November 1916

 A snapshot from the time of CTR’s funeral has come to light in the last year. The picture below comes from Mike C. On the back of photo it reads: “Gone Home – Pastor Russell’s grave.”

Brian K has flattened the picture to get the best possible result.

Leroy has then used AI to present a colorized version. Obviously with AI there is some guesswork about the colors, but it brings the picture more to life.

So when was this picture, with its absence of people, taken?

The picture shows the flower arrangements which include the inscription “Holy Bible” and also “2 Tim 4:7,8.” The whole arrangement is no longer in the best of condition.

This indicates that the picture most likely dates from the day AFTER the official funeral service on 6 November 1916, which would be 7 November 1916.

The actual graveside funeral service took place at sundown. The known photographs of the casket arriving at the graveside with a heavily veiled Maria Russell walking behind are dark and also a little blurred. This is because they would need to place a camera on a tripod or a secure flat surface and use a long exposure (anything from one to five seconds) to get an image.

The above photograph is obviously taken in daylight, and would have been an “instantaneous” photo of about 1/25 to 1/60 second duration. Consumer cameras of the day did not have setting for shutter speed. They were either “bulb” or “instantaneous.” (With thanks to Brian K for the information).

So what happened? By the time the graveside service ended it would have been dark. There may have been safety concerns about lowering a coffin into the grave in these circumstances. Perhaps more to the point, the details in the St Paul Enterprise show that the casket was buried in its packing case (which is what I believe we see in the photograph) and the whole was encased in a strong layer of concrete. This work was performed by John Adam Bohnet. To do this would have taken some time and would need daylight.

So it appears that after the funeral service, the mourners eventually left, and with a guard posted the casket remained above ground until the next morning, when the photograph of the wilting flower arrangements was taken.

There is one photograph which supports this. The photo below shows the gravesite on what we assume is the following morning.

This picture was reproduced in the St Paul Enterprise, but the print quality is poor and is not helped by the material only now being available on microfilm. But AI and colorization can help us a bit.

Again with thanks to Leroy for the improved picture

We are looking down the hillside to the gravesite. Behind is the Wible/Wiebel farmhouse which was then the home of John Adam Bonhet and the office of the cemetery company.

The cluster of white grave markers at the bottom of the hill is missing today. However, it appears these were not markers for actual burials, but merchandise sold by the United Cemeteries Company. Only two small areas were reserved for Bible Students, the bulk of the cemetery was sold for general use and like most cemeteries it provided a full service.

For more information on the United Cemeteries including more on the funeral of CTR, see the book GRAVE MATTERS available on the LULU platform.

Go to LULU BOOKS in your region, and then search BOOKSHOP and then the title GRAVE MATTERS. There are several books with that name, but the cover below shows the correct one.

With grateful thanks to those who provided the pictures and much of the information for this article.