Gertrude Woodcock Seibert

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Gertrude Seibert

Gertrude Woodcock Seibert , born as Gertrude Antoinette Woodcock , (born November 16, 1864 in Altoona , Pennsylvania, † June 13, 1928 in Miami , Florida) was an American poet and important Bible scholar .

family

Her father was the lawyer Samuel McCullom Woodcock, whose great-great-grandfather emigrated from England to America; her mother was Elizabeth Woodcock, b. Etnier. Gertrude graduated from Altoona High School (1880) and the prestigious Wellesley College (1885). On September 18, 1890, she married Robert Samuel Seibert (born May 9, 1856; died May 23, 1913 in Mount Union in Huntingdon County , Pa.), A wealthy railway manager (managing director of the East Broad Top Railroad Company , the Rockhill Iron and Coal Company and the Shade Gap Railroad Company ) who was a patron of the Methodist Episcopal Church . The Bible Student Clayton J. Woodworth spoke at her husband's funeral in the Presbyterian Church in Mount Union.

Working for the Bible Students Movement

Motto card Asleep in Jesus

From 1894 she immersed herself in Bible studies. She held private readings on religious topics, wrote religious articles for various newspapers, wrote numerous religious song texts and poems, and provided some of them with noteworthy illustrations.

Manna book

Sweet Brier Rose , cover

1905 published Watchtower Society the book Daily heavenly manna for the household of faith (German: Daily manna from heaven for the household of faith ): a Bible verse for every day of the year, each provided with brief explanations of articles in The Watchtower appeared . The selection and compilation was made by Seibert. In 1907 an edition followed with interleaves for notes and birthday entries, and there were special "Manna Kolporteure ". This edition first appeared in German in 1909.

Beginning in 1911, the manna book was used by many Bible Students' groups as a basis for discussions at their Wednesday "testimony meetings". By 1914 the book had a total print run of 150,000 in English. In addition to German, the book has also been translated into Swedish, Norwegian and Romanian. In 1918 the Watchtower Society published an English pocket-sized edition.

Beroe Handbook

In 1907 the Watch Tower Society published the so-called Berean Bible or Bible Students Edition of the Bible, which contained the text of the King James Bible and a newly created extensive appendix, the Berean Bible Teachers' Manual . This edition of the Bible was used by English-speaking Bible Students in their preaching work for decades. The appendix initially comprised around 300 pages, was then expanded and published separately in 1909 as a 550-page book under the title Berean Bible Teachers' Manual (German: Beröer Handbuch zum Bibelunterricht , 1913). The Instructor's Guide ( guidelines and teaching aids ) and the Berean Topical Index ( script study register ) in this appendix were compiled by Gertrude Seibert.

The German translation of Seibert's Instructor's Guide was also published in several editions as a separate brochure, under the titles Guidelines and Teaching Aids or Guidelines and Teaching Aids and, on request , delivered by the Watchtower Society bound together with the Elberfeld Bible .

Songs and poems

Sweet Brier Rose , text

Seibert wrote numerous predominantly religious poems, some of which were printed in the magazine Wachtturm , and also some song texts. She also created decorated and illustrated motto cards.

In 1905 the Watchtower Society published the religious poem In the Garden of the Lord , written and illustrated by Seibert , which was printed in Lahr / Black Forest .

Some of the lyrics written by Seibert were included in the hymn book Zion's Glad Songs for all Christian Gatherings , published in Chicago by the Bible researcher ML McPhail in 1908 .

In 1909 the Watchtower Society published Seibert's book of poems Sweet Brier Rose with an edition of 500,000.

In 1912 the Watchtower Society published the anthology Poems of Dawn compiled by Seibert , which also contained several of their own poems.

In 1918 a small compilation of Seibert's poems appeared under the title The Heavenly Bridegroom .

"The Complete Secret"

In 1916, Charles Taze Russell , the founder of the Bible Students' Movement, who had published only the first six volumes of his seven-volume major work, Scripture Studies, died. Gertrude Seibert then recommended to the board of the Watchtower Society the publication of a seventh volume under the title The Finished Mystery , which, according to Seibert's first suggestion, should contain, among other things, a biography of Russell and an explanation of the Bible books Ezekiel and Revelation, based on Russell's teachings. She suggested Joseph Franklin Rutherford (for the biography), George H. Fischer (for Ezekiel) and Clayton J. Woodworth (for the Revelation) as authors . It appears that Seibert coordinated work on this volume, the publication of which was subsequently approved by Rutherford in 1917.

