Pastor Russell to bow and walk off the screen while apparently still
speaking... His brief comments welcomed the audience, gave brief summaries of the
drama, and stressed the Bible Students’ slogan – ‘Seats Free – No Collection’.
The actual programme had 24
double-sided recordings containing a total of 96 short speeches at 80 rpm, made
by a professional elocutionist named Harry Humphrey, who sounded quite like
Pastor Russell. These accompanied the lantern slides. The films were generally
accompanied by commercial recordings of classical music. However, some hymns
that introduced each part and filled the intermissions must have been specially
recorded; the words are taken from the Bible Students’ own hymnals. For
example, the old gospel hymn ‘In the Sweet By and By’ uses the words credited
to Maria, Russell’s wife, in the 1890 hymnbook. The rousing ‘Our King is
Marching On’ (John Brown’s Body) has the line, “The Gentile Times are closing
for their Kings have had their day” – a special reference to the Bible
Students’ view of the year 1914.
After London, the British version
of the Photodrama went on tour. In areas that had no electricity, a shorter
version using just tinted slides was shown with a limelight lantern. As a
result, a number of extra sets of records were produced. Additionally, many
wanted to purchase the two records of Pastor Russell’s voice as a souvenir,
particularly when he died in 1916.
THE ANGELOPHONE RECORDINGS (1916)
With
the success of the Photodrama in mind, and the realisation that records were
now highly popular, a few Bible Students set up the Angelico Company in 1916.
Ostensibly it was to manufacture and sell phonographs, but with each purchase
came a set of 50 Angelophone recordings. For some reason they were numbered
49-98, although it is certain that no 1-48 were ever issued. The records were
small seven inch discs using the ‘hill and dale’ method to squeeze two minutes
on a side at 85 rpm. They were advertised as ‘Old Fireside Hymns’ sung by the
celebrated baritone Henry Burr. On the reverse side (also at 85 rpm) were a
series of two minute sermons to explain the hymns. These were uncredited, but
were Pastor Russell’s own voice. Those who had questions could write to a ‘Free
Information Bureau for Angelophone Patrons’. This of course was the Watch Tower
Society.
It must have sounded a good idea on paper; reaching people who might be prejudiced by the words Watch Tower. In practice, it was a disaster!
For a start, Henry Burr sounds rather the worse for wear. The hymns contain some high notes that his baritone had considerable difficulty in reaching. (When this extract was first published a blog reader quoted a modern Wikipedia article to the effect that Burr was a tenor. However, the advertising material for Angelophone at the time called him a baritone. Whatever his range, this was not Burr’s finest hour.) Limited to two minutes many hymns were abridged. The reverse side, Pastor Russell’s short sermons – and the only reason the Bible Students would purchase – was even worse! Russell was now in very poor health and died in October 1916. His voice, unsuitable for the Photodrama, was even more unsuitable now. The recordings were very poorly made, and today (without a transcript) much of what is said is indecipherable. It appears to have been the same at the time because complaints flooded in, and the Watch Tower had to announce they had been re-recorded. This time, Harry Humphrey was hired again. His voice was slightly slower, so the speed for his recordings was reduced to 80 rpm. There is some improvement, but not a lot, and the records soon ceased production. The Angelophone Hymnal disappeared from the Society’s cost list after 1919.
It must have sounded a good idea on paper; reaching people who might be prejudiced by the words Watch Tower. In practice, it was a disaster!
For a start, Henry Burr sounds rather the worse for wear. The hymns contain some high notes that his baritone had considerable difficulty in reaching. (When this extract was first published a blog reader quoted a modern Wikipedia article to the effect that Burr was a tenor. However, the advertising material for Angelophone at the time called him a baritone. Whatever his range, this was not Burr’s finest hour.) Limited to two minutes many hymns were abridged. The reverse side, Pastor Russell’s short sermons – and the only reason the Bible Students would purchase – was even worse! Russell was now in very poor health and died in October 1916. His voice, unsuitable for the Photodrama, was even more unsuitable now. The recordings were very poorly made, and today (without a transcript) much of what is said is indecipherable. It appears to have been the same at the time because complaints flooded in, and the Watch Tower had to announce they had been re-recorded. This time, Harry Humphrey was hired again. His voice was slightly slower, so the speed for his recordings was reduced to 80 rpm. There is some improvement, but not a lot, and the records soon ceased production. The Angelophone Hymnal disappeared from the Society’s cost list after 1919.
THE RUTHERFORD-KNORR RECORDINGS (1934-1942)
The
second president of the Society was Joseph Franklin Rutherford, a Missouri
lawyer, popularly known as ‘Judge Rutherford’. Under his presidency a number of
changes occurred. Believing the present world order to be in its ‘last days’
since 1914, an increased sense of urgency was felt. While Russell had
encouraged missionary work, this had been optional and mainly carried out by
travelling colporteurs. In Rutherford’s era active proselyting became an
article of faith. In 1931 the Bible Students loyal to the Society adopted the
name Jehovah’s Witnesses (based on Isaiah 43 v.10) to stress their active
ministry. 78s would have a key role in this.
