Copyright © 2006 by The Otis G. Whipple Family HERITAGE of FAITH Pleasant Word (a division of WinePress Publishing, PO Box 428, Enumclaw, WA 98022) functions only as book publisher. A Chronicle of the As such, the ultimate design, content, editorial accuracy, and Otis and Julia Whipple Family views expressed or implied in this work are those of the au- thor. Compiled by Lorna Whipple Black All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be repro- February 2006 duced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without the written Excerpts for: permission of the publisher. Unless otherwise noted, all Scriptures are taken from the http://www.weihsien-paintngs.org King James Version of the Bible. … a free access and non commercial website. All proofreading and Scripture verification are the author’s responsibility. By courtesy of Lorna and Dwight Whipple. ISBN 1-4141-0735-8 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006925182 1 Foreword Regardless of the severity of circumstances, we knew we could count on our God. This book is about the Otis and Julia Whipple Down through the ages we have been inspired, family – people whose lives and experiences challenged and encouraged by the lives of men reflect unusual hardships and joys not common and women who knew and trusted God. Some for most. It is a story of men and women who com- were leaders and public exemplars of their faith. mitted their lives to God’s service as missionaries Others quietly trusted the Lord, serving where God in China and as Christian leaders on the home had called them. But all learned, through life’s front. Family letters and journals, miraculously challenges and testing to place their full confi- preserved through the World War II years, give dence in Almighty God. This book tells the story of detailed accounts of missionary life in China and a family that practiced that the faithful support and prayers of those at home. faith. Here we have a record of births and deaths, of Barbara Walton Spradley marriages and mission assignments, of living in the midst of political upheaval, bombings, war, St. Paul. Minnesota internment camp, and miraculous deliverance. October, 2005 Yet, the purpose of this volume is not to present a family’s story so much as to illustrate God’s faithfulness and loving provision for those who place their trust in Him. Whether you read this book from cover to cover or only sample small sec- tions, you will find, time and again, recurring ex- amples of God’s provision in response to faith. As a descendent of this family, I have been privi- leged to witness first hand how God provides. In the front of my Bible given to me by my parents, Nathan and Lois Whipple Walton, for Christmas of 1950, my father inscribed two sets of Chinese characters. Each set refers to a name or character- istic of God. The first set stands for “Ebenezer” which, when translated from the Hebrew, means “hitherto hath the Lord helped us”. The other set stands for “Jehovah-Jireh” which means “the Lord will provide”. Of all the references about God we find in the Scriptures, I believe my dad chose these two for a special reason. As we looked to the past we could praise Ebenezer for his provision time and again; we never lacked. For the future we claimed Jehovah-Jireh, God’s promise to provide. And so for the present, my father’s motto, indelibly impressed in my mind, was “not difficulty but op- portunity”. 2 Prelude This chronicle presents information preserved in the journals and letters which are compiled here. Consequently it is limited in scope and does not Much of America’s greatness and strength of include much of the life stories of other family character is due to its early immigrants. members involved in the work of The Firs or the CIM/OMF. The story of The Firs has been told in In the decade 1630-1640 approximately 20,000 detail in the publications: The Firs of the Lord by English, the Whipples among them, emigrated to Doris Coffin Aldrich (1945), updated by Doris Coffin America and many settled in the north-eastern Aldrich and Ruth Walter Whipple (1961) and Work section of the country known as New England. of Faith Labor of Love-A Spiritual History of The “Four male Whipples arrived in the new world in Firs by Katherine Brown (1980). OMF (China Inland the 1630’s. Two were named John, one Matthew, Mission) publications are numerous, by many au- and one Paul. The two Johns and Matthew settled thors: Hudson Taylor, Mrs. Howard Taylor, in the Massachusetts Bay colony; Paul on Provi- A.J. Broomhall, Carolyn Canfield, J. Oswald dence Island in the West Indies. The two named Sanders, Isobel M. Kuhn, Arthur Mathews and John have created confusion for descendants