Searching For Vindication2023-06-25T00:37:54+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.comSearching For Vindicationsearching4vindication@gmail.comJack Vissing's Testimony2014-05-13T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2014/05/13/Jack-Vissing-Testimony<p>A few months ago an email was forwarded to us at Searching For Vindication that originated from John (Jack) Vissing. In his email, Mr. Vissing recalls a number of personal memories about Brother Branham and speaks about the bridge prophecy. Here’s a copy of this email which has now been shared on various websites and forums:</p>
<h4 id="jack-vissings-email-testimony">Jack Vissing’s Email Testimony</h4>
<blockquote>
<p>My Recollections of Brother Billy Branham</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I recall Brother Billy Branham as being my dad’s good friend. I met him in the 1950s, when my family was operating the Jefferson Villa Motel. My dad built the motel from 12 units to 43 before he sold it in 1960. We lived in our home which adjoined the office of the motel. It was a mom and pop operation, and we took care of it ourselves. Our office adjoined Mother’s kitchen, and it was a friendly place. We had a television there, and a couch and it actually served ahs a family room for us. I recall Brother Billy frequently sitting in that room with my Dad as the two of them having a cup of coffee together and telling stories of times past. Brother Billy, like my father, was a downtown Jeffersonville native and had lived all of his life with not much in the form of assets. My dad loved him because he said Brother Billy had a job walking along railroad tracks checking lines and he shot rabbits and gave them to hungry people in the community. Brother Billy would share stories with Dad, and Dad would share back, and the two of them were best of friends.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>My father always talked about Brother Billy having “insights, and the gift of vision.” While I do not specifically remember Brother Billy himself prophesying the fall of the scaffolding during the construction of the George Rogers Clark Bridge, it was something that would have occurred when the two were young guys. My father was 14 when the bridge opened in 1929, and had sat in the car with his cousin for 12 hours waiting for the ribbon to be cut so they could be the first to drive across the bridge that linked Jeffersonville to Louisville, Kentucky. My father was given a bronze medallion that day at the ceremony to commemorate the bridge opening. I still have that medallion.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>The story of the bridge collapse was not given to me by my Dad or by Brother Billy, but by my grandmother, Maud, and by a lady named Dorothy Phillips. She was about my dad’s age and went to church with us at St. Luke’s United Church of Christ. She was telling me about being a little girl watching the construction from the river bank. Remember, that although the depression had not “officially” begun, things were not very good economically in Jeffersonville at that time. Many people had no diversions, and spent time watching the construction of this bridge, as I am sure Brother Billy and my dad did as well. Dorothy recalled seeing scaffolding up around the piling in the first water pile, and she recalled it collapsing while there was a major cement pour and she saw men falling into the cement who were never removed. It was a tragedy at the time, and many people were appalled.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>My father always told me there were people inside that first bridge piling. I do not ever recall him telling me there were 16. Now, while I do not remember the story of Billy prophesying that was going to occur, he did prophesy other things that my father advised me about. I also recall that he brought people to the Jefferson Villa Motel who came for healing. They would rent a room, and visit with Brother Branham. They would arrive on crutches, and go away walking. Not a common occurrence, but it was not an irregular occurrence. It happened multiple times. I am certain that my father believed Brother Billy’s ability of prophesy, as well as to heal.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>We had worked as a blue collar family in the garage business. In 1954, my dad moved to create a motel because there were family members too plentiful to make a good living in the Vissing’s garage, so he went out on his own. In 1960, he sold the motel and in 1963 he ran for and was elected mayor of Jeffersonville. He served as mayor for 20 consecutive years which is the long standing record for longest time in continuous service to our community. During this time, Brother Billy and Dad were still friends. We had moved to a new home and we saw him less frequently than we had previously. He was still a guest at my Mother’s table. One day, he arrived with a package wrapped in butcher paper. He said, “Here, Edna, this is for you.” He had probably 10 pounds of bear steaks. Mother had never cooked bear, but was thrilled at the opportunity. I recall having a family gathering where people all shared bear meat, courtesy of Brother Billy.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>The day Brother Billy was killed in the car wreck, I was at home and the phone rang and I believe it was Billy Paul asking for Dad to tell him the terrible news. I recall giving the phone to my dad, and watched his face as he gathered the details. I remember him going outside with tears running down his cheeks. During the funeral, my father had a prominent place inside the church. He had a line of sight out one of the side windows to the assistant chief of police, Edgar Branham, to make certain that if anything occurred he was there to handle any disruption. There was some belief by many that Brother Billy might rise. My dad was not convinced either way, but would not have put it past him.</p>
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<blockquote>
<p>I recall the prophesy of the bridge collapse being mentioned by my father, but I do not have a specific context. This would have been after Brother Billy’s death. My belief is that Brother Billy was the real deal. He was not a fake. He healed people and he had insights that were divine.</p>
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<blockquote>
<p>In 1958, I suddenly came down with a strep infection that turned into rheumatic fever. I was hospitalized for an entire summer, and I have a permanent state of bad joints in my body and have a heart murmur that I still carry with me. There was, in 1958, substantial concern for my very survival. I do recall Brother Billy giving me prayers and telling me I was going to be ok. I believe in Brother Billy.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>John R. Vissing
December 27, 2013</p>
</blockquote>
<h4 id="the-vissing-video">The Vissing Video</h4>
<p>On May 13, 2014 Voice of God Recordings published a video interview with Mr. Vissing on their website where Mr. Vissing shares most of the same information in the email above, along with some additional personal recollections about Brother Branham. Here’s a <a href="http://branham.org/20140513_TheSecondStreetBridge">link</a> to the original article on the website.</p>
<h4 id="problems-with-mr-vissings-account">Problems with Mr. Vissing’s Account</h4>
<p>There’s a couple of problems with Mr. Vissings’ email and the related stories that have been floating around. First of all, Mr. Vissing does not claim in his email to be a first hand witness to these events, but rather, is communicating something that had been told to him second or third hand.</p>
<p>Mr. Vissing asserts that during the period that the bridge was under construction any accidents involving construction of the bridge would not have been widely reported. We’ve already <a href="/2013/02/22/Bridge-Deaths-Would-Not-Be-Reported/">previously debunked this statement</a> by demonstrating that previous bridge construction accidents in Jeffersonville made front page news in papers across the country all the way back in 1893. Further, <a href="/2013/02/25/Documented-Bridge-Deaths/">two accidents</a> were reported during the construction of the Municipal Bridge. Both were on the front page of the local paper. Accepting Mr. Vissing’s account would also require you to ignore the archives at the <a href="/2013/02/21/Were-Archives-Destroyed-In-The-1937-Flood/">Indiana State Library</a>, the <a href="/2013/02/23/The-Modjeski-And-Masters-Report/">official engineer’s report on the construction of the bridge</a>, and the very detailed logs from the <a href="/2013/03/09/Coast-Guard-Life-Saving-Station/">Coast Guard Life Saving Station</a> just a few hundred yards away from the construction site.</p>
<p>While he may be a very sincere person, his account of the bridge deaths does not agree with recorded history. Should a reader take Mr. Vissing’s secondhand account of events passed down multiple generations over the multitude of information available from well documented first hand sources?</p>
<h4 id="are-men-buried-in-the-piers">Are Men Buried In The Piers?</h4>
<p>Mr. Vissing indicates in his personal testimony that his grandmother, Maud, and a woman named Dorothy Phillips told him that men were buried alive in the concrete in one of the bridge piers. As we discussed in our previous articles on the <a href="/2013/02/19/Background-On-Municipal-Bridge-And-Its-Construction/">construction of the bridge</a>, a new construction technique was used to erect the bridge and it’s construction was heavily documented in the newspapers and in engineering reports. The <a href="/2013/02/24/The-Modjeski-And-Masters-Report-Part-2/">engineering report</a> includes concrete strength standards and detailed test results are included in Appendix E of the report. These test results indicate that the strength of the concrete exceeded the requirements of the design. Having 16 men buried in the concrete would significantly reduce the strength of the piers. A quick google search will yield a lot of examples of urban legends about construction workers being buried in bridges and dams. These have been thoroughly debunked because the presence of decomposing bodies would significantly weaken the concrete and affect the integrity of the structures in question.</p>
<h4 id="is-the-vissing-testimony-a-confused-story">Is the Vissing Testimony a Confused Story?</h4>
<p>In 1888, during the construction of the Big Four Railroad Bridge in Louisville, a caisson flooded during construction and twelve men drowned while working on a pier. This event is thoroughly documented on page 89 of the <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=pXbYITw4ZesC&lpg=PA89&vq=big%20four%20railroad%20bridge&pg=PA89#v=snippet&q=big%20four%20railroad%20bridge&f=false">Encyclopedia of Louisville</a>. Could it be that Mr. Vissing’s grandmother was simply passing on a story about the Big Four Bridge but attributed it to the Second Street Bridge? The locations of these accidents are less than a mile apart. The Big Four Bridge was built long before Brother Branham was born, so it’s impossible for him to have prophesied this in advance.</p>
<h4 id="the-testimony-doesnt-agree-with-brother-branhams-accounts">The Testimony Doesn’t Agree With Brother Branham’s Accounts</h4>
<p>Over the years Voice of God Recordings has underscored the importance of only “saying what the tapes say”. Mr. Vissing’s personal testimony does not agree with <a href="/2013/02/16/What-Did-Brother-Branham-Say-About-The-Bridge/">Brother Branham’s many accounts</a> of the municipal bridge vision. In Brother Branham’s accounts of this story, he counted 16 men falling to their deaths from the bridge. He indicated they all drowned. Twenty-two years later the municipal bridge was erected and 16 men fell to their deaths and drowned during the construction process just exactly as the Lord had shown Brother Branham in this vision. Mr. Vissing’s testimony does not support this story, but rather, supports an alternate scenario where an undetermined number of men were buried alive in a concrete pier. This account does not agree with Brother Branham’s account of the vision.</p>
<h4 id="summary">Summary</h4>
<p>Mr. Vissing’s personal accounts of his family’s relationship with Brother Branham appear to be very special to him. While Mr. Vissing may be very sincere, his secondhand testimony regarding the Municipal Bridge vision does not agree with recorded history. Mr. Vissing is likely not aware of the multitude of research that has been conducted on this topic. As a result, we chose not to publish any response to the circulation of his original email.</p>
<p>However, what’s very troubling to us is Voice of God Recordings’ propagation of this video.</p>
<p>In <a href="http://branham.org/content/ctv/CTV2012_02_UPDATE/CTV2012_02_UPDATE.pdf#zoom=100">Catch The Vision, Volume 2</a>, Voice of God Recordings first addressed the controversy surrounding the municipal bridge vision. In an article on page two of this publication, they argue that the only evidence they need to support the bridge vision is Brother Branham’s own words:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Contrary to the skeptics’ way of thinking, a lack of evidence is not evidence. Instead of saying they have no evidence, they should say they have no faith. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the evidence of things not seen.” So for the people who are looking for concrete evidence, there you have it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Later in the article they state:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The FACT is that Brother Branham saw a vision of 16 men falling to their deaths from the Municipal Bridge, and THEY DID. How do we know? For the same reason we know that there was a king David: Because the prophet said so; that is where our faith rests.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If this is their position, then why was there any need to publish Mr. Vissing’s testimony? It appears that their position on this topic has changed. Previously, having any evidence didn’t matter. Now, they propagate this testimony as supporting evidence, but it’s not a first hand account, and it doesn’t agree with recorded history. What’s truly perplexing is by publishing this video, Voice of God Recordings is publicly supporting a version of the bridge vision that does not agree with Brother Branham’s own words recorded on tape.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>Listen. May I say this right quick now? Even the visions that God gives here at the place, it’s so misunderstood. That’s the reason you hear me on the tapes say, “Say what the tapes say. Say what the visions say.”</strong> (63-0317M)</p>
</blockquote>
According To His Own Purpose And Grace2014-01-14T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2014/01/14/According-To-His-Own-Purpose-And-Grace<h4 id="the-origins-of-searching-for-vindication">The Origins of Searching For Vindication</h4>
<p>It’s been almost a year since we published our <a href="/about/2013/02/12/Starting-To-Search/">first article</a> on this website and it has been quite a journey so far. When we first read Jeremy and Rod Bergen’s <a href="http://en.believethesign.com/index.php/Humble_Pie">Humble Pie article</a> on their <a href="http://www.believethesign.com">Believe the Sign website</a>, we were shocked. How could these folks walk away from the message so easily? At the time, they seemed to be very hung up on Brother Branham’s <a href="/bridge.html">municipal bridge vision</a> and its importance as an early vindication of him as a prophet. This seemed so simple to us and we didn’t understand why they had not yet been properly refuted. We’d been exposed to the depth and breadth of US newspaper archives and some other historical resources early in life. We felt we could easily answer their challenge by locating the appropriate historic documentation to validate that what Brother Branham said about the bridge was true. After all, he said,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I got to be sure of what I’m talking about, because I’ve got souls that believe in me. And I got souls that believe that I’m telling them the Truth, that God sent me, and God is obligated to stand behind His Word and back that up. And He will do it. Yes, sir. If He sends you, He will vindicate that He sent you. Just exactly. Amen. I believe that. Don’t you?” <em>(62-0118)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<h4 id="researching-the-bridge-vision">Researching The Bridge Vision</h4>
<p>We wanted to research this particular vision, provide the needed evidence, and restore those who were led away from the message. It was our desire from the outset to speak fairly and impartially; to present the evidence as factually as we could. We wanted to perform this activity to the best of our ability, and to provide a voice of integrity by communicating in a spirit of love, respect, and restoration. This is a standard that we continue to strive for in all of our communication.</p>
<p>As we started our research, we found that there was no lack of <a href="/2013/02/21/Were-Archives-Destroyed-In-The-1937-Flood/">historical evidence</a> related to the bridge’s construction. Through our research we concluded the bridge vision <a href="/2013/04/06/Summary-Of-Municipal-Bridge/">was not fulfilled</a> as Brother Branham <a href="/2013/02/16/What-Did-Brother-Branham-Say-About-The-Bridge/">said it was</a>. This was not due to lack of evidence, but rather, clear evidence that contradicted Brother Branham’s story.</p>
<p>Several resources and documents we found while researching the bridge led us to research more of Brother Branham’s life story. The lack of credibility in Brother Branham’s life story opened the door for us to examine the doctrines, teaching, and practices of the message of the hour and compare them with the scriptures.</p>
<h4 id="where-we-stand-today">Where We Stand Today</h4>
<p>Today, we are no longer in the message. We are not atheists or apostates, but have continued on to a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ based on the pure, simple gospel presented in the Bible. We truly have no creed but Christ and no book but the Bible. We didn’t choose to leave the message because we couldn’t live it, or because we wanted to run off and live a life of sin. We left the message and have taken a principled stand against it <strong>because it does not line up with the Bible.</strong></p>
<h4 id="on-being-anonymous">On Being Anonymous</h4>
<p>When we started our research and began publishing this website we desired to stay anonymous for a number of reasons. First, we didn’t want to take any credit personally or appear to be trying to draw attention to ourselves. In “message circles” we’re really nobodies: we weren’t deacons or ministers in some big church nor do we have a “big message name” that would draw attention. Finally, part of the reason we chose to stay anonymous was fear. Fear that we would bring hardship or embarrassment to our extended families, fear that our friends would stop associating with us, and fear that some crazy person would show up at our door.</p>
<p>However, recent events have caused us to re-evaluate remaining anonymous. With just a couple exceptions, most of our message friends who we were concerned about alienating have stopped associating with us. Rumors have started within message circles that this website is a front for Jeremy and Rod Bergen or John Collins. Ministers have stated over pulpits that our research is faked, documents forged, or that we somehow obtained these documents illegally. Others have accused us of hiding behind a veil of anonymity in order to cause division. Even though we don’t desire attention, we feel that we need to expose who we are in order to put these rumors to rest. There are a small handful of people who know our identities, and we’d like to free them from the burden of carrying our secret. Finally, we’re confident that we’re walking in what the Lord has called us to and fear has been replaced with a boldness for the gospel. Now, more than ever, we don’t want to bring any hardship or embarrassment to our family members who are still in the message, and for that, we are truly sorry.</p>
<h4 id="impacts">Impacts</h4>
<p>In the last year many thousands of people have visited and read Searching For Vindication from 119 countries. Hundreds of people (that we know of) have left the message in the past year and have moved on to a pure unadulterated faith in Jesus Christ based on the simplicity of the gospel.</p>
<p>This website is just one resource that’s helped those who are examining the message. There are many more: Peter Duyzer’s <a href="http://wmbranham.net/"><em>Legend of the Fall</em></a>, John Kennah’s <a href="http://people.delphiforums.com/JohnK63/home.htm">Examining the Message of William Branham</a>, John Collins’ <a href="http://seekyethetruth.com/">Seek The Truth</a>, Jeremy and Rod Bergen’s <a href="http://www.believethesign.com">Believe The Sign</a>, Nathan Rivera’s <a href="http://branhamrefutation.blogspot.com/">A Logical Refutation of Branham’s Message</a>, James Rozak’s <a href="http://morningmercy.com">Morning Mercy</a>, and countless others who worked to personally reach out to family and friends.</p>
<h4 id="you-are-not-alone">You Are Not Alone</h4>
<p>If you are currently examining the message, or have recently left, know that <strong>you are not alone.</strong></p>
<p>It’s hard.</p>
<p>It’s scary.</p>
<p>It can turn your world upside down for a while.</p>
<p>But the gospel of Jesus Christ is real and alive today.</p>
<p>The odds are high that others in your church are also questioning and seeking answers. Don’t be afraid to search out the truth for yourself. Remember, the scriptures admonish you to do so. Do not accept condescending or weak rebuttals that don’t address concerns, but rather, <em>Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.</em></p>
<p>If there’s anything that we can do to assist you in your walk, or you would just like some help getting connected with others who have left the message, please feel free to email us at <a href="searching4vindication@gmail.com">searching4vindication@gmail.com</a></p>
<p>May God Richly bless you.</p>
<div class="alert alert-info">
Read our posts on the <a href="/bridge.html">Municipal Bridge Vision.</a>
<br />
Find out more about Brother Branham's life history on our <a href="/timeline.html">timeline.</a>
</div>
Charles Branham's Death2013-10-22T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/10/22/Charles-Branhams-Death<h4 id="accounts-of-charles-branhams-death">Accounts of Charles Branham’s Death</h4>
<p>Brother Branham discussed his father’s death many times.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>First thing, I lost my daddy. I run over to the house to see him, picked him up in my arms like that, he looked up at me like that, he smiled. A doctor had give him a dose of medicine that killed him. One overdose of strychnine for his heart, and it killed him. ‘Course, there’s nothing said about that. The undertaker covers up the doctor’s mistakes many times. Nothing I got against doctors, but I say there’s nothing said about that. <em>(50-0200)</em></p>
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<blockquote>
<p>Now, I’ll hurry right through with just the high points of my life’s story. Mother can’t stay very long, because in this I have to bring in dad. And you know how it is. All right. <em>(50-0820)</em></p>
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<blockquote>
<p>And my dad worked hard all of his life. He died young: fifty-two <em>(50-0820)</em></p>
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<blockquote>
<p>“Oh, my, my daddy; he’ll never die. Look at those big muscles.” He was a logger and great big strong arm. I thought, “Oh, my, look at him; he’ll never die,” but here we have no continuing city. He left, a young man, a lot younger-looking when he died than I am now. <em>(50-0820)</em></p>
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<blockquote>
<p>My father drink very, very heavy. Irish and he just… Fact, it’s what killed him. <em>(50-0820)</em></p>
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<blockquote>
<p>And my daddy, just before he left, he–he–he called for me. He’d been… He’d… Poor old fellow, I hate to say this. It just kills me to say it here; he died hungry. That’s right. My daddy died hungry. And he… It was during the time of the depression. We work–couldn’t work, and couldn’t find nothing to work, and he was sickly, and we was just barely making on it, just–just dividing what we could divide. But I know he was hungry, ‘cause we hadn’t eaten since the day before. And he had a heart attack, and I stood by his bed. And I picked him up on my arms, like that, and he looked at me, and went out to meet God. I believe someday I’ll see him again. Mother, she’s getting aged. It won’t be but very much longer. Every time when I leave her, her old quivering lips when she kisses me, she says, “Honey, someday, you’ll return and mother will be gone.” I said, “Then mother, I will come where you are someday.” That’s right. I’ll get there. <em>(51-0415)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>My father died early, fifty-two, with a heart attack. <em>(51-0501)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I remember my daddy died, he just beginning to gray a little bit at the temples. When he laid there in the casket, and I picked up his head, which he’d died right on my arm. And I picked up his head and his locks of hair fall down, I thought, “Oh, Dad.” I looked at his hand. He had had his finger cut off there in the shredder one day. I thought of all the heartaches that I’d caused him. It wasn’t “the old man.” That was my daddy. I don’t care who else, what they thought about him; he was still my dad. I loved him, and I love him today. I had the privilege of leading him to Christ. <em>(52-0720)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I’d say, “That’s my dad. That’s my dad. He will live a hundred years. That’s my daddy. When I am an old man, I will still be patting my daddy with big muscles.” See? But he died at fifty-two. <em>(52-0720)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>He died on my arm, his black, wavy hair laying across my arm, and his little Irish blue eyes looking up at me. Seen a white Angel standing before him; I led him to Christ just before he died. He was my dad, and he had a great respect for me. The last drink he ever taken in his life, he was standing in a little old saloon down there, wasn’t two weeks before he died. He started to… Somebody was treating him. It was during the time of depression; he was broke. They give him some drink, and he started to take it up in his hands, and he started spilling it. He tried to drink it, and it went all over his face. And they started teasing him. Before he took it, he said, “Look, fellows,” said, “I got a boy standing up there in the pulpit. That boy’s right, and I’m wrong.” He said, “Don’t let this reflect on my boy.” Said, “This is the last drop I’ll ever take in all my life.” And it was. So I honor him today as my dad. It’s hard work. <em>(53-1108)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “When I was a boy, my father died. I had ten children to take care of, and I had to work and support my mother and the children. Then since the Lord has sent me out, why, I have–haven’t had a chance.” <em>(53-1129)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I just loved my daddy. He didn’t–wasn’t a Christian until a little bit before he died. I led him to Christ. But he was Irish through and through, and a real drinker. And no matter what he did, I don’t care what he did; he’s my daddy anyhow. <em>(53-1205)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And that’s just the last of it though. My daddy died in my arms. And my brother was killed on a–a telephone pole, right in front of… And that night coming home, I told mother. She was all broke up too. Dad had just recently went. <em>(53-1206)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “Well, I was raised poor, ten of us children; daddy died when I had to take care of them and my widowed mother,” and I said… <em>(54-0620)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>My father died young.” I said, “I had to work and take care of ten children.” And I said, “I–I didn’t get much education, just the seventh grade.” <em>(55-0807)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “Yes, sir, that’s right.” I said–I said, “I know my grammar’s awful.” I said, “I’m sorry about that.” I said, “I was raised in a family of ten, and I was the oldest. And my daddy died, and I had to take care of ten children, and my mother…” I said, “I didn’t get a chance to get an education.” <em>(55-1001)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>My daddy was killed with a dose of medicine, my own father. The doctor come up to see him; he had something wrong with his heart. He give him a little tablet; he lived five minutes. We called in another doctor, and he said, “Well, he–he give him strychnine.” And he went and took that strychnine; it was a half grain of strychnine. He said, “I knowed your dad,” said, “His–his heart wouldn’t of stood a fortieth of a grain of strychnine.” But a dose of medicine killed my daddy. <em>(55-1004)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>My poor old dad that died on my arm said, “Billy, you can’t bring that stuff around this house here.” They thought I was crazy. The people… My… I was a single man. My girlfriends that I’d been going with, thought I was crazy. But I knowed something happened. I knowed that I could trust Him. No matter what taken place, I believed Him. And you have to believe Him. Sometimes He calls a total separation from friends and associates. But separate yourself from the things of the world and walk with Christ. <em>(55-1119)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>But my father died at fifty-two; drinking killed him. But I may live to be old. Usually they–when they get old, they get the palsy, shake, when they get old. That’s just the nature of Branhams. Like it was the nature for Isaac to be blind, and Jacob went blind, and so forth like that. It’s just the nature of our family. <em>(56-0122)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I think about my own dad. He’s done crossed over. As his locks fell across my arm when a doctor give him a dose of medicine, that killed him with an overdose of strychnine… And it killed him. And he just looked up at me, his little Irish eyes… Wish I could see him walk down through these aisles today. But there’s somebody else’s dad is here. Will you accept it, brother? Believe on the Lord? All right. <em>(56-0429)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “You know, if I had a hundred million dollars laying here in a pile, and I had a little button here, if I press this button, I lose my hundred million dollars, but I get to talk with my old dad that’s gone on, as one hour a mortal being again, what would I do? No hesitation, I’d press the button. I’d give a hundred million dollars this morning, to sit my dad down in this chair while I teach this lesson. But what’s money worth? How much more is a soul than money? See? <em>(56-0603)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I thought the same thing a few days before that, when Doc, my brother there, picked up his own brother, cut through the throat where a fellow drinking hit a post, and broke the car, and killed him. And he died in my brother’s arms. And seeing dad come down the street with Mrs. Kelly, Mr. Kelly’s house over there crying with his old black hat in his hand… In a few days later holding him in my arms as he was dying… I stood there and watched the old rocking chair without anyone in it, begin to rock back and forth as Ruth, my sister-in-law, was going to meet God. And I said, “Honey, shall I hang the picture of Jesus over here?” She said, “Billy, no. He’s before me always.” <em>(57-0120)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And Satan come to me. He said, “Now, will you serve Him? Now, what do you think about Him? Your daddy died about a–two weeks ago in your arms. A doctor killed him with a dose of medicine.” Said, “Your brother, less than a month ago, was killed up there on a–on the road, and you picked him up and his blood running out of his body, where a drunk run over him.” Said, “There lays your wife down here in the morgue. And now, He’s taking your baby out of your arms.” Said, “You still love Him?” <em>(57-0519)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Some time ago, there was a–a fellow at Fort Wayne, Indiana, said to me, he said, “Brother Branham…” And he was behind the stage at the Fort Wayne Gospel Tabernacle. He said, “It’s a shame, your grammar.” I said, “I know it’s awful.” I said, “I didn’t get an education, there’s ten of us children. And dad died, and I had to take care of the other nine.” <em>(59-0414)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Then, I suppose, next will come my dad. He was the next link to go. And no, I think Charles was the next link, a younger brother. He had a automobile accident when just a little boy. He always drug his right leg as he walked. But you know, when I see him, he won’t be dragging that leg. It’ll be all done away with, will stand in the splendor of a young man.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And he will say to me, something like this, as he smiles. He will say, “Yes, Bill, there’s no accidents up here. And I remember the night before I was taken in the automobile accident, you talked to me, standing in the little archway of our little humble home,” and I’m looking on the top of right now. “You talked to me about the Lord just a few hours before going. And you were in the pulpit preaching when I left.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Then will come dad. Oh, I can see him. Though he give me many hard whippings, just exactly what I needed, but I will see that shock of black, wavy hair, more brilliant than ever at that day. And he will look at me and say, “My boy, you know, daddy will never get up from the table here any more, hungry, to let his children eat, for here we have plenty. There is never a want here.” To see him when he would work, and at fifty or seventy-five cents a day, and then get up from the table so the children could eat, go back to work again… And he worked so hard till his shirt would sunburn to his back, and mom would cut it loose with a scissors. I can hear him say something like this, “Bill, you remember that night you and Brother George come to pray for me when I was going? You know, I told mama that there were two white Angels standing at the bed, and a red angel at the foot. And the red angel was trying to get me, but the white Angel stood between. They finally packed me home.” <em>(59-0510)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And this morning when that drunk man, maybe setting present now, moved up there to the car and asked for enough–a nickel or a penny, to help him get a drink, while putting my arms around him and said, “Brother, my daddy died drinking. Don’t do this. I could not give you money to drink, ‘cause I’m a minister.” And the tears coming down his cheeks, asking You to bless him. <em>(59-1122)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And there He let your daddy die right on your arm with an overdose of medicine that killed him.” A doctor killed him. Not knowing what he was doing, give him a half grain of strychnine, and it killed him. And I… And he died right on my arms, looking me in the face. <em>(60-0301)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>My daddy died in my arms giving God praise. So I–I–I trust that it doesn’t reflect anything. But see, the truth… If it’s bad about me, let me say it anyhow, because it’s the truth. See? Just… <em>(60-0717)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Before my father died, I saw the vision of him going. <em>(61-1001)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>The next one to go was dad, went in a heart attack, died in my arms. I committed his soul to God: went suddenly, quick. <em>(61-1105)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I stood the other day watching my mother, me holding her on my arm. I held my dad a little before that, and watch him go. <em>(62-0121)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And, here, my daddy dying on my arms. And my brothers died, was killed while I was stand in the pulpit down here at this little, colored Pentecostal church, preaching. Come told me, “Your brother was killed up on the highway. A car hit him and killed him.” His own brother’s blood dripping off his shirt, where he picked him up on the highway. Right after I buried him, my daddy died. Then, there laid my wife out there. <em>(63-0630)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>As I told you a few Sundays ago; when I stood by my dying baby, and Satan standing there and said, “There is your daddy, died in your arms the other night. There is your wife laying down there in a–in the morgue, and here is your baby going. And you asked Him to answer you, and He pulled your… He pulled a shade down over you. Now, and yet He’s a good God, and yet you said He was a Healer. And you, who are standing for what you said was right, you’re wrong.” Oh, every reason, every mental faculty had to agree that it was right; and he was right, that much. <em>(65-0829)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<h4 id="charles-obituary-and-death-certificate">Charles’ Obituary and Death Certificate</h4>
<p><img src="/assets/Charles/obituary.jpg" alt="Charles Branham's Obituary" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>Below is a copy of Charles Branham’s death certificate.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/DeathCertificates/CharlesBranham.JPG" alt="Charles Branham's Death Certificate" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>Notice the obituary indicates he had an illness for about ten months. The death certificate states that Charles suffered from <a href="http://www.world-heart-federation.org/press/fact-sheets/rheumatic-heart-disease/">Rheumatic Heart Disease</a> for years and died as a result of a <a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000140.htm">pulmonary edema</a> that lasted for twenty minutes. Ella Branham was the informant who reported Charles’ death.</p>
<h4 id="when-was-charles-born">When Was Charles Born?</h4>
<p>Notice the death certificate includes Charles’ birth date. The handwriting on the date is somewhat illegible. Is the date January 31, 1889? Or does it read January 31, 1883? Or is it actually January 3, 1883? Thankfully, the death certificate also includes his age in years, months, and days as 53 years, 10 months, and 27 days which calculates out to a birth date of January 3, 1883.</p>
<p>Previously, we’d indicated on our <a href="/timeline.html">timeline</a> that Charles was born on January 2, 1887. This date was based on the 1920 census records as well as Charles’ World War I <a href="/assets/draftcards/charles_branham_front.jpg">draft card</a>. Interestingly, an 1887 birth date would mean that Charles was only 49 years old at the time of his death, whereas an 1883 birth year would indicate Charles was indeed 53 when he passed away. We’ve added this new potential birth date for Charles to our <a href="/timeline.html">timeline</a>.</p>
<h4 id="ten-children-to-take-care-of">Ten Children to Take Care Of</h4>
<p>Brother Branham asserted that he did not receive a proper education because he had to leave school as a young man to care for his siblings as a result of his father’s untimely death. Here are the ages of the Branham children at the time of Charles’ death:</p>
<ol>
<li>William - (Married to Hope and had two children at the time of Charles’ death) - 27-29 years old depending on his birth date.</li>
<li>Edward - Deceased. Had he been living, he would have been 27.</li>
<li>Melvin - 26. (Married to Ruth and living at 805 7th St with Charles and Ella)</li>
<li>Edgar - 22.</li>
<li>Jesse - 20.</li>
<li>Charles Jr. - Deceased. Would have been 15.</li>
<li>Henry - 14.</li>
<li>Howard - 13.</li>
<li>Donald - 9.</li>
<li>Delores - 7.</li>
</ol>
<p>Since Brother Branham had already left the house and started a family of his own, it seems preposterous that he would been required to drop out of school in the eighth grade to help raise his siblings as a result of his father’s death.</p>
<h4 id="charles-was-hungry-when-he-died">Charles Was Hungry When He Died</h4>
<blockquote>
<p>And my daddy, just before he left, he–he–he called for me. He’d been… He’d… Poor old fellow, I hate to say this. It just kills me to say it here; he died hungry. That’s right. My daddy died hungry. And he… It was during the time of the depression. We work–couldn’t work, and couldn’t find nothing to work, and he was sickly, and we was just barely making on it, just–just dividing what we could divide. But I know he was hungry, ‘cause we hadn’t eaten since the day before. And he had a heart attack, and I stood by his bed. And I picked him up on my arms, like that, and he looked at me, and went out to meet God. I believe someday I’ll see him again. Mother, she’s getting aged. It won’t be but very much longer. Every time when I leave her, her old quivering lips when she kisses me, she says, “Honey, someday, you’ll return and mother will be gone.” I said, “Then mother, I will come where you are someday.” That’s right. I’ll get there. <em>(51-0415)</em></p>
</blockquote>
<p>At the time Charles passed away, Brother Branham was already the <a href="/2013/06/30/First-Appearances-Of-The-Pentecostal-Tabernacle/">pastor of the Pentecostal Tabernacle</a>. The <a href="/assets/CityDirectory/1935CityDirectoryWMB.jpg">1935 City Directory</a> indicates that Melvin and wife Ruth lived with Charles and Ella at 805 E 7th. In addition, Jesse and Edgar also still lived at home but were old enough to have their own entries in the City Directory. According to William Branham’s own testimony, Ella was running a boarding house. Brother Branham said he was working for the Public Service Company and was also a game warden. It seems unlikely that Brother Branham had three occupations, had money to buy a car, had a loan on a chair he’d purchased, and had three other adult siblings at home, but yet, his father did not have enough money to purchase food.</p>
<h4 id="summary">Summary</h4>
<p>When you compare Brother Branham’s statements about his father’s death to recorded history, it’s clear that his personal accounts of his biography include many inaccuracies and discrepancies.</p>
First Appearances Of The Pentecostal Tabernacle2013-06-30T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/06/30/First-Appearances-Of-The-Pentecostal-Tabernacle<p><em>This is the ninth post in a multi-part series on when Brother Branham became involved with <a href="/tags.html#pentecost-ref">Pentecostal churches</a>.</em></p>
<p>Over the past few posts, we’ve been presenting information related to the construction of the Branham Tabernacle. We started by presenting pictures of the Tabernacle as well as [quotes from Brother Branham]((/2013/06/28/When-Was-The-Tabernacle-Built/) regarding his role at Dr. Davis’ church prior to the construction of the Branham Tabernacle. Next, we established a <a href="/2013/06/29/History-Of-Roy-Davis-Church/">timeline for Dr. Davis’ church</a>. Now we’ll move on to presenting additional information about the Branham Tabernacle’s first appearances in historic records.</p>
<p>We discussed the importance of <a href="/2013/06/21/Roy-Davis/">City Directories in a previous post</a>. In addition to information about where a person lived and their occupation, the city directory contained information about the city itself. Each bi-annual edition included an index of streets, addresses, and their respective occupants. The 1933-1934 City Directory shows no addresses between 627 Penn and 814 Penn. 804 Penn Street (the address of the Tabernacle) did not exist in 1933.
