This TIMELINEis another distillation of all that has gone before, with some supplementation to help give context. Hope the formatting and the links work, hope you enjoy, hope the mistakes are minor, and sorry for anything I left out....Thanks to Leo for the extra information and the corrections!
1869 ..... 08 November--Joseph Franklin Rutherford (JFR) is born to James Calvin Rutherford and Lenora Strickland in Versailles, Missouri.
17 August--Mary Fetzer is born to Dr. John Fetzer and Mary ? in Hornville, Cooper County, Missouri. Dr. John Fetzer, "a German," was the Post Surgeon in Waynesville, Missouri during the Civil War (5th Regiment, Missouri State Militia, Union Army, according to one source).
1875 ..... William Pratt Heath, Sr. is born to Capt. Alfred Taylor Heath and Catherine Quinland Pratt.
1884 ..... 17 June--Dr. John Fetzer dies, Cooper County, Missouri.
Zion 's Watch Tower Tract Society is legally chartered in Pennsylvania. *
1887 ..... 21 December--August Henry Balko, Jr. is born to August Henry Balko, Sr. and Bertha ? in La Grange, Fayette, Texas. His father emigrated from Germany in 1873.
1890 ..... ?? December--JFR marries Mary Fetzer.
1892 ..... 05 May--JFR is admitted to the Boonville bar, Missouri.
10 November--JFR's only (known) child is born--Malcolm Cameron Rutherford.
1894 ..... February--two female colporteurs sell to JFR 3 copies of the Millenial Dawn. He writes to the Society expressing his appreciation, subscribes to the Watchtower for 1 year, and orders more copies of Millennial Dawn to distribute to others. His letter is printed in the 15 April 1894 Zion's Watchtower.
08 August--JFR cited for contempt of court (Morgan County Book 13, p.251).
1895 ..... 15 May--JFR cited for contempt of court (Cooper County Book 2, p.376).
1896 ..... 04 February--JFR again cited for contempt of court (Cooper County Circuit Court Permanent File #5113).
17 July--Probable date when Bonnie Boyd was born to John R. Boyd and Victoria Pauling in Waterloo, Iowa. Bonnie's original name appears to have been Marjorie Boyd.
1897 ..... Charles Taze Russell and his wife, Maria Ackley, seperate.
1900 ..... First Branch office opens in London, England. *
1901 ..... 30 October--Berta L. Teel is born to William Teel and Mary R., in Pitt County, North Carolina.
1903 ..... 17 November--William Pratt Heath, Jr. is born to William Pratt Heath, Sr. and Susan Taylor in Atlanta, Georgia.
1905 ..... Blanch Poleson Harbolt is born to Clark Polison Harbolt and CarrieLouise Harbolt in Missouri.
1906 ..... JFR is baptized as a Bible Student.
CT and Maria Ackley Russell'strial for legal separation begins.*
1907 .....11 October issue of Zion's Watchtower JFR is listed as a speaker at the Niagara Falls Convention, Aug. 29-Sept. 5. He is also invited to Bethel as legal counsel for the Watch Tower Society.
1908 ..... 15 June issue Zion's Watchtower lists JFR as one of the Pilgrims who made a vow to the Lord.
1 July issue Zion's Watchtower W. E. Page mentions Sister Rutherford summering in Madison, Wisconsin, and receiving a letter from Sister Hanson of Kansas City, Missouri.
20 August (3 August in some sources)--Susette Heath is born to William Pratt Heath, Sr. and Susan Taylor Heath in Atlanta, Georgia.
1909 ..... 15 January Zion's Watchtower has JFR scheduled to speak on 1 March 1909 at the Brooklyn Tabernacle on the Divine Plan of the Ages from a Lawyer's Standpoint. Other issues throughout the year also list speaking engagements at other conventions.
May--JFR is admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court Bar.
April--The WTS HQs is moved to Brooklyn, New York .*
1910 ..... 1 June Zion's Watchtower talks about "Brother Russell's Foreign Tour." Rutherford accompanies Russell as stenographer on the Mediterranean tour. Sister Rutherford accompanies them as far as Paris.
