Washington Seventh-day Adventist Church (New Hampshire)

The Washington Seventh-day Adventist Church consisted of a small group of religious seekers who adopted both the Second Advent message and the seventh-day Sabbath in the 1840s. The church was located in the township of Washington, about three miles from the village of Washington Center, New Hampshire.

James White (1821-1881) dubbed this congregation the place “where the Sabbath was first introduced among the Adventists.”¹ D. A. Robinson² (1848-1899), who grew up there, referred to it as “the oldest S. D. Adventist church in the world.”³ While it has “often [been] described as the birthplace of the Seventh-day Adventist Church,” this claim “is not entirely accurate” because it was not until some time later that it became a Seventh-day Adventist congregation. Instead, it was really where some “of the earliest Sabbathkeeping [sic] Millerites” met.⁴ The real significance is that among the members of this small congregation, looking for Christ’s soon return, were a number of people who began to keep the seventh-day Sabbath. Consequently, the location has come to be associated with the cradle of Sabbatarian Adventism and the birthplace of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Background and Beginnings

In September 1776 citizens in the New Hampshire hamlet of Camden petitioned the General Assembly in Exeter, New Hampshire, to incorporate as a town. This request was approved on December 13, 1776.⁵ The community boasted that they were the first of two towns to be named in honor of General George Washington (1732-1799). Among those who signed the petition was Simeon Farnsworth (1746-1791), the great-grandson of Matthias Farnsworth (1612-1689), who arrived in Groton, Massachusetts, in 1664.⁶ Descendants of these Farnsworths would play a pivotal role in the formation of a Sabbath-keeping Adventist congregation.

The era from 1838 to 1844 was a time of religious ferment in Washington, New Hampshire. Four different church buildings were erected during these years. At the 1840 town meeting, a warrant read: “To see if the town will set of D. Farnsworth, H. Barney, J. Stowell, A. Fairbanks, J. Ball, S. Fisher, Eli Danforth, Benj. Jefts, and Wm. Farnsworth into a school district by themselves.”⁷ It appears that these men were being expelled from the other churches, causing them to form a church of their own.⁸ On April 4, 1842, this group organized:

We the undersigned mutually agree to be known as the first Christian Society in Washington, N.H. according to the act of incorporation. This society shall meet on the first Monday in April annually. The officers of this society shall be a president & clerk & board of trustees to be chosen annually consisting of three. It shall be the duty of the President to preside at all meetings of the society & also the duty of the Clerk to record the doings of the society.⁹

They regretted that they were “destitute of a holistic communion” for worship instead of “the places where they assemble for worship are quite to[o] strait for them which renders it very inconvenient at their meetings of worship.”¹⁰ They deemed it time “to erect a small, neat and commodious house and have it dedicated to the worship of God, for their own accommodation of other societies when not occupied by them.”¹¹ This action resulted in the building of a modest meetinghouse three miles from the Washington town center.

The building was funded through the sale of pews to member families.¹² They purchased the building materials, and in a few days, with volunteer labor, they “erected and fitted up for” a modest meetinghouse. Cushions were placed in the pews, and chairs and a pulpit on the rostrum. According to George Wheeler, the church was built in just six weeks.¹³ The white clapboard structure measured 30 by 40 feet, and was capable of seating approximately 120 people. It had a plain gable roof with two entrances at the front, with space for two stoves, and a small balcony. At some later point an organ was added; various prophecy charts would have hung on the walls.

This group was affiliated with a nineteenth century Restorationist movement known as the Christian Connexion (or Connection). The Christian Connexion, as Gerald Wheeler has noted, were especially open to the Millerite revival.¹⁴ In December 1842 Joshua Goodwin brought the Second Advent message to the nearby towns of Lempster and Marlow. “The Lord is reviving His work graciously in this section of country. Never did I witness a more powerful work of God than I have witnessed in this section for some six or eight weeks past.”¹⁵ In late 1843 or early 1844, most of the congregation accepted the message about Christ’s soon return. During this formative time, Joseph Bates (1792-1872), another minor Millerite preacher, also preached the message of Christ’s soon return to the Washington residents.¹⁶

The beginnings of Sabbath keeping in Washington, New Hampshire, came about in early 1844 through the influence of Rachel Oaks¹⁷ (later Preston) (1809-1868), who was a Seventh Day Baptist, and the mother of Rachel Delight Oaks (1825-1858), a school teacher, who accompanied her daughter from New York to Washington, New Hampshire. Already Frederick Wheeler (1811-1910), and a small group of believers had accepted the news about Christ’s soon return. Rachel, for her part, when believers there shared their faith about the Second Advent message, reportedly responded: “I believe you are right.”¹⁸ She in turn came prepared to share her conviction about the seventh-day Sabbath, bringing with her a supply of evangelistic literature from the Seventh Day Baptist denomination.¹⁹ It should be noted that this was a time when the Seventh Day Baptist denomination on November 1, 1843, had set aside a day for fasting and prayer that God would “arise and plead for his holy Sabbath.”²⁰ Rachel grew increasingly bold in sharing her convictions about the seventh-day Sabbath. On one memorable communion Sabbath, Wheeler urged all those present to keep all of God’s commandments. She afterward challenged Wheeler that he should then begin to keep the seventh-day Sabbath. She told him: “My brother, you’d do better to set that communion table back against the wall and cover it with the white cloth until you’re willing to keep all the commandments of God yourself.”²¹ Wheeler reported that these “words cut him deeper than anything that he had ever had spoken to him.”²² He likely observed his first Sabbath on March 16, 1844.²³ William (1807-1888) and Sarah (1812-1855) Farnsworth²⁴ joined Wheeler for that first Sabbath.²⁵ A week later (March 23) his younger brother, Cyrus Farnsworth²⁶ (1823-1899) stated he had embraced the Sabbath, too. Soon William’s oldest son, John (1834-1918) joined this small group of believers. Thus, what is notable is that Rachel Preston both received the Second Advent message from these believers in Washington, and in turn she shared with them about her belief in the seventh-day Sabbath.²⁷

