Contents
Preface and Acknowledgements vii Prologue 1 1 William Miller, 1782−1804 9 2 Joseph Wolff, 1795−1812 15 3 William Miller, 1809−1816 23 4 Joseph Wolff, 1812−1818 31 5 Mullá Husayn, 1813−1831 39 6 William Miller, 1816−1831 43 7 Joseph Wolff, 1818−1830 50 8 William Miller, 1831−1838 63 9 Joseph Wolff, 1830−1832 70 10 Mullá Husayn, 1831−1844 79 11 William Miller, 1838−1842 87 12 Joseph Wolff, 1832−1843 95 13 William Miller, 1842−1844 105 14 Joseph Wolff, 1843−August 1844 112 15 Mullá Husayn, January−May 1844 123 16 Mullá Husayn, 23 May 1844 129 17 William Miller, May 1844−1847 138 18 Mullá Husayn, May−August 1844 144 19 Mullá Husayn, 23 August 1844 149 20 Joseph Wolff, 1844−1845 157 21 Mullá Husayn, Spring 1845−July 1848 161 22 William Miller, 1848−1849 169 23 Joseph Wolff, 1847−1848 173 24 Mullá Husayn, 1848−1849 176 25 Endings 188 Epilogue 191 Appendices 1 Prophecy and the ‘end times’ 2 William Miller’s ‘Rules of Bible interpretation’ 3 William Miller’s, ‘Articles of Faith’ 4 Background to the fate of Stoddart and Conolly 5 Siyyid Yahyá (Vahid) 6 ‘Alí Khán
196 198 201 205 207 209
Bibliography About the author
211 214
1
William Miller 1782−1804 ‘Don’t afflict yourself too deeply about William. . . .’1
In a corner of New England, by the banks of the Pontousooc River and overlooked from the north by Saddle mountain, the Miller family, recently arrived from Connecticut, first established their humble homestead in about 1747; it was here that William Miller was born on 2 February 1782, not long before the American War of Independence drew to a close. William was the eldest of sixteen children born to William senior and his wife Paulina, and when young William was four years old his father took out a lease on some land further north in Hampton, New York, bordered by the Poultney river and not far from Fairhaven, Vermont, where one of the first industrial towns to be established in the New World was taking root. The land was a virtual wilderness when the Millers arrived, and once some trees had been felled and a clearing made, the timber was used to build a small homestead for the growing family. As soon as the farm was established William began helping with the work, initially collecting eggs and feeding the animals, later being promoted to wood chopping and helping to provide the family with winter warmth and building materials. Each season brought with it specific chores − planting, harvesting, shearing, ploughing, tasks shared between family and neighbours, men working outside and women close to the home, adults and children making sure that the future was assured. The village that grew from the several homesteads became known as Low Hampton, and before long other family members had moved into the vicinity, including William’s maternal grandfather Phelps, who helped found the Baptist church in nearby Orwell. 9
the half of it was never told Education was limited in a timetable dominated by the necessary discipline of daily survival on the farm, and William’s mother taught him to read from the few books available to her in the home − the Bible, psalter and hymn book; he developed a passion both for reading and knowledge, although finding reading material and the time to read it was no easy matter. One of the first books he managed to lay his hands on was an abridgement of Robinson Crusoe, which his father eventually allowed him to buy with money earned by extra wood chopping in his rare spare moments. Finding enough light to read his books was another problem, which he solved by carefully collecting pine stumps, lighting them in the embers of the fire and then, having waited for the family to retire, reading by their light when he, too, was supposed to be sleeping. However, not all went to plan as he crouched by the fire with his homemade lamps, for when he was discovered by his father he was threatened with a whipping if he didn’t go immediately to his bed and save his energies for the daily farm chores. When the small log cabin was replaced by a more substantial frame house, William’s parents provided their eldest son with a room of his own where he was able to read by candlelight without being disturbed; Robinson Crusoe was followed by further adventure books, and the more he read, the more urgent became his passion to learn and be educated. Although he attended the small schoolhouse nearby during the winter months, he longed for a more formal education which his family couldn’t afford. Some of his reading material had been made available by local sponsors, including Congressman Matthew Lyon, an acquaintance of his father who lived close by in Fairfield and who ran a printing press as well as holding an extensive personal library. But William still wasn’t satisfied, and he decided to write to another of his sponsors, Dr Smith, asking for his assistance in making it financially possible to further his schooling. The letter was discovered by William’s father, however, and never reached its destination, 10
william miller, 1782−1804 and although initially his father was annoyed by the incident, he soon felt sorry that he wasn’t in a position to help William himself. In 1797, aged fifteen, William began writing a diary, giving it the title ‘The History of My Life’, and beginning, ‘I was early educated and taught to pray the Lord,’ a few months later writing, ‘Sunday grandfather preached at our house − I lay at home. Rainy day.’2 He also enjoyed writing poetry and prose, and before long his family and friends began using his skills for important letters and verse. His diary ceased around the time he was thinking of marriage to Lucy Smith, one of the final entries in January 1803 stating, ‘to be hers and only hers till death shall part us {provided she is of the same mind}’.3 Shortly after his twenty-first birthday William and Lucy married, setting up their home close to her family in Poultney, Vermont, just a few miles away from Low Hampton. In moving away from his own family, William was in danger of cutting himself off from the spiritual ties which had been the bedrock of his young life, for whilst Poultney offered better opportunities as far as public life was concerned, it also introduced William to different ways of thinking of which his Christian relatives, particularly his mother, most probably didn’t approve. Farming was William’s living, but reading was still his passion, and encouraged by his young wife he made full use of the new opportunities which Poultney offered; he found himself living amongst men of learning who were involved in debate and politics, and who introduced him to various cultural and literary societies; he discovered the library, the first of its kind in Vermont, set up by Thomas Ashley who had been one of the first settlers in Poultney. Ashley was a neighbour of the Millers and became a good friend to William; through him William came into close contact with other influential men in Poultney, and before long he was a member of the Masonic Lodge, latterly becoming the Grand Master. 11
the half of it was never told William’s aptitude as a writer was widely recognized, and around the time preparations were underway for celebrating the anniversary of American independence, he found himself suddenly inspired to write a poem on the subject as he was hoeing corn in the fields, setting it to a well-known hymn tune when he returned home. Thomas Ashley had been assigned to organize the celebration events, and although William was happy to have his poem used, he preferred to remain anonymous. He took his manuscript to Ashley’s house and slipped it through an open window. When Mrs. Ashley found it she thought it must be one of her husband’s papers. No-one knew who had written it or how it had come to be there, some even suggesting that ‘an angel from heaven had sent it!’,4 but Thomas was so impressed by it that he arranged for copies to be made and distributed. However, one of the copyists was Pastor Kendrick, a Baptist minister who knew William and who suspected him of being the author, for when William arrived in order to collect his copy, such was his manner on receiving it that he gave himself away. The success of his offering very soon established his reputation amongst the men of learning in the community. Soon after settling in Poultney William was appointed as constable, and the combined earnings from his new public office with farming now enabled him to keep two horses, riding one and resting the other on alternate weeks. It was a time of change in more ways than one; finding himself in an environment where intellectual men of standing questioned current Christian thinking, William began questioning his own Christian belief as he immersed himself in the writings of Enlightenment philosophers such as Voltaire and Thomas Paine. In comparing contemporary thought with what he had been taught by his mother and grandfather, he found that he was disturbed by inconsistencies he observed both in the Bible and in the Christians around him, and in all likelihood the situation his grandfather Phelps had found himself in a few years earlier didn’t help. 12
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