A New Year postcard

Postcard dated November 10, 1911 sent by the brothers of San Germano Chisone (Italy) on the occasion of the new year.

Recipient: Adolphe Weber, Les Convers (La Chaux-de-Fonds) Suisse

The postcard reads:
San Germano 1 ° -1 ° -1912
Love from all of us Clara Cerulli, A.Cerulli.
Joyful year your sister Fanny [widow of Lugli Balmas]
Loving greetings from your brother Remigio [Cuminetti]
Good year Amelie Soulier, Cesarine Bounous
Receive a warm greeting from your brother F.S. (François Soulier)
Blanc Lorenzo
Malanot Marie
Bounous Henriette
(written vertically) B. Magdelaine
Albertine Lantaret

Colossians IIIv

(Images supplied by Franco)

George Butterfield - A Forgotten Benefactor

This is the story of an almost forgotten donor to the Watch Tower Society, whose financial contributions played an important part in its history. Two of his donations in the second decade of the twentieth century totalled around $15,000. If we allow for over a century of inflation this would not be far short of $400,000 in today’s values.

His full name was George Augustis Butterfield. He lived until 1959.  Much of his life story comes from an obituary in The Bismarck Tribune, North Dakota for April 7, 1959.

The reproduction of the cutting is quite poor, but we will quote from this as needed in the rest of this article.

His early days are described as follows:

“He was born in Garrison, Iowa. He grew to manhood in that state and in 1900 drove a covered wagon to a site near Haxtun, where he homesteaded and began farming.”

The obituary noted that George had been married three times and outlived all three wives. His first wife was Allie (Alice) Rice, born c.1872. They were married in 1894. There is no record of any children in the 1900 census and they divorced in 1901. His second wife was Ethylin Addie Woods (1878-1947). They married in 1903 and had three children, but divorced in 1910.

When George eventually started his interest in the Bible Student message is not known. Two newspaper accounts have been found in that part of the United States linking the name George Butterfield with religion, but they may refer to a different person or persons. The name is a surprisingly well-used one in newspaper and genealogical records of the day.

The first account comes from two Iowa newspapers. The Daily Times for April 8, 1913 and The Gazette (Iowa) for April 4, 1913.

The Times has an unfortunate combination of terms – linking George Butterfield, religion and demented.

Whereas The Gazette (Iowa) adds a crucial detail:

According to The Gazette this disturbed George Butterfield was “a young man.” Our George would have been 45 years old at this time.

The other reference to a George Butterfield comes from the Bible Student newspaper the St Paul Enterprise.  In its issue for November 5, 1915 the St Paul Enterprise mentioned a colporteur of his name losing his voice.

If this one is our George he obviously got his voice back later, but the account as it stands does not suggest a person of means.

On perhaps firmer ground, genealogical records show that OUR George’s parents, Edgar and Sarah, died within a few weeks of each other in April/May 1915. Edgar was both a farmer and a landlord, so George may have inherited some of his assets. George’s own death certificate described him as farmer (retired) in both grain and cattle. Farming in Colorado was very profitable at that time (see Boulder County’s Agricultural Heritage by Deon Wolfenbarger, 2006) which may have allowed George to build up a reasonable fortune on his own account. 

Where we can be more positive about the story is when George started making donations. The first example is found in the transcript of the Rutherford vs United States trial. He made a contribution that was used towards the publication of The Finished Mystery. The transcript below has Joseph F Rutherford being cross-examined by the prosecution:

A few pages later in the trial transcript, the “certain sum of money” was specified:

It was clarified that George had not just made a loan, this was a straight donation and in line with existing arrangements he received Watch Tower Society voting shares in return.

The trial resulted in eight defendants being found guilty and sentenced to long years in prison. The Brooklyn properties were either sold off or closed down and operations returned to Pittsburgh. However, once the eight were released in early 1919 the decision to move back to Brooklyn on a permanent basis happened very quickly. It was another donation from George that helped make that possible. The account was given by A H MacMillan in his book Faith on the March in 1957.

