Tuesday, August 30, 2016
We need a volunteer
... to transcribe the article about the Children of Zion found here http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/viewer/?file=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspapers%252023%2FPhiladelphia%2520PA%2520Inquirer%2FPhiladelphia%2520PA%2520Inquirer%25201881%2FPhiladelphia%2520PA%2520Inquirer%25201881%2520-%25201310.pdf&highlightsFile=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2Fhighlighter%2Fhits%2F29323b19334f08c4309eab842728dffe#page=1
Into word format text. Anyone? We need it quickly as possible.
done. thanks.
Into word format text. Anyone? We need it quickly as possible.
done. thanks.
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
Really Important
Basil Stephanoff gets short mention in Proclaimers. He was active in Macedonia (European Turkey) and Bulgaria in the late 1880s. He was imprisoned because (he claimed) false testimony at the hands of false brethren. He escaped to America, settling in Michigan. He was still a Watch Tower adherent in 1894, but drifted away by 1903 when we find him involved with the Masons and on his way back to Macedonia to fight against the Turks. A religious journal calls him a General in the Macedonian resistance.
We need a more solid biography. Anything, no matter how minor, will help.
Update:
We don't often find photos of the characters who play their part in Watch Tower history, but ... Here is Basil Stephanoff ...
Another newspaper picture of Stephanoff
Email about a history journal article
Besides me (Y. Dyuo),
Ambassador and former minister of foreign affairs Liberia, Christopher
Minikon, read the article. He is a historian and used to teach Liberian
history in Liberia and abroad. Upon reading, we found that the article
was incredibly informative and detailed.
Ambassador
Minikon read and said "From what I know
off hand, things seem accurate and fair. While giving incredible insight
into matters that usually aren't talked about."
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Attention Korea Telecom Visitors
한국인들은 여기 환영 하지 않습니다.
hangug-indeul-eun yeogi hwan-yeong haji anhseubnida.
For puzzled English readers, this is an invitation to the
Korean
spammers to get lost in a distant forest.
I think ...
That you misunderstood my previous post. We have no intention of abbreviating anything. The issue is format. And to a lesser extent timing. So, restated: We can issue a volume 2 roughly the size of volume 1. It would cost approximately the same as vol 1 does. Volume 3 would come later.
Or we can finish our current outline; that's about seven more chapters. It will be a bigger book. It would cost more. We're uncertain how much more, but more than I would willingly pay.
We have no intention, either way, of abbreviating our research. Does this alter your opinion?
Or we can finish our current outline; that's about seven more chapters. It will be a bigger book. It would cost more. We're uncertain how much more, but more than I would willingly pay.
We have no intention, either way, of abbreviating our research. Does this alter your opinion?
Monday, August 22, 2016
So ....
We've looked over the accumulating pile of manuscript pages and have decisions to make. The point of our work is to preserve a detailed history of the Watch Tower movement's earliest years. Detail is important to our story. We hope that others, based on our honest, detailed narrative, will be able to tell a more abbreviated story that is accurate and faithful to the underlying documents.
Our initial goal was a single volume history. We did not anticipate a two volume work, mostly because we did not appreciate the depth of the available record. When we saw that we had a complete single volume with more to go, we published volume one of Separate Identity. Academic acceptance has been slow coming, but increasingly we get good reviews and favorable mentions in the work of others. ... And we plod on with volume two.
Except, looking over the manuscript pile [it's really in a three-ring binder], we conclude that volume two will be massively large and too expensive to buy - or we will have a volume three before we're done. I'd like your reaction.
We are within four chapters of having a 'finished' volume 2. They are some of the hardest to research and write, but we can change focus and write them next. The plan was to write two chapters on the divisions of 1881-1882 next. Those chapters would fall into a third volume. What we have left for a completed volume two are chapters on Starting and Promoting Zion's Watch Tower; Continued Controversy with Barbour et. al. [Much more here than you may think.]; Promoting a Public Ministry; Approach to 1881.
So ... What do you think. We need your input and fairly quickly.
Our initial goal was a single volume history. We did not anticipate a two volume work, mostly because we did not appreciate the depth of the available record. When we saw that we had a complete single volume with more to go, we published volume one of Separate Identity. Academic acceptance has been slow coming, but increasingly we get good reviews and favorable mentions in the work of others. ... And we plod on with volume two.
Except, looking over the manuscript pile [it's really in a three-ring binder], we conclude that volume two will be massively large and too expensive to buy - or we will have a volume three before we're done. I'd like your reaction.
We are within four chapters of having a 'finished' volume 2. They are some of the hardest to research and write, but we can change focus and write them next. The plan was to write two chapters on the divisions of 1881-1882 next. Those chapters would fall into a third volume. What we have left for a completed volume two are chapters on Starting and Promoting Zion's Watch Tower; Continued Controversy with Barbour et. al. [Much more here than you may think.]; Promoting a Public Ministry; Approach to 1881.
So ... What do you think. We need your input and fairly quickly.
ONCE AGAIN ...
Please do not link to this blog through Facebook, tumblr or pinerest. Twitter is okay. WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET YOUR ATTENTION? NO FACEBOOK LINKS, NO COPYING TO PINTEREST. Show some respect, please.
