Hi everyone,
Between writing an essay and working part-time, I'm trying to help uncle B with volume three of his Separate Identity series. Probably most of you know what that is, but in case you do not: Shop the Independent Bookstore | Lulu
Volume three traces the fragmentation that occurred after the 1881 failure. Resources as we have them are the available issues of Paton's World's Hope, some scattered issues of A. P. Adams' Spirit of the Word, and what issues of Herald of the Morning we could find. There are many missing "bits and pieces."
Missing is a booklet by Barbour critical of Zion's Watch Tower. It's mentioned in The Herald, but seems not to exist. We have two letters by Paton. Neither is important. That is, they don't add to the story. We have Paton's post-Russell books.
No letters by Barbour seem to exist, yet we know he was a prolific letter writer. No issues of H. B. Rice's magazine seem to exist. But these things must be out there somewhere. We need material that plugs research holes. If there are letters by the Russells from the 1880-1890 period, we could not find them. If you can add to any of this, please do. [That's a bit like asking for the deed to the moon.]
I don't need your personal opinion of these men. We're historians, not polemicists. Besides, part of the story is what they say about each other. Not always very nice, as you can imagine.
If you can add to our resources, please do. I appreciate any help you can give.