Over pages 110-111 MacMillan describes how he had a visitor at the temporary headquarters in Pittsburgh. A man walked in “who had been associated with the work for many years and whom I knew well. He was a man of considerable means from one of the Southern states.”

They went to a private room and MacMillan continued: ”He began to take his shirt off as I talked to him. I thought he had gone crazy. He looked a little dirty and travel-worn, whereas ordinarily he was a tidy and well-kept man. When he got down to his undershirt he wanted a knife. Then he cut out a little patch he had on there and took out a bundle of money. It was about $10,000 in bills.”

The visitor had sat up all night in a train sleeper guarding the money. Seeing people he knew and trusted at the headquarters he gave MacMillan the money.

MacMillan quoted him as saying “I didn’t know who was in charge of the work, but now that I see you brothers here whom I know and I trust, I am glad that I came!’’ MacMillan responded: “We’re certainly glad that you came too.”

MacMillan’s account only called the visitor by his first name, George. But when the story was repeated word for word in the 1975 Yearbook on page 121 the account was prefaced: “One morning a Christian, George Butterfield, a person of considerable means, walked into the office.”

George had still been alive, although very elderly, when MacMillan’s book first came out. However, by the time the same account was given in the Yearbook he had died, so now his full name was given.

It was after these events that George was to marry for the third time.

Wife number three was Nellie Krakel (1889-1957), and she came from a Bible Student background. At the time of the marriage there was a considerable disparity in their ages. George was 51 and Nellie was 29. From The Democrat, of Kearney, Nebraska, for January 16, 1919 – George and Nellie were planning to exchange single blessedness for married blessedness.

Nellie had previously been listed in the 1917 St Paul Enterprise newspaper as ecclesia secretary for Sterling, Colorado. Her family were Bible Students and when her father, Henry Krakel, died in Sterling, his Bible Student obituary in The New Era Enterprise for November 1926 listed Nellie Butterfield as one of his children.

The 1920 census has George down as married to Nellie and working as a book agent. However, his obituary stated that “in 1925 George retired from farming and traveled throughout the mid west in connection with the Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

George and Nellie were to have one child, Edgar Leland Butterfield (1921-2007).

In the 1930 census the family of three are in Nebraska, and George’s occupation is given as colporteur, working on his own account as a distributor.

Their one son Edgar grew up to work for the Watch Tower Society. In his Draft Registration document dated February 16, 1942, he gave his employer’s address as Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 124 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn and his next of kin as George Butterfield of Haxtun, Colorado. He also made the newspapers when he failed to report for the draft. From the Greely Daily Tribune for February 6, 1943:

Edgar was to marry Antonetta Bradley (born 1928) and raise a family. In a 1952 Colorado trade directory they are running a sewing machine company.

Returning to the previous generation, George’s wife Nellie died, seemingly quite suddenly, in 1957. The newspaper report from The Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction, Colorado) for June 25, 1957, noted that a “presiding minister for Jehovah’s Witnesses” conducted the funeral.

Returning to George’s own obituary, when this happened in 1957 he went to live with Edgar who was now based in North Dakota.

So looking back on George’s life and the Watch Tower – as a grain farmer and rancher he donated very large sums of money to the cause when he could. Later when retired from business he represented the Watch Tower Society as a colporteur for virtually no remuneration. Both showed his serious level of commitment.

(With grateful thanks to G and J who started me on this particular journey and supplied some of the references)

Selling Shirts

Joseph Lytle Russell and his son Charles operated stores selling Gents Furnishing Goods for a number of years. Here are a few newspaper advertisements.

From the Pittsburgh Post for 5 June 1868:

 

From the Pittsburgh Post 23 April 1877:

From the Pittsburgh Commercial for 28 April 1877:

From the Monongahela Valley Republican for 14 August 1879:

It is known that Albert Delmont Jones once worked in one of CTR’s stores. He also branched out into the shirt store business on his own account.

Below is an advertisement from the Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette for November 6, 1883. The firm of Jones and Littell is operating from Pittsburgh, but they have several branches. One of these branches is at 335, Fourth Avenue, New York.

As shown below, this was \also the address of Jones’ (Zions) Day Star.