Most sources support the early spring dating for this adoption of the seventh-day Sabbath among the believers in Washington, New Hampshire, although there are a few memory statements that suggest it could have happened between October 22 and December 31, 1844. Most Adventist historians have accepted the earlier dating due to discussion about the seventh-day Sabbath in Millerite periodicals prior to the Disappointment.²⁸ Some initial conversations among Millerites about the seventh-day Sabbath began when a British Sabbatarian, James A. Begg (1800-1868), shared his belief about Christ’s Second Advent as well as the seventh-day Sabbath; another likely source came from American Seventh Day Baptists who began to more assertively share their views at that time.²⁹ Such discussions in The Midnight Cry just prior to the Great Disappointment were notable as the earliest links between adherence to the Second Advent message of Christ’s soon return and interest in the significance of keeping the seventh-day Sabbath.³⁰ Adventist historian C. Mervyn Maxwell (1925-1999) harmonizes these two dates by noting that until the Great Disappointment, there was such a strong belief in the immediacy of Christ’s return, that doctrinal differences tended to be minimized.³¹ It therefore makes sense that a small group, in all probability, began to keep the seventh-day Sabbath in the spring, and that there was a renewed interest in the seventh-day Sabbath after the Great Disappointment when more people likely joined them. This also helps to explain differing perspectives as initial reports favoring the earlier date emphasize how there were only a few who took their stand, whereas later accounts note a larger group of Sabbath-keeping adherents.

As the Sabbath-keeping group grew, no doubt this contributed to their being ostracized from the church so that they instead met in homes.³² Frederick Wheeler described this group of faithful believers:

There is a little company who have been endeavoring to keep the Sabbath according to the commandment since 1844; and several have lately been led to embrace the truth of the third angel’s message in full, and others are more or less interested in the subject.³³

According to D. E. Robinson, seven or eight names were struck from the record book of the Christian Connexion congregation. Only a few stood firm for their Sabbath convictions. John Farnsworth later recalled the looks of disdain and threats he and his father, William—who were working on the road—received from those who were on their way to church on Sunday after his family kept their first Sabbath.³⁴

Meeting of the Minds

In early 1845 Joseph Bates read a tract by Thomas M. Preble (1810-1907) that convinced him about the seventh-day Sabbath.³⁵ He returned to Washington, New Hampshire, to share his new understanding of the seventh-day Sabbath with the Second Advent believers. To his surprise he discovered that there was a group already keeping the seventh-day Sabbath. While Adventist historians have generally assumed that Bates went to Washington to find more information about the Sabbath, no primary sources provide this information, and his reason for visiting is based upon conjecture. Instead, according to the Farnsworth family, Bates had previously shared the Second Advent message with them and returned to Washington to tell them of his newfound conviction about the seventh-day Sabbath. When he first arrived, he spent all night at the home of Frederick Wheeler. Wheeler’s son, George, recalled that Bates arrived at 10:00 p.m., “after the family were all in bed.” He added: “They talked all night long. When George and the hired man came down in the morning they were introduced to Elder Bates, from Massachusetts.”³⁶ They discussed the topic until noon, perhaps with the Farnsworths and others. According to other accounts Wheeler and Bates went over to the home of Cyrus Farnsworth where they studied under the maple trees, presumably with his older brother, William. In their mutual joy, according to A. T. Robinson:³⁷

they had both received light on the Sabbath question at the same time and in the same manner, from the study of Rev. 11:19; and Ch. 10:11. Thus, as represented in prophecy by an “angel ascending as the sun rising,” the first faint glimmer of light on the third angel’s message began to shine forth from the open door of the Sanctuary in heaven.³⁸

This meeting reinforced Bates’ newfound convictions which he then began to share with others, notably James and Ellen White, who became the nucleus of what would become the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Sabbatarian Adventist Congregation, 1850-1862

In the late 1840s Frederick Wheeler moved from Hillsboro to Washington, New Hampshire, and the small group continued to meet in homes. Not much is known during this time, but in 1850 a letter in the Review and Herald noted that “there is a little company who have been endeavoring to keep the Sabbath according to the commandments since 1844.”³⁹

From 1851 to 1853 James and Ellen White (1827-1915) made a series of visits and ultimately held an annual conference that brought stability and cohesion to the group of Sabbatarian Adventists. These scattered believers would coalesce around the growing Sabbatarian Adventist movement. James and Ellen White first visited the believers in Washington, New Hampshire, in January 1851:

