17 Examples of Erasing Universalist History, Ignoring Universalist History, or Burying it under the Label of Unitarian History

. . . A collection of examples of Universalism or Universalist history being left out of the picture, destroyed, ignored, misrepresented, treated with substantially less space than Unitarian history, called Unitarian history, or buried under Unitarian history.

I have seen so many examples of this casual disregard for Universalist history that I just had to start collecting them. Please note: These are not all the examples I have ever found, just examples from people who should know better.

How would it be if, every time someone mentions Channing, Emerson and Parker and implies that they are the whole foundation of UU history, someone snuck in and added Murray, Winchester, Balfour and Ballou? Hmmmm. (Listed in chronological order, more or less.)

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Exhibit #1

1922

The City of Detroit, Michigan, 1701-1922, Volume 5
by Clarence Monroe Burton

Page 188, in the biography of Rollin Howard Stevens, states:

"Dr. Stevens served on the board of trustees of the Church of Our Father and has long been identified with the Unitarian faith."

Comment: Church of Our Father was a Universalist church. After this book was published, their name changed (1934) to First Unitarian-Universalist Church when Detroit's Unitarian congregation consolidated with the Universalists. It is incorrect to refer to members of this Universalist church as Unitarians, particularly prior to the 1934 event in which the Unitarians "moved in" with the Universalists.

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Exhibit #2

1933

Of the 34 people who signed Humanist Manifesto I, it is often stated that "about half (15) were Unitarians."

Comment: This fact is mentioned in the Preface of the Manifesto. In fact, the signers included only 12 Unitarians, 1 Universalist, and 2 individuals who were dually fellowshipped.

The sole Universalist is called a Unitarian and the two in dual fellowship are stripped of their Universalism and called solely Unitarian.

(Email me if you would like a list of the Universalists and Unitarians who signed the Manifesto.)

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Exhibit #3

1956

The famous group of murals, 24 Saints of Liberalism, painted at 3rd Unitarian Chicago 1956–69 by church member Andrene Kauffman, includes 9 Unitarians, 15 non-U/Us, and no Universalists.

The Unitarian subjects are: Susan B. Anthony, Edwin T. Buehrer, William Ellery Channing, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thomas Jefferson, James Martineau, Thomas Paine, Theodore Parker, Joseph Priestley.

The Non-U/U subjects are: Jane Addams, John Peter Altgeld (progressive governor of IL), Albert Camus, Confucius, Mohandas K. Gandhi, Suddhartha Gautama, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Jesus of Nazareth, Socrates, Harriet Tubman, Walt Whitman, Woodrow Wilson, Roger Williams.

Info from UU World, Summer 2009, pages 36-39

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Exhibit #4

1991

Book title: Thomas Starr King: Eminent Californian, Civil War Statesman, Unitarian Minister, by Robert A. Monzingo. NY: Boxwood Press, 1991

Comment: Thomas Starr King was ordained both Universalist and Unitarian but here he is described only as a Unitarian.

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Exhibit #5

1991

The UU Alphabet

Song lyric by yours truly, listing one famous U/U for each letter of the alphabet.

The song lists 14 Unitarians (61%), 3 Universalists (13%), 2 UUs (9%), 3 borderline or wrong names (13%), and three letters (U, X, Z) that I had to fudge entirely, not included in percentages.

In my own defense, I wrote the lyric before I knew much Universalist history. I collected the names from list of "famous UUs" that I got from various sources. Since most lists of "famous UUs" at the time were — and still are — approximtely 80% Unitarian, 10% Universalist and 10% wrong, my song lyric ended up being about the same.

(Email me if you would like to see the song.)

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Exhibit #6

1996

"[The Rev. James] Stoll was a minister of the Unitarian Universalist Association--known as the Unitarians--and his act [coming out] was the first of many that came to mark the Unitarians as the country's most accepting, welcoming denomination for homosexuals."

-- Mark Oppenheimer, History Department, Yale University

This is the third sentence in his article, "The Inherent Worth and Dignity": Gay Unitarians and the Birth of Sexual Tolerance in Liberal Religion, published in Journal of the History of Sexuality, Vol. 7, 1996

Article excerpt found online at Questia at

http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=L1rMSv1h95SD1n1t0HKQJZp0wqkLYw1TYQ2k7WV0npv33fjFDP1C!-997264469!1888687908?docId=96428120 (viewed online Jan 2, 2010)

Should I be shocked that a professor of history at Yale doesn't know or doesn't care about the difference between a Unitarian and a Unitarian Universalist?

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Exhibit #7

1999

"UUs seem to have two conflicting "myth of origin" stories that influence our sense of roots. One is that we began with Akhenaten, Moses and Jesus, and we're the REAL monotheists. (Though that theory is somewhat out of fashion with the change from "one God at most" to "one God more or less.") Then there's the "creation ex nihilo" out of the heads of Servetus and Channing -- this myth is operationally what many members in UU churches believe. It's interesting what you learn by listening at coffee hours and online UU chats, just to understand what the average congregational member really thinks is the history of our idea and association!"

-- Jone Johnson Lewis, on the UU Historical Society listserv

Comment: She says "UUs" have two origin myths but describes origin myths of Unitarians alone.

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Exhibit #8

date unknown (circa 2000)

I once sat through an entire sermon in a UU church in which the speaker -- a guest and layman -- referred to Walt Whitman three or four times as "a gay Unitarian minister." I don't know who the speaker was thinking of but Walt Whitman was not a minister and was not a Unitarian (he was borderline Universalist at best).

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Exhibit #9

16 Jun 2000

David M. Robinson, Distinguished Professor of American Literature, Department of English, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, posted the following to the UU Historical Society listserv:

BEGIN QUOTE

Dear Fellow UU History Buffs,

I'll be giving a talk at GA on UU History in a session sponsored by the Fulfilling the Promise Task Force (session 446). The official title is "What Our History Might Teach Us," but it has evolved over the spring into a paper with the working title "The Five Phases of Unitarian Universalist History." I thought I would put my basic thesis out on this list in advance for possible reaction, and will perhaps be able to speak with some of you at GA. The "Five Phases" will probably not surprise you, but they gave me the best broad overview of the denomination's development that I could work out. What I was interested in developing was a broadly comprehensive, and thus necessarily very general, "big picture" encapsulation of our history. The five phases are:

(1) the Unitarian Controversy (Great Awakening to the 1830s)

(2) Transcendentalism (1830s to 1860s)

(3) Free Religion (1860s to 1890s)

(4) Humanism (1920s to 1940s)

(5) Social Justice Movements (1960s [or late 1950s?] to the present). . . .

END QUOTE

Comment: This is not an outline of UU history, it is an outline of Unitarian history. It ignores Universalist history and has almost no direct relevance to Universalism. There's nothing wrong with that except that Professor Robinson refers to it as "UU History" and as a "broad overview of the denomination's development."

To Robinson's credit, when it was gently pointed out to him by several others on the list that his outline did not apply to Universalist history, he responded, saying:

"I also agree with you that it falsifies Universalist history to try to read it through categories derived from Unitarian history, such as Transcendentalism and Free Religion. This need to keep things separate historically of course presents some problems. In one sense, all UUs after the merger must own the histories of each denomination. And the history of the denomination after the merger is of course "Unitarian Universalist." But to own those histories does not mean to merge them or erase their uniqueness."

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Exhibit #10

27 Dec 2003

"Still we, in our dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist biography and elsewhere state that Ralph Waldo Emerson, Clara Barton, Horace Mann, John Adams and John Quincy Adams, and others, were 19th century Unitarians. How many Unitarians were there in the 19th century?" [emphasis added]

John Keohane, UUHS listserv

Comment: Clara Barton was a Universalist but here she is lumped in with Unitarians and called a Unitarian.

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Exhibit #11

2004

This Day in Unitarian Universalist History: A Treasury of Anniversaries and Milestones from 600 Years of Religious Tradition, by Frank Schulman, published by Skinner House Books, an imprint of the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Comment: This is, overall, a well written book, with clear, concise entries. It is well laid out and easy to read. It lists, for each day of the calendar year, around two to four milestones in UU history.

