Thornton Chase

Thornton Chase, circa 1900

Thornton Chase (February 22, 1847 – September 30, 1912) was an officer in the American Civil War serving with two regiments of United States Colored Troops, wounded, and was included on the Wall of Honor of the African-American Civil War Memorial completed in 1997. After the war he was a businessman, performed as a singer, and was published as a writer of prose and poetry while living in several states. Long a seeker in religion, approaching the age 50, almost as soon as possible in America, he joined the Bahá'í Faith in 1894-5 and is commonly recognized as the first convert to the religion of the western world. During his life he advanced the organization of communities of the religion in Chicago and Los Angeles, aided in the founding of others, gave talks for the religion in many places, and was singled out by Abdu'l-Bahá, then head of the religion, so that his gravesite is a place of annual memorials and ultimately being named as a Disciple of `Abdu'l-Bahá. Collections of his papers began, posthumous articles by him were published and biographical articles about him appeared. In 2002 a full biography on Chase was published by Robert H. Stockman.

Early life

He was born James Brown Thornton Chase on 22 February 1847 in Springfield, Massachusetts to parents of English stock and Baptist religion. His father was Jonathan G and mother Sarah C. G. S. (Thornton) Chase His father was a singer, amateur scientist, and wealthy businessman, and was a descendant of Aquila Chase who migrated from Chesham in 1630 and of many other colonial families (such as Thomas Dudley). Chase's mother, who was of similar pedigree, died eighteen days after he was born, an event that profoundly shaped Chase's subsequent development. Chase's father remarried three years later and the couple adopted three girls. Apparently three-year-old Thornton was not wanted; the United States 1850 census shows that he was living with a foster family in West Springfield. Chase himself describes his childhood as "loveless and lonely, " and the inner vacuum he felt apparently set him on a quest for love, which culminated in his mystical interests.

For four years, aged thirteen to sixteen, Chase lived in Newton, Mass., with the Rev. Samuel Francis Smith, a prominent Baptist clergyman. In July 1863 Chase was accepted to Brown University, but instead of matriculating, in early 1864, just before his seventeenth birthday, Chase went to Philadelphia to attend a school, the "Free School for Military Tactics" for officers for black infantry units.

The U. S. C. T. 26th on parade at Camp William Penn, Pa. circa 1867

The school had opened by December, 1863. Though the school was strictly segregated it did pass over 400 students through while 21 blacks attended an auxiliary school, and did receive positive comments from Lincoln's secretary of war. The school also trained troops helping to raise eleven African American regiments in one year and was supported by several abolitionists.

By May, 1864 Chase was second in charge of one hundred men, Company K of the 26th Regiment Infantry U.S. Colored Troops. He claimed to be 19 yrs old but was in fact two months passed his 17th birthday. The about a 1000 strong regiment was mustered and practiced on Rikers and Hart Islands and would have received its "colors", it's flags, March 26, 1864, except for a severe storm. On July 5 and 7 the unit fought two battles south of Charleston, S.C.; two officers were reportedly wounded during battles in South Carolina during this first deployment – Chase was wounded by an exploding cannon, permanently injuring the hearing in his left ear, (the other was the commander of the regiment who was killed Dec 17, 1864.) Chase is possibly listed returning to New York in November as "James B Chase".

In 1865 he was promoted to captain and commanded Company D of the 104th United States Colored Infantry. That unit was organized at Beaufort, S. C., April-June, 1865, and did guard duty at various points in South Carolina till February, 1866. News of the surrender of Lee and days later of the assassination of Lincoln arrived in late April. Chase' resignation from the military was accepted November 7, 1865, in Beaufort, SC, and thus honorably discharged and because of the manner of his resignation from service he was later denied pay for returning home which was restricted to being discharged from service by the military, (though he was given "in kind" travel back to New York.)

Nearly two decades later he contributed a poem to a magazine noting the dying off of the Civil War veteran with the poem "Lo! The Ranks are Thinned and Thinning". Lines of it were used in veteran memorials. Robert Stockman, a scholar on Chase, draws attention to two stanzas of the poem as having a biographical tone to them:

Gettysburg and Vicksburg's trenches,
At whose memory courage blenches,
And the dreadful Wilderness;
Carolina's swamps, and Georgia,
Like a hydra-headed Borgia,
Send their armies bodiless.

