Barbour's 1881 convention and the parting of the ways

When CTR separated from Nelson Barbour there was a period when they were competing for the same audience. Zion’s Watch Tower was sent to all on the Herald of the Morning subscription list, and the disagreements between the two papers and their respective messages grew rapidly. CTR never mentioned Barbour by full name in the exchanges, whereas Barbour frequently mentioned CTR – going from “dear brother Russell” to sneering at him as a “businessman in Pittsburgh,” then throwing in accusations of spiritualism, “the doctrine of the devils” (Herald March 1881 page 48) because ZWT was still promoting Christ’s invisble return in its full sub-title Herald of Christ’s Presence.

So what happened to CTR’s group that had elected him as Pastor in 1876? In those difficult months in 1879, who would stay with CTR, and who would side with Barbour?

Initially, the number living in the actual Pittsburgh area that supported CTR was quite small. CTR’s wife, Maria, described the group as such in court testimony. The main Pittsburgh meeting announced in the early ZWT was the annual memorial of Christ’s death. In 1880 this was held in the home of William H Conley, who would become the first Watch Tower Society president. The home still exists today. This meeting was a most important event in their calendar, yet they did not hire a hall, but used Conley’s parlor. Were they horrendously overcrowded, sandwiched up the stairs and out into the garden? Had there been any problems with the group fitting into Conley’s home, it is unlikely that they would have repeated the experience the following year. But repeat it they did in 1881. Once we get past that, things quickly change. Conley soon disappears from ZWT history. Meetings at hired halls are advertised and by 1889 they had a custom built headquarters, Bible House, with a chapel that could hold 200 people.

What about those who still hankered after Barbour’s message? They obviously did not form a separate group in Pittsburgh with regular meetings. Had they done so, then the Herald would have, well – heralded it…

To begin with, many individuals no doubt just read both journals and adopted a wait and see attitude. They could soon add papers from John H. Paton and Albert D. Jones to the list, and later one produced by Arthur P. Adams. Both Paton and Adams were to have their own separate falling out with Barbour.

So you could read what came to hand, you could attend talks and meetings as available, and if you lived in Pittsburgh, then CTR’s burgeoning ministry was close to hand. If you were a Barbourite living in Pittsburgh, it would be a little more difficult.

Barbour tried to provide for his Pittsburgh supporters after the break with CTR.

Returning to Allegheny and Pittsburgh, over six months after ZWT started, Barbour relates a mission he had in Pittsburgh. In the Herald for February 1880 (page 32) he relates how he had an urgent call to visit. He paints a picture of all these poor friends in Allegheny and Pittsburgh who needed his help. He meets almost clandestinely in their homes and organises one public meeting, although no details are given other than the date, January 25, 1880. He comments that they had so much darkness at their weekly meetings, which is a strong inference that at least some were also associating with ZWT. Perhaps there were twenty-five or more he helped, but no names are revealed. 

He is back again in October 1880, this time as part of a longer speaking trip. But on this occasion the names of some Pittsburgh supporters are revealed. The announcement of his visit in the October Herald (page 64) advises that “those going to the Pittsburgh meeting, can call on Bros, S. M. & J. Miller, 106 Smithfield Street, for particulars.” The meeting appears to have been scheduled for Sunday, October 17.

Transcripts of the 1880 census for Pittsburgh put one S. T. Miller at 108 Smithfield Street. This is near enough to strongly suggest the same family. S. T. is aged 40 in 1880; he is a widower living on his own, and working as an employment agent. By the September 1881 Herald, S. M. Miller is now listed at Liberty Street, Pittsburgh, as a contact for those wanting cheap railroad tickets to Barbour’s 1881convention, for which see below.

The November 1880 Herald (page 80) has a review of this October 1880 trip by Mrs. Barbour. They spent much of their time in Pittsburgh at the home of Dr. Buvinger. (Buvinger had been a supporter of George Storrs and his history can be found in Separate Identity volume one). Here they celebrated the Lord’s supper – obviously not on the anniversary date. Mrs. B. ended her report: “Husband spoke once in a public hall in Pittsburgh, the rest of the time it was one continuous meeting at some private house.”

