Edson, Hiram (1806–1882)

Hiram Edson was an early Adventist prophetic expositor and traveling evangelist.

Early Life (1806-1843)

Hiram Edson was born on December 30, 1806, in Jefferson County, New York, USA, to Luther (1780-1837) and Susan E. (Taylor) Edson (1789-1844).¹ Luther was a descendant of three signers of the Mayflower Compact of 1620. Around 1790 Luther’s parents, James, a Revolutionary War veteran,² and Lovina Edson, moved from Massachusetts and purchased land in Farmington (Manchester), in Ontario County, New York.³ Luther, a War of 1812 veteran, purchased two properties in Manchester⁴ where he and Susan, staunch Methodist Episcopalians, reared four children: Hiram, Jackson, Belinda, and Luther, Jr.⁵

On December 2, 1830, Hiram married Effa Crisler (1810-1839) of Ontario County, New York, in a Methodist ceremony. They would have three children: George Washington, Susan Frances, and Belinda Adelaide. Tragically, Effa died of unknown causes on May 21, 1839.⁶ On October 10, 1839, Hiram married Esther Mariah Persons (1816-1893) of Onondaga County, New York, also in a Methodist ceremony. To this union three children were born: Viah Ophelia (who died at thirteen months), a second daughter named Viah Ophelia, and Lucy Jane.⁷ To accommodate his growing family, on March 14, 1832, Hiram purchased a 56-acre farm near Halliday Corners⁸ (Port Gibson), within a mile of his parents’ farm in Manchester, for $788.98.⁹ Because this property was unsuitable for agriculture but good for pasture,¹⁰ Hiram raised sheep rather than commercial crops.

Although no information exists regarding Edson’s schooling, his mastery of grammar and style, evident in his later articles (see below), reveals that he had at least an elementary education. Likewise, while the date and place of his conversion are unknown, from birth he had been reared in a Christian family. Around 1839, he became a steward in the Port Gibson Methodist Episcopal Church, responsible for the use of funds and literature donated by the congregation. He was widely respected as an earnest, soul-winning layman.¹¹

Conversion to Millerite Adventism (1843-1845)

In the summer of 1843, when the Millerite Adventist preachers Joshua Himes, Charles Fitch, and Thomas Barry held tent meetings in Rochester, New York,¹² Edson attended these services and read their paper The Glad Tidings of the Kingdom at Hand.¹³ In an unpublished manuscript, he refers to “the new doctrine” (Millerism), which he accepted in 1843.¹⁴ When the Methodists rejected the Millerite teaching of Christ’s imminent second advent and expelled members who accepted it, Hiram and Esther began holding meetings in their home, and many attendees experienced conversion.¹⁵ Also during 1843-44, Edson began having “presentments,” which he defined as supernatural experiences that brought him new understandings, often through visual images of events that soon came to pass.¹⁶ These presentments told him about a revival service yet to occur;¹⁷ instructed him to lay hands on a sick friend and heal him;¹⁸ and told him to plead with a neighbor until he converted.¹⁹ Edson also witnessed incidents of faith healings following prayer and laying on of hands.²⁰ While believers accepted Edson’s presentments as indications of God’s guidance, others, who opposed any manifestations of supernatural phenomena, whether Mormon or Millerite, sometimes reacted violently. Forty hostile men broke up one of his cottage meetings and some neighbors issued death threats. For their safety, the Edson family moved to a rented farm near Centerport.²¹

Following the “Great Disappointment” of October 22, 1844, Edson was devastated. “Our fondest hopes and expectations were blasted,” he wrote, “and such a spirit of weeping came over us as I never experienced before. It seemed that the loss of all earthly friends could have been no comparison. We wept, and wept, till the day dawn.”²² On October 23, after praying with friends in his granary for understanding, Edson and Owen Crosier, a Millerite friend, cut through a cornfield to comfort their disappointed friends. Midway across the field, Edson related, “I was stopped…Heaven seemed open to my view, and I saw distinctly and clearly that instead of our High Priest coming out of the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary to this earth on [October 22, 1844]…He, for the first time, entered on that day into the second apartment of that sanctuary.”²³ Edson’s words, “I saw distinctly and clearly,” have led to various interpretations as to whether he had a vision, saw a flash of light, or received an impression.²⁴