[T]hey have but recently embraced the message of the third angel, yet they are decided and strong. Our dear Bro. Wheeler, of Washington, told us, with much feeling, that he felt deeply impressed with a sense of duty to go out and give the message. We hope the way will soon open before our brother, so that he may go out and sound the third message with success, as he did the two former cries [of the first and second angels of Revelation 14].⁴⁰

From October 31 to November 2, 1851,⁴¹ the Whites returned again to hold a conference at Washington to encourage the believers. James reported that twelve people “have been hopefully converted, and give good evidence of their acceptance with God.”⁴² Seven deacons were set apart to care for the poor in the community, the first step in organizing a group of Sabbatarian believers. During one of those meetings Ellen White received a vision. George Wheeler recalled:

While out doing chores, they came running out to say that Mrs. White was in vision, and we all hurried in. I stood up on a chair so I could see. She was lying down on a bed and talking, and remained in vision about half an hour. Then she threw down her hands and got up.⁴³

One person who was not convinced of the genuineness of her visions was Stephen Smith (1806-1889) whose caustic tongue fostered a spirit of criticism. Before this October conference closed, they voted to separate him from their fellowship. Almost a year later (September 10-12, 1852) another conference was held in Washington during which the term “lukewarm” (Rev. 3) was first applied to the Sabbatarian Adventist believers.⁴⁴ Uriah Smith (1832-1903), who had been a Millerite but by that point was not interested in formal religion, was in the congregation. It was at this conference that Uriah Smith’s perspective began to thaw:

I was in the message of 1843-44, and have ever believed that they meant something. In all the scattering and dividing which followed the passing of that time, I gave little attention to the subject till after the Washington, New Hampshire, conference last fall. Since then an examination of the arguments of our position has fully decided me to go with the remnant, who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.⁴⁵

His older sister Annie (1828-1855) would first join the Whites in Saratoga Springs, New York, and by the time the Whites relocated to Rochester, New York, Uriah Smith would also join them. At the close of the meeting, Lucy G. Huntley (1820-1901) was thrown from a wagon and badly hurt in front of the Cyrus Farnsworth home. Those present carried her into the house, had earnest prayer, and she was miraculously healed.⁴⁶

In 1853 John Stowell (1803-1870) was appointed as a publishing agent for the Review.⁴⁷ Another member, Lucy G. Huntley, reported that “the cause is prospering.” Although initially they met “once a month,” now they met “nearly every Sabbath at different places, in this vicinity.”⁴⁸ James and Ellen White, along with J. N. Loughborough (1832-1924), held another conference in Washington from October 21-23, 1853.⁴⁹ James White reported that about 100 were converted, including at least five who chose to be baptized. J. N. Andrews was also present and helped with the preaching. The meetings were held in the home of Mary Stowell (1779-1862), the mother of John Stowell, who additionally requested baptism. On Sunday, lacking space, “the Christian meeting-house was kindly offered to us, and on First-day we occupied it.”⁵⁰

In the 1850s the Sabbath-keeping Adventists met in different homes. In 1854, for example, Josiah Hart (1817-1858) described a meeting at Washington with forty believers held at the home of John Stowell.⁵¹ As the number of those observing the seventh-day Sabbath continued to grow, at some point in the mid to late-1850s the Sabbatarians outnumbered their former Christian Brethren, and the meetinghouse came into their possession. The last recorded meeting of the “First Christian Church” occurred in 1856, so this congregation, like many other Christian Connexion congregations, began to disperse, making way for the Sabbath-keeping Adventist believers to utilize the church building. The building was certainly occupied by the Sabbatarians who remained in the area by 1862.⁵²

In 1857 two more Sabbatarian Adventist conferences were held in Washington. The first met from January 23 to 25, and another from October 9 to 11. The first was held at the home of John Stowell with the announcement for the gathering signed by Eri L. Barr⁵³ (1814-1864)—an early Black Millerite and Sabbatarian Adventist minister—who with D. Philips wrote on “behalf of the church.” The second was announced by John C. Day who appealed for all to “come in the Spirit of the Laodicean message, that God may be glorified.” The report affirmed the “reformation spirit” from the “surrounding inhabitants” who came.⁵⁴ It is also notable that at some point in the late 1850s or early 1860s Louisy S. (neé Phyllis) Gigger (1827-1902), an African American woman who was employed doing “domestic work” for the Cyrus Farnsworth family, expressed “love for the third angel’s message.”⁵⁵ In 1879 she married Elbridge Gigger (1812-1903), a Natick Indian from the Hassanamisco Tribe.⁵⁶

Seventh-day Adventist Congregation, 1862-1900

An official Seventh-day Adventist congregation in Washington, New Hampshire, was not fully organized until January 12, 1862: “We the undersigned hereby associate ourselves together as a church, taking the name Seventh-day Adventists, and covenanting to keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus Christ.”⁵⁷ Eleven people joined the congregation on that first day,⁵⁸ and the next day four more, making a total of fifteen members.⁵⁹ The next year a Sabbath School was organized for children. On February 7 and 8, 1863, not even the “bad roads” prevented them from worshipping together when brothers Augustin C. (1834-1916) and Daniel T. (1835-1905) Bourdeau passed through.⁶⁰

