Joseph Marsh (1802–1863) was an American

Millerite Millerite is a nickel sulfide mineral, Ni S. It is brassy in colour and has an acicular habit, often forming radiating masses and furry aggregates. It can be distinguished from pentlandite by crystal habit, its duller colour, and general l ...

Protestant preacher, and editor of ''The Advent Harbinger, Bible Advocate'' and The Voice of Truth and Glad Tidings of the Kingdom at Hand".

Life

Joseph Marsh was born in St. Albans,

Franklin, Vermont Franklin is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,363 at the 2020 census. The original name was "Huntsburgh", but the name was changed to "Franklin" in 1817. Geography Franklin is located along the northern bor ...

, on December 6, 1802. When he was 16 the family moved to

Genesee County, New York Genesee County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,388. Its county seat is Batavia. Its name is from Seneca word Gen-nis'-hee-yo, meaning "the Beautiful Valley".THE AMERICAN REVIEW; A WHIG JO ...

, where his parents were disfellowshipped by the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

for rejecting the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

. From the ages of 19 to 21 he and his brother Josiah tried their hand at farming, first in

Monroe Township, Ashtabula County, Ohio Monroe Township is one of the twenty-seven townships of Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 2,138 people in the township. Geography Located on the northeastern edge of the county, it borders the following townships and c ...

, then in

Springfield Township, Erie County, Pennsylvania Springfield Township is a township in Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,084 at the 2020 census, down from 3,425 at the 2010 census. Geography Springfield Township is at the western end of Erie County, bordered to the ...

. In 1823, he joined his brother James in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

. Marsh took up the faith of the

Christian Connection The Christian Connection was a Christian movement in the United States of America that developed in several places during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, composed of members who withdrew from other Christian denominations. It was influe ...

he was baptized in the

Genesee River The Genesee River is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York in the United States. The river provided the original power for the Rochester area's 19th century mills and still provides h ...

"a little above the falls". He then began several years as an itinerant preacher, while working as a carpenter to supplement his income. On August 4, 1830, he married Sarah Mariah Adams (born

Sennett, New York Sennett is a town in Cayuga County, New York, United States. The population was 3,595 at the 2010 census. The town is named after a public official and early settler, Daniel Sennett. The town is on the eastern county line of Cayuga County and borde ...

, on November 27, 1808). They had three girls; Sarah Eliza (b. 1832), Mary Maria (b. 1834) and Permelia Jane (b. 16 June 1836) From 1839, Marsh was pastor of a

church in

Union Mills Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

and editor of ''The Christian Palladium'', till in 1843 he took up the teaching of William Miller that Christ would return in 1843. Following resignation from his pastorship and editorship, he supported

Charles Fitch Charles Fitch (1805–1844) was an American preacher in the early 19th century, who rose to prominence for his work with the Millerite movement. Early years During his early years, in the 1830s, he had associated with famous evangelist Charles ...

in the call for

Millerites The Millerites were the followers of the teachings of William Miller, who in 1831 first shared publicly his belief that the Second Advent of Jesus Christ would occur in roughly the year 1843–1844. Coming during the Second Great Awakening, his ...

to leave established churches. In January 1844 he started publishing ''The Voice of Truth'', and in September 1844 he supported the "seven month movement". After the

Great Disappointment The Great Disappointment in the Millerite movement was the reaction that followed Baptist preacher William Miller's proclamations that Jesus Christ would return to the Earth by 1844, which he called the Second Advent. His study of the Daniel 8 p ...

he criticised movements towards the establishment of an

Adventist Adventism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that believes in the imminent Second Coming (or the "Second Advent") of Jesus Christ. It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the Second Great Awakening when Baptist preacher Wil ...

denomination, and advocating "Age to come" doctrine, renamed his magazine ''The Advent Harbinger and Bible Advocate'' then in 1850 ''The Prophetical Expositor''. In 1849, Marsh published ''The Bible Doctrine or True Gospel Faith'', following Millerite views of the

millennium A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...

, but in 1851 in ''The Age to Come'' repudiated some of these and adopted the views of John Thomas in

Elpis Israel ''Elpis Israel - An Exposition of the Kingdom of God'' (commonly called ''Elpis Israel'' (English transliteration of Greek for "the hope of Israel", taken from Actsbr>28:20) is a theological book written by John Thomas, founder of the Christadelp ...

concerning a national regathering of Israel to Palestine. Thomas, who had been rebaptised following his break with Campbellites in 1847 urged Marsh to also be rebaptised, as had another associate of Thomas, Benjamin Wilson, in 1851. Thomas and Marsh now agreed in belief in a kingdom on earth and the restoration of Israel, but disagreed on whether this was essential for baptism. Thomas considered that it was, and if it was essential for baptism, therefore it was also essential for fellowship and communion. The tension over rebaptism continued from 1852 to 1860. Marsh and Nathaniel Field of

Jeffersonville, Indiana Jeffersonville is a city and the county seat of Clark County, Indiana, Clark County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River. Locally, the city is often referred to by the abbreviated name Jeff. It lies directly across the Ohio River ...