<img src="/assets/CityDirectory/1933Penn.jpg" alt="City Directory Street index for Penn - 1933" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>The 1935-1936 City Directory clearly indicates that the Pentecostal Tabernacle was located at 804 Penn Street:
<img src="/assets/CityDirectory/1935Penn.jpg" alt="City Directory Street index for Penn - 1935" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>We attempted to further narrow the actual construction date of the tabernacle through city building permits. We visited with the <a href="http://cityofjeff.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=155&Itemid=181">City of Jeffersonville’s Building Commission</a> and were told that building permits were not issued by the City of Jeffersonville in the 1930s. Further, most old building permits were discarded when City Hall was moved to 500 Quartermaster Court in the Quadrangle.</p>
<p>Recall from our earlier post on <a href="/2013/06/20/Preaching-At-Pentecostal-Churches">Brother Branham preaching at Pentecostal churches</a>, that Brother Branham’s younger brother died on August 6, 1935. His funeral was held at the Branham Tabernacle. Here’s the article again:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Obituaries/CharlesBrother.jpg" alt="Charles Branham's (younger brother) Obituary" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" /></p>
<p>The first advertisement for the Pentecostal Tabernacle appeared in the Jeffersonville Evening News on August 17, 1935.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/ChurchAds/19350817.jpg" alt="First Advertisement For the Pentecostal Tabernacle" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" /></p>
<p>The Branham Tabernacle is located in the Ingram and Reads subdivision. William Ingram transferred ownership of the land to the trustees of “The Billie Branham Pentecostal Tabernacle Church” on November 9th, 1936.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Tabernacle/deed.jpg" alt="Deed for the Branham Tabernacle" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" /></p>
<p>Note the deed was issued more than a year after services were advertised in the Jeffersonville Evening News. Unlike the deed for <a href="/2013/06/29/History-Of-Roy-Davis-Church/">Roy Davis’ church</a>, there is no mortgage recorded on this deed. One possible explanation for this would be the land was purchased on a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contract_for_deed">contract for deed</a>. In this arrangement, the church would have made payments to William Ingram until it was paid for. Once the land was paid off, Mr. Ingram would then transfer ownership to the church. To be clear, this is only one possible explanation of the timing; it is purely speculative and should be taken as such. This theory does appear to be consistent with Brother Branham’s statements regarding making payments on the church, and would also explain why no mortgage was recorded on the deed. When Brother Branham preached <em>My Life Story</em> in Los Angeles, California on April 19, 1959 he stated,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>And then that’s how the church was paid for. We had ten-years loan to pay it, and was paid off less than two years.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Based on the historic record, and Brother Branham’s statements, the Branham Tabernacle was built after February, 1934. Based on the information we’ve presented in our past several posts, it was most likely completed in 1935.</p>
The History of Roy Davis' Church2013-06-29T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/06/29/History-Of-Roy-Davis-Church<p><em>This is the eighth post in a multi-part series on when Brother Branham became involved with <a href="/tags.html#pentecost-ref">Pentecostal churches</a>.</em></p>
<p>In our <a href="/2013/06/28/When-Was-The-Tabernacle-Built">last post</a> we started to explore when the Branham Tabernacle was built. Brother Branham indicates that he took over the congregation from Roy Davis’ First Pentecostal Baptist church after the church burnt down and Dr. Davis returned to Texas. We set out to determine when Dr. Davis started his church in Jeffersonville and when it burned down to establish a timeline for these events.</p>
<p>In a previous post we presented the New Albany and Jeffersonville City Directory and provided copies of <a href="/2013/06/21/Roy-Davis">Roy Davis’ entries</a>. The city directory does not include Roy Davis or the First Pentecostal Baptist church in the 1929-1930 edition. Dr. Davis and his church do appear in the 1931-1932 edition as well as the 1933-1934 edition. By the time the 1935-1936 edition was published, Dr. Davis and his church were no longer listed.</p>
<p>Here’s the entry for the Pentecostal Baptist Church for 1931-1932. Notice the church is located at 328 Watt Street.
<img src="/assets/CityDirectory/1931Churches.jpg" alt="Pentecostal Baptist Church entry in 1931-1932 city directory." class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>Here’s the entry for the Pentecostal Baptist Church for 1933-1934.
<img src="/assets/CityDirectory/1933Churches.jpg" alt="Pentecostal Baptist Church entry in 1933-1934 city directory." class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>The city directory tells us that Roy Davis arrived in Jeffersonville sometime between 1929-1931 and was no longer listed by the time the city directory was published in 1935. In order to pin down a more exact timeline, we consulted property records as well as newspaper archives.</p>
<p>This is the Clark County Courthouse in Jeffersonville, Indiana:
<img src="/assets/RoyDavis/ClarkCountyCourthouse.jpg" alt="Clark County Courthouse." class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>Between the offices of the county Recorder, Assessor, and Auditor it’s possible to find a property on a platt map, determine the legal description of the property, look up who currently owns a property, and search the history of the ownership of the property. We researched the ownership of 328 Watt Street to determine when Roy Davis’ church purchased this property.</p>
<p>The lot and building on 328 Watt Street were purchased by Roy E. Davis, Henry Steedley, Clarence E. Myers, and William Adler, Trustees of the First Pentecostal Baptist Church on December 16, 1930. The property was purchased from the First Church of The Nazarene. Here’s a copy of the deed record from the Clark County Deed Grantee Book 125, page 319. Notice that the deed specifically states there is a house of worship situated on the property.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/RoyDavis/1930Deed.jpg" alt="Deed For First Pentecostal Baptist Church" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>Don’t be confused by this statement in the deed: “…and for and in consideration of the sum of one Dollar ($1.00) and other valuable considerations”. This statement does not mean the property was sold for $1.00. This is a legal term commonly used in contract law. Remember, this is just the deed, not the sales contract between the two parties. The deed does record a mortgage against the property owned by the First National Bank of Jeffersonviile. Even in 1930 people didn’t take out morgages for $1.00. If you’re interested, you can read more about this legal phrasing over on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consideration">wikipedia</a>.</p>
<p>According to the Jeffersonville Evening News, the church celebrated their three year anniversary on December 20, 1933:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/RoyDavis/19331220ChurchAnniversary.jpg" alt="Newspaper article of 3 year church anniversary." class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>The church was advertised regularly in the Jeffersonville Evening News, and it was rare for the church’s advertisements to miss a week in the paper. The advertisements ended abruptly on February 10, 1934. Below is the final advertisement that appeared in the Jeffersonville Evening News. Notice that the advertisement gives no indications of any problems at the church and appears to be a normal weekly ad for services.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/ChurchAds/19340210Davis.jpg" alt="Final Ad for the First Pentecostal Baptist Church" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>A few months later, on May 10, 1934, the church property at 328 Watt Street was transferred to Roy Davis’ son, Roy E. Davis, Jr. This deed can be found in the Clark County Deed Grantee Book 128, page 311:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/RoyDavis/1934Deed.jpg" alt="Deed For First Pentecostal Baptist Church" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>This deed has the same legal description as the previous one from 1930, with one exception. This deed states that the church is no longer on the property: “..being the lot on Watt Street, in said City of Jeffersonville, upon which was <strong>formerly</strong> situated a house of Worship.”</p>
<p>Remember Brother Branham stated Roy Davis’ church burned down while Brother Branham was the assistant pastor. The quote below is from <em>A Trial</em> preached in Tucson, Arizona on April 27, 1964:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Then, about seventeen years after that, I was, had become a minister, a Baptist preacher, of the Missionary Baptist Church. Dr. Roy E. Davis ordained me as one of the local pastors, give me rights then, by the state, to marry, bury, baptize, so forth. <strong>And the Missionary Baptist Church burned down, which I was assistant pastor, at the time.</strong> And Mr. Davis come back to Texas, which he was of Davis mountains, and–and down near Van Horn, Texas. That’s where they come from. And so, while he was gone, I started to take over the congregation. Got a tent, and I begin to preach in the city, and just a boy preacher.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Something definitely happened to Roy Davis’ church between February 10 and May 10 of 1934. Based on Brother Branham’s accounts above, he was still the assistant pastor of Roy Davis’ Pentecostal Baptist church in February, 1934. This asserts that construction on the Branham Tabernacle did not start until at least February, 1934. It’s unclear how long Brother Branham remained affiliated with Davis’ church after this event, both from the historic record and from Brother Branham’s personal accounts. In our next post, we’ll examine newspaper archives and property records related to when the Branham Tabernacle was started.</p>
When Was The Tabernacle Built?2013-06-28T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/06/28/When-Was-The-Tabernacle-Built<p><em>This is the seventh post in a multi-part series on when Brother Branham became involved with <a href="/tags.html#pentecost-ref">Pentecostal churches</a>.</em></p>
<p>So far in this series we’ve discussed Brother Branham being the <a href="/2013/06/19/Where-My-Sorrow-Started/">pastor of the Pentecostal Tabernacle</a> at the time of Hope’s death, discussed Brother Branham <a href="/2013/06/20/Preaching-At-Pentecostal-Churches/">preaching at Pentecostal churches</a> prior to Hope’s death, provided documented proof that <a href="/2013/06/21/Roy-Davis/">Roy Davis’ church was the First Pentecostal Baptist</a>, produced <a href="/2013/06/22/The-Common-Peoples-Church">newspaper advertisements</a> from Roy Davis’ church, and presented newspaper evidence related to <a href="/2013/06/24/What-The-Newspapers-Said-About-The-1933-Baptism">Brother Branham’s first tent meeting in 1933</a>. In this post, we’ll begin exploring when Brother Branham’s church was built on the corner of 8th and Penn Streets in Jeffersonville.</p>
<p>Anyone who has visited the Branham Tabernacle over the last several years has probably seen this marker on the side of the building which indicates the building was dedicated in 1933:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Tabernacle/cornerstone.jpg" alt="Marker on the Branham Tabernacle indicating it was dedicated in 1933" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>Throughout his ministry, Brother Branham states he laid the cornerstone of the tabernacle around March of 1933. However, in our <a href="/2013/06/24/What-The-Newspapers-Said-About-The-1933-Baptism">previous post</a> on the 1933 baptism we included quotes from Brother Branham which indicate he was still attending Roy Davis’ church when he held his first revival. This first meeting is when he says he baptized 500 people in the Ohio river at the foot of Spring Street in June of 1933.</p>
<p>If you look at a photo of the Branham Tabernacle from the 1930s, it’s obvious that this marker was not part of the original construction. Notice the 1930s image shows the building does not have any brick veneer:
<img src="/assets/Tabernacle/branham_tabernacle1930s.jpg" alt="Branham Tabernacle in the 1930s." class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>In the 1950s the building looked very similar to what it did in the 1930s:
<img src="/assets/Tabernacle/branham_tabernacle1950s.jpg" alt="Branham Tabernacle in the 1950s." class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>The tabernacle was remodeled and expanded in the 1960s. This is the first time we see a brick veneer on the building.
<img src="/assets/Tabernacle/branham_tabernacle1960s.jpg" alt="Branham Tabernacle in the 1960s." class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>Here’s what the Branham Tabernacle looks like today:
<img src="/assets/Tabernacle/branham_tabernacletoday.jpg" alt="Branham Tabernacle today." class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>When Brother Branham preached <em>A Trial</em> in Tucson, Arizona on April 27, 1964 he tells us he took over Roy Davis’ church when Dr. Davis moved away from Jeffersonville:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Then, about seventeen years after that, I was, had become a minister, a Baptist preacher, of the Missionary Baptist Church. Dr. Roy E. Davis ordained me as one of the local pastors, give me rights then, by the state, to marry, bury, baptize, so forth. <strong>And the Missionary Baptist Church burned down, which I was assistant pastor, at the time</strong>. And Mr. Davis come back to Texas, which he was of Davis mountains, and–and down near Van Horn, Texas. That’s where they come from. And so, while he was gone, I started to take over the congregation. Got a tent, and I begin to preach in the city, and just a boy preacher.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And I had a baptismal service down on the river, on 1933, on the middle of June, about sixteenth or eighteenth of June. And standing out there, it had been so hot, for weeks. Hadn’t had no rain for two or three weeks, and the country was burning up, nearly. And there was, I guess, around seven or eight thousand people on the bank. And I walked out in the water, with my seventeenth candidate, to baptize. And when I baptized, started to baptize, I said, “As I baptize thee with water, may the Lord Jesus…”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Notice Brother Branham indicated he was the assistant pastor of Roy Davis’ church when the church burned down.</p>
<p>In <em>Taking Sides With Jesus</em> preached in Jeffersonville, Indiana on June 1, 1962 Brother Branham also indicates Roy Davis’ church burnt and Brother Branham took over the congregation:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Now, when I laid that cornerstone there that morning, I never felt that I’d ever be a pastor. It wasn’t in my callings, at the beginning. And my first call was to be on the field of evangelism. That was many years ago. And started off, over here in a tent, just across the street.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And I remember when Brother Roy Davis, down there, and his church burnt down. That bunch of people was just like scattered sheep without a shepherd, had no place to go.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And Mr. Hibstenberg was Chief of Police then, and he called me down there. He said to me, “We’re here to help you.” Said, “I’m Catholic, myself, but,” said, “them people,” said, “they don’t probably have the clothes.” It was during the time of the depression. Said, “They go to other churches and they feel out of place, and they’re good people. I know many of them.” He said, “Billy, if you wanting to start a church,” he said, “I want you to know that we’re behind you in anything we can do to help you.” And I thanked him for it.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>We had a tag day. First, we prayed and asked the Lord. And people come to me and wanted to build a church, so could have a place to go. And we decided this place, and one night along this time, or a little further here, in a pile of horseweeds right along in here, and water in this ditch, and just had been like a dump, like. Well, the Lord spoke to me definitely and said, “Build it right here.” Not a penny of money, and among us we had about–about eighty cents or a dollar. And that’s, course, you would laugh at that now, but, brother, that was some money then.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>When some neighbor cook a pot of beans, and yet the neighbor hadn’t had nothing for two or three days, come over and eat a few of them, that was hard times. Lot of the young fellows never seen that, but that was hard going. I seen the time that you could pass through this church a collection plate, two times, or three, and get thirty cents out of a place packed full, and beg for it. It would… You’d probably got thirty cents, and had a good offering. See? It’s really rough going.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And we had nothing to build with, yet the–the desire of the people was to build a church, so we could have a place to go. Cause, in them days… The Message, well, you think It’s badly thought of now. You ought to have knowed It then, when there’s nobody, and then of this water baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ, and the–the blessings and things that we believe in and stand for.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>So upon my heart I made a promise to God, that we would stay here and build the tabernacle. The morning we laid the cornerstone, He met me over there in a vision, about eight o’clock that morning, when I was setting there, watching out across, the sun coming up, just about this time of year. And He had told me, after He had met me down there on the river, with That, when the Angel of the Lord appeared in that Light. I seen It in the distance. It looked like a star. And It come right down over where I was, and them notable Words were spoken. And so, then, I purposed then to get a place for the people to worship in.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Notice in the quote above Brother Branham states, “And started off, over here in a tent, just across the street”. The <a href="/2013/06/24/What-The-Newspapers-Said-About-The-1933-Baptism/">newspaper reported</a> that Brother Branham held his first tent meeting on the corner of 8th and Pratt. Today, this lot is the other end of the Branham Tabernacle’s parking lot.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/ChurchAds/8thAndPratt.jpg" alt="1933 Baptism" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" /></p>
<p>According to the quotes above, the tabernacle was not built until Roy Davis’ church burned down and Brother Branham took over the congregation. In our next post, we’ll present documented evidence related to the ownership of Roy Davis’ church at 328 Watt Street.</p>
What The Newspapers Said About the 1933 Baptism2013-06-24T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/06/24/What-The-Newspapers-Said-About-The-1933-Baptism<p><em>This is the sixth post in a multi-part series on when Brother Branham became involved with <a href="/tags.html#pentecost-ref">Pentecostal churches</a>.</em></p>
<p>In our last post, we shared a <a href="/2013/06/23/What-Did-Brother-Branham-Say-About-The-1933-Baptism/">long list of quotes</a> regarding the 1933 baptism. In these quotes, Brother Branham makes a number of key points about this event:</p>
<ul>
<li>The event occurred in 1933 when Brother Branham was baptizing converts in the Ohio river at the foot of Spring Street.</li>
<li>Different dates are given for the event, but he most consistently states this occurred sometime in June, 1933.</li>
<li>The event occurred before Brother Branham and Hope were married in June, 1934.</li>
<li>This was his first revival, or first group of converts.</li>
<li>Roy Davis was still his pastor when this revival was held. He had just recently been ordained as a Baptist minister.</li>
<li>There were a lot of people in attendance; between several hundred to thousands. Brother Branham baptized around 500 people.</li>
<li>As he was baptizing, he heard a voice tell him to “look up”.</li>
<li>A light appeared and a voice spoke something to the effect of “As John the Baptist was sent forth to forerun the first coming of Christ, you have the Message that’ll now forerun the second Coming of Christ.”</li>
<li>All the local papers packed the article of it. The Louisville Herald, or Herald Post ran a front page story with a headline similar to “A mystery Light hangs over a local Baptist minister while baptizing at the foot of Spring Street in Jeffersonville, Indiana.”</li>
<li>The associated press picked up the story and it was carried in papers around the US and Canada.</li>
</ul>
<p>Remember, in particular, that Brother Branham was baptizing his first converts as he stated while preaching <em>The Pillar Of Fire</em> in Jonesboro, Arkansas on May 9, 1953:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>And He… When I was–I was a young Baptist preacher <strong>baptizing my first converts, five hundred of them down on the river, my first revival…</strong> I had about three thousand attend at the revival. And my education was so poor, till <strong>my girlfriend</strong> read the Bible while I preached.</p>
</blockquote>
<h4 id="upcoming-tent-revival">Upcoming Tent Revival</h4>
<p>On May 6, 1933 Roy Davis began to advertise an upcoming tent revival in the Jeffersonville Evening News:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/ChurchAds/19330506Davis.jpg" alt="Church Tent Revival Advertisement" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" /></p>
<p>The upcoming tent revival was advertised again on May 27, 1933:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/ChurchAds/19330527ADavis.jpg" alt="Church Tent Revival Advertisement" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" />
<img src="/assets/ChurchAds/19330527BDavis.jpg" alt="Church Tent Revival Advertisement" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" /></p>
<h4 id="the-papers-packed-the-article-of-it">“The Papers Packed The Article Of It”</h4>
<p>The tent revival is not mentioned again in the church’s advertisements, so it likely happened some time shortly after May 27, 1933. Just a few days later, the June 2nd edition of the Jeffersonville Evening News packed this article on the front page:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/ChurchAds/1933BaptismLarge.jpg" alt="1933 Baptism" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" /></p>
<p>Perhaps, like us, you nearly missed this article. Here’s an enlarged image of the article which is tucked down on the bottom of the front page:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/ChurchAds/1933Baptism.jpg" alt="1933 Baptism" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" /></p>
<p>Amongst the <a href="/2013/06/23/What-Did-Brother-Branham-Say-About-The-1933-Baptism/">quotes we shared yesterday</a> Brother Branham makes it clear that he was still in the Baptist church (Roy Davis’) when he held his first revival. From <em>The Angel Of The Covenant</em> preached in Phoenix, Arizona on March 1, 1954:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It was seen on the river there when I was just a boy, <strong>baptizing my first group in the Baptist church:</strong> Five hundred, one afternoon, at the foot of Spring Street in Jeffersonville. The newspapers packed an article of it: A Mystic Light Appears Over Local Baptist Minister While Baptizing At The River .</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In this quote from <em>A Trial</em> preached in Louisville, Mississippi on April 5, 1964 Brother Branham mentions discussing the light with his pastor:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I went down then to baptize a bunch of people on the river. When I was baptizing there, where about five thousand people standing on the bank; right in the middle of the day, two o’clock in the afternoon; hot, they hadn’t had a rain for a week or two; and standing on the bank. Here come that Pillar of Fire whirling out of the air, coming down where I was standing, and the Voice saying, “As John the Baptist was sent, and to forerun the first coming of Christ, your Message will forerun the Second Coming of Christ.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>The newspapers packed it, and it swept into Canada on the Associated Press, around the world, “A local minister, Baptist minister, baptizing , and,” said, “a mystic Light appears over him.” The very One that they caught the picture of here, and done it in Germany and–and everywhere. And it’s done.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>My pastor said to me</strong>, he said, “Billy, what kind of a dream did you have? Why, you know you didn’t see…”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “There were hundreds standing there, witnessed It.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And they’d come down, said, “Oh, that’s a mental delusion.” Trying his best, that’s old man Unbelief and Mr. Skeptic.</p>
</blockquote>
<h4 id="summary">Summary</h4>
<p>The newspaper article from June 2, 1933 is the first mention in the newspaper of Brother Branham being involved in a tent meeting. This service appears to be the tent revival sponsored by his pastor, Roy Davis. We’ve searched the Jeffersonville Evening News for 1933-1935 and there is no mention of a mysterious light or a huge crowd at the river for a baptismal service being held by Brother Branham. Other people have been searching for this article for years, and to date, such an article has never been produced. In this sleepy river town, this would have been a huge story. Just like sixteen men falling to their deaths in a bridge construction accident, this huge baptismal service with a mysterious light over a young baptist preacher would <a href="/2013/02/22/Bridge-Deaths-Would-Not-Be-Reported/">most definitely be front page news</a>.</p>
What Brother Branham Said About The 1933 Baptism2013-06-23T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/06/23/What-Did-Brother-Branham-Say-About-The-1933-Baptism<p><em>This is the fifth post in a multi-part series on when Brother Branham became involved with <a href="/tags.html#pentecost-ref">Pentecostal churches</a>.</em></p>
<p>In our last two posts, we discussed <a href="/2013/06/21/Roy-Davis/">Roy Davis’ church</a> and provided some information on <a href="/2013/06/22/The-Common-Peoples-Church/">what was taught there</a>. Now we’d like to turn our attention to the beginning of Brother Branham’s ministry. One of the earliest events in his ministry was the 1933 baptism service which he refers to many times over the years. For your own study, we’ve included all of the accounts below that we’ve been able to locate from Brother Branham regarding the 1933 baptism. If you feel we’ve missed any quotes related to this topic, please let us know by posting a comment at the end of this post.</p>
<p>As you read through these quotes, look for the following key points that Brother Branham makes throughout his various accounts of this event:</p>
<ul>
<li>The event occurred in 1933 when Brother Branham was baptizing converts in the Ohio river at the foot of Spring Street.</li>
<li>Different dates are given for the event, but he most consistently states this occurred sometime in June, 1933.</li>
<li>The event occurred before Brother Branham and Hope were married in June, 1934.</li>
<li>This was his first revival, or first group of converts.</li>
<li>Roy Davis was still his pastor when this revival was held. He had just recently been ordained as a Baptist minister.</li>
<li>There were a lot of people in attendance; between several hundred to thousands. Brother Branham baptized around 500 people.</li>
<li>As he was baptizing, he heard a voice tell him to “look up”.</li>
<li>A light appeared and a voice spoke something to the effect of “As John the Baptist was sent forth to forerun the first coming of Christ, you have the Message that’ll now forerun the second Coming of Christ.”</li>
<li>All the local papers packed the article of it. The Louisville Herald, or Herald Post ran a front page story with a headline similar to “A mystery Light hangs over a local Baptist minister while baptizing at the foot of Spring Street in Jeffersonville, Indiana.”</li>
<li>The associated press picked up the story and it was carried in papers around the US and Canada.</li>
</ul>
<p>Here are the quotes:</p>
<p><strong>From <em>Gifts And Callings Are Without Repentance</em> preached in Carlsbad, New Mexico in March, 1950:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>After while, I met up with the Full Gospel people. And I… Just before then, I received the baptism of the Holy Ghost. And then look like it just kept coming more and more. And then it, He appeared on the river, one time when I was baptizing before probably ten thousand people, like a great morning star came down where I was standing. Thousands seen It. He went back right into the heavens.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>God Revealing Himself To His People</em> preached in Cleveland, Ohio on August 13, 1950:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>But It appeared down there on the Ohio River before nearly ten thousand people while I was baptizing in August. I was baptizing some fi–five hundred, I guess, that afternoon. Hundreds of them was standing, and the choir singing, On Jordan’s Stormy Banks I Stand. Was about two o’clock. We hadn’t had rain for about two weeks.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I had my seventeenth candidate I was taking out in the water. And I raised up, and I asked him if he believed. He had. He would been repented at the meeting? Yes. I raised up my hand, I said, “Father, as I baptize this boy with water, may You baptize him with the Holy Spirit.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And as I started, Something went, whew [Brother Branham illustrates–Ed.] I looked up. I heard a Voice. Said, “Look up.” Thousands standing all over the bank on the Ohio River facing Louisville. Paper carried a big article of it.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And I looked, coming right down out of the heavens, out of a place about as big as this platform, where the blue skies churning like waters… Coming right down out of there came a big thing, like a star, whirling around, going, whew [Brother Branham illustrates–Ed.], coming right down visibly before the eyes. Moved right down, looked like a star at a distance. When it got close, It looked like a milling fire of Light, moving right down and stood over where I was. Then went right back up into the heavens again. The waters let up.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I’ve often wondered if that wasn’t the Angel that was on the waters (See?) in Bethesda, you know. Went away…</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And papers carried a big article, “Mysterious Star Appears Over Minister While Baptizing.” And on down, It kept coming.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>Believe Ye That I Am Able To Do This</em> preached in Cleveland, Ohio on August 20, 1950:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>When I was baptizing hundreds down at the Ohio River at the foot of Spring Street in Jeffersonville, where thousands were blacked on the bank… At right at two o’clock in the afternoon, I was baptizing the seventeenth person. I started to pray, and thousands standing there looking. And down from the heavens came that green, whirling down like a big star in the distance. When It got close, It was that Light, a Pillar of Fire.
I think It’s the same One that led the children of Israel in the days that went before Moses. And It’s in the church today. It’s here tonight, the same Pillar of Fire.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>When He told me, He said, “As Moses was given two signs to vindicate his ministry, so will you be given two signs. And by these signs, that people will believe.” And there It is. I believe It’s the same Angel of the covenant.
And He came down when hundreds and hundreds standing there, people fainted, and fell, and everything. The papers carried a great article, “Mystic star appears over minister at two o’clock in the afternoon while baptizing.” There It was.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>My Commission</em> preached in Los Angeles, California on May 5, 1951:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>About twelve years ago, I was baptizing my first group after my–one of my revivals at Jeffersonville, Indiana, where I lived at this time–my home is, rather. And standing on the banks of the Ohio River where [Blank.spot.on.tape–Ed.] had gathered out. And while I was baptizing… It was two o’clock in the evening, on June. And the seventeenth candidate, I was baptizing in water at the Ohio River at the foot of Spring Street. And I heard Something speak, and I felt Something take a hold of me. And I looked up. And when I did, coming down from glory came this whirl coming down where I was at.
