The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-07-03
IANIAGEDIP.R|''|.O|:|P|'.|H|:|.E|.'|||
HAsPAss.ED1A|gv|A \. /. ]. Y
Founder Of the Order y l't'| Of.
'Thurmanil1tless Dies D les
in City Home. H:ll[] ] ! I N.
sT'IyIC C FIXED I'd ATES
END O'FWORL,D,l Y x .)|]|' I'D,
First Pre- ion Caused Great 5Ex-' .EE.:'':
itement in Chica 90, = but 4 ]: He He,
Explained q That Z # He = Had Had 4
N; Miscalculat e a. dA q: A ls Ma
tive Of vir-asl Ii
ginia.

r REV. William 9. Il T thurman died $at; the
& city Home at u o'clock terday fter-5f
& ,oon.s and 8l,ls bod ySwiil be- laid to rest
tue oakwood Gene Tho funoral '1ll5
II take place from 7, II ONE Chapel e t84
Y o,clock this s..
william, q. Thurman was as man vi tils IL
n qsui to a remarkable his at.racteds 60
y u great deal 81 Al nntion a one time
his life az later da y prop an. Dis
i tl,eoryos caleula lion tpo IN part delt
tas furnished terE: 1.,s;
found ma ao lvfi beyss
IieYed III him t is prsol,n1sSy
N ttiat the millennium was TO co ma 20 liands
n 1915 was believed by I thousands OF peo-s
NE. he ailure4 4of his predl ton caused
81 nea rIys a II tof his FOL lowers to desert hi
and While the allure was 10 him g s ols Il
II appointment t ana q great iiumilia tion ,5 it
never caused him to e bandon3 iils ne o,y.
He was not long in aching the & oic l; -
n sion that the only trouble was tha titl'o
u had misInterpreted some OF the I'm sp..redi
ii writ itert MS 70 dates nisread soma OF the
signs, failed to make Just the RI ight 5ast ro-B
anornicals calculations. and thus missed
&tha da Ia OF the end OF the world by nearll
III fifty years. ~ !. .isf
Another Prophet.
Mr.. Thurman later fixed the date 1er ZOE
81 1917. but his previous IA lure coun TED 20
against him. and sabou z that time ano oti'er
n and moro plausible prophe ertatnlys one
Il / who had not yet made q failure-ca m me
along and fixed the d ate OF the mile itlsn$
" for the year 1914, This prophet, VII ose$
5S name Is 6 Russell. found more fol-
lowers and believers, and n Thurman had
no take a back seat. However, tlore s.hrss
numbers many OF them living In = lrh-E
;mond and other parts OF Yirginia--who
4 still believe In the Thurman theory ~ nat e
\ the second coming OF Christ and the END
of the world In Its present condition o. . mas mas
been definitely fixed for the year lsl7
( Founder9of T Thurmanites.
;58 ,yyilliam g, Thurman was born In "a lbe-s
y marie county, Va, In November ,ti1 2 ~ y.
4 His parents were fairly well do people,
and he and his brothers recelyed such
education as the 8commo n schools OF ! nat
II iday, and time afforded. Mr.. Thurman.
d at 9s,the age OF eighteen, commenced 10
preach the gospel i being a. Bnp tlst, "A Yer
n he became a Dunkard. and practicallyt
remained In that faith all Of his ( ire
n although when he went on on his I1llll-
Slennium theories that church took put
little moro stock in him. 345 u II z! y ilsj
81 Mr.. Thurman became a NJ erlte, ,''t8 OF
r. elieyer9 In and follower OF that n,lle n
Il mum prophet named Hugh Miller, \ heie
were thousands OF q 4 illerites Z! ln VIZ
ginia who implicitly believed Miuer's pre- =
4 phecy that heSworld would end IN ls4a.
. Young Thurman, whose stYdiouF ha bits
Y had made him something OF a8 scholar
~ q we'll as al, ora tor. was one OF NJ HERS
ablest lieutenants, When the world & did
not end on the Miller date, and the pro q
nllet retired In Disgrace, Thurman COM
menced Il to study out the problem for
" himself. He believed Aliller's theory was
n ali right ard that he had merely mscal-
n culated. Z He arifted to tho West, and ~
Illinois he In time became q great proph net,
Considerable Of an Author.
H wrote many pa amphleta and several
very interesting books, the cost OF pub
lication OF which was borne by MS fol-
" lowers, who had become known al
4 'Thurmanlt tes,' and these documents
q were circulated free, he ant thor y never .a
# making "a dollar by his literary elrortsis
i Titled "sealed Book of Daniel Opened. 81
4 IN this hook, as well as X In pamphlets
issued about the same time, he claimed
10 have found where Miller had made.
his miscalculation, and this new "a atter,
day prophet fixed the date for the END
Il Of sinful things spec ideally fora certai n
sss's Al that time he must have had % ooo
followers and believers, possibly half oI
whom were in Chic ago, where y urIaan
4 then lived. on the date flxed thouslandia i
ses Sc people sat upon the roofs Of their
houses To watch for the second coming
Il OF the Lord. .Sg'i n ri s 7 ~ ssS - n IA .i
Disappointed Mar.
\ When the prophecy failed z 9Ihurlnan, ~,
a like Miller. was IN dssr VI atlu VIZ Wy
(cpntlauea on Second Pasel Il