After five months of Bible study, Edson, Crosier, and Franklin Hahn shared their discoveries in the March 1845 issue of the Day Dawn, a private paper edited by Hahn and Edson in Canandaigua, New York,²⁵ and in the February 7, 1846, issue of the Millerite paper the Day-Star Extra.²⁶ These articles (written by Crosier) stated that a literal sanctuary existed in heaven; that the earthly tabernacle services were modeled on the heavenly; that the heavenly sanctuary contained two chambers, a Holy Place and a Most Holy Place, representing two phases of priestly ministry; that Jesus, the High Priest, had entered into the latter on October 22, 1844, to cleanse it by the blotting out of sins by His blood; and that Christ would return to earth after this second phase of His ministry was completed.²⁷

In May 1845, Edson sent a letter to the Jubilee Standard, a Millerite paper published in NYC, in which he argued that while the 2300-day prophecy (Daniel 8:14) ended on October 22, 1844, the 1335-day prophecy (Daniel 12:12) would end in August 1845 with God’s final judgment and Christ’s second coming.²⁸

Conversion to Sabbatarian Adventism (1846)

After reading Crosier’s article in the Day-Star Extra, James White and Joseph Bates wrote Edson requesting that he host a conference of believers in the autumn of 1846. James and Ellen White, Bates, Crosier, Hahn and his wife, and possibly others attended this gathering. After Crosier presented the subject of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, Bates read from his pamphlet The Seventh Day Sabbath, a Perpetual Sign. Edson exclaimed, “Brother Bates, that is light and truth. The seventh day is the Sabbath; and I am with you to keep it.”²⁹ In a letter to the Day Dawn, Edson recommended Bates’ tract on the Sabbath “to all such as are willing to do the commandments of God.”³⁰

Sabbath Conferences (1848-1850)

Between 1848 and 1850 a series of twenty-two weekend gatherings (called “Sabbath Conferences”³¹) convened in Connecticut, New York, Maine, and Massachusetts to clarify Adventist beliefs through prayer, Bible study, and discussion. Edson attended many of these, and he and Esther hosted the third conference at Port Gibson on August 27-28, 1848. Because unanimity prevailed concerning the seventh-day Sabbath, the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, and the third angel’s message, this gathering has been called “the theological birthplace of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.”³² In 1849, when James White published the songbook Hymns for God’s Peculiar People, Hymn No. 23, “Here Is No Rest,” became Edson’s favorite.³³ Also that year, Edson and Richard Ralph convinced Samuel Rhodes, a disappointed Millerite, to return to active ministry after he heard Ralph speak in tongues and Edson deliver a reassuring message from Ellen White.³⁴ Rhodes became a successful evangelist in New York³⁵ and the Midwest.³⁶

Ministerial Partner (1850-1859)

In 1850 Edson and Esther sold their farm in Port Gibson and rented a farm in Oswego for two years.³⁷ Between 1850 and 1852, Edson served on the four-man editorial board of the Advent Review (published in Oswego) until it was moved to Rochester, New York, in 1852.³⁸ In that year, the family purchased a farm in Port Byron, selling it a few months later for $3500 and donating $650 to James White to buy a Washington Hand Press for the Review in Rochester.³⁹

Edson also partnered with other preachers for extensive evangelistic tours of New York, Pennsylvania, and Canada.⁴⁰ Between 1850 and 1858 Edson teamed up with George Holt,⁴¹ Samuel Rhodes,⁴² H. S. Case,⁴³ John Andrews,⁴⁴ Joseph Bates,⁴⁵ J. N. Loughborough,⁴⁶ Horace Lawrence,⁴⁷ Frederick Wheeler,⁴⁸ and William Ingraham;⁴⁹ they traveled in all kinds of weather and faced frequent opposition, yet converted many to Sabbatarian Adventism. At the Oswego conference in December 1855, Edson was ordained as a local elder⁵⁰ and Roswell F. Cottrell baptized his daughter Ophelia after breaking the ice on Lake Ontario.⁵¹ One year later, the family moved to Martville, Cayuga County, New York,⁵² where Lucy Jane was born.⁵³ In the fall of 1856, Edson attended a conference hosted by John and Catharine Byington in Bucks Bridge, New York,⁵⁴ where he accepted the Laodicean Message as applicable to his spiritual condition.⁵⁵ In the spring of 1858 at a conference in Syracuse, New York, Edson, David Arnold, Roswell Cottrell, and A. Robinson were chosen to recruit workers to begin an evangelistic tent ministry in the state.⁵⁶ In addition, Hiram and Esther supported a variety of Adventist institutions and endeavors.⁵⁷ In 1859 the family made their final move to a small farm in Palermo, Oswego County, New York.⁵⁸