Following the visit, Emma Buvinger wrote an enthusiastic letter of support which was printed in the January 1881 Herald (page 16).

In the May 1881 Herald Barbour announced a general meeting of believers to be held in Rochester, NY. His Church of the Strangers would be used for meetings over an eight day period (Sunday August 27 to the following Sunday) and accommodation (of a sort) would be provided. They could accommodate up to 200 of the faithful. As Barbour wrote (page 80) “We are on the eve of great events, when by faith, we shall conquer the nations.” As Mrs B. put it (page 77) “Only a few more months and the overcomers will be rewarded with victory…(and we) ‘who are alive and remain’ will be caught away to meet the Lord.” It was a heady mix to encourage believers to travel to Rochester for more of the same.

The July 1881 Herald (page 31) gave details of accommodation, in both private homes and  commercial facilities; and for those experiencing the equivalent of a camp meeting the assurance was given that sufficient straw would be provided. The account of the arrangements was in the October 1881 Herald (page 46):

“We kept a book in which those who stopped with us registered their names. At our table, we accommodated all, or nearly all who came. While the sleeping accomodations were a curiosity. The hall above the meeting room – 40 by 80 f'eet – was first divided into two rooms, by a heavy tent wall; thus separating the men’s apartment, after campmeeting fashion. On the one side, all was left in one large room; while the other and larger part, was a curious display of architecture; sheets, shawls, and factory, strings and wire; were wonderfully combined into little cottages or rooms – making a perfect labyrinth of streets, lanes; and houses. My wife and I – with the help of a guide – made a number of visits… The large room on the men’s side, was used through the day, for prayer and Conference meetings. It was easily seated, as we had a large number of folding camp-chairs.”

The speaking duties were shared between Barbour and Adams. In his opening address Barbour confidently stated that “we were expecting Christ to come this Autumn, “in all his glory,” and “as the lightning,” “in flaming fire, taking vengeance” – “we expected to see him, perhaps as Saul saw him just outside of Damascus, but we did not expect to be caught away to meet him for before that event Jesus must tread the wine-press alone.”

In the last session A. P. Adams seemed to have a slightly different take on events:

 “Cordial greetings, expressions of love and hopeful farewells were exchanged, and the dear ones separated to their several homes and duties for a little time until that blessed meeting, together with the resurrected saints, with our Lord in the air: “and so shall we ever be the Lord.”

A November supplement to the Herald, admitted that the fall of 1881 had been “a mistake” and now confidently pushed events forward to the following Spring.

Barbour’s convention is of particular interest to historians because he saw fit to publish all the names and partial addresses of those who attended. This is a snapshot of who gave him that level of support in 1881 and where they came from. So here an attempt has been made to transcribe his lists for modern researchers.

There are two sources for the list of those in attendance. The first is from the October 1881 Herald:

This is taken from a microfilm that has been in circulation for many years. The problem with it is that the original volume was been very tightly bound, resulting in a small loss of text in the gutter. For straight text you can often guess the incomplete words, but for names and locations it becomes more difficult.

Fortunately we now have a second source for much of the information. A local newspaper, The Rochester Evening Express for August 30, 1881, also reported on Barbour’s convention, and provided a shorter, albeit more legible, list of names.

The Herald lists around 140 names and the newspaper lists about 100, which includes two extra family members omitted in the Herald. There is also one more name in the conference review. However, the newspaper does give extra information about forenames, and also helps decipher most of the names partly lost in the Herald’s tight binding. A couple of other small details have been established by examining the correspondence columns in extant issues of the Herald.

For the benefit of future researchers, at the end of this article we have transcribed a list of all those we know attended, from the above sources. This can be considered a reasonable result, although it presupposes that typesetting for all sources was accurate on the day.

There are two copies of the list provided, one by surnames and one showing where the delegates came from. Surnames are useful for identifying well- known figures like the Buvingers, Avis Hamlin, and the Withingtons, who were with Barbour to the end. The timing of the convention was quite close to the 1880 census, so the census and trade directories may yield more information about some of these people who expected their troubles to be over by the end of the year.

