THE GATHERING OF THE CLANS

Zion, Illinois was the gathering spot for the four clans or families to which my four grandparents belonged. I use ‘clans‘ because they originated in four of the six Celtic Nations; Wales, Scotland, Ireland and England. On my father’s side were Harry Smith Oakes and Ellen(Nellie) Reid Richardson and on my mother’s side, Arthur Hobart Snelling and Gertrude Bullard. In the late 1800s, the Oakes’ were living in Chicago, the Richardsons and Bullards in Ontario, Canada and the Snellings in Vermont. Who or what was it that brought them all together in Zion? John Alexander Dowie and God’s healing.

John Alexander Dowie and Zion City, Illinois

John Alex. Dowie was a very unique and interesting individual. He did amazing things and accomplished a great deal in a short time, but he also did things that were not so good. Since this article is not about him, I will not go into the details and issues that surrounded his ministry. But, I do need to begin with who he was and why my ancestors came to him. (And believe me, this is the short version.)

From Scotland and then Australia, Dowie came to the United States and settled in Chicago in 1890. He began a successful healing ministry while in Australia. He believed the Old Testament told of a God who healed ( Exodus 15:26, “for I am the Lord that healeth thee.”) and the New Testament told of Jesus(being God) who healed, and that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 . In James 5:14-15, he read, “Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.” If God healed people in Bible days and He is the same today, then Dowie reasoned God will heal in the present day. Dowie believed if a man had real faith in God, then he should be healed. Many people were healed of various afflictions and diseases under his ministry, including some who were well known, such as, Abraham Lincoln’s cousin, Amanda Hicks and Buffalo Bill Cody’s niece, Sadie Cody. He began publishing a weekly newspaper called, “The Leaves of Healing”, which related the many testimonies written by persons who had been healed through Dowie’s prayers to God. Thus his ministry became known around the world, a different world than ours, mind you; no internet, no TV, no radio, only the printed and spoken word. He met with U.S. Presidents William Mckinley and Theodore Roosevelt and several world leaders. Dowie was a strong advocate against the use of liquor, tobacco, drugs and vaccines; and against the medical profession. This, of course, brought great ire from the physicians and medical personnel, as well as local government officials. He was arrested over 100 times as a form of harassment. In 1896, he founded a non-denominational, Protestant church, called the Christian Catholic Church, in the Zion Tabernacle in Chicago and soon Zion Tabernacles were springing up around the country with a world-wide ministry in 66 nations.

Because of the constant persecution, Dowie envisioned a city, set apart for God’s people, where the vices of the world and the medical profession were not allowed. Zion City was to be such a place, located midway between Chicago and Milwaukee on Lake Michigan. The word “Zion” had been used by Dowie for several years. The Bible makes several references to Zion as either a hill in Jerusalem, the old Jerusalem of King David, or as the new Jerusalem in Heaven. Isaiah 14:32, “The Lord hath founded Zion and in her shall the afflicted of His people take refuge.” Psalm 48:2, “…the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion…the city of the great King.” Zion was used in several old hymns: “Go forward, O Zion”, “Glorious things of Thee are spoken, Zion city of our God”, “We’re marching upward to Zion, that beautiful city of God.” In Chicago, Zion Tabernacle housed the Christian Catholic Church where the Zion White-Robed Choir sang, Zion Publishing Co. printed the Leaves of Healing, Zion Bank was his financial institution, Zion Educational Institutions for the children, and so on. So, the coming city would not be called, Zion, Illinois, but rather, Zion City, Illinois, to make a clear distinction that this was something new and special. (The word ‘city’ was dropped sometime in the 1930s.)

So it was in 1900, the site preparation began and so did construction of the Zion Lace Factory, one of the 21 or so Zion Industries and Institutions created to employ Zion residents. The Elijah Hospice (aka the Zion Hotel) was built initially to house the workers and residents who were building houses and other city buildings. The city officially opened in 1901 and by 1902, the Zion Tabernacle, the Administration Building, the Zion Department Store, the Zion College Building, as well as many houses were completed. People flooded to Zion City, not only from Chicago, but from all across America, Canada, England, Australia and other countries of the world.

The Gathering Begins

Now, back to the gathering of the clans. So the stage has been set, and somehow or another, each of the four families learned about the ministry of Dowie, with a family member, or members receiving healing. Upon hearing of a new city, whose motto was, “Where God Rules, Man Prospers”, the thoughts of moving to such a place began to formulate within each family.

