The Last Will and Testament of Maria Frances Russell

Strictly speaking, Maria Francis Russell had no real connection with the Watch Tower Society once she separated from her husband, CTR. But in view of her attitude, actions and concerns, looking at her situation by the end of her life is useful to know.

Maria was a school teacher who married a wealthy merchant. She believed the message he taught through Zion’s Watch Tower magazine and, for a number of years, actively supported his mission. He gave her fulsome praise and thanks in the original foreword of his first major work, The Plan of the Ages. 

Around this time, the Russells lived in a large house on Clifton Avenue. They had a live-in servant and a gardener, and the house was big enough to shelter CTR’s sister and her children when they needed help, and later to take in Charles and Rose Ball.

But in the interests of CTR’s work and mission, in 1894 they moved into an apartment on the top floor of the newly built Bible House.

Photograph by the author

This was no doubt very convenient and likely saved a great expense. While not cited as a reason for the marriage breakdown in the 1890s, it would not have helped, as their paths diverged on how they saw their respective roles in marriage.

Maria left the family home in 1897 and never went back. On the financial front, she then claimed to have written half of the first three volumes of Millennial Dawn (Studies in the Scriptures) and virtually all of volume four by herself. She circulated a booklet attacking CTR in which she basically demanded royalties. CTR saw this as a direct threat to his religious work. His view was that, while she had undoubtedly helped in various ways, the subject matter was his and his alone. While financial arrangements for her support were eventually worked out, she never did get any royalties. However, it could be said that neither did CTR, because the whole point was to put everything back into the work of the Watch Tower Society.

For a fuller description of the issues, see the old post at:

https://jeromehistory.blogspot.com/2025/08/maria-1-maria-russell-and-millennial.html

But money was much on Maria’s mind. When CTR died, the papers reported her hiring legal counsel to try to challenge his last will and testament.

With that background in mind, it is interesting to travel forward 20 years in time after CTR’s death to see how Maria made out. This is where her Last Will and Testament, made in 1936, is of note.

 She bought a home in St Petersburg, Florida, with her sister Emma in the early 1920s. Emma had been married to CTR’s father, and again, financial disputes came to the fore when Emma’s husband died, and bequests were made to his children as well as to her. When Emma died, Maria inherited her estate.

So, below is a transcript of Maria’s Last Will and Testament. There is just one sentence which could not be transcribed with 100% certainty, but it does not affect the contents of the will.

It details all her property, the house and parcels of land, various cash bequests, the writing off of money previously loaned to others, and personal effects. The main beneficiary was her niece, Mabel Packard, Emma’s daughter, who looked after her at the end.

(transcription)

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT.

I, MARIA F. RUSSELL, of the County of Pinellas and State of Florida, being of a sound and disposing mind and memory and desiring to leave instructions for the disposition of such property as I may die seized of, hereby make, publish and declare this to be my last will and Testament, expressly revoking all former wills, testaments and codicils by me heretofore made.

ITEM ONE.

It is my desire that as soon after my death as is consistent that my executrix, hereinafter named, shall pay all of my just debts. I direct that my body shall be placed beside that of my sister, Emma H. Russell, in the lot that we jointly owned in Royal Palm Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Florida.

ITEM TWO.

The residence where I now reside was owned jointly by my sister, Emma H. Russell, and myself, and since her death I have had the use thereof. To my niece, Mrs. Mabel R. Packard, I give, devise and bequeath in fee simple, my undivided half interest in said property, which is located at 516 - 14th Avenue, N. E. in the City of St. Petersburg, Florida, and otherwise described as follows: to-wit:

Lot 9, Block (?), North Shore addition, according to the map or plat thereof on file and of record in the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Pinellas County, Florida.

I also give, bequeath and devise unto the said Mabel R. Packard all of the household furniture contained therein.

At this time the said Mabel R. Packard is indebted to me in the sum of Fourteen Hundred ($1400.00) Dollars, evidenced or to be evidenced by a mortgage upon the house and lot on Jackson Street in the city of Pittsburgh, Pa. I desire and instruct that such indebtedness as may exist from the said Mabel R. Packard to myself at the time of my death shall be cancelled, and if a mortgage has been placed upon said property in my favor I desire that same be satisfied of record by my executrix hereinafter named.

