James H. Wiggin: Difference between revisions
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== Unitarian minister == | == Unitarian minister == | ||
Wiggin served as a clergyman | Wiggin was ordained in the Unitarian church on November 6, 1862 in Boston.<ref>Anonymous, "City Items" ''Springfield Republican'' (November 6, 1862): 4.</ref> He served as a clergyman until 1881.<ref>Alaric Bertrand Start, editor, ''History of Tufts College''. Published by the Class of 1897 in Boston, 1896. See page 324, "Directory of Alumni and Students."</ref> He was sometimes known in Unitarian circles as "J. Henry Wiggin" because there were several instances of the name "James Wiggin" in the northeastern United States. | ||
After 1881, Rev. Wiggin left the pulpit and took up literary pursuits. He edited a monthly Unitarian newspaper, ''The Liberal Christian''. | |||
== Theosophical Society involvement == | == Theosophical Society involvement == | ||
Revision as of 15:58, 24 July 2023
Reverend James Henry Wiggin was an Unitarian clergyman and editor who was present at the founding of the Theosophical Society.
Early life
James Henry Wiggin was born to James Simon Wiggin and Sarah Elizabeth Robinson Wiggin on May 14, 1836 in Boson, Massachusetts.[1][2] He had three siblings, none of whom lived past 1861.[3] Wiggin took courses at Tufts College in Boston, 1857-58 before completing a Bachelor of Divinity degree at Meadville Theosophical School, a Unitarian Univeralist seminary, in 1861.
He married Laura Emma Newman on November 21, 1864 in Brattleboro, Vermont.[4] Their older son Albert Henry Wiggin (1868-1951) became a banker in Medfield, Massachusetts. They also had a daughter, Carrie, and a son, Langley.
Unitarian minister
Wiggin was ordained in the Unitarian church on November 6, 1862 in Boston.[5] He served as a clergyman until 1881.[6] He was sometimes known in Unitarian circles as "J. Henry Wiggin" because there were several instances of the name "James Wiggin" in the northeastern United States.
After 1881, Rev. Wiggin left the pulpit and took up literary pursuits. He edited a monthly Unitarian newspaper, The Liberal Christian.
Theosophical Society involvement
On September 4, 1875, he published in The Liberal Christian an article titled "Rosicrucianism in New York" in which he described a meeting he had with The Founders a week before the lecture given by George H. Felt after which the formation of the Theosophical Society was proposed.[7] Col. Olcott quotes this report as follows:
He names H.P.B., myself, Signor Bruzzesi, a New Jersey judge and his wife, and Mr. Charles Sotheran (who had procured for him from H. P. B. an invitation to be present). He expresses his wonder at the range and depth of the conversation, remarking: "It would be discourteous to detail the minutiae of a friendly conversation where there was no desire for publicity nor any magic display, or offer notions about it. The phallic element in religions; recent wonders among the mediums; history; the souls of flowers; Italian character; the strangeness of travel; chemistry; poetry; Nature’s trinity; Romanism; gravitation; the Carbonari; jugglery; Crookes’s new discoveries about the force of light; the literature of Magic—were among the topics of animated discussion lasting until after midnight. If Madame Blavatsky can indeed bring order out of the chaos of modern spiritism she will do the world a service."[8]
It seems that Rev. Wiggin was present at that first meeting on September 7, 1875.[9]
In the meeting held on September 18 he was appointed as part of a committee appointed to select suitable meeting rooms for the nascent Society,[10] and on October 30 he was elected as one of the "Councillors".[11] He was a member of Council of the TS until March 1876 when he resigned and the Baron de Palm took his place in it.
Late activities
Rev. Wiggin died of Bright's Disease in Boston on November 3, 1900.[12]
Notes
- ↑ Massachusetts, Mason Membership Cards, 1733-1990.
- ↑ U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current.
- ↑ U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current.
- ↑ Vermont Vital Records, 1720-1908.
- ↑ Anonymous, "City Items" Springfield Republican (November 6, 1862): 4.
- ↑ Alaric Bertrand Start, editor, History of Tufts College. Published by the Class of 1897 in Boston, 1896. See page 324, "Directory of Alumni and Students."
- ↑ "James H. Wiggin" Blavatsky Collected Writings Vol. 1, page 121.
- ↑ Henry Steel Olcott, Old Diary Leaves First Series (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 135.
- ↑ Henry Steel Olcott, Old Diary Leaves First Series (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 117.
- ↑ Henry Steel Olcott, Old Diary Leaves First Series (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 130.
- ↑ Henry Steel Olcott, Old Diary Leaves First Series (Adyar, Madras: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1974), 135.
- ↑ Massachusetts, Death Records, 1841-1915.