Other Early Bahá’ís in Worcester
The Struvens were registered at the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, along with Mr. Arthur Hathaway, in 1920 as the first Baha’is in Worcester. By 1922 the following Bahá’ís were listed in Worcester’s membership list: Arthur A. Hathaway, Mr. and Mrs. Howard C. Struven, Mr. and Mrs. Henry L. Green, Ellen M. Burt.” (1)
Very little we know of those friends other than the Struvens. Arthur Hathaway is listed as Salesman in the birth record of his daughter Dorothy Lois (b. 07 Sep 1911) in Boston. (2)
In “The Light of the World” (4) George O. Latimer relates the following:
Mr. Hathaway then asked for a name for his daughter Dorothy, saying that she was very full of light. The Master said: “I will give her a name from the Persian, ‘Mahpareh’. This is made from two words, ‘mah’ meaning moon and ‘pareh’ meaning portion. The translation is ‘a portion of the moon’.” Haifa, 19 November 1919.
Image source: http://communitybaha.blogspot.com/2010/11/group-of-western-pilgrims-in-h…
There is mention in the early literature of contacts between ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Mr. Hathaway. In Star of the West Vol. 12 (3) we can read a tablet from The Master ” .. supplication for Divine forgiveness for the deceased maid servant of God, Mrs. Arthur Hathaway”. Mrs. Hathaway’s name was Annie A. Chapman (2)
Other Bahá’ís that have belonged to the Worcester community in its early years (up to ~1940) include the following (5):
| Given names | Last name | Address (Worcester) | Birthplace | Birth date |
| Walter H | Blakely | 166 Heard St | Harriman, Tenn | 10/26/1899 |
| Gladys | Cotton | 15 1/2 King St | Newton, N.H. | 4/20/1906 |
| Mary M. | Fletcher | 311 Main St | Watervill, Vermont | 7/6/1866 |
| Jessie M. (Babbitt) | Higman | 15 Dix | Keene, NH | 3/8/1877 |
| Richard E. | Higman | 15 Dix | London, England | 7/27/1864 |
| Fanny Mary | Holmes | 103 Webster st | Worcester, MA | 12/9/1875 |
| Selma Palina | Klem | 26 Holden St. | Norway | 6/23/1882 |
| Bertha L. | Lackey | 14 Shepard St | Worcester, MA | 1/1/1867 |
| Howard G. | McCausland | Fayville, MA | Worcester, MA | 3/1884 |
| Clara B. | Meggett | 14 Pemberton St | Springfield, MA | 8/7/1865 |
| Florence Reed | Morton | 5 Wheeler Ave. | Worcester, MA | 10/12/1876 |
| Stanley R. | Morton | 5 Wheeler Ave. | Worcester, MA | 12/28/1912 |
| Marie Abbie | Nickerson | 14 Oread St. | Sandwich, MA | 2/5/1855 |
| Leslie C. | Russell | 3 Linda Vista St | Birmingham, England | 2/17/1894 |
| Maud R.G. | Russell | 3 Linda Vista St | Birmingham, England | 8/25/1895 |
| Howard C. | Struven | 166 Heard St | Baltimore, MD | 12/25/1882 |
| Ruby Moore (Hebe) | Struven | 166 Heard St | Hume, NY | 11/4/1882 |
| Howard Douglas | Struven | 166 Heard St | Baltimore, MD | 12/8/1913 |
| Orville Wilson | Tibbetts | 77 Pine View Ave | Danvers, MA | 5/10/1905 |
| Helen Marjorie | Wheeler | 16 Bellevue St | Worcester, MA | 8/2/1902 |
This is not a complete record, they are only listed here with the hope that we’ll be contacted by some living relative and we can share some information; if you’d like more info about a particular individual contact us.
Sources
- Roger Dahl, Membership Office, National Spiritual Assembly, personal communication. 1/4/2012
- “Massachusetts, Births, 1841-1915,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FXKX-4BQ : accessed 10 Jun 2014), Dorothy Lois Hathaway, 07 Sep 1911; citing Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, p 203, Massachusetts Archives, Boston; FHL microfilm 2409818.
- Star of the West. Vol. 12 Issue 19 (March 2, 1922) pg. 313
- George Orr latimer. 1920. The Light of the World. Boston, self published.
- Worcester LSA historical records.
This is a work in progress if you can provide further information about these people, or corrections to this material, please contact us.