15 November Zion's Watchtower--Brother J.F. Rutherford's (of Missouri) letter to Russell entitled "Value of Berean Scripture Studies" appears.
August Balko, Jr. is in Houston, Harris , Texas working as a clerk for Producers Oil Company.
1911..... 1 October Zion's Watchtower reports that when the Bible Students had a ten-day session in the Allegheny Mountains, Hon. J. F. Rutherford was chairman of the first half of the convention (Sept. 1-6). He also addressed the meeting.
1912 ..... 15 January Zion's Watchtower has an article by JFR entitled "In Defense of the Truth." Someone had written to the Society wondering if Russell shouldn't have endured persecution rather than resort to the law. This is Rutherford 's justification of Russell's suit against the Brooklyn Eagle.
11 July--James Calvin Rutherford dies, Versailles, Missouri.
1913 ..... 2-11 November. JFR and his wife Mary, after travelling to Zurich, Switzerland, return to New York on the Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm.
Maria Ackley Russell sues CTR for divorce on 4 grounds.*
1914..... JFR kicks up a fuss over the 1913 Convention Report which reports a discourse he made at the Springfield Convention.
WWI. And it's the end of the world as we know it. A 1908 version of Thy Kingdom Come stated "That the deliverance of the saints must take place some time before 1914..." A 1937 edition of the same book stated "That the deliverance of the saints will take place some time after 1914..."
25 September--JFR, Mary Rutherford, and Malcolm Rutherford return from a European trip on the S. S. Mauretania. They are living together at 10 Orange Street, Brooklyn, NY.
The 1st showing of Photo Drama of Creation in New York .*
I.B.S.A. incorporated in England. *
1915 .....Susan Taylor Heath is baptized as a Bible Student.
"According to testimony at the Olin Moyle trial (p. 1567 of the transcripts), in 1915 Russell gave Rutherford $1,000 so he could leave New York and set up a law practice in California. David Horowitz also mentions this in his biography of Russell, PASTOR CHARLES TAZE RUSSELL, AN EARLY AMERICAN CHRISTIAN ZIONIST, page 61. According to Horowitz, who is neither a Jehovah's Witness or a Bible Student, Russell considered Rutherford a dangerous man and wanted him as far away as possible." (Athanasius) "Apparently dismissed from Bethel in early 1915, living in Monrovia near Los Angeles, working as a lawyer for a department store in Los Angeles." (James Parkinson, heraldmag.org)
21-24 April--JFR debated Rev. John H. Troy at First Baptist Church in Glendale, California, assisted by his son Malcolm (age 22).
The May 1, 1915 Z.W.T. contains "Judge Rutherford's Spicy Defense" of C. T. Russell; also "A Great Battle in the Ecclesiatical Heavens," a pamphlet written by Rutherford in defense of Russell. The journal also contains an article entitled "The Rutherford-Troy Debate." (Kenneson) The Nov. 1, 1915 Z.W.T. contains an advertisement for "Judge Rutherford's defense of Pastor Russell." According to a post by Athanasius, Russell responds: "So far as the Editor is concerned, he has no desire for further debates. He does not favor debating, believing that it rarely accomplishes good and often arouses anger, malice, bitterness, etc., in both speakers and hearers."
1916..... 31 October--Charles Taze Russell dies on a train. He leaves a will dated 1907, setting forth how he wants things to be run after his demise. JFR is informed ...
1917 ..... 6 January JFR is elected President of the WTBTS. It is not a smooth transition.
1916-1919..... The Teels move to Ohio from North Carolina. Berta is in her teens.
1917 .....4 June--August Balko, Jr. registers for the draft in Houston, Texas. He is employed as a clerk at Producers Oil Co. His draft card states that he is a Millenium Dawnist.
15 June--Malcolm Rutherford registers for the draft, giving his home address as 11 East Lake, Los Angeles, California. Malcolm states that he is a "Member Bible Students Assn."
17 July--The WTS releases The Finished Mystery.
The U.S. government investigates charges that members of the WTS are corresponding with armed services personnel and encouraging them to desert.
1918..... It's the end...again.