From the beds of rolling rivers,
From the woods where moaning quivers
Thro' the shivered, creaking trees;
From each battlefield and prison,
Myriad martyr-souls have risen,
Risen to an endless peace.

For his service in U. S. Colored Troops and U. S. Colored Infantry regiments his name was included as "James B. Chase" among the 7000 white officers on the Wall of Honor at the African American Civil War Memorial.

Marriage and employment

Chase began to attend Brown University in September 1866, and was elected class secretary, but dropped out before completing the second semester. He returned to Springfield, where he became a salesman for his father's lumber business – and joined the Mendelssohn club. On 11 May 1870 he married Annie Elizabeth Allyn of Bristol, Rhode Island, and they had two children: Sarah Thornton (1871–1908) and Jessamine Allyn (1874–1947). Chase started his own specialty lumber business, directed the choir of First Baptist Church, and served as an officer in one of Springfield’s musical organizations, and performed in a local concert.

In 1872 Chase's business failed. Unemployed, he moved to Boston, where he obtained a meager living as an actor and singer. In 1873, in the midst of loneliness, poverty, and a sense of failure, Chase had an experience of God's love, of love "unspeakable," of "absolute oneness." The experience pulled him back from the brink of destruction, renewed his hope, and set him on a religious search.

When he had exhausted his employment opportunities in Boston, Chase moved to Fort Howard (Green Bay, Wisconsin), where he taught school for a time. The first high school graduates of the city were in 1875. He moved to Chicago, where he acted in plays at McVicker’s, one of the city's better known theaters. Subsequently he obtained teaching and music tutoring jobs in Kansas, being visible for example in 1879. Finally he settled in Del Norte, Colorado. Meanwhile, Annie remained in Springfield with her mother and two daughters, waiting for her husband to settle and provide his family support. She finally moved back to Rhode Island and in March 1878 sued Chase for divorce. He begged her to reconsider, but the court granted her petition. She lived the rest of her days in Newport, Rhode Island, dying in 1918. Chase's older daughter, Sarah, married in 1895 and had five children before dying suddenly in 1908. Chase's other daughter, Jessamine, never married and became a school teacher and musician like her father; she died in 1947.

Chase apparently was devastated by the divorce. Sources indicate that he went into the Colorado mountains for a time, wandering in search of gold and silver. Family from New York was still looking for him some years later. He remarried on 6 May 1880 and settled in Pueblo, Colorado. Once again he became extremely active in music, directing a succession of musical and theatrical groups. He also invented and patented a prospector's pick. He was visible advertising for music students in the Spring of 1881. He returned to Kansas for a concert in mid-February, 1881, held despite a blizzard stranding rail travelers. Later that spring Chase assisted in the production of two concerts in Pueblo, and also took various jobs over the summer/winter, while continuing in music performances. He began to publish poetry in local newspapers and magazines; one poem focuses on Jesus's love for humanity, thereby highlighting Chase's devotion to Jesus.

In early 1882 Chase aided an investigation of setting up lead works in Pueblo. In later 1882 Chase moved to Denver and was noted contributing poems to local papers. He was also visible singing at various events the end of that year and into the next, known as a "leading basso". In October 1883 he was noticed pursuing gold mining, and in December he hoped to open a mining company named "Amity Company". He was called one of the leading poets of Pueblo in 1884. A brief mention in 1885 says both he and Mrs. Chase went into the mountains for the summer. He joined the local Swedenborgian church. Swedenborgianism emphasized a metaphorical interpretation of the Bible and stressed a mystical approach to Jesus and Christianity; thus, its sense of Christianity was much less doctrinal that the Baptist Church of Chase's childhood. After five years, however, the Denver church was wracked by doctrinal disputes, and about that time Chase abandoned it and all other Christian churches. He initiated a broader religious search and began to read a wide variety of books about religion.