The problem is that it is almost all Unitarian history and only a little bit Universalist history. And I hazard to say that the Universalist history seems to be based on Unitarian sources.

I made a count of how many entries are Unitarian, how many Universalist, and how many are Borderline (regarding someone who was a small-u unitarian, for example) or Both.

I was going to count the whole book but stopped after three months (January 1 to March 31) since the trend was obvious.

Out of a total of 293 entries for the first three months, I found:

85% (248) Unitarian entries

10% (28) Universalist entries

3% (9) Borderline

3% (8) Both (Unitarian Universalist combined) (total is 101% due to rounding)

I also checked the bibliography and found a preponderance of Unitarian sources. There were 26 Unitarian, 11 Universalist, and 5 UU history books listed, as well as one general biographical dictionary and one history of the Humanist Manifesto (see Exhibit #2).

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Exhibit #12

2008 (approx)

On the poster entitled 100 Unitarians and Universalists there are 79 Unitarians, 9 Universalists, 5 UUs, 1 labeled "you" (with a little mirror instead of a portrait), and 6 who don't even belong on the poster.

The nine Univeralists are: Hosea Ballou, P.T. Barnum, Clara Barton, Olympia Brown, Augusta Jane Chapin, Mary Livermore, John Murray, Benjamin Rush, Clarence Skinner.

The five UUs are: Tim Berners-Lee, Laurel Salton Clark, Robert Fulghum, Thomas Starr King, Christopher Reeve.

The six who shouldn't be on the poster are: Isaac Asimov, Thomas Carlyle, Theodore Giesel, Thomas Huxley, Robert LaFollette, Daniel Webster.

I do not know who published this poster. There is a framed copy of it hanging in the First UU Church of Detroit, but no publication data visible.

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Exhibit #13

7 Apr 2008

Clint Richmond, on the UU Historical Society listserv, said:

BEGIN QUOTE

The historic First Church in Boston has invited me to speak as part of their adult RE Learning Community. The illustrated presentation is based on my guidebook 'Political Places of Boston' . . .

I will be surveying neighborhood landmarks/events and their UU connections (Boston Pride parade, Boston Common and Faneuil Hall) as well as UU sites (such as UUA headquarters, Beacon Press, Arlington Street Church, and Community Church).

UU people to be mentioned will include Emily Greene Balch, Elliot Richardson, Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Theodore Parker.

The UUA bookstore has kindly carried the book since it was released in 2004. Their copies also have a special insert that makes some of these same connections, which allow you to take a similar such "UU Freedom Trail" if you visit Boston.

END QUOTE

Comment: He calls his book and his talk and his freedom trail all "UU" but with the exception of the UUA headquarters, everything mentioned is 100% Unitarian; there seems to be nothing Universalist included.

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Exhibit #14

Apr 2009

Dictionary of UU Biography

Comment: I counted the Unitarians and the Universalists in the Dictionary of UU Biography because it seemed as if most of the entries were on Unitarians. I made the count in Apr 2009.

Of the 932 Individuals listed:

68% (633) are Unitarian

18% (172) are Universalist

3% (32) are Both

11% (98) are Unknown (to me at this time)

Comment: The editor in chief of this project specializes in Universalist history, so I am hopeful that as the project goes forward, the difference between the number of Unitarian and Universalist articles will be lessened.

(Email me if you would like to see a list the actual names and how I counted them.)

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Exhibit #15

May 2009

This website gives a brief history of "UUism" based solely on Ralph Waldo Emerson who was a Unitarian minister for about 4 years (1829-1833) then withdrew from the denomination.

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Exhibit #16

Jun 2009

Philosopedia

Warren Allen Smith's website has a summary page listing the names of 325 notable Unitarians who are profiled on his site (there are a few doubles and other anomalies so the correct number is about 323), and another summary page listing all the Universalists, of which there are 45.

But wait, four of the individuals listed as Universalists were actually Unitarians, so the actual number of Universalists listed is only 41. (The four are Dan McKanan, Winifred Latimer Norman, Arpad Szabo; plus Hosea Ballou I is listed twice, the second time as Josea Ballou.)

I also checked the Unitarian list to see if any names belong on the Universalist list and found four (Johannes Auer, Adin Ballou, Angus MacLean, Clinton Lee Scott).

Comment: The site is about 85% Unitarian and 15% Universalist.

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Exhibit #17

4 Nov 2009

UU historian John Keohane's proposed four-session "Course in Adult Religious Education on UU History," as posted on the UU Historical Society listserv.

BEGIN QUOTE

1) Ballou and Channing Both were 19th century Protestant Christian ministers in Boston. Each read the Bible more seriously than their "orthodox" brethren. They were from different strata of society, and they didn't like each other. Hosea Ballou (1771-1852) was a Universalist. He found in the Bible evidence for Universal Salvation. William Ellery Channing (1780-1842) was a Unitarian. He found lack of Biblical evidence lacking for the Trinity. He thought the Bible must be read with the use of reason.

2) The Humanists of the mid-20th century Evidence that Unitarians had gone clearly beyond our Christian roots. We'll discuss the Humanist Manifesto (1933), and some of those who signed it, including ministers John Dietrich and Edwin H. Wilson. We'll then go to another Humanist, the distinguished scientist and physiologist Maurice Visscher, learning of some of the early medical missionary work of the Unitarian (now UU) Service Committee. We'll also learn of Visscher's social action, of the science, and his actions to end atmospheric nuclear tests.

3) Unitarians and Universalists for Civil Rights We'll discuss UU martyrs at Selma, James Reeb, a minister from Boston, and Viola Liuzzo, a housewife and mother from Michigan, whose Oldsmobile with the Michigan plates stood out in the red clay of Alabama. We'll then move our discussion to a giant of the United States Senate, the Quaker-Unitarian Paul H. Douglas, of Illinois, who led the way for civil rights in his 18 years in the US Senate (1949-67), and each year reported his net worth and income to the penny, while rejecting any gift over $5, and refusing his disability pension from the United States Marines.

4) Unitarians and Universalists in the last 50 years Pre-merger cooperation on Religious Education, a hymnal, etc. leading to merger in 1961, to become the Unitarian Universalist Association.

END QUOTE

Comment: His course includes about 85% Unitarian and 15% Universalist material. The number of Universalist people mentioned here is exactly one: Hosea Ballou, although one could also count Viola Liuzzo who belonged to a joint Unitarian Universalist congregation.

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Visit my online used bookstore and check out my little booklet, A Who's Who of UUs

Thanks and Happy New Year y'all.

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Top Ten Reasons U/Us aren't identified as U/Us by historians, when Quakers are almost always identified as Quakers.

. . . (With apologies to David Letterman because this is his shtick.)

10. General cultural prejudice against U/Us.

9. The term "Universalist" carries almost no recognition.

8. The term "Unitarian" started out as an insult, and probably still is to some.

7. Some of our churches bear nondenominational names. (Examples: King's Chapel, All Souls, First Parish, Church of Our Father.)

6. Some of our churches carry the names of other denominations. (Examples: Unity, Congregational, Non-Subscribing Presbyterian, Polish Brethren.)

5. Our well-known forebears are confused with Congregationalists, Puritans, or some other religious movement.

4. Our well-known forebears are identified with nonreligious movements. (Examples: Priestley is often labeled a scientist, not a Unitarian minister; Emerson is often labeled a Transcendentalist.)

3. Biographers may lack specialized knowledge of religious history and may therefore avoid mentioning the subject's religious affiliation.

2. Being Universalist or Unitarian is simply not considered relevant. (One prominent biographer, David McCullough, whose massive best-selling biography John Adams makes no mention of Adams' Unitarianism, stated that being a Mennonite or Quaker is "historically significant" but being a Unitarian isn't.)

And, the number one reason historians often identify Quakers by their religion but seldom identify U/Us:

1. The Quakers have a line of breakfast cereal and we don't.

10 Welsh Unitarian Leaders and 1 Notable Welsh Universalist

. . . Culled from my not-so-little booklet, A Who's Who of UUs.