Sunday, August 21, 2016
Kinemo Films again
Recently on this blog, there have been two articles on the 1922 issued Kinemo films, all of which present the beliefs of the Bible Students at that time, and feature J F Rutherford - albeit fleetingly - in some of the footage. For those who would like to see the films they are now on YouTube, courtesy of Brian, who who has painstakingly re-photographed every frame and made them available again after all these years.
Imperial Valley
The Great Pyramid
Palestine
If any new readers want background information on these
films which were marketed with the approval of the Watch Tower Society with a
write-up in The Golden Age magazine, please punch in Kinemo in the Search box
of this blog.
Thursday, August 18, 2016
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Monday, August 15, 2016
Temporary Post
Bruce said to post this partially written material. We hope for helpful comments, though I personally don't expect any. ... If we found this difficult going, most of our readers will find it unfamiliar ground too. But 'hope springs eternal.'
Usual rules. You may copy for your own use. Do not share it. It will go away in a few days. Do not rely on it as is. It will change. It is unfinished research. Because something appears on the Internet does not mean it's accurate. That's true of our research as well. Expect corrections in the final product. Enjoy; comment!
Usual rules. You may copy for your own use. Do not share it. It will go away in a few days. Do not rely on it as is. It will change. It is unfinished research. Because something appears on the Internet does not mean it's accurate. That's true of our research as well. Expect corrections in the final product. Enjoy; comment!
Liberia
A
letter from Harper, Cape Palmas, Liberia, appeared in the June 1884, issue of Zion’s
Watch Tower. Dated April 29th, it was from a one-time Episcopal
clergyman who had received a copy of Food for Thinking Christians:
DEAR
BROTHER: – Having accidentally met with the little pamphlet published by you,
entitled “Food for Thinking Christians,” and having carefully read it more than
once, I am deeply interested in it, believing I get through it a clearer and more
correct knowledge of the teaching of God's holy word than I ever had before. I
am constrained to avail myself of your very liberal offer, and ask you to send
to my address some copies for distribution among some of my friends and
neighbors, who I think will make a judicious and profitable use of them. I
should be also very thankful for a few of the tracts, entitled “The Tabernacle
and Its Teachings.” Wishing you abundant success in your efforts for the good
of mankind, I beg to remain, with assurance of high esteem, yours very
respectfully,
Later
comments reveal this to be from Samuel W. Seton. Seton was a native Grebo born
in Maryland County, Liberia. His exact birth date is unknown though it was
sometime in the 1830s. His original name was Samuel Tobe Kade. He was educated
at Protestant Episcopal mission schools and given the surname Seton at his
baptism. Early in life he was “a seaman and a warrior,” but he turned to
religion in the 1860s, serving first as a catechist. He and Samuel D. Ferguson
were ordained Episcopal deacons in 1865.[1]
Their relationship is part of this story, and we meet Ferguson again. Seton was
ordained a priest in 1868. In the early 1870s he journeyed inland, preaching to
unconverted natives.[2]
As a
native-born Liberian, Seton was despised by the Americo-Liberians, American-born
or the descendants of American-born blacks who ruled the country. Jane Martin’s
excellent biographical treatment of Seton notes that no Americo-Liberian ever
asked an educated Grebo tribe member to dinner, “not even Rev. Seton.” Seton
sought a return to tribal sovereignty, co-founding in 1873 the Grebo
Confederacy, an attempt to unite the Grebo and reassert tribal soverignty. He
opposed central government authority and some claimed he “was on the
battlefield during armed conflict with the government” in 1875. Seton denied
participating in the fighting, but he was a Grebo peace negotiator in 1876
the remainder of this post was deleted.
the remainder of this post was deleted.
Thursday, August 11, 2016
Another puzzle ...
We need a basic biography for Felix R. Bunot, teacher at Hoffman Station, Liberia in the 1870s.
Correction: His name is Felix R. Brunot.
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
MORE KINEMO
A previous article has shown frames from the two Kinemo films on Palestine and Egypt. The third film sold with the kit was Imperial Valley, a documentary about transforming part of California into paradise-like conditions. It was thought that J F Rutherford did not appear in this film as it was not part of his foreign travels in 1920-21. However, a close examination of what survives of this film shows one shot that appears to be him.
Now if only someone can find the film of the 1922 Cedar Point, Ohio, convention that was marketed by another company as compatible with the Kinemo system, that would be a real find. However, when Kinemo owners were all trying to sell on their kits up to the mid-1920s in newspapers like The New Era Enterprise, it was only the three original films, alas, on offer.
Monday, August 8, 2016
Another puzzle to solve
We have tentatively identified the people mentioned here. Can you do better?
He sought reinstatement in 1882, but this was denied. He
reactivated his appeal in 1885, and this appeal was still pending when he resigned from
the Episcopal Church. Russell sent Seton regular literature shipments,
including back issues of Zion’s Watch Tower. One of these was the September
1884 issue. It persuaded Seton and his closest associates to withdraw from the
Protestant Episcopal Church. He wrote to Russell, describing the event: “I am
glad to inform you that we, viz: Hon. J. T. G. [Joseph T. Gibson], the superintendent
of our county, C. T. B. [Perhaps C. T. Bruno], George H. C. [Perhaps George H.
Coleman], and myself – met at Brother G.'s residence on the first inst., and
duly recognized ourselves as part of the Church of Christ, after reading the
article ‘The Ecclesia,’ published in Z.W.T. of Sept. 1884.”[1] Though
only these four are mentioned, there were ten adherents in total all derived
from Seton’s congregation and all of them Watch Tower subscribers. They
called their new congregation the African Evangelical Church of Christ.[2]
Can you help solve this puzzle?