In the summer of 1886 Chase was mentioned in theatrical productions in Denver. In March 1887 he was hired by the Union Mutual Life Insurance Company as an agent and soon became the manager of their entire Colorado operation. In June 1888 they promoted him and moved him to their California office where he was listed as "superintendent" for the company. The move was noted back in Pueblo. On 28 June 1889 Chase's only son, William Jotham Thornton Chase, was born. Chase published a booklet called Sketches that explains why people should purchase life insurance for themselves, using biblical and religious stories to illustrate its major points. The booklet reveals Chase as a religious seeker familiar with all the major religions. His wife was visible in the Santa Cruz community up to 1892. Thornton Chase was visible entertaining at a reception in April, 1893.

Bahá'í life

Chicago

In June 1893 Union Mutual promoted Chase to superintendent of all agencies west of the Appalachians. This necessitated a move to Chicago. In May he was in Omaha, NE, and Salt Lake, UT, for business, and in early September the president of his company was killed in a train accident back east. He may have been able to attend the first Parliament of the World's Religions held in Chicago in mid-September which was organized by a Swedenborgian. The next president of the company was elected in October. In the process of moving to Chicago Chase was elected to the Insurance Underwriters Association there. Chase scholar Robert Stockman considers it likely Chase at least followed the reports in the newspapers which did include a report of a paper read at the event that quoted Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the religion, and could have followed up with the then available books and journal articles by Edward Granville Browne available in the library. One day in early 1894 Chase was writing a poem about God when a business colleague entered his office. The colleague was intrigued by the poem and told Chase about a man who was teaching that God had recently "walked upon the earth." Chase investigated and discovered that the teacher was Ibrahim George Kheiralla, recently come to the United States and the second Bahá'í in America after Anton Haddad, from Beirut, Lebanon. Chase and a small group of Chicagoans began to study the Bahá'í Faith with him. Chase indicates that 5 June 1894 was a crucial date for the class; probably it was the day the class began. Days later he attended a memorial observance for Bunker Hill. By 1895 he had completed the class and become a Bahá'í. At least three other Americans completed the class and accepted the new religion before him, but subsequently they left the Bahá'í Faith. Thus Chase should be considered the first American to become and remain a Bahá'í, and not the first American Bahá'í per se. In January 1897 his speech at an insurance agents convention was described as "beautiful…, bright and sublime in its imagery", about attaining to noble ideals above "killing time". In February he uses an editorial commending of the agent association for "inviting men in various walks of life to its banquets to speak to the members on topics that inspire, elevate, and encourage", and expands on the theme, quoting his words:

"If we are only business seekers, traders, worshipers of the calf of gold, Caesar is our tax assessor and God to us is nothing; but if we are teachers and bearers of "good will to men," we shall keep the laws of humanity with heart and act, helping men to help themselves, teaching them the beauty and wisdom of unselfishness, of laboring for others, of providing a certain hope for their own futures, of protecting those dependent on them, even after earthly interests shall cease. Let us hope that we may urge their minds so close to the border land of the life to come that they may look across the line of division between earthly affairs and eternal ones, and grasp ideals of the greater beauty and grander wisdom of striving for the fulfillment of God's promises to men, and of providing for a permanent home in the kingdom of their Creator."

In early 1899 he submitted an essay to the association's competition, and raised awareness of the religion in Cincinnati as well. Bahá'ís including Chase were also known to frequent a restaurant named "Kimballs' Restaurant" in Chicago.

Classes on the Bahá'í Faith were organized in Chicago, and later in Enterprise, Kansas; Kenosha, Wisconsin; Ithaca, New York; New York City; Philadelphia; and Oakland, California. By 1899 about fifteen hundred Americans had become Bahá'ís, seven hundred in Chicago itself. Chase himself taught a class on the religion, wrote numerous letters to interested seekers, and taught the religion widely during his frequent travels for his company. There had also begun to be some public attention to the point that it drew a public rebuke in the person of Stoyan Krstoff Vatralsky – and to whom Chase stood up in public to retort and there followed newspaper articles going back and forth.