The
advent of radio saw the Society embrace this medium for witnessing: they
obtained their first radio station WBBR in 1924. It was the first
non-commercial station in New York City. Throughout the 20s and 30s
Rutherford’s voice became well-known over the American airwaves, and was beamed
to Britain from stations like Radio Normandie. At its peak, over 400 stations
gave the movement airtime. They used transcription records, which were 16 inch
in diameter, ran at 33 rpm and played from the centre outwards – a problem for
collectors who wish to play surviving copies today. Massive leaflet drops
encouraged the public to tune in, and on at least one occasion a free 78 was
given away for advertising purposes. The magazine Golden Age (now called Awake)
for January 15th, 1936, page 240, asked, “Are you willing to
pleasantly surprise your neighbours by giving them an advertisement in the
modern manner? Have you a phonograph? If so, you may have FREE one 12 inch
record...(if you) agree to play the record seven times EACH WEEK until February
23 in the hearing of guests, tradesmen...and other callers...” History does not
record just how pleasantly surprised the neighbours were, or what happened if
you didn’t manage the seven times a week...
Rutherford’s
radio ministry hit problems in the 1930s. His style was blunt, and he refused
to be censored. The Catholic Church particularly objected. He criticised
certain doctrines, and more sensitive at the time, the involvement of some
clerics in politics. The rise of Nazism and Fascism was supported by some as a bulwark
against Communism. With hindsight one can see how misguided some were, and
Rutherford’s polemics seem prophetic. But at the time strenuous efforts were
made to silence him. In 1936 the Archbishop of Philadelphia, Dennis Dougherty,
endorsed a campaign to boycott Gimbel Brothers stores if their radio stations
honoured its contract with Rutherford, and darkly threatened “more drastic
action” if the broadcasts continued. The ensuing battle involved petitions of
millions of signatures, quickly organised by the Witnesses, but in 1937 they switched
full throttle to an even more direct approach to the public.
Already
since 1931, transcription records had been circulated for use in rented halls
or public places. In the depression not everyone had a radio, and those that
did could always turn it off. It was a little more difficult to silence a
visiting group of Witnesses with a loudspeaker in their car!
As
the use of radio declined, so mobile transcriptions machines flourished. Photos
from London in the 1930s show that some enthusiasts decorated their vehicles to
resemble the Watch Tower on the front of their magazine! The curiosity value
would claim initial attention, and the indefatigable Witnesses would then
canvass the area. These 16 inch records are rare today because the users were
asked to destroy them when they became worn and the sound quality deteriorated.
The
main problem with this work was the size and cost of the machinery. So in 1934
a new series of 12 inch 78 rpm records was announced, that Witnesses could play
in people’s homes. By 1936 this evolved into all Witnesses taking a phonograph
and records from door to door. The first Society phonograph weighed a hefty 20
lb – although some used old prams to propel them. By 1936 the Society
manufactured a lightweight machine, and in 1940 designed a special machine that
could be played closed in a vertical position by the touch of a button. It
could replay one recording, store several others, and had compartments for the
Witness’s literature, or – like as not – his sandwiches. They would knock on
doors, announce they had an important message for the householder, and –
straight into the recording... It was difficult to argue with a record – it
just carried on regardless, and the novelty had many listening – the first time
anyway.
In
1937 a follow-up work started. Those who listened first time around were
encouraged to have a regular meeting with the Witnesses. 78s again played a key
role. Hour long lectures, previously reserved for the transcription records,
were issued on series of 78s to be used in the discussion. The old
transcription machines were adapted to play 78s and the older discs were phased
out.
Some
recordings contain surprises. On side P-113 labelled ‘Safety’ the actual talk
of the title has finished, and Rutherford presents a resolution to an
enthusiastic 30,000 crowd. There follows a short radio announcement, and then
the hymn ‘On the Rock of Ages Founded’ is sung by the Watch Tower Male Voice
Quartet. Around this time the Society also issued seven Quartet 78s recorded by
Columbia, featuring the singing voice of Fred Franz. This is of interest
because Franz would become the Society’s fourth president in 1977, until his
death in 1992.
Two
recordings in the ‘Rutherford’ series are particularly collectable today
because of their historical overtimes. P-114 ‘Enemies’ was the subject of a
court case taken to the United States Supreme Court. A Witness named Newton
Cantwell, with his two sons, played this record to two Catholics in New Haven,
Connecticut, who objected to its message. The listeners could have shut the
door on the Witnesses (or as a Middle West farmer once did, blown their
phonograph apart with a shotgun!) – instead they called the police, and the
Cantwells were arrested. They were charged with a breach of the peace and soliciting
funds without a licence. The local court convicted them and the Society took
this test case as high as it could go. In 1940 the U.S. Supreme Court reversed
the conviction. This decision in favour of religious freedom was of importance
to not just the Witnesses. The book ‘Reconsecrating America’ by George
Goldberg, page 22, relates how the State Prosecutor lost his case by a most
remarkable blunder. He argued that it was unlawful “to stir up strife and
discontent.” Justice McReynolds then noted that Jesus had stirred up a “good
deal of trouble in Jerusalem.” The State’s counsel shot back: “As I remember my
Bible, something was done about that!" That was too much for the Judges and the
Witnesses won their case!
