The Curious Case of the Errant Envelope

Many documents written by or signed by well-known people from the past circulate among collectors of Watchtower memorabilia. In this post, we'll look at a personal letter Charles Taze Russell wrote to his wife in 1882. The letter, along with its envelope, is reproduced with permission.

The envelope suggests several stories. It appears below.

The letter was written from New York, and the postmark shows it was mailed on 12 October 1882.

The official return address shows this stationery came from the office of Zion’s Day Star, 1159 Broadway, New York. The official notepaper used for the actual letter gave this address and added that A. D. Jones was the editor and publisher.

Jones had been one of the original contributors to Zion’s Watch Tower. He’d worked at one of CTR’s stores, and the two men had been close friends. When Jones was married (for the first time out of several) CTR attended the wedding in Pittsburgh and was an usher. The event was written up in The Portsmouth Times (Ohio) on 9 January 1878:

With a little help from AI:

The two men shared a theological bond and also had business interests together. Jones moved to New York and opened a shirt store, and also started a companion magazine to ZWT. Jones’ paper was called Zion’s Day Star. It started with CTR’s blessing, and in the October/November 1881 issue of ZWT CTR gave Jones’ venture his “best wishes.”

The date on the envelope is significant because by this time CTR and Jones were falling out theologically. After the initial good wishes, the March 1882 ZWT printed a friendly “word from Bro. A.D. Jones of Zion’s Day Star.” But then the September 1882 ZWT showed a rift appearing. In the article THE BODY, THE BRIDE OF CHRIST, CTR mentioned the Day Star by name and wrote: “This is out of harmony with the views presented by our brethren.”

The next month CTR was in New York and obviously met with Jones because he used his business notepaper to write to Maria. Whatever discussions they had didn’t resolve the issues, and in the December ZWT CTR formally warned his readers about Jones in the article AN UNPLEASANT DUTY. It started:

“Less than a year ago, and frequently since, we warmly commended to our readers a publication called Zion’s Day Star. This we now regret.”

Returning to the envelope, underneath the official address for ZION’S DAY STAR, CTR wrote by hand his own return address:

101 Fifth Ave
Pittsburgh, Pa.

Newspaper advertisements for 1881 show this as the official address for Russell’s Shirt House, but it was also now used as the official address for ZWT.

Underneath the return address, CTR wrote the details of the addressee.

Mrs. C. T. Russell

Care  Mrs M A Fink

# 57 Macomb Ave

Detroit

Macomb Ave exists in Detroit, but there are no Finks there in the 1880 census. However, the name Mrs M A Fink does exist in the 1882 directory for Detroit. There we find Mary A Fink, widow of David Fink, living at 32 Macomb Street. (We will return to the discrepancy in the house number shortly).

Mary is listed as “h” = householder.

The same directory entry gives two other Finks at the same address as “bds” = boarders. They are:

Fink Leon C., chemist Parke, Davis & Co., bds 32 Macomb ave.

Fink, Wm., agt Union News Co., bds 32 Macomb ave

These are Mary’s two sons. They both had biographies in The Book of Detroiters, edited by Albert Nelson Marquis (1908). From this, we can reconstruct that Mrs M A Fink was originally Mary Ann Fitzsimmons (1837-1909). She married David Finck (1830-1864) in 1852 (note spelling of surname). David and Mary lived in Syracuse, NY, and had three children: William Muir (b.1854), a daughter, Luella (b.1857), and Leon Christian (b.1859).

William moved from New York to Detroit in 1876 and went into business with an Uncle Fitzsimmons. Widow Mary and son Leon moved to Detroit shortly after the 1880 census, and by 1882 she and the two boys were together at Macomb Avenue.

There is no indication found anywhere of how Mary entered the Bible Student fold, or how long she stayed there. CTR’s letter calls her “Sister Fink.” There are no references to Fink or Finck in the early ZWTs.

What is notable is that the street number on the envelope appears to be incorrect. The directory puts Mrs M A Fink at number 32 whereas CTR addresses her at number 67. She may, of course, have temporarily moved house along the same street, although it may simply be that 67 is a mistake. She is at number 32 Macomb Avenue in all the directories over 1881­-1884, before moving elsewhere in Detroit in 1885. The number 67 and the rest of the reference to “care (of) Mrs M A Fink” on the envelope appear to have lines struck through them. This might suggest “Return to Sender.” To coin a phrase from Elvis Presley:

Return to sender

Address unknown

No such number

No such zone

If this was the case, then the letter would have ended its journey at 101 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh.

 

After extracting the above from the envelope, the actual four-page letter it contained comes across as something of an anticlimax. It is reproduced below, followed by a transcript and comments.

Transcript – CTR’s underlining and strike-through corrections are preserved.

ZION'S DAY STAR,
ISSUED MONTHLY,
NO. 1159 BROADWAY,
Corner 27th Street.

A. D. JONES, Editor and Publisher.

New York, Oct 12th 1882

Mr. C. T. Russell
care

Mrs. M. A. Fink

My dear wife

Yours came promptly this morning (written Tuesday).

I am glad to know of your welfare but sorry that your head troubles you so much. I fear it results from your long fast & I now recommend that you put a light lunch in your pocket before starting on a journey.

I write now especially to propose that you stop on your way home at Mercer Pa. Bro. Adamson specially requested that you visit there. Also it might be advisable if possible to go to Titusville Pa. Both places are on your route.

You had better seek Sister Adamson at Mercer & brother Williams, a drayman, [?] at Titusville.

I have written to Sister Long to send you the lists of those two places and for her to write to prominent ones in each place Mercer announcing that you will visit them & be at Mercer & also at Titusville.

She will send the list of Mercer names to you at Mercer Mercer Co. Pa. so that on arrival you can go to P.O and get list, & then find the friends (mostly sisters.)

Regarding time of going, I leave that entirely with yourself. Saturday Monday I would think preferable.

You had perhaps better not visit Titusville unless an invitation comes to you from there at Mercer.

Buy your ticket in Detroit for Pittsburgh via "Lawrence junction". I think that the proper place to change cars for Mercer will be at "New Castle Pa." or "Lawrence junction.” I think the latter but Ticket agt. can tell you positively.

Do not get a limited ticket — as you may stop several days at Mercer and Titusville.

Should you conclude not to go to Mercer you may buy a limited ticket which will be cheaper.

Give my love to all the dear friends — especially Sister Fink.

Be of good courage & make full proof of the ministry and of a spirit of Christ.

God bless you richly & refresh you & cause you to refresh others.

Yours truly — Your husband

C. T. Russell

[written diagonally across the lower right]

Excuse hasty scribble

 

In addition to “Sister Fink” the letter mentions Bro and Sis Adamson, Bro Williams and Sis Long. Adamson’s ministry in Mercer is noted in ZWT May 1882 (reprints page 346):

“Bro. Adamson is holding some very successful, and we trust profitable meetings in Mercer county, Pa.”

As already noted, we do not know how Mary came into the Bible Student fold or how long she stayed there.

It is quite remarkable that the letter, along with its original envelope, has somehow survived for well over 140 years.