Publications (1849-1867)

Edson also wrote pamphlets and articles for Sabbatarian Adventist papers between 1849 and 1867. Intrigued with prophetic symbolism and type/antitype analogies, he enjoyed speculative theology. His 1849 tract, An Exposition of Scripture Prophecy; Showing the Final Return of the Jews in 1850, argued that the world’s Jews would return to Palestine before Christ’s second coming.⁵⁹ His second tract, The Time of the End, predicted the Second Advent on May 19, 1850.⁶⁰ In a subsequent letter to Present Truth, he asserted that Sabbatarian Adventists had been experiencing “the scattering time” from 1844 to 1849, but were now in “the gathering time.”⁶¹ Edson’s “Appeal to the Laodicean Church” explicating the seven churches (Revelation 3) and the “shut door” (Matthew 25) appeared in an Advent Review Extra in 1850.⁶² A year later, the Review published his article explaining “The 69 Weeks and 2300 Days” prophecies in the Book of Daniel.⁶³ In a letter to the Review two months later, Edson focused on the perpetuity of God’s law as His holy covenant that reflected His character.⁶⁴ Later that fall, he contrasted the “types and shadows” of the ceremonial laws (temporary) with God’s moral law (eternal), which included the Sabbath.⁶⁵ His three-part series on “The Ten Commandments of God” in 1852 discussed the 144,000, the time of trouble, the Sabbath, and the Little Horn (papacy).⁶⁶ Four years later, in a seven-part series entitled “The Times of the Gentiles,” Edson shared his unique interpretation of the 2520-year prophecy (723 B.C.-1798 A.D.) regarding the rise of “mystery Babylon” (paganism), the formation of American republicanism, the destruction of the Papacy, and the resurgence of Protestantism prior to Christ’s second advent.⁶⁷ Edson’s shortest article, “Daniel Standing in His Lot,” in 1857 briefly focused on the time of judgment, which began on October 22, 1844, when Christ entered the Most Holy Place in the heavenly sanctuary.⁶⁸ Apart from brief letters and reports to the Review concerning his activities, Edson wrote only one other article for the church paper, “The Shortening of the Days,” in 1867, focusing on several type/antitype analogies between Old Testament individuals and events and nineteenth-century fulfillments.⁶⁹

Other Accomplishments (1860-1876)

In 1861 Edson helped organize the Roosevelt (NY) SDA Church.⁷⁰ But during the 1860s, as Edson’s health declined from physical prostration, colds, typhoid fever, and nervous debility,⁷¹ James White and J. N. Andrews appealed for funds to send him to Dr. James Caleb Jackson’s water cure in Dansville, New York.⁷² After months of hydrotherapy treatments, rest, and a vegetarian diet, his health improved and he adopted the health reform diet.⁷³ Following his recovery, he attended the fifth session of the New York-Pennsylvania Conference in 1866 at which he received a ministerial license.⁷⁴ Edson also attended quarterly meetings (communion services) at Vernon (1867)⁷⁵ and Adam’s Center (1868)⁷⁶ and conference sessions at Adam’s Center (1868)⁷⁷ and Kirkville (1869),⁷⁸ New York, where his ministerial license was renewed.

In 1870 at Oneida, New York, Edson received ministerial credentials as an ordained minister of the New York-Pennsylvania Conference.⁷⁹ In 1871 he baptized sixteen-year-old Byron Tefft of Allegany County, New York, his only documented baptism.⁸⁰ During the 1870s Edson’s health worsened as he suffered from consumption (tuberculosis) and catarrh (inflammation of the nose and throat).⁸¹ He missed most of the conference sessions after 1873.⁸² In 1875 his ministerial credentials were not renewed,⁸³ largely because of a dispute between Edson and the reading committee at the Review publishing house, who refused to publish his 230-page manuscript on prophecy that they deemed biblically unsound.⁸⁴

Later Life (1877-1882)

