White, Henry Nichols (1847–1863)

Henry Nichols White was the firstborn son of James and Ellen White.¹

Henry was named after a family friend, Henry Otis Nichols. He was born on August 26, 1847, at Ellen White’s parents’ home in Gorham, Maine. The baby’s arrival, four days before his parents’ first anniversary, found the family homeless, relying on the hospitality of friends. Stockbridge and Frances Howland invited the Whites to share their large farmhouse in Topsham, Maine.

Nineteen-year-old Ellen hoped that with Henry’s birth she could now stay at home and not do so much traveling. A vision, however, and an illness that brought Henry near death, convinced Ellen that this was not to be. As the Whites agonized in prayer for their baby’s healing, Ellen committed herself to go wherever God led.

Henry’s recovery led Ellen to a heart-wrenching decision. Unable to give her son stability and discipline while traveling, she entrusted him to the Howlands. In so doing, she likened herself to Hannah, who had given up her firstborn, Samuel, to the Lord’s work. For five years Henry remained with the Howlands, where he was loved, disciplined, and well cared for. During that time Ellen was often plagued by feelings of deep anxiety and grief because of their separation.

When Henry was 6, the Whites settled into a rented house in Rochester, New York. Near the banks of the Erie Canal, Henry and his brother Edson became reacquainted, and another brother, Willie, was born. When Henry was 8, the family moved to Battle Creek, Michigan, where Henry frequented the new printing office, running errands and folding papers. In time, he began setting type for the Review and Herald after school. He also had a gift and love for music and a clear, full, tenor voice. During the summer of 1862, by selling vegetable seeds he and Edson earned $100, which they used to purchase a melodeon, a small reed organ operated by foot pedals.

In January 1863 a time of spiritual revival drew 13 youth, including Henry and Edson, into the icy waters of the Kalamazoo River to be baptized by James White. Despite this hopeful sign, James and Ellen were deeply concerned about their sons’ fascination with the American Civil War. Henry was even dreaming of entering the army as a drummer—an appalling prospect to his noncombatant parents.² Determined to take their boys away from these influences, the Whites decided to take them east for a few months. Invited to stay with the Howlands, the entire family returned to Topsham, Maine.

While his parents traveled, Henry remained at the Howlands, employed at mounting prophetic charts on cloth backing for sale to Adventist evangelists. One day after swimming in the river, he flopped down by a window, fell asleep in a cool draft, and caught cold, which turned to pneumonia. His parents called a doctor, who employed the customary drugs of the day, and Henry rapidly declined.

Sensing that he might die, Henry drew near to God. There was a time of confession, forgiveness, weeping, and embracing in the family circle. Henry encouraged his father by noting that if he died, at least he wouldn’t be drafted into the army. Henry promised his mother he would meet her in heaven, and asked to be buried alongside his baby brother, John Herbert, so they could come up together on the resurrection morning.

December 8, 1863, after kissing his family goodbye, Henry pointed upward and whispered his last words, “Heaven is sweet.” Fifty years later Ellen White’s granddaughter Grace, recalled her grandmother once remarked about her firstborn son, “If we had only known then what we know now, we could have saved Henry.”³

Sources

Timm, Alberto and Dwain N. Esmond, ed. The Gift of Prophecy in Scripture and History. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2015.

White, Arthur L. An Appeal to the Youth: Funeral Address of Henry N. White, at Battle Creek, Mich., Dec. 21, 1863. Battle Creek, Mich.: Steam Press, 1864.

White, Arthur L., Ellen G. White: The Progressive Years, 1862-1876. Volume 2. Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1986.

Notes

1. This article was originally published in the Ellen G. White Encyclopedia (Denis Fortin and Jerry Moon, eds., Review and Herald, 2013). It was updated for the Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists by Tim Poirier, vice-director of Ellen G. White Estate, Inc.↩

2. A. L. White, Ellen G. White: The Progressive Years, 1862-1876, 2:60.↩

3. Story told by Grace White-Jacques to James Nix, in A. Timm and D. Esmond, ed., The Gift of Prophecy in Scripture and History, 360.↩