Unfortunately, continued criticisms and backsliding meant that by 1867 regular services were discontinued. William Farnsworth (1807-1888), the leader of the group, had fallen back into using tobacco. J. N. Andrews, church president, held revival meetings during the summer months of 1867. Then, later that November, James and Ellen White visited. Meetings began on Monday, December 23, 1867, at 10:00 a.m. and lasted for six hours. Several, including the young Eugene Farnsworth (1847-1935), had doubts about the genuineness of Ellen White’s prophetic ministry. Ellen White rose to her feet and one-by-one admonished people in the audience, revealing personal details about their lives. Some of these details were known by others, but Eugene believed if she was a true prophet, she would admonish his own father:

Brother Farnsworth, I have been shown you have a problem with tobacco. But the worst of the matter is that you are acting the part of the hypocrite, trying to deceive your brethren into thinking you have discarded it, as you promised to do when you united with the church.⁶¹

Afterward people acknowledged the accuracy of what she shared, and it is reported that repentance and confession filled the room. Even Worcester Ball (1825-1902), who had been so critical of fellow church members and especially James and Ellen White, was silenced and repented, rejoining the congregation as a supporter of Ellen White and her prophetic ministry.⁶²

The young people in the church were moved by what they observed. At a service on December 25, thirteen young people stood and requested baptism, including Eugene Farnsworth. Five more also joined them.⁶³ They cut a hole through two feet of ice in nearby Millen Pond where twelve were baptized.⁶⁴ The church would remain an active congregation for over a century after this revival. The congregation would reach as many as forty members at its high point, although in 1873 J. N. Andrews noted that emigration and death had depleted their ranks until only “a small company” remained.⁶⁵

According to one account, “the grove-meeting [outdoor] congregation,” was “a very plain looking crowd. Most of the folk were poor. They wore plain clothes—the women wore Shaker bonnets. There were quite a few children and they were kept quiet through the meeting; then they scampered barefoot through the woods.”⁶⁶ According to a recollection by E. W. Farnsworth, the boys would sit in the back of the church by the stove, Newel Mead would lead out in song service, and his uncle Cyrus was the church elder. Other leaders who assisted in meetings included his father, William, along with John Stowell, and Joshua Philbrick (1817-1896).⁶⁷

Heritage Site, Preservation, and Accessibility

The early Sabbath-keeping Second Advent believers who lived, worked, and worshipped at various stages in Washington, New Hampshire, should be recognized for having “a unique influence on the shape of the Seventh-day Adventist Church today.”⁶⁸ In the early twentieth century the site of the Washington church became one of the earliest recognizable Adventist heritage sites that church members visited as cars made it increasingly easy to make family road trips. A. T. Robinson in 1924 described it “as a monument of the birthplace of the third angel’s message movement.”⁶⁹ He noted that there were still frequent, albeit not regular, worship services still held there.

In 1944 it became the site of the centennial celebration of the denomination. In the 1950s a well-established tradition of an “annual memorial service” took place.⁷⁰ The 1958 service was notable. It featured H. M. S. Richards (1894-1985), speaker/director of the Voice of Prophecy, and the Kings Heralds vocal quartet, with a special appearance by Adventist missionary Leo B. Halliwell (1891-1967).⁷¹ In the twentieth century a tradition of visiting the Washington, New Hampshire, church made it a place for Adventist pilgrimage—in that sense it became a memorial that encapsulated the essence of the Seventh-day Adventist story. In 1950, for example, a group of diverse delegates from around the world stopped to participate in the “annual meeting,” celebrating the history of the church, on their way to the General Conference session.⁷² Similarly, Arthur L. White (1907-1991) included the site among many others as part of a New England Adventist Heritage Tour. He developed a set of slides with notes that could be used by Adventist young people for Missionary Volunteer gatherings.⁷³

On October 7, 1974, a state historic marker was placed on Highway 31 (just outside the Washington town center) to denote this locality as the “Birthplace of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.”⁷⁴ In 1982 Adventist Historic Properties purchased land surrounding the Washington, New Hampshire, church, creating a buffer of forest around the building to help maintain its historic ambiance.⁷⁵ In 1990 as part of the Harvest 90 emphasis, Adventist young people, following the model of the Dime Tabernacle, were encouraged to save 90 dimes or $9 to raise half a million dollars to help restore the William Miller Home and the Washington, New Hampshire, Church, as historic sites.⁷⁶

In 1995 Pastor Merlin Knowles conceptualized a Sabbath Trail that winds behind the church for a mile featuring 31 granite stones that tell the history of the Sabbath from creation to the present day.⁷⁷ The church continued to be a popular stopping point as part of New England Adventist heritage tours. On October 22, 2023, the Northern New England Conference officially closed the church as a local church congregation.⁷⁸ The property today is owned by the Northern New England Conference and continues to be available by appointment for visitors and tours.⁷⁹

Sources

Allen, Edward. “Early Adventists and the Seventh-day Sabbath.” In The Oxford Handbook of Seventh-day Adventism, edited by M. Campbell, C. Chow, D. Kaiser, and N. Miller, 140-150. New York: Oxford University Press, 2024.