1. The Rev. D. Jacob Davies (1916–74), poet; television personality; champion of Welsh language, literature and culture; wrote Plwm Pwdin, a Rhagor o Storïau Digrif 1950 and other works in Welsh; Unitarian

2. The Rev. John Gwenogvryn Evans (1852–1903), scholar and paleographer of Welsh history and literature; printer-publisher of facsimile editions of ancient Welsh manuscripts; honorary D.Litt from Oxford 1901; ordained Unitarian 1877

3. The Rev. Thomas Evans (a.k.a. Tomos Glyn Cothi) (1764–1833), poet; hymnwriter; radical; translated into Welsh and published works of radical Unitarian preachers Joseph Priestley and Theophilus Lindsey; editor-publisher of highly controversial paper 'Miscellaneous Repository' 1795–96; imprisoned for sedition 1801–03; author-publisher of the English-Welsh Dictionary 1809 and hymnal Cyfansoddiad O Hymnau 1811; minister at Hen-Dy-Cwrdd Unitarian Chapel for 22 years, 1811–33 (first Unitarian church in Wales, founded 1751)

4. Thomas Griffiths (a.k.a. Tau Gimel, Thomas Jeremy) (c.1797–1871), hymnwriter; while minister at Cribin and Ciliau Aeron 1822–41 founded several schools; author-editor of the hymnal Casgliad o Hymnau 1830; Unitarian

5. Baron Sir Benjamin Hall (1802–67), Member of Parliament for 28 years, 1831–59; known there for his height and corpulence as 'Big Ben'; legend has it that as the first minister of public works 1855–58 his name was cast into the great bell installed into the Houses of Parliament in London, whence came the bell's nickname, 'Big Ben'; Unitarian

6. The Rev. Jenkin Lloyd Jones (1843–1918), Welsh–American social activist; uncle of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright; organizer of Unitarian fellowships (lay-led congregations); founding secretary of the Western Unitarian Sunday School Society 1874–80; president of the Western Unitarian Conference 1875–84; founding editor 'Unity' 1878–97 (weekly of same); founding pastor of Chicago's first multi-racial congregation, All Souls Church, 1882–1918; organized the first World Parliament of Religions 1893 (gathering of all world faiths, model for interfaith cooperation, part of the Columbian Exposition, a.k.a. Chicago World's Fair); founding president of the Congress of Religions 1893–1906; founding general secretary of the American Congress of Liberal Religion 1894–1906; founding trustee and head resident of the Abraham Lincoln Centre, an enormous non-sectarian social service origination in Chicago, 1900–18; ordained Unitarian 1870

7. John Jones (c.1766–1827), author; classical scholar; expert on ancient languages; frequent contributor to periodicals; assistant tutor at the Presbyterian (Unitarian) Academy in Swansea 1792–95; founding principal of a school at Halifax, Yorkshire 1798; wrote Events Calculated to Restore Christian Religion to Purity 1800, Grammar of the Greek Tongue 1808, Grammar of the Latin Tongue 1810, Greek and English Lexicon 1823, Principles of Lexicography 1824 and many other books; honorary LL.D. from the University of Aberdeen 1818; Unitarian

8. The Rev. Richard Price (1723–1791), D.D.; Welsh–English; philosopher; author; among the principal leaders of English Nonconformism (Unitarianism); elected member of the Royal Society 1765; wrote Principle Questions in Morals 1757, An Appeal to the Public on the Subject of the National Debt 1772, Observations on Civil Liberty 1776 (supporting American independence) and other books on finances, politics, theology; longtime pastor at Unitarian Church of Newington Green (now part of London)

9. The Rev. James Relly (1722–78), theologian; wrote Union: or Treatise on Consanguinity and Affinity between Christ and His Church 1759 (the first important modern work on universal salvation, published in London); credited with converting pioneer American preacher the Rev. John Murray from Methodism to Universalism; ordained Methodist, defrocked, became Universalist

10. The Rev. William Thomas (bardic name Gwilym Marles) (1834–79), great-uncle of poet Dylan Thomas; poet; hymnwriter; social reformer; founding principal of a grammar school at Llwynrhydown; Unitarian

11. Edward Williams (bardic name Iolo Morganwg) (1747–1826), poet; 'the Welsh Shakespeare;' founded Gorsedd Beirdd Ynys Prydain (Community of Bards of the Island of Britain); forged large assortment of 'ancient' manuscripts including 'unknown' poems by famous bards, Druid antiquities and lore, bardic alphabet, etc; compiled hymnal Salmau yr Eglwys yn yr Anialwch 1812; founded the South Wales Unitarian Society

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40 Synonyms for Universalism

. . . As a student of Universalist history, I find myself intrigued by all the words and phrases that have been used over the years to refer to Universalism or to the doctrine of universal salvation, the primary tenet of Universalism.

I have collected over 100 of these words and phrases but am posting only 40 here. They have been culled from many sources, the most common being 19th-century American books and periodicals published by Universalists. This religion was the fifth largest in the United States in the 1850s and 1860s and the great majority of my research has been around this period.

Unitarian Universalists have a tendency to undercut or even ignore Universalist history for some reason. (I am collecting examples of this tendency and will post them here one day.) And, while Unitarian history does interest me somewhat, there are already plenty of people doing research there, but only a handful of people researching Universalism. As a lifelong Unitarian Universalist I have witnessed countless examples of our faith being referred to solely as Unitarianism, but for myself, I am more inspired by the history and message of Universalism.

General Terms

• 1. universalism
  
• 2. universal salvation
  
• 3. universal grace
  
• 4. universal holiness and happiness
  
• 5. universal reconciliation
  
• 6. universal restoration
  
• 7. restorationism
  
• 8. the larger faith
  
• 9. the larger hope
  
• 10. the great salvation
  
• 11. the better gospel
  
• 12. the message of universal joy
  
• 13. primitive Christianity
  
• 14. liberal Christianity
  
• 15. the Abrahamic religion
  

Terms from Adherents

• 16. Origenism, the belief that all people will attain heaven, not just a select few. After Origen of Alexandria (185-254), Egyptian theologian, leader of a school of theology at Alexandria 203-254, compiler of the first parallel-text bibles, the Hexapla and Octapla
  
• 17. Arminianism and 18. Remonstrantism, the belief that Christ died for all, not some. After the Rev. Jacobus Arminius (1560-1609), Dutch theologian, chair of theology at the University of Leiden 1595-1609, first to espouse the doctrine of free will. His followers were called Remonstrants.
  
• 19. Rellyism or Rellyanism, the doctrine of universal salvation. After the Rev. James Relly (1722-1778), Welsh theologian, wrote Union: or a Treatise on Consanguinity and Affinity between Christ and His Church 1759, the first important modern work on universalism
  

Terms from the Rev. Stephen R. Smith (1788-1850), founder and major fundraiser of Clinton Liberal Institute, 1831, the first nonsectarian school in New York state; first minister to regularly include a question-and-discussion period following his sermon c.1815 (this event was known as a talkback in the 1970s)

• 20. the free church
  
• 21. the better covenant
  
• 22. the everlasting gospel
  
• 23. the gospel of illimitable grace
  
• 24. the message by which captive souls were made free
  
• 25. the purification and happiness of the entire human race
  

Terms from the Rev. Thomas Barns (1749-1816) (later spelled Barnes), primary Universalist preacher in Maine from 1799 to 1816. As a member of the Massachusetts legislature 1807-1814, Barns successfully ended taxation by Congregationalists of Universalists, Methodists, and Baptists in New Gloucester (now Maine) in 1807. He also served as president 1809-1812 of what was to become the Universalist Church of America.

• 26. the impartial gospel of the Lord Jesus
  
• 27. salvation, full, free and sure
  
• 28. the gospel hope in the salvation of a whole world
  

Terms from the Rev. Abraham Norwood (1806-1880), early American Universalist evangelist. He wrote Religious Proscription for Opinion's Sake 1832 and Acts of the Elders, Commonly Called the Book of Abraham 1842, two popular defenses of Universalism which converted many.