For places it is helpful to identify which parts of the United States and Canada provided Barbour with his support. Some are little clusters; for example Beverly, Lynn and Chelsea are all close to each other and were a group meeting at the home of Arthur P. Adams at Beverly, as long as he remained in association with Barbour.

For the purpose of this article it is useful to quickly establish from the lists that the largest group of 1881 visitors (thirteen in all) came from Pittsburgh or Allegheny City. From no names reported in Barbour’s January 1880 visit, to a couple reported in October 1880, now in August 1881 these people were content for the world to know they supported Barbour in some degree, whether they were still reading ZWT or not.

How long they stayed with Barbour we generally do not know. The predictions linked to his convention replaced previous predictions, and were in turn supplanted by future calculations. Barbour’s history of prophetic failure is well-documented in Nelson Barbour: The Millennium’s Forgotten Prophet by Schulz and de Vienne. On each occasion of failed prediction, he likely shed some supporters, who were not replaced to the same degree. There is an interesting roundup of predictions in the October-November 1901 issue of his paper (pp. 124-125) where he admitted there had so far been a total of six different disappointments over dates for when Christ had been expected. Still, undeterred, even now he confidently concluded: “The time, 1903 is, beyond all question, the best supported time argument of the entire movement.”

Some rationalised their disappointments. Going back to the message of the 1881 conference, here is a typical letter from a September 1882 Herald from one who attended it:

In the immediate wake of the August 1881 conference, another one was mooted for Philadephia starting Sunday October 1881 for eight days. It was to be organized by J H Gray, but few came from afar, and despite a glowing couple of sentances in the December 1881 Herald, page 76, a lack of detail suggests it was not such a success. As far as extant copies of the Herald are concerned, the idea does not appear to have been repeated.

While ZWT and its related movement prospered, there still remained some knowledge of Barbour amongst its readers. When S D Rogers broke away from ZWT in 1894 it was reported by Maria Russell (ZWT special edition for July 11, 1894, page 171 in original) that he had teamed up with Barbour, “an old enemy of the cross of Christ.”  That would only have meaning to ZWT readers if they knew who Barbour was.

And Barbour always acknowledged that some of his readers were still reading the papers of former associates. These were the “foolish virgins” who had gained some truth from him, but then gone astray. To the end his paper attacked what he called Russellites, Patonites and Adamites. Talking of Satan’s lie, he railed: “You can get all you want of this kind of teaching in the so-called “Spirit of the Word” [Adams’ paper] – may we all be delivered from such a spirit – and also in the “World’s Hope” [Paton’s paper] – or rather the devil’s hope – …unless that rankest of spiritualistic papers, the “Watch Tower” [CTR’s paper] absorbs most of his [Satan’s] time.” (see Herald, April 1897, pp.57-59)

A few years after that swipe at his former associates, Barbour’s Herald stuttered to a close. He was old and tired, but still had yet another date confidently in mind. The final words of the final issue (October 1903 supplement) reads:

His final date was for 1907. He was spared that disappointment by dying in 1905.

In contrast, those supporting ZWT, the main ones Barbour castigated as “foolish virgins,” went from strength to strength.

 

TRANCRIPT OF THOSE WHO ATTENDED BARBOUR’S 1881 CONVENTION

Where there is still doubt in the transcript, the text is in red and a question mark follows in parenthesis. If anyone would like this as a Word document to “play around” with, just send a message via the contact form.

First, a list by delegate name:

Surname	Forename	Where from
Adams,	Arthur P	Beverly, Mass.
Adams,	Addie A	Beverly, Mass.
Allen,	John J	Depauville, NY
Babcock,	William and wife	Oconee, Ill
Bacon,	Miss L	Alden, NY
Bacon,	G A	Cohocton, NY
Barr,	O S	Oakham, Mass.
Beeman,	J S	Honeyoe, NY
Belding,	Mrs Mary A	South Windsor, Conn.
Benedict,	H T	Canton, Penn.
Best,	Annie	Pittsburgh, PA.
Bockhoort,	J W and wife	Warsaw, NY
Bonyton,	A	W Baturo (?), Genesee Co.NY
Bowe,	E A and wife	Batavia, NY
Bradstreet,	Isabella	Rochester, NY
Bradstreet,	Laura A	Rochester, NY (assumed)
Brown,	H and wife	Wayland, NY
Brown,	A S and wife	Cohocton, NY
Brown,	R A	Cohocton, NY
Bulman,	Edward T	Lynn, Mass.
Bulman,	Mary L	Lynn, Mass.
Buvinger,	Sherman	Pittsburgh, Pa.
Buvinger,	C W  M.D.	Pittsburgh, Pa.
Buvinger,	Emma P	Pittsburgh, Pa.
Chadwick,	Elijah	Chelsea, Mass.
Chadwick,	Sarah N	Chelsea, Mass.
Chapin,	Adeline	Nevada, O.
Clark,	F	a pilgrim stopping in Rochester
Cobb,	Julia A	Honeoye, NY
Combs,	Mrs E	Allegheny City, Pa.
Connell,	M	Norwalk, Ohio
Cooper,	D T	Chicago, Ill.
Craig,	M A	Westford, Mass.
Crittenden,	Miss Mary	Clarendon, NY
Crosby,	Mrs A	Evansville, Ind.
Davis,	Sarah F	Brockport, NY
Davison	Mrs F	Richmond, Va.
Davison,	George J	Lunenburg, Va.
Delano,	J S	Batavia, NY
Delano,	Mrs J S	Batavia, NY
Deverell,	Elder	Ont.
Dewey,	A and wife	Fort Edward, NY
Durkee,	Mary	Dansville, NY
Easton,	Enos	Hartford, Mich.
Ensign,	Orville	Eire, Pa.
Farr,	Mrs E H	Nowark, O.
Fassett,	Truman	Canton, Bradford Co.,Pa.
Field,	A A	Massena, NY
Fletcher,	William	Bradford, Pa.
Fuller,	Joseph G	a travelling pilgrim
Gary,	Mrs Mary C	Dansville, NY
Goss,	Henry	Macdonald, Mich.
Grant,	John	Batavia, NY
Grant,	Mrs John	Batavia, NY
Gray,	J H	Philadelphia, Pa.
Guthree,	W	Chambersburg, Pa.
Hagan,	D N	Uniontown, Pa.
Hamlin,	Avis	Elyria, Ohio
Harrington,	L D	Ware, Mass.
Hartwell,	C M	Greenfield, Mass.
Haskins,	Mrs	Fairport, NY
Hayworth,	Joel and wife	Plymouth, Kansas
Hennecky,	Abraham and wife	Monroe co., NY
Hennecky,	Elizabeth	Monroe co., NY
Hess,	Mrs George	Dansville, NY
Hibbard,	Mrs P J	Pembroke, NY
Higgins,	D H and wife	Norwalk, Ohio
Hodgman,	S and wife	Fort Edward, NY
Hovey,	Solomon	Hyde Park, Mass.
Hovey,	Augustus F	Hyde Park, Mass.
Howe,	Mrs S A	Springwater, NY
Ingold,	Lizzie	Allegheny City, Pa.
Jewell,	A C	Batavia, NY
Kerr,	W P	Wilson, NY
Lake/Lang (?).	Julia A	Brockport, NY
Landis,	Helen	Dansville, Ohio
Lord,	Mrs H H	Pittsford, NY
Lyon,	Samuel I	Norwalk, Huron, O.
Mathewson,	Kittie J	Rochester, NY
Mattison,	Mamie J	St Louis, Mo.
McCragg,	J W and wife	Warsaw, NY
McDonald (?),	J	Kimlin (?) Center
Mearns,	William	Oakdale, Ill.
Miller,	S M	Pittsburgh, Pa.
Miller,	John	Pittsburgh, Pa.
Motheral,	M S	Pittsburgh, Pa.
Munsee,	Mrs Delia	Dansville, NY
Munsee,	Mrs Mary J	Dansville, NY
Munsee,	E O	Dansville, NY
Myers,	Darius	Pleasant Valley, Ill.
Myers,	Miss S B	Pleasant Valley, Ill.
Myers,	Mary A	Allegheny City, Pa.
Paine,	Mrs Hon. J C	Covington, NY
Paine,	S White	(Rochester, NY)
Parks,	Caroline M	Le Roy, NY
Pottle,	Miss Lottie E	St Louis, Mo.
Putnam,	W	Batavia, NY
Randolph,	S B	Brockport, NY
Reed,	Ezra W	Dansville, NY
Richardson,	Elizabeth M	Lynn, Mass.
Roberts,	J R	Wallace, NY
Sloan,	James	Lapeer, Mich.
Smith,	M N	Springfield, O.
Smith,	Emma J	Allegheny City, Pa.
Smith,	William N	Pittsburgh, Pa.
Soranson	R	Stokesdale, Pa.
Spinney,	Frances A	Lynn, Mass.
Staples,	S A	Lunenburg, Va.
Staples,	M L	Prince Edward, Va.
Stegall,	Mrs J N	St Louis, Miss.
Storms,	W S	Fairport, NY
Storms,	Mrs W E	Fairport, NY
Tansey,	Judith E	Dansville, Ohio.
Trunnick,	Nannie S	Pittsburgh, PA.
Turner,	Mrs Martha	Toledo, Ohio.
Upson,	F C	Westfield, Conn.
Webster,	Abraham D	Springwater, NY
Whipple,	Geo. E and wife	Fort Edward, NY
Williams,	Mrs C J	Fairport, NY
Wilson,	William Jr.	Lycoming co., PA.
Withington,	S H and wife	Springwater, NY
Withington,	N T and wife	Springwater, NY
Wolfe,	Alvin	Nevada, O.
Yerrington,	Mrs James	Hartford, Conn.