ITEM THREE

I give, devise and bequeath unto James Russell Packard and John Alden Packard, share and share alike, the following described property, to-wit:

The west half (W ½) of East half (E ½) of Southwest quarter (SW ¼) of Section 33, Township 1 South, Range 3 East, in Jefferson county in the State of Illinois.

ITEM FOUR

(?) ...hereinafter is intended to pay the following sums in cash...(?)...named persons, to-wit:

This first sentence for ITEM FOUR is virtually illegible in the original.

 

Readers here might like to have a try at deciphering this.  Based on standard language in wills of this period, the delights of AI produced these two alternative suggestions:

To be paid, equivalent in cash, by my Executor to each of the following persons, to‑wit:

I give and bequeath the following legacies, bequests, and sums of money to the following named persons, to-wit:

To my niece, Mrs. Laura E. Fritz, of Arlington, Illinois, the sum of One Thousand ($1,000.00) Dollars.

To Mrs. (?) White, St. Petersburg, Florida, the sum of Five Hundred ($500.00) Dollars.

To my great-nephew, James Russell Packard, the sum of Seven Hundred ($700.00) Dollars.

To my great-niece, Mildred Packard, the sum of Four Hundred ($400.00) Dollars.

To my great-nephew, John Alden Packard; the sum of Four Hundred ($400.00) Dollars.

To my niece, Selina G. Raynor of Belleview, Pa., the sum of One Hundred ($100.00) Dollars, and my beaded purse.

To Mrs. Estella Floding of Arlington Heights, Ill., my gold watch.

I direct that if there be additional funds in cash after the above bequests have been paid, I give, devise and bequeath to my niece, Mrs. Mabel R. Packard, Three Hundred ($300.00) Dollars.

In the event that the cash remaining to my estate is not sufficient to pay the above bequests in full, my executrix is instructed to decrease the bequests proportionately, and in the event that the cash remaining to my estate is more than sufficient to pay said bequests, I instruct my executrix to increase the same proportionately.

ITEM FIVE.

I give, devise and bequeath the following personal property as follows:

To Mrs. Laura E. Fritz three bead pins.
To Mrs. Howard G. Raynor my sable fur cloak.

And to little June Packard my amethyst ring.

ITEM SIX.

All other property of which I may die seized and possessed or to which I may be entitled, I give, devise and bequeath the same to James Russell Packard and John Alden Packard, share and share alike.

ITEM SEVEN.

I nominate and appoint my niece, Mabel R. Packard, as executrix of my estate. I desire that she qualify and be commissioned as such executrix without bond. I give unto her full power and authority to manage, sell and dispose of any property I may die seized and possessed of without order of court, and to carry out the terms and directions herein contained. In the event that the sale of any property shall be necessary, I hereby give her authority to sell and dispose of same at public or privatesale, and to execute any deeds, conveyances, bills of sale or other instruments necessary to effectuate the same as fully and completely and lawfully as I could do were I in life. I request my executrix to be diligent in the execution of this trust and to close my estate at the earliest possible moment and at the least expense.

IN WITNESS THEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 4th day of April, A.D. 1936.

Maria F. Russell (Seal)

We, the undersigned, at the request of Maria F. Russell, have signed our names hereto as witnesses to what she declared is her last will and testament, and at her request she signing in our presence and we signing in the presence of each other and in her presence on the day and year above written.

Maria died in 1938, and as requested, she was laid to rest next to her sister in the Royal Palm Cemetery in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Photograph by Christopher Gross

The house still exists. While modest by the standards of some in the area, the last time it was on the market, it still sold for over one million dollars.

I think it is fair to say that by her own terms of reference, ultimately, Maria did not do TOO badly.

"Ma Russell Raves"

 (from a project in progess)

AKA: Emma, after Joseph

To understand the title, you will have to read on)

After Joseph died, Emma continued to live on Cedar Avenue for a few years. Her sister returned from Chicago and went to live with her, before moving into the house next door for a while. The comings and goings involving Maria and Cedar Avenue have been detailed in the previous chapter.

Mabel reached adulthood and eventually married on Cedar Avenue in 1903. We will return to Mabel’s story briefly in our final chapter.

After Joseph’s death, Emma lived on for over thirty years, but there are some gaps in her known history.

