Lawrence R. Murphy (1) (1942–)

William F. M. Arny (b. 1813), worked for Alexander Campbell for 18 years as his secretary, and helped publish the Millennial Harbinger, 1832-1850. He also became the Secretary of, and a fund raiser ("chief agent") for, Bethany College, and went around the country preaching at churches, selling subscriptions to the MH, and collecting funds for the college. After getting in church-related trouble at Bethany (a long interesting story in and of itself) he moved to Bloomington, Illinois and show more joined First Christian Church, in 1850. He took up farming and was instrumental in starting the Illinois Agriculture Society for McLean County, got a county fair started, and got the Illinois State Agriculture Society and Illinois state fair going.

He also was a mover and shaker regarding the location of the railroads, the establishment of a teachers journal, and eventually, the establishment of Illinois State University. In addition, he got interested in politics and helped establish the Illinois Republican party. He also became a leader in the Kansas National Society, and actually moved to Kansas in 1857. Before leaving the Bloomington area, he managed to get into a scrape in the church, which actually caused a division. E. W. Bakewell, William T. Major and others were involved.

Arny's story does not end in Kansas, where again, he was a mover and a shaker, and where he also managed to get people mad at him. In 1862 he moved to the New Mexico territory, where he served as Indian Agent (Utes, Navajos, Apaches, Pueblos, and others), Secretary of the territory, and for about one year as Interim Governor. As in Bethany, Bloomington, and Kansas, he got a lot done on several fronts, but managed to, again, make enemies on several fronts. In 1881 he died, penniless. He is buried in New Mexico, where his tombstone has his name spelled wrong, "Arney."

Arny's story is fascinating. The book is well-written. It contains numerous photos and a helpful bibliography. It is heavily footnoted and contains a helpful index.

Persons interested in Stone-Campbell history, Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, or southwestern Indian history will appreciate this book. While it is long out of print, it is available for purchase on the used book market.

I also have two paperback copies of the book.

Added September 11, 2013: The author, Lawrence R. Murphy, was mistaken when he stated, "Certainly he [Arny] had not been an abolitionist." (p. 37) before moving to Bloomington, Illinois in 1850. He engaged in helping runaway slave escape via the "underground railroad" as early as the mid-1840s according to Matthew McKeever of Washington County, Pennsylvania. (See: History of Washington County, by Earle R. Forrest, Chicago, S.J. Clarke Pub. Co., 1926, pp. 426-427.) Arny's abolitionist views may very well been at the root of the cause of the split in the Christian Church in Bloomington, Illinois. Had Murphy been aware of this, he most likely would have changed much of what he said about the split. show less

William F. M. Arny (b. 1813), worked for Alexander Campbell for 18 years as his secretary, and helped publish the Millennial Harbinger, 1832-1850. He also became the Secretary of, and a fund raiser ("chief agent") for, Bethany College, and went around the country preaching at churches, selling subscriptions to the MH, and collecting funds for the college. After getting in church-related trouble at Bethany (a long interesting story in and of itself) he moved to Bloomington, Illinois and show more joined First Christian Church, in 1850. He took up farming and was instrumental in starting the Illinois Agriculture Society for McLean County, got a county fair started, and got the Illinois State Agriculture Society and Illinois state fair going.

He also was a mover and shaker regarding the location of the railroads, the establishment of a teachers journal, and eventually, the establishment of Illinois State University. In addition, he got interested in politics and helped establish the Illinois Republican party. He also became a leader in the Kansas National Society, and actually moved to Kansas in 1857. Before leaving the Bloomington area, he managed to get into a scrape in the church, which actually caused a division. E. W. Bakewell, William T. Major and others were involved.

Arny's story does not end in Kansas, where again, he was a mover and a shaker, and where he also managed to get people mad at him. In 1862 he moved to the New Mexico territory, where he served as Indian Agent (Utes, Navajos, Apaches, Pueblos, and others), Secretary of the territory, and for about one year as Interim Governor. As in Bethany, Bloomington, and Kansas, he got a lot done on several fronts, but managed to, again, make enemies on several fronts. In 1881 he died, penniless. He is buried in New Mexico, where his tombstone has his name spelled wrong, "Arney."

Arny's story is facinating. The book is well-written. It contains numerous photos and a helpful bibliography. It is heavily footnoted and contains a helpful index.

Persons interested in Stone-Campbell history, Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, or southwestern Indian history will appreciate this book. While it is long out of print, it is available for purchase on the used book market. show less