in ''the Prophetical Expositor'', and Thomas in the ''Herald of the Kingdom'' conducted an increasingly heated exchange of articles on whether the return of the Jews, and understanding of the promises to Abraham, was a prerequisite for a valid baptism, and therefore communion. In 1855 and 1856, Field hosted in Jeffersonsville two conferences at which Marsh was a major speaker. They failed however to form a denomination, and Field reduced his involvement. By 1860, two clearly defined groups existed in Rochester, and several other towns, with those who had been rebaptised since breaking with Millerism and Campbellism, like Thomas, in one group, and those, who did not see the need for a strict doctrinal continuity between belief at the time of baptism and communion, such as Marsh, in the other. Marsh sold the ''Prophetical Expositor'' to Thomas Newman in 1860, and left stocks of his books and hymnbook ''The Millennial Harp'' for Newman to sell on his behalf. Marsh's family was in Rochester for the 1860 census. His daughter Jane Marsh Parker records that "In 1860 Marsh moved to Milby, Canada. In the same year to

Oshawa Oshawa ( , also ; 2021 population 175,383; CMA 415,311) is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of Downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the G ...

, Canada. He returned to the "Christians" shortly before his death in 1863." Yet Church of God records indicate that in 1863, he had just been appointed state evangelist in Jeffersonville, Indiana, Nathaniel Field's church, when he died at his daughter's home in Tecumseh, Michigan on 13 September 1863, of typhoid fever.

Beliefs

* Marsh probably took opposition to the Trinity and the

immortality of the soul Christian mortalism is the Christianity, Christian belief that the human Soul (spirit), soul is not naturally Immortality of the soul, immortal and may include the belief that the soul is “sleeping” after death until the Resurrection of the ...

from his parents. * Marsh was initially opposed to having a creed or formal church organisation * Marsh rejected Seventh-Day doctrine when it came forward in 1850. * Although Marsh adopted Thomas' view on the Abrahamic promises and Israel, he did not share Thomas' view on the importance of certain doctrinal requirements for baptism and communion. * It appears that Marsh shared the views of John Thomas and Benjamin Wilson against the supernatural devil.

Family

His daughter Permelia Jane was educated in

, and in 1856 married George T. Parker, a lawyer of that city. She was a frequent contributor to ''The Churchman'' and other publications of the Episcopal Church, and was the author of ''Toiling and Hoping'', a novel (New York, 1856); ''The Boy Missionary'' (1859); ''Losing the Way'' (1860); ''Under His Banner'' (1862); ''The Morgan Boys'' (1859); ''Rochester, a Story Historical'' (Rochester, 1884); ''The Midnight Cry,'' a novel founded on the Millerite movement (New York, 1886); ''Life of S. F. B. Morse'' (1887); and ''Papers Relating to the Genesee Country'' (1888).

Legacy

Having rejoined the

Marsh's death had little direct impact on the loose association of churches that subscribed to what was now Newman's magazine. Further Benjamin Wilson had a leading role in the Church of God grouping through his own magazine The Gospel Banner 1855-1869, then ''Herald of the Coming Kingdom'' (Despite his agreement with John Thomas on rebaptism, Wilson had himself separated from Thomas in 1863 over the judgement). The

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

provided an impetus to define church boundaries, as in 1865 it was necessary to register for

conscientious objection A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to objecti ...

. Many Church of God churches, including those associated with Wilson, took the name Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith. However the Age to Come believers who had been rebaptised, joined with those congregations who had come out of the

Campbellite Campbellite is a mildly pejorative term referring to adherents of certain religious groups that have historic roots in the Restoration Movement, among whose most prominent 19th-century leaders were Thomas Campbell (clergyman), Thomas and Alexander C ...

movement with Thomas, and took the name

Christadelphians The Christadelphians () or Christadelphianism are a restorationist and millenarian Christian group who hold a view of biblical unitarianism. There are approximately 50,000 Christadelphians in around 120 countries. The movement developed in the U ...

. The printing press was destroyed in the

1871 Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...

. In 1921 the Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith split with the majority becoming the

Church of God General Conference The Church of God General Conference (CoGGC) is a nontrinitarian, Adventist Christian body which is also known as the Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith and the Church of God General Conference (McDonough, Georgia). The Church of the Blessed Ho ...

(CoGGC), and the minority, who followed more closely to Wilson's views on fellowship and an allegorical devil, separating to become the

Church of the Blessed Hope The Church of the Blessed Hope (or Church of God of the Abrahamic Faith) is a small first-day Adventist Christian body. The churches have common roots with the Christadelphians and the Church of God General Conference (Abrahamic Faith). Backgr ...

(CGAF). This smaller group now fellowships with the

and not with CoGGC.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marsh, Joseph 1802 births 1863 deaths American religious leaders Adventism Millerites Editors of Christian publications People from Franklin County, Vermont Deaths from typhoid fever