The Ellen G. White Letters and Manuscripts: Volume 1

CORNELL, Merritt E. (1827-1893) and Angeline M. A. (1828-1901)

An ardent evangelist and debater, Merritt E. Cornell, originally from Chili, New York, preached widely in many states of the Union from 1852 to the 1870s. He married Angeline Lyon, daughter of Henry and Deborah Lyon, in 1849. After an earlier affiliation with an Adventist group headed by Joseph Marsh, the Cornells became Sabbatarians in 1852 following contacts with Joseph Bates. Cornell's evangelism in the 1850s was in the mid-West, expanding in the 1860s to include New England. In the early 1870s he preached for three years in California and, for a short time (1878-1879), in Colorado. 1EGWLM 812.1

The work of the Cornells in the 1870s was overshadowed by two regrettable episodes, both made public in the columns of the Review. In 1871 Merritt Cornell revealed that Angeline had become “a confirmed spiritualist,” and in 1876 a General Conference session ascertained that “Eld. M. E. Cornell has for several years past been guilty of immoral conduct.” Most of Ellen White's letters to M. E. Cornell were written during this period and dealt with his grave moral problems, but also sought to set him on a path to restoration. Subsequently, for many years, Cornell did not serve in public ministry. In 1890 his ministerial credentials were restored, and he ministered in Michigan for the remaining three years of his life. Angeline had already publicly renounced her spiritualist beliefs in 1876. 1EGWLM 812.2

See: Obituary: “Merritt E. Cornell,” Review, Jan. 23, 1894, p. 63; obituary: “Angeline M. A. Cornell,” Review, Jan. 7, 1902, p. 14; Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society, Historical Collections. Collections and Researches Made by the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society (Lansing, Mich.: Robert Smith & Co., State Printers and Binders, 1896), vol. 26, pp. 53, 54; “To Whom It May Concern,” Review, June 13, 1871, p. 208; “Fourteenth Annual Session of the General Conference of S. D. Adventists,” Review, Oct. 5, 1876, p. 106; “Confession and Declaration of Faith,” Review, Nov. 23, 1876, pp. 166, 167; Ellen G. White, Lt 23, 1871 (Dec. 27); Lt 29, 1872 (Oct. 1872); Lts 52, 53, 54, 55, 1876 (c. 1876). 1EGWLM 812.3