24 February--Discourse "The World Has Ended--Millions Now Living May Never Die" is first delivered in Los Angeles, California.*
April--the Grand Jury issues an indictment against 9 WTS officers, naming 4 major charges, including sedition, treason, and interfering with the draft. The 9 are Rutherford, William E. Van Amburgh, Robert J. Martin, Frederick H.Robison, George H. Fisher, Clayton P. Woodworth, Giovanni DeCecca, Robert H. Hirsh, and A. Hugh MacMillan.
May--the WTS officers are arrested, arraigned, and released on $2500 bail (except Hirsh--$1000).
June--JFR requests that the government review the book and delete the offending passages. The Government makes a motion to drop all charges against Hirsh. The defense objects, stating that they feared he would become a witness against them. The judge ruled in favor of the government. Hirsh is dismissed. The trial lasted from 6 June to 20 June.
21 June--the WTS officers are convicted of all charges. All are sentenced to 20 years in prison in Atlanta, GA except one, DeCecca, given 10 years on 10 July.
August--Brooklyn HQ is closed. Operations are transferred back to Pittsburgh for over a year.*
Arthur Goux becomes JFR's personal secretary/stenographer.
1919 ..... December--the WTS officers are released after 18 months in prison. Rutherford developed a severe lung ailment while in Atlanta. They had appealed, petitioned the Justice Department and the U.S. President, and finally were able to show that there were errors made in the trial, so the Government issued a Writ of Error. The war was over and they felt it would not be worth it to re-try the case.
The Golden Age magazing is started.*
1920 ..... August Balko, Jr. is back in LaGrange, Fayette, Texas, living in a boarding house and working as an agent for a railroad company (probably the MKT).
William Pratt Heath, Sr. is Vice President of a Coca-Cola bottling company in Atlanta, Georgia.
Mary Rutherford is living alone in Los Angeles, California.
Millions Now Living Will Never Die by JFR is published. Look for 1925 to be a BIG year!!!
WTS starts its own printing operations in Brooklyn.*
1921 ..... Blanch Poleson Harbolt marries August Balko, Jr. in ?, Texas, changing her name to Blanch Poleson Balko.
1922 ..... Radio is first used by JFR in California.*
1923 ..... Mary Rutherford takes up residence in Monrovia, California. The residence at 160 N. Primrose Avenue is located less than a mile from the Pottenger Sanatorium, established in 1903, which specialized in treating pulmonary diseases. Since JFR had a damaged lung, he possibly wintered here at the time.
Bonnie Boyd and her mother take up residence in Bethel at the invitation of W. E. Van Amburgh, who had met them earlier at a convention. Bonnie works as a second stenogrpaher for JFR and Victoria works as housekeeper. They lived in Room 121 on the first floor of 124 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, New York (an old brownstone building formerly owned by Henry Ward Beecher).
Berta Teel marries Alfred Peale, a machinist from Akron, Ohio.
1924 ..... 24 February--WTS begins broadcasting over WBBR (scroll down).*
April--A party, composed of Brothers JFR, [William] Van Amburgh, [Walter] Salter, Hughes, Johnson, Hoeveler, and Sisters [Luie] Van Amburgh, [Bonnie] Boyd, Blades, and Johnson went to the European conventions (Watchtower, 1 July 1924, p.1). They return to New York on 7 June aboard the S. S. Paris.
1925..... Arthur Goux, JFR's personal secretary, is transferred to radio broadcasting and replaced by Donald Haslett.
15 June 1925 issue of the Watchtower publishes a letter written by Mrs. Susan T. Heath of Atlanta, Georgia.
1926 ..... 9 October--Lenora Strickland Rutherford dies, Versailles, Missouri.
1926-1929 ..... JFR winters in San Diego, California under the care of Dr. Alta G. Eckols, chiropractor, father of Albert E.
1927 ..... 1 February--The New York Times reports that the WTS razes the former home of Henry Ward Beecher at 124 Columbia Heights in Brooklyn, New York, to build a larger headquarters on the same site. The 30 November 1927 issue of the Golden Age publishes an article that described the Beechers as demon-influenced spiritualists, whose marriage was effected by Satan in order to cause the Civil War. Factory operations had already been moved to a newly constructed 8-story building at 117 Adams Street in Brooklyn. The new building was completed later in the same year, and Bonnie and her mother moved to the 7th floor. This floor was exclusively JFR's office/bedroom, where Donald Haslett and his wife lived as well.