In 1899 American Bahá'ís went on pilgrimage to Akka, Palestine, where they met `Abdu'l-Bahá. They brought knowledge of the Bahá'í organizational system to the United States. Chase became one of the leading organizers of the Chicago community, first in November 1899, when the community elected new officers, and then in March 1900, when the community elected a ten-member "Board of Council." Chase was one of the 1899 officers and a member of the 1900 board. At the time it was thought the institution should be restricted to men, a position Chase accepted. When Kheiralla became increasingly alienated from the Bahá'í community in 1899 and 1900, Chase was one of the leaders of the effort to reconcile Kheiralla with the other American Bahá'ís. When reconciliation became impossible, Chase was a leader of the effort to organize the Bahá'í Faith independently of Kheiralla.

In 1900 and 1901 `Abdu'l-Bahá sent `Abdu'l-Karím-i-Tihrání, Hájí Mírzá Hassan-i-Khurásání, Mírzá Asadu'lláh, and Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl to the United States to more fully educate the Bahá'ís on the teachings of the religion. Chase arranged for the latter two to stay in the Chicago Bahá'í Center, and moved into the center with them when his wife had to go east for a year to handle legal matters connected with the death of Chase's stepmother in Springfield. Chase acquired a deep understanding of the Bahá'í teachings during his time with the Persians.

Chase soon emerged as the principal organizer of the Chicago Bahá'í community. In May 1901, he coordinated the election of a new consultative body, which was first called the Chicago House of Justice and then the Chicago House of Spirituality. By 1902 Chase was serving as chairman, an office he retained until moving out of Chicago in 1909. Chase had learned about the Bahá'í principle of consultation from the Persian teachers and emphasized its importance, thus becoming the first American Bahá'í to champion it. Chase also wrote many circular letters that the House of Spirituality sent to Bahá'í communities throughout the United States and Canada, informing them of Bahá'í Holy Days and the fast, thereby establishing their observance in North America.

Chase's writing experience proved useful in the effort to edit and publish Bahá'í literature. Chase and four other Chicago Bahá'í businessmen founded the "Behais Supply and Publishing Board" in 1900; in the fall of 1902 it was legally incorporated as the Bahai Publishing Society. It soon emerged as the principal publisher of Bahá'í literature in the English-speaking world, and became a major force behind the standardization of the spelling of Middle Eastern Bahá'í names and terms. Chase was the principal editor of the society's literature and one of its principal financial supporters. The society published several early Bahá'í pamphlets written by Chase. In late 1902 Chase also visited in Johnstown, NY. In 1903 he visited Manitoba, Canada, as well as Louisville, KY. In 1904 and 1906 Chase presented at the Monsalvat School at Greenacre and other conferences there.

In 1907 Chase was able to go on pilgrimage. Though Chase was able to be with `Abdu'l Bahá in Akka for only three days, the experience transformed him. `Abdu'l-Bahá, highly impressed by Chase's qualities, conferred on him the title thábit, "steadfast." A picture of Chase in Egypt among Bahá'ís was published in 1932.

On returning home Chase presented again at Greenacre and wrote an account of his pilgrimage, which was published under the title In Galilee in 1908. The short work gives a detailed and poignant description of `Abdu'l-Bahá's home and family in Akka, as well as a moving description of `Abdu'l-Bahá himself. The work remains one of the most important examples of the genre commonly known as pilgrim's notes. During his pilgrimage, he had asked `Abdu'l-Bahá about the community building a temple and was directed to work with Corinne True as "complete directions" had been given to her. This lead directly a merged institution electing women and men and had 30% women so elected though there was still some confusion over the issue until 1912. Chase turned his thoughts to an introductory book on the Bahá'í Faith. Published as The Bahai Revelation in 1909, this work was one of the most comprehensive and accurate introductions to the Bahá'í Faith written by an early American Bahá'í. It continued to be reprinted until the 1920s. The work emphasized the Bahá'í Faith and its teachings as a vehicle for personal spiritual transformation. While earning the extra income in 1908 he joined an association for aid to the poor, and had spoken to Bahá'ís in Cincinnati, appearing for the first time, (so far) as a Bahá'í in newspapers, about his 1907 pilgrimage to see Abdu'l-Bahá, then in Syria. A photograph including Chase in 1908 was published in 1976 – he's the tallest man in the picture. In February 1909 Chase addressed the University of Chicago International Club students on the imminence of the age outlining a number of expected changes coming – the downfall of nationalism/rise of internationalism, universal peace instead of battleships, and war becoming seen as a "deed of inhumanity", and in March appeared listed as a Bahá'í publicly in Chicago.