The
other recording, and probably the most interesting listening today, is the
lecture ‘Government and Peace’ spread over P-205 to 218. This talk was given at
Madison Square Gardens in 1939, and relayed by telephone link to Alexandra
Palace and other locations in Britain. Those listening must have wondered what
was happening because twenty minutes into the talk a riot broke out!
Somehow
(and the how was a matter for considerable debate later) about 500 supporters
of Charles Coughlin filled the seats directly behind and above the speaker’s
platform. Coughlin was a radio priest whose supporters formed ‘The Christian
Front’. He was to be mercilessly lampooned by the folk singer Woodie Guthrie in
the anti-fascist song ‘Lindberg’. Rutherford’s lecture was anathema to the
Couglinites. When he reviewed the world’s problems since the last Holy Year,
including the persecution of the Jews, they started booing. For about ten
minutes cries of “Viva Franco”, “Heil Hitler” and “Kill that damn Rutherford”
filled the air, and missiles peppered the platform. The loyal audience of
18,000 applauded Rutherford on, as Witness ushers tried to quell the
demonstration. Three ushers were later charged with assault by aggrieved
demonstrators, but the case was thrown out of court. After about ten minutes
the nearly 70 year old speaker left his prepared script. “Note today the Nazis
and Catholics that would like to break up this meeting but by God’s grace they
cannot do it,” he thundered! There was a howl of approval from the audience and
huge applause. The recordings of this incident were used effectively by the
Witnesses in attracting new converts for several years.
Rutherford
died in early 1942. His last recording was P-292. He was replaced as president
by Nathan Homer Knorr. Knorr was a very able administrator, but not a fiery orator
like Rutherford. The recording sessions continued with Knorr’s talks at the
1942 conventions (P-292 to 330) but it was not the same. With the war on none
of these recordings came to Britain, and shortage of materials prevented their
release in America until mid-1943. Further shortages of phonographs disrupted
this work, and in 1944 it was generally discontinued.
The
times they were a’changing. A phonograph on a doorstep, however strange it
sounds today, yielded excellent results for the Witnesses in the 1930s, but in
the more sophisticated 40s it would not do. One of Knorr’s first acts on becoming
president was to institute a series of new training schools. By 1944 there was
an army of trained volunteers who could effectively use their own voices to
spread their message. Later generations of Witnesses would still embrace all
modern means of communicating their beliefs. There would be more films, vinyl
recordings, tapes, videos and mountains of literature, but the age of the 78
for the Watchtower Society passed into history in 1944.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
We need information
We need information about Charles Nathan, a Watch Tower evangelist active in West Africa sometime between 1914 and 1930.
Additional fact: Nathan was an American.
We now think that the account about Charles Nathan is fiction, a composit. Thanks to those who tried to help. The account is found in a recent book by E. C. Osondu.
Additional fact: Nathan was an American.
We now think that the account about Charles Nathan is fiction, a composit. Thanks to those who tried to help. The account is found in a recent book by E. C. Osondu.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Photo Drama
If you want to help, we've just started accumulating Photo Drama related articles, and we will appreciate any you can send.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Another pair of eyes.
We need a proof reader. I'm giving preference to those who live near me or Bruce. We need someone with really good American grammar and spelling skills. And with a good pair of eyes. Fact checking skills would be good too.
If you're interested, email me your c.v. This is a volunteer job. No pay at all. And it's usually a bit frustrating.
-Rachael
If you're interested, email me your c.v. This is a volunteer job. No pay at all. And it's usually a bit frustrating.
-Rachael
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Seven
Let me tell you about our Chapter Seven. Maybe you can help.
Entitled "Russell and Barbour: The Fruitage," it profiles the most significant of their "converts" between 1877 and 1878. These are key years. The people we profile were actors, major players. Their role in defining the movement and in its fragmentation is important. Some of them will be new to our readers.
We profile Caleb Davies, a hardware merchant. He named one of his sons after Horatius Bonar and another after John Paton. We have a family photo. We would like to see his private letters, no matter how insignificant. We haven’t located any except for those appearing in Paton’s World’s Hope.
William I. Mann appears next. We have a solid biography. We need a photo. I would like to know something about his education, which seems to have been considerable. We found one group photo of workers at Jones & Laughlin, but we’re uncertain he’s in the photo, and faces are blurred beyond rescue.
Charles W. and Emma P. Buvinger are next. Their grandson provided us with good documentation and two really nice photos. There are pages from a Civil War diary out there somewhere. They may not be useful, but we don’t know.
Next in order is Joshua Tavender, a soap and candle maker from Utica, New York. We have a line drawing portrait. We’d like an actual photo, and almost anything else would be useful. We have everything from the Utica newspapers. No need to send articles from them.
J. C Sunderlin is next. We have a good, solid biography. There are a few Civil War letters out on the lose. We own two originals and have copies of two more. We have his compound oxygen letter. We have a good photo, and what is probably a photo of his first wife. (We’d like to verify that). We would like to know where he was educated for the Methodist ministry.