The way things worked out, it might have been better if Jones had stuck to selling shirts.

An Invitation

 From People’s Pulpit, Volume 2, number 4 (1910). Colorized by Leroy.

A Personal Note

 Readers of this blog will note that I do not cover personal matters here. I have another blog under another name for personal posts. This blog is designed to be an archive of materials on different aspects of early Watch Tower history. Readers can use the search facility to see if anything of specific interest has been covered.

But THIS is a personal post and therefore will be delegated to the dustbin of cyberspace after a few weeks.

The previous post was an investigation of C A Ericson. The investigation was inconclusive. But a reader with a mischievous bent submitted it to an AI critique. The results were, shall we say, interesting, and this is a lesson (or warning?) to any who wish to use such tools.

Overall it was quite favorable, although it didn’t like certain aspects, which had actually been quite deliberate decisions on my part. My post was “inconclusive.” Well, yes, that is true because the subject was inconclusive. My post ended abruptly.  True, and that was quite deliberate - to leave the mystery subject still hanging in the air. The puctuation was incorrect, especially in a poem from over one hundred years ago, but that was hardly my fault. You can see a certain pattern here – I don’t mind criticism. Except when I do…

But the piece de resistance was comedy. AI was asked to spice up the writing style with a few jokes. Here is a selection that resulted, although to actually understand them you may need to go back to the actual article.

After discussing conflicting accounts of Ericson’s pastoral experience: “At this point I considered taking up a less confusing hobby, like astrophysics or untangling headphones.”

After discussing Ericson as a Pilgrim speaker but now on the West Coast: “It seems Mr. Ericson took the Pilgrim moniker a bit too literally, and decided to keep on keepin’ on till he hit the Pacific.”

After discussing how common Ericson’s name was: “Trying to find the right Carl A Ericson is like trying to find a specific grain of sand on Redondo Beach. Only the grains of sand don’t get arrested for stealing tires.”

After discussing the problems finding information: “The amount of information was at times at times overwhelming, but I preached on, as I’m sure Rev. Ericson would have wanted.”

After coming to a dead-end on certain lines of research: “I briefly considered changing the name of this blog to ‘Jerome Mystery’ but I persevered.”

After discussing how many people came and went as Watch Tower evangelizers: “So many people appeared from the time of the move to Brooklyn onwards, and then disappeared a few years later (sort of like socks in a washing machine really).”

And there were more…

One bit of advice that AI threw in – if the joke doesn’t feel natural or relevant, leave it out.

Fine – that sorts that all out then.

With yet another example of an abrupt ending.

C A Ericson

When the Watch Tower Society moved its headquarters from Pittsburgh to Brooklyn in 1909 it was to become a time of great expansion in their work. The newspaper sermons, the planning for the Photodrama and connected conventions all served to make the Bible Students very well known. A number of high profile individuals took an interest in their work, and some made great sacrifices to personally spread the message.

One such individual is the subject of this article, Carl A Ericson, or to give him his full original title as used in some early advertising material, the Reverend Carl A Ericson, D.D. of the Brooklyn Tabernacle. From the Omaha World Herald for 21 August 1910:

Carl was a Baptist minister, and we note from the cutting that he spoke in both Swedish and English. Much of his history is unknown. Where he came from is uncertain and where he went at the end of the decade is also shrouded in mystery. Like the Bible character Melchizedek “There is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors” (Hebrews 7:3 – NLT) “he has no family line” (NIRV).

Subsequent research may change this, but there were many who appeared after the move to Brooklyn, who worked hard, and then just disappeared.

Carl’s photograph appeared in the convention reports for 1911 and 1912, wearing his clerical robes and looking seriously into the camera. This picture would be reproduced in cropped form in many newspapers of the day.

From the 1911 convention report – full page picture

The 1912 report has the same photograph with a transcript of his sermon “Appointed to a Kingdom.”

We can only identify him for certain in the 1910 census. The whole Bethel family were listed in the returns taken on 29-30 April 1910.