“Courier Journal Newspaper” packed an article of it, said, “A mystic star appears over a local Baptist pastor while baptizing in the river.” They couldn’t make out. Oh, up to probably ten thousand people saw It as It moved down where I was at, and went back up in the skies. Come right where I was and went back up into the sky. Well I… Many asked me what It meant. And I said, “I do not know.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>Do You Now Believe</em> preached in Battle Creek, Michigan on August 17, 1952:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Recently when I was baptizing on the river at Jeffersonville, when all the local newspapers packed It, two o’clock in the afternoon when I was praying, here It come right down out of the heavens, right at two o’clock in the evening, June, or in the afternoon, rather, in June, about the middle of June, hung right over where I was, and a Voice from It, saying, “As John the Baptist was sent to warn the people of the first coming of Christ, so is this Message to warn the people of the second coming.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Right back up into the heavens, when people screamed, fainted. What is it? God, getting the Church ready. You don’t need no new doctrine. You don’t need no new theories. You need real true hearts to Almighty God, to believe on God, and His Son, Christ Jesus. Have fellowship with everybody, all the Christians, by the Holy Spirit. Amen.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>The Pillar Of Fire</em> preached in Jonesboro, Arkansas preached on May 9, 1953:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>And He… When I was–I was a young Baptist preacher baptizing my first converts, five hundred of them down on the river , my first revival… I had about three thousand attend at the revival. And my education was so poor, till my girlfriend read the Bible while I preached.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>The Angel Of The Covenant</em> preached in Phoenix, Arizona on March 1, 1954:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>It was seen on the river there when I was just a boy, baptizing my first group in the Baptist church: Five hundred, one afternoon, at the foot of Spring Street in Jeffersonville. The newspapers packed an article of it: A Mystic Light Appears Over Local Baptist Minister While Baptizing At The River .</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>Why I’m Praying For The Sick</em> preached in Columbus, Ohio on March 14, 1954:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>One night while in prayer, away, there was a Man come walking to me on the floor. And I seen Him; this was not a vision. It was the Man. I’d heard His voice many times, saw Him when I baptized at the river , and I was first ordained a Baptist minister. Had my revival, baptized five hundred, my converts, after a two weeks meeting at the foot of Spring Street. And right there all the local papers packed the article of it: “Mystic Light Hangs Over Minister While Baptizing.” And It can’t… It was like a Pillar of Fire. And It hung down there and they…</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And then, the people asked me about It, and they got me scared, and told me It was the devil. And one night while I was in prayer… Many years later, just before coming to the Full Gospel people, I was praying, “God, take this thing away from me.” I said, “Lord, You know I love You, and I don’t want It no more, please.” I went to pray all night about it. And I heard someone walking. I looked coming over to this side; there come a tall Man, big, long hair. Now, it didn’t look like the picture of Jesus. I believe, I say this reverently. I believe, by vision, I seen Jesus twice. I–I–I… It was a little Man, but it doesn’t look much like the artist paints Him. But I–I fainted when He–looked at Him, so I… it was… He was standing off to my side.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>Sirs We Would See Jesus</em> preached in Louisville, Kentucky on March 28, 1954:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>So then, I–I–I have never feared. I’ve just went humbly to preach the Gospel. As God sent me to do this. And the things that I speak of right here… Even in one of your papers here not long ago, the old “Louisville Herald,” I believe it was, or something like that, declared the article when it was down here on the river, and that Light come down and hung over where I was at, when I was baptizing, a young minister many years ago out across the country.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>Questions and Answers</em> preached in Jeffersonville, Indiana on May 15, 1954:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Just the same thing He said when I baptized right down here on the Ohio River, many of you was standing there, twenty-three years ago, right on the Ohio River that Light, Angel, come right down to where we was at, and said, “As John the Baptist was sent for a forerunner of the first coming of Jesus Christ, your Message will bring the second coming of Jesus Christ.” And it’s done it. It’s… He hasn’t come yet, but look what it’s done; it’s swept the world around. See? And today now, just thinking, the–the effort that’s went forth, there’s been literally millions…</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>The Deep Calleth To The Deep</em> preached in Washington, DC on June 24, 1954:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>And now, they–you look in there, and you’ll see another picture of It where It settled down, and a newspaper photographer caught that one at Camden Arkansas. But it wasn’t authentic like this American Association. And they–they got it, and it was–then it became authentic.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>So we–and many thousands of people… I was standing on the river here some time ago baptizing five hundred after a revival, and It come right down where I was standing. And people fainted and–just there where It was. And It was just like a roaring noise, a whipping fire. I pray that God will come visible before the audience tonight in that manner here at the capital once more, if I can find favor with God…</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>Everlasting Life And How To Receive It</em> preached in Jeffersonville, Indiana on December 31, 1954:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Sometime ago, as a young minister, when my first revival come, I had it over here on the corner, where this housing project in a tent. I was baptizing a group down at the river that Sunday afternoon, when the Angel of the Lord made His first appearance in public in a vindication of the Message that I was to speak. And It was a Light came down from heaven and stood there. People are perhaps in the tabernacle tonight, who stood and seen that Light. And I started forth, telling it, and so forth. And all you know how the story goes, and on and on. And people sometime would walk away, and say, “That’s just imagination.” They’d leave a meeting where people would see It, and walk away, say, “I saw It.” Others say, “Well, I didn’t see It.” Now, of course, God lets see who He wants to see.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>How The Anger Came To Me and His Commission</em> preached in Chicago, Illinois on January 17, 1955:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>So then I–then I was getting too critical on speaking with tongues, you see. But one day, then, how God vindicated that to me!</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I was baptizing down on the river, my first converts, at the Ohio River, and the seventeenth person I was baptizing, as I started to baptize him, I said, “Father, as I baptize him with water, You baptize him with the Holy Spirit.” I started to–to put him under the water.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And just then a whirl come from the heavens above, and here come that Light, shining down. Hundreds and hundreds of people on the bank, right at two o’clock in the afternoon, in June. And It hung right over where I was at. A Voice spoke from there, and said, “As John the Baptist was sent for the forerunner of the first coming of Christ, you’ve got a… have a Message that will bring forth the forerunning of the Second Coming of Christ.” And it liked to scared me to death.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And I went back, and all the people there, the–the foundry men and all them, the druggist, and all of them on the bank. I had baptized about two or three hundred that afternoon. And when they taken me out, pulled me out of the water, the deacons and so forth went up, they asked me, said, “What did that Light mean?”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>A big group of colored people from the–the Gilt Edge Baptist church and the Lone Star church down there, and many of those was down there, they begin screaming when they saw that happen, people fainted.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>The Approach To God</em> preached in Chicago, Illinois on January 23, 1955:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>We were singing that when the Morning Star, the Angel of the Lord made Its first appearance over where I was standing in public, for the first time in my life, at the foot of Spring Street in the Ohio river in June ‘33, as a young Baptist minister, there baptizing.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>The Healing of Jairus’ Daughter</em> preached in Phoenix, Arizona on February 27, 1955:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>I was baptizing them down at the end of Spring Street in Jeffersonville, Indiana, in the Ohio River, when… nearly seven or eight thousand people standing on the bank, bear witness, that two o’clock in the evening, June, 1933, how that a Pillar of Fire come down out of heaven, and hung over where I was standing.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>The “Courier Journal,” and “The Times News”… no, it was the… [Brother Branham snaps his fingers–Ed.] Oh, I’ll get the name of the paper just in a minute, [He snaps his fingers again–Ed.] if I could think of it, the Louisville paper: great article: Mystic Light Appears Over Local Baptist Evangelist While Baptizing At River. Very mystic thing, people could not understand. Many fainted at the Presence of It. The Angel of the Lord come right down and hung over where I was. The “Louisville Herald” is what it was, “Louisville Herald, Herald Post” of Louisville, Kentucky.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>Blind Bartimaeus</em> preached in Alberta, Canada in April, 1955:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>And then on the river , when I was first ordained in the Baptist church (twenty-three-year-old boy, or, man), God come down that day when I was baptizing five hundred at the river , and appeared in that same Light. The papers packed articles of it. And then later on, they said, “Oh, well, it might have been psychology.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>When It come into the meetings and people, some people so close to God, or, may it not been that, may it was for them. Some people can see things and some doesn’t see things.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>Enticing Spirits</em> preached in Jeffersonville, Indiana on July 24, 1955:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Won’t you come and go along? I remember when about five hundred of us standing yonder when I was baptizing a hundred and twenty, about this time of year, down here on the banks of the river , when that great Morning Star come shining there on the river . Hallelujah! A voice speaking from It, said, “Someday you’ll spread the Gospel throughout the world.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “A poor, little, ignorant farm boy will never do that. It’s the grace of God.” Amen. Oh, who will come and go? Get rid of, lay aside every weight now. Don’t listen to those enticing spirits. Come, listen to the Word of God, THUS SAITH THE LORD. “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>The True And False Vines</em> preached in Shreveport, Louisiana on March 11, 1956:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’d just been ordained in the Baptist church, about–about two weeks and had a revival there in the city, lasted for two weeks. And we was baptizing five hundred converts on the river that afternoon when the Angel of the Lord come visible. The newspapers and things picked it up, and so forth: twenty-three years ago. And the voice that He spoke from there, it has done just exactly what He said He would do.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>Witnesses</em> preached in Chicago, Illinois on September 30, 1956:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Not only that, but I say this: I’m looking down here at the audience now. Here not long ago standing yonder on the Ohio River…?… gone and such unqualified, a poor…?… boy trying to do what thought was right for the Lord Jesus. There before thousands of people, the Pillar of Fire moved from the sky, come down there and said, “As John was sent for a witness before the first coming, this message you’ll take will be a witness to the whole world for the second coming. That’ll be proven,” He said.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>God Keeps His Word</em> preached in Sturgis, Michigan on January 15, 1957:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>About ten years before that, about–about fifteen, nearly ten or fifteen years before that, when I was just a young Baptist preacher, no more than a boy, baptizing out there in the river, hundreds of people that afternoon, my first revival; and that Light come down from heaven and stood there before thousands of people. They fainted and everything, years ago when I was baptizing. And a Voice spoke from there and said that I would take a message around the world, which would start a revival just like that it did in the days of John the Baptist before the second coming of Christ. I knowed a bit more about it than nothing. I wrote it down and kept it. They kept it. The newspapers had it, and everything. “Mystic Light Appears Over Local Baptist Boy, Pastor, While He’s A Baptizing In The Water,” and all about it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>Questions And Answers On Hebrews 2</em> preached in Jeffersonville, Indiana on October 2, 1957:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>How many remembers the Star hanging down here at the Ohio River, many years ago, when He said… Here’s a picture of It here yet, when He come down. Said, “Your Message will go forth as a forerunner for the second coming, just like John went forth as a forerunner for the first coming.” And look, around the world has swept a revival. Tens of thousands times thousands and thousands, and a great revival…</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>Faith</em> preached in Jeffersonville, Indiana on December 29, 1957:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>And right yonder on the river , many, many, many years ago, when we was baptizing from my first little revival, there where this Angel of the Lord here, come down and hung over where we was at, and He said to me this message will go around the world, and would start a revival that’ll sweep around the world, and it’ll be just before the coming of Christ the second time.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And when the–Brother Davis, Doctor Roy Davis, many of you know him, who ordained me into the church, into the Baptist Church, when he said I had a nightmare, how would I, with a seventh grade education go and preach to kings and potentates and monarchs around the world.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>God Called Man</em> preached in Jeffersonville, Indiana on October 5, 1958:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>How many’s still living, when It first appeared before mankind down here on the river when I was baptizing them hundreds down there that day, in the building, raise up your hand. There’s three or four hands: still living from years ago down here on the river when It come down, and the message of the Lord came: still just the same. Did It do just what It said there, that the ministry I would be preaching would start a revival around the world just before the second coming of Christ? Look what it’s done. See?</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>What Was The Holy Ghost Given For</em> preached in Jeffersonville, Indiana on December 17, 1959:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>I can hear the water splash yonder on the Ohio River. When I was a little old boy preacher about twenty-two years old, singing that there, and I heard… Looked up above me and heard a Voice, said, “Look up.” Here comes that big Light hanging right yonder, come moving down over me and said, “As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the first coming of Christ, you’ll have a Message that’ll forerun the second coming of Christ.” Oh, how could I believe it? But it happened just the same. And tonight revival fires are burning around and around the world. The great ransomed Church of God lifted Herself out of that place. And great campaigns of healing, and signs, and wonders, and miracles, showing forth the coming.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>The Revelation That Was Given To Me</em> preached in San Juan, Puerto Rico on February 10, 1960:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Then when I was converted, I joined the Baptist church, started preaching the Gospel, right away. The Lord blessed greatly, and I had my first revival, a two weeks revival, five hundred came to the Lord. I taken them down at the river to baptize them. And while they was around ten thousand on the bank, watching… It was real dry, no rain for two or three weeks. People were praying for rain. And when I was baptizing the seventeenth convert, I heard a Voice, said,</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>“Look up.” It scared me. I was just a young boy.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>The girl that I later married, was taking pictures on the bank. I heard It again; said, “Look up.” And I was afraid to look up. Everyone on the bank was wondering what I was hesitating about. All–many peoples up and down the banks of the river … Newspaper photographers… And then It said again, “Look up.” And I looked up, and as I looked up, here come that Light coming down. People begin fainting, falling, and a Voice came that shook all around the place there, said, “As John, the Baptist, was sent to forerun the first coming of Christ, the Message that is given you will be a forerunning of the second coming of Christ.” Not that I would be a forerunner, but the Message was the forerunning. I’m no more than no one else. It’s the Christ we’re speaking of. Then I–them visions started coming to me more than ever. E-9 Now, that newspaper went on to Associated Press. It went all the way into Canada, and all through… We have the clippings of it yet. Said, “A mystic Light appears over a local Baptist minister while…”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>Elijah And The Meal Offering</em> preached in Phoenix, Arizona on March 10, 1960:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>But one thing that I’m happy about tonight, my wife… As much as we have been together, and she’s seen the great visions of God manifested and come to pass. She was down at the river that day at Jeffersonville when the Angel of the Lord made His first appearance; it was packed on the Associated Press across the nation. Been a… It was 1933. She was standing there, but she heard the Voice but didn’t see the Light. Where, even the newspaper photographers saw the Light. But she was quite young then, and about twelve years old, and she never seen the Light. She was watching the people, many were fainting. And It just stayed there just about one minute and then It went right straight back up into the skies again. And the newspapers put a great article, “Mystic light appears over–over a local Baptist minister while baptizing.” Went all the way into Canada, got on the Canada press.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From the message <em>From That Time</em> preached in Klamath Falls, Oregon on July 16, 1960:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Look at Elijah. What did he call? He couldn’t help it. He’s cried out against that Jezebel, did he? How… Here come John the Baptist with his same spirit. How could he have helped crying out about it: “It’s not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” It cost him his head. See? God takes His man, but never His spirit. See? It keeps moving on down. The forerunning of the coming of the Lord Jesus, as You spoke down there at the river in the–in 1933 when I was baptizing there, and you see what happened to it. See? It’s just exactly what He said it would take place. So you can’t help it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And a few paragraph’s later in the same message:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>My wife, about six months ago, saw It for her first time. She was on the river that day when it appeared down there. When the article went all over the–the English speaking world on the Associated Press: “Mystic Light Appears Over Local Baptist Minister While Baptizing.” Stood there… It talked; people heard It talking back and forth. Thousands of people standing there watching me baptize from my first revival–five hundred converts–in the Ohio River… It was in the paper, newspaper clippings; we have it. Got on the Associated Press, Canada got it, all around over the country. “Mystic Light…”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>The Signs Of His Coming</em> preached in Cleveland, Tennessee on April 7, 1962:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>You remember when that Angel come down on the river (which you have the picture of it, and you know about), when it said here about–in 1933, when I was baptizing my first group, that the message would sweep the world? And every nation they’ve got a revival going. They’ve had it everywhere. See? Sure. Pulling the elected out. That’s right. “This Gospel shall be preached.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>A Greater Than Solomon Is Here</em> preached in Bloomington, Illinois on April 12, 1961:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>And the papers packed it, “Mystic Light appearing over local Baptist minister,” a boy, while baptizing five hundred at the Ohio River. And He said, “As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the first coming of Christ, this message shall forerun the second.” Here we are.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>Questions And Answers</em> preached in Jeffersonville, Indiana on May 27, 1962:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Then I think about the river in 1936, I think what He said. What happened there? Many of you know. I was just a boy, and of baptizing my first baptism when that Angel of the Lord came down and stood over where I was at. Some people said, “You didn’t see it.” Then science proved that it was so. See, see?</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Now, what did He say there? “As it was, as John the Baptist was sent forth to forerun the first coming of Christ, your message will forerun the second coming.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>Perseverant</em> preached in South Gate, California on June 23, 1962:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Years ago, as a little boy, when I was baptizing down on the river that day, just my first message in the Missionary Baptist church… I was baptizing five hundred. And that afternoon, on June, 1933, on June, about the 15th, here come that Pillar of Fire whirling out of the skies, like the pretty, sunshiny afternoon, and go right down in that Voice and shook the whole country round there, said, “As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the first coming of Christ, your Message will forerun the second coming.” Now, it’s started a revival immediately after that. And there it’s went across the nation, around the world, Pentecost reviving. And that’s what has taken place, the second coming of Christ. And now, the newspapers packed it way up in Canada. It was on articles, and so forth, and went on the Associated Press. I kept telling people. Then finally the eye of the camera begin to catch it. And now they’ve got it back there.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>A Testimony Upon The Sea</em> preached in Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada on July 26, 1962:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s all down through the records. The first time that was ever taken, the Canadian newspaper packed it thirty-one years ago, across the whole province of Canada, all the provinces, the Dominion of Canada. Said, “A mystic Light appears over a minister while baptizing in the river .” That was in 1930, at the foot of Spring Street at Jeffersonville, Indiana, when around ten thousand people was standing there. And I was baptizing my seventeenth person.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “Heavenly Father…” And I was a young Baptist preacher, and I said, “Heavenly Father, I can only baptize him with water unto the fellowship of this church. But I pray that You’ll baptize him with the Holy Spirit.” And I said that, Something said, “Look up.” I heard it a third time said, “Look up.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And I turned and looked, and a great roar shook around over the crowd, and here come that Light milling itself down, and stood right over me where I was standing. And a Voice came from it, said, “As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the first coming of Christ, your message will forerun the second coming.” Look at it today. A revival broke after that, and around the world it’s went, a Pentecostal, Holy Ghost revival. Now, Lutherans, Baptists, Presbyterian, Catholics and all’s receiving the Holy Ghost, everywhere, and the church making ready to go in. The message is coming to the end. See? There you are.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>Is This The Sign Of The End Sir</em> preached in Jeffersonville, Indiana on December 30, 1962:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>When that Angel there… And I suppose, besides my wife, there’s people here tonight, from thirty years ago, that was standing close when That come down. Is there anybody in the audience now that was there when the Angel of the Lord, that come down on the river the first time, before people? Raise up your hands. Yes, there they are. See? Now, I see Mrs. Wilson raise up her hand. She was standing there. My wife, there, she was there. And I don’t know who some of the rest of them is, that was standing on the bank here, before many, many people, when I was baptizing at two o’clock in the afternoon.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And right out of a brassy sky, where there hadn’t been rain for weeks, here He come with a roar, and said, “As John the Baptist was sent forth, to forerun the first coming of Christ, you’re sent forth with a Message, to forerun the second Coming of Christ.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>An Absolute</em> preached in Phoenix, Arizona on January 27, 1963:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Now, if I’ve got the wrong thing, then God will never confirm it. But if you have got the right thing, God is obligated to confirm it. There you are. And that’s the proof of it. See? If it’s right, God is obligated to prove it’s right. If it’s wrong, He will have nothing to do with it.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>So, I remember, after my first revival. I was down on the river, baptizing. I took the seventeenth person out. My wife, a little girl standing on the bank at that time. (I had never been married to my first wife that’s dead.) And there she was, on the bank. And they was all standing there, hundreds and hundreds of people, yes, four or five thousand, maybe more, up-and-down the riverbank, a real hot afternoon in June.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I walked out in the water, and I took a candidate, about the seventeenth person, to baptize him. I had around five hundred, after my revival, to be baptized. And I walked out in the water with this person. I started to raise my hand. I said, “Heavenly Father, as I…”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And about that time, Something shook me. I thought, “Where is it?” I looked around. Everybody had their heads bowed, oh, as far as I could see. Way back up on the banks, there was, oh, cars and people piled all over the walls, and things. I looked again. I heard a Voice say, “Look up.” And I was afraid to look up. I was just a kid. We got the picture of It.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “Father…”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Something said, “Look up.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I put my hand down. This young fellow, I was to baptize, looked at me in the face. He said, “Well, Brother Bill?”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “Did you hear That?”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>He said, “No.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “Heavenly Father…”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>He said, “Look up.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I looked up, like this. And coming down from the skies come a Pillar of Light whirling around, a Voice coming from It, roaring, coming down. Said, “As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the first coming of Jesus Christ, so are you sent.” O God! I watched that Light. I had seen It, since a little boy.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I tried to tell people. They said, “You’re out of your mind.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>The Second Seal</em> preached in Jeffersonville, Indiana on March 19, 1963:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>When He appeared down there on the river thirty-three years ago this coming June in the form of a Light, you old-timers remember that I told you since a little boy that voice and that Light, and people thought you was kind of a little bit off at the head; of course, I would’ve probably thought the same thing somebody said it. But now, you don’t have to wonder about it now, and the church hasn’t wondered since 1933.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Down on the river that day where I was baptizing hundreds of people, I remember that Mayer boy told me, said, “You’re going down to duck those people, Billy.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Little Jim Mayer down here, I think he’s dead now. I think he got killed out there; some woman shot him. But he–he asked me, “Are you going down to duck those people?”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “No, sir, I’m going to baptize them in the Name of our Lord Jesus.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And there was a woman going along in the group. She said to another woman; she said–made a remark, something about it. She said, “Well, I wouldn’t mind to be ducked”; said, “that’s all right; I don’t care…”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “Go back and repent. You’re not fit to be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>This is not nothing to play with. It’s the Gospel of Christ, revealed by a commission, the Word. Just, now… You saying, “Nonsense,” and “Foolishness,” you could’ve placed it somewhere else; but remember, it’s promised in the Word that this would happen, and just exactly what it would be, and here it is. See?</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Then down there that day, when they were standing at the river , and the Angel of the Lord that I had told you that It looked like a–a star or something in the distant, and then It got close, and told you how the emerald Light looked, and there It come right down on the river where I was baptizing, when businessmen down here in the city said, “What does that mean?”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “That wasn’t for me; that was for you; I believe. That was for your sake that God did that to let you know that I’m telling you the Truth.” By being a kid, a boy like, and about 21 years old, they–they wouldn’t believe that (You see?), because it’s too much for a kid.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>Humble Thyself</em> preached in Jeffersonville, Indiana on July 17, 1963:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Do you know what brought these things to pass, when I first started and the Lord appeared to me down on the river and told me that? And Brother Vayle saw that, I believe, in a paper in Canada, many years ago, where that Angel of the Lord appeared on the river down there, it was on Associated Press, “Mystic Light over local minister, while baptizing .” And–and you know what did that? When we had the tent meeting just across the street, a tent that seated about, oh, twenty-five hundred people, ministers come from everywhere, and said, “Brother, come here a minute.” I was just a boy, like, oh, just a kid. And they said, “How do you keep those people in one accord? They love one another till… I haven’t seen people love one another.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>Go Awake Jesus</em> preached in Shreveport, Louisiana on November 30, 1963:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>That day down there, about thirty-three years ago, or thirty-four, standing on the banks of the Ohio River there, at the bridge, and about five thousand people or more gathered on the banks. I was just about twenty years old, twenty-three, twenty-two or twenty-three years old, my first revival. I was baptizing five hundred people, that afternoon. And the deacons had led me out in the water. About the seventeenth person, when I was baptizing, I heard a Voice say, “Look up.” And I turned to look up. Billy’s mother, we wasn’t even married then, just going together. Here come that Pillar of Fire, circling out of the bright blue skies, at two o’clock on June the 15th, coming right down out of the skies, like that. And a Voice roared out, all over the place there, and said, “As John the Baptist was sent forth to forerun the first coming of Christ, you have the Message that’ll now forerun the second Coming of Christ.” Photographers taking the picture.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>How could we believe that, with just barely a grammar school education, and so forth? But I believed it. That afternoon, when I was so tired when I got finished baptizing , they had to come get me out of the water. I couldn’t hardly stand no more of the current of the river .</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And It went, come down, and they took the pictures of It. It was on the Associated Press, went world-wide almost, up into Canada. Brother Lee Vayle has a copy of it yet, I think, from on the Associated Press, “A mystery Light hangs over a local Baptist minister while baptizing at the foot of Spring Street in Jeffersonville, Indiana.” The Louisville Herald picked it up, took the pictures, and went off, and away it went across on the Associated Press.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>A Trial</em> preached in Louisville, Mississippi on April 5, 1964:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>I went down then to baptize a bunch of people on the river. When I was baptizing there, where about five thousand people standing on the bank; right in the middle of the day, two o’clock in the afternoon; hot, they hadn’t had a rain for a week or two; and standing on the bank. Here come that Pillar of Fire whirling out of the air, coming down where I was standing, and the Voice saying, “As John the Baptist was sent, and to forerun the first coming of Christ, your Message will forerun the Second Coming of Christ.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>The newspapers packed it, and it swept into Canada on the Associated Press, around the world, “A local minister, Baptist minister, baptizing , and,” said, “a mystic Light appears over him.” The very One that they caught the picture of here, and done it in Germany and–and everywhere. And it’s done.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>My pastor said to me, he said, “Billy, what kind of a dream did you have? Why, you know you didn’t see…”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “There were hundreds standing there, witnessed It.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And they’d come down, said, “Oh, that’s a mental delusion.” Trying his best, that’s old man Unbelief and Mr. Skeptic.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>A Court Trial</em> preached in Birmingham, Alabama on April 12, 1964:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>I remember down there, when I was a little boy. You’ve read my life story, and you know the story. I remember, on the river down there, when I was a young Baptist preacher, and was baptizing there. About ten thousand people standing on the bank, when one afternoon… My first great revival, somewhat around a thousand converts, and I was baptizing them out there in the water. The seventeenth person, I was leading out into the water. And I heard a noise, and I looked around. It was hot. It was on June, 1933, at the foot of Spring Street at Jeffersonville, Indiana. I was leading them out there. And the banks, all up-and-down, was just crowded with people.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I walked out with this little boy. I had seen him at the altar. I said, “Son, have you accepted Jesus Christ to be your personal Saviour?”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>He said, “I have.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>His name was Edward Colvin. And I said, “Edward, do you know what I’m doing now?”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>He said, “I do, Brother Branham.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “I am baptizing you, showing to this audience out here, that you’ve accepted Christ as your personal Saviour. When I baptize you in the Name of Jesus Christ, you take on His Name. You rise for a new life. And when you leave here, you’re to walk a new life. Do you understand that, Edward?”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>He said, “I do.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “Bow your head.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “Heavenly Father, as this young man has confessed his faith in You. And as Thou hast commissioned us to ‘go into all the world and preach the Gospel, baptizing them into the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,’ commissioning them to believe all things which You have taught.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>“I therefore baptize thee, my beloved brother, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And as I laid him into the water, I come up, I heard something going, “Whooosh!” I looked at the crowd, and it… I heard a Voice say, “Look up!”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I thought, “What is that? Billy here, his mother, two or three years before we was married, she was standing there. I seen her face, white. She had a camera in her hand.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>“Look up!” I heard it the second time. I was scared. I looked around, the people standing there just looking, just dumbfounded. I heard it say again, “Look up!”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And when I looked, here come that same Pillar of Fire that led Israel through the wilderness. Thousands of eyes looking at It coming right down over where I was standing. And said, “As John the Baptist was sent forth to forerun the first coming of Christ, your Message shall cover the earth and forerun the Second Coming of Christ.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>That went into the newspaper, on the Associated Press. Doctor Lee Vayle, here this afternoon, picked it up, plumb in Canada and around, “Local Baptist preacher, while baptizing, a mystic Light appears over him.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>The Trial</em> preached in Tampa, Florida on April 19, 1964:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>One day at the river , I was baptizing five hundred people at the river , when, all of a sudden, this same Light that come in when I was a little boy. And I had told the people I had been seeing It. They said I was dreaming and it was some kind of a mental conception that I had. But before better than five thousand people, at two o’clock in the afternoon, in 1933, out of the skies come this Cloud coming down, speaking these Words, “As John the Baptist was commissioned to forerun the first coming of Christ, your ministry will forerun the second coming of Christ,” where thousands times thousands of people heard it, and newspapers give witness of it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>A Trial</em> preached in Tucson, Arizona on April 27, 1964:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>And I had a baptismal service down on the river , on 1933, on the middle of June, about sixteenth or eighteenth of June. And standing out there, it had been so hot, for weeks. Hadn’t had no rain for two or three weeks, and the country was burning up, nearly. And there was, I guess, around seven or eight thousand people on the bank. And I walked out in the water, with my seventeenth candidate, to baptize. And when I baptized, started to baptize, I said, “As I baptize thee with water, may the Lord Jesus…”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>When I said that, Something struck me and said, “Look up.” And as I turned to look, after the third time It said it, a place about fifteen-feet-square was churning up-and-down in them brassy skies. And down from there came that same Pillar of Light that come in when I was a little baby, that spoke to me in the burning bush, or the bush back there that day, and come into that bush, and come hung over where thousands of people.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Newspapers packed it all across the nation, plumb into Canada. We got the clippings. “Mystic Light appears over local Baptist minister while preaching, or baptizing.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And that Voice came down and said, “As John the Baptist was sent forth, to forerun the first coming of Christ, so will your Message forerun the second Coming of Christ.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>Questions and Answers 4</em> preached in Jeffersonville, Indiana on August 30, 1964:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>I remember Sister Wilson there when I was called to her bedside dying with TB, hemorrhaging, till the sheets and pillow slips was laying bloody in the corner. I remember the Holy Spirit stopping the blood. A few days afterwards I baptized her in the Ohio River in icy water in the Name of Jesus Christ, and set her in the back of my open car, a little old roadster, and rode her from Utica… Wasn’t that right? From… [Sister Wilson speaks to Brother Branham–Ed.] Yeah. Sister Hope, my wife, Sister there, was in the front seat of a little roadster, and my mother and Sister Snelling in the back. I got their picture, Sister Snelling, mom, and all, Mrs. Weber, Mrs.–my mother-in-law, all of them standing there, and Meda, just a little bitty girl standing out there, and now, gray-headed woman. [A sister speaks to Brother Branham–Ed.]</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>From <em>This Day This Scripture Is Fulfilled</em> preached in Jeffersonville, Indiana on February 19, 1965:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Then, consider now, I ask you at this hour, you people here of Jeffersonville. In 1933, the supernatural Light that fell down yonder on the river , that day when I was baptizing five hundred in the Name of Jesus Christ, as about a twenty-year-old boy. What did It say, Jeffersonville? What was It at the foot of Spring Street there, when the Courier Journal, I believe it was the Louisville Herald, packed the article of It? It went plumb across the Associated Press, plumb into Canada. Doctor Lee Vayle cut it out of the paper, way up in Canada, in 1933.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>When I was baptizing my seventeenth person, under this Witness; and you know the rest of the story. And when I was standing there, baptizing the seventeenth person, a Light come down from Heaven, shining down above there, like a Star falling from the Heaven. A Voice said, “As John the Baptist was sent to forerun the first coming of Christ, your Message shall forerun His second Coming, into all the world.” This day this Scripture is fulfilled.</p>
</blockquote>
The Common Peoples' Church2013-06-22T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/06/22/The-Common-Peoples-Church<p><em>This is the fourth post in a multi-part series on when Brother Branham became involved with <a href="/tags.html#pentecost-ref">Pentecostal churches</a>.</em></p>
<p>So far in this series we’ve discussed Brother Branham being the <a href="/2013/06/19/Where-My-Sorrow-Started/">pastor of the Pentecostal Tabernacle</a> at the time of Hope’s death, evidence that Brother Branham <a href="/2013/06/20/Preaching-At-Pentecostal-Churches/">preached at Pentecostal churches</a> prior to Hope’s death, and provided documented proof that <a href="/2013/06/21/Roy-Davis/">Roy Davis’ church was the First Pentecostal Baptist</a>, not a Missionary Baptist church. In this post, we’ll try to gain some insight into the First Pentecostal Baptist church based on information that appeared in advertisements in the Jeffersonville Evening News.</p>
<p>On January 21, 1933, the church advertisement indicated Dr. Davis would be preaching on “Holy Ghost Power”.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/ChurchAds/19330121Davis.jpg" alt="Church Advertisement" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" /></p>
<p>The next week’s advertisement on January 28, 1933 highlights that Hope Brumbach would be leading the young people’s meeting. In addition, another sister is leading the devotional services.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/ChurchAds/19330128Davis.jpg" alt="Church Advertisement" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" /></p>
<p>Highlights from the February 4, 1933 advertisement include Hope Brumbach leading the devotional meeting.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/ChurchAds/19330204Davis.jpg" alt="Church Advertisement" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" /></p>
<p>The advertisement on February 18, 1933 identifies Brother Branham as an elder and indicates he was in charge of the praise service. This establishes that Brother Branham was part of Dr. Davis’ congregation in the services leading up to this one. Dr. Davis spoke on “What is the Pentecostal Religion, and Why Have It?”</p>
<p><img src="/assets/ChurchAds/19330218Davis.jpg" alt="Church Advertisement" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" /></p>
<p>The February 25, 1933 ad mentions a Saturday evening love feast. In addition, Hope is once again leading the young people’s meeting. Dr. Davis was to speak on the “Holy Ghost Religion.” Notice that this ad states that, “Many are getting to God in our meetings, where the old time Pentecostal power is falling.”</p>
<p><img src="/assets/ChurchAds/19330225Davis.jpg" alt="Church Advertisement" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" /></p>
<p>The March 11 ad indicates that Senior P.B.Y.P.U. will meet under the leadership of Wm Branham, president. Dr. Davis preached his third sermon in a series on “Pentecost”. The ad states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“If you have problems with which you cannot cope, bring them to us, and in Jesus’ name we will pray them away. “</p>
</blockquote>
<p><img src="/assets/ChurchAds/19330311Davis.jpg" alt="Church Advertisement" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" /></p>
<p>The March 18, 1933 advertisement lists Huette West as the president of P.B.Y.P.U. instead of Brother Branham. Dr. Davis continued a series on Pentecost.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/ChurchAds/19330318ADavis.jpg" alt="Church Advertisement" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" />
<img src="/assets/ChurchAds/19330318BDavis.jpg" alt="Church Advertisement" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" /></p>
<p>On April 15, the Easter service was preached by Sister Garrison. In addition, the young people dramatized the sixteenth chapter of Mark.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/ChurchAds/19330415Davis.jpg" alt="Church Advertisement" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" /></p>
<p>The July 22, 1933 advertisement highlights a baptismal service. The converts were to be baptized in the name of Jesus. In addition, the ad includes a reference to Acts 2:38.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/ChurchAds/19330722ADavis.jpg" alt="Church Advertisement" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" />
<img src="/assets/ChurchAds/19330722BDavis.jpg" alt="Church Advertisement" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" /></p>
<p>Now that we know more about the church Brother Branham was ordained in, next we’ll turn our attention to his first revival.</p>
Dr. Roy E. Davis, Pastor 2013-06-21T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/06/21/Roy-Davis<p><em>This is the third post in a multi-part series on when Brother Branham became involved with <a href="/tags.html#pentecost-ref">Pentecostal churches</a>.</em></p>
<p>In our search for evidence of Brother Branham’s first involvement with Pentecostal churches, we examined Dr. Roy Davis’ church, where Brother Branham was first ordained.</p>
<p>The first place we looked for information about Roy Davis and his church was the New Albany/Jeffersonville City Directory. Archived City Directories, similar to phone books, are available at a number of libraries. The Indiana State library has an extensive collection of these directories from around the state. Here’s a photo of some of the New Albany/Jeffersonville City Directories at the Indiana State Library:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/CityDirectory/CityDirectoryShelf.jpg" alt="City Directories at the Indiana State Library" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>City directories included more information about a person than a present day phone book would. Conveniently, these directories included a person’s occupation. Here’s the introduction to the 1947 city directory:
<img src="/assets/CityDirectory/CityDirectoryInside.jpg" alt="Sample City Directory" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>During the 1930s, these directories were compiled every two years. Roy Davis and his church do not appear in the 1929-1930 City Directory. Roy Davis does appear in the 1931-1932 and 1933-1934 city directories. In both of these volumes he is listed as the pastor of the First Pentecostal Baptist church in Jeffersonville. <strong>He’s never described as a Missionary Baptist in any city directory.</strong></p>
<p>Here’s a copy of Pastor Davis’ entry in the City directory for 1931-1932:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/RoyDavis/USCityDirectories1931_Jeffersonville.jpg" alt="Roy Davis' 1931/1932 City Directory entry" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>And here’s the entry for 1933-1934:
<img src="/assets/RoyDavis/davis1933_Jeffersonville.jpg" alt="Roy Davis' 1933/1934 City Directory entry" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>In addition to the city directory entries above, the Jeffersonville Evening News included a section each week, usually in the Saturday paper, announcing upcoming church services. We located a number of advertisements from Roy Davis’ church. Here’s a sample from June 6, 1933:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/ChurchAds/19330603Davis.jpg" alt="Church Advertisement" class="img img-polaroid clearfix" /></p>
<p>Notice that the name of Roy Davis’ church is the First Pentecostal Baptist Church. There are no church advertisements for any Missionary Baptist churches.</p>
<p>As you can see from the image above, church advertisements often included detailed information about what was going on at the church, including who was leading services, the topics to be discussed, and more. In our next post, we’ll review a number of these advertisements so you can get a sense of what was taught at the First Pentecostal Baptist Church.</p>
Preaching At Pentecostal Churches2013-06-20T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/06/20/Preaching-At-Pentecostal-Churches<p><em>This is the second post in a multi-part series on when Brother Branham became involved with <a href="/tags.html#pentecost-ref">Pentecostal churches</a>.</em></p>
<p>In our <a href="/2013/06/19/Where-My-Sorrow-Started">last post</a>, we presented Hope’s obituary which indicated Brother Branham’s church was named the Pentecostal Tabernacle. This concerned us because the tragedy of Hope’s death was the result of Brother Branham listening to his mother-in-law instead of going out to preach amongst the Pentecostal “holy rollers” he’d met in Mishawaka. We decided to search the newspaper archives to see what we could discover about Brother Branham and his tabernacle. The very idea that Brother Branham had a Pentecostal church before Hope’s death was shocking, to say the least. After all, in his life story, it was clear that he was a Missionary Baptist.</p>
<p>On November 30, 1936, about eight months before Hope died, Brother Branham’s father passed away. Here’s his father’s obituary from the December 1, 1936 Jeffersonville Evening News:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Charles/obituary.jpg" alt="Charles Branham's (father) Obituary" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>Notice that Brother Branham is listed as the pastor of the Pentecostal Tabernacle in this obituary.</p>
<p>Going back further in the archives, we discovered an article from August 6, 1935 when Charles Branham, Brother Branham’s younger brother, died in a tragic automobile accident. Here’s the article that appeared in the Jeffersonville Evening News:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Obituaries/CharlesBrother.jpg" alt="Charles Branham's (younger brother) Obituary" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>It is interesting that the church is identified as the Branham Tabernacle in this article when it is referred to as the Pentecostal Tabernacle in the later obituaries. This article, combined with Brother Branham’s words from <em>Testimony Of a True Witness</em> preached in Jeffersonville, Indiana on November 5, 1961 indicate to us that Brother Branham was already preaching amongst the Pentecostals in 1935:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>And this morning while laying on bed thinking of that… The first one to go in our family was my brother Edward. And I was out west working on a ranch when he went. I wasn’t home, but I saw him, yet a sinner, saw him in a vision before he went.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>The next one to go was Charles. I was… He went quickly, suddenly. He was… I was preaching down here at the little, <strong>colored Pentecostal church that night</strong>, when Charles was killed up on the highway by an automobile.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We know that the church was referred to as the Pentecostal Tabernacle in 1936, and that Brother Branham was preaching in Pentecostal churches at least in 1935, a full two years before Hope’s death. There’s evidence that Brother Branham had been involved in Pentecostal Churches even earlier. On March 26, 1953 Brother Branham preached a sermon titled <em>Israel And The Church</em> in which he talked about building the tabernacle:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The big churches made fun and pointed their fingers. They said we were holy-rollers. When I built the–I laid the cornerstone there, they said they’ll turn that little old thing into a garage. It’s been twenty years ago, and the Holy Ghost still lives here. Hallelujah. That’s right. And what they said was fanaticism and everything, kings and monarchs across the world has called. Great men has been healed, the powers of God has swept the world around, till now we stand millions strong. Hallelujah. And one of these mornings… She’s went through the critics. They said it would burn out. They said to me down here, said, “Oh, Billy, you lost your mind. That’s all there is to it.” Even my own mother-in-law said, “Why, the boy’s gone crazy.” But if I am, I’m having a wonderful time.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In this account, Brother Branham indicates that the people attending the Tabernacle when it was built were referred to as “holy-rollers”, the same deragatory term used by his mother-in-law to refer to the Pentecostals he’d met in Mishawaka.</p>
<p>We decided to step back even further and examine Roy Davis’ church since this is where Brother Branham was ordained.</p>
And There, Friends, Is Where My Sorrow Started2013-06-19T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/06/19/Where-My-Sorrow-Started<p>If you are in the message, there’s no doubt that you are familiar with Brother Branham’s life story. It really is a riveting testimony and most people can identify, or at least empathize with, some of the hardship that touched Brother Branham’s early life. However, one portion of Brother Branham’s life story always stuck out to us as being particularly tragic: the events leading up to Hope and Sharon Rose’s deaths.</p>
<p>You probably recall the story of Brother Branham travelling through northern Indiana on his way back from Michigan and stumbling across a large Pentecostal gathering. At this time, Brother Branham was a Missionary Baptist and was unfamiliar with the Pentecostal people. Intrigued, he stopped and attended the meeting. Brother Branham slept in a corn field and attended a service the next morning where he was asked to give an impromptu sermon. After his sermon, Brother Branham received many invitations to come hold revivals at a number of churches.</p>
<p>When he returned home excited to go out and preach amongst the Pentecostal people, Brother Branham was rebuffed by his mother-in-law:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>And–and there, friends, is where my sorrows started. I listened to my mother-in-law in the stead of God. He was giving me the opportunity. And there this gift would’ve been manifested long time ago, if I’d just went ahead and done what God told me to do.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>But instead of that, I didn’t want her to be angry, and I didn’t want to hurt nobody’s feelings. And so I just–just let it go like that. Just walked, I just said, “All right, we won’t go.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And right there, the sorrows started. Immediately after that, my father died. My brother was killed a few nights later from that. I almost lost my own… I lost my father, my brother, my wife, my baby, and my sister-in-law, and almost my own life within about six month’s time. And just started going down. My church, pretty near everything went down, down, down. Hope taken sick.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p><em>Life Story</em>, Phoenix, AZ April 15, 1951</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When Hope was on her death bed, Hope and Brother Branham talked about what a mistake it had been for them to not accept the invitations to go out amongst the Pentecostals. It was a terrible price to pay for his disobedience.</p>
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Click here to read a full account of this story from Brother Branham.
