August 15, 1850,1 This date is found in a handwritten copy of Ellen White's letter. There is a discrepancy between this date, August 15, which fell on a Thursday in 1850, and the statement made in the opening of the letter that it was written on a Tuesday. It may be that the original letter was written on Tuesday, August 13, but that the copyist misread the 13 for a 15. It might also be that the letter was started on Tuesday, August 13, but not completed until August 15. Either way the exact date of writing is not critical. There are several strong indications that the letter was written in the first half of August 1850.
Letter to The reference to Topsham in the opening sentence leaves little doubt that the letter is addressed to Stockbridge and Louisa M. Howland, of Topsham, Maine. There are several other Howlands mentioned in the Review in this period. One of them, Frances H. Howland, was the daughter of Stockbridge and Louisa; the other, F. T. Howland, was from Rhode Island. The Whites corresponded frequently with Stockbridge and Louisa in particular since their young son Henry lived with them during this period. See: Search term “Howland” in Words of the Pioneers.
Stockbridge Howland and Louisa M. Howland.2
This letter is published in entirety in Ellen G. White, Manuscript Releases, vol. 15, pp. 207-209.
News to close friends of the dramatic healing of her baby Edson and of her husband. 1EGWLM 215.3
Dear Bro. and Sister Howland,
I send this vision to you for you to read to the church in Topsham [Maine]. 1EGWLM 215.4
Brother Rhodes [Samuel W. Rhodes]3 Identity: “Brother Rhodes” is described in this letter as being on his way to Michigan. A week or so later “S. W. Rhodes” writes to The Advent Review of his travels and lectures in Jackson and North Plains, Michigan. Clearly this is a reference to the prominent itinerant preacher Samuel W. Rhodes. See: S. W. Rhodes, “Extracts of Letters,” Advent Review, September 1850, p. 48. See: Note 1. The reference here is to charts showing prophetic symbols from Daniel and Revelation together with time calculations. In a vision given later the same year Ellen White was instructed that a chart should be published and that it would be an effective means for “souls to come to the knowledge of the truth.” It is possible that the chart which was subsequently published in January 1851 was modeled on Rhodes's chart, which had pleased the Whites so much in August. See: Ellen G. White, Lt 26, 1850 (Nov. 1); “The Chart,” Review, January 1851, p. 38.
My babe [James Edson] had been very sick for about a week. We had prayed for him and he was some better and we thought he would recover. Tuesday, P.M., James [James Springer White] and myself went to Port Byron [New York] with Brother Rhodes. He was to take a canal boat and go on his way to Michigan. It seemed as though we could hardly let him go. We knew not why we felt so. 1EGWLM 216.1
On our way home it seemed to me that Satan had stepped in and was troubling Edson. We found it even so; we found the child at the point of death. James took his horse and carriage and started to overtake Bro. Rhodes. He went five miles [eight kilometers], overtook him and brought him back. That night they prayed for Edson and he has come up very fast since. Satan wanted to hinder the work of the Lord, so he afflicted the child, but he was beaten back by faith in God and His name shall have the glory.6 For more details on the healing of Edson and James, see Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts [vol. 2], pp. 136-140.
When Satan found he could not take the life of the child, he tempted me that God had left me or the child would have been healed when we first prayed for him. I sank under this temptation in despair and was so until last Sabbath evening. My heart seemed within me like lead, but God delivered me that eve and Satan's power was broken. 1EGWLM 216.3
The next he got hold of was Clarissa [Clarissa M. Bonfoey].7 Clarissa Bonfoey's connection with the White family went back to 1848, when she looked after their baby Henry for some weeks during their travels. It appears that after June 1849 she assisted in their household on a more permanent basis. See: Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts [vol. 2], pp. 96, 113; obituary: “Clarissa M. Bonfoey,” Review, June 12, 1856, p. 55. Identity: There are several indications in this letter that Ellen and James White are staying at the house of “Bro. Harris” in Centerport, a hamlet just outside the village of Port Byron, Cayuga County, New York. This is no doubt the “William Harris” whose name appears in the Review under the address “Port Byron.” Port Byron, a mile or so from Centerport, had a post office and would therefore be used as the postal address. See: Wm. Harris, “From Bro. Harris,” Review, Nov. 8, 1853, p. 142; idem, “From Bro. Harris,” Review, Feb. 5, 1857, p. 110; William Harris, “From Bro. Harris,” Review, Sept. 10, 1857, p. 151; obituary: “Wm. Harris,” Review, Apr. 22, 1873, p. 151. 1850 U.S. Federal Census, “Lydia Harris,” New York, Cayuga County, Mentz, p. 97. In her published account Ellen White explains that this was her sister Sarah B. Harmon (later Belden). See: Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts [vol. 2], p. 138. See: Appendix article “Ellen White and Religious Enthusiasm in Early Adventist Experience”; EGWEnc, s.v. “Ecstatic Experiences.” For the purpose of collecting the proof sheets for The Advent Review, first published in August 1850. See: Ellen G. White, Spiritual Gifts [vol. 2], p. 139.
When Satan found his power was completely broken upon him, he went to the child again. He waked us crying at the top of his voice. He seemed to have the colic and we went up to the chamber, anointed his stomach with oil and prayed over him, rebuked Satan and he had to flee. We heard no more from him till morning. He is quite well today but rather weak. We feel quite free from his (Satan's) power today. He has made a desperate struggle to get some of us, but we have driven him back. 1EGWLM 217.1
The Lord showed me some weeks ago that as James would begin to republish what the leaders had written in 1844, upon the truth,13 During August, September, and November of 1850 James White published several issues of The Advent Review. It mostly contained reprints of articles by prominent Millerite leaders such as William Miller and J. B. Cook, written in 1844 and 1845, supporting the salvific significance of October 22, 1844. Articles on the Sabbath and sanctuary by Cook and O.R.L. Crosier also were included. The overall effect was to demonstrate that in several ways leading Millerites had departed from the faith they had held in the mid-1840s. See: Advent Review, August—November 1850; Advent Review [Extra], September 1850.
Picture: Copy of an Ellen White letter to Stockbridge and Louisa Howland (Aug. 15, 1850 [Lt 12, 1850]), the original of which is not extant. Copied in Record Book, No. 1, by Jessie F. Waggoner in the 1880s. 1EGWLM 218
Picture: The Howland home in Topsham, Maine, where the Whites lived in 1847-1848. 1EGWLM 219
Picture: Stockbridge Howland and his wife, Louisa 1EGWLM 219