Although embittered by this controversy, Edson remained faithful to the Adventist message but did not always attend Sabbath services.⁸⁵ In 1878 he converted A. E. Place of Rome at the Kirkville, New York camp meeting.⁸⁶ Place, who later became a minister, remembered Edson as “the mightiest man in prayer I have ever heard pray.”⁸⁷ He particularly enjoyed hearing Edson sing his favorite hymn, “Come, O My Soul, to Calvary.”⁸⁸ Despite suffering great pain and being bedridden with tuberculosis,⁸⁹ Edson registered his last will at the Oswego courthouse in September 1881.⁹⁰ He died on January 8, 1882, at Palermo, New York, at the age of 75.⁹¹ New York-Pennsylvania Conference President Buel L. Whitney, who officiated at his funeral, called him “among the first to receive the third angel’s message and identify himself with the work, giving largely of his time and means for its advancement.” Whitney asserted that Edson’s devotion to the cause of Present Truth “fully entitles him to a place among its pioneers.”⁹² He was buried in a cemetery near the Roosevelt SDA Church he had helped build.⁹³ His wife Esther died of Bright’s disease (nephritis) on May 1, 1893, at 77 and was buried beside her husband.⁹⁴

Legacy

Although Hiram Edson is chiefly remembered for his cornfield experience on October 23, 1844, which provided insights into Christ’s high priestly ministry in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary, his articles in Millerite and Sabbatarian Adventist publications focused on prophetic symbols, type/antitype analogies, and numerological interpretations. He played a key role in organizing Sabbath Conferences and partnering with other traveling evangelists during the 1850s.

Sources

Andrews, J. N. [Appeal for funds for Hiram Edson’s medical expenses]. ARH, November 4, 1862.

Bartle, F. W. F. W. Bartle to W. A. Spicer, September 4, 1935.

Burt, Merlin D. Adventist Pioneer Places: New York and New England. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2011.

Cobb, S. M. “Esther Edson obituary.” ARH, May 30, 1893.

“Come, O My Soul, to Calvary.” 12-stanza hymn in James White, comp., Hymns and Spiritual

Songs for Camp-Meetings and Other Religious Gatherings. Battle Creek, MI: Steam Press, 1872.

Crosier, O. R. L. “The Law of Moses.” Day-Star Extra, February 7, 1846.

Crosier, O. R. L. “The Sanctuary.” ARH, September 1850; May 5, 1851; September 2, 16, 30, and October 16, 1852.

Cross, Ophelia. Ophelia Cross to Bro. O. A. Olsen, September 14, 1913. Folder VT000274,

Center for Adventist Research, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.

Cross, Viah. “Hiram Edson’s Experience.” Affidavit as told to P. Z. Kinne. Folder 005205, Center for Adventist Research, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.

Cross, Viola O. “Recollections of the Message.” ARH, April 1, 1920.

Edson, Hiram. “An Appeal to the Laodicean Church.” ARH-Extra, September 1850.

Edson, Hiram. “Beloved Brethren, Scattered Abroad.” Present Truth, December 1849.

Edson, Hiram. “The Commandments of God and the Mark of the Beast Brought to View by the Third Angel of Rev. XIV Considered in Connection with the Angel of Chap. VII, Having the Seal of the Living God.” ARH, September 2, 1852.

Edson, Hiram. “The Commandments of God [and the] Seal of the Living God.” ARH, September 16, 1852 and September 30, 1852.

Edson, Hiram. “Daniel Standing in His Lot.” ARH, July 30, 1857.

Edson, Hiram. Deed for Hiram Edson’s Purchase of Property in Palermo, NY, January 6, 1860. Hannibal, NY: Deeds Book 85.

Edson, Hiram. “Description of Hiram Edson’s Experience in the Cornfield on October 23, 1844, Plus Some Other Experiences in His Life Around the Same Time” (undated manuscript).

Folder VT000272, Center for Adventist Research, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.

Edson, Hiram. “Experience in the Advent Movement” (undated transcript). In George Knight, 1844 and the Rise of Sabbatarian Adventism: Reproduction of Original Historical Documents. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1994.

Edson, Hiram. “An Exposition of Scripture Prophecy: Showing the Final Return of the Jews.” Canandaigua, NY: n.p., 1849.

Edson, Hiram. “The Holy Covenant.” ARH, May 5, 1851.

Edson, Hiram. Hiram Edson to S. S. Snow. The Jubilee Standard, May 29, 1845.

Edson, Hiram. Letter of March 1, 1847. The Day Dawn, April 2, 1847.

Edson, Hiram. Letter of February 13, 1851. ARH, February 1851.

Edson, Hiram. Letter (undated). ARH, March 1851.

Edson, Hiram. Letter of March 10, 1854. ARH, March 21, 1854.

Edson, Hiram. Letter of November 20, 1854. ARH, December 5, 1854.

Edson, Hiram. Letter of June 15, 1856. ARH, June 26, 1856.