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<p>
The following account in Brother Branham's own words, is from <em>Life Story</em>, preached on July 20, 1952 in Hammond, Indiana:
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<p>
And when God brought us the little boy, how happy we were together. Went on, and life went on.
After while John Ryan, back there come into my life. I met him. He asked me to come to Dowagiac one day where--where he lives over in Dowagiac, Michigan, to go on a little vacation. We saved our money and everything. And I had about, oh, maybe ten or twelve dollars saved up.
</p>
<p>I'm fixing to come to the end of the story, now, just in a little bit. I'm, know I'm holding you, it's just I got about ten, twelve more minutes to be out on time. But we come to Dowagiac. I've tried to hold myself up and hit the high spots now. Now pray for me.
</p>
<p>
When I went to Dowagiac with Brother Ryan back there, I went to his home, a little humble home about like I lived in. His wife, but she would swear by him. He had a fine boy. And so they made me very welcome.
And on my road back home, going back home, I come through Mishawaka. And I looked out there, and there was a groups of people swarmed out there, and cars, and Cadillacs, and Fords, and cops trying to keep order around. I thought, "What's going on here?" And I hear the singing, you know, and going on. My, everybody screaming and hollering. I thought, "Well, is it a funeral, or what's going on?"
</p>
<p>
It was at a church house. And I stops and goes in. Come to find out, it was a convention where there was a group of the Pentecostal people, was holding a convention over there. And they had to hold it in the north, because of the race conditions they couldn't hold it, and it was a international convention. They was holding it in a big tabernacle at Mishawaka.
</p>
<p>So I--<strong>I never seen the Pentecost before</strong>, so I thought, "Well, believe I'll go and see what it looks like." So I walked in, and there they was all clapping their hands [Brother Branham claps his hands--Ed.] like that, and screaming and singing. I thought, "What manners. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, never seen anything like that in my life. What are they all talking about?"</p>
<p>And here was a colored man up there, and he was singing. And he was singing:</p>
<p>I know it was the Blood, And all the congregation: I know it was the Blood.</p>
<p>And here he'd run down through there and grab somebody up and hug them like that, white, colored and all, said:</p>
<p>
I know it was the Blood for me;<br />
One day when I was lost, He died upon the Cross, <br />
I know it was the Blood for me... <br />
</p>
<p>
Running up and down the aisle. And I thought, "I never seen anything like that in my life." And how... I said that... And somebody jump up and scream and speak in tongues, and I thought, "Say, what is this, anyhow?"
</p>
<p>
And then a preacher got up there, and he got to preaching about the baptism of the Holy Ghost. And it looked like that his finger was about that long, and he pointed me out right back in the back. He was talking to me. And I thought, "Say, how'd that guy know anything about me?" See? And oh, there was hundreds and oh, it was thous-... two or three thousand, I guess, in the... all together in the meeting.
</p>
<p>
And some group from up here at Chicago, colored group, they come up, called Locust Grove, or Piney Wood, or something like that, a quartet that... I never heard such singing in my life. Well, I thought, "There's one thing you have to say about them people, they're not ashamed of their religion. That's one thing sure. They're--they're not ashamed of it."
</p>
<p>So I thought, "You know, I believe I'll come back tonight." And I went out and counted my money. I had just enough to get enough gasoline to come back, and twenty cents left. Well, I knowed how much gasoline it'd take. Now I couldn't get a tourist court, so I thought, "I'll sleep out there in a cornfield." So I went down and got me twenty cents worth of stale rolls. And I thought, "I can live on them for a couple days, but I want to find out what this is all about." So I went out and got my rolls and put them in the back of my car, and--and went over.
</p>
<p>
Then that night, he said, "I want all ministers," the--the spokesman said, "I want all ministers come to the platform." There was just about, I guess about a two or three hundred of them at the platform. They were all (white, colored, and all) setting on the platform. He said, "Now, we haven't got time for you to preach, we just want you to come right down the row, and just say who you are, where you are from."
</p>
<p>
When it come my place, I said, "Evangelist, William Branham, Jeffersonville, Indiana," set down. Next, next, next, on like that.
</p>
<p>
Come to find out, I was the youngest man was there. I was twenty-three years old then, the youngest man at the--at the platform. I didn't know it at that time. The next morning...
</p>
<p>
Well, then we went on that night. And I want to tell you what happened that night. I set, heard all them ministers preaching that day about, oh, the Deity of Christ, and the great messages about His walk on life, and His sacrifice, and so forth, and on the different things.
</p>
<p>
But that night they brought an old colored man out, just a little bit of rim of white hair around the back of his head here, great big, long, felt preacher's coat on, one of the old-fashion, long frock-tail coats with a velvet collar. Poor old fellow walked out there like this. I thought, "That poor old man. Isn't that a shame?" I said, "Poor old Dad." I said, "I guess he's preached a long time." And he stood there.
</p>
<p>
And I never seen a microphone before. I was a country preacher. So they had the microphones hanging up. It was something new then, you know.
</p>
<p>
So this old fellow got before there, he said, "Deah child'en." Uh-oh. He said, "I's gwine to take my text tonight from back in--in Job." Said, "Wheah was you when I laid the foundation of the world? Declare unto me wheah these, they're fastened to, so when the mo'ning stars sing together and the sons of God shouted for joy."
</p>
<p>
I thought, "That poor old fellow, his preaching days are about finished. He's old." See?
Instead of coming down on the earth with it, like this, brother, he went back yonder about ten million years before the foundation of the world was ever laid; he climbed up into the skies; and he preached about what went on in the skies, the sons of God shouting for joy. He come on down through the dispensations and brought Him back on the horizontal rainbow, back here, back over in the Millennium.
</p>
<p>
And--and about that time he got all happy, and when he did, he went, "Whoopee," jumped up in the air, clicked his heels together, said, "Glory to God," said, "Hallelujah, there's not enough room here for me to preach." And off the platform he walked like that, like a kid.
</p>
<p>I said, "Brother, if it'll make an old man act like that, what would it do for me? I want that. That's what I want. That's what my heart hungers for, if it'll make an old man act like that. I want..." That's what I wanted. I said, "Oh, my, them people's got something."
</p>
<p>
That night I went out in the cornfield, I thought, "I better press my trousers." So I took the two seats of my old Ford, and put them together, laid my trousers back and forth like this, and put the seats down to press them, laid down in some grass over at the side of the field out here somewhere in Indiana, out here.
</p>
<p>
And I laid there under that little old cherry tree that night, and I prayed, "God, somehow or another, give me favor with them people. That's what I want. **Baptist or no Baptist**, that's what I want. That's what my hungry heart's feeling for. That's what it's reaching for. There's the people that I've wanted to see all my life."
</p>
<p>
Next morning, I went down. Nobody knowed me, you know, so I put on my little old seersucker trousers, and put a T-shirt on. Nobody knowed I was a preacher, so I went down, and I set down. And when I set down, here come a colored brother up and set down beside of me; and over here set a lady. And I--I set down there.
</p>
<p>
And so they got up that morning just playing the music and everything. And there was a brother, his daughter come out and played a trumpet, Whitherspoon, I believe was his name. And he... That girl played the most beautiful Blue Galilee that I--I sat there and cried like a baby. And I was setting there.
</p>
<p>
Then up to the platform come a minister by the name of Kurtz. He said, "Last night at the platform, the youngest minister we had here was an evangelist by the name of William Branham," said, "from Jeffersonville, Indiana." Said, "We want him to speak this morning."
</p>
<p>
Oh, my. "My congregation," I thought, "in seersucker trousers and a T-shirt." So I just hunkered down real low like this, you know.
</p>
<p>
In a few minutes, he waited a few minutes, he got to the microphone again, he said, "If there's anybody here knows where William Branham from Jeffersonville, an evangelist, was on the platform last night, we want him, this morning, to bring the message this morning. Tell him to come to the platform."
</p>
<p>
I scooted down real low, you know, like way down low. I thought, "Seersucker trousers, you know, and T-shirt." So I got real low. And I didn't want to get up before them people, anyhow. They had something that I didn't know nothing about. So I just set real still.
</p>
<p>
Directly that colored man looked around me, said, "Say, you know him?"
</p>
<p>
Uh-oh. Something had to happen. And I didn't... I knowed... I didn't want to lie to the man. I said, "Look, fellow. Listen, I want to tell you something." I said, "I'm he. See?"
</p>
<p>
He said, "I thought you getting down there kind of low about something."
</p>
<p>And I said, "Well, look," I said, "are you a minister?"</p>
<p>He said, "Yah, suh." I said...</p>
<p>He said, "Go on up there, fella."</p>
<p>And I said, "No--no, look, look, look." I said, "I want to tell you something." I said, "I--I--I've got on these seersucker trousers and this T-shirt," I said, "I don't want to get up there."</p>
<p>Said, "Them people don't care what you dress like, man. Get on up theah."</p>
<p>And I said, "No--no, thank you, sir."</p>
<p>And somebody said, "Has anybody ever found Reverend Branham?"</p>
<p>He said, "Here he is. Here he is." Hmm. "Here he is."</p>
<p>Oh, my. I got up, and my ears red, you know. And I had my Bible under my arm, and I walked up to the platform kind of sheepish-looking, you know, and scared to death. I walked up. I thought, "Oh, my. Last night I was praying all night to give me favor, now if God's going to let me get up before them; if I ain't going to get up, then how I'm going to get favor?"
</p>
<p>So I got up, I said... well, not a thing on my mind; I was scared and trembling. I never... didn't know how close to stand to that little old microphone hanging with a string, hanging down like that. I didn't know how to stand by that. And all this great big tabernacle, you know, and I said, "Well, folks," I said, "I--I don't know very much about the--the way you preach and things." I said, "I just... I was coming up the road. And--and I didn't know..."
</p>
<p>
And I happened to turn over there to Luke to the rich man lifted up his eyes in hell, and he seen Lazarus far off, and then he cried. I took my text: And Then He Cried.
</p>
<p>
And I got--got to talking, and I said, "Then the rich man down in hell there was no church; then he cried." I said, "There was no children; then he cried. There were no songs; then he cried. There was no God; then he cried." And I got started, people got screaming; then I cried.
</p>
<p>
Away it went, and the first thing you know everybody on their feet, "then he cried, and then he cried." And the next thing I knew, I was out in the yard. Well, I don't know what happened. And everybody was blessing God and carrying on, the congregation screaming and shouting. I don't know what I done. I just lost myself somewhere.
</p>
<p>
First thing you know, up come a great big fellow from Texas, a big ten-gallon hat on and cowboy boots, walked up, said, "Say, are you a evangelist?"
</p>
<p>
I said, "Yes, sir."<br />
He said, "How about coming down, Texas, and holding me a revival?"<br />
I said, "Well, are you a preacher?"<br />
Said, "Sure." I looked at them big high-heel boots, and that great big cowboy hat, I thought, "Maybe it doesn't make any difference the way..."<br />
</p>
<p>
Next thing, a fellow walked up had on little golf pants like this. He said, "Say," he said, "I'm from Florida." He said, "I have so-many saints down there at a church, or somewhere." Said, "I'd like for you to hold..." <br />
I said, "Are you a preacher?"<br />
He said, "Yes, sir."<br />
I thought, "Well, my seersucker trousers and T-shirt ain't so much out of line after all around this place around here." So I begin to look at it. And we had a clerical coat and collar, and everything we wore, you know. So they... I thought, "Well, that's all right."
</p>
<p>
So then a woman stepped up from up around somewhere way up in the northern part of Michigan. She was with the Indians. She said, "I just know, while you was preaching, the Lord told me that you should come and help me up there with the Indian."
</p>
<p>
I said, "Just a minute. Let me get a piece of paper." And I went to writing down these names and addresses. And my, I had a string of them that long, last me a year. My, was I happy. Out of there I went, and jumped in my old Ford, and down the road we went to Jeffersonville as hard as we could go, sixty miles an hour: thirty this way and thirty up-and-down that way; just as hard as we could go, right down the road flying as hard as we could to go to Jeffersonville.
</p>
<p>
I jumped out of the car. As my wife, always, she come and run to meet me. And she said, "What you so happy about?"
</p>
<p>
I said, "Honey, you just don't realize." I said, "I met the happiest people in the world."
</p>
<p>Said, "Well, where they at?"</p>
<p>I told her all about them. And I said, "Looky here. Let me show you something. You wouldn't believe that this preacher boyfriend of yours, looky here: All them people asked me, this whole line, down through Texas, Louisiana, and everywhere, come preach for them. See there?" I said, "I prayed all night under a cherry tree out there, and God told me..."
</p>
<p>Said, "What kind of... what do they act like?"</p>
<p>I said, "Oh, don't ask me." I said, "They just act any way."</p>
<p>And so she said, "Oh, my," said... She said...</p>
<p>I said, "And they asked me to go. I'm going to quit my job and go to preaching right out with them, leave my church."</p>
<p>She said, "Well..."</p>
<p>I said, "Will you go with me?"</p>
<p>God bless her heart. She said, "I promised to go with you anywhere, and I will go anywhere that you go." That's a real wife. She's in her grave today, but still I'm glad that I can say this, and her son, her and my son, standing, listening. His mother was a queen.
</p>
<p>And I--I said, "Well, look," I said, "We..." I said, "We'll tell our parents."</p>
<p>I went and told Mama. I said, "Mama, looky here." And I told her about people.</p>
<p>She said, "You know what?" Said, "Billy, a long time ago, down in Kentucky, we had what they all called the old Lone Star Baptist." Hmm. Said, "And they used to shout and scream, and carry on like that." She said, "That's real heartfelt religion."</p>
<p>I said, "That's what I've believed in all my life." And I said, "You ought to see them."</p>
<p>She said, "Well, the... I trust that God will bless you, Bill."</p>
<p>And I said, "All right." So we went to tell her mother, then.</p>
<p>And during this time, her mother and father had separated. And I said... We went to tell her mother. And I said, "Mrs.--Mrs. Brumbach," I said, "I--I have found the wonderful people," like that.<br />
And she was setting on the porch, you know. Now, don't get mad at me if you're here, Mrs. Brumbach. So she said... She was setting on the porch fanning. She said, "William, I will give you to understand, I will never give my daughter permission to go out with a bunch of holy-rollers like that." Oh, my. She said, "That bunch of trash," said, "She'd never have a decent dress to put on her back."<br />
I said, "Well, Mrs. Brumbach, it isn't a dress proposition." I said, "The thing of it is, is I feel that God wants me to do it."
</p>
<p>And she said, "Look, why don't you go up there at the church where you got a congregation coming, and think about getting yourself a parsonage and a place to take your wife and baby to, and instead of pulling her out: today she's got something to eat, and tomorrow she's got nothing, and things like this." She said, "Never indeed, will I ever permit my daughter to go like that. And if she does go, her mother will go to a grave brokenhearted."<br />
And Hope said, "Mama, you mean that?"<br />
And she said, "That's just what I mean." That settled it.<br />
Hope started crying. I put my arm around her and walked away. I said, "But Mrs. Brumbach, she's my wife."<br />
She said, "But she's my daughter."<br />
I said, "Yes, ma'am."<br />
</p>
<p>I walked away, went down. She looked at me, Hope did. She said, "Bill, that's my mother, but I will go with you." See? I said... God bless her heart. She said, "I will go with you."<br />
And I said, "Honey, I..." I said, "I guess I'm carrying water on both shoulders." But I said, "I don't want to hurt her feelings." She said... I said, "What if something would happen to her and then you'd be worried all your life you--you broke your mother's heart." I said, "Maybe we'll just put it off a little while."<br />
<strong>And friends, there's where I made the worst step I ever made in my life, right there. We put it off.</strong>
</p>
<p>
About few weeks after that, things begin to happen. The flood come on later from that. And the first thing you know, wife got sick, Billy got sick; during that wrong. Right after that, the little girl... Just eleven months difference between Billy and his little--his little sister, which was Sharon Rose.
</p>
<p> I wanted to name her a Bible name. So I couldn't call her the Rose of Sharon, so I called her Sharon Rose; and I--I named her that. She was a darling lovely little thing.
And the first thing you know, the flood came up. She was laying there with pneumonia. And our doctor, Dr. Sam Adair came. And he's a brother to me. He looked at her, he said, "Bill, she's seriously ill." Said, "Don't you go to bed." Right at Christmas time. He said, "Don't you go to bed tonight. You give her orange juice all night long. Make her drink at least two gallons tonight to break that fever. She's got a fever of hundred and five," and said, "You must break that fever right away."
</p>
<p> I said, "All right." And I set up and give her orange juice all night. The next morning the fever was a little lower.
So her mother came up. And she just didn't like Dr. Adair at all. She liked another doctor there in the city. And she said, "I'm going to take her down home. This house is not--not equipped with heat and stuff for her to stay."
I said, "Well, I'd rather ask Dr. Adair if we should move her."
She said, "He ain't even got sense enough to know how to come in out of the rain." She said, "I wouldn't ask him nothing." She said, "I will get a doctor, a doctor..."
I said, "But look, we shouldn't... we--we... I don't..."
</p>
<p>And I called Dr. Adair. He said, "Bill, don't you move her." Said, "If you do, it'll kill her." Said, "Take her out in that cold, it's sub-zero weather right now, plumb down to that place, and change them rooms where..." Said, "Don't you do that." But 'course, there it was.
And then I called him, I said, "She is going to do it anyhow."
He said, "Then I will get off the case, Bill. I love you as--as a brother, you know that, but I will have to leave the case and turn it over to Dr. Baldwin."
And I said, "Well... I... Doc, you know where my feeling is." I said, "I..."
</p>
<p>So I went down there and I knelt down and prayed. I went over to the church. When I started to pray, looked like a black sheet come moving down in front of me. I went over, I said, "I don't believe she'll ever come from the bed."
And all of them said, "Oh, Billy, you just think..."
I said, "The same thing that happened about that flood," I said, "is the same thing that is telling me about my wife." I said, "I don't believe she'll come from the bed."
Said, "Oh, I believe it's your wife and you just... that's the way you feel about it." But oh, my, a little later on, I will never forget how that was. Oh, it went on for a little bit; she got worse, worse.
</p>
<p>
Finally the flood come up, and I was on a rescue party out there. I had a speedboat and I was trying to get people out. And I remember one night they'd took her--they took her to the hospital, then put her over here in--in a place at the government. And her and both babies were sick, horribly sick.
And I will never forget that fatal night when the floodwalls broke through down there. I heard a scream way back over on Chestnut Street. And I had a speedboat, and I got out there and tried to get a mother out of there. Just as I picked her up, she fainted. I picked her up in my arms and put her in the boat about eleven o'clock, put the babies in there.
And when I got her back to shore, she began to scream, "My baby! My baby!" She had a baby there about two years old, and I thought she meant she had another little baby out there in that place. And back I went to try to get the baby.
</p>
<p>
I tied my boat up the side of the pillar of the porch, and when I went up into the room to try to look around for the baby, I heard the house giving away below, and I run down real quick just in time to jump into the water and hold on to the end of my boat, and pull the... And it sub-zero, sleeting and snowing. And I pulled the rope like that and got in my boat. The waves caught it and swept me out into the middle of the current, out into the river. And I got back in there.
And I--I couldn't get my boat started: the old chain, it will pull on the outboard motor, you--you know, the old-timers, where you had a whirl on the top of it. And I'd pull and pull, and I couldn't get the thing started. And there was the Ohio Falls roaring just below me.
Oh, brother, a way of a transgressor is hard. Don't you never think that.
</p>
<p>And I pulled and it wouldn't start. And I pulled again and it wouldn't start. And I tried, and I got down in the boat, I said, "God, it isn't but a few more jumps down here till I would sink beneath those falls there, where they were roaring and bubbling, miles of water stretching through there." I said, "I got a sick wife and two babies laying out there in the hospital." I said, "Please, dear God, start this motor."
All I could think: "'I will never let my girl go out with a bunch of that trash.'" And I say this with all due respects to every church: I find out what she called "trash" is the cream of the crop. That's exactly right. That's exactly right.
</p>
<p>And I was pulling on that, and that kept roaring in my ears. And I pulled again, and I... Just a few minutes, and it started. And I had to pull right back upstream and give it all the gas that it could. Finally, I landed down almost to New Albany, just whirling the edge of those falls.
I got back in, and run back up to the hospital to see where my wife was, and the flood had done took the thing away. It was gone. Now, where was my wife? Where was my babies? Wet and cold, I run out there and I met Major Wheatley.
I'd just... Brother Ryan had just left somewhere; I don't know where he had went. I think he went with Brother George and them on out. And I met Brother George, the last time I seen him in life, he put his arms around me, said, "Brother Billy, with all my heart..." He was a converted medium. And he said, "...all my heart, I love Jesus Christ. And if I never see you again, I will see you in the morning."
I said, "God bless you, George," as he went on. He was trying to find Brother Ryan then, somewhere, 'cause he was in the city.
</p>
<p>
And then I tried to find Hope. I couldn't find her. Some of them said, "No, there was no one drowned in that group." Said, "They all got on a train, and went out to Charlestown." Well, I jumped in my car and started to Charlestown, when I did that creek back there had cut off about five miles of solid water down through there.
Some of them said, "No, the train got halfway out there and just washed off the trestles out there. They all drowned out there off of that trestle." Said, "They went out on a cattle car."
My wife (her father, one of the heads down there on the railroad), and her (his daughter) with double pneumonia, and two babies with pneumonia: laying in a cattle car, and sleet and rain blowing on the road to somewhere, and washed out in the water.
</p>
<p>
I tell you, brother, there's a whole lot; when God calls you to do anything, don't you let no one stand in your way. You keep God first.
And I tried to find... I couldn't get a way, and got my speedboat, and tried to get out into... towards Charlestown. I couldn't even touch the waters; the whirl would swing me plumb back. And I thought I was a pretty good boatman. And I tried it after time, till it was almost breaking day; no success at all, there. It was gone.
Then I was marooned, then, found myself on a little island sitting out there. For three or four days I set alone there, where they had to drop me something to eat. I had a long time to think over whether that was a bunch of trash or not, whether to mind some woman or to mind what God said. No matter who it was, you listen to what God has got to say.
</p>
<p>
And there, after while, after I got across the waters, it dropped enough, I went to see where my wife was. They told me she was in Charlestown. Got there, she wasn't there.
And old Colonel Hay (just went to Glory recently), he put his arm around me, said, "Let's go down to the railroad station." When I went down there, brokenhearted, crying, I didn't know what to do.
Oh, my, I thought, "Babies are probably laying, drifted off yonder somewhere in some brush pile. The wife may be laying down there, also." Oh, how I cried, and begged, and repented, and told God.
Look, friends, I believe if I'd have went on right then, where I was mixing up with that bunch of people who believed in the Supernatural, the Angel of God would've come to me and revealed that thing, and it would've been thousands times thousands of more people in Glory because of it. See? That's the reason I go day and night, and everywhere, putting my whole strength, 'cause I've got to redeem the time. I've got to do it.
</p>
<p>
And so when I... Finally, someone come and got me, said, "No, they're not drowned, Billy. I know where they are at. They're at Columbus, Indiana in the Baptist church." And I...
They taken me up there and I run down through that hall that night, screaming to the top of my voice. I didn't care who heard me, "Hope, Hope, where are you, honey?" way down through there.
And all the refugees back there on little old cots, and blankets hanging up. And I happened to look way down there at the end, I seen a bony hand holding up like that. I rushed real quick, pair of boots on, fell down there, and throwed my hat off, looked down there, and there laid my sweetheart, dying. Her hand moving up, her jaw sunk back, about three weeks or more before I'd found her. Her eyes were way back.
</p>
<p>
I put my hand over on her. She said, "I know I look horrible, Bill."
I said, "Honey, you look all right."
She said, "Now, don't tell me that, honey."
I said, "O God, have mercy." I said, "Where's the babies?"
She said, "Mom and them has got them over there in the building."
I said, "Is Billy alive?"
Said, "Yes."
I said, "Sharon alive?"
Said, "Yes."
I said, "Oh, thanks be to God." I said, "I heard from Mama, and Mama's alive. She's over at some other place." I said, "I heard by radio. But I couldn't hear from you nowhere." And I said, "Oh, honey." And she said... I said, "You..."
And I felt somebody tap me on the shoulder, and I looked up. He was a very smart-looking man. He said, "Reverend Branham?"
And I said, "Yes sir." ...?... And I walked over there.
Said, "Aren't you a friend of Dr. Sam Adair?"
And I said, "Yes."
</p>
<p>
He said, "Your wife, I'm informed to tell you, I'm the doctor here." He said, "I'm informed to tell you, your wife has galloping TB. She just has a few days to live." Said, "She's going to die."
I said, "No, doc. No, no, that isn't so."
He said, "Oh, yes, it is, Reverend Branham. It is so."
I said, "It can't be, doctor. You mean she's..."
He said. "Yes." And said, "You'll be a very lucky man if your children pull through." Said, "I'm tending to the children, also."
And I said, "O God, have mercy."
He said. "Now, don't break down before her."
I said, "All right, sir. All right." I said, "Thank you very much. Where is Dr. Sam?"
He said, "I don't know where he's at."
And I said, "Thank you, doctor." And I said, "I--I'll... Let me go back to her," I said, "just to be with her as much as I can." I said, "I--I--I won't break down."
</p>
<p>
I walked back nervously. I looked at her, and those pretty black eyes setting way deep back there, and her hair and her forehead. Oh, I seen she was going. I looked over, and I said, "Hope, sweetheart, you--you look all right."
And she said, "Oh, maybe God will have mercy and let me live, Bill."
And I said, "I hope He does, sweetheart."
And so, a few days, I got her out of there, got her down to Jeffersonville to the home. And she kept getting worse, and worse, worse and worse. The two children begin to get better, but she got worse. And after while...
</p>
<p>
Dr. Adair, he tried everything he could. He sent to Louisville to a specialist of TB, brought over, and he said, "Well, if you had a pneumothorax machine." I went and borrowed the money and got a pneumothorax machine, and we give her the treatments.
When, you know what pneumothorax is: they collapse the lung, you know, like that. And I'd hold her poor hand and it would grip till they'd bore that hole in there, and pump out the lung. And then, if I had it to go over again, I'd never let her suffer like that.
And so, trying, but they were working hard to save her life. Finally, took her out to the hospital for x-ray. Here it come, right on up that tuberculosis pneumonia was coming right up, filling up the lung. He said, "You just got a few days, Reverend Branham. There's nothing in the world can be done. She's going to die."
I said, "Almighty God has called for her to answer."
</p>
<p>
Oh, how could I stand that? How could I believe? How could I do it? I looked down there, and there laid my little Sharon Rose, a little suckling baby, about eleven-months-old; here was little Billy Paul just about eighteen-months-old, little bitty fellow; and to them, without a mother; and me. Oh, what could I do? I just couldn't believe it, hardly. I walked the floor; I cried; I--I done everything. I tell you, brother, you better mind God when God speaks to you. You do what He tells you.
And I walked back and forth, finally come the hour. I was out in the car and I heard them call me, that I must come to the hospital at once; my wife was dying, said she couldn't live any longer. I rushed to the hospital real quick, threw off my coat, run up the steps.
</p>
<p>
And when I did (I will never forget it.), little Dr. Adair, a fine little fellow, and he come walking down the room. We fished together; we hunt together; we slept together; we were bosom buddies. And he's--he's a specialist. And he come walking down the hall with his head down. And he happened to look, standing down there, and he seen me, and tears rolled down his cheeks, and he ducked off into a room.
I run down the hall real quick, and pulled open the door; he put his arm around me, he said, "Billy, boy," patting me. [Brother Branham pats something--Ed.]
I said, "What is it, doc?"
He said, "I just can't tell you, Bill." Said, "Just go ahead out and let the nurse tell you."
I said, "Come on, doctor. What is it?"
He said, "She's gone."
I said, "She isn't gone, doc."
Said, "Yes, she's gone."
I said, "Doc, go with me to the room, will you?"
</p>
<p>
He said, "Bill, I can't do that." He said, "Hope, how we... Why, we was just like my sister." He said, "I--I can't go in that room again."
So just then the nurse come in. She said, "Reverend Branham, here's some medicine. I want you to take this."
I said, "I don't want your medicine."
And she said... I went out to the room. She said, "I'm going with you."
I said, "No, let me go alone." I said, "Let me go in and see her." And I walked in. I said, "Is she gone?"
Said, "I--I think she is." Said, "Dr. Adair left a few minutes ago, and said there was nothing more could be done, that she was gone."
</p>
<p>
So I opened the door, walked in. And I looked laying there, and she had her eyes closed, her mouth was open; her little body was drawed down to about a hundred pounds, less than that, oh, like this. And I put my hand over on her forehead; it was sticky-like.
And I said, "Hope, sweetheart, will you answer me?" I said, "Do... Will you--will you answer me, honey?" I said, "Will you speak to me just one more time?"
I said, "God, I know I been wrong, but if You'll just let her speak to me one more time. Will You, Lord? Please let her speak."
And while I was praying, I looked. If I live to be a hundred years old, I will never forget that. Those big dark eyes opened up and she looked at me. She motioned for me to get down. I looked at her, I said, "Sweetheart, you're all right, aren't you?"
</p>
<p>
She said, "Why did you call me, Bill? Why did you call me?"
I said, "What do you mean?"
She said, "Oh, I was so easy." She'd been suffering so hard.
And I said, "What do you mean, 'easy,' honey?"
She said, "Well," she said, "Bill, you know I'm going, don't you?"
And I said, "No."
She said, "I am." And she said, "Bill, I don't mind it." Said, "You know why I'm going, don't you?"
And I said, "No."
She said, "Bill, you remember the day we went up to Mother, and that bunch of people, who...?"
I said, "I know it, honey."
She said, "We ought not to have did that." Oh, then grinding my heart.
</p>
<p>
Just then the nurse run in the door, said, "Reverend Branham, you better take this."
She motioned to the nurse. She took me by the hand, she said, "Louise," we knew them all well. She said, "Louise," (Hale) she said, "I hope when you get married that you have a husband like mine." She said, "He's been so good to me." She said, "I hope..." And Louise, she--she just couldn't stand it. She set the medicine down and went out of the room.
And I said, "Honey, are you going?"
She said, "I was being taken home, Bill." Said, "There was Someone dressed in white standing on each side of me. And I was going down a big beautiful path." And said, "It was peaceful, and the big palm trees like an orient, and the big birds a flying from tree to tree." Said, "It was such a beautiful place."
</p>
<p>
You know what I think? I think God let her break into Paradise just as she was going over. And she said, "You know, Bill, that religion that you... we been talking about since we received the Holy Ghost?"
And I said, "Yes."
She said, "Don't never cease to preach that." She said, "Stay with that." She said, "That's the thing."
And I said, "Honey, if I would've probably listened..."
She said, "Yes, Bill." She said, "Now look, honey," she said, "I'm going fast." She said, "But remember, that wonderful Holy Spirit that we've received," she said, "It's taking me through." She said, "Promise me this, honey, that you'll never, never cease. You'll never let up; you'll always stand true to That." She said, "It's wonderful in death."
And I said, "I--I will."
She said, "I got a few things..." for me to promise.
I said, "What is it, honey?"
</p>
<p>
She said, "You remember that time when we was in Louisville and you was going on that hunting trip, and you wanted to buy that little .22 rifle."
I said, "Yes."
And said, "You didn't even have enough (three dollars), to make the down payment?"
I said, "Yes." I'm very fond of rifles and things; it's a--a sport to me, and a recreation, I should say. And I--I said, "I remember that."
</p>
<p>
She said, "Honey, I've tried my best to save our nickels and things to get it for you." She said, "After I'm gone, and you go home, and right on the top of that old folding bed" (where Brother Ryan slept), she said, "right up on top there, under the newspaper, you'll find the money that I've saved." Said, "I've took that out of allowance for my clothes and things that you'd let me have," she said, "to save it so I could get enough for a down payment to get you that rifle."
You'll never know how I felt when I looked under there and seen two dollars and seventy cents in nickels and dimes to buy the rifle.
</p>
<p>
She said, "And another thing." She told me about some stockings that I'd bought her one time that... I didn't know how to buy stockings, and I called it socks, and I got the wrong kind. And she told me that it was the wrong kind, and she'd give them to my mother because it wasn't the kind of... that she wore.
And she said, "Another thing, I want you to promise me."
Said, "What's that?"
She said, "That you won't live single."
And I said, "Oh, Hope, don't, please. Please don't ask me, honey."
She said, "Look Bill," she said, "in Heaven there'll be no marriage or given in marriage." She said, "And I got two little babies here I'm leaving you with." And she said, "I don't mind going, but I hate to leave you." Said, "I hate to leave Billy Paul and Sharon." She said, "But Billy, if--if they're raised up, and you in the ministry, and they be pulled about from pillar to post," she said, "find some good girl, some good girl that's got the Holy Ghost," said, "let her be in my place as a mother."
</p>
<p>
I thought of a twenty-two-year-old woman, going like that. I couldn't promise her. I said, "Honey, I--I--I just can't promise that. I--I--I can't do it."
She said, "You wouldn't let me go unhappy?"
I said, "No." I said, "I will just do the best I can."
She said, "Bill, I... They're coming back." Said, "Don't think I'm beside myself; I'm not," she said, "but I feel them coming near. They're coming after me."
I stepped back, looked at her, I said, "Sweetheart, if you are going, all right. I'll take your body out here on Walnut Ridge graveyard, and I'll make a mound, and I'll put you in there." And I said, "Then if Jesus comes before I go, I'll be somewhere on the battlefield preaching the Holy Ghost Gospel." And I said, "If I sleep, I'll be by your side." And I said, "Look, honey, for my last date with you, my sweetheart," I said, "when the great pearly white City comes lowering down from God out of Heaven, and the moon and sun stand there together, black, dripping with blood..."
</p>
<p>
We don't believe in death of Christians. You can't prove to me that a Christian dies. The Blood of Jesus Christ takes away sin; it doesn't cover it. The believer goes in the Presence of God now.
And I said, "Honey, if I'm asleep that day; if--if I'm awake, you'll come first, for they which are dead in Christ shall rise first." I said, "You run quickly up to the side of the City gate." And I said, "When you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and them coming," I said, "you start screaming your... my name, to the top of your voice, 'Bill, Bill,' as loud as you can." And I said, "I'll get Sharon and Billy and get them together, and I'll meet you there at the gate before we go in."