Andrews, J. N. History of the Sabbath and First Day of the Week. 2^nd ed., enlarged. Battle Creek, MI: Steam Press of the Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association, 1873.

Campbell, Michael W. “Begg, James Aiton (1800-1868),” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, March 6, 2023, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=D8YJ&highlight=begg.

Campbell, Michael W. “Christian Connexion or Connection,” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, November 7, 2023. Accessed February 18, 2024. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=994E&highlight=christian|connexion.

Campbell, Michael W. “Preble, Thomas Motherwell.” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, January 17, 2023. Accessed February 18, 2024. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=G9ZR&highlight=Preble.

Collins, Norma J. Heartwarming Stories of Adventist Pioneers. Vol. 1. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2005.

Eldridge, C. E. “Interview with George Wheeler.” West Monroe, NY, May 5, 1934. Typed manuscript.

Fairfield, Nellie Wheeler. “In Support of Seventh-day Adventist Sabbath Keeping by Frederick Wheeler and the Washington, New Hampshire, Church Group Before the Disappointment, October 22, 1844.” Typescript unpublished paper, ca. 1937, Box 1, fld. 3, W. A. Spicer Collection (#4), Center for Adventist Research, Andrews University.

Farnsworth, O. O. “Our First Church.” Typed manuscript, Ellen G. White Estate Document File 188.

Ford, Mark. The Church at Washington, New Hampshire: Discovering the Roots of Adventism. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2002. Note also accompanying video recording and musical CD featuring early Advent hymns.

Farnsworth, Cyrus K. “The Washington, New Hampshire, Church.” Unpublished typescript recollection, Ellen G. White Estate. Accessed February 14, 2024. https://media2.ellenwhite.org/docs/6334/6334.pdf.

Farnsworth, E. W. “Symposium of Pioneers: Sabbath Afternoon, May 29.” ARH, June 4, 1926.

Froom, Le Roy Edwin. Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers: The Historical Development of Prophetic Interpretation. 4 vols. Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1954.

Gordon, Paul A. “Washington, New Hampshire: Seventh-day Adventist Birthplace.” ARH, March 31, 1994. https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/RH/RH19940331-V171-13.pdf#search=%22Washington%20New%20Hampshire%22.

Greenleaf, Floyd, and Richard W. Schwarz. Light Bearers: A History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 2000.

History of Washington, New Hampshire 1768-1886. Washington, NH: Washington History Commission, 1976.

Jager, Ronald, and Grace Jager. Portrait of a Hill Town: A History of Washington, New Hampshire, 1876-1976. Warner, NH: R. C. Brayshaw and Co., 1998.

Kaiser, Denis. “Preston, Rachel Harris Oaks (1809-1868).” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists. Accessed January 12, 2023. https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=AIQ1&highlight=Preston.

Knight, George R. Joseph Bates: The Real Founder of Seventh-day Adventism. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2004.

“’The Lord’s Day.’” The Midnight Cry, September 5, 1844.

Loughborough, J. N. Rise and Progress of the Seventh-day Adventists: with Tokens of God’s Hand in the Movement and a Brief Sketch of the Advent Cause from 1831 to 1844. Battle Creek, MI: General Conference Association of the Seventh-day Adventists, 1892.

Maxwell, C. Mervyn. Tell It to the World: The Story of Seventh-day Adventists, rev. ed. Nampa, ID: Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1977.

Miller, Mabel Robinson. William and His Twenty-Two. Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1959.

Robinson, A. T. “Early New England Experiences,” ARH, September 18, 1924.

Robinson, A. T. “Grandma Farnsworth Dead: Obituary.” College View Herald, September 20, 1917.

Robinson, D. E. “Early Sabbathkeeping in Washington, New Hampshire, and Vicinity.” Unpublished manuscript, ca. 1940, General Conference Archives.

Robinson, D. E. “Sabbath-Keeping in Washington, N.H.” Unpublished manuscript, ca. 1935, Ellen G. White Estate. February 14, 2024. https://media2.ellenwhite.org/docs/1734/1734.pdf.

Robinson, D. E. “Report of an Interview with D. E. Robinson Concerning the Workers that Went

Out from Washington, New Hampshire.” Typescript manuscript. Document File 188, Ellen G. White Estate.

Robinson, Ella M. Stories of My Grandmother. Takoma Park, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1967.

Robinson, Mrs. [Loretta]. “Reminiscences of Pioneer Days.” The Ministry, December 1928.

Spalding, Arthur W. Footprints of the Pioneers. Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1947.

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S[picer], W. A. “The First Church.” ARH, February 8, 1940.

S[picer], W. A. “Notes on Early Times in This Advent Movement: No. 5. The Coming of the Sabbath in 1844.” ARH, November 16, 1939.

Spicer, William A. “Our First Minister.” ARH, February 15, 1940.

Spicer, William A. Pioneer Days of the Advent Movement. Washington, DC: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1941.

Wearner, Robert G. “The Sabbathkeepers of Washington, New Hampshire from 1850 to 1867.” Term paper, Denominational History Tour with Arthur L. White, Sept. 20, 1961, Ellen G. White Estate, Document File 188.