The Oakes’

I will begin with the Oakes’ clan, since they seem to have had the earliest contact with Dowie’s ministry. (This is a very condensed version of our Oakes family history which will be expanded later in PART III.) In a nutshell, the Oak clan came to America from Wales about the year 1660 and settled in Massachusetts. They moved from there to Vermont in 1816 and changed the name to Oaks. In 1841, Daniel Oaks and some of his siblings moved to northern Illinois and founded the city of Wauconda. His son, Lancelot (who changed the name to Oakes) moved with his wife Mary and their children, Clarence, Leon and Harry S. to Chicago in 1890. Mary Oakes and sons Clarence and Harry S. became members of the Christian Catholic Church and were baptized by John Alex. Dowie at Central Zion Tabernacle in Chicago in 1899. She also, became a member of the Zion Restoration Host in 1902.

The Oakes’ continued to live in Chicago after Zion City was opened. Many, many Chicago members traveled on special trains to Zion on Sundays. The following letter from Clarence was printed in the Leaves of Healing, June 4, 1904. (Although his photo appeared on the cover, his letter of testimony appeared on page two.) Clarence, Stella and children moved to Zion City in 1908 and the rest of the family moved in 1919.

The Richardsons

Next, in the line-up is the Richardson clan. Thomas Richardson was born in 1809 in a small village in the Scottish Lowlands called Ettrick. His family were likely sheep farmers, as this was, and still is, the main occupation in this area, which has changed little since that time. Thomas and his wife, Christina Anderson, crossed the Atlantic and immigrated to Canada, settling in Ayr, Ontario. Ayr, named after the town of Ayr, Scotland, was a Scottish community where many Scots experienced ‘a little bit of home.’ In 1844, their son, James was born in Ayr. James married an Irish lass by the name of Isabella Doherty and their first child Ellen Reid was born in 1889. After moving to Galt, Ontario, they were blessed with five more children; John Howard, William Roy, twins Gladys and Florence, and Nettie.

Shown below is Isabella’s letter of testimony written to J. A. Dowie that appeared in an issue of the Leaves of Healing in 1900.

The Richardson family moved from Galt, Ontario to Zion City in 1902. Ellen, who was called “Nellie” was 13 years old when they moved. (Nellie or Nell were common nicknames back then for girls who were named Helen, Ellen or Eleanor.)

The Bullards

The earliest records of the Bullard clan are of John Bullard and his wife, Ordelia Bridget Fergusson of Armagh, Ireland. Armagh, a small town in Northern Ireland, is noted for it’s connection with Saint Patrick. Patrick came to Ireland as a Christian missionary and he is credited with bringing Christianity to the pagan Celtics. He was thought to have used a three-leafed shamrock to explain the concept of the Trinity, three-persons-in-one God. Armagh holds the high honor of being the Ecclesiastical capital of Ireland and the Primacy of Ireland for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland (Anglican) because of Patrick’s founding of a church there in the year 457. Patrick became the first bishop of Armagh and it is one of the two possible locations of his final resting place.

John and Ordelia Bullard immigrated to Perth, Ontario, Canada in 1853. Perth, in eastern Ontario near Ottawa, was another of the Canadian Scottish communities. Their son Joseph was born shortly after their arrival in Perth.

Our story gets a little bit fuzzy at this point. Joseph Bullard met Samantha Thompson somewhere in Ontario and they were married in 1880. She was born Samantha Ackerman in Camden, Ontario in the year 1856. Where is Camden? I do not know for sure. There is a tiny town called Camden East that is about 59 miles from Perth. Another Camden, does not exist anymore and is part of Chatham, near Detroit, Michigan, 378 miles from Perth. The funny thing is, after they married, they moved to Wingham, Ontario, which is closer to Chatham than to Perth. So, all I know for sure is, they were married and moved to Wingham, in western Ontario near Lake Huron. But, I must backup for a moment and add some Samantha info.

When Samantha Ackerman was 18 years old, she married Samuel Thompson. Their marriage produced one son, Emerson Thompson, who my Mom would refer to as Uncle Em (not to be confused with Auntie Em.) By the way, Emerson was the grandfather of my cousin, Tim Kinsman. Emerson was about three years old when his father died in 1878, leaving Samantha as a 22 year old widow with a small child. She was 24 years old when she married Joseph Bullard in 1880. Young Emerson (Em) soon had a house full of brothers and sister as Joseph Wilber (Wib) was born in 1881, Gertrude (Gertie) in 1890, Franklin James (Frank) in 1893 and Harold (Harry) in 1896. Hey, doesn’t anybody go by their real name?! The family moved to the nearby town of Harriston, Ontario, where father Joseph Bullard died in 1898.

It was during these last few years that the Bullards became aware of Dowie’s ministry and the following letter, written by 19 year old Wib, appeared in the Leaves of Healing.

Three years after this, in 1903, Samantha moved her family to Zion City, residing at 3026 Gideon Ave.

