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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

End of the Enterprise

from The Golden Age for July 10, 1929, page 655

(depending on your device you may need to click on the graphic to see it in full) 

The New Era Enterprise (originally called The St Paul Enterprise) was an unofficial Bible Student newspaper for much of its history. It started publication in 1910, and was devoted increasingly to Bible Student news from 1914. Its first editor, William Abbott, became a Bible Student. The paper published pamphlets from time to time including the public speaking booklet The School of the Prophets in 1922.

For historical research it is invaluable, especially in its life stories in obituaries, and many well known names appeared in its columns.

Most library sources say the paper ended in 1930, but they all carry a question mark after that date. However, The Golden Age referred to its passing in the extract reproduced above. The writer noted that it had folded “sometime ago.” This information ties in with the extant file on microfilm belonging to the Minnesota Historical Society. The last issue on microfilm is for May 1, 1928.

As The Golden Age became more well-known it took over the role of The Enterprise in some respects. Also The Enterprise was heavily criticised in the article “The Misleading Press” by Judge Rutherford (see Golden Age for December 2, 1925). The paper had censored one of his speeches while claiming to print it complete, and had been selling subscriptions on that understanding. From then on it was only a matter of time before the paper folded.

Of interest in the above clipping – C E Stewart had been the editor of The Enterprise from 1918-1922, and felt the need to warn readers not to send money to its defunct offices. Stewart left the post in 1922 to go into Bethel, to work first on The Golden Age and then become part of The Watch Tower editorial committee.

John Adam Bohnet

His face and head with its distinctive bald pate looked out of various convention reports between 1907 and 1927, including the one above from 1911. He testified at two legal trials involving Charles Taze Russell. He was responsible for the pyramid monument near CTR’s grave. He was the man who actually grew “miracle wheat.” He compiled at least one small book and wrote numerous articles and letters for Watch Tower publications, as well as various newspapers. And unlike many of those who were very close to Russell, he stayed loyal to the Watch Tower Society after the change in administration. Although occasional anecdotes about his work in the 1920s have appeared in modern Watchtower literature, he is not as well remembered as many less public figures of the day. This article tries to redress that balance for John Adam Bohnet.

In 1915 Bohnet was asked to write his life story for the Bible Students unofficial newspaper, the St Paul Enterprise. Many of the facts about his conversion and early work with the Society are taken from this account, first found in the August 27, 1915 issue and then republished unchanged on February 8, 1916.

Additional facts about his life over this period are taken from his testimony in two trials, Russell vs. Russell (1906) “the divorce trial” and Russell vs. Washington Post (1913) “the miracle wheat trial.” Bohnet was a key witness in both trials, where he was quizzed about his own history and his connections with CTR and the Watch Tower Society. For a fuller summary of his St Paul Enterprise testimony, see Separate Identity volume 2, pages 261-271.

Adam’s parents, Johann Adam Bohnet (1830-1926) and Christina Dorothea Unkel (1829-1924) were born in Freudenstadt, Germany, but came to America in 1852 and settled in Michigan, ultimately in Ann Arbor. They had four children, all born in Michigan. Our subject John Adam (May 11, 1858 – April 14, 1932) was the first, and as the story will show, both his parents and some of his siblings also became Bible Students.

Bohnet’s parents were Lutheran, and though he was baptized in infancy he never made that faith his own. His father was a blacksmith, and Adam started his working life in farming, before moving from Michigan to Portland, Oregon, in 1883, to work first at brick making and then to work for a San Francisco publishing firm in Seattle. After experiencing set-backs he contemplating renouncing what little faith he had, but then an encounter with a revivalist preacher at the YMCA reawakened his spiritual interest. He became a Bible Class leader for the M.E. Church, linked to travelling widely for his firm. He described his commitment at Ogden, Utah: “My pew on Sunday was never vacant, and my loose change jingled merrily on the collection plate.”