Wheeler, Gerald. James White: Innovator and Overcomer. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2003.

Wheeler, Joe L. “The Sabbath Comes to Washington.” ARH, March 24, 1994, 14-16; “The Sabbath Comes to Washington—2.” ARH, March 31, 1994, 8-10.

White, Arthur L. Ellen G. White: The Progressive Years. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 1986.

White, Arthur L. “Stephen Smith and the Unread Testimony.” Youth’s Instructor, October 23, 1962.

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Notes

1. General Conference Committee, James White, Chairman, “Change of Laborers,” Signs of the Times, August 15, 1878, 244. See also in 1868 where White wrote that this was “the place where Sabbathkeeping was first practiced among Adventists” (ARH, January 28, 1868).↩

2. Brian E. Strayer, “Robinson, Dores Alanzo (1848-1899),” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, October 5, 2020, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=FA28&highlight=Robinson.↩

3. See reference in obituary for Emily Richardson, ARH, June 28, 1881, 14.↩

4. Merlin D. Burt, Adventist Pioneer Places: New York & New England (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2011), 92.↩

5. “Town of Washington New Hampshire,” accessed September 11, 2023, https://www.washingtonnh.org.↩

6. History of Washington, New Hampshire, 1768-1886 (Washington, NH: Washington History Committee, 1976), 19, 397.↩

7. Ronald and Grace Jager, “The Building of Two Meeting Houses Pre-History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Washington,” (unpublished paper, ca. 1976, Ellen G. White Estate Document File 188a), 4.↩

8. Ibid., 1-2.↩

9. Record Book of the First Christian Society, Photocopy in possession of the author.↩

10. Ibid.↩

11. Ibid.↩

12. This was a common New England practice stemming from the Puritans (and earlier Anglicans) who helped fund the construction and maintenance of a church by subscribing to a family pew.↩

13. This statement by George Wheeler is quoted in W. A. Spicer, “The First Church,” ARH, February 8, 1940, 10.↩

14. Gerald Wheeler, James White: Innovator and Overcomer (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2003), 31.↩

15. Joshua Goodwin, “Letter from Joshua Goodwin,” Signs of the Times, February 1, 1843, 158.↩

16. Cf. O. O. Farnsworth, “Our First Church.” Typed manuscript, Ellen G. White Estate Document File 188.↩

17. Denis Kaiser, “Preston, Rachel Harris (Oaks),” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, January 12, 2023, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=AIQ1&highlight=Preston.↩

18. E. G. Farnsworth, “The First Seventh-day Adventist,” ARH, February 21, 1918, 16.↩

19. This point about the literature brought to distribute is often overlooked and shows an intentionality on her part to share her faith. Incidentally, most Adventist historians make an anachronistic mistake by stating in some form that Preston came to visit her daughter who was married to Cyrus Farnsworth, or in some way implying they were already married. Depending on the dating of when she came to Washington (dates range from anywhere between 1841 to late 1843) although her daughter, Rachel did not wed Cyrus until 1847. An early example of this conflation can be seen in M. Ellsworth Olsen, A History of the Origin and Progress of Seventh-day Adventists (Takoma Park, DC: Review and Herald, 1925), 183.↩

20. Seventh Day Baptists in Europe and America, 3 vols. (Plainfield, NJ: The Seventh Day Baptist General Conference, 1910), 1:185.↩

21. William A. Spicer, “Our First Minister,” ARH, February 15, 1940, 8.↩

22. Cited by William A. Spicer, Pioneer Days of the Advent Movement: With Notes on Pioneer Workers and Early Experiences (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1941), 122-123.↩

23. The primary sources upon which this dating is based are from descendants of Frederick Wheeler. Frederick Wheeler’s granddaughter recalled how her family told the story that he accepted the seventh-day Sabbath in March 1844. See Nellie Wheeler Fairfield, “In Support of Seventh-day Adventist Sabbath Keeping by Frederick Wheeler and the Washington, New Hampshire, Church Group Before the Disappointment, October 22, 1844,” typescript unpublished paper, ca. 1937 (Box 1, fld. 3, W. A. Spicer Collection [#4], Center for Adventist Research, Andrews University), 4. F. M. Bartle (the son of Wheeler’s neighbor in 1844) recalled that this first Sabbath was March 16, 1844. See F. M. Bartle to W. A. Spicer, September 4, 1935 (Box 1, fld. 3, W. A. Spicer Collection [#4], Center for Adventist Research, Andrews University). D. E. Robinson asserted in 1941 based upon memory statements that Sabbath-keeping began after the Great Disappointment. In his research at the time, based on the “First Christian Church” record book, he claimed that none of the names of Sabbath-keeping Adventists remained on the books after 1843. See D. E. Robinson to W. A. Spicer, January 29, 1941, Ellen G. White Estate Document File 182. Further corroborating evidence of a March date is supported by a letter by an unidentified nephew of William Farnsworth. See Unidentified letter to L. E. Froom, Washington, N.H., October 4, 1933, Ellen G. White Estate, Document File 188. The author of this letter points to the discussion about the Sabbath in Millerite periodicals (e. g. “’The Lord’s Day,’” in The Midnight Cry, September 5, 1844, 68) as evidence for an earlier spring dating for Sabbath acceptance in Washington as Sabbath-keeping obviously generated some strong reactions. In this particular Millerite article, it states: “Many persons have their minds deeply exercised respecting a supposed obligation to observe the seventh day.” Also of note is the earliest Millerite discussion suggesting [that] the seventh-day Sabbath came as a result of James A. Begg in Scotland, see: Michael W. Campbell, “Begg, James Aiton (1800-1868),” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, March 6, 2023, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=D8YJ&highlight=begg.↩

