Everts, Elon (1807–1858) and Anna Maria (Rider) (1810–1856)

Elon and Anna Everts were early Millerite Adventists who were among the first Sabbatarian Adventists in Vermont. Elon is considered the one to have coined the term “investigative judgment” in connection to Sabbatarian Adventists. He was also one of the first Sabbatarian Adventist ministers to be ordained in 1853.

Early Adventist Believers

Not much is known about the Everts’ early lives. Elon Everts and Anna Maria Rider married on March 13, 1832, in Weybridge, Vermont.¹ They had one child, Matilda born in 1837. Elon’s name is listed in early Millerite periodicals including The Midnight Cry!²  As early as February 1851, he was writing in the Review and Herald.³ Later that year, Elon along with James and Ellen White participated in a meeting organized by Joseph Bates.⁴ He also contributed money for printing materials.⁵ From October 13-24, 1852, he went on a preaching tour that included visiting the widow and children of William Miller. He stayed with them for two days sharing his newfound beliefs.⁶ The Everts home became a center for early believers.⁷ In late December 1852, Elon took Joseph Bates on an 85-mile preaching trip.⁸

Elon continued to be an effective proponent of his faith. From February 1-14, 1853, Elon went on another itinerary with Charles W. Sperry on a circuit that included Castelton, Fairhaven, Low Hampton, Fort Ann, Welch-hollow, Dresden, and Port Marshall.⁹ On a later itinerary in May, he noted the sweetness of “inquiring for light” and fellowship. The “heavenly Spirit pervaded the room, which thrilled my whole soul. O, how it reminds me of 1844.”¹⁰ On another occasion, another Millerite believer, who received copies of the Review, saw Elon’s name in the paper. This prompted the believer to visit Everts’ home in New Haven, where they studied the Bible together and Elon furnished additional reading material.¹¹

A conference of Sabbatarian Adventists was held at a schoolhouse near the Everts' home in New Haven, Vermont, to study the topic of ordination.¹² Afterward, they went to the Everts’ home to discuss church matters further. After a testimony time, they resumed the next day and “decided” to move forward with ordination “to the work of the Gospel ministry.” They felt ordination was necessary to designate who was worthy “of the confidence of the church, as teachers” from those deemed unworthy. They then ordained J. N. Andrews, A. S. Hutchins, and C. W. Sperry “by prayer and the laying on of hands.” Joseph Baker and James White led the ordination ceremony. It was decided that Vermont needed pastoral leadership, and they therefore ordained E. P. Butler, Elon Everts, and Josiah Hart as ministers, too.¹³ In contrast, Ezra Eastman and J. R. Towle were admonished for their “injudicious course” and considered as not “proper persons to teach the present truth.”¹⁴

In 1854, Elon Everts conducted a series of evangelistic meetings with Frederick Wheeler and Josiah Hart.¹⁵ That same year he assisted in “tent meetings” in Topsham, Maine, near the home of Frederick Howland with an attendance of 500-600 per night.¹⁶ In March 1855, he was on yet another preaching itinerary, this time in Vermont for two weeks.¹⁷ In the summer of 1855, the Everts’ family hosted James and Ellen White for a night on their way to Boston.¹⁸

Move to Round Grove

In early January 1856, James White requested that Elon Everts join M. E. Cornell in evangelistic work.¹⁹ Instead, sometime in early 1856, the Everts relocated to Round Grove, Illinois.²⁰ Soon there was a group of about 30 believers worshipping in this new location.²¹ Everts urged from Illinois that “my brethren, you keep in mind that Christians are a different company, a little flock, separated, chosen out of the world, to be lights in, or to, the world, that the world by beholding their good works, (light) may be led to join in company with the little flock.”²² Anna Maria Rider (1810-1856) died on October 25, 1856, from a “bilious habit” that had started the previous year (August 11, 1855).²³