We’re
seldom introduced to other Liberian interest. Seton’s letter takes us to the
name of another reading and circulating Watch Tower material: “A recent letter from
Bro. C. J. George to me, in reference to the Church of Christ, ... says: ‘When
you communicate to America you will not fail to remind Bro. Russell of the
interest that is being awakened at L___, and also to send me a few more of his
tracts (assorted), missionary envelopes, and a copy of the Emphatic Diaglott.’”
C. J.
George’s identity is uncertain. There are two possibilities. Christopher J. George
was a mission school teacher at Cape Palmas about 1885, and thus someone Seton
would have known. He was educated in mission schools in Sierra Leone, but
served in various ways the Protestant Episcopal Church in Liberia. However,
Seton’s letter suggests that C. J. George was resident outside of Liberia. Charles
Joseph George was a native trader in Lagos, Nigeria and a member of the
Legislative Counsel. He connects to Seton through Blythe.[1] The
“L____” of Seton’s letter may be Lagos, Nigeria. When Seton wrote in 1890,
George was a member of the legislative council and in contact with Blythe. We
lack sufficient documentation to make a positive identification.
[1] At Cape Palmas: Annual Report of the Board of Missions for the Fiscal Year, Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 1885, page 97. Legislative council: R. W. July: The Origin of Modern African Thought, Africa World Press, Trenton, New Jersey, 2004 edition, page 230.
Update of sorts.
We've contacted the archive that has the Seton letters and other material relevant to the Watch Tower presence in Liberia in the 1880s, requesting access to a total of eleven documents. Typically this archive takes several weeks to reply.
We've asked for material written by the principals. These include Bishop Ferguson who appears unfavorably in a Watch Tower article; Seton whose name is sometimes misspelled by Russell as Seaton; Gibson who is mentioned in the Yearbook history of Liberia; and several others.
Additionally, several relevant items are in the Library of Congress. We haven't contacted them yet. I'll keep you posted. When Mr. Schulz worked on a history project prior to 1993, the Library of Congress provided enthusiastic help. This cooperative attitude has faded.
We have a partially written subheading considering this history, but its contents are taken from secondary sources. We question the accuracy of some of these. We want the original documents, believing that they will enlarge the story. We hope that they will replace fable with an accurate story in the same manner that the Randle letters did for the story we tell about the China missions.
We need a good photo of Seton. He used the Anglicized name Samuel W. Seton. His Gebo [tribal] name was Tobe Kade, and he was sometimes called by nicknames.
Saturday, August 6, 2016
We need to raise some funds
We need to raise some funds (don't know how much yet) to buy scans of S. W. Seton's letters from the Library of Congress. We want his resignation letter from the Protestant Episcopal Church of Liberia and all of his letters circulating Watch Tower publications.
Just so you know
As his health allows, Bruce maintains a low level email exchange with some. His .edu email is down for upgrades. Don't expect to hear from him for about a week.
A bit more on James Augustus Weimar
In
Bernard’s recent article on James Augustus Weimar it is noted that Wiemar (a
Society director for a short time) ceased association with the Bible Students
and joined the Koreshian movement.
One
Cyrus Teed renamed himself Koresh and as a Messiah-like figure formed a New
Jerusalem community in Estero, Florida. The historical remains of this are now
a national park. He had some unusual ideas including that the earth is hollow
and humans live inside it with the sun like a giant battery in the middle. (One
wonders if Edgar Rice Burroughs, author of the Tarzan books, got his idea for
his Pellucidar series from reading Koresh.)
Teed/Koresh
died in 1908, as a result of injuries sustained in a fight between his commune
and outsiders. Having claimed he would be raised to heaven, his followers kept
vigil over his body until the public health people stepped in. His tomb was
destroyed in a hurricane in 1910 and his coffin washed out to sea and lost.
Words like bizarre come to mind.
Weimer’s
connection was not just as an observer. The Koreshians published a magazine,
The Flaming Sword, which ran until 1949. As the next three pictures show, in this
volume from 1914 Weimar was part of their editorial committee and also
translator of their works into German.
There
is no author given for the article in question. However, an article carrying
Weimar’s name in this same volume shows that as one of the inner circle he
practiced celibacy. As Bernard’s article noted, his wife divorced him in 1898.
At
some point Weimar published a book entitled “The Divine and Biblical
Credentials of Dr. Cyrus R. Teed (Koresh)”. Modern reprints have the title “Koreshanity,
the New Age Religion”.
All
in all, one gets the impression that CTR was probably quite relieved when
Weimar parted company with the Watch Tower Society.
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Horace Randle again
In 1897, Randle wrote, had printed and circulated a handbill among missionaries in China. We have the text, but would like to have a clear can of the original. Anyone?
If you want to help and have ...
If you have any original documentation you think we lack, please contact us. The story best comes from the participants. Here is an example ...
Horace Randle's resignation from the Southern Baptist Mission.
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
KINEMO
by Jerome
The September 13, 1922
issue of Golden Age carried the following advertisement for the Kinemo Kit
Corporation. They had produced three films (and a projector to match) which
could be bought by Bible Students to show films in homes and small gatherings.
The managing director
of Kinemo was George Chester Driscoll (1858-1941). He had previously managed
the Pastor Russell Lecture Bureau and was one of the Bible Students involved in
the Mena Film Company’s film Restitution (1918) that featured on this blog a
few weeks ago.
