![]() ![]() She was granted a separation, with alimony, in 1908. In 1906 she filed for divorce under a claim of mental cruelty. Maria Russell filed a suit for legal separation in the Court of Common Pleas at Pittsburgh in June 1903. A later court judgment noted that he had labelled the marriage "a mistake" three years before the dispute over her editorial ambitions had arisen. Russell blamed the marriage breakup on disagreements over Maria Russell's insistence on a greater editorial role in Zion's Watch Tower magazine. ə/ 1850–1938) after a few months' acquaintance. On March 13, 1879, Russell married Maria Frances Ackley ( / m ə ˈ r aɪ. Russell later said that, although he had not entirely agreed with Wendell's arguments, the presentation had inspired him with a renewed zeal and belief that the Bible is the word of God. ![]() ![]() ![]() In 1870, at age eighteen, he attended a presentation by Adventist minister Jonas Wendell. He investigated various other religions, but concluded that they did not provide the answers he was seeking. Īt age sixteen, a discussion with a childhood friend on faults perceived in Christianity (such as contradictions in creeds, along with medieval traditions) led Russell to question his faith. In his youth he was known to chalk Bible verses on fence boards and city sidewalks in an attempt to convert unbelievers he particularly noted the punishment of hell awaiting the unfaithful. At age thirteen, Russell left the Presbyterian Church to join the Congregational Church. By age twelve, Russell was writing business contracts for customers and given charge of some of his father's other clothing stores. When Charles was in his early teens, his father made him partner of his Pittsburgh haberdashery store. The Russells lived for a time in Philadelphia before moving to Pittsburgh, where they became members of the Presbyterian Church. Russell was the second of five children, of whom two survived into adulthood. Those who maintained fellowship with the Watch Tower Society adopted the name Jehovah's witnesses in 1931, while those who severed ties with the Society formed their own groups including the Pastoral Bible Institute in 1918, the Laymen's Home Missionary Movement in 1919, and the Dawn Bible Students Association in 1929.Ĭharles Taze Russell was born to Scotch-Irish parents, immigrant Joseph Lytel Russell / ˈ l ɪ t əl/ (1813–1897) and Ann Eliza Birney (1825–1861), on February 16, 1852, in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. This shift resulted in the formation of several groups that retained variations on the name Bible Students. As many as three-quarters of the approximately 50,000 Bible Students who had been associating in 1917 had left by 1931. (A seventh volume was commissioned by his successor as society president, Joseph Rutherford, and published in 1917.) The Watch Tower Society ceased publication of Russell's writings in 1927, though his books are still published by several independent groups.Īfter Russell's death, a crisis surrounding Rutherford's leadership of the society culminated in a movement-wide schism. From 1886 to 1904, he published a six-volume Bible study series originally titled Millennial Dawn, later renamed Studies in the Scriptures, nearly 20 million copies of which were printed and distributed around the world in several languages during his lifetime. Russell wrote many articles, books, tracts, pamphlets and sermons, totaling approximately 50,000 printed pages. In 1881, he co-founded Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society with William Henry Conley as president in 1884 the corporation was officially registered, with Russell as president. In July 1879, Russell began publishing a monthly religious magazine, Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. Charles Taze Russell (February 16, 1852 – October 31, 1916), or Pastor Russell, was an American Christian restorationist minister from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and founder of what is now known as the Bible Student movement. ![]()
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