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Wilbur Church of God Member logbook 

In a recorded study ‘History of the Work 1927-35’ (West Valley, 8 May 1993) Herman L Hoeh mentions at 4:43mins from the end that he visited the Salem West Virginia Church of God (seventh day) group in the early 1980s (fyi I have been receiving literature from them on and off since the late 1970s). You can listen to it here. 

He stated that he liked a lot of what they were publishing. He wanted to see the oldest building for the Church of God located at Wilbur, West Virginia and met the owner whose family had given it to the Church in the 1850s (it was received back from the church). She gave him a gift: the closing logbook of the church 1947-52 which included photographs of people attending long before she was born.  

If anyone knows what happened to that logbook and if photographs were taken of the Wilbur building, please let me know.

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James Phillip Arnold provide the following additional information

Circle of Seekers ca 1900

Tidbits:

I noticed in the Arnold's Gleanings that thanks to you I can now "search" a Sabbatarian from Texas named Rusk ca. 1910 says that he wrote Charles Russell about Sabbath.  Also says that Rusk believed in Israel identity.

So the circle of these Bible seekers included many that knew of one another even if they never formed one group.

Noticed too that an E. Bee in West Virginia was a Sabbatarian and non-pork eater who was said to be with the "Bible students" which is a term used for Russell's large circle. But the Bee family for generations were in SD Baptist circle (South Fork was more Mosaic than most SDB) and later in Church of God Salem. In early 70's I sort of randomly called a Bee in West Virginia who confirmed he and family were now in Church of God Salem.

Each had their own publication/paper much like today we have web sites and circulate emails on these topics. It was an exciting time for these seekers.

One may imagine they were scurrying this way and that seeking new truths, sharing a sort of Adventist background, but all the while avoiding and decrying the spectre of EG White trying to gobble up these outliers.

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I found these names at Find A Grave. They are members of the Wilbur church in Wilbur, WV from page 312 of Dugger and Dodd's History of the True Church.

Notice how someone says on p 312 in the first person plural: "Of these we recall:......."

My old note there asks who is recalling? If these are contemporary with Dugger, Dodd and Armstrong then the names that follow are around 1920 to 1936 publishing date.  But if they are contemporary then they tell us nothing about how far back the Wilbur church actually goes.

But if they are from a much earlier date and are being recalled by some unknown source that Dugger/Dodd is using, then we may have some primary source evidence that the Wilbur church existed prior to the 20th century, as Dugger/Dodd claim. But how far back?

I decided to use as method typing in the names of each of the members listed on page 312 to see if i could find when they lived.  The impression from the wording and context of the paragraphs is that the source is claiming that the members go back into the 19th century.

But do they? If they die in the 40's or later, then they would be contemporaries of Dugger/Dodd and sort of stuck into p 312 to give the illusion of the early existence of the Wilbur sabbatarian church.

Each one of the members that i could find buried in West Virginia all were born in the mid 1800's and most die around 1900 or so.

I conclude that Dugger/Dodd are using a source who personally knew these dead members, and that source, male or female, affectionately recalls their names remembering them and their wives.

Second, I conclude that this text and the grave markers prove that the Wilbur church had members who were active from ca. 1830 to 1910. Therefore, it is possible that Dugger/Dodd source is correct stating that the church was founded 1859 because the members would have been old enough to be part of it at that time; or their parents. It is possible of course that the church started as late as 1880 with the members all joining when they were past, say, 60; but that is very implausible.

Whether the Wilbur church was sabbatarian as early as 1859, i do not know. Since Dugger/Dodd and their source include it in their history of the true church, it would appear that it was.

I still have some "sense" that it may not have been under Niles because i do not see a direct statement to that effect. But the evidence indicates that it was.

Phil