Calhoun County MI Archives Biographies.....White, James Springer August 4, 1821 - August 6, 1881 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/mi/mifiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Robin Ellis -- July 20, 2007, 8:50 pm Author: Wikipedia James White was born on August 4, 1821 in the township of Palmyra in Maine. The fifth of nine children, James was a sickly child who suffered fits or seizures. Poor eyesight prevented him from obtaining much of an education and he was required to work on the family farm. At age 19 his eyesight improved and he enrolled at a local academy. He earned a teaching certificate and briefly taught at an elementary school. He was baptized into the Christian Connexion at age 16. He learned of the Millerite message from his parents and after hearing powerful preaching at an advent camp meeting in Exeter, Maine, White decided to leave teaching and become a preacher. Consequently, he was ordained a minister of the Christian Connexion in 1843. White was a powerful preacher and it is recorded that during the winter of 1843, 1000 people were accepted the Millerite message owing to his preaching. At times however, White was met with angry mobs who hurled snowballs at him.During these early travels he met Ellen G. Harmon whom he married on August 30, 1846. James and Ellen had four boys, Henry Nichols (b. 26 Aug 1847, d. 8 Dec 1863), James Edson (b. 28 Jul 1849, d. 3 Jun 1928), William Clarence (b. 29 Aug 1854, d. 31 Aug 1937) and John Herbert (b. 20 Sep 1860, d. 14 Dec 1860). Adventist Service The paper which James White initially started, "The Present Truth", was combined with another periodical called the "Advent Review" in 1850 to become the "Second Advent Review and Sabbath Herald".This periodical became the main source of communication for the Sabbatarian Adventist movement as they debated points of doctrine and organization. It also became a venue for James and Ellen White to quickly and efficiently share their views to like-minded believers. James White served as editor of the periodical until 1851 when he invited Uriah Smith to become editor. He played a senior role in the management of church publications as president of the Review and Herald Publishing Association. He also served on several occasions as president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.(1865-67; 1869-71; 1874-80). White firmly opposed the trinity doctrine. In 1846, White wrote in The Day Star,and on a number of occasions in the Review & Herald (1852,1854,1855 1856 1877 & 1881) that the trinity was 'unscriptural'. This teaching was common among the early Adventists, including Joshua Himes, Joseph Bates, Uriah Smith, J. N. Loughborough and J. H. Waggoner In 1865 White suffered from a paralytic stroke. White eventually determined that he should retire from the ministry and live out his days gracefully. In 1880, G. I. Butler replaced him as General Conference president. During the summer of 1881, White came down with a fever and was taken to the Battle Creek Sanitarium. Despite the efforts of Dr. Kellogg, White died on 1881-08-06. James Springer White and his son John Herbert White are buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Battle Creek, MI. James is buried in Lot 320, Rt 8 & John Herbert is buried in Lot 320, Rt 11 Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/mi/calhoun/photos/bios/white20bs.jpg File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/mi/calhoun/bios/white20bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/mifiles/ File size: 3.7 Kb