Ericson, Carl A. (mistranscribed as Erusor on Ancestry) is an Assistant to the head of the household, CTR; he is male, white, aged 36 and single. He was therefore born c.1874. The rest of the entry states that he was born in Massachusetts to Swedish parents, and that his occupation is Minister for Bible Society.

What we can glean about his history prior to becoming a Bible Student is taken from various publicity releases for his work with the IBSA.

This advertising leaflet or card from 1910 – in Swedish gave his previous locations.

Now billed as Pastor, Ericson is from the Brooklyn Tabernacle, and his past activity encompasses Chicago, Boston, and Brooklyn, New York.

The Oakland Tribune for 11 July 1914 stated that Pastor C A Ericson was “Graduate Chicago University” and provided the standard photograph. The Turlock Journal for 16 July 1914 (again headed by the standard photograph) gave information on his next locations:

So there were four years in Boston, Massachusetts, followed by a transfer to the first Baptist Church of Long Island, New York. This was noted by The Brooklyn Eagle for 12 March 1909.

The Long Island stint was obviously brief, because a year after the news reports he was a full- time speaker for the IBSA and also giving his address as the Brooklyn Bethel.

So his trajectory was Chicago, Boston, Long Island, and finally Brooklyn Bethel.

However, there appears an alternative history in some press releases. At times his resume includes twelve years as pastor of a Brooklyn Church.  In 1912 The Kansas City Star for 18 April 1912 noted:

Three years later, the San Diego Sun  for 26 February 1916 was more specific. In this account Ericson had been the former pastor of the First Baptist church in Brooklyn for twelve years.

However, another advertisement for the same Bible Student meetings, this time from the San Diego Sun for 18 March 1916, amended the blurb to mention Boston, Mass. and Brooklyn, but without any specific time periods other than a change of direction for the past seven years. This more or less fits the time when Ericson started supporting the IBSA.

So we have Boston for four years, Long Island for a few months and then the Brooklyn Tabernacle in one account, and a twelve year stint at the First Baptist Church in Brooklyn in the other.

Something seems amiss. There may be some unknown reason for keeping the twelve years quiet for most of the time. Or it may be that with the plethora of Ericsons around, there were two Baptists of this name who both passed through Brooklyn at some point, and whose biographies were somehow mangled in press releases.

Ericson’s conversion to Watch Tower theology must have been quite rapid, but this was quite common in the day. As noted earlier, so many people appeared from the time of the move to Brooklyn onwards, and then disappeared a few years later. By March 1910 he was a fully-fledged IBSA pilgrim speaker listed on the back cover of the Watch Tower, and he remained a regular feature there for over a year. Sometimes he stayed with a Bible Student group for several days. One example from 1910 is below:

On other occasions he gave a series of talks at various locals. From early 1911:

His talks in Swedish reached very large audiences. This cutting below from the Willmar Tribune for 23 November 1910 gives figures into the thousands for several venues.

As well as speaking assignments arranged by the IBSA, he also appears to have given a number of lectures under his own auspices in both Swedish and English. The talk titles in newspaper advertisements over 1910-1916, along with variations on the theme “Seats free – no collection” identify these as still part of the same doctrinal package. They also showed that with “seats free” he was of independent means to be able to afford to do this. This was commented on several times. Here is one example.

From The Turlock Journal for 16 July 1914:

Ericson obviously had considerable private means, which ties in with other sightings. In the Post Star (Glen Falls, New York) for 1 August 1913, a  Rev. C A Ericson is selling three quality horses before relocating to the far West in September. Other evidence of personal assets in the West will be presented later.

Some of his speaking engagements had titles a little unusual for regular Bible Student fare. With the ever familiar photograph, here is one example from The Register (Santa Ana, California) for 22 May 1915:

Ericson’s lecture appointments at this time were now on the West Coast in California where he’d obviously settled. Some were still obviously billed as IBSA, like this example from the Long Beach Telegram and Daily News for 22 January 1916:

The talks given a couple of months later in 1916 in San Diego as referenced above draw this period of publicity to a close.

For his activities thereafter we have to turn to the Bible Students unofficial newspaper, the St. Paul Enterprise.