Some sources give a 1910 census reference for Emma as living in Pittsburgh, Ward 4, Allegheny. She is a dressmaker on her own account. At least one critic suggested that the Russell family left her almost penniless, hence the need to work at dressmaking. This is so wrong on several levels. First, and most obviously, this is the wrong person. This Emma is Emma A Russell. One can see how Emma might revert to Ackley rather than Hammond for her middle name, but although the age fits, this Emma is Single, not Widowed. Of course, that could be a choice when the enumerator called. But this Emma’s father was born in England, whereas Mahlon Ackley was born in New Jersey. This Emma is in rented accommodation, whereas our Emma inherited two houses when Joseph died in 1897, and as we will see shortly, sold off land for nearly $5000 in 1900; hardly penury. Perhaps the best evidence for this not being our person of interest is the 1900 census. Joseph Lytle’s widow is there in Cedar Avenue, as we would expect. But so is the other Emma A Russell, dressmaker. She is the right age and living with her widowed mother in rented accommodation in Pittsburgh. Here they are, side by side, in the 1902 Trade Directory for Pittsburgh:

By the 1908 directory, Emma has moved out of town to Glenn Avenue in Wilkinsburg, in a straight line this would be about six miles away from Cedar Avenue. From the 1908 Pittsburgh City Directory:

Just to compound the potential for confusion, both Emma A Russell, dressmaker, and Emma H Russell, Joseph’s widow and Maria’s sister, died within a month of each other, in February and March 1929. Life can be full of coincidences at times.

We are on firmer ground with newspaper reports about the Ackley family. In the real estate section of the Pittsburgh Post for 16 January 1900, we have Emma selling land to her sister, Laura. (Paynar is an obvious misprint for Raynor).

Then we have the issues in Cedar Avenue already mentioned in the previous chapter. Emma (and Mabel) garnered a special mention in The Pittsburgh Post for 19 March 1903, when they had to appear before Alderman Walter Wadsworth, acting in the capacity of magistrate. The newspaper made a valiant effort to try to explain the relationships:

“Mrs. Emma H Russell, who is step-mother and sister-in-law of Mr. Russell, she being his wife’s sister and his father’s widow, and Mabel Russell, his half sister, appeared before Alderman Walter Wadsworth, of Allegheny, yesterday, on a charge of forcible entry and detainer, preferred by Mrs. M.M. Land.”

Margaretta Land, CTR’s sister, had accused them of locking her up and forcibly taking possession of the disputed property. The charges were dismissed for lack of evidence, and the invading parties advised to ask “for peaceable entrance to the residence, and if that privilege was denied” to go through the proper channels.

We next travel a number of years to 1917 when Emma’s older sister, Laura Raynor, died. The announcement of her passing in The Pittsburgh Press (23 July 1917), noted her surviving relatives included Emma Russell, who is now of Bellevue, another suburb of the greater Pittsburgh area. Her sister, Selena Barto, is also in the same area.

In the aftermath of Laura’s death, there is a legal issue, aired in 1920. Listing current court cases, the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette for 12 October 1920 noted:

The two executors are Laura’s son-in-law and son. We don’t know the business dealings that prompted this legal action or how the case was resolved.

Then, her brother Lemuel, is murdered.

The story of his death lists his three surviving sisters. From the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette for 31 July 1921:

Emma is now “formerly an official of Bethany College.” Her obituary (Tampa Bay Times, 6 February 1929) calls her the Dean of Women at the College. A telephone call to the College several decades ago elicited that she had been Matron of Phillips Hall.

These different descriptions do fit together. The college was founded by Alexander Campbell, linked to the Restoration movement (Disciples of Christ) as an all-male institution. When it eventually admitted women in the 1880s and became co-educational, it was necessary to make special provision for the welfare of female students. The Matron (later Dean of Women) was not a teaching position but more a welfare post at the College.

It was a post that particularly went to older women, often widows who had raised families, who had a certain administrative ability and social standing.

It has not been possible to trace Emma in the 1920 census. An exhaustive search of the 1920 U.S. Census indexes and a page-by-page review of surviving Brooke County census images failed to locate either Emma or even a census enumeration of Bethany College. The small town of Bethany is there, filed under Brooke County, Buffalo District, but not the College. This absence of the college population suggests the relevant schedule either went missing, was misfiled, or was never actually scanned for inclusion in currently accessible census reproductions. A lot can happen in one hundred years.

Fortunately, we have proof of Emma at Bethany College from both the newspapers already mentioned, and crucially from Bethany College direct.

The College published an annual Yearbook (and still does), which detailed all academic activities, as well as all student clubs and associations. It had a humorous diary supplied by students of extracurricular activities. We find a few references to Emma in it.

