STEPHEN HASKELL B i r t h : A p r i l 2 2 , 1833 Death : 1922 Fami ly : Spouse - 1st - Mary Howe--died J a n . 1894

2nd - H e t t i e Hurd Accomplishments : P r e a c h e r , "b ishop" , p r e s i d e n t of

c o n f e r e n c e s , p r i n c i p l e f o u n d e r o f S o u t h L a n c a s t e r Academy, a u t h o r p u b l i s h e r , o r g a n i z e r o f t h e f i r s t b l a c k c h u r c h i n New l 'ork C i t y

STEPHEN N. HASKELL Father of Home Missionary Work

April 22,1833 - February 9,1922

Stephen N. Haskell was a convert of Joseph Bates and an Adventist preacher named William Saxby. He was a soap manufacturer and a soap salesman by trade. But in time he exchanged his soap routes for the missionary preacher's circuit.

When he began to preach about 1853, he had no financial support except what he could earn in his business. There were few preachers among the Sabbath-keeping Adventists, so Haskell with his original mind began to train lay members for witnessing. In 1869 he began the tract and missionary work. He was the first to organize tract societies. In 1882, he pioneered an academy in South Lancaster which was destined to become Atlantic Union College. This was the third Seventh-day Adventist school, being antedated only by Battle Creek College and Healdsburg College.

Haskell was a good organizer and administrator. He served for years as a conference presi- dent. In fact, at one time he served as president of the New England and California conferen- ces simultaneously.

In 1885, Stephen Haskell became a foreign missionary, helping to open the work in Australia and New Zealand. His influence was especially strong in the Australian publishing work.

As a General Conference minister, he made the first trip undertaken by an Adventist official around the world. That was in 1888 and 1889. He was a careful Bible student and an excellent teacher. To him goes the credit for the concept of Bible readings so popular among Seventh- day Adventist laymen and ministers. He died in 1922, his head topped with the glory of many years and his life graced with many benevolences.

A Story About Stephen N. Haskell

W. C. White tells the following story about Stephen Haskell's experience in introducing the Bible reading idea to Seventh-day Adventists:

"During the camp meetings which I attended with my mother, Ellen White, during the autumn of 1879 and the spring of 1880, Sister White said to our ministers, regarding camp meeting work, that there ought to be less preaching and more teaching. It was some time before this made any serious impression upon Elder Haskell's mind, but in the spring of 1880, at the Han- ford camp meeting, Mother repeated this in such an emphatic way that Elder Haskell was thoroughly aroused, and after thinking the matter over, he invited me (W. C. White) onemorn- ing to go with him in the grain field nearby for a season of prayer. He said he could not quite understand what Sister White meant, and we talked the matter over and then prayed about it. Finally he said he would try it and see what he could do, and one forenoon meeting in the big tent he started in, asking questions on leading features of our faith and asking the brethren to look up the texts that he cited, and read them.

"When the meeting had proceeded this way for perhaps half an hour, it began to rain, and when it came time for the meeting to close it was raining exceedingly hard and no one desired to leave the tent. So Elder Haskell extended his Bible studies until the meeting had continued nearly two hours. The people seemed delighted with the instruction and with the method in which it was given, and they asked that other studies be conducted in the same manner, and thus as far as I know, the Bible reading work in which Elder Haskell led out and others en- thusiastically joined in, was begun." --77ae Minktry, December 1948, p. 21.

The plan that Elder Haskell inaugurated was called "fireside preaching!' The name "Bible readings" came to birth at a camp meeting in Lemoore, California. The idea caught hold like wildfire. In Los Angeles, San Francisco, Healdsburg and San Jose, interest ran high--also at the Upper Columbia camp meeting in Washington State. The California Conference passed the first formal resolution recommending the plan of Bible readings. A course of instruction was offered in Healdsburg for lay people who wanted to serve in the field holding Bible read- ings. Then in Michigan and Indiana, at the camp meetings held there, the plan was adopted.

An institute for teaching Adventists to give Bible readings was begun at Battle Creek on Oc- tober 30,1883. Three hundred people joined the class under the leadership of S. N. Haskell. The attendance increased until it passed the thousand mark. These people were called "helps" (1 Cor. 1228). The monthly Bible Readirtg Gazette was born in 1884. The Bible readings were not short and simple as they are today. The first one had 149 questions!

Today the Bible reading plan is one of the most successful means that Seventh-day Adventists have of winning people to the truth.

See: The Bible Instructor in Persor~.al and Public Evarlgelhm by Louise C. Kleuser, pp. 350-351; also, "Origin of Our Bible Work" in Mirzirtry magazine, December, 1948.

