|
|
| Line 19: |
Line 19: |
| | '''''--Abraham Lincoln''''' | | '''''--Abraham Lincoln''''' |
| | | | |
| − | Witness at Gettysburg william r rathvon
| |
| − |
| |
| − |
| |
| − | {{short description|American Christian Scientist}}
| |
| − | {{refimprove|date=November 2012}}
| |
| − | [[Image:WMRathvonLYP5892.jpg|thumb|Right|180px|William R. Rathvon was the only eyewitness who heard [[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln]]'s [[Gettysburg Address]] to leave an audio recollection]]
| |
| − | '''William Roedel Rathvon''', CSB, (December 31, 1854 – March 2, 1939), sometimes incorrectly referred to as '''William V. Rathvon''' or '''William V. Rathbone''', is the only known eyewitness to [[Abraham Lincoln]]'s [[Gettysburg Address]], of the over 10,000 witnesses, to have left an audio recording describing that experience. He made the recording in 1938, a year before his death. A graduate of [[Franklin and Marshall College]] in [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]], and a successful businessman, he became a [[Christian Science practitioner|practitioner]] of [[Christian Science]] healing, served as a public lecturer, Church treasurer and director of The [[Christian Science|First Church of Christ, Scientist]] in [[Boston, Massachusetts]]. He was treasurer from 1911 until he was elected to the Church's Board of Directors, on which he served from 1918 until his death in 1939. From 1908 to 1910 he was correspondence secretary for Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy.<ref name="longyear-1">{{cite web | title = Longyear Museum, Description of CD | url = http://www.longyear.org/store/product/72-i_heard_lincoln_that_day-audio_cd | accessdate = January 13, 2011}}</ref> He also authored "The Devil's Auction"<ref name="longyear-2">{{cite web | title = Longyear Museum, Description of Booklet | url = https://www.longyear.org/store/books/christian-science-history/devils-auction | accessdate = July 17, 2016}}</ref> often republished without attribution as "The Devil's Garage Sale".
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ==Early years==
| |
| − | Rathvon was born in 1854 in [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]],<ref name="WeKnew">''We Knew Mary Baker Eddy''. Vol. II, expanded, pp. 510-511. Christian Science Publishing Society (2013)</ref> where he attended grammar school and college. His mother had met his father while attending the Lutheran College in Gettysburg and her entire family, the Forneys, resided in and around Gettysburg.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ==Rathvon hears Lincoln at Gettysburg==
| |
| − | On November 19, 1863, four months after the historic [[Battle of Gettysburg]] in Pennsylvania, a crowd of more than 10,000 gathered at [[Gettysburg, Pennsylvania]], for the dedication of the National Cemetery to the soldiers who had fallen in what is widely acknowledged as the greatest battle of the Civil War (in terms of the total number of troops engaged and casualties on both sides, the intensity of the fighting, and the strategic and emotional significance of the outcome) as well as the point at which the war turned in favor of the Union and permanently against the Confederacy. Among those thousands was nine-year-old William Rathvon, who had traveled with his family from nearby Lancaster to hear President Lincoln speak.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | In a 30-minute recording,<ref name=recording>[http://www.historyonthenet.com/authentichistory/1860-1865/2-sounds/2-historical/19380212_Gettysburg_Eyewitness_William_V_Rathvon.html "History of the Net: Historical Recordings - Comments by eyewitness, William Rathvon on Lincoln's Gettysburg Address"], History of the Net</ref> Rathvon describes searching the battlefield for souvenirs with his friends and finding Confederate muskets thrown into the bottom of a creek. He also describes the experiences of his relatives during the battle, including his uncle’s farm being used as the headquarters for Confederate General [[Richard Ewell]] and his grandmother hiding Union soldiers from capture by Southern troops.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Like most people who came to Gettysburg, the Rathvon family was aware that the president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, was going to make some remarks. The family went to the town square where the procession was to form to go out to the cemetery that had not been completed yet. At the head of the procession rode Abraham Lincoln on a gray horse preceded by a military band that was the first the young boy had ever seen. Rathvon describes Lincoln as so tall and with such long legs that they went almost to the ground; he also mentions the long eloquent speech given by [[Edward Everett]] of Massachusetts, whom Rathvon described as the "most finished orator of the day." Rathvon then goes on to describe how Lincoln stepped forward and "with a manner serious almost to sadness, gave his brief address."<ref name=recording/> During the delivery, along with some other boys, young Rathvon wiggled his way forward through the crowd until he stood within 15 feet of Mr. Lincoln and looked up into what he described as Lincoln's "serious face." Rathvon recalls candidly that, although he listened "intently to every word the president uttered and heard it clearly," he explains, "boylike, I could not recall any of it afterwards." But he explains that if anyone said anything disparaging about "honest Abe," there would have been a "junior battle of Gettysburg." In the recording Rathvon speaks of Lincoln's speech allegorically "echoing through the hills."