A. P. Adams follows. We have his photo, an original taken by Sunderlin. We haven’t scanned it yet. But we have it. Thanks to a blog reader who took time out of a busy trip to Boston, we have the Methodist archival papers. There is probably nothing additional we need for this chapter. We need his small book, Bible Theology. We have Bible Harmony, and don’t need that. We have the first year of his magazine, Spirit of the Word. We have no other issues, though it was published up to and probably past 1907. It had a very small circulation, mostly local to the Boston area. Any issue would help.
Entitled "Russell and Barbour: The Fruitage," it profiles the most significant of their "converts" between 1877 and 1878. These are key years. The people we profile were actors, major players. Their role in defining the movement and in its fragmentation is important. Some of them will be new to our readers.
We profile Caleb Davies, a hardware merchant. He named one of his sons after Horatius Bonar and another after John Paton. We have a family photo. We would like to see his private letters, no matter how insignificant. We haven’t located any except for those appearing in Paton’s World’s Hope.
William I. Mann appears next. We have a solid biography. We need a photo. I would like to know something about his education, which seems to have been considerable. We found one group photo of workers at Jones & Laughlin, but we’re uncertain he’s in the photo, and faces are blurred beyond rescue.
Charles W. and Emma P. Buvinger are next. Their grandson provided us with good documentation and two really nice photos. There are pages from a Civil War diary out there somewhere. They may not be useful, but we don’t know.
Next in order is Joshua Tavender, a soap and candle maker from Utica, New York. We have a line drawing portrait. We’d like an actual photo, and almost anything else would be useful. We have everything from the Utica newspapers. No need to send articles from them.
J. C Sunderlin is next. We have a good, solid biography. There are a few Civil War letters out on the lose. We own two originals and have copies of two more. We have his compound oxygen letter. We have a good photo, and what is probably a photo of his first wife. (We’d like to verify that). We would like to know where he was educated for the Methodist ministry.
A. P. Adams follows. We have his photo, an original taken by Sunderlin. We haven’t scanned it yet. But we have it. Thanks to a blog reader who took time out of a busy trip to Boston, we have the Methodist archival papers. There is probably nothing additional we need for this chapter. We need his small book, Bible Theology. We have Bible Harmony, and don’t need that. We have the first year of his magazine, Spirit of the Word. We have no other issues, though it was published up to and probably past 1907. It had a very small circulation, mostly local to the Boston area. Any issue would help.
Monday, September 2, 2013
This was on ebay and we missed it ....
This is an envelope addressed to C. W. Buvinger, MD while he was attached to Sherman's Army in Georgia. Buvinger met and admired Storrs. He was swayed by Barbour, and we lose sight of him after about 1880, as far as his belief system goes. Interestingly, his wife was attending "Russellite" meetings in Pittsburgh in the early 20th century.
We do not know where C. W. Buvinger finally stood on issues dividing Barbour and Russell. We have limited access to Buvinger family papers. They say very little about religious issues.
Need this stuff:
We continue to need anti and controversialist material published during Russell's life-time or shortly thereafter. You may want to ask before you scan something. But generally speaking, we don't have most of it.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Dr. Charles Wesley Buvinger
With help from Bruno, one of our regular readers:
Buvinger was an associate of Storrs, Barbour and Russell.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
We have a photo
We have a photo with a "watermark" background. Anyone talented enough to remove the "watermark"?
I'm stumped ... maybe you can help
An article in the National Baptist of 1878 says:
We do not hold that we are to live each day as
though we expected the Lord to come on that day, any more than we are to live
each day as though that day would be our last. If we believed that the Lord was
coming to-day, we should take very little trouble about next year’s elections,
or about any future event. We believe we are each day to discharge the duties
of that day. Practically, and so far as regards our future state, the
hour of death, the hour of the Christian’s release, is the Coming of the Lord.
This may come at any day, at any hour. And it becomes us to be in readiness for
it.
I know I read something in Zion's Watch Tower that addressed this view. Now that I want to use it, I can't find it. Maybe you can.
And ...
The New York Independent, a Congregationalist paper, in the same year wrote:
Their way of considering Christ’s
kingdom as visible, physical, and political is intensely Jewish and
non-Christian in its character. It proves somewhere a false exegesis – that a
doctrine is deduced from Scripture, which is not in harmony with the spiritual
nature of the Christian system. There is no deeper truth in the Bible than
this: ‘Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.’ Those who are now
looking for such a glorious personal Advent with the succeeding political reign
of Christ in Jerusalem, seem to us to dishonor Gospel dispensation.
I have the same issue here. I know Russell considered the charge that his system was derived from the Old Testament and was thus not Christian. I can't find the reference, and I'm out of ideas.
Another ...
The Interior, a protestant magazine, editorialized on the 1878 propheic conference:
This convention gives a new impulse and added respectability
to a doctrinal affectation which is much more fashionable, just now, than
godliness.
No doubt it is pleasant to one who loves the good things of
the world – honor, fame, power, exalted rank – and who is not specially solicitous
that others shall enjoy the same to ‘stand and wait,’ as Dr. Tyng said in his
address that they were doing, in the blessed hope that the Lord will suddenly
come bringing all these glorious things to the, unearned, and damnation to
fourteen hundred millions more who sit in the shadow of ignorance.
Russell considered this too, I believe. I can't find his comments on any of these objections. I seriously need some help.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Lucinda Storrs
George Storrs' Mother
Original of this Painting is in a Pennsylvania Museum.