She took hold of my hand; she squeezed it. I raised down, and kissed her good-bye. Them angel eyes looked up at me again as she was taken away, she said, "I'll be waiting for you at the gate."
God took her precious soul to Glory. There I stood, looking down. What could I do? My sweetheart gone, the very part of my heart pulled away. I went out of there to go home; took her body down to the undertaker's establishment; she was embalmed. And I went home, tried to go to sleep; I couldn't do it.
And after a while, a man knocked at my door, said, "Billy?"
I said, "Yes."
Said, "I hate to tell you this."
I said, "But Brother Frank, I was right out there when she died."
He said, "That's not it." Said, "Your baby is dying, also."
I said, "Who, Billy?"
Said, "No, Sharon."
I said, "Surely not."
</p>
<p>
Said, "Dr. Adair has just come got her, and took her to the hospital, and she has tubercular meningitis. There's not a chance. They say she'll be dead in a little bit."
She was perfectly healthy. I rushed just as fast as I could. They had to hold me, set me in a old Chevrolet truck, he and his boy. And I just couldn't hold myself together; my heart was breaking.
Away to the hospital I went, went in. There set a nurse, said, "Now Reverend Branham, you can't go down in there. We got her in a isolated ward." Said, "You'll give Billy Paul the same thing." Said, "You can't go."
I said, "I must see my baby."
</p>
<p>
She said, "You can't go, Reverend Branham; it's tubercular meningitis. She's picked it up from her mother. It's in the spine and she's dying now." And said, "If you go in there," said, "it's dangerous of taking it to the ba-... to your boy," and said, "You cannot go in." And she said, "Go in the room."
And I went to the room. When she shut the door, I went right out behind the door and went right on down to where it was. Very poor hospital, I looked there, and they'd put a little rag over its eyes, little "mosquito bar," as we call it. Flies had got in its eyes. It was down in the basement in a isolated ward. I walked in and looked at my baby. There she laid, my sweetheart, her little teeny baby blue eyes looking up at me, her little leg, little fat leg laying there with her little corners on, you know. And she was... Her little leg was moving up and down like a little spasm, her little hand like it was waving to me. I said, "Sharon, you know Daddy?"
</p>
<p>
And her little lip started quivering. And she was suffering so hard till one of those little blue eyes crossed over like that. Oh, my. When I think of it... I can't stand to see a cross-eyed child. You know, sometimes God has to take a flower to crush it to bring the perfume out. I... Every time I see a cross-eyed child, I think of that. And I've never seen one yet but what God healed. Then I noticed that little eye moving over like that.
I thought, "O God." I fell down on my face, I said, "God, please don't take her. O God, are You going to...?" I said, "Take me first. Let me die. I'm the one that's transgressed." But God knows just how to get at your heart. Yes, He does.
</p>
<p>
And I said, "I'm the one that's done wrong, Lord. Oh, don't take my baby. Take me, Lord. My wife laying yonder in the morgue, and here You're going to take my baby. Please don't do it, Lord. I--I've served You; I--I'm ashamed of myself that I listened to somebody instead of You. I'll never do it again, Lord. I--I'll live for You, I'll do all that You want me to do. Them people's not back-wash, they are not trash." I said, "I'll go. I don't care who's calls me holy-roller or whatever they might do it. I'll serve You if You'll just let my baby live, Lord. Please do," beggar like that.
</p>
<p>And I looked down. And just as I looked down to where lay, here come a black sheet moving down. I knew that was it. I knew she was going. I looked over at her like that. And her little mouth begin coming open. Her eye was crossed over. And I said, "Sharry, you know Daddy, honey?" And she was making a little funny noise. And I laid my hand over on her head.
</p>
<p>
Then Satan moved to me, and said, "Will you trust Him now?"
I laid my hand on her head, I said, "God, You gave her to me; You're taking her away from me. Blessed be the Name of the Lord." Said, "God, I can't deny You; I can't say that You are unjust. I duly deserve all this punishment. You're still just, and I still love You. I'll still serve You with all my heart. Now, to my baby, Lord, I've begged You; I have tried to get You to keep her, but nevertheless, not my will, let Your will be done."
</p>
<p>
Just then I felt my human strength giving away, my body crumbling down to the floor; I held on to the side of the bed. And the Angels of God come and got her little soul and packed her to her mother.
I took her little body, laid it on the arm of the mother; there I looked there, and oh, my. Took her out to the graveyard, lowered her down. And Brother Smith standing there, the Methodist preacher, preached her funeral, put his arms around me, picked up the clods of dust, sprinkled it upon the casket, said, "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and earth to earth." My heart went down in there, too: my sweetheart, my baby.
Then Billy Paul took sick. He was laying right at the point of death, eighteen-months-old. Last time he seen his mother (standing, my old baseball cap on, out in the yard, like that), and her going down in the ambulance, her boney hand, waving, saying, "My baby. My baby." Little fellow standing in the yard... I know... Excuse me. She... When you going down the street, and Billy was at my mother's house, and he was looking at her, didn't know in there went his mother, going right to her death; and her trying to wave through the ambulance window at her baby there in the yard; poor little fellow.
</p>
<p>
I looked down. They buried her. It seemed like come whispering down through those trees, seemed like I could hear a voice say:
There's a Land beyond the river,
That they call the sweet forever,
We only reach that shore by faith decree;
One by one we gain the portal,
There to dwell with the immortal,
Someday they will ring those golden bells for you and me.
</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>While performing our research on the <a href="/2013/02/14/Why-Is-The-Bridge-Vision-Important/">Municipal Bridge Vision</a>, we ran across Hope’s obituary in the Jeffersonville Evening News:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Hope/Obituary.jpg" alt="Hope's Obituary" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>We were quite shocked when we saw this line in her obituary:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“She belonged to the Pentecostal Tabernacle, of which her husband is pastor.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Brother Branham’s error was being introduced to Pentecostal “Holy Rollers” in Mishawaka and refusing to be associated with them and go out amongst them. He said he was a Missionary Baptist, and knew nothing about Pentecost. Why then, was his church named the Pentecostal Tabernacle before Hope died?</p>
<p>We couldn’t reconcile this with Brother Branham’s life story or with the stories we’d been told by other believers. We started to get the impression that perhaps Brother Branham was a Pentecostal prior to Hope’s death in 1937. We began to look at this topic further and try to determine through primary reference sources when Brother Branham was introduced to Pentecostal people and when his church was named the Pentecostal Tabernacle. We’ve decided to share what we’ve discovered in our upcoming posts.</p>
Introducing the Timeline2013-04-07T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/04/07/Introducing-the-Timeline<h4 id="overloaded-with-data">Overloaded With Data</h4>
<p>In the course of our research we’ve collected lots of historical documents and information about Brother Branham and his family. Some of this was important to our study of the Municipal Bridge Vision, but some turned out to be irrelevant to the topic at hand. We’ve been trying to decide the best way to share all of this extra information that we’ve located.</p>
<h4 id="what-type-of-data">What Type of Data?</h4>
<p>We’ve found marriage licenses, divorce announcements, obituaries, and a few other odds and ends. For example, while at the National Archives in Atlanta we learned they had a complete collection of World War I draft cards on site. Since we were already there, we went ahead and photographed Charles Branham’s, Frank Broy’s, and Charlie Brumbach’s.</p>
<p>We know that lots of people are looking for some of this information right now. There’s certainly a lot more that can be added to what we’ve collected, but we’re going to go ahead and share what we have up to this point.</p>
<h4 id="the-timeline">The Timeline</h4>
<p>We’ve created an <a href="/timeline.html">interactive timeline</a> that includes embedded pictures, videos, and historic documents. This timeline is best viewed on a computer or tablet, but it works reasonably well on smart phones. The idea is that you can navigate through all of these documents and information in chronological order to help put it in context.</p>
<p>There’s a lot of information included on the timeline and we’ll be doing some blog posts on some of the items that were important to us.</p>
<p>This is very much a work in progress and we intend to add additional information and improve this tool as we continue our research. What we’ve already collected may help to save others quite a bit of time.</p>
<h4 id="we-need-your-help">We Need Your Help</h4>
<p>If you have information that you’d like to see added to this timeline, please connect with us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SearchingForVindication">Facebook</a> or email us at <a mailto="searching4vindication@gmail.com">searching4vindication@gmail.com</a>. If you have valid information and corresponding documents, we’d be happy to add it to this timeline.</p>
<h4 id="what-are-you-waiting-for">What are you Waiting For?</h4>
<p>Go <a href="/timeline.html">check it out here</a>!</p>
Summary of The Municipal Bridge Vision2013-04-06T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/04/06/Summary-Of-Municipal-Bridge<p>We have concluded our research on the Municipal Bridge Vision.</p>
<h4 id="summary-of-findings">Summary of Findings</h4>
<p>Brother Branham’s <a href="/2013/02/16/What-Did-Brother-Branham-Say-About-The-Bridge/">accounts of the vision</a> are contradictory and do not line up with the <a href="/2013/02/20/Timing-Problems-With-The-Bridge-Vision/">timing</a> of the bridge’s construction.</p>
<p>Historical records are complete and <a href="/2013/02/21/Were-Archives-Destroyed-In-The-1937-Flood/">archives were not lost in the flood</a>.</p>
<p>The previous bridge construction accident on the Big Four Railroad bridge was reported as a <a href="/2013/02/22/Bridge-Deaths-Would-Not-Be-Reported/">front page news story</a> by papers across the country. Any accident of this magnitude on the Municipal Bridge would have been similarly reported as national news.</p>
<p>The <a href="/2013/02/23/The-Modjeski-And-Masters-Report/">official engineer’s report</a> to the Municipal Bridge Commission proves there were no large unexpected expenses during the project that would be associated with a horrible construction accident.</p>
<p>Exactly <a href="2013/02/25/Documented-Bridge-Deaths/">two men died during construction</a>. You can ready all of the <a href="2013/02/27/All-Newspaper-Articles-On-The-Bridge-1928-1929/">newspaper articles</a> related to the bridge’s construction and see this for yourself.</p>
<p>There was an official <a href="2013/03/09/Coast-Guard-Life-Saving-Station/">Coast Guard Life Saving Station</a> located just a few hundred yards from the bridge. The station officers were under strict orders to conduct a 24 hour watch of the river and document it in an official log book that is now stored in the National Archives. While there are many accounts of rescues and recoveries, including cases of assistance related to the bridge, there is no evidence of sixteen men falling to their deaths from the bridge in the <a href="/2013/03/18/Coast-Guard-Life-Saving-Station-Conclusion/">very detailed station logs</a>.</p>
<p>The vision was not fulfilled during <a href="/2013/03/20/Did-It-Happen-During-The-Flood/">the great flood of 1937</a>.</p>
<p>There is no historical evidence of the vision being fulfilled.</p>
<h4 id="lack-of-evidence">Lack of Evidence</h4>
<p>The following resources do not contain any mention of the Municipal Bridge Accident that Brother Branham says was the fulfillment of his childhood vision:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://Wikipedia.org">Wikipedia.org</a></li>
<li><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=pXbYITw4ZesC&lpg=PA124&ots=byz9wSRhUi&dq=Bridging%20the%20ohio%20carl%20kramer&pg=PA123#v=onepage&q&f=false">Encyclopedia of Louisville</a></li>
<li>March 2007 Louisville Magazine <a href="http://www.loumag.com/articledisplay.aspx?id=36106759">article</a> on the construction of the bridge.</li>
<li>National Register of Historic Places Louisville Municipal Bridge <a href="http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/84001578.pdf">Nomination Form</a></li>
<li><a href="/2013/02/23/The-Modjeski-And-Masters-Report/">Official Engineer’s report to the Louisville Municipal Bridge Commission.</a></li>
<li><a href="/2013/02/27/All-Newspaper-Articles-On-The-Bridge-1928-1929/">Jeffersonville Evening News May 1928 - December 1929</a></li>
<li>Jeffersonville Evening News June 1933 - August 1933</li>
<li>Jeffersonville Evening News 1936 - 1937</li>
<li><a href="/2013/03/18/Coast-Guard-Life-Saving-Station-Conclusion/">Official Coast Guard Life Saving Station Log Books</a> ( 1928 - 1940)</li>
<li>Book: James Casto’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Great-Images-America-Arcadia-Publishing/dp/0738568589/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1365269526&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Great+ohio+river+flood">The Great Ohio River Flood of 1937</a></li>
<li>Book: David Welky’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Year-Flood-Ohio-Mississippi-Disaster-1937/dp/0226887162/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365269603&sr=1-1&keywords=the+thousand+year+flood">The Thousand-Year Flood: The Ohio-Mississippi Disaster of 1937</a></li>
<li>Book: Rick Bell’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Great-Flood-1937-Soaring-Spirits/dp/1884532829/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365269659&sr=1-1&keywords=the+great+flood+of+1937">The Great Flood of 1937: Rising Waters, Soaring Spirits</a></li>
<li>Book: Rick Bell’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Louisvilles-Waterfront-Park-Riverfront-Renaissance/dp/1935497324/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1365269699&sr=1-1&keywords=Louisville%27s+Waterfront+park">Louisville’s Waterfront Park</a></li>
</ul>
<h4 id="summary">Summary</h4>
<p>This vision was used throughout Brother Branham’s ministry to <a href="/2013/02/14/Why-Is-The-Bridge-Vision-Important/">vindicate he was a prophet from birth</a>. It was a foundational piece of his life story and it was significant to his overall ministry. While we’ve concluded our research on the vision itself, along the way we discovered a number of other pieces of historical evidence related to Brother Branham’s ministry. We’ve already presented some information about <a href="/2013/03/14/Six-Second-Smith/">Six Second Smith</a> and the <a href="/2013/04/02/Church-Escapes-In-Freak-Stunt/">pulpit that rose during the flood</a>. We’ll be sharing additional documents in future blog posts.</p>
Church Escapes In Freak Stunt2013-04-02T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/04/02/Church-Escapes-In-Freak-Stunt<h4 id="rising-pulpits-during-the-flood">Rising Pulpits During The Flood</h4>
<p>While searching for evidence of the <a href="/tags.html#bridge-ref">Municipal Bridge Vision</a>, we ran across the following article in the Jeffersonville Evening News from March 8, 1937:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/flood/RisingPulpit.jpg" class="img img-polaroid" alt="Jeffersonville Evening News. March 8, 1937 article." /></p>
<p>You can see a full page scan of this article <a href="/assets/flood/19370308.pdf">here</a>.</p>
<p>At first we thought that perhaps the reporter had made a mistake and had reported the name of the wrong church. But, on further examination, the Tabernacle had a dirt floor at that time. In addition, a short time later we stumbled across the following article from the Jeffersonville Evening News on March 22, 1937:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/flood/RisingPulpit2.jpg" class="img img-polaroid" alt="Jeffersonville Evening News. March 22, 1937 article" /></p>
<p>A scan of the top part of this article can be viewed <a href="/assets/flood/19370322.pdf">here</a>. The bottom part of the article can be viewed <a href="/assets/flood/19370322b.pdf">here</a>.</p>
<h4 id="in-brother-branhams-own-words">In Brother Branham’s Own Words</h4>
<p>Brother Branham tells the story of the pulpit in the Branham Tabernacle rising to the ceiling during the 1937 flood. Visitors to Voice of God Recordings can see this pulpit and will hear about how Brother Branham’s Bible was on the pulpit, how the pulpit rose to the ceiling during the flood, and how it came to rest in almost the same spot with the Bible open to Mathew 24:35 when the flood waters receded. This event is discussed in the <a href="http://branham.org/content/ctv/CTV2009_05/CTV2009_05.pdf#zoom=100">Easter 2009 Catch The Vision</a> on pages 14-15.</p>
<p>Below are some accounts of Brother Branham discussing this event.</p>
<p>From “Hebrews Chapter 3” (57-0901M):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We come into this little, old tabernacle, you strangers. Well, this could be a glamorous place here on the corner, you don’t realize that, that people has wanted to build this place and make it. But this is the way we like it. See, this is the way we like it. Old seats we were setting on there, was the–the old original seats out of the tabernacle here, went through the flood and floated up. My Bible laying open like that on the pulpit. It son It, “I the Lord hath planted it. I’ll water it day and night lest some shall pluck it from My hand.” How we rowed across the top of it with a skiff, here. And she come right back down, the seats moving right back to their place. All they had to do was scrub it out and go on. See? See? So this is just the way we like it, where it’s a common people, common place, and a wonderful Lord. Amen.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>From “Revelation Chapter Four” (61-0108):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>During the time of the flood here, in 1937, this little ol’ church, when the mud floors and so forth that was in it, we could ride over the top of it here in a–in a rowboat. The floods went up. And, well, that night when I had preached the Gospel and had left my Bible laying open on the pulpit when I had went home; predicting that flood would come, I said, “I seen him measure twenty-two feet over Spring Street down here.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Old Brother Jim Wiseheart and them laughed at me. You remember that, Brother George? I said… He–he said, “Oh, Billy, in ‘84 it only was about six inches on Spring Street.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “I seen a man come down from the skies, and take a measure stick and stick it there on Spring Street, said twenty-two feet.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>He said, “You’re just excited.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “I’m not excited! It’s THUS SAITH THE LORD!”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Ask them how many feet was over Spring Street. Twenty-two feet to the–the inch! Exactly.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And that old Bible where it had been preached on that night… She started raining, the floods breaking through and so forth, and this old church… The seats went right straight up to the ceiling, the Bible went right straight up to the ceiling, washing through here with all that water raising it up. The pulpit went right straight up. They come right down; and every seat set right back in the same place, and the Bible laid right back in the same place, and all that water, and still opened up, the same chapter at the same place.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>“Heavens and earth will pass away, but My Word shall never pass away.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>How that Bible float in that salty water for two years without even soiling the words on It! God’s Word’s are true. Amen.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I remember after that, old Brother Jim Wiseheart was so satisfied with that, every time he’d get a pain on his arm… He got some kind of wrong with him when he got about seventy-five years old, he got rheumatism. The pain would go to hurting here, he’d run get the Bible, and open it up, lay it on there, another pain down here. I come up there one day and he had so many Bibles over him I couldn’t see Brother Jim, he just had Bibles all over him! He said, “It’s God’s promise!” That’s it.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>“Heavens and earth shall pass away, but My Word shall never pass away.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>From “If God Be With Us Then Where Is All The Miracles” (61-1231E):</p>
<blockquote>
<p>During the time of the flood, I was preaching here one night, left my Bible. The ‘37 flood came overnight almost, as it swept through the Tabernacle, picked up this same pulpit, raised it right up; there was no other ceiling in here then, and set it right against the ceiling. The Word being under the pulpit, instead of it sinking it floated, took it right up to the ceiling. And I rowed all around over here in a boat. And then when the waters went down, it came down and was laying right here at the same chapter I was reading out of, after the flood. “Heavens and earth will pass away, but My Word shall not.” That’s right. He’s wonderful. Isn’t He?</p>
</blockquote>
<h4 id="summary">Summary</h4>
<p><em>How The Angel Came To Me, And His Commission (55-0117):</em></p>
<blockquote>
<p>“If I tell the Truth, God’s obligated to me, to witness that It is the Truth.”</p>
</blockquote>
Did It Happen During the Flood?2013-03-20T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/03/20/Did-It-Happen-During-The-Flood<p><em>This is the fourteenth post in a multi-part series on the <a href="/tags.html#bridge-ref">Municipal Bridge Vision</a>.</em></p>
<p>Some people have stated that sixteen men fell to their deaths and drowned during the 1937 flood, fulfilling <a href="2013/02/16/What-Did-Brother-Branham-Say-About-The-Bridge/">Brother Branham’s Municipal Bridge Vision</a>. While this viewpoint certainly does align more closely with Brother Branham’s accounts of the <a href="2013/02/20/Timing-Problems-With-The-Bridge-Vision/">timing of the vision</a>, it does not line up with one of the <a href="2013/02/16/What-Did-Brother-Branham-Say-About-The-Bridge/">main thematic element of the vision</a>; Brother Branham said the men died in an accident during the bridge’s construction.</p>
<h4 id="was-there-an-accident-on-the-bridge-during-the-flood">Was There An Accident on the Bridge During the Flood?</h4>
<p>No. While the bridge itself stayed above water during the 1937 flood, the northern approach flooded. There was no accident on the bridge during the flood where sixteen men died, because no one was using it during the flood. It’s a little difficult to see in <a href="http://uofllibraries.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/lou-e-to-jeff-in.jpg">this picture</a>, but if you look closely you can see the approach, along with most of Jeffersonville is under water. Keep in mind that while this was a significant, record-breaking, and devastating flood, the river was still only above flood stage for 18 days. It appears the bridge was closed for 10-15 of those days.</p>
<h4 id="was-the-bridge-damaged-during-the-flood">Was the Bridge Damaged during the Flood?</h4>
<p>There was no major damage to the bridge during the flood. The toll houses and administration building where flooded as well as the approaches, but the bridge itself did not sustain any damage (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Great-Images-America-Arcadia-Publishing/dp/0738568589/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363659342&sr=1-2&keywords=the+great+flood+of+1937"><em>The Great Ohio River Flood of 1937</em></a> Page 107). In historian Rick Bell’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Louisvilles-Waterfront-Park-Riverfront-Renaissance/dp/1935497324/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1363658985&sr=8-2&keywords=Louisville%27s+waterfront+park"><em>Lousiville’s Waterfront Park</em></a> the author states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Louisville’s infrastructure suffered punishing blows during the Great Flood. Afterwards architects inspected every building, <strong>bridge</strong>, and roadway before approving their use.” (194, emphasis ours).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In one of his other books, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Great-Flood-1937-Soaring-Spirits/dp/1884532829/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363659342&sr=1-1&keywords=the+great+flood+of+1937"><em>The Great Flood of 1937</em></a>, Rick Bell indicates:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“To speed cleanup, City Division of Transportation dump truck drivers were instructed to drop their loads of debris directly into the Ohio River. Trucks drove to the middle of the Louisville Municipal Bridge (today’s George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge) and emptied their refuse over the guard rail.” (117)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This page of the book also includes a picture of a dump truck unloading refuse into the river.</p>
<p>If the bridge was damaged during the flood and required major construction, it’s highly unlikely that city dump trucks would be using the bridge to dump refuse. Also, if any construction resulted in an accident where a section collapsed and sixteen men plunged into the river and drowned, it would have been impossible to do so.</p>
<h4 id="death-rates">Death Rates</h4>
<p>As we’ve shown before, most deaths in Jeffersonville were reported on the front page of the Jeffersonville Evening News. There were no papers published from January 21, 1937 until February 20, 1937:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/NoPapersDueToFlood.jpg" alt="No papers published due to flood from January 21 until February 20" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>When the paper resumed, the front page led off with an article proclaiming that Jeffersonville’s death rate had stayed normal during the flood:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/19370220.jpg" alt="Death Rate in Jeffersonville Stays Normal" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>There’s no mention of sixteen deaths due to a major bridge accident.</p>
<h4 id="record-revenues-in-1936-and-1937">Record Revenues in 1936 and 1937</h4>
<p>On <a href="/assets/Bridge/19370106.pdf">January 6, 1937</a>, the Jeffersonville Evening News ran a front page story indicating that the bridge had experienced record revenues during 1936:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/19370106_MunicipalSpanHasGoodYear.jpg" alt="Municipal Span Has Good Year" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>There is no mention of <a href="2013/03/09/Coast-Guard-Life-Saving-Station/">a 1936 construction event</a>. It seems unlikely that a span of the bridge collapsed during a construction event and sixteen men died, all in the same year that the bridge experienced record revenues. Note that the bridge revenues were not necessarily steadily increasing year-over-year. Rather, the second best year before 1936 was 1930.</p>
<p>On <a href="/assets/Bridge/19370504.pdf">May 4, 1937</a> another article appeared in the Jeffersonville Evening News recording a 9.42 percent increase in revenue for the first four months of 1937. The revenue increase appears to be the direct result of increased traffic due to <strong>lowering</strong> toll rates on the bridge. Toll rates would have been unlikely to be lowered if funds were needed to repair a bridge damaged in a major construction accident. The article notes that the bridge was closed during the flood, but does not mention any other major closings due to an accident.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/19370504.jpg" alt="Bridge Revenue Shows Increase" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>On <a href="/assets/Bridge/19370702.pdf">July 2, 1937</a> another revenue record was reported in the Jeffersonville Evening News:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/19370702.jpg" alt="Municipal Bridge Revenue is Up" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>Revenue continued to rise during the summer months and once again appeared on the front page on <a href="/assets/Bridge/19370902.pdf">September 2, 1937</a>:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/19370902.jpg" alt="Revenue Up on Municipal Bridge" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>It would be impossible to make these types of financial gains during a period when a bridge span collapsed.</p>
<h4 id="other-bridge-events-in-1937">Other Bridge Events in 1937</h4>
<p>On June 3, 1937 a man attempted suicide by jumping off of the Municipal Bridge. The Coast Guard Life Saving Station Lookout spotted him, dispatched a life saving skiff, and the man was rescued. Here’s how it was recorded in the Coast Guard Log:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/19370604Broaddus.jpg" alt="Coast Guard Log June 3, 1937" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>This story was picked up by the Jeffersonville Evening News on <a href="/assets/Bridge/19370604.pdf">June 4, 1937</a>:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/19370604.jpg" alt="Survives Lead From Municipal Bridge" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>Another suicide attempt was reported on <a href="/assets/Bridge/19370617.pdf">June 17</a>. The Coast Guard Logs also include it: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=468556259883638&set=a.468556063216991.1073741847.456312137774717&type=3&l=e2a1a00bd1&theater">part 1</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=468556269883637&set=a.468556063216991.1073741847.456312137774717&type=3&l=e2a1a00bd1&theater">part 2</a>.</p>
<p>On <a href="/assets/Bridge/19371007.pdf">October 7, 1937</a> <strong>the first traffic fatality on the Municipal Bridge was reported:</strong></p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/19371007.jpg" alt="Man Killed on Municipal Span By Automobile " class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>There are no other articles in the Jeffersonville Evening News regarding the bridge in 1937. There are no other events in the Coast Guard Logs from 1937 that would lead us to believe that there was an accident on the Municipal Bridge where 16 men lost their lives.</p>
<h4 id="summary">Summary</h4>
<p>There is no record of any accident occurring on the Municipal Bridge in which sixteen men fell into the river and drowned in 1937. The sources of evidence we reviewed reported reliably on many more mundane topics that surround the bridge. The Coast Guard Life Saving Station Logs include reports of 24 hour surveillance of the the area around the bridge. There is contriving evidence against this vision being fulfilled in 1937. A very strong case can be made for there being ample evidence that this event did not occur in 1936 either.</p>
Coast Guard Life Saving Station Conclusion2013-03-18T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/03/18/Coast-Guard-Life-Saving-Station-Conclusion<p><em>This is the thirteenth post in a multi-part series on the <a href="/tags.html#bridge-ref">Municipal Bridge Vision</a>.</em></p>
<p>After posting our research regarding the Municipal Bridge Vision and the 1928-1929 construction period, we received a number of comments about possible fulfillments of this vision in 1936-1938. We had already done some research on this and were preparing to present our findings when one reader made us aware of the existence of the <a href="/2013/03/09/Coast-Guard-Life-Saving-Station/">official log books of the Coast Guard Life Saving Station #10 in Louisville</a> at the National Archives. This reader was insistent that these log books would point to a construction event related to the bridge in 1936 and would contain documented evidence of sixteen men falling to their deaths. You can read more about why we were so interested in these logs <a href="/2013/03/09/Coast-Guard-Life-Saving-Station/">here</a>.</p>
<h4 id="the-log-books">The Log Books</h4>
<p>For anyone who is interested in reviewing the log books for themselves, we’ve photographed over 8,000 pages from these log books covering the entire period from May 1, 1928 to January 1, 1940. These photos were posted to our Facebook page a few days ago, organized in albums in chronological order. Below are links to all of the photo albums.</p>
<table class="table table-striped table-hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Facebook Album</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.467210043351593.1073741825.456312137774717&type=1&l=d65a876ce7" target="_blank">May 1, 1928 - June 30, 1928</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.467219336683997.1073741826.456312137774717&type=1&l=77abc36548" target="_blank">July 1, 1928 - December 31, 1928</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.467236486682282.1073741828.456312137774717&type=1&l=00bdb5e09a" target="_blank">Jan 1, 1929 - June 30, 1929</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.467253140013950.1073741829.456312137774717&type=1&l=d1090487dc" target="_blank">July 1, 1929 - December 31, 1929</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.467275613345036.1073741830.456312137774717&type=1&l=80e0a39f64" target="_blank">January 1, 1930 - June 30, 1930</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.467295113343086.1073741831.456312137774717&type=1&l=c4ca0a29cc" target="_blank">July 1, 1930 - December 31, 1930</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.467490066656924.1073741832.456312137774717&type=1&l=b26068149d" target="_blank">January 1, 1931 - June 30, 1931</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.467563843316213.1073741834.456312137774717&type=1&l=c70d2cbf10" target="_blank">July 1, 1931 - December 31, 1931</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.467571856648745.1073741835.456312137774717&type=1&l=07e77bdd37" target="_blank">January 1, 1932 - June 30, 1932</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.467732263299371.1073741836.456312137774717&type=1&l=8ccc900b64" target="_blank">July 1, 1932 - December 31, 1932</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.467805676625363.1073741839.456312137774717&type=1&l=27d0e9e3cc" target="_blank">January 1, 1933 - June 30, 1933</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.467780399961224.1073741838.456312137774717&type=1&l=4739476d6a" target="_blank">July 1, 1933 - December 31, 1933</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.467956453276952.1073741840.456312137774717&type=1&l=7d68619267" target="_blank">January 1, 1934 - June 30, 1934</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.467963729942891.1073741841.456312137774717&type=1&l=9b2b2dccd1" target="_blank">July 1, 1934 - December 31, 1934</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.468140936591837.1073741842.456312137774717&type=1&l=b38e0a9f7a" target="_blank">January 1, 1935 - June 30, 1935</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.468149979924266.1073741843.456312137774717&type=1&l=c32b660737" target="_blank">July 1, 1935 - December 31, 1935</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.468236136582317.1073741844.456312137774717&type=1&l=81ddb8653d" target="_blank">January 1, 1936 - June 30, 1936</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.468541196551811.1073741845.456312137774717&type=1&l=b900667d0b" target="_blank">July 1, 1936 - December 31, 1936</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.468545903218007.1073741846.456312137774717&type=1&l=40c40b93fb" target="_blank">January 1, 1937 - June 15, 1937</a></td>
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<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.468556063216991.1073741847.456312137774717&type=1&l=e2a1a00bd1" target="_blank">June 16, 1937 - November 20, 1937</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.468571809882083.1073741848.456312137774717&type=1&l=7a310d41da" target="_blank">November 21, 1937 - May 9, 1938</a></td>
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<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.468576643214933.1073741849.456312137774717&type=1&l=adc64f1ff3" target="_blank">May 10, 1938 - October 21, 1938</a></td>
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<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.468581133214484.1073741850.456312137774717&type=1&l=53b115f9cf" target="_blank">October 22, 1938 - March 31, 1939</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.468588549880409.1073741851.456312137774717&type=1&l=d9f71bfb42" target="_blank">April 1, 1939 - September 10, 1939</a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.468593976546533.1073741852.456312137774717&type=1&l=26cafa5cdb" target="_blank">September 11, 1939 - January 1, 1940</a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h4 id="what-we-found-in-the-log-books">What We Found In The Log Books</h4>
<p>Each day the log contained the wind direction, force, barometric pressure, temperature, and surf conditions. These all had to be recorded at 4 AM, 8 AM, Noon, 4 PM, 8 PM, and Midnight. The log also records the number and types of ships that passed. It appears that the main types tracked were steamers and barges in tow. The station ran a regular lookout schedule which was recorded every two hours. Absences for vacation or sick leave were recorded. The log includes any drills held as well as a count of vessel boardings, inspections, and most importantly, the cases of assistance and number of lives saved. Finally, the second page of the daily log included a record of miscellaneous events of the day, recorded in chronological order. The log was signed by the officer in charge at the end of each day.</p>
<p>We’ve reviewed all of these logs and found that the Coast Guard Station ran a lookout twenty-four hours per day, every day of the year. The logs contain information about all distress calls, cases of assistance, and even mundane events at the station, like painting the kitchen, or buying groceries to supplement rations. The log contained accounts of drownings, body recoveries, suicide attempts, aiding prohibition agents in executing searches on remote islands, etc. There were heart-wrenching entries about young children drowning and Coast Guard personnel administering resuscitation for up to <em>90</em> minutes in a failed attempts to save young lives. The log covered capsized boats, mechanical problems, cars crashing into the river, saving unsuspecting canoeists headed for the peril of the falls, and even records of recovering a little boy’s lost bicycle that ended up in the river.</p>
<p>The Coast Guard station was located a few hundred yards from the Municipal Bridge and ran a constant lookout. There’s no record of any accident where sixteen men fell from the bridge to their deaths and drowned.</p>
<p>There’s also no evidence of construction in 1936 as was suggested by one reader.</p>
Six Second Smith2013-03-14T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/03/14/Six-Second-Smith<p>Former believers have criticized Brother Branham’s stories about his boxing career. They say there is no evidence of Brother Branham boxing, and also question whether or not Six Second Smith actually existed.</p>
<h4 id="brother-branhams-accounts-of-six-second-smith">Brother Branham’s Accounts Of Six Second Smith</h4>
<p>From <em>The Greatest Battle Ever Fought</em> preached in Jeffersonville, IN on March 3, 1962:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>And you know what? You know why I’m doing this? I’ll tell you. The other day I had a dream. I wasn’t going to tell it, but it’s just on my mind. I might as well do it, after the Lord has give me interpretations.
I dreamed that I was fixing to cross a great river, for mission work. And now, first, I was up there with my wife…
And how many ever knowed George Smith, Six-second Smith, here in town? George Smith, his boy is on the police force here. He, poor George, is an alcoholic now. But he was one of the best fighters. He was the one give me my training, ‘fore even went to the Y.M.C.A. and anywhere. He used to train us. And he was fast, real fast. He was only a welterweight, for hundred-forty-five pound. And he trained me. And used to stand up there, and he could take his fist, like that, and hit me right in the stomach, raise me up against the wall, see, but, and it wouldn’t bother me. He just had me trained, there wasn’t nothing but just training.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>From <em>Wisdom Versus Faith</em> preached in Jeffersonville, In on April 1, 1962:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>And I used to box. And there was a fellow named here in this city. The poor fellow drinks very bad now. One of his boys is on the police force. Smith, George Smith, they called him, “Six-second Smith.” He went to training me for boxing, when we had… ‘fore the Golden Gloves started. We was out here at the government. And in that, why, he was the roughest person I ever seen. He’d just hit me, and I’d just go winding through the air. And I come back. I said, “You don’t have to be so rough about it. See?” I said, “You knock the breath out of me.”
