Rachel (Harris) Oakes Preston (March 2, 1809 – February 1, 1868) was a

Seventh Day Baptist Seventh Day Baptists are Baptists who observe the Sabbath as the seventh day of the week, Saturday, as a holy day to God. They adopt a covenant Baptist theology, based on the concept of regenerated society, conscious baptism of believers by immers ...

who persuaded a group of

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 W ...

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 accept Saturday, instead of Sunday, as

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as ...

. This

Sabbatarian Sabbatarianism advocates the observation of the Sabbath in Christianity, in keeping with the Ten Commandments. The observance of Sunday as a day of worship and rest is a form of first-day Sabbatarianism, a view which was historically heralded ...

group organised as the

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...

in 1863.

Life

Born in

Vernon, Vermont Vernon is a town in Windham County, Vermont, in the United States. The population was 2,192 at the 2020 census. Vernon is the site of the now-defunct Vermont Yankee, the state of Vermont's only nuclear power plant, which closed in December 2014. ...

, Rachel, daughter of Sylvanus Harris, first joined the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

Church. After marrying Amory Oakes, Rachel moved to

Verona, New York Verona (called ''Te-o-na-ta-le'', "''pine forest''" by the Haudenosaunee) is a town in southwestern Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 6,293 at the 2010 census. The town was named after Verona, Italy. Verona is located ...

, where her husband soon died. In 1837 Rachel and her daughter, Rachel Delight Oakes, joined the Seventh Day Baptist Church of Verona. In 1843 the widowed Rachel and her daughter moved to

Washington, New Hampshire Washington is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,192 at the 2020 census. Situated in a hilly, rocky, forested area, and with 26 lakes and ponds, Washington is a picturesque resort area. It is home to Pill ...

, where her daughter would teach school. While attending the "Christian Brethren" church with her daughter, Rachel tried to present her views on

seventh-day Sabbath The seventh-day Sabbath, observed from Friday evening to Saturday evening, is an important part of the beliefs and practices of seventh-day churches. These churches emphasize biblical references such as the ancient Hebrew practice of beginning a ...

. However, the congregation, being Millerites, were focused in preparing for the

Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messia ...

of Christ, which they earnestly thought would occur in 1843 or 1844. Due to Rachel's influence, Frederick Wheeler (1811–1910), an ordained minister of 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. ...

, and promoter of the prophetic teachings of William Miller, preached his first sermon on seventh-day Sabbath to his "Christian Brethren" congregation on March 16, 1844. Further due to Rachel's influence, William Farnsworth (1807–1888), 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 ...

of October 22, 1844, stated publicly to the "Christian Brethren" congregation his conviction that Saturday, being the seventh day of the week, was Sabbath. His brother Cyrus (who became the husband of Rachel's daughter Delight), and several others, also made their convictions known. Later, when Rachel married Nathan T. Preston, she was referred to as Rachel Oakes Preston.

References

1809 births 1868 deaths People from Vernon, Vermont Adventism {{SeventhdayAdventist-stub

Life

See also

References