Edson, Hiram. Letter of March 21, 1857. ARH, April l9, 1857.

Edson, Hiram. Letter of March 1858. ARH, April 1, 1858.

Edson, Hiram. Letter (undated). ARH, June 16, 1859.

Edson, Hiram. Letter (undated). ARH, June 11, 1861.

Edson, Hiram. Letter (undated). ARH, October 22, 1861.

Edson, Hiram. Letter of January 30, 1866. ARH, February 13, 1866.

Edson, Hiram. List of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, Edson Family Bible. Folder 006396, Center for Adventist Research, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.

Edson, Hiram. Manuscript in the Andrews University Heritage Room. Folder P009930, Center for Adventist Research, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.

Edson, Hiram. Notebook/Scrapbook/Diary of Hiram Edson. Advent Source Collection, Folder VT000275, Center for Adventist Research, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.

Edson, Hiram. “Hiram Edson obituary.” Oswego Palladium, January 10, 1882.

Edson, Hiram. “The Shortening of the Days and Typical Bearing of the Forty Years Sojourn of Israel in the Wilderness.” ARH, July 30, 1867 and August 6, 1867.

Edson, Hiram. “Shut Door.” ARH, September 1850.

Edson, Hiram. “The 69 Weeks and 2300 Days.” ARH, March 1851.

Edson, Hiram. “The Time of the End: Its Beginning, Progressive Events, and Final Termination.” Auburn, NY: Henry Oliphant, 1849.

Edson, Hiram. “The Times of the Gentiles and the Deliverance and Restoration of the Remnant of Israel from the Seven Times, or 2520 Years of Assyrian or Pagan and Papal Captivity Considered.” ARH, January 3, January 10, January 17, January 24, February 14, February 21, February 28, 1856.

Edson, Hiram. “The Two Laws.” ARH, October 7, 1851.

Edson, Hiram. “We Wept, and Wept, Till the Day Dawn.” Undated Manuscript Fragment Quoted in Spectrum 24 (October 1994).

Edson, Hiram, and Franklin Hahn. Letter in the Day-Star Extra, February 7, 1846.

Edson, Hiram, and C. B. Preston. “Certification of Roosevelt [SDA] Church, January 15, 1861. Document in the author’s possession.

Edson, Hiram, and Frederick Wheeler. “Report of Travels.” ARH, March 11, 1858.

Edson, Hiram, and Horace W. Lawrence. “Report of Travels.” ARH, November 8, 1853.

Edson, James. American Revolutionary War Pension Claim #S.45369. Onondaga County Public Library, Syracuse, New York.

Ferris, Roger H. “Roosevelt [NY] Seventh-day Adventist Church History.” Typed manuscript (1959) in the author’s possession.

“Here Is No Rest.” Hymn in James White, ed., Hymns for God’s Peculiar People, that Keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus. Oswego, NY: Henry Oliphant, 1849.

“Hiram Edson’s Properties.” Undated handwritten notes in the author’s possession.

Kinne, P. Z. “Hiram Edson’s Experience.” Typed manuscript (November 11, 2002) in the author’s possession.

Kinne, P. Z. P. Z. Kinne to T. E. Bowen, January 21, 1930, in ARH, May 9, 1940.

Nix, James Rosco. “The Life and Work of Hiram Edson.” Term Paper for CH600—Problems in Church History.” Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Andrews University, 1971. Manuscript 013139, Center for Adventist Research, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.

Patrick, Arthur. “Charles Fitch, Hiram Edson and the Raison d’Etre of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.” Term Paper for the Courses CH570, CH597, CH600. Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Andrews University, 1971. Manuscript BX6153.P38, Center for Adventist Research, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.

Randall, Robert N. “The Rome, New York [SDA] Church, 1875-1890.” Term Paper for the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Andrews University, 1975. Manuscript 007372, Center for Adventist Research, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.

Ravage, Jessie. “Hiram Edson Site Report,” July 1, 2005. Typed manuscript in the author’s possession.

Shoemaker, Ron. “The Hand of God on Hiram Edson’s Ancestors,” April 2010. Typed manuscript in the author’s possession.

Spalding, Arthur W. Correspondence (1908-1957). Arthur Whitefield Spalding Papers, Collection 010, Boxes 1-3. Center for Adventist Research, James White Library, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, Michigan.

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

Strayer, Brian E. Hiram Edson: Charismatic Farmer, Prophetic Expositor, and Ministerial Partner. Unpublished manuscript, 2023.