For example, in 1920, The Bethanian published a photograph of the Young Women’s Christian Association for the college. The members – not all YOUNG Women - posed for their picture:

Unfortunately, the key is not linked to the actual photograph; it just supplies the members’ names in alphabetical order. The list includes Emma:

The students’ section carried jokes and news of the day. Some examples from 1920:

From the 1921 Bethanian, with a reference to Emma’s domain, Phillips Hall, and with a typical student attitude toward their elders, the student diary for December 1920 records:

Emma retired around 1922, and her 1929 Tampa Bay Tribune obituary noted that she’d held this position for eight years prior to retirement, which would take us back to around 1914. Perhaps the big question to ask is how Emma came to get such a prestigious job. “As the crow flies,” Bethany is only about 35 miles from Allegheny, but in Emma’s day, you would need to use a wagon or early motor vehicle to get to a railroad station at the Bethany end.

There is probably a whole story here that eludes us.

But – MA RUSSELL RAVES.

Now there’s an epitaph for you.

 

(Onto THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF EMMA HAMMOND RUSSELL)

Last Will and Testament of Emma Hammond Russell

(From a project in progess)

Maria and Emma set up home together (again) in St Petersburg, Florida, at East 516 Fourteenth Avenue North in 1922. (See photograph and newspaper cutting in a previous chapter).

As with Emma and Joseph in the 1880s and 1890s, the hot summer climate in Florida caused an exodus north for several months each year, at least for those who had the financial means to do so. This appears to be what Emma and Maria did. Two news snippets from 1927 tell the story for that year. From The Tampa Tribune (Florida) for 16 October 1927:

A week before, The Asheville Times (North Carolina) for 9 October 1927:

Putting the two accounts together, Emma and Maria left Florida when it was just too hot in the summer. They went to Hendersonville, North Carolina, and stayed there for the summer and early fall. Making a brief detour to visit a sister in Pittsburgh (Selena Barto), they then returned to St Petersburg, Florida, to spend the winter there. They obviously were sufficiently well-placed financially to make such choices.

In September 1928, just a few months before she died in February 1929, Emma wrote her last will and testament. The terms were quite straightforward.  If she died before Maria, then she left her share of their home to Maria with a lifetime interest, but with the understanding that daughter Mabel, or if necessary her heirs, would eventually inherit.

(transcript)

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF EMMA H. RUSSELL

I, Emma H. Russell, of the City of St. Petersburg, County of Pinellas, State of Florida, being of full age, sound mind and disposing memory and realizing the uncertainty of life and the certainty of death, do make, declare and publish this my Last Will and Testament, hereby revoking any and all Wills that I may have heretofore made.

FIRST: It is my will that all my lawful debts be paid as soon as practicable after my death.

SECOND: I give, devise and bequeath unto my sister, Mrs. Maria F. Russell, if she survive me, all my right, title and interest, being a one-half undivided interest, in and to that certain house, now known as East 516 – 14th Avenue North, in the City of St. Petersburg, Florida, the furniture located in said house and the lot of land upon which said house is located (all of said property now being owned by myself and my said sister in equal undivided portions and used by us as our home), to have and to hold same for and during her natural life; provided and upon the condition that my said sister, during said time, keep said house in repair and all taxes and assessments on and against said property paid.

THIRD: I give, devise and bequeath to my daughter, Mrs. Mabel Russell Packard, in the event she survives my said sister, Mrs. Maria F. Russell, the remainder, after the life estate mentioned in second paragraph of this Will, in the above described property, to have and hold same unto her, her heirs and assigns forever. But in the event my said daughter be dead at the death of the survivor of myself and my said sister, Mrs. Maria F. Russell, I give, devise and bequeath the remainder, after said life estate, to all the children of my said daughter, Mabel Russell Packard, living at that time, andTop of Form the issue then living of such of them as shall then be dead leaving issue then living, and their respective heirs and assigns, as tenants in common, in equal shares as between brothers and sisters, but so the issue of any child so dying shall take between themselves in equal shares only the share which their parent would have taken, if living.Bottom of Form

FOURTH: I give, devise and bequeath all the residue and remainder of my property, real, personal and mixed, wheresoever situated, or which I shall be seized or possessed, or to which I shall be entitled at the time of my death, to my said daughter, Mabel Russell Packard, to have and to hold unto her, her heirs and assigns forever. But in the event I survive my said daughter, then I give, devise and bequeath all of said residue and remainder of my said property, aforesaid, to the children of my said daughter, Mabel Russell Packard, living at my death, and the issue then living of such of them as shall then be dead leaving issue then living, and their respective heirs and assigns, as tenants in common, in equal shares as between brothers and sisters; but so the issue of any child so dying shall take between themselves in equal shares only the share which their parent would have taken, if living.