24. Michael W. Campbell, “William Farnsworth (1807-1888),” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, February 26, 2024, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=7IN4&highlight=farnsworth.↩

25. E. W. Farnsworth, “Symposium of Pioneers: Sabbath Afternoon, May 29,” ARH, June 4, 1926, 1; “William Farnsworth obituary,” ARH, February 19, 1889, 126; “Sarah Farnsworth obituary,” ARH, August 7, 1855, 23.↩

26. Michael W. Campbell, “Cyrus Kingsbury Farnsworth (1823-1899),” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, February 26, 2024, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=EIN3&highlight=farnsworth.↩

27. J. N. Andrews, History of the Sabbath and First Day of the Week, 2^nd ed., enlarged (Battle Creek, MI: Steam Press of the Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association, 1873), 500, 501. It is notable that the previous (1862) edition does not make any direct mention of the connection to the believers in Washington, New Hampshire, other than the fact that Preble first learned about the seventh-day Sabbath from believers in New Hampshire (see, Andrews, History of the Sabbath [Battle Creek, MI: Steam Press of the Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association, 1862]], 337-338. The exact wording from the second edition appears again in the third edition. See: Andrews, History of the Sabbath and First Day of the Book, 3^rd ed. (Battle Creek, MI: Review and Herald, 1887), 505-506.↩

28. While not definitive, most Adventist historians favor a pre-Disappointment dating for adopting the seventh-day Sabbath in Washington, New Hampshire, by Frederick Wheeler along with William and Cyrus Farnsworth. Cf. Floyd Greenleaf and Richard W. Schwarz, Light Bearers: A History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (Boise, ID: Pacific Press, 2000), 56-57. Greenleaf assesses the weight of evidence leans toward “probably in the early spring of 1844.” Gary Land, Historical Dictionary of the Seventh-day Adventists, 2^nd ed (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2015), 266.↩

29. Michael W. Campbell, “Begg, James Aiton (1800-1868),” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, March 6, 2023, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=D8YJ&highlight=begg.↩

30. “’The Lord’s Day,’” The Midnight Cry, September 5, 1844, 68.↩

31. C. Mervyn Maxwell, Tell It to the World: The Story of Seventh-day Adventists, rev. ed. (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press, 1977), 68-69.↩

32. D. E. Robinson to W. A. Spicer, January 29, 1941, W. A. Spicer Collection (#4), Box 1, Folder 1, Center for Adventist Research, Andrews University.↩

33. See note in right column, The Second Advent Review, and Sabbath Herald, December 1850, 16.↩

34. D. E. Robinson to W. A. Spicer, January 29, 1941, William Ambrose Spicer Papers (Coll. #63), Box 1, fld. 3, Center for Adventist Research, Andrews University.↩

35. Joseph Bates recollected: “I well remember when I read Eld. T. M. Preble’s short article on the Sabbath of the Lord, (afterward in a small tract,) some twenty-six years-ago: how I said, ‘THIS IS TRUTH!’ and decided from henceforth to keep the Sabbath of the fourth commandment.” See Joseph Bates, “Meetings in Michigan,” ARH, February 8, 1870, 54; J. N. A[ndrews], “History of the Sabbath. (Concluded.) The Sabbath and First-Day Since the Reformation,” ARH, May 27, 1862, 202.↩

36. F. W. Bartle to W. A. Spicer, undated letter, in Spicer, Pioneer Days, 50; H. S. Gurney, “Early Experiences Recounted by H. S. Gurney,” unpublished manuscript, April 12, 1896.↩

37. Milton Hook, “Robinson, Asa Theron (1850-1949),” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, October 4, 2020, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=7A27&highlight=Robinson.↩

38. A. T. Robinson, “Grandma Farnsworth Dead: Obituary,” College View Herald, September 20, 1917, 1.↩

39. See note in The Second Advent Review, and Sabbath Herald, December 1850, 161.↩

40. See editorial, “Our Visit to Vermont,” ARH, February 1851, 45.↩

41. See announcement under “Conferences,” ARH, October 21, 1851, 48.↩

42. [James White], “Our Tour East,” ARH, November 25, 1851, 52.↩

43. “George Wheeler Interview” cited in Mark Ford, The Church at Washington, New Hampshire: Discovering the Roots of Adventism (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2002), 78.↩