Permission to use must be obtained from the Pennsylvania Acad. of Fine Arts
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
How sending stuff helps us ...
These paragraphs are derived from material sent by two blog readers, each sending something different, and from a book in our research collection. If we'd had to rely just on our own material, this would not be nearly as detailed.
- "The story is in the details." - B. W. Schulz
- "The story is in the details." - B. W. Schulz
Outside observers and
antagonists commented on the mixture of doctrines out of which Watch Tower
teachings were compounded. They seldom identified the exact sources. After
William G. Moorehead, a professor at United Presbyterian Theological Seminary
in Xenia, Ohio, pronounced “Millennial Dawn of C. T. Russell a mixture of
Unitarianism, Universalism, Second Probation, and Restorationism, and the
Swdenborgian method of exegesis” he was parroted endlessly and uncritically. Charles
C. Cook suggested more wide ranging sources for Russell’s theology:
It seems as though in his earlier years, in his
haberdasher’s shop in Allegheny, when business was dull, or after business
hours, Russell had gathered together all the scraps and remnants of ancient
errors, such as Gnosticism (know-it-all-ism), Manicheism, Arianism,
Sabellianism, Apollinarianism, Nestorianism, Eutychianism, Pelagianism, etc.,
etc., and had cast them, one and all, into the fusing-pot of his own great and
fervid imagination, and that “Millennial Dawnism” came forth to enlighten (?) benighted
humanity.[1]
Russell’s
theology derived from none of these “ancient errors.” While C. C. Cook, D.D.,
was apparently educated somewhere, we are safe in claiming that he either could
not define these ancient belief systems or he simply made this up out of his
own “fervid imagination.” Claims such as these were scare tactics used without
regard to the facts. Two elements are at play here. Some expected something ‘original’
from Russell, and failing to find it wrote off everything he taught. Russell,
of course, would have been horrified at the suggestion that he originated
anything. He sought to recapture Scriptural truth and the First Century
Christian polity. Labeling Watch Tower teachings allowed opposers to avoid
engagement. It was like slapping a poison label on a bottle of water without
having tested it. Most “refutations” of Watch Tower teaching consisted of
personal attacks or the suggestion that believing Millennial Dawn doctrine led
to a degraded Christian personality. There was a restating, sometimes an
inaccurate one, of Watch Tower teaching presented for the “shock” value. There
was almost never a serious attempt at refutation.
While
Russell and his associates derived their beliefs from varied sources, most of
them came from within the One Faith movement. This doesn’t mean they
uncritically accepted everything that came their way, and they certainly
achieved something less than unity. But it was the unique doctrinal blend
believed by the majority that gave them a separate identity. This was a process
that covered some years, culminating with the publication of Millennial
Dawn: The Plan of the Ages in 1886. Zygmunt suggests that Russell’s
election as pastor and an increasing doctrinal unity were key elements in
establishing a separate identity:
The transition from study-circle to congregation
reflected not only Russell’s emergence as a leader within the Allegheny group
but also the crystallization of a more or less distinctive doctrinal system.
Although “bible study” continued to be an important feature of congregational
activity, its initially “open-ended” exploratory character tended to wane in
proportion as basic “truths” were discovered and instituted as creedal tenets.
Formal sermon and “bible discourse” became more prominent parts of the
proceedings, congregational “bible study” increasingly assuming the form of a
selective review of scriptures supporting particular beliefs, and eventually
being supplemented by more devotional exercises. The crystallization of a
doctrinal system was important, in turn, in transforming the purely local
congregation into a trans-local sectarian movement.[2]
While
we must note that Zygmunt supposes a unity that didn’t completely exist in 1876
or for some years thereafter, this is a good summary of events. Zygmunt’s
research suffered from lack of resources and an occasional presumption made
without evidence, but he was correct when he wrote: “The movement’s collective
identity and earthly mission were derived directly from this configuration of
beliefs.”[3]
[1] C. C. Cook: More Data on Pastor
Russell, the author, no date but c. 1912, page 4. Having read much of what
Dr. Cook wrote about Russell and about the Catholic Church, one of the authors
suggests that “C. C. Cook” is a misspelling for “C. C. Kook.”
[3] J. Zygmunt: Prophetic Failure and
Chiliastic Identity, published in Jon R. Stone [editor]: Expecting
Armageddon, Essential Readings in Failed Prophecy, Routledge, 2002, page,
68.
From the Private Blog
Until volume one of the new book is published, almost all new material is going up on http://truthhistory.blogspot.com/ ... The exceptions will be any articles that "Jerome" publishes to this blog, and the last chapter, when it is further along, will be published to this blog.
This allows newly interested readers to see material and hopefully stay interested until the book it out. We're trying to work around a busy schedule. School has started. I have six classes this year (to teach that is). Though one of our readers described Bruce as a retired teacher, he continues to teach though with a reduced class load. The district superintendent where he lives more or less shed tears at the thought of his retirement. [Insert giggle here.]
So we're both really busy at the moment. I'm working through near the last edits on already finished chapters. At some point I'll need a fourth pair of eyes to read this. While that will probably be someone local to me, I may let a blog reader do that. As I edit and fact check I've found a few additional things to add. Usually that's just a sentence or two. Sometimes I write something longer.