Stephen Haskell (1833-1899)

I A t t h e a g e of 19 (1852) Haske l l hea rd , f o r t h e

f i r s t t i m e , about C h r i s t ' s second coming. He was s o e x c i t e d about h i s expe r i ence t h a t he annoyed a g e n t l e m a n s e a t e d b e s i d e him. T h i s unnamed man i r r i t a b l y t o l d him t o preach . Haske l l cha l lenged him t o g a t h e r a n aud ience , which he d i d .

A f t e r p reaching f o r a y e a r o r s o Haske l l was g i v e n a t r a c t on t h e Sabbath. He s p e n t a day i n s t u d y on t h e s u b j e c t and became convinced t h a t t h e s e v e n t h day was t h e Sabbath.

A conference of F i r s t Day Adven t i s t s was he ld i n W o r c e s t e r , M a s s a c h u s e t t s . B e c a u s e o f h i s b e l i e f s h e was s h u n n e d by t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s . H o w e v e r , B r o t h e r H a l e o f H u b b a r d s t o n , Massachuse t t s , i n v i t e d him home and Haske l l sha red w h a t he had s t u d i e d d u r i n g t h e months he l i v e d wi th t h e fami ly .

J o s e p h B a t e s v i s i t e d him i n 1855 f o r t w o weeks. During that t ime Haske l l was in t roduced t o t h e b e l i e f s of Seventh-day A d v e n t i s t s . H e and h i s w i fe , Mary, accep ted t h e d o c t r i n e s .

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ATLANTIC UNION CONFERENCE

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H a s k e l l b e c a m e ' t h e f i r s t l e a d e r o f t h e Seventh-day Adven t i s t s of New England d u r i n g t h e 1 8 6 0 ' s . A t t h e f i r s t camp meet ing i n 1870 J. N. Andrews, J. H.. Waggoner and James White decided t o combine Connec t i cu t , Massachuse t t s , Hew Hampshire, and Rhode I s l a n d i n t o a c o n f e r e n c e . He was appoi nt ed f i r s t p r e s i d e n t and orda ined .

He helped a s a founding member t o e s t a b l i s h South L a n c a s t e r Academy. He d i d not f e e l q u a l i f i e d t o s e t p h i l o s o p h i c a l e d u c a t i o n a l g u i d e l i n e s due t o h i s l i m i t e d formal l e a r n i n g , but he provided many o t h e r k i n d s of l e a d e r s h i p , i n c l u d i n g f u n d r a i s i n g .

Hettie Haskell H e t t y was S t e p h e n H a s k e l l ' s second wi fe s h e

t r a v e l l e d w i t h him a n d h e l p e d t o g i v e B i b l e s t u d i e s . She was a t r a i n e d B ib l e i n s t r u c t o r .

H c A d a m a , D o n a l d R . " R e f l e c r i o n r o f a P l q p e e r : A n ~ ~ t ~ b I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ h l c ~ l Letter of Stephen R. H a a k e l l . Advent i s t w, July 1974, pp. 5 5 - 5 9 .

N e u f e l d , Don F r e d . S e v e n ? h - d e w A d v e n t i s t E n c v c l o o e d l a . Ua6hington. D . C . : R e v i e r an0 h e r n l o Puhl i sh lng A s s o c ~ a r ~ a ~ ,

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ATLANTIC UNION CONFERENCE

HETTIE HASKELL

HETTY HURD HASKELL B i r t h : 1857 D e a t h : 1919 F a m i l y : Spouse - S t e p h e n H a s k e l l Accompl ishments : B i b l e i n s t r u c t o r

Mary Haskel l was considered t o be t h e educa to r and w i f e of S t e p h e n H a s k e l l . She was a b o u t 20 y e a r s o l d e r t h a n he . She was a f o r m e r s c h o o l t e a c h e r who owned a n e x t e n s i v e l i b r a r y which was shared wi th t h e p ioneer s t u d e n t s of South Lancas te r Academy ( l a t e r A t l a n t i c Union College) .

E v e n t h o u g h s h e w a s a n i n v a l i d h e r c i rcumstances d i d not p r e v e n t h e r f rom becoming v i c e p res iden t of t h e Vig i l an t Missionary Society.

W c A d & m s , D o n a l d R. " R e f l e e t i o n s o f e P i o n e e r : A n Autobiographiurl L e t t e r of Stephen H. Haskell." Adventist H-, July 1 9 7 4 , pp. 5 5 - 5 9 .

Wshtje, Myron F. And There War Lipht V o l . 1. South l a n c a s t e r , HA: I h e A t l a n t i c Press, 19tiZ.

ATLANTIC UNION CONFERENCE

A MONOLOGUE BY STEPHEN N. HASKELL

Many years ago as a teenager my job was as a hired hand working all

day for a farmer named How. His wife had died, but he had a

daughter named Mary, who was older than I. Besides the farm work,

I had to help around the house because Mary had become partially

paralyzed. Often I helped her father lift her and carry her

outside so she could enjoy watching the birds and animals while we

worked in the fields. Each evening I looked forward to hearing her

tell the happy things she had seen and thought about all day. She

never complained about her sickness.

