William Henry Conley

William Henry Conley
William Henry Conley
Born	11 June 1840 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Died	25 July 1897
Occupation	Businessman
Spouse(s)	Sarah Shaffer

William Henry Conley (11 June 1840 – 25 July 1897), was a Pittsburgh philanthropist and businessman. He was the first president of Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society (1881-1884), with Charles Taze Russell as secretary and treasurer. Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society later evolved into the chief administrative organization of Jehovah's Witnesses. W. H. Conley was a prominent, wealthy member of the Allegheny City community. He was a member of the boards of directors of the Third National Bank of Allegheny and the Home for Colored Children and St. John's General Hospital.^[1] He was married to Sarah Shaffer (1841-1908).^{[citation needed]}

Business and charitable interests

William Conley worked as bookkeeper for the the owners of a metal fabrication company. In 1873, Thomas B. Riter, formed a partnership with Conley, which became 'Riter & Conley Company'. The business gradually grew into a highly-respected worldwide supplier to the drilling, mining, manufacturing, and marine industries.^{[citation needed]} Conley was also a stockholder in, and director of, the Third National Bank of Allegheny.

Conley and his wife were active in several Pittsburgh charities, including an orphanage and school for children of African-American heritage, as well as a local hospital.

Watch Tower affiliation

William H. and Sarah Conley were two of the five original Allegheny Bible Students. Joseph Russell, his daughter Margaret, and his son Charles T., were the other three. The Conley and Russell families became acquainted c. 1869, at Adventist meetings held by Jonas Wendell, George Stetson and George Storrs.^[2]

When the Watch Tower Society was founded in February 1881, William Conley donated $3500 (70%) of the $5000 original capital. Joseph Russell donated $1000 (20%), and Charles Taze Russell donated $500 (10%). Arrangements were made with commercial firms to handle printing operations in various cities of Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio, as well as in Britain. In 1884, Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society was legally incorporated with Charles T. Russell as president.^[3]

After 1882, Conley is not mentioned in Watch Tower literature in reference to his tenure as president. Russell refers to Conley in the June 1894 issue of The Watch Tower only as "one of the original Allegheny Bible Students".^[4] Jehovah's Witnesses generally consider Charles Taze Russell as the first president of the Watch Tower Society corporation. Watch Tower Society literature mentions Conley once, in passing, at the establishment of the previously unincorporated Society:^[5]

"Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society was formed on February 16, 1881, with W. H. Conley as president and C. T. Russell as secretary and treasurer. ... In 1884, Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society was legally incorporated, with C. T. Russell as president, and its charter showed that it was more than a society that would direct publishing. Its real objective was religious; it was chartered for “the dissemination of Bible Truths in various languages.”^[6]

References