In the August 15, 1920
Watchtower, it was announced that after a month long tour of Britain, J F
Rutherford would visit Europe, and then “he will also go to Palestine and
Egypt, and will be accompanied to Athens, Palestine and Egypt by Brother
Driscoll and other brethren with a moving picture apparatus for the purpose of
making moving pictures of actual scenes of...things of Biblical interest.” The
results would be used for witnessing, and readers would be able to purchase
both films and special projector in due course.
The October 1, 1921
Watchtower announced that the films had been duly made and exhibited in
standard format at a number of locations, and now the Kinemo Kit Corporation
(with Driscoll as manager) would handle orders for films and projectors. The
Watchtower commented: “While the Society cannot engage in the manufacture and
sale...yet it is the desire of the Society that every possible means for
teaching the truth be employed.”
There was then quite a
delay - nearly a year - before the above advertisement for films and projectors
appeared in the September 13, 1922 Golden Age. Public showings in 35mm had
obviously continued in the meantime because according to a report in the New
Era Enterprise for May 30, 1922, a 5-reel version of the Palestine film and a
3-reel version of the Imperial Valley film were shown to a full house of 1500 at
a convention session at Moose Hall, Philadelphia, on April 14, 1922. At the famous
September Cedar Point Ohio convention the films were shown out of doors in the
grove on a large screen, along with a tantalizing supporting feature. According
to the New Era Enterprise for October 31, 1922: “The pictures included views of
the Bible House and other organization buildings and offices in Brooklyn, the
Bethel Home, etc., the printing and binding of booklets and pamphlets etc.” Now
that would be footage worth discovering.
When the Golden Age
advertised the Kinemo films and projectors, George Driscoll wrote a two page
article in the same issue about the project entitled “Visualizing Fulfilled
Prophecies”. Most of the article is about technical issues. The films were on
safety stock rather than nitrate, which meant you did not need a fireproof
booth for the projectionist, and there was little danger of an audience being
burnt to a cinder in the privacy of their own homes.
It was planned to add
further films to the initial three, but nothing more appeared in the Watchtower
or Golden Age, and only one more advertisement appeared in the pages of the
Enterprise. In the October 3, 1922 issue the Instructo Cinema Services of
Chicago offered a 400 foot reel of highlights of the Cedar Point convention, to
be used with the Kinemo equipment. The advertisement was reprinted in the
November 28, 1922 issue. Again, that would be footage worth discovering if it
still exists.
Below are some frames
from two of the original Kinemo films. First is the film on Palestine, which
concentrated on the Jews returning to the land, and, as they saw it, fulfilling
prophesy.
J F Rutherford is seen boarding the latest in airplane technology.
Then surveying the horizon
...and visiting an estate manager's office.
And next some frames
from the film on the Great Pyramid, showing J F Rutherford exiting from the
pyramid. It was obviously rather hot in there.
So what happened to
Kinemo? There is evidence that Driscoll ceased fellowship with the IBSA at some
point. But probably the biggest problem was the size of film used. Kinemo used
a special system of 17.5mm film stock - basically standard 35mm split down the
middle. (Much like the amateur gauge of standard 8mm was 16mm stock split down
the middle with extra sprocket holes added.) Kinemo films needed their own
special projector to show them. And in 1923 the 16mm gauge was introduced for
small audience projection, which soon took over and blew 17.5mm out of the
water. (Between 1923-1925 the Enterprise ran a number of small ads from Kinemo
owners who were now trying to sell on the equipment and films.) When Pathe in
France tried to reintroduce 17.5mm film in the late 1920s, it was not
compatible with earlier versions, and soon died the death again. And by the
1930s the Watch Tower Society was no longer teaching that literal Israel or the
Great Pyramid fulfilled prophesy, so the subject matter would only appeal to
Bible Students outside of the IBSA.
Moving pictures bring
the past to life. It is hoped that modern audiences may one day be able to see
some of these early attempts in the wake of the Photodrama to use the medium of
film to spread their message.
Monday, August 1, 2016
From the comment trail ...
A really nice comment:
Andrew Martin has left a new comment on your post "Really Good Review of Separate Identity vol 1":
Here's another point of interest - in a later post, the same person who gave the review posted the following about the authors:
Beide sind keine wohl keine ZJ.
Which translates to:
Probably neither are Jehovah's Witnesses.
To me, that's a tribute to the research team: Two academics, one an adherent to the faith under discussion, the other one an objective observer.
The one is not using this forum to prove his belief system, the other is not using it to attack it. Seems like an ideal combination of researchers. I wish teams of Bible translators could show the same objectivity (I'm sure some do).
In a way, the reviewer's conclusion is testimony to the strict objectivity that both of them demonstrate - resulting in work that is obviously not written by detractors, but without any evidence of proselytizing either.
Neither polemicism nor apologism. Strictly well-documented history.
Andrew Martin has left a new comment on your post "Really Good Review of Separate Identity vol 1":
Here's another point of interest - in a later post, the same person who gave the review posted the following about the authors:
Beide sind keine wohl keine ZJ.
Which translates to:
Probably neither are Jehovah's Witnesses.
To me, that's a tribute to the research team: Two academics, one an adherent to the faith under discussion, the other one an objective observer.