Los Angeles

In late 1909 the Union Mutual Life Insurance Company, seeking to reduce Chase’s devotion to religious activities, transferred him to Los Angeles. Chase considered resigning from the company, but at age 62 another job was impossible to find. He had to support a wife, a son in college, and an elderly mother-in-law, so he accepted the new position, even though it paid much less. Chase still traveled extensively for his company as far north as Seattle and as far east as Denver, and these travels gave him opportunities to visit the rapidly developing Bahá'í communities of the Mountain and Pacific states. Indeed he reached Victoria, British Colombia in 1909. In 1910 a talk entitled as his introductory book was offered in Los Angeles. In 1911 Chase spoke to a public meeting of the religion in Portland, Oregon. He also returned to writing poetry, primarily on the Bahá'í Faith. He helped to organize the Los Angeles Bahá'ís; in 1910 they elected a five-member governing board that included Chase as a member, which then included a majority of women, with a general community of some 30 people. They also established their first monthly meetings. Though he could not attend the national convention of Bahá'ís in 1910 he did send a letter. In 1911 he was listed as the contact address for the assembly, participated in attempts by the community to coordinate internationally, and was credited with assisting organizing the Denver Bahá'í Assembly along with Corinne True. That summer Chase received a copy of the proceedings of the First Universal Races Congress to which `Abdu'l-Bahá had sent a representative with a message. Chase observes a distinction between `Abdu'l-Bahá's message of promoting spiritual unity as a higher calling that that of simply recognizing partisanship among nations vying for priority or advocacy of a race and stressed that the transformation of the time required accepting the influences of the "new heaven". In November he summarized the presence of the religion in California for the first major Bahá'í periodical of the country, Star of the West, noting excitement in San Francisco because of the visit of Dr. Fareed and Lua Getsinger in advance of `Abdu'l-Bahá coming west, regular meetings in Los Angeles as well, and the hospitality provided by Mrs. Goodall and Cooper in Oakland. In May 1912 Chase was present at garden party observance of Ridván in San Francisco. San Francisco Assembly had been founded in 1910.

Death

Thornton Chase died on 30 September 1912 in Los Angeles, of complications following unsuccessful surgery. Chase managed a note to his friend John Bosch while in the hospital. The surgery was not successful and Chase was in pain some 5 days before dying, probably of cancer. `Abdu'l Bahá was on a train en route to California at the time; He immediately changed his plans and went to Los Angeles to visit Chase's grave. There he praised Chase's qualities highly, instructed the Bahá'ís to hold a commemoration of Chase annually at his grave, and encouraged Bahá'ís to visit the gravesite. It a site of many Bahá'ís visited that year and a more permanent memorial was to be raised. `Abdu'l-Bahá wrote a prayer for Chase that includes:

Verily he guided the people to Thine ancient pathway, and led them to Thy way of rectitude.
Verily he held the chalice of guidance in his right hand and gave unto those athirst to drink of the cup of favor."

A letter from the Los Angeles community published in Star of the West in October noted his many meetings along the last trip he took along the coast perhaps as far as Vancouver and that signs of his illness had appeared during the trip. The outline of his life offered by Frank G. Tyrrell included mention of being a student of Rev. Samuel F. Smith, joining the military at 17, his Civil War service and rising to Captain, but not the detail of it being with black regiments, did include briefly of his life in Colorado and then as an insurance agent. They had held a prayer vigil for him while he was in the hospital which transitioned directly into a memorial on hearing of his death. The funeral was held a few days later with contributions from some ministers as well as friends and a memorial a couple days after that. A friend outlined his life including his Civil War service and that he had not spoken of this as well, as well as his career. Mrs. Chase spoke at the memorial as well.

An obituary article was published in the Brown University Alumni periodical in Feb 1913 by Brown alumnus Alfred G. Langley, it emphasizes his relationship with the Bahá´í Faith though it all but skips his military career in how quote of Chase' presents his life. Another mention came a month later by alumnus Wilfred H. Munro commenting on the incompleteness of a text of Brown university students who had served in the Civil war by adding that Chase was Captain of Company D of the 104th US Colored Infantry.