One of our readers sent along some controversial booklets. One of them was on my list of "oh I really want this" stuff. I've read it three times and passed it and my notes on to Mr. Schulz. No reply from him yet, but he's on the sickish side (old age stuff mostly), and often slow to reply to emails like that. What I found won't change any thing. For volume one, it will add a sentence or two. We'll use more of it in volume 2 where we discuss Russell's deteriorating relationships with One Faith and Adventist groups.
Another, really silly controversialist booklet makes claims about the origins of Russell's theology. The writer's personality resembled a male donkey's (yes, I just more or less politely called him a rude name), but we'll use what he wrote on that subject. I makes a point that we made, but in (to me) an unsatisfying way.
We own one of the booklets sent to us, but I'm glad it's out there. It's very scarce. We quote from it. I know there are some things we cite or quote from that are very hard to find. I like it best when our readers can follow our research trail with relative ease. Some will disagree with us on some points. That's fine. I approach that on two levels. 1. We're writing this book; you aren't. But if you can prove us wrong based on a post here, we'll examine your proof and maybe change something. 2. If you have a point of view difference, write your own book. (At least two, maybe three of you are. We look forward to seeing what you write.)
We've been saved from folly dozens of times by blog readers. But we require proof, not a mere assertion. There are many assertions in conversationalist and academic literature made about Russell and the Watch Tower. Many of them are myth, lacking any proof. You differ from us? Present your proof. Give us some indication that you know the subject matter.
We still need someone in the New York City area to visit Columbia University and make some photocopies. We cannot pay your expenses. Our research fund is empty. Anything we buy (photocopies, original documents, etc) come out of household money right now.
We continue to need someone living in the Washington D.C. area to visit the Library of Congress on the same basis as above. There are two items there we need to see. One we can have microfilmed for about $350.00. We don't have the money, and, if we did, we have questions about the worth of the material. It requires an educated eye. (We'd help with that.)
So ... for now, most things are on the public blog. Be sure to check it. Don't give up on the private blog. Just expect longish periods between posts.
Monday, August 26, 2013
The Mystery of Herman Heinfetter
This
article may appear a detour from the early days of Charles Taze Russell,
although the history relates to concurrent events in Britain during that era.
But it gives details about a work that could almost be viewed as a forerunner
of the New World Translation. Herman Heinfetter produced more than one Bible
translation in the mid-19th century, with a choice of words that
will sound familiar to many blog readers. And it is now known that he had an
interest in American authors such as George Storrs.
For
example, in his booklet The Revealed History of Man (published in 1854) Heinfetter
wrote: “I am indebted to the Reverend George Storrs of Philadelphia for
perceiving that Almighty God has revealed to man that there is an Eternal
Death, and for many of the arguments I have employed in the foregoing statement
of the subject, his little work, An Enquiry – Are the Wicked Immortal? is well
worthy of being read.”
The
original article below was published in the quarterly journal of the
International Society of Bible Collectors in 1995, and details the research
methods that had to be used in the pre-internet age. Permission has been given
by the original author for it to be reproduced here.
One of the more
mysterious entries in DMH (Darlow and Moule's 'Historical Catalogue of Printed
Bibles' revised Herbert 1968) is that for Herman Heinfetter. DMH 1957 states "In ULC (University
Library of Cambridge) the name is treated as a pseudonym for F. Parker of whom nothing is known." This article is an attempt to unravel the
mystery.
Heinfetter or
Parker actually produced two different New Testament translations. Over 23 years (1842-1864) they ran to six
editions and appeared in a variety of formats from pocket size to large octavo
presentation volumes. Outside the DMH
remit he was also an indefatigable tract writer for over 40 years. He produced what is probably the first real
Sacred Name New Testament as we shall see.
HIS BACKGROUND
Frederick
Parker, to give him his full title, was born in South Lambeth, Surrey, England
in 1804. He was a prosperous
businessman. He died aged 84 on 10
February 1888 in Highgate, London, survived by five children. His scholastic background (or lack of it) is
not known, but late in life he made references to past meetings with scholars,
and being a member of the Anglo-Biblical Institute. Like many other sincere people he had a
burning desire to right the wrongs in English Bible translation as he saw it. In his case he also had a convenient fortune
to spend on the project. He once
calculated that he was spending eight hundred pounds each year on his Biblical
work, which in the 1850s was a sizeable amount. No one ever seemed to buy
Fred's Bibles! They were all privately
printed and sent as unsolicited gifts to (as he put it) "relatives and
acquaintances - it may be in number 50 - trusting that one might escape being
cast into the fire and in fitting time be the means of unfolding the truth to
the Christian world".
The low print
runs explain their scarcity for Bible collectors today. Some were sent or donated later to libraries,
so today the British Library holds 18 volumes, UCL holds 7, and there are at
least 8 volumes in Dr. Williams' Nonconformist Library in London.
So why the
mystery? Why did Frederick Parker hide
behind the pseudonym Herman Heinfetter?