White, Ellen G. Manuscript Releases, vol. 6, no. 7 (1852).

White, James. Editorial. Present Truth, March 1850.

White, James. [Appeal for funds for Hiram Edson’s medical expenses]. ARH, July 26, 1864.

Whitney, Buel L. “Hiram Edson obituary.” ARH, February 21, 1882.

Wurst, LouAnn. “Public Archaeology Facility Report: Archaeological Investigations of the Hiram Edson Farmsite.” Binghamton, NY: State University of New York, November 15, 1994.

Notes

1. Typed Edson family genealogy copied from Hiram Edson’s family Bible, manuscript DF3006, #11, Center for Adventist Research, (CAR), James White Library (JWL), Andrews University (AU).↩

2. James Edson, Revolutionary War Pension Claim #S.45369, Onondaga County Public Library, Syracuse, New York.↩

3. Ron Shoemaker, “The Pilgrims—Hiram Edson’s Mayflower Descendants” (April 2010), typed manuscript in the author’s possession.↩

4. Jessie Ravage, “Hiram Edson Site Report,” July 1, 2005, typed manuscript in the author’s possession.↩

5. Ron Shoemaker, “The Pilgrims—Hiram Edson’s Mayflower Descendants” (April 2010), typed manuscript in the author’s possession.↩

6. Edson family genealogy, Manuscript DF3006, CAR, JWL, AU.↩

7. Ibid.↩

8. Mrs. W. T. Garlock to Arthur W. Spalding, November 21, 1947, Arthur W. Spalding Correspondence (AWSC), Collection 10, Box 1, Folder 4, CAR, JWL, AU.↩

9. Property Indenture for March 14, 1832, document in the author’s possession.↩

10. LouAnn Wurst, “Public Archaeology Facility Report: Archaeological Investigations of the Hiram Edson Farm Site” (Binghamton, NY: State University of New York, November 15, 1994), 13.↩

11. Letter from P.Z. Kinne to T. E. Bowen, January 21, 1930, in ARH, May 9, 1940, 9.↩

12. James R. Nix, “The Life and Work of Hiram Edson,” Term Paper for CH600—Problems in Church History, 1971, Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Andrews University, 5-6, CAR, JWL, AU.↩

13. Ophelia (Edson) Cross to O. A. Olsen, September 14, 1913, Manuscript VT000274, CAR, JWL, AU.↩

14. Hiram Edson, “Life and Experience,” Manuscript P009930, CAR, JWL, AU.↩

15. Ibid.↩

16. F. W. Bartle to W. A. Spicer, September 4, 1935, CAR, JWL, AU.↩

17. Viah (Edson) Cross, “Hiram Edson’s Experience,” affidavit as related to P. Z. Kinne, Manuscript 005205 (n.d.), typed manuscript, November 11, 2002, CAR, JWL, AU.↩

18. Ibid.↩

19. Arthur N. Patrick, “Charles Fitch, Hiram Edson and the Raison d’Etre of the Seventh-day Adventist Church,” Typed manuscript for CH600: History of the SDA Church, 1971, CAR, JWL, AU.↩

20. Hiram Edson, “Life and Experience,” Manuscript P0009930, CAR, JWL, AU.↩

21. Viah Ophelia (Edson) Cross, “Recollections of the Message,” ARH, April 1, 1920, 22-23.↩

22. Hiram Edson, “Life and Experience,” Manuscript P0009930, CAR, JWL, AU.↩

23. Ibid.↩

24. For a detailed discussion of these competing views, see Brian E. Strayer, Hiram Edson: Charismatic Farmer, Prophetic Expositor, and Ministerial Partner,” Chapter 4 (unpublished manuscript, 2023).↩

25. Hiram Edson, “Life and Experience,” Manuscript P0009930, CAR, JWL, AU.↩

26. Hiram Edson and Franklin Hahn, Day-Star Extra, February 7, 1846, 44.↩

27. O. R. L. Crosier, “The Law of Moses,” Day-Star Extra, February 7, 1846, 37-44.↩

28. Hiram Edson, letter to the Jubilee Standard, May 29, 1845, pp. 90-91.↩

29. Viah (Edson) Cross, “Hiram Edson’s Experience,” Affidavit (n.d.) sent to P. Z. Kinne, Manuscript 005205, CAR, JWL, AU.↩

30. Hiram Edson, Letter to the Day Dawn, March 7, 1847, 7.↩

31. Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia (1996), s.v. “Sabbath Conferences.”↩