Legacy

Early period

The October issue of Star of the West made room for remembering him while news continued of `Abdu'l-Bahá's travels and speeches and the picking of the cite for the Bahá'í House of Worship. It included a long poem Chase composed. This poem arrived in Egypt and was read to `Abdu'l-Bahá and was read July 4, 1913. The Star of the West edition also published letters from various communities memorializing him. Tributes from Portland, OR and Chicago were also published, followed in March, 1913, by one from Beirut which included remembrance of those who were on pilgrimage and met him in 1907. A letter/poem/ode from him to `Abdu'l-Bahá was published in September, 1913 dated from August, 1912, published as a one year anniversary of the visit of `Abdu'l-Baha to his gravesite and was re-printed in 1922. The editors noted the observance held for what was called "The day of Thornton Chase". It also reported more of the words `Abdu'l-Bahá had said on the visit to the gravesite:"…During his lifetime he bore many trials and vicissitudes, but he was very patient and long-suffering. He had a heart most illuminated, a spirit most rejoiced; his hope was to serve the world of humanity; during the days of his life he strove as much as he could – he never failed…" There was an article then published including a picture marking Chase among the people standing at a Ridván meeting in May, 1909, who lead the services that day and compared the tent raised as a precursor to the eventual building. It also included a short article by Chase "The Greatest Name". An account of that first year anniversary followed in the November edition. 10 Bahá'ís attended the gravesite Sep 30th with flowers and prayers for an hour and a service was held the following Sunday in a hall which was also the anniversary of `Abdu'l-Bahá's visit and the assemblage again returned to the gravesite at sunset. A memorial comment was then published from Thomas Kelly Cheyne. In February 1914, an excerpt from Chase' book The Bahai Revelation was published in Star of the West. The anniversary was noted again in 1914, and then an article briefly reviewing the history of the religion in America by Chase was published in early 1915, and again noted the anniversary in September. A more enduring gravestone was placed in 1918. A memoriam article in 1918 noted 21 Bahá'ís attended the anniversary meeting which also saw the new stone marker. Mrs. Chase attended and shared anecdotes of his life. A picture of the gravestone was published in 1920.

In 1920 Martha Root refers to distributing Chase' book The Bahai Revelation in various libraries on her tour around South America. Memorials of others began to be published in 1922 recalling the contact they had had with Chase.

Later period

The memorial meeting in 1924 noted that inquirers were informed of "the truth of the Oneness of Mankind and the fatherhood of God, for which Mr. Chase had given his heart and life." The writer of the article, Willard Hatch, was requested to gather materials on the life of Chase in 1927. He updated attendees at the national convention of Bahá'ís over the next few years, and was joined in the work by John Bosch. Bosch was in fact an inheritor of Chases' literary material and a collection of some Bahá'í materials Chase had not already sent to Chicago for archival purposes. A survey of the materials gathered was published in April 1930. Then a previously unpublished letter of Chases' was published in Star of the West 1930. Howard MacNutt, another very early Bahá'í, was photographed visiting the gravesite before his death in 1926. In 1930 a dinner was held for the poor commemorating his death followed by a talk on his life. A 5 page letter of Chase' was published in The Bahá'í World series for 1928–30, part of a major series of volumes covering world wide aspects of the religion, entitled Before Abraham was, I am; written in 1902 to a Christian. Further scholarly work on Chase appeared in a 1932 article which included several excerpts from letters and papers of Chase, and gathered materials were being sent to the national archives (and Hatch was perhaps on pilgrimage.) A letter to Chase from `Abdu'l-Bahá was central to a question of Bahá'í involvement in the political rights and responsibilities of being a citizen and a Bahá'í communicated specifically in 1933 and was further discussed at the convention and lead to a fuller clarification in 1934. Hatch held a meeting with African-Americans in August 1933 and there was the memorial meeting in September. In 1935 there were several actions remembering Chase:

• a personally owned copy of a book of Chase' was sold to raise money for the Bahá'í Fund,
• a Los Angeles area newsletter reproduced the notice of the first assembly-like institution in LA that elected Chase among the five members,
• more materials of Chases' were mentioned in the 1935 convention,
• and it was also established in 1935 that Chase was to be recognized as one of the Disciples of `Abdu'l-Bahá.

