James Edson White (28 July 1849 – 3 June 1928), known as "Edson", was an author, publisher and the second son of two of the pioneers of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church –
James White and
Ellen G. White.
In 1870 he married Emma McDearmon, but did not have any children. After being detached from his parents and their church for a couple of decades he had a spiritual change of heart when he was 44 years old, at the time he lived in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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Mission to African Americans
He found a booklet written by his mother titled ''Our Duty to the Colored People''. This encouraged him to set up a mission to spread the Adventist message to African American people in the southern United States.
[''A Brief History of Seventh-Day Adventists'' by George R. Knight, Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1999] He set up mission schools for black people along the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...
. The first school set up was on a boat called the ''Morning Star''. This boat had a library, a chapel, a photography lab, a print shop, and accommodation for staff. Schools were created at
Vicksburg, Mississippi,
Yazoo City
Yazoo City is a U.S. city in Yazoo County, Mississippi. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle in 1682 as "Rivière des Yazous" in reference to the Yazoo tribe living near the river's ...
,
Lintonia, and
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
. The mission built up to 50 schools, building an organization called Southern Missionary Society. This became part of the Adventist
Southern Union Conference.
The publishing organization that Edson established was originally known as the "Gospel Herald Publishing Company". It was taken over by the church
[ and renamed to "Southern Publishing Association" in 1901, which subsequently merged with the Review and Herald Publishing Association in 1980.History: A Short History of the Review and Herald]
". Review and Herald website, accessed 2009-05-01
He started the "J. E. White Publishing Company."
Books written
*''Gospel Primer #01'' – used to raise money for the mission
*''The coming King'' (1898, 1909, 1933)
*''The New Testament primer'' (1906)
*''Best stories from the best book''
*''The man that rum made: With temperance lessons and stories''
*''Past, Present and Future'', (1909)
References
External link
*
1849 births
1928 deaths
American book publishers (people)
American Seventh-day Adventists
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