The one is not using this forum to prove his belief system, the other is not using it to attack it. Seems like an ideal combination of researchers. I wish teams of Bible translators could show the same objectivity (I'm sure some do).
In a way, the reviewer's conclusion is testimony to the strict objectivity that both of them demonstrate - resulting in work that is obviously not written by detractors, but without any evidence of proselytizing either.
Neither polemicism nor apologism. Strictly well-documented history.
Friday, July 29, 2016
Really Good Review of Separate Identity vol 1
Ich lese während meines Urlaubs gerade A Separate Identity: Organizational Identity Among Readers of Zion's Watch Tower: 1870-1887 von B.W. Schulz und Rachael de Vienne.
Das Buch beschreibt detailliert die Frühgeschichte der Bibelforscher-Bewegung, in welchem gesellschaftlichen und religiösen Umfeld die Familie Russells aufwuchs, und warum die Bibelforscher sich so entwickelten wie sie es taten. Ich finde die Zeit und Geschichte (natürlich auch aus persönlichen Gründen) faszinierend und habe schon eine ganze Reihe an Büchern zum Thema gelesen. Noch keins hatte diesen sachlichen und detaillierten Ansatz. Eine echte Empfehlung. Auf jeder Seite finde ich Informationen, die ich noch nicht kannte, ich behaupte, dass das etwas heißt. Das Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts um die Familie Russell erwacht regelrecht zum Leben. Alles wird mit Quellen belegt und auch einige bisherige Annahmen kritisch hinterfragt.
Das Buch erscheint nur im Selbstverlag bei http://www.lulu.com/shop/b-w-schulz/...-21546337.html
Dies ist der erste Band mit 357 Seiten, ein zweiter soll folgen.
Ich vermute, dass das Interesse nicht jeder nachvollziehen kann, aber für jemanden mit Interesse eine echte Leseempfehlung. Leider nur auf Englisch.
Die Autoren haben bereits ein etwas weniger detailliertes, aber auch interessantes Buch über Nelson Barbour, mit dem C.T.Russell zunächst zusammen arbeitete, veröffentlicht: http://www.lulu.com/shop/b-w-schulz/...t-5424152.html
The Review is found here: http://forum.sektenausstieg.net/showthread.php?17312-Buchempfehlung-Schulz-Vienne-A-Separate-Identity&p=519735
Das Buch beschreibt detailliert die Frühgeschichte der Bibelforscher-Bewegung, in welchem gesellschaftlichen und religiösen Umfeld die Familie Russells aufwuchs, und warum die Bibelforscher sich so entwickelten wie sie es taten. Ich finde die Zeit und Geschichte (natürlich auch aus persönlichen Gründen) faszinierend und habe schon eine ganze Reihe an Büchern zum Thema gelesen. Noch keins hatte diesen sachlichen und detaillierten Ansatz. Eine echte Empfehlung. Auf jeder Seite finde ich Informationen, die ich noch nicht kannte, ich behaupte, dass das etwas heißt. Das Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts um die Familie Russell erwacht regelrecht zum Leben. Alles wird mit Quellen belegt und auch einige bisherige Annahmen kritisch hinterfragt.
Das Buch erscheint nur im Selbstverlag bei http://www.lulu.com/shop/b-w-schulz/...-21546337.html
Dies ist der erste Band mit 357 Seiten, ein zweiter soll folgen.
Ich vermute, dass das Interesse nicht jeder nachvollziehen kann, aber für jemanden mit Interesse eine echte Leseempfehlung. Leider nur auf Englisch.
Die Autoren haben bereits ein etwas weniger detailliertes, aber auch interessantes Buch über Nelson Barbour, mit dem C.T.Russell zunächst zusammen arbeitete, veröffentlicht: http://www.lulu.com/shop/b-w-schulz/...t-5424152.html
The Review is found here: http://forum.sektenausstieg.net/showthread.php?17312-Buchempfehlung-Schulz-Vienne-A-Separate-Identity&p=519735
Temporary post
Usual rules. You may copy for personal use. Do not share with others. Understand that this is rough draft and will change. The research is incomplete. Do not rely on it. This is not the final product. I'm posting this for observations and comments. It will come down soon. The footnote links never work in blogger. Scroll down for the footnotes.
The remainder of this post was deleted.
In all the Earth: China and Other Foreign Fields.
We observed in a previous
chapter that the message reached Norway though the letters of immigrants with
family remaining in ‘the old country.’ The message reached India by 1883,
interesting “two deeply interested Indians, one of them a preacher.”[1] These
were not unique events. Russell commented on the message’s international
spread:
The truth reached some of the
saints in China, who rejoice in its light. The Lord wanted to gather some
saints in Sweden, and he raised up some earnest Swedes in this country, who by
private letters and translations communicate the good tidings to other Swedish
saints. And so with the Germans. We notice also that where the seed-sowing has
been most bountiful, and the largest harvest should naturally be expected,
there the greatest efforts are being put forth. The most favored portion of the
field seems to be this country, and next to it, Great Britain. Thus through the
press, by private correspondence, by traveling brethren, and by the special
efforts of those whose sphere is more limited, the Lord is carrying on his
great harvest work. He is sending forth these reapers with a great sound of a
trumpet, to gather his elect together.[2]
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
We need ...
A really good photo of William Robert Fuller, once a Methodist minister and missionary to China. Anyone?
Saturday, July 23, 2016
Help with this?