I never met Uncle Frank, but I have fond memories of Uncle Harry (although I refer to them as my Uncles, “The Three Twins” were really my great uncles.) Uncle Harry married Greta Neave, part of the Zion Neave family. Harry and Greta had moved away from Zion, but we always saw them when they came back every so often to visit. I remember them as always smiling and good humored and Uncle Harry seemed a bit mischievous. I believe my Uncle Bing had that same gene passed on to him as well. Harry and Greta attended our Snelling Family Reunion in Colorado in 1963. A photo was taken of Uncle Harry leaning over a garbage barrel and pointing his camera into the barrel, as if he was taking a picture. He explained to us that he was just checking the light meter on the camera, but it sure did look funny. At some point in his life, he began to play the tuba/sousaphone and played in the Zion Concert Band and inspired his nephews Jim and Mark Snelling to become tuba players, too. Jim Jr., my brother Mike and I and my niece, Sue, also played in the Zion Concert Band to make four generations in the band.

I recently found a letter which Uncle Wib wrote to my Mother that had a bit of amazing info in it. Uncle Wib’s son, Eddie, died in 1953, shortly before my Grandmother, Nellie Richardson Oakes died. My Mother sent some form of condolence to the Bullard family and mentioned the passing of Nellie. His note was a response to this.

I do not know how or where or when these two families met each other in Canada, but it is amazing to me that several years later the Bullards and the Richardsons would end up in the USA as part of the Snelling/Oakes family. In 1953, my family went to visit Uncle Wib, in Norwalk, Connecticut. On this same trip, we also visited Washington D.C. and New York City. Since I was only 3 1/2 years old, I do not remember very much. In Washington, I recall the steps leading up to the Lincoln Memorial and in New York, I remember the steps going up to the top of the Statue of Liberty and I wanted to stop and rest, but we could not stop. That is it, steps and steps. When you are 3 1/2, steps are a big deal. But I do remember Uncle Wib and his house and his grandson, Billy and Billy and I playing with trucks in the hallway. I guess people are what we remember best.

The Snellings

The first members of the Snelling clan came to America from England in the year 1647, 27 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. Asa Snelling was born in 1760 and married Nancy Hope in 1783 in Andover, MA. The last born of their eight children was Charles Green Snelling, also born in Andover in 1797. He married Polly Harris of Lyndon, VT and they had ten children and he died in 1887 at age 97.

Child number eight, born in 1837, was Asa Elmer and he married Abbie Augusta Bailey (her brother was George Bailey’s grandfather) in 1857. While living in Sheffield, Vermont, Abbie gave birth to their first son, Edwin Harley in 1859. The next year, Asa and Abbie moved to Wheelock, VT where their second son, Francis Byron (Frank) was born. Frank also had two sons, James and Harold. Abbie died in 1919, having been married for 62 years and Asa passed away at age 94 in 1932.

In 1886, 27 year old Edwin married 25 year old Bessie Craven in Wendell, Massachusetts. Edwin Harley Snelling was ordained into the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church and served as Pastor of Vermont congregations in North Danville, Charleston, and Westmore. During this time in Vermont, Edwin and Bessie were blessed with six children; Arthur Hobart in 1887, Eunice May in 1889, Ivan Earl in 1891, Grace Dowlie in 1894, Ruth Cleone in 1897, and Esther Ann in 1898.

In addition to his duties as Pastor, Edwin had some sort of business involving calligraphy supplies. I have a wooden calligraphy case that he used to carry his supplies. The following examples were found in the case.

Here as some samples of his fancy handwriting and artwork.

The following letter of testimony written by Edwin appeared in the Leaves of Healing in 1902.

In 1903, Edwin, Bessie and their six little Snellings packed up all their earthly belongings and traveled down the Erie Canal, making their way to Zion City, Illinois. “Low bridge, everybody down. Low bridge, ’cause we’re coming to a town.”

Upon their arrival in Zion City, the Snelling family setup housekeeping and enjoyed the booming growth of the new city, quite a difference from life in New England.

In the Fall of 1905, John Alex. Dowie suffered a stroke which greatly decreased his activity. He spent most of his time in his home, Shiloh House. Dowie ordained Edwin H. Snelling into the ministry of the church in 1906 as a deacon and in 1907 as an evangelist. John Alex. Dowie passed away a short time later in 1907. Edwin’s wife, Bessie died at age 47 in 1908.

I found it interesting that at Dr. Dowie’s funeral, Edwin was one of the Honorary Pallbearers, as was Joseph Gottschalk. Many years later in 1939, Edwin’s son, Arthur and Joseph’s daughter, Ruth would marry. (See Family History: Part II)

Since Dowie was now gone, Edwin began a publishing business in his home, reprinting Dowie’s sermons and teachings in the form of small booklets and gospel tracts. A sample booklet and his catalog are shown here.

And so it was that the four clans had gathered. But then, the attraction to Zion drew in many families from around the world. How then did the Oakes’ and Richardsons and the Bullards and Snellings get connected? Read more in FAMILY HISTORY: PART II !