FIFTH: I do hereby nominate and appoint my said daughter, Mrs. Mabel Russell Packard, to be the Executor of this My Last Will and Testament, if she survives me, but in the event she be not then living I appoint and nominate James Russell Packard and Mildred Packard, to be the Executor and Executrix of this My Last Will and Testament, and it is my desire that there be no bond required of either said Executor or Executrix.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I hereunto set my hand and seal, and publish and declare this to be my Last Will and Testament, in the presence of the witnesses named below this the 13th day of September A.D. 1928.

Emma H. Russell (SEAL)                     

The above instrument was subscribed by the said Emma H. Russell in our presence and acknowledged by her to each of us; and she at the same time declared the above instrument, so subscribed, to be her last will and testamemt, and at her request and in her presence and in the presence of each other we have hereunto signed our names as witnesses thereto and set opposite our names our respective places of residence.

(Two signatures follow, both of St. Petersburg, Florida, but in the extant copy, they have been obscured by an official stamp).

Emma died in early 1929. From the Tampa Bay Times for 6 February 1929:

Only one photograph of Emma is in general circulation. It was originally provided by descendants several decades ago. Below is the picture, taken on the steps of the home she shared with Maria from the end of 1922 until her death in 1929.

Emma was laid to rest in the family plot in the Royal Palm South Cemetery in St Petersburg, Florida. Her son-in-law, Richard Packard, was the first to be buried there, then Emma herself, then her sister Maria, and finally her daughter Mabel Russell Packard.

Photograph by Christopher Gross

 Emma and Maria had lived together as children in the family home; they had lived under the same roof before Emma’s marriage; they had lived together in Cedar Avenue when Maria left CTR; and now, for the last six years or more, they lived together in the house in Florida.

The 1930 census shows that, after Emma’s death, Maria continued living in the Florida home on her own. When Maria died it was left to Emma’s daughter, Mabel Russell Packard, and Mabel was living at this address when she died in 1961.

Joseph and Emma and Joseph on the Move

(From a project in progress)

Fifteen months or more after CTR and Maria married, CTR’s father and Maria’s sister followed suit. Joseph Lytle, approaching 67, was to marry Maria’s younger sister, Emma, aged 24, in mid-1880.

It may seem strange to modern readers that there could be such a disparity in ages, although it still happens on occasion. In the world of 19^th-century America, it was not uncommon for a widower to marry someone younger, and for a younger woman to choose such a marriage for financial stability and security. Emma, as her life later showed, was certainly very concerned about financial security.

There were other factors, too, that may have contributed to this marriage. Charles and Joseph were very close. Maria and Emma were very close. Charles and Maria had just gotten married. At the time, they all shared the same strong religious convictions. Those convictions included strong beliefs about the near future, specifically 1881, a year frequently mentioned in early Zion’s Watch Tower magazines. As an example, from the December 1800 issue:

Soon, probably by, possibly before, the fall of 1881, we shall be changed—born of the spirit [of which we are now begotten] into the glorious likeness of our head.

Of course, the way history worked out, they were not “changed” at all, but around December 1880, Emma did fall pregnant with Mabel.

After this introduction then discuss:

The marriage date in mid-1880

The birth of daughter, Mabel, in September 1881

Emma’s previous education at Pittsburgh Female College

Then on to:

JOSEPH ON THE MOVE

With Mabel born and the family a threesome, Joseph withdrew from business affairs in Pittsburgh and became a reasonably comfortable family man and retiree.

Like others with sufficient income or capital, Joseph moved the family down to Florida by the mid-1880s. Pittsburgh had below-freezing winters, whereas Florida had winters when many would still eat outdoors. As a result, winter was the tourist season for Florida. Conversely, summers in Pittsburgh were pleasant, while summers in Florida were just too hot. If you had good sense and sufficient resources, you would have homes both north and south for different seasons of the year.

This is what Joseph and Emma did.