Russell sent a Miss F. L. MacKenzie to China as a missionary. We need biographical details. Anyone?
We need ...
School starts soon and I'm swamped with 'planning' meetings. We need more information about this person:
Lara Lantaret Cerulli and Fanny Balmas Lugli
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Asian Griefers
The Korean, Japanese and Russian griefers and trolls are back. Nothing from them should get through onto the blog. Their comments are blocked at the gate. But if you notice something in the comment trail that doesn't belong, call it to my attention, and I'll remove it quickly.
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
The Meeting was Disappointing
Russell visited Italy three times: in 1891, 1910, and 1912. [1] The only lecture he documents was that in 1910, and it was quite a failure.
The lecture was planned before leaving New York. Russell had an appointment in Rome on May 1st. [2] At the end of April, while approaching Naples, Russell and his companions were advised that the lecture was arranged at the chapel of the Y.M.C.A, in Rome:
As we write we are on the Mediterranean approaching Naples, and have received advice informing us that we are advertised to speak in the city of Rome May 1st in the chapel of the Y.M.C.A. If such be the Divine will we shall be glad; if not, we shall be content and go on our journey seeking others who have a hearing ear, and for such opportunities as the Divine Providence may indicate. Of these we hope to write you later. [3]
Someone, maybe a local Watch Tower believer, arranged the public lecture and did his best to publicize the event. A notice appeared in the Rome edition of one of the most important Italian newspapers, Il Giornale d’Italia. It reads:
EVANGELICAL LECTURES. Tomorrow May 1st 1910, at 15:00 (3:00 p.m.) Mr. Charles T. Russell from Brooklyn New York, in the hall of the Young Men’s Christian Association, via della Consulta n.67, will give a public lecture on the subject: “New Heaven and new Earth, that is, the restoration of all things – Isaiah 65:17, Acts 3:2. [4]
Il Giornale d'Italia May 30 1910 |
Only eleven strangers attended. We don’t know if the lecture was given in Italian or English, but surely the weather didn’t help that day because it was inclement. Here are two reports of the day:
SUNDAY, May 1st, was spent in Rome. We had a public service which indicated the deep interest of the comparatively few present. Possibly as many grains of wheat were found as though the meeting had been larger. "The Lord knoweth them that are his." On the whole, however, the meeting was quite a disappointment and came far from fulfilling the prophesy made respecting the large attendance--based upon what were supposed to be very liberal arrangements for a large central auditorium and very liberal advertising. The dear Brother who had the matter in charge no doubt used his best judgment, but his experience in such matters was limited. We spelled our disappointment with an "H," and trusted that the Lord could and would overrule the matter according to his own wisdom. We hope to hear of further interest on the part of some present on that occasion. Our text was from Romans 1:16. [5]
Sunday, May 1 – This afternoon we heard our pastor’s discourse on Romans 1:16. It rained in torrents, but there were eleven strangers present. There is only one brother in the Truth in this place. One lady in the congregation was deeply impressed and seemed refreshed by what she had heard. Brother Russell had a talk with her and presented her with a volume. There were several also who remained to ask questions. Our train leaves at 9 p. m. for Venice. [6]
Today Italy has the largest number of Watch Tower believers in Europe.
My thanks to the Private Library Emanuele Pace
Footnotes
[1] ZWT March 1 1892, p. 71 (1376 reprint); ZWT, March 1 1910, p. 98 (4586 reprint); Souvenir Notes Bible Students Convention 1912 p. 107
[2] ZWT, April 1 1910, p. 126 (4597 reprint) - AMENDED DATES ABROAD
[3] ZWT June 1910, p. 183 (4623 reprint) - OUR VISIT TO THE LAND OF GOSHEN AND THE RED SEA
[4] Il Giornale d’Italia, April 30 1910
[5] ZWT, June 15 1910, p. 195 (4629 reprint) - BROTHER RUSSELL'S EUROPEAN TOUR
[6] Souvenir Notes Bible Students Conventions 1910, p. 48
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
ITALY 1910, WATCH TOWER BELIEVERS
1910, Watch Tower believers. Congregation of S. Germano Chisone, Piedmont, Italy.
Thanks to the Private Library Emanuele Pace
Thanks to the Private Library Emanuele Pace
Sunday, July 17, 2016
From the comment trail ...
I found A Separate Identity to be extremely helpful in the study of the origins of the Bible Students and Russell's doctrinal development. I especially like the way this circle of Bible truth seekers is related to other similar circles of seekers during this same time period. Connections are discussed with such groups as Christadelphians, Church of God (Abrahamic Faith), Church of God Seventh Day, Advent Christian Church, as well as their leading figures who may over time moved from one circle to another. The references to the publications of these people during this time period is illuminating. It reminds one of the current use of the internet where various views of represented and participants of various groups read and comment on various "lists".
I will continue to recommend this excellent work to those who are researching these circles of Bible truth seekers.