 

Second, a list by where they came from:

Surname	Forename	Where from
Clark,	F	a pilgrim stopping in Rochester
Fuller,	Joseph G	a travelling pilgrim
Bacon,	Miss L	Alden, NY
Combs,	Mrs E	Allegheny City, Pa.
Ingold,	Lizzie	Allegheny City, Pa.
Myers,	Mary A	Allegheny City, Pa.
Smith,	Emma J	Allegheny City, Pa.
Bowe,	E A and wife	Batavia, NY
Delano,	J S	Batavia, NY
Delano,	Mrs J S	Batavia, NY
Grant,	John	Batavia, NY
Grant,	Mrs John	Batavia, NY
Jewell,	A C	Batavia, NY
Putnam,	W	Batavia, NY
Adams,	Arthur P	Beverly, Mass.
Adams,	Addie A	Beverly, Mass.
Fletcher,	William	Bradford, Pa.
Davis,	Sarah F	Brockport, NY
Lake/Lang (?).	Julia A	Brockport, NY
Randolph,	S B	Brockport, NY
Fassett,	Truman	Canton, Bradford Co.,Pa.
Benedict,	H T	Canton, Penn.
Guthree,	W	Chambersburg, Pa.
Chadwick,	Elijah	Chelsea, Mass.
Chadwick,	Sarah N	Chelsea, Mass.
Cooper,	D T	Chicago, Ill.
Crittenden,	Miss Mary	Clarendon, NY
Bacon,	G A	Cohocton, NY
Brown,	A S and wife	Cohocton, NY
Brown,	R A	Cohocton, NY
Paine,	Mrs Hon. J C	Covington, NY
Durkee,	Mary	Dansville, NY
Gary,	Mrs Mary C	Dansville, NY
Hess,	Mrs George	Dansville, NY
Munsee,	Mrs Delia	Dansville, NY
Munsee,	Mrs Mary J	Dansville, NY
Munsee,	E O	Dansville, NY
Reed,	Ezra W	Dansville, NY
Landis,	Helen	Dansville, Ohio
Tansey,	Judith E	Dansville, Ohio.
Allen,	John J	Depauville, NY
Ensign,	Orville	Eire, Pa.
Hamlin,	Avis	Elyria, Ohio
Crosby,	Mrs A	Evansville, Ind.
Haskins,	Mrs	Fairport, NY
Storms,	W S	Fairport, NY
Storms,	Mrs W E	Fairport, NY
Williams,	Mrs C J	Fairport, NY
Dewey,	A and wife	Fort Edward, NY
Hodgman,	S and wife	Fort Edward, NY
Whipple,	Geo. E and wife	Fort Edward, NY
Hartwell,	C M	Greenfield, Mass.
Yerrington,	Mrs James	Hartford, Conn.
Easton,	Enos	Hartford, Mich.
Cobb,	Julia A	Honeoye, NY
Beeman,	J S	Honeyoe, NY
Hovey,	Solomon	Hyde Park, Mass.
Hovey,	Augustus F	Hyde Park, Mass.
McDonald (?),	J	Kimlin (?) Center
Sloan,	James	Lapeer, Mich.
Parks,	Caroline M	Le Roy, NY
Davison,	George J	Lunenburg, Va.