They first appear in the 1885 Florida census. Although there are some discrepancies in the recorded ages, the entry is a reasonable match for this family. The census was taken in Hillsborough County, Florida, with an official census date of 1 June 1885; however, enumerators conducted door-to-door visits throughout June to complete the details.

So we have Joseph L Russel (sic), who is the head and who admits to being 70 (actually just a few weeks short of 72).

Then there is his wife, who, annoyingly for our purpose, is only recorded as Mrs J L Russel (sic) aged 24 (actually 29), and finally a daughter. The entry appears to read Mamie (?), which could be a pet name for Mabel, listed as aged 4 (technically still 3). Joseph gives his occupation as “Capitalist.”

The Florida connections are on firmer ground in 1888 when a letter from Joseph was published in Zion’s Watch Tower for May 1888. It offered general encouragement and the offer of land near Pinellas as a donation to the Watch Tower Society. The letter was sent from Manatee County, Florida.

Manatee and Hillsborough are adjoining counties, and the whole region is called Tampa Bay on the Gulf of Mexico coast.

A further letter from Joseph, published in the magazine for March 1889 (sending love from himself and “joined by wife and Mabel”) was addressed simply from Florida.

The idea of commuting north and south is supported by several news reports from Florida newspapers.

The Manatee River Journal and Bradentown Herald for 26 September 1889 carried a letter to the editor from Joseph. It was dated 21 September 1889 and was sent from Allegheny, Pa. It was mainly about giving support to proposed civic improvements. But Joseph ended his letter:

The same newspaper on 24 October 1889 welcomed the family back:

The family either moved around a bit in the area, or had a portfolio of several assets, because over 1889-1890, there were several properties offered for sale by Joseph.

From the Semi-Weekly Times-Union of Jacksonville, Florida for 17 January 1889:

The reason given for the sale was that Joseph was now too old to attend to the orange groves.

Several similar advertisements appeared in the local papers for either properties for sale, or house clearance of contents. Over a year later, The Tampa Journal for 13 February 1890 carried a similar advertisement:

FLORIDA HOME FOR SALE: — On Manatee Bay Gulf Coast, is high and dry; has been a lovely home for 30 years and is a most delightful healthy climate; plenty of fish, oysters, boating, fishing and hunting, orange groves, lemons, guavas, plums and grape fruit, all in full bearing; good transportation; excellent society, churches and schools, good stores, daily mail and the best climate on earth; County Court House is here. For terms address,  J. L. RUSSELL, Bradentown, Fla.

Moving forward another nine months, Joseph appears to be handling several Florida properties. From the Semi-Weekly Times Union of Jacksonville, Florida, for 20 November 1890:

FLORIDA HOMES FOR SALE.—A gentleman who has lived several years in Florida, and who has traveled over most of the state, has selected some of the most desirable and healthy locations on the Gulf Coast, where there is plenty of fish and oysters, and excellent hunting and fishing all the year through, and the most delightful climate in the world, where the salt water breezes give health and strength to the delicate constitution. The owner of these beautiful properties, wishes (on account of old age) to sell any of these properties at a low price, and give long time to pay. For particulars and description of properties, address Joseph L. Russell, Marion, North Carolina.

Several things to note: Joseph again cites his age as the reason for the sale, he seems to be after a quick sale with the “low price and long time to pay” mantra, and he is no longer in Florida at this time, but in North Carolina.

Depending on where in Marion, North Carolina, the family was, this would be anything from 500 to 700 miles from the Gulf Coast, where they’d been previously.

To pinpoint the next locations for Joseph and Emma, we can turn to two daughters of Laura Raynor, one of Emma’s older sisters, who still lived in Pittsburgh and whom we have met earlier.

The first daughter was Selina G Raynor. The Pittsburgh Press for 8 August 1891 noted that:

Miss S G Raynor, of Euclid Avenue, has returned from a visit to her aunt, Mrs J L Russell, of North Carolina.

Joseph and Emma had been in Marion, North Carolina, where he was trying to sell Florida properties (plural) in October 1890 (see above). In 1891, Joseph was also endeavouring to sell a property in Marion itself. From the Semi-Weekly Times-Union of Jacksonville, Florida, for 28 May 1891, we have Joseph’s small ad:

If we go forward another two years, we have Selina’s sister, May Frances Raynor, who is now visiting her Aunt Emma. From The Pittsburgh Press for 5 September 1893:

Miss May F. Raynor, of Euclid Avenue, Allegheny, who has been spending the summer with her aunt, Mrs J. L. Russell, of Ashland, Va. Is now registered at Deer Park, Md., and is expected home September 12.

