The Battle Creek Funeral

It was Ellen White's request that she be buried by the side of her husband in Battle Creek's Oak Hill Cemetery, where also were buried her oldest son, Henry, and the little baby; and James White's father and mother. So the next Sabbath day, July 24, they planned to have a service at the Battle Creek Tabernacle, and from there the burial would take place (DF 757, E. W. Farnsworth funeral sermon, July 18, 1915).WV 547.6

As W. C. White and Sara McEnterfer neared Battle Creek on Thursday, July 22, two men boarded the train at Kalamazoo to travel the last 30 miles (50 kilometers) with them. One was James Edson White, Ellen White's older son; the other, George Israel, an officer of the Battle Creek church who was in charge of the funeral arrangements. The church had sent him to meet the travelers and to inform them of plans for the funeral.WV 548.1

Sabbath morning, sometime before 8:00, the people began to gather in front of the Battle Creek Tabernacle. The Battle Creek Enquirer of July 25 described what took place when the doors opened:WV 548.2

During the two hours between eight and ten, there was a steady stream of humanity viewing the body. Men with gray heads and stooped shoulders, many who knew Mrs. White during the early days of the Advent movement, were at the Tabernacle to pay their last respects. They stood before the casket and tears flowed down their cheeks as they thought of her wonderful work for the denomination (DF 758).WV 548.3

The casket was one of simple black, covered with a wreath of white carnations and forget-me-nots. But back of the casket were a wealth of elaborate flower pieces and wreaths (Ibid.).WV 548.4

Among those who passed the casket that Sabbath morning was Dudley M. Canright, accompanied by his Adventist brother, Jasper. Dudley had served for years as a Seventh-day Adventist minister but had apostatized and was busily engaged in writing a book against Ellen White. He knew her well; they had worked together in earlier years. He had stayed for days in the White home, but when he was reproved for a course of action that was not right, he turned against her and through the last 28 years of her life had bitterly opposed her work. After passing the casket once, D. M. suggested to Jasper that they go down again, so they slipped into the line. As the two stood by the casket the second time, they paused. Dudley put his hand on the casket and with tears rolling down his cheeks declared, “There is a noble Christian woman gone” (W. A. Spicer, The Spirit of Prophecy in the Advent Movement, p. 127).WV 548.5

The Battle Creek Tabernacle proved much too small for the mourners that assembled. Some 3,500 crowded into the building. In the audience were many patients from the sanitarium, some in wheelchairs, and many of the older citizens of Battle Creek who knew Ellen White personally (DF 758, Evening News, July 24, 1915). A thousand or more who could not get into the tabernacle remained quietly on the lawn outside. Many of these accompanied Ellen White to the cemetery.WV 548.6