One day after I had turned seventeen, Farmer How became very sick.

That left all the work for me. Mary's kind words made my work seem

easier, but Farmer How didn't get better. Shortly before he died,

he called me to him and said, "Stephen, you've been a good worker.

Now I'm leaving you, for I can't live long. I'm leaving the farm

and everything in your hands. I know you'll do your best." With

difficulty he continued, "But Stephen, I'm worried about what will

happen to Mary. For years I've been both father and mother to her.

Now, with her so helpless and dependent, I don't know what to do."

Tears glistened on his pale cheeks as be concluded, "This is a lot

to ask of a young man like you - but when I'm gone, could you look

after her, Stephen? She has no one else in all the world!"

What could I say to a dying man, but promise to do as he asked.

Shortly after his funeral, I made a decision. Mary had been a

teacher. She had so many interesting things to talk about. I

enjoyed hearing her read from her books in the evenings. Her

patient, contented ways made me feel rested. I was not yet

eighteen, and Mary was about forty. So, in spite of her age and

helplessness, I asked her to become my wife. Mary accepted and

said that she loved me. We were married1 I was never sorry I made

that decision. Mary and I prayed often for her healing, and God

honored our faith. Within two years, her health improved so much

that she could almost live a riormal life.

I had to earn a living for Mary and me, so besides the farm work,

I made and sold soap. Whenever we could, Mary and I found joy

studying the Bible. We discovered that Jesus was coming soon. I

got so excited that everywhere I went to sell soap, I talked about

Jesus. A friend told me that I should preach. The more I thought

and prayed about it, the more sure I became that God wanted me to

sell soap in the daytime and preach in the evenings. The more we

studied the Bible the more our love for Jesus grew. I loved both

God and Mary. For f orty-two years I loved Mary, and she loved me.

On January 29, 1894, at the age of 81, Mary passed peacefully to

her rest, leaving a record of long years of cheerfulness and

fortitude, frequently under intense suffering. She was buried not

far from our last home, in the cemetery at Napa, California.

At first I was relieved, knowing that Mary could never again

experience pain. But immediately this feeling was followed by a

sense of unutterable loneliness. For more than forty years we had

loved each other. Even when separated by my traveling, I always

had known that she was thinking of me and praying for me. Now I

felt all alone in the world.

Then, one night soon after Mary's death, I had a strange and

distressing experience. For days I have felt very lonely. I fell

asleep repeating the promises of God. I had not been asleep long

when I was awakened by a light in the room. Opening my eyes I saw

standing by my bed a bright, shadowy form. A voice spoke:

"Stephen, I have come to bring you comfort. I shall ever watch

over you to comfort you, for I am nearer to you now than when I

lived on earth." It was Mary's voice, so natural, so sweet.

My first impulse was to reach out my arms to her. But at that

moment there sounded clearly in my consciousness, though no audible

words were heard, "The dead know not any thing." I drew back in

fear. Then I heard that voice filled with all the love and longing

of the dear Mary I had known say, 110 Stephen, don't you know me?"

I gathered all my strength, and answered boldly, '!No! I never knew

you! You are not my Mary. You are an evil spirit sent by Satan to

deceive me; and, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command

you to depart, and to trouble me no more."

For one brief instant, the gentle expression on that face turned to

one of baffled rage. I saw more anger and hate and malice in that

look than I had ever seen, even in pictures of evil demons. It

left me trembling and in deep distress of mind. Why, I wondered,

had the devil dared to approach me in this manner?

I prayed and asked God to reveal to me any unknown sin. But

instead of revealing to me some unrepented wrong, God sent to my

mind words I had read many times from Ellen White's book Earlv

Writinss: In a vision God gave Ellen White she saw that the saints

"must understand the state of the dead; for the spirits of devils

will yet appear to them, professing to be beloved relatives or

friends. . . . The people of God must be prepared to withstand

these spirits with the Bible truth that the dead know not anything"

(page 262) .

So with the knowledge that these evil spirits will appear even to

the saints, I no longer feared that this terrible experience meant

that God disapproved of me. He prepared me to meet the test long

before it happened, but He did allow the devil to test my faith in

His Word. When the demon left, I felt peace. By faith I knew that

God sent His angels to bring me joy and comfort, even in this time

of my great sorrow.

Adapted from:

He Chose to Listen by Eileen E. Lantry

S.N. Haskell Man of Action by Ella M. Robinson

Stephen Haskel l made the f i r s t t r i p by an Advent is t o f f i c i a l

around the world. I f you cou ld go anywhere i n the wor ld where

wouldyou go and why?

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