• 29. the Universalean belief
  
• 30. the most happifying truth ever presented to man
  
• 31. the gospel of universal benevolence and salvation
  

Terms from the Rev. Thomas Allin (1835-1908), minister in the Church of England. He wrote Universalism Asserted: On Authority of Reason, the Fathers, and Holy Scripture in 1887.

• 32. the liberation of all souls
  
• 33. the restoration of every fallen spirit
  
• 34. the final conversion of all evil beings
  

Miscellaneous Terms

• 35. that precious faith (from the Rev. Edward Mott Woolley, 1803-1853)
  
• 36. the Democracy of Christianity (from the Rev. James Freeman Clarke, 1810-1888, Unitarian)
  
• 37. the sublime and heavenly doctrine of universal benevolence (from the Rev. Pitt Morse, 1796-1860)
  
• 38. the doctrine of God's universal goodness to his children (from Lucy Barns, 1780-1839, daughter of the Rev. Thomas Barns)
  
• 39. finished salvation (from the Rev. James Relly)
  

Finally, a modern reference remarkable for its candor

• 40. the black hole of our history (from Nancy Proctor, who, after completing an online course on UU history offered by the Starr King School for Religion, founded by Unitarians, said one of the references filled "what for me is the black hole of our history," referring to Universalism)

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34 Universalist Publishers

. . . A list of 34 American Universalists who were publishers and/or printers, including one who was based for some time in London, England. I have listed them in chronological order by the earliest date they were known to have printed or published any work, along with later dates they were known to be in operation, and their own dates of birth and death in parentheses. I have also listed their home city and, if I have it, the address of their company. Some of these individuals were Universalists for only part of their lives, but I have listed their publishing careers as fully as I can. (Next time, Unitarian publishers.)

1790s

1. Thomas Dobson (1751-1823) — Philadelphia, 1792, 1813

2. Rev. Elhanan Winchester (1751-1797) — London, England, 1797

1810s

3. Henry Bowen (?-1874) — Boston, 1818-1840

4. Rev. Abner Kneeland (1774-1844) — Philadelphia, 1819; Boston, 1834-44

1820s

5. Simon Burton — Buffalo NY, 1826

6. Grosh & Walker — Utica NY, 1827; A.B. & C.P.P. Grosh — Utica NY, 1840 (Rev. Aaron Burt Grosh, 1803-1884)

7. I. D. Williamson — Troy NY, 1827 (Rev. Isaac Dowd Williamson, 1807-1876)

8. Marsh & Capen — Boston, 1829; Marsh, Capen & Lyon — Boston, 1831 ("General Depository for Universalist Publications") (Rev. Henry Lyon, 1814-1866)

9. Rev. Russell Streeter (1791-1880) — Portland ME, 1820s

10. Rev. Abel C. Thomas (1807-1880) — NY, 1829; Philadelphia, 1832-35; Lowell MA 1839-45

1830s

11. Rev. Thomas Whittemore (1800-1861) — Boston, 1830-61

12. B. B. Mussey (1804-1857) — Boston, 1831–53; Benjamin B. Mussey — 29 Cornhill, Boston, 1833, Benjamin B. Mussey & Co., Boston, 1845-49

13. Z. Fuller — 86 Callowhill St, Philadelphia, 1832; Fuller & Co. — 106 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, 1854 (Rev. Zelotes Fuller)

14. Horace Greeley (1811-1872) — publisher of 'New-Yorker' 1834-40, 'NY Weekly Tribune' 1840-72

15. and 16. D. D. Smith & A. Tompkins — Boston, 1836; Rev. Abel Tompkins (1810-1862) — Boston, 1836–60; G. W. Bazin & A. Tompkins — Boston, 1839 (George W. Bazin); A. Tompkins — 38 Cornhill, Boston, 1840; A. Tompkins & B. B. Mussey (Benjamin B. Mussey) — Boston, 1841; Tompkins and Co. — Boston, 1863-73

17. Rev. John A. Gurley (1813-1863) — Cincinnati, 1838-54

1840s

18. Hallock & Lyon (Rev. Benjamin B. Hallock, 1804-1869) (Rev. Henry Lyon, 1814-1866) (see above) — NY, 1840-1850; B. B. Hallock, NY, 1851; Henry Lyon — NY, 1852-63

19. Universalist Union Press — 130 Fulton St, NYC, 1840

20. Rev. Erasmus Manford (1815-1884) — Lafayette IN, 1841; St. Louis MO, 1857; Chicago, 1864

21. S. Cobb — Boston, 1848-61 (Rev. Sylvanus Cobb, Sr., 1798-1866)

22. J. M. Usher — Boston, 1848-61; James M. Usher — 37 Cornhill, Boston, 1857 (Rev. James Madison Usher, 1814-1891)

23. A. A. Ballou — Hopedale MA, 1849 (Rev. Adin A. Ballou, 1803-1890)

1850s

24. Longley & Brother — Cincinnati, 1850-54; Longley Brothers — Cincinnati, 1855-58; Longley & Co. — Cincinnati, 1861 (Elias Longley, 1822-1899)

1860s

25. and 26. Nye & Demarest — Cincinnati OH, 1861 (Rev. Gerherdus Langdon Demarest, 1816-1909) (Rev. Holden R. Nye, 1819-?)

27. Universalist Publishing House — Boston, 1862–82, 1888–15, 1922

28. Williamson & Cantwell Publishing Co. — Cincinnati OH, 1865-68 (Rev. Isaac Dowd Williamson, 1807-1876) (see above) (Rev. John S. Cantwell)

1890s

29. Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915) — owner and president, Roycrofters publishing company, East Aurora NY, 1895-1915

1910s

30. Murray Press — Boston, 1915, 1946 (division of Universalist Publishing House, named in honor of Rev. John Murray, 1741-1815)

31. Minnie O. Colgrove — Greenville OH, 1912

1950s

32. Association of Universalist Women — Boston, 1954

33. Universalist Historical Society — Boston, 1957, 1964, 1967

1960s

34. Rev. Kenneth L. Patton (1911-1994) — Charles Street Meeting House, Boston, 1962

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Visit my bookstore

Find more Universalist and Unitarian books and history here

See my page on the strange and wonderful story of TomFolio

END

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What is The Church Where People Laugh?




. . . It's the world's best collection of jokes for and about Universalists, Unitarians, and Unitarian Universalists!

We Unitarian Universalists, or UUs for short, tend to have great senses of humor and we love to laugh at ourselves. It was not difficult to put together this great collection, though it did take a few years. There are over three hundred individual jokes, quotes, and anecdotes in this little book.

I started compiling this collection some time in the 1970s while I was in the youth group at the Universalist Unitarian Church of Farmington, Michigan. After many years it was just too big to keep in a looseleaf so I had to publish it.

For those of you who have never heard of Unitarian Universalism, it is a liberal, post-Christian religion which grew out of Universalism -- "God is love" -- and Unitarianism -- "God is one" -- two radical beliefs that have been around since the early days of Christianity. Each of these beliefs was declared a heresy after having been accepted for hundreds of years.

Today, UUs celebrate diversity of belief and the right to think for yourself. We have no concept of heresy except as an accusation against those who exercise free thought and freedom of conscience.

While you're here, please visit my bookstore, Alan's Used Books (http://www.gwenfoss.com/), where you can order The Church Where People Laugh and many other great books.

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William Jackson's Man of Sorrows, 1843

Raw notes from A Man of Sorrows; or, the Providence of God Displayed, as Exemplified in the Life of William Jackson, S.B.G., author of ‘The Christian’s Legacy’

by William Jackson
published by the author, Philadelphia, 4th edition, revised, enlarged, and stereotyped, 1843

I am posting these notes, mainly because, while the book holds some general historical interest, it has almost no information on Universalism, which is my current field of interest. I purchased the book aftering reading that the author spent some time as a Universalist preacher only to learn that his Universalist period lasted only about two years and that he wasn't really a theological Universalist at all, during that period or ever.