Returning from a business trip he found his own Church temporarily closed so visited a Presbyterian Bible class nearby where an unnamed leader invited him to his home and enthused about a book that had “wonderfully opened the Bible to him.” Bohnet never saw the book because the owner had loaned it out, but another copy had been ordered from the East. When Bohnet called to say goodbye before departing for Nevada on business the book had arrived. In fact, three books had arrived, the first three volumes of Millennial Dawn. A letter Bohnet wrote to the National Labor Tribune for May 18, 1911, confirmed that this first encounter with the Divine Plan of the Ages was in 1892.

Bohnet was always quite outspoken, and his comments on his first encounter with Volume 1 as his train rattled towards Reno are typical: “While on the train next day I read with interest and astonishment the preface of Volume 1 – the wording of which, to my regret, was changed for all subsequent editions…” He struggled on the noisy train and then read through the night at his hotel. He was convinced he had found the truth. The local Methodist preacher was less than impressed – Bohnet described him as “bitterly antagonistic” – but there was no stopping Bohnet. He wrote: “By the Lord’s grace I was instrumental in locating and assisting out of Mystic Babylon, within the next twelve months, twelve dear saints.”

Bohnet attended the 1893 Bible Students convention at Chicago, where he was baptized and met CTR in person for the first time. He noted that his beard and hair seemed as black as coal.

CTR and Maria as part of group picture at the 1893 convention.

Bohnet does not appear in this particular photograph.

As we will see later, Bohnet became an indefatigable letter writer. His first was published in Zion’s Watch Tower for the September 1 and 15, 1893 double number and he kept up a steady stream over the years down to 1931. From very early on he described his witnessing experiences, and was soon on the list of speakers representing the Watch Tower Society. The 1894 annual report in the December 15 ZWT mentions him on page 393 as one of a number of “traveling salesmen, colporteurs and business men” who used their spare time at their own expense to visit groups and give talks. According to a letter in the St Paul Enterprise for February 13, 1917, he gave his first ever chart talk in Portland, Oregon, in October 1894.

At this point we might note that many years later Bohnet described how CTR gave him the address of Benjamin Wilson, the translator of the Diaglott, and how he called on Wilson in Sacramento, California for several revealing conversations. The report is found in the St Paul Enterprise for April 4, 1916, and it should be noted by modern writers that in the conversation Wilson flatly denied ever being a Christadelphian. While there is no reason to doubt the account, Bohnet’s article says this was in 1892. That appears too early for his biography – would CTR really entrust such an important visit to a neophyte he’d not even met at the time? This writer assumes that the visit on Wilson, who lived until 1900, probably happened around 1894.

Zion’s Watch Tower magazine for August 15, 1894, put out a call out for a stenographer to assist CTR at the Bible House. Bohnet quickly saw an opportunity, and as he wrote: “I knew nothing about shorthand writing. But immediately wrote Brother Russell that I was sending to Chicago for stenographic instructions; and when sufficiently proficient would join him.”

Blandishments to stay in his present employment in San Francisco fell on deaf ears, and in April 1895 a very determined and focused John Adam joined the Bible House family as CTR’s stenographer.

As a secretary Bohnet’s work involved taking dictation and typing out a number of confidential documents. These included letters CTR wrote to his wife and her relations and also drafting Joseph Lytle Russell’s last will and testament. He was also called on to give testimony in the Russell vs. Russell hearing of 1906. At the Bible House most workers lodged outside, but from 1894 the Russells lived in. CTR had to go away for a few days in 1897, which could have meant leaving his wife Maria on her own. Bohnet witnessed a telephone conversation where CTR tried to arrange through Ernest Henninges (then office manager) for Bible House worker Clara Taylor to stay with her. Maria declined the offer as she had other plans. In fact, she was shortly on her way to stay with her brother Lemuel in Chicago and never came back under the same roof as Charles.