Within a few months, 850,000 copies of the book were printed in English. The German translation appeared under the name "Das Vollendet Mystery" in several editions until 1925.

The last years of life

In 1926, Seibert suggested to the Watchtower Society that the Manna book be revised, which Rutherford rejected because, referring to the Bible, he no longer considered it right that textbooks written by women were in use. Instead, that year Rutherford himself wrote a yearbook of Bible reviews for each day.

In 1926, Hefty Press in Miami published an extensive volume of Seibert's poetry, entitled The Sweet-Brier Rose and Other Poems , which also included a photo of the author.

Seibert died in Miami in June 1928 following an operation. She was transferred to Mount Union and buried there. The funeral speech was given by the leading Bible researcher or Jehovah's Witness Alexander Hugh Macmillan .

literature

John William Leonard (ed.): Woman's Who's Who of America, 1914-15. The American Commonwealth Company, New York 1915, p. 729. ( Retrieved online November 23, 2013)

Individual evidence

  1. ^ William Lee Woodcock: History of the Woodcock Family from 1692 to Sept. 1, 1912 . Altoona tribune, 1912.
  2. ↑ Ruth Bordin: Alice Freeman Palmer : The Evolution of a New Woman . The University of Michigan Press, 1993, p. 106.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i John William Leonard (ed.): Woman's Who's Who of America, 1914-15 . P. 729.
  4. ↑ Sister Seibert to her friends. In: The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. Vol. XXXIV, No. 14, 1913, pp. R5281-R5282.
  5. ^ "Daily Heavenly Manna". In: Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. Vol. XXVI, No. 3, 1905, p. R3498.
  6. ^ Daily Heavenly Manna. In: Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. Vol. XXVIII, No. 7, 1907, pp. R3967-R3968.
  7. ↑ Some Interesting Letters. In: The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. Vol. XXXII, No. 4, 1911, p. R4770.
  8. ↑ Some Interesting Letters. In: The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. Vol. XXXII, No. 11, 1911, p. R4833.
  9. ↑ a b "Then the mystery of God is completed" . Watchtower Society, 1970, pp. 171-172.
  10. ↑ Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses 2006 . Watchtower Society, 2005, p. 76.
  11. ↑ Vest Pocket Mannas. In: The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. Vol. XXXIX, No. 1, 1918, p. R6190.
  12. ↑ a b "All Scripture is inspired by God and useful" . Watchtower Society, 1990, p. 323.
  13. ↑ Jehovah's Witnesses proclaimers of the Kingdom of God . Watchtower Society, 1993, p. 238.
  14. ↑ Our New Bibles. In: The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. Vol. XXXII, No. 13, 1911, p. R4852.
  15. ↑ A "Guide and Teaching Material". In: Zion's Watchtower and Herald of the Presence of Christ. Vol. 13, No. 10, 1908, p. 160.
  16. ↑ A guide and teaching material. In: Zion's Watchtower and Herald of the Presence of Christ. Vol. 13, No. 12, 1908, p. 178.
  17. ↑ Bibles, Testaments, and Bible Study Tools. In: Zion's Watchtower and Herald of the Presence of Christ. Vol. 13, No. 12, 1908, pp. 191-192.
  18. ↑ Holiday Remembrancers ". In: The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. Vol. XXXV, No. 22, 1914, p. 347.
  19. ↑ We all need "Poems of Dawn". In: The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence. Vol. XXXIII, No. 9, 1912, p. R5024.
  20. ^ Letter from Seibert to the Watch Tower Society dated December 6, 1916; of the defense in the Rutherford vs. United States submitted. Trial Transcript pp. 1311-1313. ( PDF; 159 MB , accessed November 23, 2013).
  21. ^ Letter from Woodworth to Seibert dated December 11, 1916; of the defense in the Rutherford vs. United States submitted. Trial Transcript pp. 1304-1306. ( PDF; 159 MB accessed on November 23, 2013.)
  22. ↑ Obituary for Mrs. Gertrude W. Seibert. In: The Daily News, Huntingdon and Mt. Union, PA , June 16, 1928.
personal data
SURNAME Seibert, Gertrude Woodcock
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Woodcock, Gertrude Antoinette (maiden name); Seibert, Gertrude Antoinette
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American poet and biblical scholar
DATE OF BIRTH November 16, 1864
PLACE OF BIRTH Altoona, Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH June 13, 1928
Place of death Miami