The Ellen G. White Letters and Manuscripts: Volume 1

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LAY, George Talbot (1822-1901) and (first wife) Mary Exene (1825-1862) and (second wife) Elizabeth L. (1833-1908)

A wealthy landowner and business entrepreneur from Monterey and Allegan, Michigan, George Lay had a checkered relationship with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Baptized together with Mary in 1856 by Joseph Bates, he was active in the Monterey church for a few years and was elected church deacon. 1EGWLM 859.4

Troubles began when, after Mary's death, he married a recent divorcé, Elizabeth L. Jones, in 1864, under dubious circumstances. He did this despite the pleas of Ellen White in 1863 that the proposed marriage would damage not only his own reputation but also that of the local church. According to an investigating church committee, George Lay “recklessly burnt” his copy of this manuscript. For a few years he was separated from church fellowship, but Ellen White made strong efforts to reclaim him in 1868. “Rode over to Brother George Lay's,” she wrote in a diary entry on May 9, 1868. “Had an interview with his family. Prayed with them and left them weeping, all broken down before the Lord.” 1EGWLM 859.5

Following Ellen White's intervention in 1868, George Lay returned to church fellowship for a few years. In 1872 he was elected vice president of the Missionary and Tract Society for the Michigan and Indiana Conference. However, by 1874 George Lay had again relapsed, and from available documentation he seems from then on to have remained outside the church until within a year or two of his death in 1901. Much of his disinterest, according to Ellen White, was because of his total absorption with his business and wealth. By 1880 George Lay was the largest landowner in Monterey, and in 1883 he helped to organize the Michigan Buggy Company in Kalamazoo, serving as its vice president until his death. 1EGWLM 860.1

In 1885, when George Lay was in his early 60s, Ellen White reminded him that his “sun passed its meridian some time ago and is now rapidly declining,” and she appealed to him “from this hour” “to be the Lord's.” She also cautioned him not to “force from His reluctant hand destruction of your property or affliction of your person.” The latter warning probably came to George Lay's mind when, in 1896, the Michigan Buggy factory burned down with a loss of $63,000. The factory was rebuilt and enlarged, but again it burned to the ground, with a loss of $249,000. Insurance covered only a fraction of the losses. The warnings and ensuing disasters may explain why George Lay subsequently returned to the church. On receiving this news, Ellen White wrote a warm letter to Lay in 1900. “I have heard that you have commenced once more to serve the Lord. I am more glad than I can tell you.” 1EGWLM 860.2

See: Obituary: “George T. Lay,” Review, Apr. 16, 1901, p. 256; obituary: “Mary E. Lay,” Review, Dec. 16, 1862, p. 23; obituary: “Elizabeth L. Lay,” Review, Sept. 10, 1908, p. 23; J. N. Loughborough, George W. Amadon, “Decision of the Committee in the Case of George T. Lay, c. 1864,” Ellen G. White Estate, DF 287; “75-50-25 years ago,” Review, Feb. 27, 1947, p. 2; History of Allegan and Barry Counties, Michigan, pp. 285, 288-290; David Fisher and Frank Little, Compendium of History and Biography of Kalamazoo County, Mich. (Chicago: A. W. Bowen & Co., 1906), pp. 276, 277; Ellen G. White, Ms 2, 1863 (June 6); Ms 16, 1868 (May 9 entry); Lt 58, 1874 (Nov. 4); Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, pp. 349-354; Lt 15, 1900 (Feb. 1). 1EGWLM 860.3