Going by a date he gave in his father’s obituary, Bohnet’s work at the Bible House was to be interrupted in 1896. In his life story he explained it this way. Traveling back from a speaking assignment he had a fall and badly damaged an ankle. Not wanting to be a burden on a busy Bible House family he arranged to go back home to Ann Arbor to his parents’ home to recuperate. He had another secondary motive which was to share his faith with his family. As noted above this was very successful and we will learn more about some of his family later.

Bohnet was not back in harness at the Bible House for very long. Learning that the Society needed to borrow money, late in 1897 he suggested to CTR that he should go back into business with his old firm and make a financial contribution which would allow for several others to replace him in the office. After assuring CTR of his steadfastness to the truth he received this reply. He said that in substance, CTR’s words were:

“True, we need more money, and since you have this opportunity, which may be of the Lord’s appointment, and it is your desire to help out in the running expenses, go, and God bless you. But bear in mind, my dear brother, you are still counted as a member of the Bible House family.”

The exchange as told may seem somewhat unusual. All we can say from this distance is that his account was published while CTR was still alive, and was known to read the Enterprise from time to time.

Back in the secular field, Bohnet still did what he could for the message but for the next seven years worked in Washington DC for a company promoting a proprietary remedy called “Viavi.” (Russell vs. Brooklyn Eagle transcript, page 64). It was marketed for “female complaints.” Checking contemporary literature there’s a suggestion it might have been partly marketed as a female contraceptive. It seems a strange choice of employment for a confirmed bachelor. He left this company’s employ around 1904, which was probably just as well as the California State Journal of Medicine for April 1907 was to go after them with all guns blazing. Next, according to court testimony, he worked selling home supplies from a base back in Pittsburgh. This failed, and he went back into the Bible House. It would appear that this time it was CTR helping HIM.

In 1905 he published a scripture compendium by subject called “Features of the Plan of God.”

Back in the Bible House he worked at correspondence and in the dispatch department and was soon going out as a visiting speaker again.

A huge change took place in Watch Tower history in 1909. The Society moved its headquarters from Allegheny to Brooklyn, New York. Here the Bible House family became a much larger Bethel family.

Bohnet was the man they left behind. He still visited groups to give talks, and became extremely well known as a convention speaker. However, the main item of business he cared for was the Watch Tower Society’s own cemetery.

The 1910 census lists Bohnet as “Superintendent United Cemetery.” This was originally a series of three small cemeteries put together and called United Cemeteries, in Ross Township about five miles north of Pittsburgh.

As to why the Society would deal in business like a cemetery company, the Society’s secretary-treasurer W E Van Amburgh explained in the court case Russell vs Brooklyn Eagle (1913 – trial transcript pages 203-204) that many donations for their religious work were conditional; the donation could in fact turn out to be just a loan, depending on the circumstances of the donor. Consequently, they needed assets that could generate income and in case of emergency could be turned back into cash. A cemetery company seemed a good idea at the time – to quote direct from Van Amburgh: “The Society thought well to have some place where we could have a good asset…they found a farm, and they arranged for a United Cemeteries company as being the most stable, it could not run away, something satisfactory that could always be used as an asset.”

The cemetery charter was granted in 1905, and in 1907 CTR’s last will and testament made provision for his own burial there, in a special area reserved for Watch Tower workers. The whole area they owned totalled 90 acres, but only about 18 acres ever became a cemetery. The rest was either unused or kept as farming land. Getting permission was not difficult because there was already an established Roman Catholic Cemetery on the adjoining property.

As noted above, when the headquarters staff all moved to Brooklyn, Bohnet stayed behind in Pittsburgh to look after the cemetery. Below is a picture taken around 1920-1921, looking down the hill over the Society’s plot. CTR’s grave marker is there, and then there is a pyramid monument, rather like a modern War Memorial with names inscribed on the sides. It was in the center of the Society’s plot and was installed at the beginning of 1920 (see The New Era Enterprise, February 10, 1920). Two small grave markers can be seen for Bible Students Arabella Mann and Mary Jane Whitehouse, which sadly have long since disappeared. The pyramid too was removed in 2021 after severe vandalism made it unsafe. On the slightly rising hillside in the background is an old farmhouse, which became the cemetery superintendent’s house. This is where Bohnet lived. He is in the aforementined 1910 census at this address, along with another family of helpers.