In 1918 Ericson wrote to the Enterprise, which prompted this editorial response in the issue for 16 April 1918:

The other references to Ericson involve the attempted sale of real estate. Confirming that he had substantial personal means, even if it was tied up in property, the Enterprise carried his advertisement in its issue for 3 October 1916:

We note that Ericson was living in Redondo Beach, California, at this time. Two and a half years later he put up another advertisement for what seems suspiciously like the same property, but at a greatly reduced figure. This notice appears in the Enterprise for 1 April 1919:

We note that Ericson is still living in Redondo Beach. The second notice suggests he may also have been handling real estate for others at times; either that or he owned multiple properties. This was carried in the Enterprise up until October of 1919.

During this time period, someone named C A Ericson had a poem published in the local Redondo newspaper. It was an anti-war poem published in The Redondo Reflex, for 11 May 1917.

America had officially entered the Great War on 6 April 1917, but initially public opinion was much divided with so many nationalities in the country. The poem The Prayer of the Nations by C A Ericson has no positive message and doesn’t hint at the “Divine Plan” so it may well not be our man, but is reproduced here out of interest. Its theme would be partly echoed nearly 50 years later when Bob Dylan wrote “With God on our Side.”

THE PRAYER OF THE NATIONS

The churches are praying, and crying to God,

To destroy the enemy and the submarine squad.

In Germany and Britain, they all pray the same:

O Lord; slay our enemies, we ask in thy name!

 

We know God is with us, the Germans all cry,

And so do the British, who are ready to die.

They give up their lives, for the country they love,

And say it’s of God, their Father above.

 

Because we are mighty, extraordinary strong,

We’ll control all the seas, and the countries e’er long.

We’ll sink all their ships, and rob them as well,

We’ll slaughter the enemy, and send them to hell.

 

It’s a terrible thing to murder a man,

The rope and the gallows, are then in demand.

But to sink a great ship, full of lives out at sea,

Brings a name and great honors, rejoicing and glee.  

 

The bombs they are dropping from Zeppelins on high,

Doing their work of destruction, from above, as they fly;

They blow up their cargo, and say, “sink – or – swim!”

And praise the Lord, and blame it on Him.

 

At the front are the soldiers, all ready to fight,

The priest and the parson, are both there in sight,

Blessing the shells, and kneeling in prayer;

Telling the soldiers that God will be there.

 

Just across from these trenches, the enemy, too,

Have their preachers, and priests, the same thing they do;

They both pray to God, and say they are right,

So if Christ’s Spirit’s with each, then how could they fight?

 

Just fancy their God, away off in the sky –

The prayers of the Germans ascending on high;

With the prayers of the English, a coming up too –

Now tell me, dear hearers, What-on-earth-could-God-do?

Part 2: So what happened next?

Up to and including the real estate references in the Enterprise for 1919 we can be reasonably confident that the person we have followed is the former Baptist minister who worked for the Bible Student cause. However, it has not been possible to establish with any certainty what happened to him after then. Once the World War ended, there are a number of sightings of a C A Ericson, or even a Carl A Ericson, often with links to the Baptist movement, but no conclusive ties to our man. Ericson is a very common name for Americans of Swedish origin, as are the initials C and A. Pinpointing the right person is problematic.

One of the first post-war events featuring a C A Ericson was in 1919, and mentions a familiar place – Redondo Beach. A Baptist minister of that name and location, found himself arrested on a charge of theft.

The story is in the Long Beach (California) Telegram and Daily News for 25 June 1919,

He was accused of stealing an automobile tire.

Rather than having a rational discussion, the man who made the accusation punched Ericson in the face instead, and a battered Baptist was arrested. He was charged with theft. Ericson claimed he had just removed the tire so he could get his own vehicle out of a tight parking spot.

It is quite a curious case. This C A Ericson had resources. For the court hearing, he was able to hire an attorney and also stump up $1200 bail (worth over $22,000 today), which seems high for the alleged crime. It also begs the question: if he could afford an attorney and raise that bail, why would he want to steal a tire? I could find no outcome of the trial in the newspapers, which suggests the matter was dismissed or he was acquitted. Only a guilty verdict for a clergyman would have been newsworthy.