32. Merlin Burt, Adventist Pioneer Places: New York and New England (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 2011), 130-131.↩

33. James White, ed., Hymns for God’s Peculiar People, that Keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus (Oswego, NY: Henry Oliphant, printer, 1849). In many ways, this hymn reflects Edson’s own experiences as a man who had lost friends, gained enemies, and yearned for physical and spiritual rest.↩

34. Hiram Edson, “Beloved Brethren, Scattered Abroad,” Present Truth, December 1849, 34-36.↩

35. [James White] editorial, Present Truth, March 1850.↩

36. A. W. Spalding to T. E. Unruh, February 25, 1946, AWSC, Collection 10, Box 1, Folder 3, CAR, JWL, AU.↩

37. “Edson’s Properties,” handwritten notes (n.d.) in the author’s possession.↩

38. See the masthead of the Advent Review and Sabbath Herald for volumes 1-3, 1850-1852. The other four men were James White, David Arnold, George Holt, and Samuel Rhodes.↩

39. “Edson’s Properties,” handwritten notes (n.d.) in the author’s possession.↩

40. Hiram Edson, quoted by J. N. Loughborough, Pacific Union Recorder, August 12, 1909, 1.↩

41. Hiram Edson, ARH, February 1851, 48; John Lindsey, “Report,” ARH, May 27, 1852, 16; Hiram Edson, “Report,” ARH, June 10, 1852, 22-23; George Holt, “Reports,” RH, July 8, 1852, 39; August 5, 1852, 56; September 16, 1852, 80.↩

42. Ellen G.White, Letter to Bro. and Sr. Loveland, December 13, 1850, in Ellen White, Manuscript Release 6 (1852), 252.↩

43. Samuel Rhodes, Letter of July 15, 1851, ARH, August 5, 1851, 7-8.↩

44. Hiram Edson, Letter of August 20, 1851, ARH, September 2, 1851, 24; John Hamilton, “Report,” ARH, September 2, 1852, 70.↩

45. Joseph Bates, Reports to ARH, November 25, 1851, 56; January 13, 1852, 80; February 17, 1852, 96; May 6, 1852, 6-7.↩

46. J. N. Loughborough, “Report,” ARH, March 17, 1853, 176; James White, Report, ARH, September 20, 1853, 84-86.↩

47. Hiram Edson and H. W. Lawrence, Report, ARH, November 8, 1853, 143; Hiram Edson, Letter of March 10, 1854, ARH, March 21, 1854, p. 71; Hiram Edson, Letter of November 20, 1854, ARH, December 5, 1854, 127.↩

48. Hiram Edson and Frederick Wheeler, Report, ARH, February 11, 1858, 110-111.↩

49. Hiram Edson, Letter of March 1858, ARH, April 1, 1858, 159.↩

50. J. N. Loughborough, Report, ARH, December 27, 1855, 101.↩

51. J. N. Loughborough, Letter to R. H. Kelley, December 13, 1910, DF3006, Manuscript #8, CAR, JWL, AU.↩

52. Hiram Edson, Letter of June 15, 1856, ARH, June 26, 1856, 71.↩

53. Ron Shoemaker, “The Pilgrims—Hiram Edson’s Mayflower Descendants” (April 2010), p. 28, typed manuscript in the author’s possession.↩

54. John Byington, Report, ARH, November 27, 1856, 32.↩

55. Hiram Edson, Letter of March 21, 1857, ARH, April 9, 1857, 182.↩

56. Hiram Edson and Frederick Wheeler, Report, ARH, March 11, 1858, 133.↩

57. Hiram Edson, Letter, ARH, June 16, 1859, 32.↩

58. Ron Shoemaker, “The Pilgrims—Hiram Edson’s Mayflower Descendants” (April 2010), 28, typed manuscript in the author’s possession.↩

59. Hiram Edson, An Exposition of Scripture Prophecy; Showing the Final Return of the Jews in 1850 (Canandaigua, NY: Printed at the Office of the Ontario Messenger), 1849, 41 pp.↩

60. Hiram Edson, The Time of the End; Its Beginning, Progressive Events, and Final Termination (Auburn, NY: Henry Oliphant, 1849), 36 pp.↩