27 September--JFR returns from Europe aboard the S. S. Ile de France, accompanied with Bonnie Boyd, Robert J. Martin, Watch Tower factory manager, and Dr. Alta G. Eckols. Boyd, Martin, and Eckols travel again with JFR two years later.
1929 ..... Robert J. Martin goes to San Diego and transfers into his own name the title for 2 lots purchased by Dr. Albert E. Eckols, chiropractor, then contracts the construction of the mansion that will be known as Beth Sarim--House of Princes (4440 Braeburn Rd., San Diego, CA, Kensington Heights). But only one prince will ever live there--Prince Joseph Barak Balko. Richard S. Requa is the architect.
18 November--Princess Bonnie Caroline Balko is born to August Balko, Jr. and Blanch P. in Harris County, Texas.
Susette Heath, sister of William Pratt Heath, Jr., marries Eugene Robert Black II, among stepmother to his two children, Eugene Robert Black III and his older sister Elizabeth B. His father, Eugene Robert Black I was chairman of the Federal Reserve 1933-1934 and president of the Federal Reserve Bank for 2 terms: 13 January-19 December 1933 and 16 August 1934-19 December 1934 (when he died). Eugene Robert Black III himself will be president of the World Bank from 1949-1962. The Black family lives at 1614 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, Georgia.
1930 .....JFR purchases Beth Sarim from Robert J. Martin for $10. JFR, Bonnie Boyd, Donald Haslett, and the Balkos take up residence in Beth Sarim, San Diego, California. Haslett leaves at some point this year or the next and is replaced by Ed Keller. Bonnie is promoted to the position of secretary.
Berta T. Peale and Alfred Peale live together in Akron, Ohio. They have no children.
William P. Heath, Jr. is manager of a Coca-Cola bottling plant in South Carolina and is married to Dorothy Smith, daughter of Mendel Smith, South Carolina legislator, lawyer and orator, and Anna Dixon. His cousin, William S. Heath was president and co-owner of Carolina Coca-Cola Bottling Company, and son of Alfred Taylor Heath, II, "president of Coca-Cola" (also the Carolina Bottling Company?), and Anne Darling Howell. I can't help but wonder if door-to-door Coca-Cola sales techniques influenced WTS sales techniques.
1931 ..... Prince Joseph Barak Balko is born to August Balko, Jr. and Blanch P. in San Diego, California." Beth-Sarim being "the house of the princes," and, as we confidently expect, to be occupied and used by some of the princes in the earth, it seemed quite appropriate that these children who are growing up there should be named in harmony with these scriptures. Hence the little girl is named Princess Bonnie Balko, and the little boy Prince Joseph Barak Balko....It is hoped that these two little ones may grow up at Beth-Sarim to be with the rulers of the earth and live forever to the glory of Jehovah’s name. They have been told, in so far as they can understand, that they may expect these noble men and, when they do appear, to meet them and put themselves completely under their direction (emphasis added)." --The Messenger, 25 July 1931
23 June--JFR and Bonnie Boyd leave Southampton, England, aboard the S. S. Breman, accompanied with Robert J. Martin and Robert S. Emery.
26 July--The name "Jehovah's Witnesses" is adopted at an Ohio convention.*
1932 ..... William P. Heath, Jr. is baptized.
23 April--JFR and Bonnie Boyd return to New York aboard the S. S. President Coolidge after wintering at Beth Sarim.
23 September--Robert J. Martin dies.
Elective elders arrangement is terminated (15 August and 1 September Watchtower).*
1933 ..... JWs banned in Germany.*
Around this time, Berta Peale meets Bonnie Boyd and becomes friends with her (Moyle transcript, p. 1382). However, it is possible that they first met at the 1931 convention in Columbus, Ohio.
19 July--JFR, Bonnie Boyd, Nathan Knorr, and Walter Salter return to New York aboard the S. S. Statendam after a convention tour of Europe.