Another event came in 1928-1929.

In the Oakland Tribune for 31 December 1928, the Forest Hill Baptist Church of Oakland, California, provides news of a church concert, which mentions their Pastor as being the Rev. C.A. Ericson – who is late of two familiar places, Brooklyn and Boston. In a further story from 1929, Carl A Ericson (now Carl Alexander Ericson) is banned from the church. The cutting below is from the Oakland Tribune for 15 June 1929.

According to the newspaper, Ericson had been unfrocked by the Baptist Union on 7 March, 1929, for “(unspecified) conduct unbecoming a Baptist minister and his ordination was revoked and cancelled.”

He was then accused of breaking into the church and continuing to conduct services in a building the Baptist Union owned. It went to court and Ericson lost. The cutting talks of the Baptist Union winning the first round of this fight, but if there were any subsequent rounds they do not appear to be documented.

Moving on again, we now come to 1934 and 1935 where a retired Baptist minister named – C A Ericson – “of Hollywood” and “graduated from the University of Chicago” and previously from Brooklyn, is speaking at Porterville and Tulare, both in California and about 24 miles apart by road. This Ericson had been involved with YMCA summer camps for the past 15 years at Lake Sequoia. The Tulare Advance Register for 10 February 1934 states that he was ordained in the Baptist Temple, Brooklyn, and served that church for “the past 12 years of his active ministry.” We remember that just a couple of publicity announcements for our Ericson in the 1910s mentioned twelve years in a Brooklyn Baptist church, although this was generally omitted from press releases of the time.

All of these sightings, or some of these sightings, or none of these sightings may be the actual Carl A Ericson who spoke to thousands at a time in the work of the IBSA.

We might have expected that when Ericson died a newspaper obituary would have linked the right people together, or at least have let us know what really happened to him. But while there are quite a few people of that name whose death is recorded none of them provide any clues to link to our subject.

On Find a Grave – a brilliant but incomplete resource – the only one with a birthdate that might fit is: Carl Alexander Ericson, born 1873 in Massachusetts (which location would fit the 1910 census) and who died in 1955 in Los Angeles County (which would fit our last confirmed sighting). This of course might be the Carl Alexander Ericson who had troubles with his church back in 1929, but we don’t know. The simple headstone just gives his name, dates and the message, “In loving memory.”

But from whom?

 

Epilogue: This started life as just a filler based on a newspaper advertisement, but as so often happens, it grew. If any other researcher can untangle the story further in search of the real C A Ericson, please do so, and please leave a comment.

Photodrama operatives

 With thanks to Bernhard who supplied the photograph.

The word “operatoris” is the Latin for “operators.”

The first showing of the Photodrama to the general public appears to have been on January 11, 1914, at the New York City Temple. Cutting below is from the New York Sun, January 11, 1914, page 13.

"Angels and Women" - Problems from beyond?

Guest post by Chris G.

Published in 1924 this book was purported to be a favorite read of Charles Taze Russell.  The book was not published in any official capacity by the Watchtower and Bible Tract Society but was endorsed in the pages of the “Golden Age” magazine (see g24 7/30; g24 12/3).  The Golden Age articles also gave the contact information of how to attain this book if one desired. 

Among archivists of Watchtower publications, this work has found itself among the list of books that contribute to a complete library.   It has a kind of honorary place among the well known “Studies in the Scriptures” and the early writing of Judge J.F. Rutherford such as the “Harp of God” and perhaps “Deliverance”. 

Due to this quasi official status, it has come under fire for having confusing statements in its “forward” as written by the books publisher.  We will discuss this and why these words are controversial to some, and how we can understand them more clearly through the clarity of time.

A brief history!

Angels and Women was a reprint of a much earlier work named “Seola” published in 1878 and written by Ann Eliza Smith, or as known by many, Mrs. J. Gregory Smith of St. Albans, VT. 