He said, “I tell you, Billy,” said, “no matter how well trained you are, and how much athletic experience you have, and how strong you are, for your size, or anything like that,” said, “a lick stops the blood when hits like that.” [Brother Branham claps his hands once–Ed.] And said, “You might hate me now, but when you get up there in the ring, yourself,” said, “you’ll appreciate it.” Said, “Your body builds up that, to come back quick. If you get hit, you’ll just fall over, and you’ll lay there and take a count. But if your body is built and can stand the licks,” said, “then, when you hit it, hard lick hits you,” said, “then when you, you come back quick,” said, “back to your feet again. Get knocked out of the ring, jump back in.” He had just got through knocking me plumb out of the ring. So he said, “You have to just do that. You see?” And he liked to killed me. He was about thirty or forty pounds heavier than I was. And he could… He was a fighter and I was just a student, so he was almost killing me. He said, “But you’ll appreciate that when you get in the ring.” I found out that was the truth.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>From <em>Presuming</em> preached in Cleveland, TN on April 8, 1962:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When I first started training for boxing, before I got in professional fighting, there used to be a trainer, they called him “Six-second Smith.” The first professional fight he had, he whipped the man in six seconds. And when I started training, that man liked to killed me. He’d knock me plumb out of the ring and everything else. And I was skipping ropes, and running seven, eight miles every day, and taking all the training.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And I said, “Six, why do you have to do me that way?” See? I said, “You just knock the breath out of me. Man, I went plumb over four ropes, come right out of there in–in amongst them chairs, and liked to broke my back on them.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>He laughed, said, “That’ll do you good.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “Do me good? How can it do me good? You’re about to kill me.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And he said, “Look, Billy. I don’t care how physically fit you are; your body’s got to be able to stand that, come back right quick. If you take a hard punch.” said, “if your body’s not used to coming back, you’ll lay there and take the count.” He said, “But if your–your body’s used to taking it, then coming back…” Every time you hit it, that shocks the blood, runs it back to the heart.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Said, “If you do that.” said, “then your body’s used to coming back quick. When you get knocked down [Brother Branham snaps his fingers–Ed.] on your feet again.” See? And said, “That don’t mean a thing when you get knocked down–up on your feet again, quick.” Said, “You hate me now. But you’ll appreciate me when you get out there in the ring.” That was right.</p>
</blockquote>
<h4 id="the-silent-movie">The Silent Movie</h4>
<p>There was a <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0783806/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">1923 silent movie</a> titled <em>Six Second Smith</em>. Some people believe that Brother Branham used this fictional character from this movie and made the story up.</p>
<h4 id="newspaper-evidence-of-six-second-smith">Newspaper Evidence Of Six Second Smith</h4>
<p>As it turns out, Six Second Smith was a real person. We ran across some newspaper articles related to him while researching the Municipal Bridge Vision. From the Jeffersonville Evening News on September 1, 1928:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/SixSecondSmith/SixSecondSmith1.jpg" class="img img-polaroid" alt="Jeffersonville Evening News. September 1, 1928 article." /></p>
<p>You can see a full page scan of this article <a href="/assets/SixSecondSmith/19280901.pdf">here</a>.</p>
<p>Later in 1928 there was a lot of anticipation around a fight between Six Second Smith and Howard McLain:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/SixSecondSmith/SixSecondSmith2.jpg" class="img img-polaroid" alt="Jeffersonville Evening News. November 7, 1928 article." /></p>
<p>Unfortunately, Six Second Smith lost this bout and the next day, the papers gave him a hard time about being knocked out by McLain who was a <strong>scientist</strong> from New Albany:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/SixSecondSmith/SixSecondSmith3.jpg" class="img img-polaroid" alt="Jeffersonville Evening News. November 8, 1928 article." /></p>
<p>Full page scans of these two articles can be found <a href="/assets/SixSecondSmith/19281107.pdf">here</a> and <a href="/assets/SixSecondSmith/19281108.pdf">here</a>.</p>
<h4 id="the-boxrec-website">The BoxRec Website</h4>
<p>The BoxRec website includes an incomplete profile of a boxer named <a href="http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=516775&cat=boxer">Six Second Smith</a> from Louisville, KY. We know this record is not complete because the fights listed above in the newspaper are not included in this record. BoxRec does not have a record for Brother Branham, but given that Six Second Smith’s record is not complete, we don’t believe we can accept this lack of evidence as proof that Brother Branham never boxed.</p>
<h4 id="summary">Summary</h4>
<p>While we have yet to find any direct evidence of Brother Branham boxing, we have discovered that Six Second Smith was a real boxer in the Jeffersonville area.</p>
Coast Guard Life Saving Station2013-03-09T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/03/09/Coast-Guard-Life-Saving-Station<p><em>This is the twelth post in a multi-part series on the <a href="/tags.html#bridge-ref">Municipal Bridge Vision</a>.</em></p>
<p>After posting our research regarding the Municipal Bridge Vision and the 1928-1929 construction period, we received a number of comments about possible fulfillments of this vision in 1936-1938. We had already done some research on this and were preparing to present our findings when one reader made us aware of the existence of the <a href="http://research.archives.gov/description/648209">official log books of the Coast Guard Life Saving Station #10 in Louisville</a> at the National Archives. This reader was insistent that these log books would point to a construction event related to the bridge in 1936 and would contain documented evidence of sixteen men falling to their deaths. At first, we were quite skeptical of his claims and questioned whether or not these logs would be of any value to our search. However, we want to be as thorough as we can so we decided to take a little time and check it out before continuing to publish our information on 1936-1938.</p>
<p>We’re glad we did.</p>
<h4 id="life-saving-station-10">Life Saving Station #10</h4>
<p>First, a little background of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor_Andrew_Broaddus">Life Saving Station #10</a> at Louisville, KY is in order. In service from 1881 until 1972, this station was placed near the falls of the Ohio because it was the most dangerous section of the river. The station was manned around the clock and operated as a bonafide Coast Guard Station. Over the years, there were three different vessels that served as the Life Saving Station. The last vessel was put into service in 1929 and was originally named <em>The Louisville</em>. When the vessel was retired in 1972 it was renamed to <em>The Mayor Andrew Broaddus</em>. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and you can still visit it today.</p>
<h4 id="the-log-books">The Log Books</h4>
<p>We contacted the National Archives <a href="http://www.archives.gov/atlanta/">at Atlanta</a> and discussed these log books with the archivists. The NARA staff were extremely helpful during our search. They were able to describe in general what sort of information was contained in the logs. They contain daily records from the station, including records of every rescue and recovery operation that the Coast Guard participated in. Since the station was located less than a half mile from the bridge, the Coast Guard would be the first responders to any event on the bridge where someone fell into the river. We decided to take a trip to examine these logs. The sheer volume of what was available was quite overwhelming and we had to develop a strategy to examine them in detail while making the most of our time at the archives. We decided it would be best to photograph the log books so we could enlist the help of others in examining them. It took us a few weeks to figure out the most reasonable way to accomplish this and arrange travel.</p>
<h4 id="the-experience">The Experience</h4>
<p>The log books are available for public examination under pretty serious security. Entering the building requires a photo ID, a trip through a metal detector and having your belongings x-rayed. Any equipment you bring into the facility (laptops, camera, etc) requires a pass and recording of serial numbers. These items are generally inspected when you leave the facility. There are several different types of items at the archives, but if you want to review original historic documents you have to do so in a specific area. This area is secured by badge readers. When you enter, you must present a NARA issued researcher identification card. If you don’t have one, you must register and obtain one on-site. You have to go through a training presentation on handling the documents you are about to examine. Once you’ve completed this, you can set up your work area under the supervision of an archivist. Jackets, backpacks, and other bags are not allowed in the room once you are set up. The archivist delivers your materials to you with a chain of custody form. You are monitored by a person and security cameras while in the examination area.</p>
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<h4 id="photographing-the-log-books">Photographing the Log Books</h4>
<p>While at the archives, we photographed all of the log books from May 1, 1928 through December 31, 1939. Here’s the setup we used to photograph these logs:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/nara/General-005.jpg" class="img img-polaroid" alt="Photographing Coast Guard Log Books at the National Archives At Atlanta" /></p>
<p>The pictures were taken using a Nikon D5100 mounted on a Manfrotto tripod. An LED light prevented shadowing. Using a remote shutter release, we simply aligned the log under the camera and took photographs as we turned to each page. Small bag weights were used to hold pages open. All images were shot at 16 Megapixels and captured in RAW and JPEG formats. Over 100GB of images were generated. Even using this setup, we spent 16 hours over two days photographing these books. Why? In the interest of full disclosure, we’re going to share all of them with you so you can examine them yourself if you wish. Right now we’re in the process of cropping the images and will be posting them online as jpegs of a reasonable size and detail.</p>
<h4 id="log-pages">Log Pages</h4>
<p>Each day the log contained the wind direction, force, barometric pressure, temperature, and surf conditions. These all had to be recorded at 4 AM, 8 AM, Noon, 4 PM, 8 PM, and Midnight. The log also records the number and types of ships that passed. It appears that the main types tracked were steamers and barges in tow. The station ran a regular lookout schedule which was recorded every two hours. Absences for vacation or sick leave were recorded. The log includes any drills held as well as a count of vessel boardings, inspections, and most importantly, the cases of assistance and number of lives saved. Finally, the second page of the daily log included a record of miscellaneous events of the day, recorded in chronological order. The log was signed by the officer in charge at the end of each day. Each log book starts with explicit instructions on how the log must be filled out:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/nara/Instructions.jpg" class="img img-polaroid" alt="Instructions For filling out Coast Guard Logs" /></p>
<p>Here’s a sample log page from June 19, 1929. This is the day <a href="/2013/02/25/Documented-Bridge-Deaths/">Richard Pilton was hit by an iron crank</a> in the temple and was knocked off the bridge. The report in the Coast Guard log book matches the newspaper stories we published previously on this blog.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/nara/LogRichardPilton.jpg" class="img img-polaroid" alt="Log Page including Richard Pilton's Death" /></p>
<p>If you’re having trouble viewing this log page you can view it full size using <a href="/assets/Bridge/nara/LogRichardPilton.jpg">this link</a>.</p>
<p>The second bridge death we previously reported does not appear in the Coast Guard log because the man who died did not fall into the water and the Coast Guard was not part of the recovery operation.</p>
<h4 id="summary">Summary</h4>
<p>With some help from one of our readers, we’ve discovered additional contemporary official government records that can be used to validate our findings from 1928 - 1929 during the construction of the municipal bridge. Further, these records can be used to determine if indeed sixteen men fell to their deaths and drowned in the Ohio River after the construction of the municipal bridge. We’re working on getting these images processed and will be posting them here and on our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SearchingForVindication">Facebook Page</a> once we have them complete. Stay tuned.</p>
Newspaper Articles on The Bridge From 1928-19292013-02-27T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/02/27/All-Newspaper-Articles-On-The-Bridge-1928-1929<p><em>This is the eleventh post in a multi-part series on the <a href="/tags.html#bridge-ref">Municipal Bridge Vision</a>.</em></p>
<p>The following table lists articles related to the Municipal Bridge Construction which we located in the Jeffersonville Evening News. They are presented here in case you’d like to review them yourself.</p>
<table class="table table-striped table-hover">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Date</th>
<th>Title</th>
<th>Synopsis</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>3/21/1928</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19280321.pdf">Spring Street Must Be Improved and Work Started Immediately</a></td>
<td>Unless Entrance to Bridge is Ready When Span Opens City Will Lose Revenue</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>6/5/1928</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19280605.pdf">Council Approves Bridge Ordinance on Final Reading</a></td>
<td>Contract between Louisville Bride Commission and the city was ratified by an ordinance giving its final reading and passed unanimously by the Jeffersonville City Council.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>6/9/1928</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19280609b.pdf">Bridge Money</a></td>
<td>Bridge Money to be delivered June 20, 1928</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>6/9/1928</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19280609.pdf">New Subdivision</a></td>
<td>New Subdivision Presages Growth of Jeffersonville as Result of Traffic Bridge</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>6/16/1928</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19280616.pdf">New Subdivision</a></td>
<td>Every day there is evidence in Jeffersonville the Influence that is felt by the coming traffic bridge across the Ohio. Never in History has real estate moved so readily.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7/20/1928</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19280720.pdf">Bridge Contract, Super-Structure Let Thursday</a></td>
<td>Contract for the super-structure piers 1 through 8 signed. Amount of $1,915,066.00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7/28/1928</td>
<td>Building of New Traffic Bridge Proves Interesting to Falls Cities <br /><a href="/assets/Bridge/19280728B.pdf">Part 1</a>|<a href="/assets/Bridge/19280728C.pdf">Part 2</a>|<a href="/assets/Bridge/19280728D.pdf">Part 3</a></td>
<td>Visitors frequent caisson chamber on floor of Ohio River, work to be completed December 1, 1928. Large front page article of construction details with photos.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>8/7/1928</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19280807.pdf">Bridge Approach Plan Includes the Park Site</a></td>
<td>Dinner sponsored by Chamber of Commerce to discuss an increase in the assessed valuation of Jeffersonville real-estate and a sale of property for a park fund.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>8/11/1928</td>
<td>Piers for New Traffic Bridge Launch Caisson 2 <br /><a href="/assets/Bridge/19280811.pdf">Part 1</a>|<a href="/assets/Bridge/19280811B.pdf">Part 2</a></td>
<td>Interior caisson chamber photos with workmen and bridge officials. The launch of caisson No 2. Work on Pier No 1 to begin.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9/6/1928</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19280906b.pdf">Bridge Commission Asks for Bids</a></td>
<td>Bridge commission asks for bids for demolition of 13 houses.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9/10/1928</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19280910.pdf">Bridge Heads Visit Building Site of New Traffic Structure Across Ohio River Monday</a></td>
<td>Ralph Modjeski, Frank Masters, George Vang among officials who inspect site, progress on piers is rapid.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9/14/1928</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19280914.pdf">Commission Head Relates History of Bridge Project</a></td>
<td>Believing that there are many persons in Louisville and other Falls cities who would be interested in an authentic history of the municipal highway bridge now being erected across the Ohio River at the foot of Second street, a visit and an interview with the chairman of the bridge commission.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9/14/1928</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19280914b.pdf">Company Begins Wrecking of Buildings Monday</a></td>
<td>$1000 bid to tear down 15 buildings for new traffic bridge site.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9/22/1928</td>
<td>New Excavating Process Hastens Progress of Work on Bridge Caisson No. 2 <br /><a href="/assets/Bridge/19280922.pdf">Part 1</a>|<a href="/assets/Bridge/19280922b.pdf">Part 2</a></td>
<td>Smith Orange Peel process hailed as contribution to river construction world Vang receives Madison contract. Detailed article of process.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10/27/1928</td>
<td>Three Piers Completed on New Ohio Traffic Bridge To Begin Superstructure November 1 <br /><a href="/assets/Bridge/19281027.pdf">Part 1</a>|<a href="/assets/Bridge/19281027b.pdf">Part 2</a></td>
<td>Caisson No. 2 largest of 8 now sealed; completed structures are washed as final process</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>11/3/1928</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19281103b.pdf">Steel Work Begins</a></td>
<td>Steel Work Begins on New Traffic Bridge Over Ohio</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>12/20/1928</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19281220b.pdf">City Issues Big Permit To Bridge Commission Today</a></td>
<td>Louisville Bridge Commission was granted a building permit. Toll stations and administration building valued at $150,000.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>3/13/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290313.pdf">Bridge Will Be Rushed Through To Completion</a></td>
<td>A report shows 75% of the steel has been milled and every indication that the bridge will be finished ahead of schedule. A double crew of steel workers will be put on the job for a quicker completion.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>4/30/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290430.pdf">Louisville Mayor Says Span Will Be Completed Nov. 1</a></td>
<td>Vast amount of steel work yet to be done casts doubts on the completion date of Oct. 1, Nov. 1 is a safe bet.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>5/20/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290520.pdf">Louisville Board Of Trade Plans Big Celebration at Opening of the New Bridge</a></td>
<td>A special celebration to mark completion of the $5,000,000 Louisville Municipal Bridge</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>6/1/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290601.pdf">Rapid Progress Is Being Made on New Vehicular Bridge</a></td>
<td>Photos and large detailed article on progress and future expectations.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>6/20/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290620.pdf">First Life Lost In Erection Of Traffic Bridge</a></td>
<td>Richard Pilton, 26 dies after being struck in the temple by an iron crank he was using, knocking him from the barge at the side of the pier no 5. His body was recovered within 5 minutes by the Coast Guard.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7/1/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290701.pdf">Many Apply for Drivers Licenses Monday</a></td>
<td>
More than 200 applicants had applied for drivers licenses from 8 to 1 o'clock Monday afternoon. 300 more were expected before 5 o'clock.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7/18/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290718.pdf">Good Streets Will Aid in Reducing Bridge Burden</a></td>
<td>As work on the new traffic bridge progresses and the populace of this and adjoining communities await economic advantages such as this project will bring, it would seem to behoove the residents of this city to pause and consider Jeffersonvilles part of the bargain.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7/20/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290720.pdf">Pylons Approach Entrance of New Traffic Bridge Now Are In Process Of Erection</a></td>
<td>Structures bearing seal of state and American eagle are superb in architectural design in beauty.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7/22/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290722.pdf">Patchwork On Bridge Approach Streets May Begin</a></td>
<td>Interstate cancels order for materials when city fails to build new roadway. Discussion of preparatory work on streets for new bridge.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>7/25/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290725.pdf">Roads to Madison, Salem May Be Built</a></td>
<td>Roads needing built to address traffic concerns to new bridge.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>8/19/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290819.pdf">Bridge Worker Loses Auto License</a></td>
<td>Gossip</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>8/29/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290829.pdf">Heads Discuss Bridge Opening</a></td>
<td>A one day celebration instead of a two day affair is now being planned. The change of plans came upon the advice of Masters and Modjeski. </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9/4/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290904.pdf">Bridge Plans Are Discussed</a></td>
<td>The Louisville Bridge Commission made plans Tuesday at a meeting in Louisville for the celebration of the opening of the $5,000,000 new traffic bridge.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9/10/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290910.jpg">Powers Of Human Workmen Pressed To High Production Point To Complete Bridge</a></td>
<td>Last Cantilever of $5,000,000 Traffic Structure Swung Into Position. Work in All Departments Is Progressing.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9/10/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290910b.jpg">Schimpff Advertisement</a></td>
<td>Your Bridge Party is not complete without our Brick Cream and "Bridge" Cream. Gust. A. Schimpff. Phone 149.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9/11/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290911b.jpg">Ferry Boats Are For Sale; Service Depends on People</a></td>
<td>Will ferry boat service continue after construction of $5,000,000 traffic bridge is complete?</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9/11/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290911.pdf">Workman Killed In 85-Foot Fall From Traffic Bridge</a></td>
<td>
Lloyd McEwen, 25 years old, Bruce, Wis., riveter employed by the American Bridge Company, contractors for the erection of the steel super-structure of the new traffic bridge from Jeffersonville to Louisville was killed at 11:30 o'clock Wednesday morning when he fell from the floor of the bridge, eighty-five feet below to a barge containing steel and anchored in the river. McEwen's death was due to a broken neck, Coroner Asa D. Combs, reported Wednesday. The man also sustained a broken back, broken left arm and lacerations on his head. Workmen who saw the man plunge to his death reported that he was working on the floor of the bridge and apparently made a misstep, losing his balance. McEwen's death marks the second to occur since the beginning of the bridge more than a year ago. <a href="/assets/Bridge/19290911B.pdf">Enlarged version</a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9/12/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290912.pdf">Workman's Body Taken To Bruce For Burial</a></td>
<td>
The body of Lloyd A. McEwen, 30 years old, structural steel worker, who fell to his death, from the bridge floor of the new Traffic bridge filled with steel tied directly beneath the bridge, eighty-five [fete] below, was taken to Bruce, Wis., Thursday morning where funeral services and burial will take place. The body was accompanied to Bruce by a brother, E.J. McEwen, also an employee of the bridge company. Other survivors, are the parents Mr. and Mrs. Dougal McEwen and a sister, Mrs. John Scowles, all of Bruce.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9/12/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290912.pdf">Article: 18 Named to New Bridge Jobs</a></td>
<td>Selection of names of eighteen applicants for jobs in connection with operation of the new Louisville Municipal Bridge has been made from hundreds.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9/20/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290920B.pdf">Bridge Opening For Hoover Not Thought Probable</a></td>
<td>Edward H. West, secretary of the Louisville Bridge Commission, reported Friday that from a survey of the amount of work yet to be done on the new Louisville Municipal Bridge, it is improbable that the structure will be completed by October 23 in time for an opening celebration when President Hoover visits Louisville.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9/24/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290924.pdf">Bridge Chairmen To Meet In City Wednesday Night.</a></td>
<td>All Jeffersonville chairmen of the Municipal Bridge Entertainment Committee are asked to meet at 7:30 o'clock Wednesday night at the Red Palace Hotel instead of Tuesday night as formerly announced, M.D. Schlosser announced Tuesday.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9/25/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290925.pdf">Bridge Opening Now Planned For October 31</a></td>
<td>Bridge opening set for October 31.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>9/27/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19290927.pdf">Accidents Show Big Increase In Past Five Years</a></td>
<td>Large increase in railroad crossing accidents, largely due to reckless automobile drivers. Railroads spending millions to improve crossing safety.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10/5/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291005.pdf">Commission Urges "Clean-Up" For Bridge Opening</a></td>
<td>Louisville business men were urged Friday in a formal statement of the Louisville Municipal Bridge Committee, to paint and clean up downtown stores in preparation for the celebration of the opening of the new municipal bridge from Jeffersonville to Louisville on Nov. 1.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10/9/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291009.jpg">Ordinance Drawn To Regulate New Bridge Travelers</a></td>
<td>All laws under motor vehicle provisions are to be enforced on structure.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10/11/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291011.pdf">Lighted Bridge Lends Impressive View At Night</a></td>
<td>Views of the new municipal traffic bridge from Jeffersonville to Louisville, against a night sky have been visible for several nights as the lighting system of the new structure has been in the testing process.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10/15/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291015.jpg">Bridge Sponsors Tour Site Tuesday</a></td>
<td>Bridge Commission to tour new structure at 3:30 o'clock Tuesday afternoon.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10/16/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291016B.pdf">Traffic Plans Made For Bridge Opening</a></td>
<td>Plans for handling traffic during bridge dedication.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10/18/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291018.pdf">Official Traffic Plans Announced By Committee</a></td>
<td>Official plans for handling of traffic during the time of the Municipal Bridge dedication were announced on Friday.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10/22/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291022.pdf">Fate of Ferry Company Will Be Determined Within Month. Patronage Is Chief Factor</a></td>
<td>Inquiry being made as to whether Municipal Bridge will draw traffic to extent of rendering service unprofitable.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10/22/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291022.pdf">Jeff Residents Urged To Join Bridge Parade</a></td>
<td>All residents of Jeffersonville and this community are urged to participate in a parade to be held on Thursday, October 31, in connection with the dedication ceremonies of the new municipal traffic bridge.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10/22/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291022.jpg">President Hoover To be Frist Passenger on Louisville Bridge</a></td>
<td>The first passenger to ride across the new Louisville Municipal Bridge will be President Hoover.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10/23/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291023.pdf">Hoover Not To Be Passenger Over New Bridge</a></td>
<td>President Hoover is not to make the trip over the new Municipal Traffic Bridge as planned and previously announced.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10/25/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291025.pdf">Final Processes Under Way To Complete Bridge</a></td>
<td>Local Committee cooperates with Louisville Commission in dedicatory plans.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10/25/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291025B.pdf">Full Page Ad</a></td>
<td>Municipal Bridge Dedication Invitation for Nov 1. Includes description of numerous activities and events related to bridge opening.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10/28/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291028r.pdf">Bridge Opening To Be A Big Parade</a></td>
<td>Large Headline. Same size and layout as stock market crash later in the week. Governors of Sister States to Meet on Span Over River as Bands Blare and Guns Boom.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10/29/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291029.pdf">Seven Jeff Men To Help Police Highway Bridge</a></td>
<td>Both Jeffersonville and Louisville give bridge guards full authority as policemen. Note: This article appears immediately below the headline: STOCKS RALLY AFTER $10-60</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10/29/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291029.pdf">Bridge and Ferry Both May Operate Boat Men Believe</a></td>
<td>Straw vote said to indicate that only one in 100 will cease to use boats.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10/29/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291029.jpg">30 or 35 Cent Toll For Cars On Bridge Foreseen Today</a></td>
<td>Commission meets to determine final tolls on new bridge.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>10/31/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291031.pdf">ARE WE BRIDGE GOAT?</a></td>
<td>Announcement of Bridge Toll Schedule.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>11/2/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291102.jpg">No Consideration Shown Jeffersonville</a></td>
<td>Schedule of new tolls falls as "wet blanket" over merchants and business men.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>12/3/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291203.pdf">Bridge Commission To Build Roadway Along Fourth Street To Connect Highway and Bridge</a></td>
<td>Standard Oil Agrees to pay city $18,500 for 25-Year Contract</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>12/17/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291217.pdf">Plan to Cease Ferry Service In A Few Days</a></td>
<td>Company directors vote at meeting to liquidate assets.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>12/26/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291226.pdf">Bank Sleuth Found Dying On New Span</a></td>
<td>Louisville Police probe the finding of a man in an unconscious condition on the municipal bridge. Man is not expected to live.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>12/27/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291227.pdf">Bridge Body to Build Roadway</a></td>
<td>Bridge commission to build 20 foot concrete emergency roadway.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>12/31/1929</td>
<td><a href="/assets/Bridge/19291231.pdf">Car Identified in Mysterious Bridge Death</a></td>
<td>Members of homicide squad identify ownership of car from which James Connaughton fell. Man died the day after he was found on bridge.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Documented Bridge Deaths2013-02-25T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/02/25/Documented-Bridge-Deaths<p><em>This is the tenth post in a multi-part series on the <a href="/tags.html#bridge-ref">Municipal Bridge Vision</a>.</em></p>
<p>Former believers have a letter from a historical society in Louisville indicating that no one died during the construction of the Municipal Bridge. There are no bridge deaths documented in the Bridge’s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Municipal_Bridge">Wikipedia entry.</a> No deaths are mentioned in the <a href="http://bridgehunter.com/ky/jefferson/clark/">Bridge Hunter entry</a> for the bridge. There are no deaths mentioned in the <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=pXbYITw4ZesC&lpg=PA124&ots=byz9wSRhUi&dq=Bridging%20the%20ohio%20carl%20kramer&pg=PA123#v=onepage&q&f=false">Encyclopedia of Louisville</a>. We found all of these sources to be incorrect. Here’s the documentation we’ve found regarding deaths that occurred as part of the Municipal Bridge construction project in 1928 and 1929.</p>
<h4 id="bridge-death-1">Bridge Death #1</h4>
<p>On Wednesday, June 19, 1929 Richard Pilton died after being hit in the temple with an iron crank. He was in a barge near pier number 5. He did not drown.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/Death1.jpg" alt="Newspaper article on first death" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>Here’s a <a href="/assets/Bridge/19290620B.pdf">PDF scan</a> of the front page of the Jeffersonville Evening News from June 19, 1929 for your review.</p>
<p>There’s a couple key points to note:</p>
<ul>
<li>The article clearly states that this was the first fatality associated with the bridge.</li>
<li>The bridge had been under construction for just over a year at the time of this accident.</li>
<li>The article indicates that the bridge construction project had a formal safety program whose effectiveness was touted because this was the first and only serious accident associated with the project.</li>
</ul>
<h4 id="bridge-death-2">Bridge Death #2</h4>
<p>The second death related to the bridge construction was on September 10, 1929. Lloyd McEwen from Bruce, Wisconsin lost his footing and fell, landing on a barge below the bridge. He did not drown, but rather, broke his neck, back, and arm. He also had lacerations on his head. The newspaper article documenting his death specifically lists him as the second death to occur since construction began.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/Death2.jpg" alt="Newspaper article on second death" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>Here’s a PDF Scan of the <a href="/assets/Bridge/19290911.pdf">top of the page</a> of the Jeffersonville Evening News from September 11, 1929. The article is on the second half of the page near the bottom and the bottom of it is cut off in this scan. Here’s a <a href="/assets/Bridge/19290911B.pdf">second scan</a> of just the lower portion of the page.</p>
<p>Note that the article indicates:</p>
<ul>
<li>The man did not drown.</li>
<li>He fell into a barge, not the river itself.</li>
<li>This is clearly the second death to occur since construction began.</li>
</ul>
<h4 id="were-there-any-other-deaths">Were There Any Other Deaths?</h4>
<p>The bridge opened on October 31, 1929 and no further fatalities occurred between September 10th and October 31. We checked through December 31, 1929 just to make sure we didn’t miss anything. The bridge opened ahead of schedule and under budget.</p>
<h4 id="summary">Summary</h4>
<p>Did sixteen men fall off of the Municipal Bridge during it’s construction and lose their lives? Historical records indicate exactly two men died during the construction of the bridge in two separate accidents. Neither drowned.</p>
<p>We discovered that only two men had died during the construction in our first visit to the Indiana State Library. To say this grieved us would be an understatement. We challenged our own research and reviewed the material we unearthed many times. We looked for additional resources and even made a second trip to the Indiana State Library to re-review our findings and search for additional evidence.</p>
<p>If anything, our research has shown us there’s always more out there to look at and dig in to. Some will choose to take all of the information we’ve collected and presented here and use it as conclusive evidence that there’s no way this event could possibly have occurred the way Brother Branham said it did. Others will search for flaws in our research and look for other potential fulfillments for this vision. Our goal has been to present the evidence as factually as possible and not try to put our own spin on it. We encourage you to dig into these things yourself and draw your own conclusions. If you feel we’ve missed something, please search it out yourselves or at least let us know so we can decide if it’s something we’d like to pursue farther as well.</p>
<p>This is not quite the conclusion of our research. We do have some more information related to this that we’ll continue posting in the coming days, albeit the pace may be slower than what it’s been so far.</p>
The Modjeski and Masters Report - Part 22013-02-24T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/02/24/The-Modjeski-And-Masters-Report-Part-2<p><em>This is the ninth post in a multi-part series on the <a href="/tags.html#bridge-ref">Municipal Bridge Vision</a>.</em></p>
<p>Early on in our research we learned of the existence of an official engineering report on the building of the Municipal Bridge. This report was delivered to the Louisville Bridge Commission in 1930 and contains many details about the bridge’s construction that are of interest to our search. <a href="/2013/02/23/The-Modjeski-And-Masters-Report">We’ve already discussed</a> the first half of the report. In this post, we’ll take a look at what’s in the second half of the engineer’s report.</p>
<div class="alert alert-info">
If you'd like to examine this document in detail for yourself, we've posted a PDF of the <a href="/assets/Bridge/EngineerReport1.pdf">first half of the engineers' report</a>, and the <a href="/assets/Bridge/EngineerReport2.pdf">second half of the report</a> which is discussed in this post. If you are using Adobe Acrobat, you can rotate the document to make it easier to read.
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<h4 id="appendices-a-and-b">Appendices A and B</h4>
<p>Appendix A lists all of the personnel involved in the bridge project including the members of the various iterations of the commission, the consulting engineers, the architect, the office staff, the field staff, and the mill and shop inspection staff.</p>
<p>Appendix B lists the dimensions and quantities associated with the bridge construction. This includes things like the length of the bridge, the depth of the deepest foundation, the weight of the superstructure, as well as the quantities of limestone and granite used. This section also includes the amount of steel and the yardage of concrete used in construction.</p>
<h4 id="appendix-c-statement-of-costs">Appendix C: Statement of Costs</h4>
<p>This section is basically an accounting of the bridge construction costs. This appendix is very relevant to our search because it represents the actual costs associated with the bridge and was issued in the year after the construction was complete. The statement of costs is very detailed, going so far as to document the $190.25 that was spent on postage.</p>
<p>We can compare the actual costs with the contracted costs reported in a few newspaper articles before and during the construction to see if there are any significant cost over-runs. A large accident with a collapsing span would have necessitated the purchase of additional materials and significantly increased the labor cost which would likely show up as a cost over-run.</p>
<p>The original budget for the bridge was $5,000,000 and this was the amount of the bonds issued. According to an <a href="/assets/Bridge/19280609b.pdf">article</a> in the Jefferesonville Evening News on June 9, 1928, this sum of money was to be delivered to the bridge commission on June 20, 1928. Appendix C of this report lists the grand total cost of the bridge as $4,821,087.75. The bridge was completed under budget.</p>
<p>The contract for building the superstructure of the bridge was signed in July, 1928. According to <a href="/assets/Bridge/19280720.pdf">an article</a> in the Jeffersonville Evening News on July 20, 1928 the bid was for $1,915,066. Remember, this was for the superstructure, the most likely portion of the bridge to actually collapse. The statement of costs lists the actual cost of this portion of the construction as $1,792,378.92. There were no cost over-runs in this portion of the construction, in fact, this portion of the construction came in over 6% <em>under</em> budget.</p>
<p><a href="/assets/Bridge/19281220b.pdf">Another article</a> in the Jeffersonville Evening News on December 20, 1928 mentions that the Bridge Commission was granted a building permit for the administration building and toll houses valued at $150,000. The statement of costs lists this work as being completed for $133,099.55.</p>
<h4 id="appendix-d-specifications">Appendix D: Specifications</h4>
<p>The next section of the report includes specifications for the materials that were used in the construction of the bridge. These specifications are very detailed. The first six pages of this appendix are dedicated to the concrete and stone/masonry to be used in the construction. These specifications include the tests to be used on materials. The tests are not arbitrary, but rather, reference specific test methods outlined by <a href="http://www.astm.org/HISTORY/hist_chapter1.html">The American Society for Testing Materials</a>. (ASTM) Each lot of cement was to be tested and the engineers state that “each lot shall show practically uniform results in tests; marked deviation from such results will be considered cause for rejection, even though test requirements may otherwise be fulfilled.” We can see from this statement that the engineers were very concerned about the quality of materials to be used in the bridge. The thoroughness and preciseness of this section of the document bear further witness to this.</p>
<p>This appendix goes on to state the specifications for the steel used in the bridge for the next five pages. This section is also very detailed and includes references to industry specifications created by <a href="http://www.arema.org/">The American Railway Engineering Association</a>. Every finished piece of steel was required to be stamped with it’s melt number. The tests for the steel where required to be furnished from the manufacturer’s chief chemist. The [eyebars] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyebar) were required to have an ultimate strength of at least 80,000 pounds per square inch. Manufacturers were required to use accurate pyrometers in the furnaces and open these records for inspection by the bridge engineers so they could audit the process to make sure the heat treating process was being performed correctly.</p>
<h4 id="appendices-e1-e4">Appendices E1-E4</h4>
<p>The remaining ten pages of the engineers’ report was dedicated to four appendices that included the actual test results for the materials specified in Appendix D:</p>
<ul>
<li>Appendix E-1 is a table of the concrete tests by date and location.</li>
<li>Appendix E-2 is a table listing the detailed chemical and physical test results of the silicon steel used in the construction listed by section and heat number.</li>
<li>Appendix E-3 is a table of the detailed chemical and physical tests results of the medium carbon steel used in the construction listed by section and heat number.</li>
<li>Appendix E-4 is a table of the tests results of the eye bars used in the construction. These tests are listed by mark location, size, and melt number.</li>
</ul>
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<h4>Appendix E-1</h4>
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One page from the table of concrete test results by date and location.