1934 ..... W. P. Heath, Jr. meets JFR for the first time.
15 June--Mendel Smith dies.
Elective elders arrangement is terminated. Designation of "pioneer" is introduced.*
1935 ..... Olin Moyle comes to Bethel to help the WTS in its freedom-of-worship cases. The room on the seventh floor of 124 Columbia Heights formerly occupied by Mr. Haslett and Mr. Keller is vacated and turned into a treatment room. From 1935 to 1939, the only people living on the seventh floor are JFR, Bonnie Boyd, and her mother Victoria.
The designation "Kingdom Hall" begins to be used.*
International convention held in Washington, D.C.*
1936 ..... JFR, Bonnie Boyd, and Matthew Howlett take a convention trip to Britain. JFR and Boyd return to New York abord the S. S. Statendam on 27 September.
1937 ..... 18 May--Returning from a winter at Beth Sarim, JFR and Bonnie Boyd take a three-week trip to Mexico, Panama, and Havana, Cuba before arriving in New York.
June--W. P. Heath, Jr. is invited to Bethel to serve as JFR's personal secretary. Bonnie Boyd, in turn, becomes Heath's personal secretary. He also serves as chauffeur, his parents having given a couple of nice new rides to his boss. He joins the Bethel family shortly before departing with JFR on a European convention trip.
July--Bonnie Boyd invites Berta Peale to accompany her on her upcoming trip to Europe. Berta leaves Ohio and travels to Brooklyn, New York.
21 August--JFR, Bonnie Boyd, W. P. Heath, Jr., and Berta Peale attend a convention in Paris, France. It was on this trip that Heath first became acquainted with Boyd and JFR became acquainted with Peale. Then they leave Le Havre, France aboard the S. S. Normandie on 25 August.
15-20 September--JFR attends a convention in Columbus, Ohio. Around this time, Victoria Boyd leaves Bethel to retire in Texas. JFR, Bonnie Boyd, W. P. Heath, and Berta Peale arrive at Beth Sarim, San Diego, by November.
1938 ..... Early January--W.P. Heath, Jr. divorces his wife of 8 years, Dorothy Smith. One week later he marries Bonnie Boyd in Las Vegas, Nevada (25 January).
April--JFR, Berta Peale, Bonnie Heath, and W. P. Heath leave Beth Sarim and visit Los Angeles. There, they board a ship headed to Honolulu, Hawaii, accompanied with Malcolm Rutherford and his wife Pauline. Malcolm, Pauline, and Berta disembark in Honolulu, while JFR, Bonnie Heath, and W. P. Heath (after briefly attending an assembly) continue aboard the ship to Sydney, Australia. While en route to Sydney, public officials forbid the convention to use the Sydney Town Hall and radio facilities. JFR is forced to delivery his convention address at the Sydney Sports Grounds. Then on his return trip, he delivered another address in a one-day convention in Auckland, New Zealand. JFR was scheduled to address a convention in Suva, Fiji, but the governor refused to permit Rutherford to give an address.
11 May--After delivering the public talk "Warning" in Honolulu, JFR returned to Los Angeles aboard the S. S. Mariposa with Berta Peale and his son and daughter-in-law. Bonnie and W. P. Heath stayed behind a few days, where they apparently arranged another public address on one of the other Hawaiian islands. They returned to Los Angeles aboard the S. S. Matsonia, departing on 14 May.
June--JFR and his entourage returns to Bethel in New York. Berta Peale, having abandoned her husband of 15 years, officially joins Bethel's staff and takes over Victoria's job as the seventh floor housekeeper (and dietician of JFR).
9-11 September--JFR, Bonnie and W. P. Heath, Berta Peale, and Nathan Knorr attend an international convention in London, England. On 11 September, JFR gave the address "Face the Facts" at the Royal Albert Hall where he predicted that Nazi Germany and the other Axis Powers will gain possession of America and the United Kingdom. On 14 September, the entourage returned on the S. S. Queen Mary.
Theocratic arrangements replace democratic ones in Jehovah's Witness congregations.*
1939 ..... March--The Watchtower and Herald of Christ's Kingdom becomes The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom.