J. Phillip Arnold, Ph.D.
Saturday, July 16, 2016
We need a volunteer
We need a volunteer to transcribe the article by Keith (A Townsman's ...) found here:
http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/viewer/?file=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252017%2FDansville%2520NY%2520Advertiser%2FDansville%2520NY%2520Advertiser%25201881-1883%2FDansville%2520NY%2520Advertiser%25201881-1883%2520-%25200447.pdf&highlightsFile=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2Fhighlighter%2Fhits%2F22be2ef993e952e1301e64bb3dcacbdb#page=1
http://fultonhistory.com/highlighter/viewer/?file=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2FNewspaper%252017%2FDansville%2520NY%2520Advertiser%2FDansville%2520NY%2520Advertiser%25201881-1883%2FDansville%2520NY%2520Advertiser%25201881-1883%2520-%25200447.pdf&highlightsFile=http%3A%2F%2Ffultonhistory.com%2Fhighlighter%2Fhits%2F22be2ef993e952e1301e64bb3dcacbdb#page=1
Such a nice thing to say ...
From the comment trail. I can be flattered ...
I am writing a history of my own Witness congregation, and your example of clear and accurate research has made my project much better. For example, you often talk about the importance of using original sources, and writing history that anyone else can verify. It seems so simple, but in several cases, I have found that finding the original sources has led me to modify several key sections of my work, because I was using secondary sources, which were in many cases only partly truthful, and in a few cases were clearly incorrect.
Your example has improved my project immensely. I have had several older members of the congregation react negatively to parts of the project, because what I wrote did not coincide with stories they had been passed on for years. The good news is that in almost every case, when confronted by the undeniable evidence that what I had written was true, they thanked me for clearing the matter up. In one case, another older person who did not believe what I had written is embarking on his own research to try and confirm what he believes to be true. I surprised him by encouraging him to investigate the matter fully. (He expected me to try to dissuade him.)
I want to thank you and your team, not only for your brilliant research, but also for providing me, and anyone else interested in history, an example of how to create accurate and verifiable research. You often say, "Go where the facts lead you," which sounds simple enough. But you practice what you preach, and I am grateful for your good example. And I know of many others who read the blog, but never comment, who would say the same thing.
Andrew Grzadzielewski
I am writing a history of my own Witness congregation, and your example of clear and accurate research has made my project much better. For example, you often talk about the importance of using original sources, and writing history that anyone else can verify. It seems so simple, but in several cases, I have found that finding the original sources has led me to modify several key sections of my work, because I was using secondary sources, which were in many cases only partly truthful, and in a few cases were clearly incorrect.
Your example has improved my project immensely. I have had several older members of the congregation react negatively to parts of the project, because what I wrote did not coincide with stories they had been passed on for years. The good news is that in almost every case, when confronted by the undeniable evidence that what I had written was true, they thanked me for clearing the matter up. In one case, another older person who did not believe what I had written is embarking on his own research to try and confirm what he believes to be true. I surprised him by encouraging him to investigate the matter fully. (He expected me to try to dissuade him.)
I want to thank you and your team, not only for your brilliant research, but also for providing me, and anyone else interested in history, an example of how to create accurate and verifiable research. You often say, "Go where the facts lead you," which sounds simple enough. But you practice what you preach, and I am grateful for your good example. And I know of many others who read the blog, but never comment, who would say the same thing.
Andrew Grzadzielewski
Friday, July 15, 2016
Rough draft, temporary post
We owe much to our blog readers and others who pointed us to documents and facts. Thanks to everyone. This is rough draft. It will change. Temporary post. You may copy for your own use, but do not share off the blog. Comments encouraged.
New Workers Enter the Field
Mostly
ignored by historians are adherent’s the efforts to spread the message through
the religious press. Finding examples from the period before The Plan of the
Ages was published is difficult. Most believers addressed doctrine and did
not reference Russell or his associates or any of their publications. This is
not surprising since affiliation was fluid and loose. Many – most in this
period – who read and circulated Zion’s Watch Tower saw sectarian organization
as a “mark of Babylon.”
An
article by G. W. Cone entitled “Is Christ on the Throne of David” appeared in
the November 30,... Remainder of this post was deleted.
Thursday, July 14, 2016
James Augustus Weimar - By Bernard B with English language help from R.
In the Watch Tower magazine from December 1888,
we find a letter written by J. A. Weimar to C. T. Russell. Weimar lived in
Connecticut, and as a minister in the German Baptist congregation he was
interested in Russell’s book The Plan of
Ages, which he received in
July 1888 in English and German. After he had studied it, he was convienced it
was the truth, and he converted.
Dr. James
Augustus Weimar was an Osteopathic physician. He told Russell that he was a
German immigrant and that he studied theology in Meriden. The Watch Tower of April 25, 1894, says that
his wife’s name was Elizabeth K. Using these small clues we discover that J. A.
Weimar is Jacob (Jakob) August Weimar, born in October 7, 1855, in
Unterheinriet (Neckarkreis), Würtemberg, Germany. He was the son of Jacob
Andreas Weimar (b. 1815) and Friedriecke Eckstein. They had 4 children, two
sons and two daughters. His grandparents were Andreas Weimar (Nov. 30, 1780 - Nov.
9, 1828) and Amona Sommer, and his great grandparents were Gottlieb Weimar and
Anna Maria Lang.
