Few JW leader have children

by slimboyfat 16 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

slimboyfat

It’s been discussed before that few JW leaders, past and present, have had children. This is in contrast with other groups, such as the Mormons, whose leaders have had a lot of children. I wonder if this has impacted JW growth. Even though Mormons encourage large families, and their leaders have large families, they still have lower growth than JWs. How much faster would JWs have grown if they had a pro-natal policy like the Mormons?

But first, I was wondering if others have knowledge about exactly which JW leaders, and GB members have had children, and how many. I will fill in what I think I know and ask others to add information or corrections. I thought about including marriage status too but to keep it simpler I’ll just include whether the individual has/d children as far as is publicly known, with question marks for uncertainty.

Charles Taze Russell - none

Joseph Rutherford - 1 son

Nathan Knorr - none

Frederick Franz - none

Thomas Sullivan - not known

John Groh - not known

Grant Suiter - not known

Lyman Swingle - yes? how many?

Milton Henschel - none?

William Jackson - not known

Leo Greenlees - none

George Gangas - not known

Charles Fekel - not known

Ewart Chitty - none

Lloyd Barry - not known

Karl Klein - none?

Albert Schroeder - 1 son

Dan Sydlik - none?

Ted Jaracz - none?

Martin Pötzinger - none?

Carey Barber - none

John Barr - none

Gerrit Lösch - none

Guy Pierce - yes? how many?

David Splane - none?

Stephen Lett - none?

Sam Herd - none?

Tony Morris - 2 sons?

Geoffrey Jackson - none?

Mark Sanderson - none

Ken Cook - none?

Gage Fleegle - none?

Jeffrey Winder - none?

Jody Jedele - none?

Jacob Rumph - none?

Can anyone add details?

So as far as I know, from around 35 leaders, only 3 are known to have children, with two more possible. Two had 1 son, one had 2 sons. Is it significant that none had a daughter, as far as I know (except possibly Swingle or Pierce)?

Contrast this with the Mormons whose early leaders had dozens of children (with various wives, but also multiple children with their first wife) and whose leaders still have large families and encourage their followers to have children.
no-zombie

While I can't unfortunately add to you list, slim, it is very telling set of numbers.
To me, it seems rather evident that all the Governing Body members (and past Presidents) were true believers. Well true enough to make for themselves a social contract, where they traded having children for their positions in Bethel.
But fact most were childless, only goes to illustrate why the Organization has a real lack of understanding of problems of child rearing, teenagers in particular. For the constant repetition of 'prayer, bible study, field service and meeting attendance' as the solution to any problem a youth has, is clear proof that none of them have a real clue of the world around them.
Similar too is the Governing Body's strong recommendation of singleness and childlessness (done through to drive for young couples to serve full time), is really done only because they have never experienced the joys of being a parent themselves.
Would the Society look different though, if the Governing Body had normal families and kids? Undoubtedly ... a lot more humanist, I wager. Which is a pity.
Thanks for the original post.
slimboyfat

Yes, I agree with all that no-zombie.
Another interesting aspect is that the exceptions in themselves are telling.
Rutherford had a son but became estranged from him to the point that his son wanted nothing to do with JWs and he wouldn’t answer any questions about his father from curious people who tracked him down.
Albert Schroeder had a son but it was an accident that breached the bethel no child policy and he only retained his position in bethel because of his status and connections. (I think he was already Gilead instructor when his wife became pregnant) His son by some accounts had a rather curious upbringing being the only child in bethel. In adulthood the society paid for him to study law, making him exceptional yet again in an organisation that discourages higher education.
Did Lyman Swingle have children? I have a vague recollection that he might have done, and possibly Lloyd Barry. Or I might be confusing this because I also heard that Swingle, Barry and a few others had college education.
I have greater suspicion that Guy Pierce did have a family. I should go and read his life story to find out. The very fact that it’s so vague whether Pierce and a handful of others had children is telling because it does not feature prominently in their public biographies. This is true of life stories in the magazines in general where mention of children definitely comes after outlining their theocratic career, almost as an apologetic addendum.
Tony Morris was one of the few JW leaders ever to have children. He was atypical as a GB member in being a convert who was elevated to the position, and of course also unusual in being unceremoniously removed from the GB.
As for the newer ones, I guess the general assumption is that most are lifelong Bethelites and therefore don’t have children. It doesn’t even seem to arise as a question when people are appointed. People are interested if they are married, how long they’ve been at bethel and so on, but whether they have children seldom comes up because it’s unlikely.
slimboyfat

The notice of Guy Pierce’s death in the Watchtower in 2014 said the following:
Guy Pierce was born in Auburn, California, U.S.A., on November 6, 1934, and was baptized in 1955. He married his beloved wife, Penny, in 1977 and raised a family. His experience as a family man contributed to his fatherly manner. By 1982 he and Penny were busy in the pioneer work, and in 1986 he began 11 years of service as a circuit overseer in the United States.
It doesn’t even say how many children he had, or boys or girls. Does anyone know? I guess the fact they weren’t mentioned specifically perhaps means they didn’t get baptised or else left JWs. I vaguely remember that he had a granddaughter who was not a JW who made some online posts and said he as far as she was concerned he was a good grandfather, which caused some discussion. I may be misremembering these details.
slimboyfat

