The Visit to Vermont and Maine

Number 10 of Present Truth, published in May, 1850, carried on its last page a James White note that stated: “We now expect to leave this State in a few days, [They left May 15 (Advent Review, August, 1850.).] to spend some weeks visiting the dear brethren in the east; therefore the brethren may not expect to receive the Present Truth for a short time at least.”—Ibid. Ellen White put it this way: “We decided to visit Vermont and Maine. I left my little Edson, then nine months old, in the care of Sister [Clarissa] Bonfoey.” Henry was at Topsham with the Howlands. They ventured forth, labored hard, and suffered “many privations.” Of this she wrote:1BIO 176.5

We found the brethren and sisters in a scattered and confused state. Almost everyone was affected by some error, and all seemed zealous for their own opinions. We often suffered intense anguish of mind in meeting with so few who were ready to listen to Bible truth, while they eagerly cherished error and fanaticism.—Life Sketches of James White and Ellen G. White (1880), 268.1BIO 177.1