In 1937 at the memorial service it was clarified by official translation that the commemoration of visiting the gravesite was on the anniversary of the death of Chase. In 1938 some further materials Chase had had were given to the national archives of the Bahá'ís including a seal and ring made with a gem given to him. The certificate from the State of California of the incorporation of the Los Angeles Spiritual Assembly updated in 1938 notes `Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to Chase' gravesite in 1912 and the annual memorial for Chase as part of it's mandate. By 2005 it was noted the Bosches had donated 11 boxes of materials for the Chase collection of the US Bahá'í national archives. The 1944 Centenary of the religion was observed partially with a text The Bahá'í Centenary which included Chase' early history of the religion incorporated into a broader summary – uncredited, but noted in the second generation national Bahá'í newspaper, the Bahá'í News, that it was by Chase.

In 1945 Chase was mentioned in the Pittsburgh Courier, a noted African-American newspaper, but only his status as the first American Bahá'í and his gravesite visited by `Abdu'l-Bahá. Hatch was visible in May again at an interracial meeting and a brief comment was also made of the memorial meeting in the Baha'i News, followed by a picture of the memorial published soon after. A further scholarly work on Chase was published in August of 1945 in the World Order magazine of the religion. In it Scheffler mentioned he had known and traveled with Chase including his pilgrimage but "I had then practically no knowledge of his early life." Scheffler comments on small experiences of Chase mentioning his early life but nothing about the civil war service was mentioned – though he did understand Chase was a singer some time in his early life. Scheffler mentions Chase' deep abiding interest in religion and his finding Swedenborgianism. Scheffler speaks also of some correction of `Abdu'l-Bahá of Chase' thought at the time. The edition of the magazine also reprinted a section from Chase' book The Bahai Revelation. The memorial was the lead mention in the summary of activities in Los Angeles in 1948 published in the Baha'i News. In October 1949 Hatch received a clarification to a question he had addressed Shoghi Effendi; it was clarified that the gravesite could be called a shrine but that it was not important what to call it or if the memorial meeting is held Sep 30 or Oct 1 (since Chase had died after sunset and Baha'i calendars mark the change of day on the sunset.) Memorial observances continued to be published in the Baha'i News over the years and the responsibility of maintaining the event shifted from Los Angeles to the Inglewood community and with broadening attendance (for example in 1963 it was reported there were some 70 adults and 15 children from a range of communities and in 1965 there were 350 attending.) In 1966 a tree was donated to a nearby park and has been the site of a social reception after the memorial.

In 1972 a review of pilgrimages noted Chase' across a few paragraph's in some detail taking from his In Galilee and Scheffler's comments. In 1973 O. Z. Whitehead wrote a biographical article on Chase published in Baha'i News. The work identified him specifically as a Captain serving in the Civil War as well as his life as an insurance salesman and his singing voice, refers to Scheffler's essay, and in general to the process by which Chase came to the Bahá'í Faith, and adding an anecdote of Chase meeting John Bosch. In 1974 it was mentioned that John Bosch was Chase' "literary executor" and in general Chase' papers and collected material was willed to Bosch – including calligraphy by a Bahá'í specialist, Mishkin-Qalam, and noted that Mrs. Chase had burned some material before Bosch could arrive. In November 1974 Hand of the Cause Dhikru'llah Khadem called Chase "the Mullá Husayn of the West", (the first believer of the religion founded by the Báb and accepted as a precursor to the religion by Bahá'ís.) In 1974 the Pittsburgh Courier again notes Chase, this time in a profile of a major Bahá'í conference, noting he him as the first Bahá'í in America.