Seola tells the story of the pre flood world and the struggles that may have been present based on the limited story as outlined in the Holy Bible’s account of Genesis chapter 6.  In Seola, it dramatically portrays the difficulty of navigating a world where supermen have appeared from the heavens and demanded power, wealth and wives, as many as they wanted, from among pitiable humans at that time.  All based loosely on the flood account of Genesis, it’s a fascinating read, and it’s no wonder that bible students of the day were impressed by its contents.  After reading the book I found it encouraging and enlightening to imagine what “might have” happened in those days.  I never thought of the book as being controversial, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Fast forward to the mid 1920s and the original work of Seola was likely becoming hard to find as it had long been out of print.  No doubt some talk of it had spread among the early bible students associated with Russell and a desire to read it was likely a fact of the few thousand bible students at that time.  It seemed like a good idea when, a somewhat well known bible student by the name of E.W. Brenneisen (misspelled Brenisen frequently) decided to republish the original novel with some minor updates that would include footnotes including those from current and previous Watchtower publications.

In order to publish this revision, a book company by the name of the A. B. ABAC Company of NY appears to have been created.  I’ve never been able to find any other titles published by this specific company in twenty years of looking so it appears this company was created with the sole purpose of bringing Seola back to life.

All the facts that are about to follow are simply taken from the forward of this book and used to explain what would become a drama of sorts for the readers of that time that has continued down to this day.

…by way of explanation

The three page foreword of Angels and Women appears to have caused all the concerns and seems to be the source of the controversy.  I’ll quote a few of the thoughts below and you’ll see what I mean.

“Since the flood these evil angels have had no power to materialize, yet they have had the power and exercised it, of communicating with human beings through willing dupes known as spirit mediums.”,

And then comes the smoking gun comment that’s caused so much interest among critics of this book.

“The reviser of this book is of the opinion (italics mine) that the original manuscript was dictated to the woman who wrote it by one of the fallen angels who desired to return to divine favor.”   (https://archive.org/details/angelswomenrevis0000jgre/page/4/mode/2up)

What in the world?

So the “reviser” was of the opinion, yes opinion that the original author was handed/transmitted this information from “fallen angels” or “good” fallen angels that were somehow trying to assist good hearted humans into winning the battle against the dark forces that would become so effective and prevalent in the last days.  The battle would be difficult and this book was made to help the reader see the tactics of Satan and his cohorts.  As the book’s forward concludes it clarifies its purpose, “Spiritism, otherwise named demonism, is working great evil amongst men.  It should be studiously avoided.  To be forewarned is to be forearmed.  Hence this publication”

What in the world was the publisher thinking?  Well, it’s easy from our current vantage point to think negatively of the perspective of E.W. Brenneisen who at the time was reflecting a fairly accepted theology of his day.  The belief among some Protestants of that time was that there were good angels and there were bad fallen angels but in the second category there were two classes of fallen angels.  Those who were dead set against the will of their creator and those that were repentant and trying to find their way back to the good graces of Jehovah.

This thought was believed commonly among early bible students of the Watchtower and Bible Tract Society and the following references can be checked to confirm this belief through the mid 1940s as far as my research was able to reveal.  (see w23 p133 par 56; w43 4/15 p123 par 9; g44 6/21 p17 par 2; w45 8/1 p229 par 13)

The “two classes” of fallen angels appears to have been a belief based on a scriptural passage found at 1 Peter 3:19-20 that at first glance appears to fully support this.  However in the Watchtower of 1951, November 15 issue, a Question from Readers was expounded on that began the foundation of the current theology that expresses no room for a change of circumstance for any fallen Angels or demons as we commonly refer to them.  The “two classes” way of thinking as applied to these demons was expunged and logically explained to be a faulty way of looking at that passage.  From this point forward it’s been hard to imagine any place of acceptance for the Publishers words in the foreword of Angels and Women, and yet, there they were.

A Closer look!