Therefore, to those few out there who are interested in learning this preacher's story but don't want to read his entire book yourself, I post here my raw notes, focused mostly on names, dates, and local developments related to the history of various congregations.

General observations: Author concentrates mostly on his travels, getting up congregations, and being persecuted by “righteous” Christians wherever he goes. Describes himself as both humble and as deserving of the treatment of a prince. Seems like a paranoid schzophrenic or perhaps bipolar. Had several head injuries in childhood which might have contributed to being unstable. In form, he generally starts each paragraph with “real world” facts and ends each paragraph with biblical quotes and exhortations.


pg 7, born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England, 14 Feb 1794

pg 8, three severe head traumas: when age 4, again a “short time after,” and again “about 1 year after”

pg 9, fourth head trauma

pg 10, accident nearly blinds his mother when he was 10

pg 12, at age 11 he nearly drowns; by the way, he voluminously credits the hand of God/Providence each time he or an accident victim survives

pg 13, at age 12, seriously cuts fingers while carving

pg 14, his father, age 35, dies 15 Apr 1808, leaving a wife and 7 children, the author being the oldest

pg 16, regular hours at job were 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.; his master often beats him with metal tools for not finishing his work

pg 18, about age 15, author is an ardent Methodist

pg 18, master clobbers him on head with a 4-pound hammer

pg 20, spends 4 months with his eyes nearly swollen shut, yet still has to work to eat

pg 21, master beats him against an anvil; judge rules that he (Jackson) should return to his master

pg 22, about age 18, shoulder beaten to a pulp

pg 23, master dies before author can bring him up before a magistrate

pg 23, on his 19th birthday, 14 Feb 1813, marries Mary Ann, daughter of Samuel and Mary Thomason

pg 25, his mother, age 37, dies 21 Feb 1813 of consumption [tuberculosis]

pg 25, author is wrongfully arrested on orders of aforementioned judge, Alexander B. Hayden, charged with “abandoning” his apprenticeship

pg 28, new employer takes horsewhip to Jackson’s wife; same magistrate puts Jackson, wife and baby in prison; separates Jackson from wife and baby, sentences him to hard labor

pg 30, all are released from prison 3 days before trial, no explanation

pg 31, starving and broke, author, wife and baby walk 100 miles to Liverpool, there they board a packet ship for Dublin

pg 32, all in poor health in Ireland, all sail back to England, boat sinks on the way

pg 33, rescued from sinking boat but still broke and now with no possessions; they land in Wales

pg 35, gets locksmith job in Birmingham; by age 23 has 2 children; oldest child dies age 3

pg 36, 5 months later, 2nd child dies

pg 37, author lays in bed 3 months with fever

pg 38, recovers same day his 3rd son is born

pg 39, 3rd son dies just after beginning to walk and talk

pg 39, author sick again, nearly dies, recovers

pg 40, with wife walks to Portsmouth to find work

pg 41, sets up shop as locksmith, gunsmith, whitesmith

pg 42, daughter born; Jackson meets a man he describes as an “agent” of the devil, a “disciple of Tom Paine,” an “infidel acquaintance”

pg 44, after one visit, Jackson does not join infidel’s “place of worship” (not a church)

pg 45, becomes a drunk

pg 46, wife takes him to church

pg 47, continues to attend St. Peter’s Chapel, Portsea, date May 1821

pg 48, preacher at St. Peter’s Chapel is Thomas Hammond

pg 56, Jackson explains that his desire to be a preacher was impeded because: 1. he only has two books, 2. his Northern dialect “was such as by no means pleased many unsanctified critics of the South,” 3. he was poor, had few clothes, and was not able to appear “respectable”

pg 57, someone points out to Jackson that he doesn’t know grammar

pg 57, one preacher, Mr. Henshaw, sets up an appointment for Jackson to give his first sermon, evening of 1st Sabbath of Apr 1822 at Weigh-bridge School-room [I assume Weybridge]. Preached again next Sunday, again 3rd Sunday

pg 62, Jackson’s 2-year-old daughter dies after drinking boiling water out of the kettle

pg 64, Jackson’s brother, brother’s wife, and one of their two children all die of cholera on island of Ascension; one surviving child comes to live with author. Jackson now has three children.

pg 67, barred from preaching at Wolverhamption Methodist Society; preaches at Portsea Methodist Society, also preaches at Deepdale Bank, 5 miles from town

pg 68, forms a flourishing congregation at Deepdale Bank

pg 69, Thomas Ashton, preacher, allows author to join Wolverhamption Methodist Society as a member, not as a preacher, Dec 1824

pg 72, accepted as candidate “for our local Preacher’s Plan” 27 Jun 1825, Wolverhampton circuit

pg 77, “thrown out of work altogether” due to bad times; adopted son dies; owes a lot of back rent

pg 78, seeks and gots help from Dr. E. H. Colemand; moves family to Birmingham; becomes preacher there, 16 Apr 1826–8 Oct 1826

pg 89, moves family to Portsmouth

pg 90, author gives one of many examples of Methodist ministers lying about him, ruining his reputation

pg 95, 4th child on the way [he has already described having 4 children plus adopting another; is this a 5th child?]; family still starving

pg 98, stranger gives family £1 (Jackson say this is about $5)

pg 100, daughter “Mercy” born; stranger gives family £2

pg 101, local church’s “Benevolent Society” knows of his need during this period, sends a total of 3 shillings (about $0.75)

pg 101, gets job with Royal Engineer Dept

pg 105, about 1827, is expelled by local ministers’ association for “having committed a crime so bad that it could not even be named” [could author have had Tourette syndrome, i.e., involuntarily shouting obscene words?]

pg 106, moves to Portsea, early 1828

pg 115, moves again, from Portsea to Wolverhampton, then, after a few weeks, to Birmingham

pg 118, learns of ship going from Liverpool to US, needing workers for Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company

pg 122, leaves family behind temporarily, boards ship ‘Shenandoah,’ under Captain Rose, with 200 passengers

pg 123, finds not one passenger who professes to “fear God”

pg 124, preaches to passengers, with their consent, but a great wind comes up, they blame him for it and forbid him to preach again

pg 129, after some scrapes, roughs stealing Jackson’s food, etc, captain orders crew to protect Jackson

pg 134–135, Jackson overhears some toughs talking about killing him and crew and taking the ship; warns crew; captain locks up their leader

pg 138, lands at Alexandria DC [now part of Virginia], 1 Nov 1829

pg 142, knows no one in town, meets one Thomas Davey, an Englishman, who helps author, gives him money, is a “class leader” in the Methodist church; Jackson is too weak to walk upright

pg 143, first good night’s sleep in 7 weeks [yes, crossing the Atlantic took 7 weeks]

pg 144, gets released from canal job, 6 Nov; the $35 owing for his passage is paid by subscription by Davey and others

pg 147, sets up a small business on King Street between Washington and Columbia Streets

pg 148, boards at the home of Joseph Gregg, also a Methodist; is called on to teach many classes at the church

pg 149, preaches in Alexandria and at Navy Yard, becomes popular rapidly

pg 152, author describes split in his denomination, some adhering to episcopal governance (“old side” brethren) and some pushing for reformed governance (“new side” brethren, also called “reformed,” “reformers,” or “radicals”) [Checking modern sources I find that this controversy also occurred in the Presbyterian church, 1741–1758]

pg 153, Jackson expresses opinion that preachers of his denomination have too much power; he is instantly labeled a radical

pg 155, author is warned against being or associating with the radicals

pg 156, Jackson is no longer invited to lead classes

pg 160, radicals are slandered as “backsliding troublers, seditious, rebellious, and great enemies to the church;” their local minister is a Mr. Pool

pg 161, Jackson’s benefactors, all English, cut him off but he finds new American ones

pg 165-166, Jackson is visited by a group of radicals including preacher W. C. Pool, and others, who “speak as Christians”

pg 168, receives word of another son born, Ebenezer

pg 169, local church leaders forbid author to preach

pg 170, wife and all five children arrive

pg 175, author is thrown out of love-feast [church service with social meal]

