Was CT Russell a CHILD MOLESTOR? (WTS says: Child Molestation NOT IMMORAL)

by Gamaliel 39 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

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  onacruse

  G:

  I know this is boring to most of us; but I'm mostly trying to walk through my own feelings on it to see if something might have been missed.

  au contraire, but how I love a man that does his homework!

  I'm currently working my way through the RAI 30s CDs, a "refresher" course on Ruthy's venomous animosity. Talk about self-torture LOL

  I generally have a positive feeling about Russell, primarily because of his ecumenical attitude. However, his marital and family background certainly leaves room for speculation.

  Craig
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  Joyzabel

  The following DID NOT HAPPEN TO BILLY GRAHAM

  I'm using Billy Graham's name in vain, and I apologize to him.

  Francios, This is NOT a thread about Billy Graham, get it?!
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  Gamaliel

  Francois,

  Sorry about that. It never was a good idea for me to use Billy Graham's name like this. It's just that if you start out a thread with Russell, most of us know enough of the story to have already formed opinions -- strong ones, too. I picked Graham, because he seems to have gained an international reputation much like Russell's was, but one that's still intact, in spite of that recent exposure of a secret recording.

  I think that if I heard a story with similar evidence about Graham 10 years ago, I might not have believed it. These days, however, we've all learned a little more about paedophilia and the relationship to positions of power and trust. I would have once thought that it's a perversion that no JW elder could have kept hidden, that no child would have ever allowed it to remain hidden. But now I realize it's part of a much bigger problem that defies rational expectations about the ability of victims to expose it. Among JWs and other religions the factors of control, fear, guilt, sin (and the Bible's two-witness rule) are likely making their problem worse than in the general population, making exposure even more complicated and difficult.

  Apologies again,

  Gamaliel
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  AlanF

  The story about Russell fooling around with a 15 year old Rose Ball has been around a long time. The fact is that Rose Ball was 24, and Russell 42, when Maria Russell said that the incident occurred. Rose's age is actually indicated in the court transcript, but Russell's misrepresentation in that 1906 ZWT has misled researchers ever since. So, far from molesting a child, Russell was engaging in hanky panky with a grown woman. That Russell in 1906 saw fit to lie about her age in court is extremely good evidence that Maria was telling the truth. With Rose in Australia, Russell was safe in telling his lies. There is much more about this which I cannot divulge, but eventually it will all be told in a book about Maria Russell by Barbara Anderson.

  AlanF
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  rocketman

  Ol Pastor Russell comes off stranger all the time.
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  manon

  Maria Russell fascinating woman she was. Can't wait to read the book.
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  Gamaliel

  AlanF,

  I have a xerox of the court documents and it's true that the age recorded is as you say. But I see it (as Magnani does also) that it could likely to be a typo. It wasn't in a portion of the records that was to have any bearing on the case and could easily have been glossed over, rendered moot, or stipulated by the attorneys. My documents don't show that Emily was sworn in, does anyone know her age?

  If not a typo, it makes for an even more curious/interesting story about why Russell chose to add the details that no one knew her age exactly, only that she was still wearing short dresses (as young girls did) and that Russell says he became more conscious of his wife's potential jealousies when she was ready to wear long dresses. I have merely gathered that these extra details and the context made a typo seem likely.

  Who killed Rose's brother? Does anyone know how Rose Ball's brother died?. He was ostensibly of about the same age, and was also with the Russell's for a time. Russell indicated that he died before 1894, and that this was a factor in the "comforting" that Rose needed. (If this were a movie, I know what Oliver Stone would do with that little detail.)

  Funny how the yearbook in 1975 pretty much uses the argument: 'Well it's obvious Russell didn't do anything immoral, after all, Rose couldn't have been more than 15 years old at the time.' Today, I think they'd think twice about that argument. They might prefer the older age considering recent media exposure.

  Perhaps someone has already looked through Allegheny's local papers for the years in question. Also curious about the "slander" in the paper Inter-Ocean Daily around April 1906. Does anyone have it?

  Gamaliel
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  DJ

  I look forward to reading this book about Maria, as well. Is there any info about when it will be released?
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  AlanF

  Hi Gamaliel,

  Barbara Anderson somehow found Rose Ball's birth certificate, I believe, so that's how she knows how old Rose was when Russell was fooling around with her. I'll contact you privately with more info.

  Hi DJ,

  : Is there any info about when it will be released?

  No. It's not likely to be seen in less than a couple of years. Four or five is my best guess.

  AlanF
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  Gamaliel

  AlanF,

  Thanks for that info Alan. I've tried to get info on it and figured that the scarce information provided about them might make it difficult. I was going after a possible age in a marriage certificate or marriage announcement between Rose and EC Henninges before they went to London. (At least we can figure out more closely where the wedding took place.)

  I had no luck with some quick genealogy searches. I remember finding many "Ball" families from Jersey in the late 1790's that moved to Ohio by the 1820's with a lot of them ending up in the Adventists regions of Michigans by 1860's until the present, all of them listed as Adventists including another Rose Ball who died in Battle Creek, Michigan. (Battle Creek is to 7DA as Salt Lake City is to Mormons, as I'm sure you know.)

  I'd also be interested in running some ideas by Barbara. It seems quite possible, but still a bit odd to me that Maria gets credited with Russell's "one-man-is-the-faithful-and-wise-servant" doctrine at the exact time that Maria is already or nearly ready to call him the "wicked slave." This is nearly at the same time as she is angry at his haughtiness and the same time as her first hints that she is upset that he is editing all her Watchtower articles. We already know of a couple cases where Russell skewed the truth slightly, at least, both for self-promotion and for demoting others.

  Gamaliel