others. searching for their ancestors. The search is com- plicated as some sources place brothers Matthew The actual transference of faded typewritten and John on the Lyon when it arrived in Boston in letter copies, handwritten letters and journals into September 1632. In fact, Matthew and John, both electronic media became an overwhelming re- mature men with families, arrived in 1638 and minder of our family’s heritage of faith in God, His settled in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts. personal leading in lives committed to Him and His The other John, a teenager, was a passenger on faithful care and provision in every situation. It the Mary & John in 1631 and settled in Dorches- was also a continuing exercise in patience and per- ter, Suffolk County, Massachusetts as an appren- severance for me; I could not have done it without tice to Israel Stoughton. The Ipswich John was encouragement from other family members, espe- known as ‘Elder’ and the Dorchester John (from cially my cousin Barbara Walton Spradley, her whom the Otis and Julia Whipple family is de- husband Neil Kittlesen, my brother Dwight scended) was known as ‘Captain’.” * Whipple and the loving cooperation and count- Research into our Whipple family’s earliest rec- less hours of collaboration with my husband, ords developed and grew, in part, after the Whip- C. A. (Skip) Black, Jr. ple Family Reunion at The Firs in November 1993. From boyhood through his missionary career and My father, Elden Cole Whipple, had written jour- until the week he died, my father was an accom- nals of recollections of his personal and family ex- plished musician, playing the piano and organ on periences during his lifetime. countless occasions and in a variety of settings. For this edition, those journals, along with addi- He put himself through college and was a blessing tional family letters, diaries and early stories of the to many people through his playing of the piano. antecedents of the Otis and Julia Whipple family Those who knew him well, knew Dad to be the qui- have been compiled in chronological order. et one – usually serving behind the scenes. He had Elden’s Journal is written in straight text; the a lasting impact on many lives through his quiet letters and diaries in italics. consistency in living out, by faith, a total commit- Genealogies are included at the back of the book. ment to serving his Lord. 3 In putting this book together, our purpose is to TABLE of CONTENTS continue the promise of Jeremiah 32:39 “I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Foreword and Prelude Me forever, for the good of them and of their chil- 1631 — 1851 The Immigrants . 13 dren after them.” All through the years, our great 1851 — 1903 Orin and Janie . 21 -grandparents, grandparents and parents have loved and prayed for us, their children, to find and 1903 — 1924 Otis and Julia . 45 to follow God’s Way, not their own. 1924 — 1927 Family to China. 79 It is our prayer and hope that in recording this 1927 — 1934 Elden and Evelyn . 195 family’s history and spiritual journey our children 1934 — 1936 Julia . 253 and grandchildren – and all those to follow – will find that same blessing, as only in finding and em- 1936 — 1940 Otis . 387 bracing God’s Will and God’s Way is there fulfill- 1940 — 1943 The War Years . 447 ment and peace. 1944 — 1971 On the Home Front . 543 Lorna Whipple Black 1971 — 2004 Retirement and Beyond . 563 October 2005 Postlude . 587 Genealogies . 627 Photo Supplement . 637 Elden Cole Whipple May 4, 1905 – February 6, 2004 * The Antecedents and Descendants of Noah Whipple by Clara Hammond McGuigan (Copyright in Japan, 1971; Lib.of Congress N. 77-151483)and History and Genealogy of Elder John Whipple of Ipswich, Massachusetts, by Blaine Whipple (Copyright 2004-ISBN 1- 55395-676-1) 4 … timeline … December 1941 © http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/pacificwar/timeline.htm December 7, 1941 - Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; also attack the Philippines, Wake Island, Guam, Malaya, Thailand, Shanghai and Midway. December 8, 1941 - U.S. and Britain declare war on Japan. Japanese land near Singapore and enter Thai- land. December 9, 1941 - China declares war on Japan. December 10, 1941 - Japanese invade the Philippines and also seize Guam. December 11, 1941 - Japanese invade Burma. December 15, 1941 - First Japanese merchant ship sunk by a U.S. submarine. December 16, 1941 - Japanese invade British Borneo. December 18, 1941 - Japanese invade Hong Kong. December 22, 1941 - Japanese invade Luzon in the Philippines. December 23, 1941 - General Douglas MacArthur begins a withdrawal from Manila to Bataan; Japanese take Wake Island.