Compare and contrast with Mormon leaders!
(Including children who died in childhood)
Joseph Smith (d. 1944) - 9 with his wife, perhaps dozens with other secret wives
Brigham Young (d. 1877) - 57 with 56 wives
John Taylor (d. 1887) - 34 with 8 wives
Wilford Woodruff (d. 1898) - 34 with 9 wives
Lorenzo Snow (d. 1901) - 42 with 9 wives
Joseph F. Smith (d. 1918) - 48 (43 biological, 5 adopted) with 6 wives
Heber Grant (d. 1945) - 12 with 3 wives
George Albert Smith (d. 1951) - 3 with 1 wife
David O. McKay (d. 1970) - 7 with 1 wife
Joseph Fielding Smith (d. 1972) - 11, had 3 wives (consecutive)
Harold B. Lee (d. 1973) - 2, had 2 wives (consecutive)
Spencer Kimball (d. 1985) - 4 with 1 wife
Ezra Benson Taft (d. 1994) - 6 with 1 wife
Howard Hunter (d. 1995) - 3, had 2 wives (consecutive)
Gordon B. Hinckley (d. 2008) - 5 with 1 wife
Thomas S. Monson (d. 2018) - 3 with 1 wife
Russell M. Nelson (incumbent) - 10, has had 2 wives
Not a single one without children.
blondie

Based on that find, SBF, it might be fruitful to check the obits of prominent men in the WT publications.
stan livedeath

What child would want one of them as a father
blondie

I guess you don't get to choose your parents.

slimboyfat

A good chance to test ChatGPT !

I asked

Can you give me a list of Jehovah’s Witness leaders, including presidents of the Watch Tower Society, and Governing Body members, and list the number of children each had

And this was the response:

Here is a list of key leaders of Jehovah’s Witnesses, focusing on:

Presidents of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, the main legal entity used by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Prominent members of the Governing Body, especially those who played notable roles historically or are currently active.
Where known, number of children is listed — but note that many Watch Tower officials, especially since the mid-20th century, have remained unmarried and childless due to their belief that full-time service is a higher calling, particularly given the belief in the imminence of Armageddon.

📘 Watch Tower Society Presidents

Name	Term	Children
Charles Taze Russell	1881–1916	0
Joseph Franklin Rutherford	1917–1942	1 (a son, Malcolm Cammerer, before marriage)
Nathan Homer Knorr	1942–1977	0
Frederick William Franz	1977–1992	0
Milton George Henschel	1992–2000	0
Don Alden Adams	2000–2016	Unknown (likely 0; no record of a spouse or children)
Robert Ciranko	2016–present	Unknown (very little public personal information)

👥 Prominent Governing Body Members

(Only a few have publicly known information regarding children. Most remained unmarried.)

Name	Lifespan (if applicable)	Children
Raymond Franz (left in 1980)	1922–2010	0 (married, no children)
Fred Franz	1893–1992	0
Milton Henschel	1920–2003	0
Albert D. Schroeder	1911–2006	0
George D. Gangas	1896–1994	0
Lyman A. Swingle	1910–2001	0
William Lloyd Barry	1916–1999	0
Samuel F. Herd	1935–	Unknown (was married before full-time service)
Gerrit Lösch	1941–	0 (married, no children)
Stephen Lett	1949–	0 (married, no children)
David Splane	1944–	0 (married, no children)
Anthony Morris III (recently removed)	~1950s–	2 sons
Kenneth Cook	–	Unknown
Mark Sanderson	1965–	0 (never married)
Geoffrey Jackson	1955–	Unknown (believed to be married; children unknown)

⚠️ Notes:

The trend since Knorr has been toward celibacy or childlessness among top leaders, partly due to the increasing emphasis on "not marrying in this system of things" and the nearness of the end.
Early leaders like Rutherford had children before they were involved with the Witness movement (he became active in the 1890s but fathered his son earlier).
Anthony Morris III is one of the few modern Governing Body members known to have children — both sons were reportedly disfellowshipped, which was a topic of public interest.

Would you like this list in a downloadable format (PDF or spreadsheet)?

2/2

slimboyfat

It says Schroeder had no children, which is false.
It says Geoffrey Jackson is “believed to be married”. I think it is public information that he has been married twice and his first wife died.
Why does it say Samuel Herd “was married before full time service”? He remained married.
It is wrong when it says that the trend has been toward celibacy since Knorr. If anything the opposite. Most GB members since Knorr have been married.
It says most GB members “remained unmarried”. This is false, most GB members have been married.
I don’t think it’s correct that Rutherford had his son before joining the Bible Students.
I am pretty sure it is wrong that Morris’s sons have been disfellowshipped. Quite the opposite, the gossip has been that they remain good JWs in the face of their father’s removal.
Why does it say of Rutherford’s son: “Malcolm Cammerer, before marriage”? Does it think he changed name after marriage? Or he was born before his parents married? Or what?
It doesn’t mention that Guy Pierce had children.
Some of the other stated facts may also be false but I am not in a position to say for sure because of the gaps mentioned above.
All in all pretty poor. Do not rely on ChatGPT!

Few JW leader have children

📘 Watch Tower Society Presidents

👥 Prominent Governing Body Members

⚠️ Notes:

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