Jacob August emigrated to the United States in 1870, anglisizing
his name to James Augustus. He met Elizabeth (Born May 1868, in Pennsylvania) whom
he married in 1883, when she was fifteen. In October 1885, Lilly, their first
child, was born, and their second daughter, Marie (Mamie), was born in June
1887. They lived in Maryland until 1888.
He became a zealous evangelist. In 1889, S. D. Rogers sent
Russell a report about Weimar‘s work in Detroit (Letter to Russell, WT
June 1889). A letter from Weimar
appeared in the same issue:
Your lines came duly to hand. I rejoice to know that
you are praying the dear Lord's blessing upon me and all. Through the favor of
God I am getting along pretty well in the blessed harvest work. Though my feet
through the day get sore from walking so much, yet in the morning they are
generally restored. I think by and by it will be better as I work myself in. I
am determined to endure. My heart's desire is to esteem all things a loss, on
account of the excellency of the knowledge of the Anointed Jesus, my Lord. And
with my whole being I do desire to press along the line towards the prize of
the high calling. My sales for the first ten days run as follows: --22, 24, 19,
18, 29, 24, 18, 18, 31, 30, total 233.
Commenting on his letter, Russell explained:
Our readers will remember Bro. Weimar as the one who
left a Baptist pulpit in Meriden, Conn., recently; going forth to preach the ‘good
tidings’ without human hindrance and to a larger congregation, delivering
sixteen sermons at a time, by the selling of DAWN VOL. I. His first experience,
here related, is remarkably good. We know that his every sacrifice and self-denial
for the truth's sake will be amply rewarded by our great Master, both with present
joys and future glories.
In October 1889, John B. Adamson wrote of Weimar: “His
family are among the things to be left behind, but when we see how he loves
them, his sacrifice, as seen in his long absence from them, is sweet to God.”
Additional letters from him appear In the Watch Tower, giving us insight into his thinking: For example, he wrote:
“As this is a day of rest, I have a little leisure to write. I must let you
know that the words of the Holy Scriptures (1 Pet. 4:1-7) which you proclaimed
on the first Lord's day of this month [Sept.] are still stimulating me for the
service of the Anointed…”
In autumn 1891, Weimar came to Pittsburgh and visited
Russell in the Bible House. Weimar conducted the meeting (Watch Tower November 1891). During the troubled year 1894 when Bryan,
Rogers, von Zech, Adamson and others rebelled against Russell, Weimar stayed
loyal to him, as many letters in April show. Weimar is last mentioned in the
1894 Annual Report (Watch Tower, Dec 15,
1894):
Brother M. L. McPhail only has been giving all of his
time to this work, and he alone has all of his expenses paid out of the Tract
Society's fund, the other laborers in this branch of the service, Brothers
Antoszewski, Austin, Bell, Blundin, Bohnet, Draper, Merrill, Murphy, Owen,
Page, Ransom, Richards, Thorn, Webb, Weber, Weimar, West, Williams, Wise
and Witter, being traveling salesmen, colporteurs or business men whose
expenses are met by their business or otherwise and who delight to give an
evening or a Sunday, as they can arrange it, in serving the Lord's
flock--pointing to the green pastures and the still waters and feeding and
rejoicing with the sheep.
Russell saw that Weimar was loyal, zealous, and well-educated
man. When (in January 5, 1895) John B. Adamson was removed as a Watch Tower
Society director, Russell replaced him with James A. Weimar. He served only one
year, resigning January 4, 1896, and Ernest C. Henninges succeeded him. What
was the reason? Normally no one was replaced, except at death, like William
MacMillan and H. Weber, or he split from Russell, like Mann, Smith.
One reason might be that he dabbled in Spiritism. In 1897
Weimar wrote a book, which he released in August 1898, entitled The Mysteries and Revelations of Spiritism
and Mediumship and Its Kindred Subjects Viewed in the Light of the Bible and
Personal Investigation (Press of the Journal Company, Fort Wayne, Indiana).
Weimar planned to translate it into German too. Interestingly, he used the name
“Jehovah,” and he used Benjamin Wilson’s Diaglott. It shows that he had significant
biblical knowledge, and he was familiar with Greek and Hebrew words. But why
did he write it? He said in the foreword:
I undertook this laborious work not for my own
information merely, but especially for the sake of others, who are exposed to
the dangers herein mentioned, and who therefore need a helping hand. In view of
this, as much as my study and ability allow, I devoted my time more fully for
this purpose; attending séances, private gatherings, public meetings, in
different cities and places where the various theories of Spiritism,
Mediumship, and kindred subjects were seen put in practice.
He no longer focused on evangelism, but he wanted help the
demon-possessed. To this end, he exposed himself
to demonic influences.
He
contacted another religious community “The Koreshan Unity,” a utopian commun formed
by Cyrus Teed, who took the name "Koresh", the original Persian of
his name Cyrus. The Koreshans followed Teed's beliefs, called Koreshanity. The
Koreshan Unity started in the 1870s in New York, where after experiencing a
late-night religious vision in his laboratory, Teed first preached his beliefs.
During what he called his “illumination,” he saw a beautiful woman who revealed
to him a series of “universal truths” which formed the principles of Koreshan
belief.
Weimar joined them; the exact date
is unknown. His wife Elizabeth decided to divorce him. The Fort Wayne Gazette, (April
20, 1898, Page 3) said: “In the circuit court a divorce was granted yesterday
to the defendant in the case of Elizabeth Weimar and James A. Weimar. The suit
was brought by the wife on the ground that he had joined a religious organization
believed that matrimony is a sin.” Interesting is that Weimar’s daughter Mamie
stayed with him and also lived in the community.
Mamie (Maria) Weimar
James Augustus Weimar died October 22, 1919, in Florida
and was buried on October 23. He was buried at the Koreshan Unity Cemetery
(Estero, Lee, Florida), Horseshoe Bend on the River, lot 6 – Corkscrew Rd.