The Ellen G. White Letters and Manuscripts: Volume 1

HASKELL, Stephen Nelson (1833-1922) and (first wife) Mary E. (1812-1894) and (second wife) Hetty (1857-1919)

Stephen and Mary Haskell, both from Massachusetts, converted to Sabbatarian Adventism in 1853. Ordained a minister in 1868, Stephen Haskell became president of the New England Conference in 1870. From that time till 1911 he served frequently as president of the California, Maine, and New England conferences and sat on the General Conference Committee. At various times during the 1880s and 1890s he undertook church assignments in Europe, southern Africa, and Australia. 1EGWLM 841.3

Stephen Haskell's first wife, Mary How, was among the founders in 1869 of the Vigilant Missionary Society, which engaged in literature distribution and home visitation and was a forerunner of the extensive Tract and Missionary societies later organized by Stephen. His second wife, Hetty Hurd, whom he married while in Australia in 1897, had long experience as a teacher of Bible Instructors in America, England, and South Africa. For two years they served on the faculty of the newly formed Avondale College in Australia before returning to the United States in 1899, where they worked together on city evangelism and other projects. 1EGWLM 841.4

During his early years of self-supporting ministry S. N. Haskell took a dim view of Ellen and James White. “My mind became very much prejudiced against them,” Haskell recalled in 1870, attributing his bias to the fact that he had become “acquainted with those who were their enemies.” His negativity during the late 1850s was confirmed in Ms 2, 1858, where Ellen White wrote of Stephen Haskell as having “scattered evil” and “been at work to destroy confidence in the visions and in those who have the charge of the work at Battle Creek.” By 1862 he seemed to have undergone a change of mind, writing positively in the Review, for the first time, of the value of “the gift of prophecy, in correcting wrongs.” In time Haskell became a staunch supporter and personal friend of Ellen White's, who, in turn, came to appreciate his talents as a preacher and administrator. “Brother Haskell is an excellent laborer,” she reported after hearing him preach in 1874. Years later, in 1897, Ellen White expressed her high regard for Stephen and Hetty Haskell for their services at Avondale College. “He [Stephen Haskell] presents truth in a clear, simple, earnest manner. … As matron and teacher, Sister Haskell could not be excelled. She is firm as a rock to principle.” It was fitting that Stephen Haskell was chosen to preach the sermon at Ellen White's funeral in 1915. 1EGWLM 841.5

See: Obituary: “Stephen N. Haskell,” Review, Dec. 14, 1922, p. 17; obituary: “Mary E. Haskell,” Review, Feb. 20, 1894, p. 127; obituary: “Mrs. S. N. Haskell,” Review, Nov. 20, 1919, pp. 24, 25; “From Bro. Haskell,” Review, Aug. 19, 1862, p. 95; S. N. Haskell, “Responses to the Above,” in John Nevins Andrews et al., Defense of Elder James White and Wife, p. 33; Ellen G. White, Ms 2, 1858 (Dec. 27); Lt 35, 1874 (June 22); Lt 99, 1897 (Aug. 19). For a major biography of S. N. Haskell, see Ella M. Robinson, S. N. Haskell: Man of Action. 1EGWLM 842.1