Let’s simply examine one word of the publisher above in italics.  He states, “The reviser of this book is of the opinion that the original manuscript was dictated to the woman who wrote it by one of the fallen angels…”  He was simply of the “opinion” that this was the case.  That is very different than saying something is a verifiable fact or truth of some kind that can never be reversed or disagreed with.  I think that point stands all on its own.  We all have opinions and our opinions are subject to change at any point based on more facts coming to light.  If the reviser quoted above had republished Angels and Women in the mid 1950’s after reading the Question from Readers article of November 15, 1951 he may have subsequently changed his “opinion” and the foreword itself may have been revised if any future editions of Angels and Women were made. 

So it may be a little easier to understand why the Golden Age magazine, an official magazine published by the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society at the time, would have advertised this outside work for Christian study at the time.  However the question remains, was this book actually believed by the original author to have been transmitted to her by a good fallen angel?

Mrs. J. G. Smith in her own words!

Much of the controversy surrounding Angels and Women appears to have begun likely sometime in the last 30-40 years.  Some strong opinions denouncing the book admit that there were no original copies of “Seola” to reference or use as a comparison when reviewing Angels and Women and forming their own negative opinions of it.

This is unfortunately a grave error on the part of those who chose to speak so harshly of a revision of a book some 45 or more years removed from the original work.  If the critics would have taken the time to review the original author’s own words in regards to the Seola novel, much, or all, of the controversy sparked would have been extinguished.

Seola was masterfully written!  I am of the opinion that it’s close to being riveting as a book.  Like many movies, dramas or books, it begins with a bang.  The novel starts and sets the stage by making the reader think they are possibly reading something of fact.  The author takes creative license here to absorb the reader into her created world.  If you read from the beginning of the book it’s a little bit confusing as to whether the author believes the material as fact or not.  It’s part of the journey of reading the work that makes it so compelling and enjoyable. 

However, and likely out of a sense of professional responsibility, she makes clear in the Appendix of the original Seola some points that put the whole issue here at rest.  Let’s take a look.  (https://archive.org/details/seolaxxx00smitiala/page/246/mode/2up)

Starting on page 238 the “Appendix to Seola” begins the testimony of the authoress on her creative process.  So as not to ruin the novel itself and show perhaps what’s behind the curtain, it’s reasonable to see why this is at the back of the book.  I’ve included screen shots below so you can see for yourself her explanation, but her opening words say much of what needs to be said.  “SEOLA is a fantasy”.

 

I don’t typically place entire Appendixes in articles but in this case I think it’s of the utmost importance for the discriminating reader to determine logically and reasonably what the author’s true intent was in writing this book.  Mrs. Smith appears to have been a keen student of the Bible as many were in those days when a study of the Holy Bible was as important as reading your hometown newspaper everyday may have been.  Her other novels, or at least one of them, appears to have basis on a deep understanding of the scriptures also.  I’m referring to “From Dawn to Sunrise”, see below, but that’s a subject for another article.

The first paragraph states clearly that, “Seola is a fantasy, revealed to the writer while listening to the performance of an extraordinary musical composition”.  She was simply inspired while listening to music.  Does that sound familiar to you?  It probably should because many creative people get their inspiration from many things, but music is an ingredient for many to open their minds in an innocent way.  She says nothing about hearing voices or speaking with the “angels” in any way.  To interpolate that thinking is to be deceitful in the light of facts.  I’ve highlighted a couple points but suffice it to say I think Mrs. J. G. Smith does a good job of explaining away any mystery that she may have created in her well written novel.  And that’s simply all it is, a novel.  It’s good reading, hopefully of the encouraging type, that leaves one smiling after enjoying the ride.

So is Angels and Women a “Problem from beyond?” like a black sheep of our literary past we should shun and not talk about?  An embarrassment to be ignored?  I don’t think so, but like many complex arguments or opposing opinions to our theocratic heritage, it takes a closer look to reveal the facts.  And by doing that our thoughts are made more sure and we hopefully learn something along the way.  Thank you Mrs. J. G. Smith, for your creative effort all those years ago. 

Addenda by Jerome

When Julia Smith died in January 1905, her obituary was carried by more than half a dozen Vermont newspapers. The wording was nearly identical in all of them, and mentioned her literary endeavors including “Seola.” The cutting below comes from The Richford Journal and Gazette for 13 January 1905.