James and Ellen White’s meetings held near Round Grove impacted Elon personally. A snowstorm precluded many from being able to attend. Elon took the Whites with his team to Waukon, Iowa, where they precariously crossed the Mississippi River.²⁴ The trip by the Whites contributed to bringing back J. N. Andrews and J. N. Loughborough to fulltime ministry and indirectly encouraged Hart and Elon to return to ministry as well.²⁵ Loughborough returned with Hart and Elon to follow up on efforts by the Whites in Round Grove. As a result, twelve more people “commenced to keep the Sabbath.”²⁶ This contributed to a personal revival for Elon. Of the experience, he wrote:

I praise the Lord that I have enjoyed some of the most sweet, heavenly seasons, and have seen more of the presence of the Lord, since the thrilling, humbling, and most solemn message to the Laodicean church has stirred the remnant, that I have witnessed since 1844. I have no doubt but the Lord is fitting up the remnant for the last solemn work for the world. How solemn! The end is come! A moment and all is over. Our entreaties, our dear friends will soon hear no more. Lord, help us to be in earnest. I will believe the Lord will be entreated do those things for us.²⁷

Elon used his wealth to help support the early work of the denomination. In 1857, he was among the first five persons to pledge $100 each to help purchase a “power press.”²⁸ He also attended the General Conference of 1857 in Battle Creek.²⁹

Elon is perhaps best known for clearly articulating and coining the term “investigative judgment.” “I solemnly believe,” he wrote, “that the judgment has been going on in the Heavenly Sanctuary since 1844, and that upon the righteous dead . . . judgment has been passing.”³⁰ In another article he connected Revelation 13 and Isaiah 46. He observed how an estimated 50,000 people who were “lovers of the coming of Christ left the churches in that year [1844].” This was like the “loss of children” (Isaiah 47:8-9). The rise of Babylon coincided with the rise of “the spirits of devils working miracles through members of the churches, by spirit developments since 1844.”³¹ Elon continued ministry, holding meetings, visiting farmers and speculators, and inviting them to accept the Advent message.³² For example, during the summer of 1857, Elon evangelized in Wisconsin.³³ By early 1858, he participated in organizing a “Conference of Advent Sabbath-keepers” to be held five miles north of Round Grove Station in Whiteside County, Illinois (February 12).³⁴ On the last day of the conference, Elon became sick with “lung fever” (possibly typhoid). He died at the age of 51 on February 25, 1858.³⁵ His close friend and fellow minister, Josiah Hart, also died later that same year from typhoid.³⁶ Elon and Anna are buried in the Round Grove Cemetery.³⁷

Legacy

Elon made many positive contributions to the Sabbatarian Adventist cause with extensive traveling, contributing to the articulation of the “investigative judgment,” and financial support. Although they had “considerable ability,” James White in 1878, after his first stroke and three years before his own death, remembered that their support was not always consistent and that he furthermore did not give himself fully “to the work and cause of God.”³⁸ When they refused warnings to become more consistent and to honor their pledges to commit themselves fully to the work, James believed it contributed to their undoing. James used this story as an object lesson for the sad outcome of putting possessions ahead of devotion to God. The Everts had considerable property compared to the other early Adventists. Their property was valued at $15,000 at the time of Elon’s death (an estimated $570,000 in 2022 dollars).

Elon and Anna had only one daughter, Matilda (1810-1865), who, at the time of her father’s death, was 20 years old. On March 16, 1858, she married Lavius John Hall (1831-1888). Matilda died in 1865, and their son, Edwin, the Evert’s only grandchild, died in 1876. Lavius subsequently remarried Mary Jennie Sturtevant (1836-1893) and had another child, Willis (1869-1920).³⁹

Sources

Campbell, Michael W. “Elon and Anna Maria (Rider) Everts.” In The Ellen G. White Encyclopedia, edited by Jerry Moon and Denis Fortin, 373. Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2013.

Campbell, Michael W. “Early Adventists, Wealth and Poverty, and the Prophetic Gift.” Paper presented to the Adventist Theological Society Annual Meeting, November 20, 2021.

Everts, Elon. “Fulfill.” ARH, February 18, 1858.

Everts, Elon. “Follow Me.” ARH, August 14, 1856.

Everts, Elon. “’Be Zealous and Repent.’” ARH, January 8, 1857.