It should be noted that the headstones in front of the house are not actual graves. At the time the picture was taken the cemetery company sold headstones and these were samples for purchase.

During the 1910s, when Bohnet was well known as a convention speaker, he was photographed many times. He was also involved with the pyramid in the above photograph. It was reported that it came from his design, and when CTR died in 1916 he supervised various funeral details, and then also supervised the eventual installation of the monument over 1919-1920.

Having come from a farming background, while in residence he used some of the spare land for farming purposes, which included what came to be called “Miracle Wheat.” This has been discussed elsewhere on this blog, but basically Bohnet was impressed with the wheat, and donated seed for sale through the pages of the Watch Tower magazine in 1911. An unexpected drop in prices from the original source and an attack by a tabloid-style newspaper created difficulties and led to the aforementioned Russell vs Brooklyn Eagle trial in 1913. Bohnet gave evidence and also revealed more of his personal history in examination and cross examination. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but in retrospect he would probably have done better to have just sold the seed direct, and made his own personal donation to the Society’s work.

In October 1916 CTR died and was buried in the United Cemeteries. In January 1917 Joseph F Rutherford was elected as president. In the division that followed, Bohnet put his full support behind Rutherford. When, in July 1917, Rutherford appointed four new members to the board of directors of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Bohnet (still resident in Pennsylvania) was one of them.

Events then moved quite rapidly for him. The cemetery company had ticked over and generated a certain amount of income, but it was not spectacularly successful. The decision was taken to realize the asset in 1917. It was probably wise. The land cost them $27,000 in 1905, but with a functioning business on it they realized $90,000 in December 1917.  

But it all happened very quickly. Bohnet was still advertising for cemetery help in April 1917 (Enterprise: April 17, 1917) but by December 1917 the property, apart from selected areas for Bible Student burials, was gone. The purchaser was the Catholic Northside Cemeteries association, which owned the adjoining cemetery.  It meant that both Bohnet’s work as superintendent and the house that went with it disappeared.

As a Society director one might have thought that a life in Brooklyn Bethel beckoned. Instead, Bohnet became a Pilgrim, an official visiting speaker sent out to groups by headquarters. He missed a memorial service at CTR’s grave on May 30, 1918 (a federal public holiday called Memorial Day when businesses were closed and people could gather together), because he was away on a Pilgrim visit (Enterprise: June 25, 1918). Apart from trips back home and coming back to Pittsburgh to supervise the installation of the pyramid, he spent the next ten years “on the road.”

To give an idea of the distance he covered, we can examine the speakers’ appointments on the back page of The Watch Tower. In 1918 he visited congregations in Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin. In 1919 he added Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina and Texas. In 1920 he added Arkansas, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, New York and Oklahoma. We could go on, but the picture is clear – Bohnet did not stick to one small area of the United States, he was sent everywhere.

Over the years he became an untiring writer for first the Enterprise, and later The Golden Age magazine. He staunchly supported the direction taken by the new administration of the Watch Tower Society with its emphasis on personal evangelism with campaigns like the Golden Age work from 1919. In the splits that occurred at this time he urged all to return to the IBSA, but wasn’t averse to laying into those who had left. The original split with its “committee of seven” (Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Divine Purpose [1959] page 73) Bohnet dismissed in the Enterprise for August 23, 1921: “It seems to be inoffensive – doing little or nothing” and contrasting it with the activity of the Watch Tower Society.

His greatest ire was reserved for the Standfast movement, which suggests in context that it may have had a greater impact on readers at the time. Bohnet ridiculed it and debated its teachings (see for example: St Paul Enterprise for March 11 and 18, 1919). The Standfasters were to fragment, one group started a commune, another insisted on membership cards and it wasn’t long before they generally disintegrated; although they were still in sufficient memory to be mentioned by J F Rutherford in The Watch Tower for September 15, 1931, page 279.