pg 177, youngest child dies; author, while fixing a shotgun, nearly shoots his 3-year-old daughter

pg 178, twins born, Isaac and Rebecca; another child dies; Jackson preaches in Georgetown

pg 179, preaches in Neabsco, stays with Wait family; borrows horse from Theron W. Newman; preaches in St. John’s [I was able to find a Neabsco Creek, tributary of the Potomac, in northern Virginia]

pg 180, goes to Leesburg to preach; they had already been told he was a “radical,” preaches in Presbyterian Church; sets up a circuit; preaches at Centreville, Sudley, Middleburg; stays with McCoy family

pg 181, moves to Neabsco; takes a bad fall off the horse; loses his cloak

pg 182, “old-side” still interfering with Jackson

pg 183, prevented from preaching at Buckland; finds that vandals have cut off his horse’s tail, mane, and foretop; the year is 1832

pg 185, family is in poor drafty house; sons aged 7 and 9 have to cut and carry wood

pg 185, Jackson’s family gets help from Margaret Townsend, also Lucinda Carter of Centreville

pg 187, son nearly drowns; saved by family dog

pg 188, ordained [Methodist Protestant]; still being intefered with though

pg 189, moves back to Alexandria; injures knee

pg 192, accepts invitation to lead a Baptist meeting even though he is not a Baptist, Jun 1832

pg 195–196, 19 Aug 1832, president Eli Henkle of the Maryland District Annual Conference [Methodist Protestant] gives author a certificate of good standing [I found one Eli Henkle (1825–1893), a Maryland congressman, perhaps son of the above?]

pg 198, schooner ‘Eliza’ of Halifax is in port; after much praying author and wife decide to move there.

pg 199, sails 19 Sep 1832

pg 200, lands in Halifax, 6 Oct 1832; quarantined for three days in case of cholera

opposite pg 203, a humorous cartoon illustration of the “Christian Soldier”

pg 204, Rev. Dowson (“old side”), superintendent of church, does not let author preach

pg 205, Jackson states his denomination as Methodist Protestant; preaches in marketplace to thousands; preaches also in Dartmouth

pg 206, charged with “breaking Sabbath” and “creating a riot”

pg 207, acquitted; is given police protection the next time he preaches; finds a boat going to Boston

pg 208, learns that a minister is wanted in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia (“old side”); agrees to stay

pg 209, barred from preaching at Shubenacadie; preaches again at Halifax

pg 212, moves to larger apartment; keeps preaching

pg 213, forms new church, 3 Dec 1832

pg 220, only one clergy assists author (gives money) to build meeting house; one Rev. James Morrison; builds meeting house 48 x 55 feet

pg 221, letter by Jackson to Br. John J. Harrod, editor of ‘The Methodist Protestant,’ Baltimore, published in same, date 10 Jun 1833

pg 222, letter states church building erected 8 Jun 1833, first Methodist Protestant church in Halifax; frame erected, exterior not finished

pg 228, meeting house finished, already too small to hold all who come

pg 234, author says all doctrine same for Episcopal Methodists and Methodist Protestants; they differ only in church government

pg 242, author states that this is where the first edition of this book ended, 14 Feb 1834 [1st edition was published by the author in Baltimore, 1834, printed by William Wooddy]

pg 243, leaves Halifax 27 Feb 1834 to go to Conference in Alexandria DC, on schooner ‘Globe’

pg 244, arrives 17 Mar 1834, Sunday, at 10 p.m.; learns that 3 Halifax people had already sent letters against him to the Conference

pg 245, Conference opens 3 Apr; full text of author’s credentials given

pg 246, author’s creds signed by George Turnbull and William J. Long, chair and secretary

pg 248, elected an Elder by the Conference despite negative letters

pg 249, stays with Rezin Elliott; preachs several times after Conference ended; still broke

pg 251, stays with Br. William Rusk and Sr. Margaret Rusk in Baltimore; Ladies Phoebian Society gives him $30 to get home

pg 252, receives money, gifts, etc, from Br. Kennard, Br. John C. French, Francis Waters D.D.; receives new cloak from Br. Luther J. Cox; John C. French gives money to help publish first edition of this title; all this delays Jackson for five weeks

pg 253, leaves Baltimore 25 May 1834

pg 255, preaches at First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia; sails 30 May 1834 to NYC

pg 256, nearing Halifax, wharf crowded, shouts of “Welcome Home”; another baby born while he was away

pg 257, finds three church trustees trying to sell the meeting house and the land

pg 260, meeting house door broken open and Jackson manhandled by two of the three main antagonists (“J__s and S__l T__n”) and building auctioned off to “R__d M__l.”

pg 261, goes to the law, prevails after a few days when opponents fail to produce any legal deed

pg 264, grocer Gasper Roast helped feed family while author was away

pg 266, first delivery of first edition arrives

pg 268, cholera epidemic in Halifax

pg 269, author visits sick and dying, morning till night, holds services every evening; seized with cholera 2 Sep 1834

pg 270, author gives his own recipe for treatment (wine, camphor, ginger, sugar) and dosage; describes wife’s methods of keeping him warm

pg 271, recovers

pg 272, author proposes to establish a Union Church, opposed by one Rev. C__, does not pursue [this must be the Rev. Edmund Albern Crawley (1799–1888), author of “Treatise on Baptism as Appointed by Our Lord Jesus Christ, and Practised by the Apostles and First Christian Churches” 1835]

pg 275, author decides to travel around Nova Scotia and preach; sails to Liverpool NS 15 Oct

pg 277, arrives 16 Oct 1834, finds that the Calvinists there call him a Free-willer and the Arminians there call him a Calvinist

pg 278, preaches; stays with Mr and Mrs Hampton Stokes; the substance of his sermon: Jesus is the only sect

pg 279, returns to Halifax 14 Nov 1834; forms temperance society there 19 Nov; total abstinenece from alcohol; calls it “Poor Man’s Temperance Society”

pg 282, goes back to Liverpool NS on Friday, 9 Jan 1835; large successful congregation despite opposition

pg 284, sets off on foot to return to Halifax

pg 285, gets assistance to travel (money) from Harrington McCleod; preaches at Mills Village; gets travel assistance from Samuel Mark; stays with Mr and Mrs Joseph Parks

pg 286, stays in Lunenburg with Thomas Brady

pg 288, stays with the widow Zwicker

pg 289, sails back to Halifax on Monday, 9 Feb 1835; finds congregation still split

pg 292, gets invitation to preach in 2nd Baptist Church; this is the first time since he came to Nova Scotia that any church was opened to him

pg 293, opposers say “Calvinism is Devilism”

pg 294, congregation pays author nothing; family still starving

pg 297, preaches farewell sermon, packed house, 3 May 1835

pg 299, a friend says £40 has been subscribed for Jackson if he will stay another year; he stays

pg 301, letter dated 5 May 1835 recommending author to preach, signed by Thomas Taylor, minister; Amos Pedlar, steward; William Tozer, secretary

pg 302, author says his main opposition is from Baptists

pg 303, Board of Foreign Missions of the Methodist Protestant Church appoints Jackson as Superintendent in Nova Scotia Mission and Station; he declines; continues to preach and to baptize

pg 304, preaches in Stewiacke, Truro, Onslow, Sep 1835

pg 305, Thomas Taylor publishes a pamphlet attacking Jackson

pg 306, another baby born, 26 Feb 1836, “Hephzibah,” meaning “my delight is in her”

pg 308, takes stagecoach to Annapolis, 5 Jul; crosses Bay of Fundy in schooner; goes to St John, New Brunswick, to collect money to build a meeting house in Halifax; preaches; stays with Eaton family

pg 309, takes steamboat ‘Royal Tar’ to Eastport, stays with J. B. Hague and wife; takes steamboat to Portland [Maine]; very ill with chills; recovers

pg 310, arrives in Boston, stays with Timothy Gilbert until 23 Jul, takes a train to Providence; preaches in Elder J. Blain’s pulpit, Pine Street Church; also preaches in Elder William Philips’ pulpit