44. ARH, October 14, 1852, cited in Wearner, “The Sabbathkeepers of Washington, New Hampshire from 1850 to 1867,” 3.↩

45. U. Smith, “Dear Brethren and Sisters,” ARH, June 9, 1853, 16. In this article, Smith adds: “Dear Brethren and Sisters:--In regard to the past, I would say, that though quite young, I was in the message of 1843-44, and have ever believed that they meant something. In all the scattering and dividing which followed the passing of that time, I gave little attention to the subject till after the Washington, N.H., conference last Fall (Oct. 1852). Since then an examination of the arguments of our position had fully decided me to go with the remnant, who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”↩

46. ARH, October 14, 1852, cited in Wearner, “The Sabbathkeepers of Washington, New Hampshire from 1850 to 1867,” 3. See also ARH, February 17, 1853, letter by Sister Huntley.↩

47. See list under “Agents,” ARH, January 6, 1853, 136.↩

48. L. G. Huntley, “From Sister Huntley,” ARH, February 17, 1853, 158.↩

49. See “Appointments,” ARH, October 18, 1853, 120.↩

50. James White, “Eastern Tour,” ARH, November 8, 1853, 140.↩

51. J. Hart, “From Bro. Hart,” ARH, December 5, 1854, 126.↩

52. Arthur Whitefield Spalding, Footprints of the Pioneers (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1947), 135.↩

53. Benjamin Baker, “Barr, Eri L. (1814-1864),” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, January 29, 2020, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=8CDT&highlight=Barr.↩

54. Wearner, “The Sabbathkeepers of Washington, New Hampshire from 1850 to 1867,” 9.↩

55. See the 1860 and 1870 U.S. Federal Census where she is listed as residing in Washington, New Hampshire. I am grateful for Marsha Brummel and Bill Mulcahy at the Washington Historical Society for pointing out this important detail.↩

56. P. A. Fish, “Louisa Gigger obituary,” Atlantic Union Gleaner, July 9, 1902, 10. See also “Last of Tribe: Elbridge Gigger Lives at Gardner. Is Descended From Once Powerful Hassanamisco Indians. Now Over 90 and Looks Forward to Rounding Out Century,” The Boston Sunday Globe, May 17, 1903.↩

57. Washington, New Hampshire, Church Record Book, in Ford, The Church, 99.↩

58. These first members were: William Farnsworth, Newell Mead, Emily Richardson, Martha E. Philbrick, Lucy A. Dodge, Leonora Smith, Sarah Mead, Cyrus Farnsworth, Harriet Farnsworth, Joshua Philbrick, Alden Green. See: “Seventh-day Adventist Church Book, Washington, N.H., 1862,” bound record book, Document File 188, Ellen G. White Estate, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.↩

59. Additional members: Cyrus Colby, Howard P. Wakefield, Aseneth Wakefield, Emma Wakefield. Ibid.↩

60. D. T. and A. C. Bourdeau, “Meetings in New Hampshire,” ARH, February 24, 1863, 100.↩

61. William C. White, “An Experience in the Washington, New Hampshire, Church,” in Notes and Papers Concerning Ellen G. White and the Spirit of Prophecy, 337.↩

62. For the narrative, see Arthur L. White, Ellen G. White: The Progressive Years (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 1986), 2:216-217. For the years for W. H. Ball, see "Worchester H. Ball," Find a Grave, here (I thank Kevin Morgan for sharing this source).↩

63. W. C. White, “Sketches and Memories of James and Ellen G. White: XLIV—A Memorable Christmas,” ARH, February 11, 1937, 7-9.↩

64. Mabel Robinson Miller, William and His Twenty-Two, 100-102.↩

65. J. N. Andrews, History of the Sabbath and First Day of the Week, 2^nd ed., enlarged (Battle Creek, MI: Steam Press of the Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association, 1873), 500, 501.↩

66. W. A. Spicer, “The First Church,” ARH, February 8, 1940, 10.↩

67. See memory statement of E. W. Farnsworth, quoted in ARH, February 8, 1940, 10.↩

68. Ford, The Church, 11.↩

69. A. T. Robinson, “Early New England Experiences,” ARH, September 18, 1924, 7.↩

70. See account of 1958 celebration that noted 210 automobiles assembled on August 19, 1958. See “Octogenarian Here for Annual Winter Visit,” The St. Helena Star, February 26, 1959, 6.↩

71. “Adventists Attended Gathering in N.H.,” The Barre Daily Times, August 19, 1958, 8.↩

72. Paul I. Nosworthy, “Special Meeting in Washington, New Hampshire, Church,” ARH, November 2, 1950, 19.↩

73. See advertisement, YI, October 6, 1959, 2.↩

74. https://www.firstadventistchurch.org/history/news-articles-and-magazine-features/washington-historic-marker [accessed 2/4/24] See also “Washington, New Hampshire, Historical Marker is Dedicated,” ARH, December 12, 1974, 32.↩

75. James Nix, “Two Historic Properties Secured,” ARH, July 8, 1982, 24.↩

76. North American Division Committee (NADCOM) minutes, July 28, 1988, 130.↩

77. For a description of the Sabbath Trail, see: https://www.firstadventistchurch.org/sabbath-trail, accessed April 7, 2024]↩

78. Brad Cauley email to the author, February 19, 2024.↩

79. For more information on availability, scheduling, and directions, visit the website for this historic site accessible at: https://www.firstadventistchurch.org, accessed February 19, 2024.↩