Bohnet’s choice of subjects in the Enterprise was eclectic. Excluding actual reprinted sermons, here are some more examples, with the issue date of the St Paul Enterprise in parenthesis: a letter explaining that rumors of his death were greatly exaggerated (July 9, 1915); his aforementioned life story (August 27, 1915); how and why they moved the headquarters from Allegheny to Brooklyn (October 1, 1915); a campaign mounted to obtain a Ford motor car for CTR (October 1, 1915) subsequently vetoed by CTR (October 22, 1915); visiting Benjamin Wilson (April 4, 1916); reviewing the funeral of CTR (November 14, 1916); Noah’s Ark found on Mount Ararat (January 16, 1917); a recent visit made by a sister on Maria Russell (February 20, 1917); a tribute to William Abbott, late editor of the Enterprise (March 27, 1917); a letter urging all to vote for Rutherford et al at the forthcoming election of Society officers (December 18, 1917); attacking the Standfasters as noted above (March 11 and 18, 1919); visiting the “Brooklyn eight” in Atlanta Federal prison (March 18, 1919); and visiting a seriously ill Rutherford after his release (June 24, 1919).

At the end of 1919 the St Paul Enterprise became The New Era Enterprise. Bohnet continued his contributions. He marketed a cancer cure (January 6, 1920) which hits problems (January 27, 1920); he installed the pyramid monument on the United Cemeteries site from his own design (February 10, 1920); Miracle Wheat was now Weber Wheat and winning prizes (October 19, 1920); a suggested substitute for coffee (June 15, 1920); problems with the other Bible Student supporting paper, the National Labor Tribune (November 16, 1920); vigorous backing for the Golden Age work (December 14, 1920); a character assassination of Judge Howe who presided over the trial of the “Brooklyn eight” (December 14, 1920) and resulting complaints from Enterprise readers (January 11, 1921); God was now blessing the Watch Tower Society with a swipe at those who had left as noted above (August 23, 1921); vigorous encouragement for readers to embrace the Golden Age work (December 27, 1921); a recipe for cleaning wallpaper (January 19, 1922); praising The Harp of God as a masterpiece (January 24, 1922); the only true Bible Students were those still with the Society (March 7, 1922); and perhaps most entertaining, a fanciful alternative version of the Garden of Eden. Maybe it still existed in Armenia. Maybe Enoch transferred there and still lived there. Maybe if a plane flew over the area, Enoch might throw an apple at it… (April 18 and May 2, 1922 double issue, followed by some lively correspondence thereafter).

From 1923 Bohnet’s personal contributions to the Enterprise more or less dried up, although he was still featured in news items such as giving the Millions talk over a local radio station (March 6, 1923). There is a letter in the June 1926 issue where he corrected inaccuracies about the Russell family – he (Bohnet) typed up Joseph Lytle Russell’s last will and testament and CTR declined to accept an inheritance. His last known contribution for the paper was writing his father’s obituary in 1927, which we will come to later.

As his output for the Enterprise dropped off, Bohnet began to write regularly for the new magazine, The Golden Age, edited by Clayton J Woodworth. Perhaps the most important of his articles was in The Golden Age for April 9, 1924, where he outlined the “true story” of the Miracle Wheat episode. Having been the one to grow the wheat on cemetery property he was well placed to write this article.

As already noted, his Pilgrim work took him all over the United States and numerous advertisements for talks in different regions can be found on newspaper databases throughout the 1920s. In addition, he spoke on several radio stations. His activity has been briefly remembered in more recent Watchtower literature.