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<h4>Appendix E-2</h4>
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One page from the table of silicon steel test results by section and heat number.
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<h4>Appendix E-3</h4>
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One page from the table of medium carbon steel tests by section and heat number.
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<h4>Appendix E-4</h4>
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One page from the table of eye bar tests.
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<h4 id="summary-of-modjeski-and-masters-report">Summary Of Modjeski and Masters Report</h4>
<p>The engineer’s report states there were some challenges associated with constructing the bridge piers, but indicates that the remainder of the construction was completed normally. There are no mentions of collapsing cranes or spans, and no records of any major failures or catastrophic accidents. This bridge was erected with less stress on the structure than there would have been using a more traditional bridge construction process. There was less weight on the superstructure during construction than normal, and barges were under the bridge sections that were being worked on. Safety is mentioned in the report. The statement of costs does not appear to show any additional unplanned costs that would be associated with a major accident or collapse. The specifications for the materials to be used in the bridge are very specific and require industry standard tests to be performed. The report includes the documented test results for these materials and, to our untrained eyes, there appears to be no significant defects documented in these test results.</p>
The Modjeski and Masters Report2013-02-23T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/02/23/The-Modjeski-And-Masters-Report<p><em>This is the eighth post in a multi-part series on the <a href="/tags.html#bridge-ref">Municipal Bridge Vision</a>.</em></p>
<p>Early on in our research we learned of the existence of an official engineering report on the building of the Municipal Bridge. This report was delivered to the Louisville Bridge Commission in 1930 and, as you’ll see below, it contains many details about the bridge’s construction that are of interest to our search. The report itself is forty-seven pages long and, in addition, there are a number of large format fold-out engineering drawings included.</p>
<div class="alert alert-info">
If you'd like to examine this document in detail for yourself, we've posted a PDF of the <a href="/assets/Bridge/EngineerReport1.pdf">sections of the engineers' report</a> discussed in this post. If you are using Adobe Acrobat, you can rotate the document to make it easier to read.
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<h4 id="three-sections">Three Sections</h4>
<p>The document is broken into three distinct sections:</p>
<ol>
<li>Subjects. This section includes a narrative that contains the history of the bridge project, a description of the bridge, and a section for each step in the construction process. This is basically the engineers’ contemporary account of the construction of the bridge.</li>
<li>Appendices. This section contains the budget, detailed specifications, and test criteria for components used in the Bridge’s construction.</li>
<li>Exhibits. This section is comprised of all of the large format diagrams that accompany the engineering report.</li>
</ol>
<h4 id="the-first-section-subjects">The First Section: Subjects</h4>
<p>The first several pages of the engineers’ report is a brief history of the process of securing funding and the necessary legal work required to make way for the construction of the bridge.</p>
<h5 id="construction-of-substructure">Construction of Substructure</h5>
<p>Starting on page nine, the engineers begin discussing the construction of the substructure of the bridge. The substructure is basically the piers and does not include the steel superstructure. The timeline presented in this section will be important later. The Vang Construction Company was supposed to complete the five northernmost piers by December 1, 1928 and the remainder by May 1, 1929. They completed all piers by December 1, 1928, a full five months ahead of schedule.</p>
<p>This section of the document gives us detailed information about the problems associated with constructing Pier II that were caused by pumps used by a nearby ice making plant. This required a change in the original plans for constructing Pier II. A special caisson had to be designed for this pier and it had a unique system for being sunk. The engineers note that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This method of sinking was carried out very successfully without a single accident or interruption to the work and greatly expedited the construction of this pier.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Further, this is also where we learn that the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caisson_(engineering)">caissons</a> were constructed in Indiana and launched into the river from there. We learn that the first caisson was launched on June 30, 1928 and the last on August 21, 1928. All caissons were sealed by October 22, 1928.</p>
<p>The authors go into a great deal of detail about each pier. The engineers tell us about some minor delays because of quarries not delivering stone on time. Finally, there is a discussion about the granite used in the construction of the bridge and we learn about the precision involved in the building of the piers: each piece of granite was planed to within 1/32 of an inch of a true plane.</p>
<p>This stage appears to have presented the most challenges in the construction of the bridge. These challenges were discussed in detail. This section of the report consumes pages 9-16. In spite of the challenges associated with this portion of the construction, this work was completed five months ahead of schedule.</p>
<h5 id="construction-of-superstructure">Construction of Superstructure</h5>
<p>This section is short, it covers half of page 16 and half of page 17. This is 1/7 the length of the discussion about the substructure construction. Most of this section is dedicated to the American Bridge Company’s new <a href="http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/84001578.pdf">“guy derrick system of erection”</a> which was developed because of delays acquiring land and demolishing buildings where the bridge approaches would eventually be constructed. This new method enabled the bridge to be built from the center of the river out to the bank. The guy derrick method of construction was new. The report contains some very important details about it.</p>
<p>Study the pictures below. What do you notice?</p>
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<h4>Guy Derrick System of Erection</h4>
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<a href="http://digital.library.louisville.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/cs/id/1055/rec/7">Image Source.</a>
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<h4>Guy Derrick System of Erection</h4>
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<a href="http://digital.library.louisville.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/heraldpost/id/118/rec/15">Image Source.</a>
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<img src="/assets/Bridge/CantileverPier5and6.jpg" alt="Cantilever Erection Over Pier V and VI" />
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<h4>Cantilever Erection Over Pier V and VI</h4>
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(Image from Modjeski and Masters Report)
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<p><strong>The power plants used to run the bridge erection equipment had to be in a barge below the equipment.</strong> Notice that all of the construction photos you see from this phase of construction have many barges in the water right under where they are working. This system used lighter equipment for erection so they didn’t have to oversize the bridge sections to handle the additional stresses that normally occur during the erection process. Finally, since the power plant was not on the bridge, all of this additional weight was also eliminated.</p>
<p>The erection of the steel superstructure would have been the most likely time for a bridge collapse to occur. A new construction method was used and this would have been the time for an accident to happen. However, the report does not include any accounts of any failures of this new system, the collapse of a span, or any deaths that would be attributed to this phase of construction. On the contrary, it contains this very important paragraph:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The erection work was started in December, 1928. This system was new and there were many details that had to be improved and developed as the work progressed, and this delayed somewhat the progress made on the first half of the bridge which was not completed until July 1, 1929, requiring a total of eight months’ time. However, the work progressed much more rapidly on the second half of the structure and it was completed in approximately four months’ time. This system of erection greatly facilitated the work and enabled the American Bridge Company to complete their contract well in advance of the date of completion.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Compare this section of the report with the previous section dealing with the caissons and piers. In that section the engineers took ample space to discuss problems and how they addressed them, however, in this section there are no real issues that are discussed, just a few adjustments to the new process that enabled them to move more quickly on the second half and complete “their contract well in advance of the date of completion.”. No accidents or major issues are discussed. In this case, the “lack of evidence” is a clear indication that there simply were no major issues.</p>
<h5 id="construction-of-approaches">Construction of Approaches</h5>
<p>This very brief section (3 paragraphs) gives the highlights of the construction of the bridge approaches. The section notes that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>No unusual difficulties were encountered in the construction of this portion of the work. The Henry Bickel Company sublet the fabrication and erection of the approach steelwork to the American Bridge Company and this portion of the work was finished well in advance of the required date.</p>
</blockquote>
<h5 id="construction-of-administration-building-and-toll-houses">Construction of Administration Building and Toll Houses</h5>
<p>This short section (2 paragraphs) is basically a description of the administration building and toll houses. It ends with the following statement:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There were no unusual difficulties in the construction of this part of the work and it was all completed within the scheduled time.</p>
</blockquote>
<h5 id="construction-of-the-bridge-lighting-system">Construction of the Bridge Lighting System</h5>
<p>This is the final section of the Subjects area of the report. It’s also only 2 paragraphs long and ends with the following statement:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The contract for the lighting system for the entire project was signed with the F.A. Clegg Company of Louisville on March 27, 1929, and the work was completed within the scheduled time.</p>
</blockquote>
<h4 id="summary-of-subjects">Summary Of Subjects</h4>
<p>The engineer’s narrative gives a detailed account of the challenges with the construction of the bridge’s substructure (piers) but indicates that the remainder of the construction was completed normally. There are no mentions of collapsing cranes or spans, and no records of any major failures or catastrophic accidents. This bridge was erected with less stress on the structure than there would have been using a more traditional bridge construction process. There was less weight on the superstructure during construction than normal, and barges were under the bridge sections that were being worked on. Safety is mentioned in the report.</p>
<p>In our next post, we’ll complete our examination of the remainder of this document.</p>
<div class="alert alert-error">
<p>
<strong>Update:</strong><br />
It's occurred to us since posting this that some people may be starting to draw conclusions about the Municipal Bridge vision. It's our intention to be very factual and balanced in our presentation of the information we have discovered. It is not our intent to destroy people's faith or destroy Brother Branham's credibility. We urge you not to form a final opinion on this matter until all of the documentation we have has been presented and you've looked into the matter for yourself. There's definitely more to come. Please be patient with us.
</p>
<p>
It takes an incredible amount of time, effort, and energy to carefully publish each of these posts. We're moving as quickly as we can.
</p>
</div>
Would Bridge Construction Deaths Be Reported?2013-02-22T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/02/22/Bridge-Deaths-Would-Not-Be-Reported<p><em>This is the seventh post in a multi-part series on the <a href="/tags.html#bridge-ref">Municipal Bridge Vision</a>.</em></p>
<h4 id="the-deaths-would-not-have-been-reported">The Deaths Would Not Have Been Reported</h4>
<p>In a recent <a href="http://branham.org/content/ctv/CTV2012_02_UPDATE/CTV2012_02_UPDATE.pdf#zoom=100">Catch The Vision</a> publication, Voice of God Recordings states that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Besides that, a few deaths on a local bridge construction project would not have been big news in that era anyway. If it was reported, it probably would have been an article buried inside the local newspaper.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We decided to explore this idea by examining how a previous bridge construction accident was treated by the press.</p>
<h4 id="the-big-four-bridge-construction-accident">The Big Four Bridge Construction Accident</h4>
<p>On December 15, 1893 during the construction of the Big Four Railroad bridge over the Ohio river a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Four_Bridge#Construction">terrible tragedy</a> occurred. A number of men fell to their deaths and drowned.</p>
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<h4>Big Four Bridge Collapse</h4>
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<a href="http://digital.library.louisville.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/howard/id/1844/rec/15">Image Source.</a>
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<h4>Aerial View of Big Four Railroad Bridge, 1929</h4>
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<a href="http://digital.library.louisville.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/heraldpost/id/110/rec/21">Image Source.</a>
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<h4>The Big Four Bridge in 1929</h4>
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<a href="http://digital.library.louisville.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/heraldpost/id/113/rec/3">Image Source.</a>
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<img src="/assets/Bridge/MunicipalBridge1928Construction.jpg" alt="Municipal Bridge under construction with Big Four Bridge in the background." />
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<h4>Municipal Bridge Under Construction, Big Four Bridge in background</h4>
<p>
The Big Four Bridge accident is relevant to the discussion because the tragedy occurred less than a mile down the river from where the Municipal Bridge was built. <a href="http://digital.library.louisville.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/potter/id/243/rec/5">Image Source.</a>.
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<p>The tragedy on the Big Four Bridge happened at 10 AM on December 15, 1893 and it was reported the very SAME DAY in the Jeffersonville Evening News:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/BigFour1.jpg" alt="Big Four Bridge Accident December 15, 1893 Jeffersonville Evening News Front Page" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>If you’re interested in reading the entire article for yourself, here’s a PDF of the <a href="/assets/Bridge/18931215c.pdf">top half of the article</a>, and the <a href="/assets/Bridge/18931215d.pdf">bottom half</a>. If you read the article, you’ll notice that the collapse made such a loud noise that literally thousands of people rushed to the river to help try to save as many lives as they could.</p>
<p>The following day, the front page of the paper continued to be consumed by the bridge story. While the first story had included a number of names and personal accounts of what happened, by the day after the accident the newspaper story included the names of the dead, injured, and missing. Again, if you care to see this for yourself, PDF scans of the top of the article are <a href="/assets/Bridge/18931216c.pdf">here</a>, and the bottom of the article can be found <a href="/assets/Bridge/18931216d.pdf">here</a>.</p>
<p>Across the river, the Courier Journal also had a front page spread that covered the bridge:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/BigFour2.jpg" alt="Big Four Bridge Accident - Courier Journal December 16, 1893" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>We have full page scans of this article available <a href="/assets/Bridge/CJ18931216.pdf">here</a>. The scans of this article are very challenging to read. Unfortunately, the quality of the scanning equipment at the Louisville Free Public Library is inferior to what is available at the Indiana State Library.</p>
<h4 id="did-papers-outside-of-the-immediate-area-carry-this-news-in-the-days-after-the-accident">Did Papers Outside of the Immediate Area Carry This News In The Days After The Accident?</h4>
<p>The very next day this event <a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87060190/1893-12-16/ed-1/">was reported</a> in The Evening Bulletin in Maysville, KY:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/BigFour4Maysville.jpg" alt="Front Page Article regarding the bridge from Maysville, KY" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>There’s a couple things that are very interesting about this article. First, the distance between Louisville and Maysville where this article was published is about 110 miles (177 KM). It’s pretty incredible that less than 24 hours after the accident, this event appeared on the front page of a small paper so far away. Remember, this was 1893. This was before <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio#19th_century">radio</a> was demonstrated in 1895. This was before long distance telephone service. It might have been close enough to travel by a river steamer in a day. It’s likely that someone had to send all of this information via telegraph.</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/BigFour3.jpg" alt="Map showing the distance from the big four bridge to Maysville, KY" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>Further, the Maysville story fills a full two-columns of the paper and includes many details about the accident, including a list of names of the dead, injured, and missing workers. You can read the full article online <a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn87060190/1893-12-16/ed-1/">here</a>.</p>
<h4 id="what-other-papers-carried-the-big-four-accident">What Other Papers Carried the Big Four Accident?</h4>
<p>After finding this article from Maysville, we decided to see what other papers carried this or similar stories on December 16, 1893. As it turns out, the Louisville Big Four Bridge Accident was national news carried by major papers around the country.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1893-12-16/ed-1/seq-1/">New York Tribune</a> had an article about it on the front page:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/BigFour5NY.jpg" alt="New York Tribune article on Big Four Accident" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>The <a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn90059522/1893-12-16/ed-1/seq-1/">St. Paul Daily Globe</a> had an article on the front page:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/BigFour6STP.jpg" alt="St. Paul Daily Globe article on Big Four Accident" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>The <a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85042461/1893-12-16/ed-1/seq-1/">Los Angeles Herald</a> also included it on the front page:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/BigFour7LA.jpg" alt="Los Angeles Herald article on Big Four Accident" class="img img-polaroid" /></p>
<p>There were many more papers that carried this article. A quick search on the Library of Congress <a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/">Chronicling America Collection</a> for December 15-16, 1893 yields many other results.</p>
<h4 id="big-four-legacy">Big Four Legacy</h4>
<p>The Big Four Bridge has recently been re-purposed as a pedestrian bridge. The remodeled bridge includes a monument with a tribute to the lives lost during it’s construction. The monument and the accident are discussed in <a href="http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130206/PRIME02/302060085/Big-Four-Bridge-history">this recent video</a> about the opening of the bridge. This bridge accident happened 120 years ago yet it was so important to area history that most articles and videos related to the Big Four Bridge still continue to mention this tragedy in 2013.</p>
<h4 id="summary">Summary</h4>
<p>The Big Four Railroad Bridge accident was front page news on a national level in 1893. Within 24 hours newspapers from coast-to-coast carried large articles on their front pages that included many details about the accident including the names of the lives lost. We can safely say that a similar accident in 1928 or 1929 less than a mile down the river from this previous event would have certainly been front page news on the local, regional, and likely the national level.</p>
Were Archives Destroyed In The 1937 Flood?2013-02-21T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/02/21/Were-Archives-Destroyed-In-The-1937-Flood<p><em>This is the sixth post in a multi-part series on the <a href="/tags.html#bridge-ref">Municipal Bridge Vision</a>.</em></p>
<h4 id="catch-the-vision">Catch The Vision</h4>
<p>In a recent <a href="http://branham.org/content/ctv/CTV2012_02_UPDATE/CTV2012_02_UPDATE.pdf#zoom=100"><em>Catch The Vision</em></a> publication, Voice of God Recordings stated that one possible reason for the lack of evidence regarding the Municipal Bridge vision was due to historical documents being destroyed in the 1937 flood:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, if you have heard Brother Branham’s life story, then you are well aware of the 1937 flood. This destroyed a large number of historical documents in the Ohio River Valley, which included thousands of newspaper archives.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>During the 1937 flood the offices of both the Louisville Courier Journal and the Herald Post <a href="http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20080108/OPINION05/101100042/1077/How-The-Courier-Journal-and-WHAS-responded-to-the-Flood">were flooded</a> and the on-site archives of both of these newspapers were heavily damaged. However, these were certainly not the only archives of these papers.</p>
<p>Voice of God Recordings’ statement that thousands of newspaper archives were destroyed in the flood implies that these were the only archives of these papers and that they were lost to history. This is simply not factual. One way the history of the United States is chronicled and preserved is the collection of newspapers by various libraries throughout the country. These libraries at universities, at state historical societies, and of course, the Library of Congress, collect and preserve these records for generations to come. These facilities and societies have been in place since before our nation was founded. That’s why it’s possible today for us to go back and read the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_Papers">Federalist Papers</a> and many other texts written by our founding fathers. We want to make sure it’s clear that we are not trying to say Voice of God was intentionally trying to mislead people with their statement; we make no attempt to judge their intent and like to think the best about the people involved in producing this document. However, the reality is that the few private archives that were damaged or destroyed in the 1937 flood are not the only archives of these papers in existence. There are many sources we can turn to in order to find contemporary newspaper accounts of the Municipal Bridge Construction that were not affected by the 1937 flood.</p>
<h4 id="kentucky-historical-society">Kentucky Historical Society</h4>
<p>Since 1836 the <a href="http://history.ky.gov">Kentucky Historical Society</a> has been collecting, preserving, and stewarding collections and artifacts related to the history of Kentucky. These collections include newspapers, census records, vital records, marriage records, photographs, oral histories, and a multitude of other resources. The new Headquarters of KHS is a 167,000 square-foot, $29 million dollar facility. This is how the state preserves its history for future generations.</p>
<h4 id="louisville-free-public-library">Louisville Free Public Library</h4>
<p>The main branch of the Louisville Free Public Library did flood in 1937, however, the waters did not reach the upper level where all of the newspaper archives are housed. This <a href="http://special.library.louisville.edu/display-picture.asp?PIC=CS_195425.jpg&MODE=1&ID=299">famous picture</a> shows the floodwaters reaching the feet of Abraham Lincoln’s statue near the library entrance. In Ken Bell’s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Great-Flood-1937-Soaring-Spirits/dp/1884532829/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361409268&sr=1-1&keywords=1884532829"><em>The Great Flood of 1937</em></a> the historian notes that the water reached Lincoln’s knees (page 120). While the library suffered enormous damage it does not appear that newspaper archives were lost. We confirmed this in person with the librarians on one of our visits. Further, when we were asking about this an author who was performing some research into the flood also confirmed that newspaper archives located at the library were not lost.</p>
<p>The main library contains a collection of newspapers on microfiche that includes the Louisville Courier Journal from 1868- present, The Evening Herald-Post from 1925-1936, The Louisville Leader from 1917 – 1950, The Louisville Times from 1884-1987, and <a href="http://www.lfpl.org/newspapers.htm#kentucky">many others</a>.</p>
<h4 id="the-library-of-congress">The Library Of Congress</h4>
<p>The Library of Congress has an extensive collection of newspapers from around the country that are used to help record our national history. These include collections that can be accessed <a href="http://www.loc.gov/rr/news/lcnewsp.html">in person</a> as well as the Chronicling America project which is working on making digital archives available <a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/">online</a>.</p>
<h4 id="the-indiana-state-library">The Indiana State Library</h4>
<p>Indiana has one of the oldest and most comprehensive systems for preserving state history in the United States. The <a href="http://www.in.gov/library/">state library</a> was created as part of the state constitutional convention in 1816. The Division of Indiana History and Archives was created in 1913 to manage the state historical collection. The State Library maintains a collection of newspapers from each county in the state. For our purposes, we’re most concerned with the <a href="http://www.in.gov/library/2813.htm">Clark County Collection</a>, which has content dating back to 1819 on microfiche. The State Library has a complete collection of the Jeffersonville Evening News from 1872 – 2013. The Indiana State Library is located in downtown Indianapolis and was not in any way affected by the 1937 flood.</p>
<h4 id="the-records-are-out-there">The Records Are Out There</h4>
<p>The fact is, there is a complete record of newspapers that we can consult to establish whether or not the event happened. The official engineer’s report to the bridge commission indicated that the construction of the bridge was managed from the Indiana side of the river. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caisson_(engineering)">caissons</a> were built on the Jeffersonville side of the river and positioned by barges. For our purposes, we spent most of our research time at the Indiana State Library reviewing the Jeffersonville Evening News Collection which covered the construction quite extensively.</p>
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The second floor of the Indiana State Library contains a multitude of newspaper, genealogy, and census records
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Jeffersonville Evening News Collection at the Indiana State Library. June 1925-October 1956 shown. The three rolls
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<h4 id="the-deaths-would-not-have-been-reported">The Deaths Would Not Have Been Reported</h4>
<p>In the same Catch The Vision publication, Voice of God Recordings states that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Besides that, a few deaths on a local bridge construction project would not have been big news in that era anyway. If it was reported, it probably would have been an article buried inside the local newspaper.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>If anything, our research has shown that any deaths during the construction absolutely would have been carried by the Jeffersonville Evening News and many other local papers. Here are a few examples of actual headlines that made the front page of the Jeffersonville Evening News during the bridge’s construction:</p>
<ul>
<li>Chicken Thief Caught By Sherriff</li>
<li>All Methodist Ministers Return To Local Charges</li>
<li>Five Sons Charged With Non-Support Of Aged Mother</li>
<li>Trip To Moon By Rocket Plane Is Now Forecast</li>
<li>Scouts Invited To Celebration At Indiana U</li>
<li>Practical Joker In Jeff Hospital Seriously Hurt</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>One thing that really surprised us is virtually all obituaries and divorces appeared on the front page of the newspaper.</strong></p>
<p>If these stories made the front page of the paper, surely a tragedy that caused sixteen men to fall to their deaths and drown would have been front page news in this small town. Further, we don’t have to look back very far in the history of the Ohio River Valley to see how previous bridge construction accidents were reported. More on that in our next post.</p>
Timing Of The Bridge Vision2013-02-20T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/02/20/Timing-Problems-With-The-Bridge-Vision<p><em>This is the fifth post in a multi-part series on the <a href="/tags.html#bridge-ref">Municipal Bridge Vision</a>.</em></p>
<p>Now that we’ve discussed <a href="/2013/02/14/Why-Is-The-Bridge-Vision-Important">why the bridge vision was important</a>, what Brother Branham <a href="/2013/02/16/What-Did-Brother-Branham-Say-About-The-Bridge">said about it</a>, the <a href="/2013/02/18/Methods-And-Sources-Used-In-Our-Search">methods and sources</a> we used in our research, and gave you some <a href="/2013/02/19/Background-On-Municipal-Bridge-And-Its-Construction">background</a> on the bridge itself and it’s construction, let’s move on to examining some of the concerns with this vision. The first of these is the timing of the vision and it’s fulfillment.</p>
<p>Establishing a relative window of when this vision happened is important as we measure the time between the vision and its fulfillment.</p>
<h4 id="when-was-brother-branham-born">When was Brother Branham Born?</h4>
<p>There is some controversy about Brother Branham’s birth date. Brother Branham stated his birth date was April 8, 1908 on his <a href="/assets/MarriageLicenses/Hope.pdf">first marriage license</a> to Hope Brumbach. After Hope passed away and Brother Branham later married Meda Broy he used April 6, 1909 on his <a href="/assets/MarriageLicenses/Meda.pdf">second marriage license</a>. This is the date that Brother Branham used throughout the rest of his life.</p>
<h4 id="how-old-was-brother-branham-when-the-bridge-vision-occurred">How old was Brother Branham When the Bridge Vision Occurred?</h4>
<p>In some accounts Brother Branham indicated that he was five or six years old when the vision occurred, however, in other places Brother Branham states he was seven or eight years old . In his book, Supernatural: The Life of William Branham, Book One: The Boy and His Deprivation, Owen Jorgensen indicates that Brother Branham was seven years old when this vision occurred (Page 31).</p>
<p>Brother Branham had to be old enough to be packing water to his father’s whiskey stills. He also had to be old enough to play marbles. By personal observation, most children would have to be about five or six to play marbles. Since Brother Branham was playing with his younger brother Edward who was about a year younger than him, this lends credence to Brother Branham being around seven when this vision occurred.</p>
<p>In the message, “The Trial” preached in Tampa, FL on April 19, 1964 Brother Branham states that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>And as a child, about eight years old, seven or eight years old, I was packing water to a moonshine still that my father owned. And while one warm September afternoon, sitting down, crying, going fishing out to the pond with the boys, and they… couldn’t go on account of I had to pack this water.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Brother Branham says in this quote that he was seven or eight, and this seems to be consistent with the age that a young child might actually go fishing with his friends at a local pond in that era. Based on a careful reading of all of Brother Branham’s accounts, we know that the vision had to happen when he was between five and eight years old, but most likely occurred when he was around seven years old.</p>
<p>If we use a birthdate of 1908 and him being five when the vision happened, the earliest Brother Branham could have had this vision would have been 1913. (1908 + 5 = 1913). If we use a birthdate of 1909 and Brother Branham having the vision at age eight the latest date that this could have occurred was 1917 (1909 + 8 = 1917). We can conclude with a high degree of certainty that the vision occurred between 1913 and 1917 but most likely occurred in 1916.</p>
<h4 id="twenty-two-years-or-seventeen-years">Twenty Two Years or Seventeen Years?</h4>
<p>In all accounts we’ve been able to locate, Brother Branham indicates that the men died on the bridge twenty-two years after he saw the vision, except for one account. In the Message, The Trial, on June 21, 1964 Brother Branham indicates that the vision was fulfilled seventeen years after he saw it. It’s our opinion that this seventeen years was a slip of the tongue given that it is at odds with all of Brother Branham’s other retellings of this story including the written version in <a href="http://www.godsgenerals.com/pdf/1948-1950_april.pdf">The Voice of Healing</a>.</p>
<h4 id="when-was-the-municipal-bridge-built">When was the Municipal Bridge Built?</h4>
<p>Construction of the bridge began in June , 1928 and was complete by October 31, 1929. Since the bridge was under construction from 1928 to 1929 and Brother Branham indicated he had the vision twenty-two years before the event happened, he would have had to have had the vision in 1906 or 1907 (1928-22 = 1906 and 1929-22 = 1907). Of course, both of these dates are before Brother Branham was born, regardless of which birth date you use. If we use a duration of seventeen years between the vision and it’s fulfillment then the vision would have had to occur in 1911 or 1912, when Brother Branham was two or three years old. We cannot accept this seventeen year period for a couple of reasons:</p>
<ul>
<li>Brother Branham would have had the vision when he was between two and three years old which disagrees with his accounts of the event.</li>
<li>It’s unlikely, but not impossible, that Brother Branham would have been able to recall this vision at such a young age.</li>
<li>Almost no two or three year olds can count to sixteen nor understand what twenty-two means.</li>
<li>He would not have been old enough to play marbles.</li>
<li>He would not have been old enough to pack water to his father’s whiskey stills.</li>
<li>He would not have been old enough to go fishing with the other boys at the local pond.</li>
</ul>
<p>As noted earlier, based on Brother Branham’s account, the vision occurred between 1913 and 1917. Based on these dates, the earliest possible year for the vision’s fulfillment would be 1930, however, this requires that you accept a birth date of 1908, the vision occurring when Brother Branham was 5, and the event occurring 17 years after the prophecy, along with the problems associated with this seventeen year period mentioned above. In addition, you’d have to ignore the many other times that Brother Branham refers to the twenty-two year span between the prophecy and the fulfillment. This 1930 date is tantalizingly close the bridge’s construction, however, it is outside of the construction period and is based on a very sketchy interpretation of the facts.</p>
<p>If we use a birth date of April 6th, 1909, and take the most consistent timing of the prophecy occurring when he was seven years old, and twenty-two years as the period until the fulfillment, the bridge accident would have had to occur in 1938, nine years after the bridge opened. This does not line up with Brother Branham’s own statements in The Voice of Healing: “Twenty-two years from that time, the Municipal bridge was erected across the Ohio River, and that same number of workmen were drowned, falling off the bridge.” This is also in conflict with Brother Branham’s statement in My Life Story, “sixteen men lost their life building that bridge across the river.”</p>
<h4 id="prohibition">Prohibition</h4>
<p>Brother Branham indicates that he was packing water to his father’s stills during prohibition. Some claim that Brother Branham would not have done this until prohibition went into effect in 1920 when he was eleven years old and after the bridge had already been publicly discussed. They point to this as another inconsistency in this vision. While it’s true that national prohibition in the United States did not go into effect until 1920, many states and municipalities had prohibition laws in place much earlier. Indiana had a number of <a href="http://www.indianahistory.org/teachers-students/plan-a-field-trip/Prohibition%20Essay">measures in place</a> that made it difficult to sell liquor going back as far as 1818. Many counties were dry. It’s entirely plausible that New Albany was a dry area long before Brother Branham was even born. We haven’t researched this prohibition angle very thoroughly because it appears to not be a factor in the timing of the bridge vision.</p>
<h4 id="summary">Summary</h4>
<p>There are a number of very significant timing concerns with the Municipal Bridge Vision that we cannot explain away.</p>
Background On The Municipal Bridge and Its Construction2013-02-19T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/02/19/Background-On-Municipal-Bridge-And-Its-Construction<p><em>This is the fourth post in a multi-part series on the <a href="/tags.html#bridge-ref">Municipal Bridge Vision</a>.</em></p>
<h4 id="background-on-bridge-proposal">Background on Bridge Proposal</h4>
<p>The Louisville Municipal Bridge was the first highway bridge built over the Ohio River at Louisville. Prior to its construction the primary means of crossing the river was via a ferry boat service. The K&I bridge between New Albany, Indiana and Louisville was a railroad bridge, but also had a creosoted wood decking that was used for automobiles. This was not its primary purpose, though, and it was unable to handle the traffic load as people starting buying more and more automobiles. The need for a dedicated traffic bridge between Jeffersonville and Lousville instead of the existing ferry service became obvious. The idea was first suggested in 1919 and by 1923 substantial planning was in full motion. While the need for the new bridge was clear, there was extensive debate about how to fund the construction. On one hand some believed the bridge was best funded by revenue bonds and on the other were those who believed it should be constructed as a toll bridge. In the end, the issue went to a ballot in the 1926 election cycle where voters defeated the public funding of the bridge project. A bond issue in 1927 failed to pass muster as well. In the end, the Louisville Mayor’s Municipal Bridge Commission pursued private funding for the bridge. Stranhan, Harris, and Oatis financed the roughly $5 million dollar project, but the bonds issued were not guaranteed by any government entity.</p>
<p>It’s important to note that the upcoming construction of the bridge and the surrounding public debate began in 1919, a full ten years before the bridge was completed. At that point, the construction of this bridge was a foregone conclusion; when it would be built and how it would be funded were the real questions. Brother Branham would have had to have the vision of the bridge prior to 1919 or it would have already been a subject of public debate.</p>
<h4 id="bridge-design">Bridge Design</h4>
<p>The commision was so confident that the project would be completed that they had already commissioned Paul Cret to design the administration building and approaches as well as <a href="http://www.modjeski.com/">Modjeski and Masters</a> to design the bridge itself all the way back in 1926, a full two years before the funding issue was resolved. Because of this, the design was able to be approved shortly after the funding was secured. The project moved forward quickly and construction began in June, 1928.</p>
<p>The administration buildings and pylons were designed in an art deco style, which, while common in New York and other cosmopolitan cities was considered quite a novelty in the Louisville area. In fact, during the construction newspaper editors fawned over the sheer beauty of the approaches saying in a <a href="/assets/Bridge/19290720.pdf">July 20, 1929 article</a> that</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“every detail of the new traffic structure is to reek with beauty in a setting especially designed by those who caught the vision of the completed structure and dared to outline plans for their realization.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The structure and design were so ahead of their time that a <a href="http://www.loumag.com/articledisplay.aspx?id=36106759">March 2007 article</a> in the <em>Louisville Magazine</em> admonished present day designers to</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“cast a glance east to this bridge neighbor and ponder how these two men of renown brought a contemporary interpretation to their late-1920s bridge over the Ohio.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Further, the author goes on to say,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Let’s hope, as well, that any new spans completed over the Ohio in the near future achieve some of the same excellence in form and function.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The bridge design is unique in the Louisville area. It would be difficult to confuse it with another bridge.</p>
<h4 id="construction-challenges">Construction Challenges</h4>
<p>The construction of the bridge presented some unique challenges. There were delays in acquiring land and demolishing buildings to make way for the bridge approaches. As a result, a new methodology was used to erect the bridge. Instead of building from the shore out and spanning across the river, the bridge was built from the middle of the river out to the banks. This is an important distinction as we examine Brother Branham’s accounts of the vision. This technique developed by the American Bridge Company was new and created additional interest in the construction.</p>