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ==Education and career==
| |
| − | Rathvon attended [[Franklin and Marshall College]] in [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]]<ref name="WeKnew" /> from 1870 to 1873. By the early 1890s he was in [[Colorado]] working as a successful businessman until he was wiped out financially in the [[Panic of 1893]].<ref name="WeKnew" /> Visiting Chicago soon after with his wife, they became acquainted with [[Christian Science]], and his wife turned to it for healing. He attended the [[Massachusetts Metaphysical College|Massachusetts Metaphysical College's]] primary class in 1903 and returned for the normal (teachers) class in 1907.<ref name="WeKnew" /> From 1908 to 1910 he was a corresponding secretary to [[Mary Baker Eddy]].<ref name="longyear-1" /> He remained active in the Christian Science church from that time on until his death, holding a number of positions: member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship (1911–18); editor, director, and treasurer of [[The Mother Church]]<!-- "The" is part of the name. --> (1918); and trustee of the Christian Science Benevolent Association and the [[Christian Science Pleasant View Home]] Association. He wrote for the ''[[Christian Science Journal]]'' and ''[[Christian Science Sentinel]]'', two of the church's periodicals. He also lectured on Christian Science, travelling extensively and he taught classes on the subject until his death in [[Brookline, Massachusetts]] in 1939. He wrote "The Devil's Auction" in 1911,<ref name="longyear-2" /> an allegory that has been widely copied, often with modifications, and used in sermons as "The Devil's Garage Sale", its origin assumed to be author unknown.<ref>[http://www.preachingtodaysermons.com/yaiijoovdi.html Introduction] "Yates II, John - Overcoming Discouragement", Preaching Today's Sermons. Retrieved January 13, 2011</ref><ref>[http://www.frbaptist.org/bin/view/Ptp/PtpTopic1995-09-18 "The Devil's Garage Sale"] Franklin Road Baptist Church, Indianapolis, Indiana (September 18, 1995) Retrieved January 13, 2011</ref><ref>[http://jacobcherians.blogspot.com/2010/02/devils-garage-sale.html "Devil's garage sale"] Beyond the Sunday School blog. (February 4, 2010) Retrieved January 13, 2011</ref><ref>[http://orfasvirtualjournal.blogspot.com/2010/10/devils-garage-sale.html "The Devil's Garage Sale"] Orfa's Virtual Journey blog. (October 17, 2010) Retrieved January 13, 2011</ref>
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ==Marriage and family==
| |
| − | Rathvon was married three times. In 1877 he married Lillie K. Stauffer and they had one son. Lillie Rathvon died in 1880 and in 1883 he married Ella J. Stauffer. She died in 1923 and two years later he married Lora C. Woodbury.<ref name="WeKnew" /> William Rathvon died on March 2, 1939 age 84.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ==Rathvon's recorded reminiscences of Lincoln's Address==
| |
| − | As a senior official of the Christian Science church, Rathvon had access to the best quality recording devices of his time. Mr. Rathvon's reminiscences were recorded at the Boston studios of radio station [[WRUL]]<ref name="longyear-1" /><ref name="WeKnew" /> on February 12, 1938; hence the quality of the 78rpm record.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | The Rathvon audio recollections were known by a small circle of individuals from the time of their recording in 1938. To Rathvon, they were incidental to what he felt were his more important church-work responsibilities. He presumably made the recordings for historical posterity, but never promoted or sold them, dying the following year in 1939.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ==Preserving the recording==
| |
| − | As a [[Christian Science practitioner#Class instruction|teacher of Christian Science]], Rathvon was required to organize an association of his students whose training and support was a lifelong commitment for him, and for whom he was required hold an annual reunion and an annual address. Typically, a Christian Science teacher's association survives them and continues to meet annually for many years. Rathvon's association of students continued to distribute copies of this recording, with some invariably ending up in the estates of deceased students whose families had no information on the recording's source. The recording sent to [[National Public Radio]] ("[[NPR]]") in the late 1990s as part of their "Quest for Sound" project was such a recording; the family knew only that they had in their possession a recording by a man named Rathvon who claimed to have heard Lincoln give his Gettysburg Address. NPR aired it after doing some background research and continues to air it around Lincoln's birthday. Because a number of copies of the recording exist, it continues to surface from time to time and be "rediscovered."