For example, the Watchtower for September 1, 1983, features the life story of Grant Suitor who became Secretary-Treasurer of the Watch Tower Society in 1946.  Referring back to the 1920s he wrote: “J A Bohnet made a particular impression and was of special help to me. He was a man who had characteristics that endeared him to some people but had the reverse effect on others. He loved Jehovah and evidently was modest, but he kept this quality somewhat concealed under a gruff exterior.” A talk he gave moved the Suitor family to all get baptized. The article contains a small picture of Bohnet. The 1975 Yearbook (page 49) gives a very human pen portrait of Bohnet as a pilgrim visitor, making a kite for a young boy and helping him to fly it.

The dedication to this work involved personal sacrifices. For example, his Bible Student parents died in their nineties and both had obituaries in The New Era Enterprise, His mother Christina was featured in the issue for November 25, 1924 and his father, John (Johann) in the issue for March 1927. As noted above this last obituary was written by Bohnet himself, and recorded that his pilgrim work had taken him so far away he never heard about either death until after the funerals had taken place.

Bohnet was featured in a photograph in the 1927 IBSA Convention Report (Toronto: July 25, 1927) sitting in a row next to W F Salter and J F Rutherford, looking less than comfortable with a child on his knee. The sub-caption (probably a joke from Clayton J Woodworth) reads: “Take a look at Bohnet fathering some little boy.”

He remained on the regular list of speakers on the back page of the Watch Tower until mid-1928, and was also featured extensively in newspapers for speaking engagements and radio talks, up to that year. He last appeared on the official list of Society representatives in the 1929 Yearbook.

This was a time of change. From 1926 the role of Pilgrims started to change from visiting speakers to supervisors and promoters of active witnessing. This culminated in a name change to Regional Service Director in 1928 (see Proclaimers book page 223). As already observed Bohnet was fully behind the emphasis on personal evangelism, but he would have been 70 years old in 1928. At some point he went back to the family home. Writing from Michigan in the July 1, 1930 Watch Tower magazine he explained his situation:

 “While I am not situated now to engage in the regional director service, much to my regret, I can spare the time and the use of my car to drive sisters to distant towns and villages on regularly appointed days to place books in the service work at my individual expense of gas and oil, and thus herald the glad tidings of Messiah’s kingdom to those who have a hearing ear and an open mind.” He signed off “With much love to all at Bethel, Faithfully yours in Christ.”

The bulk of this letter was praising the book Creation, contrasting the activities of those currently loyal to the Society with those who weren’t. He followed this up with another letter in the February 1, 1931 Watch Tower magazine that enthused about the two volume set called Light and in his usual recurring theme, he urged all those who had left to reunite with the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. The published letter was given the heading “Inspiration to Greater Zeal and Service.” Similar sentiments were expressed in his last letter published in The Watch Tower for April 1, 1931. It was followed by his last article for The Golden Age called “The Myrtle” (about the myrtle tree with an allegorical application) published in the issue for August 19, 1931.

He died on April 14, 1932. His death certificate confirmed that he had never married; that he had gone into the University Hospital, Ann Arbor, Michigan, in March for a gastrectomy, and that he died in hospital four weeks post-operation just short of his 74^th birthday. His occupation was given as “lecturer for the IBSA for the last 30 years.” The information was supplied by his brother Jacob Bohnet. He was buried in the family plot in the Ann Arbor cemetery.

There is one coda to this story. As noted above, when Bohnet went home to recuperate after an injury in the latter half of the 1890s he witnessed vigorously to his family. It resulted in his parents and three other relatives becoming Bible Students. One of these was his sister, Elizabeth Octavia who was born in 1859. Elizabeth married Lyman Pettibone in 1882 and lived to be 102. She died on January 10, 1961. As befitted a very old resident, her funeral made the local newspapers. After giving her family history the paper commented on who was to take the funeral.

Source of newspaper unknown. Cutting from the Find a Grave site.

The funeral announcement notes that someone from the (quote) “Jehovah Witness Church in Ann Arbor” would be officiating.

This means that the family trail of association with the Bible Students/Jehovah’s Witnesses that started in 1892 ran for at least 70 years. Sadly, the modern descendants the writer contacted when preparing this article knew nothing of the connection.