Everts, Elon. “’Fear Not, Little Flock; for It Is Your Father’s Good Pleasure to Give You the Kingdom, Luke XII, 32.” ARH, April 9, 1857.

Obituary. ARH, November 6, 1856.

Obituary. ARH, March 11, 1858.

Notes

1. Vermont Vital Records, 1720-1908 [accessed from Ancestry.com 9/25/22].↩

2. Cf. The Midnight Cry! August 3, 1843, 8.↩

3. ARH, February 1851, 18.↩

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

5. “From Bro. Everts,” ARH, September 16, 1852, 80.↩

6. Ibid.↩

7. “Extra of Letters,” ARH, December 9, 1852, 119.↩

8. “From Bro. Bates,” ARH, February 3, 1853, 151. Stops included Fort Edward, New York, and ultimately they arrived in Low Hampton, New York.↩

9. “From Bro. Everts,” ARH, March 3, 1853, 167; “From Bro. Everts,” ARH, March 17, 1853, 176.↩

10. “From Bro. Everts,” ARH, June 9, 1853, 15.↩

11. “From Bro. Everts,” ARH, June 23, 1853, 23. The convert’s story can be read at: “From Bro. Alexander,” ARH, August 28, 1853, 63.↩

12. [James White], “Eastern Question,” ARH, November 15, 1853, 148.↩

13. Ibid.↩

14. Ibid.↩

15. Cf. “Stoddard and Springfield Tent Meetings,” ARH, October 17, 1854, 80.↩

16. “Tent Meetings,” ARH, October 31, 1854, 96; for a detailed itinerary, see “Appointments,” ARH, October 24, 1854, 88.↩

17. “Communication from Bro. Everts,” ARH, March 6, 1855, 188.↩

18. [James White], “Note from Bro. White,” ARH, August 21, 1855, 28.↩

19. “’Come Over and Help Us!’” ARH, January 24, 1856, 136.↩

20. “Extracts from Letters,” ARH, March 20, 1856, 199; P. E. Ferrin, “From Bro. Ferrin,” ARH, July 10, 1856, 87.↩

21. E[lon] Everts and J[osiah] Hart, “Letter from Round Grove, Ill., to the Battle Creek Conference,” ARH, May 29, 1856, 48.↩

22. E[lon] Everts, “’Follow Me,” Luke IX, 59,” ARH, July 31, 1856, 192-193.↩

23. Obituary. ARH, November 6, 1856, 7.↩

24. J[ames] W[hite], “Western Tour,” ARH, January 1, 1857, 69.↩

25. J[ames] W[hite], “Western Tour,” ARH, January 15, 1957, 84-85. See also response by J. N. Andrews, “Note from Bro. Andrews,” ARH, February 5, 1857, 108.↩

26. J. N. Loughborough, “Labors in Illinois,” ARH, February 26, 1857, 133.↩

27. E[lon] Everts, “From Bro. Everts,” ARH, March 12, 1857, 150-151.↩

28. See note, ARH, March 19, 1857, 160.↩

29. E. Everts, “From Bro. Everts,” ARH, May 14, 1857, 14.↩

30. Elon Everts, “Communication From Bro. Everts,” ARH, January 1, 1857, 72.↩

31. E. Everts, “Babylon’s End Approacheth!” ARH, April 2, 1957, 170-171.↩

32. Elon Everts, “From Bro. Everts,” ARH, January 21, 1858, 88.↩

33. See note, ARH, July 9, 1857, 80.↩

34. “Appointments,” ARH, February 11, 1858, 112.↩

35. Obituary, ARH, March 11, 1858, 135.↩

36. Obituary, ARH, September 2, 1858, 127.↩

37. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52463405/elon-everts [accessed 9/25/22].↩

38. J[ames] W[hite], “Systematic Benevolence,” ARH, September 5, 1878, 84.↩

39. For genealogical information, see: http://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tools/tree/179235333/invitees/accept?inviteId=0afeed62-aafa-4032-9d46-cc6c4cf205c1 [accessed 9/25/22].↩