In 1885 he gave the answer. In a
final tract, an attack on the newly published Revised Version, he now used his
own name and explained: 'As long as I
was in business, I judged it better to publish under the assumed name of Herman
Heinfetter, and the address of my printer; I judged a knowledge of my being in
business would impair my statements in scholastic estimation; and that by a
knowledge of my being engaged in publishing, my transactions in business would
be imputed not to have received sufficient attention."
Frederick still
neglected at this late stage to mention what his actual business had been, but
it was probably unique for a Bible translator.
Britain has conducted a detailed census every ten years (apart from
wartime) and when the census enumerator called on Fred on 30 March 1851 he gave
his occupation as - Animal Charcoal Manufacturer... Basically, Fred would burn the remains of
animals, once the glue and gelatine factories had finished with them, to
produce a special grade of charcoal.
Animal charcoal was used commercially in the production of deodorants,
artists' materials, and also filters to decolourise sugar. Not that he necessarily stoked the fires
himself. The Trade Directories of the
day had a well-defined class system and Fred was listed as 'Gentry' and he died
'A Gentleman'. In spite of his
publishing he still left a sizeable fortune along with property to his heirs.
It does however
present an incongruous picture. One can
perhaps understand why Fred chose to keep quiet about it in the academic world.
HIS TRANSLATION
Parker's
original work was issued in parts, starting with Romans in 1842. By 1857 the complete New Testament was being
advertised in nine volumes, ranging from the 2nd to 4th editions. A comparison of the 1st, 3rd and 6th editions
of Luke in ULC show that each edition underwent considerable revision.
These small pale
blue volumes were published by Cradock and Co., London. They each contain not one but two translations, what Parker called 'A
Literal Translation' and then 'An English Version'. The volume of Matthew (1853) for example
carries the full title: 'A Literal
Translation of the Gospel of Matthew on Definite Rules of Translation and an
English Version of the Same'. The introduction indicates that Parker used the
Griesbach recension of the Vatican manuscript as his main text.
The Literal
Translation reads very much like an interlinear, and is replete with
footnotes. Parker assumed that his
readers would have convenient access to all his pamphlets - so referred to them
at every possible opportunity. Then at the end of each volume is the 'English
Version', without notes, which is somewhat easier to read.
In the 1860s the
translations were issued separately and complete in large quarto volumes, now
published by Evan Evans, London. In 1864
came the 6th and final editions. 'The
Literal Translation of the New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
from the Text of Vatican Manuscript' (with notes) retailed for a guinea (21
shillings) - assuming that any were sold commercially. "The English Version" was ten
shillings and six pence (with a smaller version for five shillings) although
the heading on extant copies 'With the Author's Respectful Compliments'
suggests another free distribution.
There was also a third version entitled 'A Collation of an English
Version of the New Testament...with the Authorised English Version.’ Using different typefaces this provided an
interlinear comparison of Parker's English Version with the Authorised (King
James) Version. These last volumes of
1864 carried a dedication to the Members of the Anglo-Biblical Institute
"in grateful remembrance of their defense of Biblical criticism."
In 1865 he made
a start on the Old Testament, using the Vatican manuscript's Septuagint as the
basis, but only Genesis was to appear.
One of the most
distinctive features of Parker's translations is his use of the name Jehovah
for God in the New Testament. Earlier NT
translations by Harwood, Newcome, Macrae, Lingard, et al. had used Jehovah on
occasions where the sense might be clarified in OT quotations. The usual example is Matthew 22 v.44
"The Lord said to my Lord" a quotation from Psalm 110 v.1 where in
Hebrew the first 'Lord' is plainly the Hebrew Tetragrammaton (YHWH).
Parker was most
concerned about the difficulties created, as he saw it, by using 'Lord' for
both Father and Son in translation.
Initially he had a different solution.
In a preface dated July 1st 1849 (but used for several years thereafter)
he remarked: 'As I do not see the
possibility of distinguishing in English between the appellation 'Lord' when
used in relation to God and when used in relation to Christ, in any way consistent
with our usage in relation to Sense and Sound, I have substituted in my
versions for 'Lord', used in relation to God, the appellation 'God', as
ensuring a just apprehension of the sense.'
He carefully
restricted this substitution in both his translations to OT quotations that
used YHWH, although most surprisingly his 1853 edition of Matthew still renders
Matthew 22 v.44 as "The Lord said to my Lord" - one of the very few
verses in his Literal Translation to lack a footnote!
By the time the
one volume editions appeared in the 1860s he had made the decision to use
Jehovah extensively to cover this problem. However, he was still very careful
to restrict the substitution to OT quotations where YHWH originally
occurred. The name Jehovah was now used
about 140 times in his New Testaments.
HIS THEOLOGY
Between
1841-1885 Parker issued numerous booklets and tracts to accompany his
translations. Many dwell at length on
the Greek language, and his theories on grammar, punctuation and word order. Doctrinally he advocated that Good Friday
should be Thursday; that while the Biblical Sabbath was Saturday, every day was
really a Sabbath; he attacked transubstantiation; opposed the taking of oaths;
criticised the Revised Version for confusing the Lord God with the Lord Jesus;
and argued that worship directed to the Son meant respect, while absolute
worship only went to God the Creator.