pg 311, takes steamboat ‘Massachusetts’ to NYC; find that there, again, as at every locale on this trip, he has been preceded by a letter from the Rev. Crawley of Halifax, labeling Jackson with a bad reputation; after 2 days in NYC he goes on to Philadelphia

pg 312, in Philadelphia he meets William Ryal of Halifax, stays with him 2 weeks; takes steamboat to Baltimore, stays with Alexander Gaddess

pg 313, back to Philadelphia after 3 days; Elder Dr. Gardiner advises author to see Elder H. K. Green of Burlington, New Jersey, who had also been driven out of Halifax by the Rev. Crawley

pg 314, with help of Elder H. K. Green, author preaches in Elder W. T. Brantley’s pulpit in Philadelphia

pg 314, also preaches in pulpit where Silas W. Sexton was deacon

pg 315, stays in Newark NJ with James Vanderpool and Elder Daniel Dodge

pg 316, after eleven weeks of travel on the ground, takes schooner ‘Industry’ from Boston back to Halifax

pg 318, raises new meeting house, Apr 1835, measures 36 x 55 feet, and 36 feet high

pg 319, travels to Prince Edward Island

pg 320, preaches in Charlotte Town [Charlottetown] and North-River

pg 312, preaches in Bedeque, stays with Lewis Baker and Br. Bradshaw

pg 322, preaches in Tryon, stays with magistrate Callbeck; preaches again in Charlotte Town, in the meeting place used by Baptists; stays with Theophilus Wood, meets Elder Benjamin Scott

pg 323, after three Sundays, returns to Nova Scotia, stops with Archibald and wife at Truro; gets carriage ride from friend, 16 miles to Londonderry; preaches there and at Onslow

pg 327, finds that one Mrs. Mc__ld [I assume McDonald] has usurped Jackson’s authority, has put Mr. J__n McI__sh [I assume John McIntosh] in the pulpit of Jackson’s church; the latter has declared that Jackson is no longer their minister

pg 328, the building was opened on 23 Jul 1837; the following week (next Sunday) taken it was over by McI__sh; Jackson is forcibly removed.

pg 330, church in question a Baptist church

pg 334, another daughter born, named “Thankful,” author says this is his 14th child not counting their adopted nephew

pg 339, Jackson has now been a resident of Halifax for five years and has eight children

pg 341, gains money ($7) to travel back to US from Rev. Thomas Taylor. Also receives about $6-$7 from Br. James Crawford, member of Jackson’s church, and from Mr. Hugh Campbell. Also receives $20 on 20 Dec 1837 from “three gentlemen.” Auctions off all his books and furniture

pg 343, Friday, 22 Dec 1837, sails on packet schooner ‘Industry’. Acrostic of thanks to his so-far unnamed “steady friend,” now revealed as one Andrew McGrigor.

pg 344, arrives at Foster’s Wharf, Boston, early Sunday morning, 31 Dec 1837

pg 344, meets with local Baptist preachers, says he raised the Baptist church in Halifax; they give him no help

pg 346, Jackson now has a family of 10, including another adopted child; preaches at Baptist Church of South Boston on first Sabbath of 1838; continues to preach there

pg 346, one Rev. Nathaniel Colver meets author, learns he was baptized by Elder Reynolds, president of the Free Will Baptist Conference, scoffs at free-willers, also scoffs at author’s ordination from the Methodist Protestant Conference of the Maryland District

pg 352, author is engaged by the Baptist Church of South Boston for three months; receives $10 plus other small amounts; moves to South Boston 6 Feb 1838

pg 352, donations come from William Smith and George Thacher

pg 353, donations and clothes come from Capt. W. Howes and others

pg 354, Rev. Colver tries to push author out and take congregation; congregation votes NO. Colver is in league with church’s deacon, Deacon Hill

pg 355, author states this is the point where the first edition of his book ended [he must mean 2nd edition; his first edition ended on page 242] [2nd edition was published in Boston by C. D. Strong, 1838]

pg 356, finds opposition from Deacon Hill, Solon Jenkins, and one Rev. Howard Malcom; congregation votes to keep Jackson anyway; opposers pull another vote, author loses; author preaches in a different hall

pg 357, yet another vote pulled, Jenkins cheats; one Capt. Nickerson also cheats; author still wins

pg 358, still another vote, Jackson loses; opposers include Rev. C. O. Kimball, Rev. Dr. Bolles, Rev. Mr. Minor

pg 259, a meeting of ministers turns into a “trial”; author is “convicted” of Imposition (being an imposter) and Forgery (having false letters of recommendation)

pg 361, church members speak in favor of author

pg 364, council of ministers votes to fire author anyway

pg 365, 5 Jul 1838, Jackson leaves for Philadelphia, preaches there at Second Baptist Church

pg 366, author is verbally abused in middle of service

pg 367, returns to Boston; wife and two children very sick; one child dies

pg 368, funeral of daughter Thankful

pg 371, conclusion of yet another ministerial “trial” at which author is accused of “dividing the church”

pg 371, Jackson learns that Baptist Church of South Boston has had 7 ministers in the 10 years since it was organized; all have been driven out by Deacon Hill, including Jackson

pg 372, new minister, Rev. Thomas Driver, advises Jackson to appeal; he does so on 22 Dec 1838

pg 375, Thomas Driver and church clerk Nehemiah P. Mann make all previous votes “null and void,” 16 Jan 1839

pg 378, Rev. Driver fails to return author’s credentials, though he promised to do so

pg 380, family starving again, without fuel, winter in Boston

pg 383, Jackson first learns of Universalism and Universalist Church; reads ‘Life of John Murray’ (Sep 1839), decides he is a Universalist at heart, at first keeps this a secret and doesn’t join them

pg 384, preaches farewell sermon 6 Oct 1839; praises help received from Jonathan Wadley and also Mrs. Wilder Harding

pg 385, has announcement published in Universalist Trumpet that he has not renounced any other religion or belief but has become a Universalist

pg 386, preaches in Universalist meeting house for the first time, 3 Nov 1839, in South Boston; is fellowshipped as a Universalist

pg 387, Apr 1840, moves to Holliston MA, finds himself under constant calls to preach. Says the morals of Ultra-Universalists are “a disgrace to manhood”

pg 388, Jackson still believes in and preaches future punishment [as did John Murray, one of North America's early Universalist preachers]; his own congregation does not call him Universalist

pg 388, friendly with Methodist Episcopal minister, Rev. L. C. Matlack

pg 388, after one year among Universalists in South Boston, hires two carriages to move family to Second Universalist Church of Providence, Rhode Island

pg 389, one carriage overturns, nearly crushes author, wife and three children (Jacob, age 6; Mercy, age 13; and his youngest daughter, Hephzibah, age 5), but they receive only cuts and bruises, apart from Mercy, who has a broken collarbone

pg 390, arrives in Providence, 25 Mar 1841

pg 392, all finally heal except Mercy; author has to reset her collarbone several times; finally heals

pg 394, Sep 1841, Jackson publishes his second book, “The Christian’s Legacy” in order to state, among other things, that he is not renouncing religion, despite rumors to the contrary

pg 394, attends the General Convention of Universalists in the United States, at New York City, as a ministerial delegate; sells one book

pg 395, preaches at Orchard Street Church, pastor Rev. [Thomas Jefferson] Sawyer; sells 30 books; sells 12 more the next day; with help from Otis Skinner of the Warren Street Church, Boston, sells many more

pg 398, 26 Sep 1841, preaches for last time to Second Universalist Church of Providence, leaves after six months of a one-year contract

pg 399, Henry Bacon, editor of ‘Universalist and Ladies’ Repository’ prints a review of author’s book, says [honestly] that is is not strictly a Universalist book

pg 400-401, author rants about Henry Bacon’s review

pg 402, eldest son, Thomas W. Jackson, dies, 20 Oct 1841, age 19 years, 8 months

pg 404, rejects Universalism after two years of preaching it, on the grounds that no one has come forward to be “saved” in all that time [is Mr. Jackson really this stupid? Universalists don’t have to come forward to be “saved”]

pg 404, author has announcement published in ‘Gospel Messenger,’ a Universalist paper edited by Parker [actually Rev. Zephaniah Baker], that he has resigned from the Universalist church, 10 Nov 1841

pg 405, author is now connected with no sect; trashes Universalism

pg 406, refers to the writings of M.H.S. and says M.H.S. has already said everything Jackson thinks needs to be said about Universalism. [Reference is to the infamous Rev. Matthew Hale Smith (1810-1879), a Baptist-turned-Universalist-turned-Congregationalist-turned-lawyer, who, when he renounced Universalism in 1840, wrote an extremely popular, hugely nasty anti-Universalist book; notes posted below]

pg 406, author adds: “I must say, that, for good morals—acts of kindness—sociability—benevolence, and hospitality, I have never seen them [Universalists] excelled; nor was I ever united with any body of ministers who treated me with so much kindness, as they.”