61. Hiram Edson, “Beloved Brethren,” Present Truth, December 1849, 34-36.↩

62. Hiram Edson, “Appeal to the Laodicean Church,” ARH Extra, September 1850, 1-16.↩

63. Hiram Edson, “The 69 Weeks and 2300 Days,” ARH, March 1851, 49-50.↩

64. Hiram Edson, “The Holy Covenant,” ARH, May 5, 1851, 80; September 16, 1852, 73-75; September 30, 1852, 81-84.↩

65. Hiram Edson, “The Two Laws,” ARH, October 7, 1851, 36-37.↩

66. Hiram Edson, “The Commandments of God and the Mark of the Beast Brought to View by the Third Angel of Rev. XIV, Considered in Connection with the Angel of Chap. VII, Having the Seal of the Living God,” ARH, September 2, 1852, 65-67.↩

67. Hiram Edson, “The Times of the Gentiles and the Deliverance and Restoration of the Remnant of Israel from the Seven Times, or 2520 Years of Assyrian or Pagan and Papal Captivity Considered,” ARH, January 3, 1856, 105-107; January 10, 1856, 113-115; January 17, 1856, 121-123; January 24, 1856, 129-131; February 14, 1856, 153-155; February 21, 1856, 162-63; February 28, 1856, 169-70.↩

68. Hiram Edson, “Daniel Standing in His Lot,” ARH, July 30, 1857, 101.↩

69. Hiram Edson, “The Shortening of the Days and Typical Bearing of the Forty Years Sojourn of Israel in the Wilderness,” ARH, July 30, 1867, 102-103; August 6, 1867, 118.↩

70. Hiram Edson and C. B. Preston, “Certification of Roosevelt [SDA] Church, January 15, 1861,” Oswego County, New York, document in the author’s possession.↩

71. Hiram Edson, Letter, ARH, June 11, 1861, 23; James White, ARH, August 30, 1861, 92; Charles Taylor, “Report,” ARH, March 3, 1868, 182-183.↩

72. James White, ARH, July 26, 1864, 72; J. N. Andrews, ARH, November 4, 1862, 182. About $243 was raised to defray Edson’s medical expenses.↩

73. Hiram Edson, Letter of January 30, 1866, ARH, February 13, 1866, 87.↩

74. Reports in ARH, October 16, 1866, and October 19, 1867, 308.↩

75. Report in ARH, October 29, 1867, 308.↩

76. Report in ARH, October 12, 1869, 126.↩

77. Report in ARH, November 17, 1868, 246.↩

78. Report in ARH, October 12, 1869, 126.↩

79. Report in ARH, August 23, 1870, 78.↩

80. ARH, July 4, 1929, 29.↩

81. Ron Shoemaker, “The Pilgrims—Hiram Edson’s Mayflower Descendants” (April 2010), 28.↩

82. Reports in ARH, August 26, 1873, 86 and October 13, 1874, 127.↩

83. Report in ARH, September 30, 1875, 103.↩

84. For a discussion of this complex issue, see Brian E. Strayer, “Hiram Edson: Charismatic Farmer, Prophetic Expositor, and Ministerial Partner,” 65-67, 182-87.↩

85. A. W. Spalding, Letter to J. S. Washburn, August 24, 1950, AWSC, Collection 10, Box 2, Folder 3, CAR, JWL, AU.↩

86. A. E. Place, cited by Robert Randall, “The Rome, N.Y. [SDA] Church, 1875-1890,” typed manuscript 007372, 1975, CAR, JWL, AU.↩

87. A. E. Place, quoted in Randall, “The Rome, N.Y. [SDA] Church, 1875-1890,” typed manuscript 007372, 1975, CAR, JWL, AU.↩

88. “Come, O My Soul, to Calvary,” in James White, comp., Hymns and Spiritual Songs for Camp-Meetings and Other Religious Gatherings (Battle Creek, MI: Steam Press, 1972), 160-161.↩

89. M. C. Wilcox, Letter, ARH, November 1, 1881, 283; Buel L. Whitney, “Hiram Edson obituary,” ARH, February 21, 1882, 126.↩

90. Hiram Edson, Last Will and Testament, cited by Ron Shoemaker, “The Pilgrims—Hiram Edson’s Mayflower Descendants” (April 2010), 28.↩

91. “Hiram Edson obituary,” Oswego Palladium, January 10, 1882, 3.↩

92. B. L. Whitney, “Hiram Edson obituary,” ARH, February 21, 1882, 126.↩

93. In the Footsteps of the Pioneers (Silver Spring, MD: E. G. White Estate, 1990), 116, 122.↩

94. S. M. Cobb, “Esther Edson obituary,” ARH, May 30, 1893, 351.↩