<p>This bridge involved some very novel work by two of the most famous people involved with bridge construction in the modern era. Modjeski and Masters would go on to design the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huey_P._Long_Bridge_(Jefferson_Parish)">Huey Long Bridge</a> in New Orleans and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco%E2%80%93Oakland_Bay_Bridge">San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge</a>, among many others. Construction of the bridge began in June 1928 and the bridge opened on October 31, 1929 at a final cost of $4,821,087.75. The bridge was completed ahead of schedule and under budget.</p>
<p>As you can see, the funding and construction of this bridge was quite forward-thinking for its day. Make no mistake, the construction of this bridge had a substantial impact on the regional economy, driving up real estate prices and allowing commerce to occur more easily between southern Indiana and Louisville.</p>
<h4 id="news-and-communication">News and Communication</h4>
<p>During this time the newspaper was the lifeline for news, community information, and plain old fashioned gossip. Commercial radio stations were just popping up in the early 1920s and radio drama was just starting to come into vogue in the late ’20s and early ’30s. This was before Orson Welles’ famous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(radio_drama)">“War of the Worlds” broadcast</a>. There was no television. The first movie with sound that was actually commercially successful was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_movies">released in 1927</a>. Long distance calling was in it’s infancy and connecting a call could take up to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-distance_calling">23 minutes</a>. The modern media machine and communication we enjoy today didn’t exist.</p>
<p>The construction of the bridge was a popular topic of conversation. As you will see in our coming posts, there were many articles in the newspaper covering topics from the details of the new construction process being used, to the impact that the new bridge would have on operators of ferry services between Louisville and Jeffersonville. The opening of the bridge was a huge event and it was advertised heavily. Merchants in Jeffersonville offered specials and featured their wares in advertisements touting the accomplishments of the construction. Bridge opening parties were all the rage, and Schimff’s even temporarily renamed their ice-cream “bridge cream”:</p>
<p><img src="/assets/Bridge/BridgeCream.jpg" class="img-polaroid pagination-centered" alt="Schimpff's renamed their ice cream bridge cream." /></p>
<p>The bridge was a very big deal and the newspaper was one of the primary means of communication used to inform and educate the public about its progress and related activities.</p>
Methods and Sources Used In Our Search2013-02-18T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/02/18/Methods-And-Sources-Used-In-Our-Search<p><em>This is the third post in a multi-part series on the <a href="/tags.html#bridge-ref">Municipal Bridge Vision</a>.</em></p>
<h4 id="available-sources-used-in-our-research">Available Sources Used In Our Research</h4>
<p>There are many resources available to help us understand this vision and set them into historical context. The following were used extensively in our research:</p>
<ul>
<li>Brother Branham’s own verbal and transcribed <a href="/2013/02/16/What-Did-Brother-Branham-Say-About-The-Bridge/">accounts</a> regarding the vision and its fulfillment. These can be accessed using “The Table” software from Voice Of God Recordings, or directly from the <a href="http://branham.org">http://branham.org</a> website.</li>
<li>Account from the <a href="http://www.godsgenerals.com/pdf/1948-1950_april.pdf">Voice Of Healing magazine</a>.</li>
<li>Brother Pearry Green’s recent sermons on his personal testimonies regarding the bridge vision</li>
<li>Owen Jorgensen’s “Supernatural” books.</li>
<li>Basic internet searches on Google and other search engines.</li>
<li><a href="http://Wikipedia.org">Wikipedia.org</a></li>
<li><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=pXbYITw4ZesC&lpg=PA124&ots=byz9wSRhUi&dq=Bridging%20the%20ohio%20carl%20kramer&pg=PA123#v=onepage&q&f=false">Encyclopedia of Louisville</a></li>
<li>March 2007 Louisville Magazine <a href="http://www.loumag.com/articledisplay.aspx?id=36106759">article</a> on the construction of the bridge.</li>
<li>National Register of Historic Places Louisville Municipal Bridge <a href="http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NRHP/Text/84001578.pdf">Nomination Form</a></li>
<li>Official Engineer’s report to the Louisville Municipal Bridge Commission.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.lfpl.org/newspapers.htm#kentucky">Kentucky Newspapers microfiche collection</a> at the Louisville Free Public Library.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.in.gov/library/2813.htm">Clark County Newspaper microfiche collection</a> at the Indiana State Library in Indianapolis, IN</li>
<li>Library Of Congress, <a href="http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/">Chronicling America collection</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p>We started by performing as much research as possible via the Internet. Through this research we learned of the existence of an official engineering report to the bridge commission which we felt might have some important details about the bridge construction. Copies of this historic document are housed at a few university libraries. A copy is also available for examination at the main branch of the Louisville Free Public Library in downtown Louisville, KY. This library also contains an extensive collection of Kentucky newspapers on microfiche.</p>
<p>By far, the most valuable resource we discovered was the <a href="http://www.in.gov/library/">Indiana State Library</a>. This facility contains a very complete record of Indiana history and has one of the largest and most complete genealogy collections in the eastern half of the United States. On two separate trips to the Indiana State Library we examined all issues of the Jeffersonville Evening News between June 1928 and December 1929. We methodically searched through this local newspaper. Some of the most critical time periods in the construction were viewed multiple times, switching persons in order to make sure more than one person had reviewed these critical time periods.</p>
<p>We visited the Louisville Public Library’s main branch and made copies of the official Modjeski and Masters engineering report to the bridge commission. This report provided vital details about the bridge construction and timing which proved very helpful in directing our research on our second trip to the Indiana State Library.</p>
<p>Through this process, we uncovered a tremendous amount of historical evidence related to the Municipal Bridge Construction. It’s taken us over three months to collect and compile the information we are about to present to you in the coming posts.</p>
What Did Brother Branham Say About the Bridge?2013-02-16T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/02/16/What-Did-Brother-Branham-Say-About-The-Bridge<p><em>This is the second post in a multi-part series on the <a href="/tags.html#bridge-ref">Municipal Bridge Vision</a>.</em></p>
<h3 id="summary-of-brother-branhams-accounts-of-the-bridge-vision">Summary of Brother Branham’s Accounts of the Bridge Vision</h3>
<p>We started our research into the bridge vision by first reviewing all of Brother Branham’s accounts of this event. Brother Branham saw this vision as a young boy, and the retellings quoted below occurred many years later. One would naturally expect some slight variation in his retellings as is our normal human nature. You can clearly see from the quotes below that Brother Branham was very consistent in his accounts of this vision. We can draw the following conclusions about the vision based on Brother Branham’s account:</p>
<ul>
<li>The vision occurred while playing marbles with one or more of his younger brothers when Brother Branham was a young boy.</li>
<li>Brother Branham saw the Municipal Bridge being built across the Ohio River between Jeffersonville and Louisville. He clearly identifies it was this specific bridge.</li>
<li>Brother Branham counted 16 men falling to their deaths from the bridge. He indicated they all drowned.</li>
<li>He saw a sign or heard someone say 22 years.</li>
<li>He told his mother about it and she wrote it down.</li>
<li>Twenty-two years later the municipal bridge was erected and 16 men fell to their deaths and drowned during the construction process just exactly as the Lord had shown Brother Branham in this vision.</li>
</ul>
<p>For your own study, we’ve included all of the accounts below that we’ve been able to locate from Brother Branham regarding this vision. If you feel we’ve missed any quotes related to this topic, please let us know by posting a comment at the end of this post. Here are the quotes:</p>
<h5 id="from-the-message-experiences-preached-in-phoenix-az-on-march-2nd-1948">From the message “Experiences” preached in Phoenix, AZ on March 2nd, 1948</h5>
<blockquote>
<p>Now, that’s the way the gift is supposed to be working. See? Now, I want you to notice this. It wasn’t my sincere prayer that brought this gift. Gifts are not brought by sincere prayers. Gifts are foreordained of God. They’re ordained and sent. Here at the Municipal Bridge. Sister, no doubt you know where the Municipal Bridge is, don’t you, cross from Jeffersonville to Louisville?</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Twenty-two years, when I was a little boy, just a little bitty lad about five years old, or six years old, when the Angel of the Lord appeared in the bush… You’ve heard me tell that haven’t you, when I was packing water? Well, about two weeks after that, I was playing marbles with my little brother. And I thought I’d got sick, some real funny feeling came on me. And I went and set down by the side of a tree. And I looked down at the river, and there went a bridge, a big, great big bridge going across the river. And I counted sixteen men that fell off of that bridge and drowned. And I went and told mother. And I told her I seen it. And they thought I was crazy or something. They thought I was just at a little nervous hysterical child. And twenty-two years from that time, on the same ground went the Municipal Bridge across, and sixteen men lost their lives on it. See? Wasn’t nothing that… It’s–it’s God sent it. Your prayers brought it. See?</p>
</blockquote>
<h5 id="from-the-message-obey-the-voice-of-the-angel-preached-in-minneapolis-mn-on-july-13-1950">From the message “Obey The Voice Of The Angel” preached in Minneapolis, MN on July 13, 1950:</h5>
<blockquote>
<p>And I’m very happy tonight to start the prayer line here in–in Minneapolis. And I desire all of you to pray for me while I’m praying for others, and have faith and believe that what I tell you is the truth. Most all of you, oh, I guess, in here, and the manager has been explained the way, they… it came to me and was ministered by an Angel, Who one night walked into the room. When I was a little boy, it started. It would talk to me down through life. One time when I was about seven years old, it came out of a bush. A whirlwind was whirling in the bush, and it said for me never to drink, or to smoke, or defile my body; there was something for me to do. Now, my people were formerly Catholic and there was not very much that–that they knew about it, and they just kept those things down. And about four days after that, it appeared to me and a strange feeling came upon me, as it always does, and I seen the Municipal Bridge, at Jeffersonville, cross, come up out of the wilderness on the hill where I was standing, and crossed the river. I seen sixteen men fall off of it. They put that down and twenty-two years from that day, the Municipal Bridge spanned the river at the same place and sixteen men lost their life on it. And just things like that. It’s nothing I can do in myself. It’s just what He shows me, is all I can speak. Only thing that any true man of God could ever say, but what God would put in his mouth to say. Outside of that, it would totally be a failure. And when It met me, many times, and told many things which I probably get a chance after while, to tell you in one of the meetings.</p>
</blockquote>
<h5 id="from-the-message-god-revealing-himself-to-his-people-preached-in-cleveland-oh-on-august-13-1950">From the message “God Revealing Himself To His People” preached in Cleveland, OH on August 13, 1950:</h5>
<blockquote>
<p>Here’s mother setting here tonight. I ran as hard as I could. She thought a snake had bit me or something. But I wouldn’t tell her. And my little brother and I, a few days later from that was setting out under the tree. We’d been playing marbles. And I felt a peculiar feeling, like a… Something was standing near me. And all at once, something happened. I set down. And I looked, and I seen coming up out of the river a big bridge, spanned across the river, and sixteen people fell off of it. I went and told them. They said, “Why, you dreamed.” I Said, “No, I looked at it. I seen it.” Twenty-two years from that time, the big Municipal Bridge spanned across the Ohio River, and sixteen men lost their life on it. And it just started like that, and begin… That was before I was ever even a Christian. My people wasn’t Christian. Gifts and callings are without repentance. It’s a foreordination of God. Then It kept telling things on down.</p>
</blockquote>
<h5 id="from-the-message-the-principles-of-divine-healing-preached-in-jeffersonville-in-on-september-23-1951">From the message “The Principles of Divine Healing” preached in Jeffersonville, IN on September 23, 1951:</h5>
<blockquote>
<p>When I was a child, twenty-two years before this beautiful bridge spanned the river, setting down in my yard, I seen this thing go across the river and seen the men that lost their life on it. My mother thought I was nervous. Right here at Mr. Wathen’s on Utica Pike when I was packing water in two little syrup buckets, out of the bush come a sound of “Whew.” [Brother Branham makes a blowing sound–Ed.)] I didn’t see no leaves blowing nowhere, and looked up in the tree, looked like a barrel-size, going back and forth in the tree. And out of there come an audible voice and it said, “Don’t you never smoke or drink or defile your body in any way. There’ll be a work for you to do when you get older.” I’m at home. I’m among people. I’m among young ladies that I went with in my young days. I’m amongst boys here, boyfriends that I played together. I ask you today if you ever seen me smoke, drink, or be drunk, or–or defile myself in–in that way? No, sir. I did not. Not for my goodness, but it’s by His mercy, His foreordained will for me to do this.</p>
</blockquote>
<h5 id="from-the-message-early-spiritual-experiences-preached-in-hammond-in-on-july-13-1952">From the message “Early Spiritual Experiences” preached in Hammond, IN on July 13, 1952:</h5>
<blockquote>
<p>And coming down along a lane, which many people right here in this building now, that I see, Brother Ryan, for one, setting here, Brother Bosworth, for another one, sitting near, and Brother Baxter is near. I’ve taken them right to the place; they’ve seen the place and all about it. People come from Canada, and everywhere, going in there wanting to see that place, know where it’s at. And there, One spoke to me from out of a tall poplar tree, that said, “Don’t you never smoke, drink, or defile your body, for there’s a work for you do when you get older.” Why, it liked to scared me to death. I run home. Mother thought I was hurt or something, and–or bitten by a snake. Then a few days after that, setting… That was my first vision, setting out there under a big silver poplar tree in the front yard, where the tree stands yet today… Standing out there in the front of that place, I seen Something, like yesterday afternoon, I seen Him coming upon me, that I never… I didn’t know what it was. In a little bit I moved off, and I looked, and I seen moving up out of those bushes down by the river, and along there came a big bridge, and it spanned across the river. I seen men dropping off of it and losing their lives. And I went in and told mama. She said, “Honey, you went to sleep.” I said, “Mama, I was not asleep.” I said, “I was setting there. I had a funny feeling, mama.” I said, “Oh, I’m scared, mama. What’s the matter with me?” She said, “Oh, you’re just nervous, honey.” I said, “Mama, something… I don’t want to feel this way.” And it was Something moving. And just… She wrote it down. And twenty-two years from that time, the Municipal Bridge which spans the Ohio River run across at the same place, and the same amount of men dropped off the bridge and lost their lives, just exactly. From that it would take… Some of these days, I want to set on a tape recording, and tell it in detail, which would take hours, and hours, and hours, to go into the things from a little boy, that I’d see things. I seen the ‘37 flood coming. I remember, I stood right on Fall’s City Transfer Company; many you all acquainted with Jeffersonville, knows where that’s at. I stood there and was preaching. I’d become a minister then. Many other things happened along the line, oh, it’s numerous. How It would tell me to watch at a certain place, do a certain thing.</p>
</blockquote>
<h5 id="from-the-message-life-story-preached-in-owensboro-ky-on-november-8-1953">From the message “Life Story” preached in Owensboro, KY on November 8, 1953:</h5>
<blockquote>
<p>So then, I remember about two weeks after that, I was playing marble with my brother, and there I–I felt something strange come over me. I didn’t know what was taking place. And I went out, set down just a minute, and I looked, and right before me, I seen something moving. And the waters looked like the river was looking closer to me. And I seen the Municipal Bridge that spans the river now, come up and cross the river, and seen the amount of men dropped off, and went in and told my mama. She said, “You had a dream, honey.”
I said, “No, ma’am. I stood and looked right at it, and I seen what it did.”
And–and twenty-two years from that very same year, the bridge which spans the Ohio River, and just exactly the same amount of men lost their life. And they just kept on going. Every time, everywhere, just vision after vision. Nobody…</p>
</blockquote>
<h5 id="from-the-message-do-you-now-believe-preached-in-west-palm-beach-fl-on-december-6-1953">From the message “Do You Now Believe?” preached in West Palm Beach, FL on December 6, 1953:</h5>
<blockquote>
<p>No, they happen all the time. They’ve been since I was a little baby. The first thing I can remember in life, was a vision. And gifts and callings are without repentance. When I was only six, oh, not over five or six minutes old, my mother tells me that when the old midwife, washing me as a little bitty five pound baby, and laid me on the arm of my mother, when she opened up the–the old door for a window we had in the little cabin, that that Light come in, hung there. When I was eighteen months old, I remember of a Voice speaking to me and telling me that was going to live near a city called New Albany. And I have. At the age of just a little bitty boy, I could remember He speaking to me and telling me about a bridge that was going to span the river, how many men would lose their life on that bridge. And they wrote it down to see what it was all about. They thought I was dreaming. I was out in the yard, just something come over me, and I set down. I seen it. And I went and told mother, she said, “You went to sleep, honey.” I said, “No, ma’am, I never went to sleep. I stood and watched It come up out of the bushes.”
And twenty-two years from that time, the Municipal Bridge span across the Ohio River, and the same sixteen men lost their live on it, just like It said. See? And it’s always been that way. And Christian friends, to the best of my soul, I say this for God’s glory: I have never seen one time but what it was just as perfect, just exactly the way It said it would be. And many people come… You might think, “Well, Brother Branham, does just the common class of people come?” No. Multi-millionaires, doctors, everybody comes. There’s been some of the best doctors that this nation has, is set in my home, and I’ve led them to Christ: the best of doctors.</p>
</blockquote>
<h5 id="from-the-message-my-life-story-preached-in-zurich-switzerland-on-june-26-1955">From the message “My Life Story” preached in Zurich, Switzerland on June 26, 1955:</h5>
<blockquote>
<p>A little later on, about two weeks later I was playing marbles with my brother, and I felt something come to me. We lived up on a hill, and the river was below us: a wilderness around. And I saw a bridge come up out of the wilderness. And it started across the river. Sixteen men dropped off in–into the water and perished. And I seen a big sign, it said “twenty-two years.” I run in and told my mother. Oh, she said, “Son, you’re nervous. You went to sleep and you were dreaming.”
I said, “No. No. I saw it.” So they wrote it down on a piece of paper. And twenty-two years from then, the great bridge crossed the river, and twen–sixteen men dropped off of it and–and drowned in the river. Every time, it’s perfect.</p>
</blockquote>
<h5 id="from-the-message-my-life-story-preached-in-los-angeles-ca-on-april-19-1959">From the message “My Life Story” preached in Los Angeles, CA on April 19, 1959:</h5>
<blockquote>
<p>And then sometime about a month after that, I was playing marbles out with my little brothers, out in the front yard. And all at once I had a strange feeling come on me. And I stopped and set down aside of a tree. And we were right up on the bank from the Ohio River. And I looked down towards Jeffersonville, and I seen a bridge rise up and go across that, the river, span the river. And I seen sixteen men (I counted them) that dropped off of there and lost their lives on that bridge. I run in real quick and told my mother, and she thought I went to sleep. But they kept it in mind, and twenty-two years from then the Municipal Bridge now (that many of you cross when you cross there) crossed the river at the same place, and sixteen men lost their life building that bridge across the river.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s never failed to be perfectly true. As you see It here in the auditorium, It’s been that way all the time.</p>
</blockquote>
<h5 id="from-the-message-the-revelation-that-was-given-to-me-preached-in-san-juan-puerto-rico-on-february-10-1960">From the message “The Revelation That Was Given To Me” preached in San Juan, Puerto Rico on February 10, 1960:</h5>
<blockquote>
<p>Then two–about two weeks from then, I was playing marbles with my brother, and Something come upon me, and I looked down at the river. And I saw a great bridge span the river, and I watched sixteen men drop off of it and lose their lives. When It left me, I ran in to my mother and I told her. “Oh,” she said, “honey, you was dreaming.” But I wasn’t. But she wrote it down. And twenty-two years from that day, the Municipal Bridge spanned the river at the same place, and sixteen men lost their life on it. It just kept coming all the time, like that. Later, I become converted. What all that He had did–all the–the Holy Spirit has done would make many, many books. So I’ll just have to touch the spots now, that you’d under–so that you’ll understand.</p>
</blockquote>
<h5 id="from-the-message-the-uncertain-sound-preached-in-jeffersonville-in-on-december-18-1960">From the message “The Uncertain Sound” preached in Jeffersonville, IN on December 18, 1960:</h5>
<blockquote>
<p>Just even you take this big bridge down here, when I saw it come twenty-two years before it was put up down there, saw the men lose their lives on it. When they put the bridge across there and spoke of it. My mother wanted to take me to the doctor, thought I was having nervous spasms. And I told her; I said, “I seen a bridge go across, and I counted them men.” Twenty-two years after that, the bridge went across, and the same amount of men lost their lives. I think it was sixteen, exactly. Now, I thought, when they put those big girders up there, “That bridge will last forever.” Oh, they’ve painted it three or four times, and it’s rusting down right now. What is it? The rays in the air burned it up.</p>
</blockquote>
<h5 id="from-the-message-from-that-time-preached-in-spokane-wa-on-july-13-1962">From the message “From That Time” preached in Spokane, WA on July 13, 1962:</h5>
<blockquote>
<p>Certain things happened. When I was a little boy He spoke to me, He said, “Don’t never smoke or drink, or defile your body. There’s a work for you to do when I get–when you get older.” It’s in the book back there. You may read it. And my mother and them, they thought I was just nervous. And then It went ahead, and two days–three days after that told how that bridge would cross the river just below our place now. Sixteen men would lose their life on it. And they wrote it down. And twenty-two years from then it happened just exactly, and sixteen men lost their life. It’s never been, out of the thousands of things, but what it’s been perfectly right. See? That’s right. See, things happen when you’re a child, that impresses.</p>
</blockquote>
<h5 id="from-the-message-the-trial-preached-in-tampa-fl-on-april-19-1964">From the message “The Trial” preached in Tampa, FL on April 19, 1964:</h5>
<blockquote>
<p>And as a child, about eight years old, seven or eight years old, I was packing water to a moonshine still that my father owned. And while one warm September afternoon, sitting down, crying, going fishing out to the pond with the boys, and they… couldn’t go on account of I had to pack this water. I heard like a Whirlwind in the tree, about half way up. Still, everywhere else, September in Indiana, everything’s real still, dying, quiet. And this Whirlwind in a bush, there come a Voice out of there, and said, “Never smoke, drink, defile your body (that’s run with women), anything like that, for there’s a work for you to do when you get older.” And my mother called the doctor, she thought I was so nervous.
A week after that, I seen the Municipal Bridge, in a trance, as I called it, seen the Municipal Bridge cross the Ohio River, seen sixteen man lose their life on it. Twenty-two years from that day, the Municipal Bridge crosses the same place, and sixteen man lost their life in it.</p>
</blockquote>
<h5 id="from-the-message-a-trial-preached-in-tucson-az-on-april-27-1964">From the message “A Trial” preached in Tucson, AZ on April 27, 1964:</h5>
<blockquote>
<p>How could it be so? How could it be so? It looked like it would be impossible. Then when It spoke, a few days from that, and said. And I begin to see these visions and things that always happened. It would scare me.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>My brethren said to me, said, “That’s of the Devil.” My Baptist brethren said, “That’s of the Devil.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “You know, I’ll just be standing, and,” I said, “the first thing you know, it’ll go into like a trance, like, or something.” I said, “I see things that always happen. He told me, twenty-two years before that bridge went across there, how far it would go across, when it would go across, and how many men would lose their lives. And it was perfectly, every time.” And then some of them said, “That’s the Devil.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And I got away, and started crying and praying, one night. I said, “Lord Jesus, You know my heart. I love You. Let me die. Don’t let me have any… the Devil to have anything to do with me. I’d rather die than be a false witness of You.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And it was at that time when this Light returned again and showed me the Scripture, that in this day this thing is supposed to happen. Here it is laying right here in the Scripture now. It’s been thirty-three years since that time, but I’m a witness that it’s the Truth. I’m a witness of these things that it’s Truth.</p>
</blockquote>
<h5 id="from-the-message-the-trial-preached-in-topeka-ks-on-june-21-1964">From the message “The Trial” preached in Topeka, KS on June 21, 1964:</h5>
<blockquote>
<p>At the tree, at seven years old, where the Voice spoke to me and said, “Don’t never smoke, chew, or drink, or defile your body.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>And me in a bootlegger’s home, didn’t even know what a Bible was, no more than just a word. We might have been able to found an almanac, but not a Bible in our house. Nothing but a bunch of… Not talking against my people, but God knows all about it. There was no way at all, my people before me, back behind that were Catholic. They had all married away from church and gone away, and there wasn’t no religion at all. We didn’t even pay any attention to it.</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>But He–He told me what was going to happen, that I was to not to smoke, or drink, or defile my body in any way, there would be a work for me to do when I got older. Well, it was years and years after that. How did I know I’d be a minister? I hated the thought of a preacher. But it happened, anyhow. It goes to show He keeps His Word. Seventeen years after He appeared to me there in a bush…</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>We find out, next day after that, He showed me a bridge crossing the river, spanning it, showed sixteen man drop off of it. I told mama. Sitting against a tree, looked at it. She said, “You went to sleep, honey.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>I said, “No, I never, mama. I watched it.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>Exactly seventeen years from that day, the Municipal Bridge at Jeffersonville spanned over to Kentucky, and the seventh… And the sixteen man lost their life on it, just exactly like it said. Ah, so did Mr. Unbeliever has tempted me all along!</p>
</blockquote>
<h5 id="from-the-voice-of-healing-magazine-volume-i">From “The Voice Of Healing” Magazine, Volume I:</h5>
<blockquote>
<p>A few weeks after that, I was playing marbles with my brother, when an odd feeling came over me. I sank down by a tree, and, as if in a trance, I saw a large span rise up and cross the river, and watched while a number of people fell off into the river and drowned. Coming to myself, I ran and told my mother, and again she concluded that I was just a nervous child. Twenty-two years from the time, the Municipal bridge was erected across the Ohio River, and that same number of workmen were drowned, falling off the bridge. You see, these things did not come about by prayer or desire, but were foreordained in the divine will of God.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Note: you can access a copy of this Voice Of Healing Magazine <a href="http://www.godsgenerals.com/pdf/1948-1950_april.pdf">here</a>.</p>
<p>Now that we’ve established what Brother Branham said about the Municipal Bridge Vision, let’s discuss our methods and sources used in our search for vindication of this vision.</p>
Why Is The Bridge Vision Important?2013-02-14T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/2013/02/14/Why-Is-The-Bridge-Vision-Important<p><em>This post is the first in a multi-part series on the <a href="/tags.html#bridge-ref">Municipal Bridge Vision</a>.</em></p>
<h4 id="background">Background</h4>
<p>Numerous times when telling his life story, Brother Branham recounts the story of the Municipal Bridge vision. As a young boy Brother Branham says he saw a vision of the Municipal Bridge being built twenty-two years before it happened. He saw sixteen men fall from the bridge and drown in an accident. He told his mother about this and twenty two years later this vision was fulfilled just exactly as he saw it as a young boy.</p>
<p>Former believers say this event never happened, that there is no evidence that any men died during the construction of the Municipal Bridge. They say there is no record of Brother Branham saying these things before they happened, that the bridge construction was a “rear-view mirror” prophecy. They point to other discrepancies in this prophecy and use this as the basis for questioning the message and say Brother Branham was a false prophet. In their literature and on their websites they seem to be really hung up on this vision and point back to it all the time as “proof” that Brother Branham is a false prophet.</p>
<h4 id="why-is-the-municipal-bridge-vision-so-important">Why is the Municipal Bridge Vision So Important?</h4>
<p>This key vision is evidence of the prophetic gift being in operation in his life at a very early age, essentially establishing that he was a prophet from birth. Brother Branham usually preceded the story of the Bridge Vision with an account of how the Lord spoke to him out of a whirlwind in a tree admonishing him never to smoke, drink, or defile his body in any way. There are many quotes where Brother Branham talks about prophets being born as prophets. Here’s a few for you to ponder:</p>
<h5 id="from-the-message-blind-bartimaeus-preached-in-san-fernando-ca-on-november-11-1955">From the message “Blind Bartimaeus” preached in San Fernando, CA on November 11, 1955:</h5>
<blockquote>
<p>Now soon, if God will, it’ll be… Maybe you’re in just the three dimensions. This is another dimension. It’s moving in on me. But it’s a spirit. You see? It’s in another world.
People, they’re not gone, they’re-they’re near us; Angels and everything else. “The Angels of God are encamped about those who fear Him.”
You remember Elijah down at Dothan that morning, when the boy said, “Oh, the armies of the Syrians are upon us.”
He said, “There’s more with us than there is with them.” He couldn’t see nobody. He said, “God, open this young man’s eyes.”
And when He opened his eyes, around that old prophet was–was Angels of fire and chariots of fire. The there was just… Then there’s more with us than there is with them.
And that’s the dimension now, by being born. Maybe you never will see, see such. But you believe it anyhow. How much greater is their reward who has never seen and yet believe. But some of us were born for that. God places that in the Church, from baby birth. Prophets are not just put in by man; it’s a gift born. All through the Scripture, born from childhood…</p>
</blockquote>
<h5 id="from-the-message-why-is-it-that-so-many-christians-find-it-so-hard-to-live-the-christian-life-preached-in-phoenix-az-on-march-3-1957">From the message “Why Is It That So Many Christians Find It So Hard To Live The Christian Life” preached in Phoenix, AZ on March 3, 1957:</h5>
<blockquote>
<p>But a prophet is a office of the Church, not a gift in the Church, but an office of the Church: a prophet. They are not… They are ordained, predestined by God’s foreknowledge to be what they are. They’re born prophets. Prophets are not made; they are born prophets. And a prophet or a seer, in one word, is considered in the Old Testament as eagles. And how I love to think of it in that way, as an eagle.
I put much of my life in conservation, as you know, and studying wildlife, studying birds, wild birds, wild animals, learning their nature. And I find that an eagle is the most interesting bird, nearly, that I know, of outside of the dove.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Further, when writing about the seventh church age messenger in the church ages book, Brother Branham indicates that the messenger will be a prophet “known for his accuracy” and that his prophecies will “ALWAYS come to pass”:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>First of all, that messenger is going to be a prophet. He will have the office of a prophet. He will have the prophetic ministry. It will be based solidly on the Word because when he prophesies or has a vision, it will always be “Word oriented” and it will ALWAYS come to pass. He will be vindicated as a prophet because of his accuracy.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We can see that this is an important foundational truth of the message. Prophets are born as prophets. This vision shows that Brother Branham was a prophet from birth. To the ex-believer this vision is important because this is one of a few visions that you can seek out contemporary historic evidence for. Because of the emphasis that Brother Branham put on prophets being born this way, they feel that if they prove this vision is not correct, they have essentially proven that Brother Branham was a false prophet.</p>
<h4 id="why-do-we-need-proof-from-the-world-anyway">Why do we Need Proof From “The World” Anyway?</h4>
<p>As Believers we have the <a href="http://branham.org/opc/proddetail.aspx?pid=10577">picture taken in Sam Houston coliseum in 1950</a> that shows Brother Branham under the pillar of fire. This picture is typically accompanied by a <a href="http://en.believethesign.com/index.php/File:George_Lacy_Doc2.jpg">documented examination</a> by George Lacy which proves the photo was not retouched or double-exposed. We have a photograph from Life Magazine of the <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=2kgEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA3&hl=En&pg=PA112#v=onepage&q&f=false">mysterious cloud</a> in Arizona which proves this cloud was actually there. How is it ok for us to wave these items around and use them as proof but then claim that proof of the Municipal Bridge vision is irrelevant? While we certainly don’t subscribe to the idea that we must prove everything that Brother Branham ever said, when it comes to something as foundational and important as the bridge vision, it does surprise us that no one has produced any newspaper clippings or other historical evidence to back up this event the same way that the documents around these other events are so broadly used to vindicate Brother Branham.</p>
<p>To that end, we began to search for evidence related to the Municipal Bridge Vision.</p>
Starting To Search2013-02-12T00:00:00+00:00http://SearchingForVindication.com/about/2013/02/12/Starting-To-Search<p><img src="/assets/MessageBookAndBible.jpg" class="img-polaroid pull-right" alt="Message book laying over a Bible" /></p>
<p>What is the “Message of the hour”?</p>
<p>What is a “vindicated prophet”?</p>
<p>How is a prophet vindicated?</p>
<p>What is our Absolute?</p>
<p>Are we sola scriptura?</p>
<p>These are just a few of the questions we have recently begun asking ourselves after stumbling across various websites and forums challenging the teachings of William Branham.</p>
<p>When we see elders in this message who have actively participated in our churches for 30 and 40 years walk out the door and tell us they were wrong, that we’re ALL wrong, it catches our attention. How is this (the message) possibly wrong? If you take the time to read their posts, email them, or phone them, they are more than happy to share their testimonies. These ex-believers bring up a number of questions and concerns about what vindicates Brother Branham’s message to be truth. In the end, all of the challenges boil down to a single question:</p>
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<p>“Was Brother Branham a vindicated prophet to our generation?”</p>
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<p>Amongst other things, former believers point to the lack of evidence, or problems with evidence related to many of the events that are used to vindicate Brother Branham’s Message. Some believers say we should ignore these critics and just believe what Brother Branham said because he is a vindicated prophet. These same believers have no problem promoting the photo of the pillar of fire, the document signed by George Lacy, nor the photo and article on the cloud.</p>
<p>Message believers have traveled from all over the world to Jeffersonville, Indiana to get a glimpse of the settings from the stories to make them come to life. They visit the municipal bridge, the foot of Spring Street, and the grave sites. They stop in at Schimpff’s to buy a can of red-hot candies. They visit Voice of God Recordings and wait in long lines just to shake hands with the children of the prophet. During these visits, they are able to see photographs of Brother Branham, his typewriter, pages of his notes, the pulpit that rose with his bible on it during the flood, and many other artifacts. They visit the prophet’s home, meet eye witnesses, and see things he used in his daily life to vindicate to them that there was indeed a prophet to our generation. They can see his hunting trophies, and listen to his tapes. Believers are told his life story to bring him down to their level. They buy their children “Stories”, and a replica briefcase with artifacts from Brother Branham’s life.</p>
<p>We were raised in the message and taught these things from our youth. Like many believers, we’ve made our trips to Jeffersonville to view all the artifacts and historical sites. With great excitement we read our quotes and followed the trail of sites teaching our children, just as we were taught. We have hung the pillar of fire picture and the cloud in our homes, and hung crosses on our rear view mirrors. We’ve purchased the books, played the tapes, and bought “The Table”. We’ve sat in the tabernacle trying to imagine what it would have been like to be there when he spoke.</p>
<p>Believers do all these things to vindicate to themselves the reality in which they believe. All of these are proof of the message presented to us who were not there in person to experience these things first hand. Who hasn’t taken a photo at one of the memorials or stood with one of his children and felt happiness in their hearts because “This is what he was talking about!” or “This is right where he was!”?</p>
<p>When confronted with these challenges to the message, our natural reaction is to desire to prove the ex-believers wrong. Can we? Where does one even begin to answer these questions? How hard can it be to take what we have been taught back to the Bible and line it up? Brother Branham told us the Bible was our Absolute. It’s the Urim Thummim for today. He also said he preached what Paul preached. It should be possible to take what we believe back to the Bible, and as a matter of fact, there are a number of scriptures that admonish us to do so. As a result, we began searching, studying, and praying.</p>
<p>We’ve reached out to a few people who we thought might be able to help answer some questions. Most of the answers we have received up to now have been disappointing. We were given a quote or two, a single verse without context, and once in a while a personal testimony about how it was “revealed” to them. Some have told us not to look, to “Only Believe”. Some have told us we just need more revelation.</p>
<p>After receiving the latest “Catch the Vision” which attempted to address the concerns of the people, our hearts sank. Reading this update strengthened our conviction that we really needed to search for vindication of these things on our own. To that end, we have invested countless hours researching what Brother Branham said about various topics and searching out objective, relevant evidence from primary reference sources in our search for vindication.</p>
<p>We are starting this blog to present you with truth and evidence that was not hidden nor destroyed. We will do this in love and respect according to Scripture. Our mission and heart’s desire is to present truth with no room for ignorance. We have stepped out on faith searching for answers. We offer our findings to you; our brothers and sisters in Christ. You may read them, ponder on them, pray about them, and do as you are led. We do not wish to open a door for anger, bitterness, name calling, or bullying. In fact, these things won’t be tolerated in our comment threads.</p>
<p>Let your hearts be settled and your faith vindicated by the Holy Spirit. We offer our help in any way we can provide. We love you and hold you in our prayers. Peace be to you on your journey to walk in the calling He has chosen for you.</p>
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<p>“Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.” (2 Timothy 2:7)</p>
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