Staples,	S A	Lunenburg, Va.
Wilson,	William Jr.	Lycoming co., PA.
Bulman,	Edward T	Lynn, Mass.
Bulman,	Mary L	Lynn, Mass.
Richardson,	Elizabeth M	Lynn, Mass.
Spinney,	Frances A	Lynn, Mass.
Goss,	Henry	Macdonald, Mich.
Field,	A A	Massena, NY
Hennecky,	Abraham and wife	Monroe co., NY
Hennecky,	Elizabeth	Monroe co., NY
Chapin,	Adeline	Nevada, O.
Wolfe,	Alvin	Nevada, O.
Lyon,	Samuel I	Norwalk, Huron, O.
Connell,	M	Norwalk, Ohio
Higgins,	D H and wife	Norwalk, Ohio
Farr,	Mrs E H	Nowark, O.
Mearns,	William	Oakdale, Ill.
Barr,	O S	Oakham, Mass.
Babcock,	William and wife	Oconee, Ill
Deverell,	Elder	Ont.
Hibbard,	Mrs P J	Pembroke, NY
Gray,	J H	Philadelphia, Pa.
Best,	Annie	Pittsburgh, PA.
Buvinger,	Sherman	Pittsburgh, Pa.
Buvinger,	C W  M.D.	Pittsburgh, Pa.
Buvinger,	Emma P	Pittsburgh, Pa.
Miller,	S M	Pittsburgh, Pa.
Miller,	John	Pittsburgh, Pa.
Motheral,	M S	Pittsburgh, Pa.
Smith,	William N	Pittsburgh, Pa.
Trunnick,	Nannie S	Pittsburgh, PA.
Lord,	Mrs H H	Pittsford, NY
Myers,	Darius	Pleasant Valley, Ill.
Myers,	Miss S B	Pleasant Valley, Ill.
Hayworth,	Joel and wife	Plymouth, Kansas
Staples,	M L	Prince Edward, Va.
Davison	Mrs F	Richmond, Va.
Bradstreet,	Isabella	Rochester, NY
Bradstreet,	Laura A	Rochester, NY (assumed)
Mathewson,	Kittie J	Rochester, NY
Paine,	S White	Rochester, NY (assumed)
Belding,	Mrs Mary A	South Windsor, Conn.
Smith,	M N	Springfield, O.
Howe,	Mrs S A	Springwater, NY
Webster,	Abraham D	Springwater, NY
Withington,	S H and wife	Springwater, NY
Withington,	N T and wife	Springwater, NY
Stegall,	Mrs J N	St Louis, Miss.
Mattison,	Mamie J	St Louis, Mo.
Pottle,	Miss Lottie E	St Louis, Mo.
Soranson	R	Stokesdale, Pa.
Turner,	Mrs Martha	Toledo, Ohio.
Hagan,	D N	Uniontown, Pa.
Bonyton,	A	W Baturo (?), Genesee Co.NY
Roberts,	J R	Wallace, NY
Harrington,	L D	Ware, Mass.
Bockhoort,	J W and wife	Warsaw, NY
McCragg,	J W and wife	Warsaw, NY
Brown,	H and wife	Wayland, NY
Upson,	F C	Westfield, Conn.
Craig,	M A	Westford, Mass.
Kerr,	W P	Wilson, NY