Alfred Peale files for divorce from Berta Teel on grounds of abandonment.
Matthew Howlett returns to Bethel to nurse JFR. He moves into the room on the seventh floor formerly occupied by Mr. Keller.
W. P. Heath, Jr. bought property (75 acres), for a 2nd San Diego mansion, Beth Shan--House of Security," that his mother had given him money to build," according to Hayden Covington.
25 June--In charge of the ushers at the Madison Square Garden Convention, W. P. Heath is arrested for hitting a "mobster" over the head with a cane during the riot that broke out. In the trial, Olin R. Moyle, the general counsel for Heath, calls him first to the stand rather than last and he shares a private letter with the prosecutor. Bonnie Heath calls JFR, telling him that something is wrong, and JFR is incensed at Moyle's handling of the case. Heath is found not guilty.
21 July-- Olin Moyle quits his job as counselor for the Society and announces his intent to leave Bethel (Hayden Covington thereafter takes over this job). In his letter of resignation, he mentions, among other things, JFR's ill-treatment of Bethelites, the rule-bending that allowed Bonnie Boyd to marry W. P. Heath, filthy and vulgar language frequently heard at Bethel, and the immoderate use of alcohol at Bethel.
8 August--W. P. Heath, having joined the Board of Directors of the WTS, attends a meeting of the directors where they discuss Moyle's letter. They all unanimously condemn it and demand Moyle to leave Bethel immediately.
Olin Moyle sues for libel in response to a scathing Rutherford write-up in the 15 October Watchtower.
A seperate residence on the Beth Sarim property is built for Beth Sarim's groundskeepers--Robert Astel and Joe Lubeck. (Scroll down.)
Zion 's Watch Tower Society becomes Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society and is incorporated in the U.S.*
1940 ..... The deed to Beth Shan is conveyed to the WTBTS, and W. P. Heath, Jr. and Bonnie Boyd take up residence there (now or after the Judge dies, I am not sure).
JFR is said to have taken up full-time redidence at Beth Sarim, "leaving the actual work of the organization to Mr. N. H. Knorr, the then vice-president.*
Alfred Peale is granted a divorce from Berta Teel.
Victoria Boyd is "home in Texas" on account of her health. She is about 67 years of age.
1941 ..... Hazel Burford is called from the zone assembly at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, to go help nurse JFR who was very ill in a hospital in Elkhart, Indiana. One week later she accompanies him and his party to Beth Sarim, where she helps care for him for 8 weeks until his death.
1942 .....8 January--JFR dies at Beth Sarim, age 72. His body remains unburied for 3 weeks. He wanted to be buried on the grounds at Beth Sarim, and his second wish was to buried at Beth Shan, but this was not allowed so he was eventually taken by train to Staten Island and buried at Woodrow United Methodist Church Cemetary where W.E. Van Amburgh was also interred. The place of his burial is still disputed and so not completely certain, however. Only 4 people attend his funeral. W.P. Heath, Jr. and Bonnie Boyd Heath, who accompanied his body on the train are 2 of them. His wife and son are not present.
1942-1948 ..... Berta Peale continues to live at Beth Sarim until it was sells according to her great-nephew "larc." I wonder who, if anyone else, lived there as well?
1943 ..... Olin Moyle wins his lawsuit and collects $15,000 plus court costs from the WTS.
1950 .... 19 July--On her birthday, Bonnie Heath left the Bermudas on the Q.T.E.V. Queen of the Bermuda with her husband W. P. Heath. At the time, both were residents of Julian, California.
1953 ..... Beth Sarim passes from "Francis S. Hankins, a married woman" to "G. Aubrey Davidson," retired auditor for the Santa Fe Railway Company, who established the Kensington Park Land Company in 1909.
1963 ..... 15 February--Mary Fetzer Rutherford dies.
1973 ..... 15 April--August Balko, Jr. dies in Harris County, Texas.
1979 ..... August--Bonnie Boyd Heath dies in De Kalb County, Georgia.
1989 ..... 22 June--Malcolm Rutherford dies, Arcadia, California.
*According to this site.