It can be seen
from the above that in common with Unitarians, Christadelphians, and many
Adventist and Church of God groups of the day, Parker could not accept the
doctrine of the trinity. This is
reflected in his translation, and is nowhere demonstrated better than his
rendering of the final clause in John 1 v.1.
The 1851 English Version reads, "the word became a God". By 1864 this had evolved into, "the
command had relation to a God". But the inference is clear.
This
controversial rendering 'a god' has a long history, going back at least to
Edward Harwood's 'Liberal Translation' of 1768 ("and was himself a divine
person"). In the 19th century it had been used in the
Unitarian Improved Version NT of 1808 (based on Newcome) and was also to be
used in the interlinear of Benjamin Wilson's Emphatic Diaglott.
In several
respects, the translations by Frederick Parker and Benjamin Wilson echo each
other. Both used the Vatican manuscript
as their standard text. Both started
life as part works, and became definitive one volume editions in the 1860s -
Parker in Britain and Wilson in America.
Both are non-Trinitarian in concept.
Both use Jehovah in the NT, although Parker's use vastly outstrips that
of Wilson. One can speculate whether
there was any link between the two men, or did they travel down similar roads
independently? It may simply be a familiarity
with the 1808 Improved Version which as well as 'a god' also uses Jehovah on
occasion. And who travelled this
particular road first? Likely it was
Parker who was an older man, and whose translation work began much earlier.
HIS PLACE
So at the end of
the day where did Fred Parker belong?
Although certain of his ideas could be found in established groups of
the day, Fred in fact did not belong.
Fred was completely on his own!
His final series
of tracts, issued from 1883-1885 poignantly illustrate this. They were sent out in large numbers to all
the dissenting ministers, theological colleges and groups he could think
of. Only one recipient responded and
that was by sending it straight back marked 'Inconsequent Rubbish!' Now in his 80s, Fred struggled with the
postmark to comment darkly that it must have come back from a member of the
Upper House of the Convocation of York!
In his very last tract he lamented:
'Here on the 30th June 1885 I stand alone, unaided by one clergyman, or
one dissenting minister, or one brother, and feel that there is no one that
will do aught, but try to stop my voice.
This nature soon will do. At 81
years of age we aught to reckon time by hours, and I wished, ere I was called
hence, to make one more effort, one that will sound through the length and
breadth of England and America as long as time endures. For this end did I make this record, and do
leave it to give utterance for me, when my bodily utterance shall cease'.
His Last Will
and Testament made provision for the continued copyright of his writings with
the rather forlorn hope that one day there would be an awakening of
interest. But copies of his work in the
major libraries languished in the stacks.
Some of those sent as gifts to Unitarian ministers eventually found
their way into Dr. Williams' Library, London.
And then, one hundred
years on, an aspect of his work was rediscovered. The New World Translation of
the Christian Greek Scriptures, produced by Jehovah's Witnesses in 1950, also
used Jehovah in OT quotations. To show
they were not alone in this practice, the 1984 Reference Edition of this
translation contained a numbered list of 'J' references, where other
translations also included the Tetragrammaton in some form in the NT. Most of
these other translations were Hebrew versions of the NT using YHWH, but there,
as reference J-24 is Herman Heinfetter.
Following on
from this, in 1988 the witnesses produced a two volume encyclopedia called
Insight on the Scriptures. The main
article 'Jehovah' in volume 2, page 11, has a facsimile display of early
translations where Jehovah (or similar) is used in the NT. The sole English version represented is Mark
12 v.29,30 by Herman Heinfetter, taken from his 1863 Literal Translation
(likely from a 5th edition in Dr. Williams' Library). The extract reads: "The Jesus answered
him, verily first it exists, here, O Israel, Jehovah our God, one Jehovah he
exists, and thou shalt love Jehovah thy God, with all thy heart, and with all
thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength".
Whatever our own
views may be on Frederick Parker's theology, one can imagine how grateful he
would be to know that the mysterious Herman Heinfetter, Victorian Bible
translator, had not been entirely forgotten.
ON THE TRAIL OF HERMAN
HEINFETTER
The starting point was Heinfetter's 1885 tract
NON-ATTAINMENTS OF THE REVISED VERSIONS OF 1885 OF THE BIBLE, published under
his real name, F. Parker. A copy is in
the Pusey Library, Keble College, Oxford. Nearly all direct quotations from
Parker in the above article are taken from this tract. Crucially the tract contains his real name
and address.
The address led to the Census Returns in Portugal
Street, London. Here Parker's age, place
of birth, profession and family details are recorded. These were supported by the Trade Directories
in the Guildhall Library, London.
Starting at 1885, a quick search in Somerset House produced his Last
Will and Testament which gave additional information. The total cost of the above research was a
pleasant afternoon one vacation and one dollar for a copy of his will. As to his religious background I am grateful
to correspondents at Manchester College (Unitarian) for disproving any official
connection with that body. As his 1885
tract shows, Parker was on his own. Thanks are also due to the Bible Society
Library for making materials available.
The only discordant note came surprisingly from Dr.
Williams' Library. Whilst generously
supplying the required information, one official wrote about my quest: "I
have the suspicion that those with nothing else to do either produce new
translations of the Bible or write about those who did". Obviously not a member of the International Society of Bible Collectors!