- 1894-00-01 — Green Acre was founded by Sarah J. Farmer in the aftermath of the World Parliament of Religions. [BBRSM:104; BFA2:142–7; BW5:29; GPB261; SBBH1:125]
- 1900-04-00 —
Sarah Farmer put Green Acre at the disposal of the Bahá'ís after her pilgrimage to `Akká in 1900. [BFA2:144–5; GPB261]
- After 1900 Green Acre effectively became the site of the first Bahá'í summer school in the world, although it was not officially so until 1929. [BBRSM:104; BW5:29–30; SBBH1:125]
- 1912-08-16 —
`Abdu'l-Bahá journeyed to Green Acre by car, arriving the same day. [239D:123; AB240]
-
Talk at Green Acre,
Eliot, Maine. [PUP253]
- For `Abdu'l-Bahá's activities while in Green Acre see AB240–51.
- For the story of Fred Mortensen see 239D:126–9 and AB247–51.
- See also Green Acre on the Piscataqua.
- 1912-08-17 —
Talk at Green Acre,
Eliot, Maine. [PUP261] -
Talk at Green Acre,
Eliot, Maine. [PUP263]
-
Talk at Green Acre,
Eliot, Maine. [PUP264]
-
Talk at Green Acre,
Eliot, Maine. [PUP270]
- See a photo of Eirenion Hall, built in 1897, where 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave a number of talks. It was lost in a fire in 1924
- 1926-00-03 —
Green Acre came under the direct supervision of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada. [GAP118]
- Canadian Bahá'is played a significant role in redeeming the debts of Green Acre to prepare for its transference to trustees for the benefit of the National Spiritual Assembly. It became the first Bahá'í School to be legally placed under Bahá'í administrative authority in North America. [CBN 82 November, 1956 p2]
- 1929-08-12 — Green Acre became a fully fledged Bahá'í summer school when the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada obtained legal title to the property. [BBD91; GAP118; GPB340; SBBH126, Green Acre]
- 1929-09-14 — The Green Acre Trustees were appointed by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada. [GAP118]
- 1941-08-06 —
The passing of Elizabeth Roemer Greenleaf (b. 1863) in Eliot Maine. She was buried at the Rosehill Cemetery and Mausoleum. [BW9p608]
- She and her husband became active in the Chicago Bahá'í community after completing Kheiralla's class on the 5th of October, 1897.
- She had a dream in which Kheiralla was represented as a white ram behaving destructively. After he returned from pilgrimage and began sowing seeds of discontent she and her husband were able to understand the meaning of the dream. [FMH50]
- She served as secretary of the Chicago Bahá'í women's organization in 1905. After the passing of her husband she began to travel extensively to lecture about the Bahá'í Faith. She also moved to various cities that needed Bahá'ís, remaining there until the community was strong enough for her to move again. In 1924 she was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada for one year. She went on pilgrimage in 1926, meeting Shoghi Effendi. He eulogized her as a "veteran and outstanding teacher" and described her qualities of "deep knowledge of the teachings, profound human sympathy, a heart which mirrored the Master's love, and a winning sweetness and friendliness." [The Greenleafs: An Eternal Reunion by Emeric Sala published in Bahá'í News, 510, pages 8-9, 23 1973-09]
- 1951-07-30 —
Louis Gregory, Hand of the Cause of God, passed away in Eliot, Maine, near Green Acre. [CoF163; BW12:666; TMW310, LOF98; SYH236; BN No 247 September 1951 p1]
- A national memorial service was held for him at the Temple in Wilmette on the 24th of November 1951. [SYH236]
- Soon after his passing he was designated by Shoghi Effendi the first Hand of the Cause of his race. (On 5 August, 1951) [BBD91; BW12:666, MoCxxii]
- Louis Gregory was the first person of his race to be elected to any administrative body in the United States. [-from talk by Louis Venters 2min 13sec]
- See TG114, 117-8 for a description of his passing .
- For his obituary see BW12:666–70.
- See a list of his publications.
- For biographical information on Hand of the Cause Louis Gregory see Gayle Morrison, To Move the World: Louis G. Gregory and the Advancement of Racial Unity in America (Wilmette, IL, USA Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1982, 1999 printing).
- For short biographical information see Bahá'í Encyclopedia]
- Louis Gregory kept a journal of his visit to 'Abdu'l-Baha in 1911 including statements of 'Abdu'l-Baha, stories of the believers in the Holy Land and his experiences at the Shrines. It includes a selection of tablets 'Abdu'l-Baha addressed to him. A Heavenly Vista: The Pilgrimage of Louis G. Gregory".
- See Louis Gregory, the Oneness of Humanity, and Highlights in the Development of the African-American Lawyer a presentation by Anthony Vance.
- 1951-12-20 —
Hand of the Cause Roy C. Wilhelm, (b.17 September, 1875) passed away in Lovel, Maine. He was buried in the Wilhelm Family Cemetery in Stoneham, Maine. [BW12:662]
- He became a Bahá'í when he accompanied his mother on her pilgrimage to 'Akká in 1907. He introduced Martha Root to the Faith in 1908. In 1909 he was elected to the Executive Board of the Bahá'í Temple Unity and served on the American National Spiritual Assembly. A Unity Feast was held at his home in West Englewood, NJ in June of 1912, an event commemorated every year. [Highlights of the First 40 Years of the Bahá'í Faith in New York, City of the Covenant, 1892-1932 by Hussein Ahdieh p7]
- He, along with Stanwood Cobb, and Genevieve Coy, wrote In His Presence:
Visits to 'Abdu'l-Bahá These are said to be "three of the most important, and most touching, accounts of pilgrimages to the Holy Land in the time of `Abdu'l-Bahá. These are three classic works of Bahá'í history and literature. Roy Wilhelm's account is from his visit in 1907.
- On his passing Shoghi Effendi designated him a Hand of the Cause of God. (23 December, 1951) [MoCxxii, BW12:662]
- For his obituary see BW12:662–4.
- Find a grave
- 1956-05-20 —
Louisa Mathew Gregory, (b. 1 February 1866 in Penge, Kent, England) whose wedding to Hand of the Cause of God Louis Gregory in 1912 was the first interracial western Bahá'í marriage, passed away in Eliot, Maine. [BW13:878; SYH19, 239]
- She had been introduced to the Faith by Edith Sanderson in Paris in about December of 1909. Edith had been taught by May Maxwell in 1902. [SYH5, 206]
- For her obituary see BW13:376–8. Error in this article
- There was no Bahá'í Congress in Prague in 1928
- She did not attend Cambridge but rather the examination for her credentials were administered by Cambridge.
- 'Abdu'l-Bahá did not attend her marriage on the 27 September 1912. He was in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. [SYHvii-viii; 28]
- Her biography, A Seed in Your Heart - The Life of Louise Mathew Gregory by Janet Fleming Rose was published by George Ronald in 2018.
- See a brief biography in The Bahá'í Community of the British Isles 1844-1963 p462-464 and for the story of his learning of the Faith, p453-454
- 2002-09-21 — The dedication, at the Green Acre Bahá'í School in Eliot Maine, the oldest permanent Bahá'í school in the world, of a new classroom and lecture hall designated as The Harriet and Curtis Kelsey Center, with an attendant Manny Reimer Hall. [BWNS175]
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