Chase scholar Robert Stockman's 1985 book Baha'i Faith in America: Origins 1892–1900 acknowledged Chase had served in the Civil War (and as a teenager) though not that his service was with black Americans. Neither did volume two in the series. An excerpt from a forthcoming book by Stockman was published in 1987 in the Baha'i News. It noted Chase was 6' 2" and some 260lbs late in life, had suffered medical trouble some 20 years including a surgery in 1911 and held correspondence between Chase and Bosch. It also included a tribute by Stockman for Chase. It noted Chase was "exceptionally even-tempered and mild-mannered…scrupulously avoided arguing…. His capacity to love anyone, especially those who disagreed with him, is especially demonstrated in his words and actions.… He is perhaps the only person before 1912 who had a thorough understanding of the Bahá'í concept of consultation.… was the prime mover behind many of the (local council)'s activities." Yet none of these refer to his Civil War service being with African Americans. In 1989 Bob Quigley, a Bahá'í television producer who had worked closely with Hand of the Cause William Sears from the 1960s was burried in a grave very near to Chase'. So is that of Kazem Kazemzadeh, the first trustee of the Huququ'llah in the West, the father of Firuz Kazemzadeh.

In 1994 several centennial observances were noted. In January it was announced, in the third generation of Bahá'í national news, The American Bahá'í, that a massive granite monument was placed at the gravesite after a 7 year fundraising campaign. As of June it had cost $26,000. Contributions were sent from Bahá'ís all over the United States and from Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum. The black granite was specially ordered from India and is engraved with gold lettering. The architect who conceived and designed the monument was Arsalan Mottahedin then of Beverly Hills, California. The dedication and unveiling of the monument coincided with the annual memorial service for Thornton Chase. The sculptor for the eagle was Frederick ("Rik") Sargent, a Bahá'í then from Littleton, Colorado. Firuz Kazemzadeh was the keynote speaker at the dedication. A choir directed by Russ Garcia performed. At a June reception on the centennial of the religion in the West the Bahá'ís presented a "family album" video narrated by Sylvia B.P. Parmelee which publicly mentioned Chase had served in the Civil War as an officer of black soldiers. The event was attended by over 500 people including dignitaries. A September centenary memorial at the gravesite of Chase' joining the religion was also advertised.

In 2002 Stockman published Thornton Chase: First American Bahá'í and it mentions Chase' war service in detail and with African-American troops. In 2009 an encyclopedic article published by Bahá'ís written by Stockman includes his service and addressed Stockman's views of Chase's importance as an early North American Bahá’í thinker, publicist, administrator, and organizer being still underappreciated and that in many ways Chase’s death left a gap in the North American Bahá’í community that remained unfilled until the rise to prominence in the early 1920s of Horace Holley, the chief developer of Bahá’í organization in the United States and Canada and included the picture of the 26th Colored Troops on parade as above.

A couple 2012 presentations recalled Chase' correspondence and activity in the religion, one of which included very early picture of Chase from 1884 as well as a picture with his son in Los Angeles. This presentation was republished separately in 2013.

Bibliography

• Before Abraham Was, I am (1902).
• Galilee and In Wonderland (1908).
• The Bahai Revelation (1909).

See also

• Benjamin F. Randolph also in the 26th USCT and Martin Delany also in the 104th USCI
• Other white officers in other USCT regiments: Walter Thorn, Edward Winslow Hinks, William Gould (W.G.) Raymond
• Bahá'í Faith in North America
• Bahá'í Faith in South Carolina

Further research

• Robert H. Stockman (2002). Thornton Chase: First American Bahá'í. Bahá'í Pub. Trust. ISBN 978-0-87743-282-1.
• Robert H. Stockman (2001). "Love's Odyssey: The Life of Thornton Chase; draft of a book later published as Thornton Chase: The First American Bahá'í". Bahai-library.com. Retrieved Sep 11, 2017.
• Stockman, Robert H. (2009). "Chase, Thornton (1847–1912)". Bahá’í Encyclopedia Project. Evanston, IL: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States.

References

• Robert H. Stockman (2002). Thornton Chase: First American Bahá'í. Bahá'í Pub. Trust. ISBN 978-0-87743-282-1.
• Robert H. Stockman (2001). "Love's Odyssey: The Life of Thornton Chase; draft of a book later published as Thornton Chase: The First American Bahá'í". Bahai-library.com. Retrieved Sep 11, 2017.

External links

• Works by or about Thornton Chase at the Internet Archive
• Works by Thornton Chase at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
• Thornton Chase at Find-a-Grave.com
• Robert Stockman (1985). "Notes on the Thornton Chase Papers". Bahai-library.com.