pg 408, Jackson says ministers of all denominations have spoken well of his book, “The Christian’s Legacy,” except Baptists

pg 410, takes 100 books to Lowell MA to sell

pg 414, sells all 100 books to factory girls [the famous “Lowell mill girls” whose literary output was published in the Lowell ‘Offering’ by Universalist ministers Thomas B. Thayer and Abel C. Thomas, in the 1840s]; returns one week later and sells 100 more; gives thanks to Rev. Benjamin Whittemore [Universalist] and wife, of Boston, for giving him a room; preaches in the Methodist Episcopal church in Providence and “converts” a Universalist

pg 415, Jackson happily reports that he has now preached in Congregationalist, Methodist, Free Will Baptist, Methodist Protestant, Christian, and Unitarian churches, sold all 1000 copies of his book within five months, and paid all his debts; moves family to Boston, 4 Mar 1842

pg 416, Jackson describes how he was swindled by Deacon Warren Hunt, Baptist, of East Randolph MA

pg 416, Elder William Tozer, Methodist Protestant of Milford MA, helps author

pg 417, more ranting on Baptists behaving badly

pg 419, acrostic of thanks to Robert Farley

pg 420, full-page ad for “The Christian’s Legacy,” 6th edition

END

Visit Alan's Used Books at www.gwenfoss.com , thanks!

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Matthew Hale Smith's Anti-Universalist Rant, 1840

The following are the quotations I took while reading a hugely nasty book called Universalism Not of God, by Matthew Hale Smith, published in 1840 by the American Tract Society.

The author was a Universalist minister for about ten years, from 1830 to 1840, before he wrote this book.

I am interested in Universalist history and I have a copy of this book in my collection since it is relevant to the topic. (I do not agree with the anti-Universalist sentiments expressed in this book.)

My notes begin on page 171 because the only portion of the book that really interested me was the portion concerning the author's experiences with Universalism and Universalists. These are all direct quotes from the book; quotation marks are the author's.

I am posting these notes now because I plan to post my notes from another anti-Universalist book (Man of Sorrows, by William Jackson, 4th edition, 1843) that briefly refer to this book.

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pg 171, Universalists do not observe the sabbath. Officers of Universalist churches work on the sabbath on the principle that the sabbath is a human institution.

pg 172, The present development of the fruit of Universalism is that of Atheistic philosophy. Some of the most popular preachers are taking grounds against the character of God.

pg 173, Churches are not general among Universalists. Many prominent Universalists deny them altogether. Hosea Ballou II says that "two thirds of all the societies in the denomination are destitute of churches." Few join them when formed. A Universalist in Salem said to me that "if he should unite with the church, it would be carrying the joke too far."

pg 173, Abel C. Thomas has challenged any leading Universalist to prove that the Lord's Supper was to endure after the destruction of Jerusalem.

pg 174, There meet at a Universalist table, the Atheist, the Deist, the profane, the gambler, the drinker, and the adulterer. A professed Atheist, a member of a Universalist church in Boston, was in the habit of attending his meeting in the forenoon, and Mr. Kneeland's [another Atheist] in the afternoon.

pg 174–5, In my [Universalist] parish at Hartford, Connecticut, a lady presented herself to me for admission to the church. As she was one of the most active women in the society, I asked why she had never before joined. She replied that only one thing had prevented, and she did not know but now it would stand in her way. It was this: she did not believe in Jesus Christ.

pg 175, In a town in Rhode Island the Universalists have communion service once or twice a year. At such times the elements are passed to the whole congregation indiscriminantly.

pg 175, Universalism embraces men who have openly avowed their unbelief in parts of the Bible, and some of have announced they have no confidence in the sacred book.

pg 176, Hosea Ballou was called an Infidel by John Murray, and a Deist by Mitchel [a Murray Universalist].

pg 176, Universalists make the bible a mere textbook of Atheism or Deism.

pg 177, Some preachers of Universalism have explained away and rejected the whole bible and yet been none the less popular or successful as ministers at the altar.

pg 178, Orestes A. Brownson, who for many years was editor of a Universalist paper, says that out of twenty-five hundred subscribers, more than half were skeptics.

pg 178, Universalist meeting houses are open to infidels to lecture in. The Clinton Liberal Institute, the only institution of learning the sect have ever sustained, is essentially infidel.

pg 178–9, The Clinton Liberal Institute was founded and funded by Universalist ministers, yet no form of religion can ever be introduced into the reading of the school. Neither public prayer nor reading of the bible as an act of devotion can be performed in the school.

pg 179, There are tens of thousands of skeptics and liberals throughout the West, and in the absence of liberal and philosophical lecturers, they employ Universalists.

pg 179–80, An infidel returning from the West said, one of the oldest and most popular of the Universalist clergymen in Ohio preaches as good sense, reason, philosophy, liberality as he would want to hear.

pg 181, Orestes A. Brownson, a former Universalist minister, said that it was very common for the clergymen with whom he was acquainted, to speak of Universalism as a "stepping stone," as "the best weapon to destroy the Orthodox, do away with the clergy, and to prepare the way for something better."

pg 181, Brownson had conversed with hundreds of professed Universalists, who would own to him that they supported Universalism only "because it was the most liberal sentiment they could find, and because it was better than Deism to put down the Orthodox."

pg 182, I have known men of great principles, educated in the fear of God, to embrace Universalism; and in six months after to have no scruples about working on the sabbath! If persons, having set up an altar at home for family worship, embrace Universalism, they, in almost every case, abandon their devotions at once.

pg 184, The influence of Universalism on children is disasterous. It brings them up without the fear of God, and teaches them early to cast off fear and restrain prayer.

pg 192, The defense of Universalism varies according to circumstances. Sometimes it will be defended on one ground, and sometimes on another and a contradictory ground. They will baptize, or not, in any way, or in no way, as best may suit.

pg 192–3, Sermons preached to Universalist congregations are sent out as essays. Annuals, supposed to be merely literary works, are full of Universalism. Books for children, written by Universalist ministers, and full of heresy, are sent out as being free from sectarianism. [Even] Roman Catholics are not more deceptive and jesuitical.

pg 193, We see Universalists setting forth a fierce warfare against sabbath schools, and then adopting them; manifesting the most deadly hate towards revivals, and then professing to enjoy the blessing which attends them.

pg 194, Universalists have constantly ridiculed the exertions of those who are engaged in sending or carrying the gospel to the heathen.

pg 204, A Universalist preacher, having been settled seventeen years in Boston, said that nearly everyone who had been in the society when he was settled, and who had died during his ministry, had died an Atheist, a Deist, or a drunkard.

pg 205, Men guilty of bigamy have been declared by Universalists, in grave council, to have "committed no offense whatever against any law of morality or religion."

pg 205, One of the oldest preachers of Universalism now living, was for many years celebrated for using profane language and running a rum house.

pg 206, The preacher of one of the oldest Universalist societies confessed to me that, so dissolute were the people who composed his society, that no person thought of being married till one of the parties was compelled to be. Nearly all the marriages he celebrated, he said, were of this description.

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