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ==See also==
| |
| − | * [[Gettysburg Address]]
| |
| − | * [[Abraham Lincoln]]
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ==Notes==
| |
| − | {{reflist}}
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ==External links==
| |
| − | * [http://www.historyonthenet.com/authentichistory/1860-1865/2-sounds/2-historical/19380212_Gettysburg_Eyewitness_William_V_Rathvon.html The full 21 minute audio recording of William R. Rathvon's eyewitness recollections of the Gettysburg Address and Lincoln as a Man]
| |
| − | *[http://www.longyear.org/ The Longyear Museum in Boston, MA]
| |
| − | *[http://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/ The Mary Baker Eddy Library in Boston, MA]
| |
| − | *[https://www.longyear.org/learn/research-archive/from-the-vault-listen-to-william-r-rathvons-recollections-of-abraham-lincolns-gettysburg-address/ to obtain a CD with the recording from a Boston-based Historical Organization.]
| |
| − | *[http://www.cslectures.org/Rathvon/CS-Its%20Results-Rathvon.htm Transcript of one of Rathvon's professional lectures on [[Christian Science]] 1912]
| |
| − |
| |
| − | {{Authority control}}
| |
| − |
| |
| − | {{DEFAULTSORT:Rathvon, William R.}}
| |
| − | [[Category:1854 births|Rathvon, William, R]]
| |
| − | [[Category:1939 deaths|Rathvon, William, R]]
| |
| − | [[Category:American Christian Scientists|Rathvon, William, R]]
| |
| − | [[Category:American Christian religious leaders|Rathvon, William, R]]
| |
| − | [[Category:American Christian writers|Rathvon, William, R]]
| |
| − | [[Category:Businesspeople from Lancaster, Pennsylvania|Rathvon, William, R]]
| |
| − | [[Category:Franklin & Marshall College alumni]]
| |
| − | [[Category:Converts to Christian Science from Lutheranism]]
| |
| − | [[Category:Former Lutherans]]
| |
| | | | |
| | == References == | | == References == |
Abraham Lincoln (center) at the dedication of the national cemetery at Gettysburg, November 19, 1863.
The Gettysburg Address is short speech by Abraham Lincoln which took its most famous expressions from the Bible, without giving it credit. Its opening line—fourscore and seven years ago—is a play on the biblical expression about how the lifespan of an average person is threescore and ten years: "The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away."[1] The famous conclusion in the Gettysburg Address is a paraphrase of the General Prologue to the first English translation of the Bible by John Wycliffe (1384): "This Bible is for the Government of the People, by the People, and for the People."
The Gettysburg Address, delivered by Abraham Lincoln as he personally was acquiring a stronger faith in God, embodies the belief in Manifest Destiny that America is "the last best hope of earth."[2]
Background
At the end of the Battle of Gettysburg, more than 51,000 Confederate and Union soldiers were wounded, missing, or dead. Many of those who died were laid in makeshift graves along the battlefield. Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin commissioned David Wills, an attorney, to purchase land for a proper burial site for the deceased Union soldiers. Wills acquired 17 acres for the cemetery, which was planned and designed by landscape architect William Saunders.
The cemetery was dedicated on November 19, 1863. The main speaker for the event was Edward Everett, one of the nation's foremost orators. President Abraham Lincoln was also invited to speak “as Chief Executive of the nation, formally [to] set apart these grounds to their sacred use by a few appropriate remarks.” At the ceremony, Everett spoke for more than 2 hours; Lincoln spoke for 2 minutes.
Lincoln's preparation of speech
President Lincoln had given his brief speech a lot of thought. He saw meaning in the fact that the Union victory at Gettysburg coincided with the nation's birthday; but rather than focus on the specific battle in his remarks, he wanted to present a broad statement about the larger significance of the war. He invoked the Declaration of Independence, and its principles of liberty and equality, and he spoke of “a new birth of freedom” for the nation. In his brief address, he continued to reshape the aims of the war for the American people—transforming it from a war for Union to a war for Union and freedom. Although Lincoln expressed disappointment in the speech initially, and it was poorly received nationally (The Chicago Times commented that "The cheek of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly, flat and dishwatery utterances") it has since come to be regarded as one of the most elegant and eloquent speeches in U.S. history.[3]
The Speech
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.[4]
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
--Abraham Lincoln
References