The Russells (Emma and Joseph) are no longer at Marion, North Carolina; now they are at Ashland, Virginia, “as the crow flies” about 300 miles away.

And what then happens to their home at Ashland? Two years later, the Richmond Dispatch for 3 March 1895 carries a familiar-looking advertisement:

 

Two things we learn from this.

First: Joseph was frequently selling (and one assumes purchasing) homes. His last will and testament is full of investments in land, and stocks, and shares, showing how he liked to speculate – not always successfully. At the end of his life, he still owned four houses, three in Pittsburgh and one in Florida.

Second: Joseph and Emma (and Mabel) seemed to be forever moving from place to place, and never really settling down.

Towards the end, they retreated to Allegheny and Pittsburgh and the home on Cedar Avenue where they’d begun married life, and Mabel went off to Miss Barclay’s School for Girls in North Avenue, Allegheny City, to complete an education. As noted in the previous chapter, CTR specifically blamed Emma for Maria’s transformation. Whatever Emma’s influence may have been, it would have depended upon continued personal contact between the two women — contact CTR attempted to restrict. Testimony from the 1906 Russell vs. Russell hearing indicates that he forbade Emma from visiting Bible House and asked his father not to invite Maria to Cedar Avenue.

Sadly, as Joseph reached the end of his life, his home was not a happy one. The family conflicts were to be exacerbated by his last will and testament, with Maria taking up the cudgels on behalf of her sister, as evidenced by her meeting with Page and Tuttle in the previous chapter.

Go on to discuss the will, its background and provisions. To read the existing will in full, see:

https://jeromehistory.blogspot.com/2026/03/last-will-and-tetament-of-joseph-lytle.html

Sowing Seeds from a Great Height

 The history of the Watch Tower Society using public witnessing to spread the message goes right back to the booths at World Fairs in the very early days and is continued today with the modern use of carts and trolleys with banners and sample literature.

A more unusual version of this public activity occurred in 1921, when advertizing material was showered onto a public gathering from a great height. The occasion was the Pasadena Rose parade, held each year on New Year’s Day. Apart from the interruptions of Covid it has been held each year since 1890.

Numerous floats and marching bands travel in convoy (mainly along Colorado Boulevard) and it all ends with a football game in the Pasadena Rose Ball. From an estimated 2000 spectators in its first year, 1890, approximately 700,000 people watch the parade each year in modern times.

The Pasadena Post for 1 January 1921 carried this announcement:

 An airplane will drop messages over the line of march. Special booths will be located all over the city for the distribution of literature and the sale of books. All this to bring to your attention that Millions Now Living Will Never Die. Book can be had at any of the stands for 25c.  Or Call Colorado 2275.

     The same story had been carried in the Pasadena Star-News the day before, 31 December 1921.

     So, leaflets would be showered onto the crowds who witnessing the procession encouraging all to visit booths strategically located in the city.

The actual leaflet was a flyer, sized 3 ¼ by 8 ½ inches, and at least one has survived to this day.

Note the address: International Bible Students Ass’n, 1051 So. Grand Avenue.

This was the local headquarters for the IBSA. Shown here in the picture below, it is the house on the left, which had formerly been a funeral home before being taken over by the Bible Students in March 1918.

It remained their local headquarters until 1923, when it was destroyed by fire. The replacement headquarters would be situated at 1023 Sentinel Avenue, which was the home address for Bible Student, Robert Montero. He is pictured with his wife in the photograph below, c.1921.

Returning to the flyer, the reverse of this copy had a pencilled annotation.

It reads “These slips were droped (sic) from a small ( ? ) over Pasadena, Ca. Looked like a snow storm. Seen by O.G.H.”

Several photographs exist of the two-seater bi-plane that took off from The Sierra Airdrome with its large sign “Millions Now Living Will Never Die.”

We are reliably informed that the figure on the left of the last photograph is Melvin Sargent of the Los Angeles area. His life story was in the Watchtower for 1 August 1987.

This account of an eventful life does not mention this 1921 incident, nor does it indicate that Melvin was a pilot. We can reasonably assume that his role was to sit behind the pilot and throw out handfuls of leaflets over the Rose parade on the day. As described by the eyewitness above: “it looked like a snow storm.”

 

With grateful thanks to Tom who supplied both the story and the graphics.