Our Jerusalem

by Bertha Spafford Vester

OUR Jerusalem- an American Family in the Holy City, 1881-1949 by Bertha Spafford Vester. Introduction by LOWELL THOMAS. Many of the earliest books, dated from the 1900s and before, are extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, modern editions using the original text and artwork.

Genres: History, Memoir

487 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1950

Reviews

[Michelle Ule · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful memoir written by Bertha Spafford Vester, daughter of the man who wrote "It is Well with My Soul," about her life in Jerusalem 1881-1968.

Her parents abandoned the US after her four older sisters perished when their ocean liner sank and then the child born after they died. Bertha and her younger sister Grace were the only children of 7 to grow up.

But what a life! Arriving in Jerusalem at 3 in 1881, she lived through the Ottoman Empire, the Turks, WWI, WWII, and the partitioning of Israel in 1948. She met everyone and anyone who came through that part of the world for 85 years.

Just fascinating. My blog post on why: https://wp.me/p3HcoH-6Sn

[Jeff Berger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most American Evangelicals know that the beloved hymn "It is Well With My Soul" was written by a man whose four daughters had perished in a shipwreck. Few know the rest of the story.

Horatio Spafford was that man. He and his wife, Anna, had more children, including Bertha, the author of this book. They started a small religious group in Chicago (the "Overcomers"), then led part of that group to Jerusalem, where they eventually formed an "American Colony" of Christians who operated a hostel just outside the Old City, and took on a variety of humanitarian efforts in what was, at the time, an impoverished city. Horatio died a few years after the move to Jerusalem, and Anna seems to have been the leader of the group from that point on.

This book is at times fascinating: The account of the sinking of the Ville Du Havre is heartbreaking and powerfully told. The Spaffords and the American Colony were in the middle of incredible historical events...the WWI battle of Jerusalem ended when the mayor of Jerusalem borrowed a bedsheet from the Colony to use as a white flag of surrender. Vester introduces us to the history-makers themselves, from Mark Twain to Lawrence of Arabia.

I am aware of the accusations against the “Overcomers” sect. A fairly recent book, American Priestess (unread by me), seems to paint Anna Spafford as a sort of cult leader. Vester deals briefly with some of the rumors, explaining them away by identifying their sources: Some of the “Overcomers” who remained behind in Chicago, a nanny who was unhappy that Anna Spafford interfered in her plans to marry a Muslim man, and most of all, the diabolical, anti-Semitic American Consul, Selah Merrill. This much seems to be certain: Horatio Spafford was kicked out of his Presbyterian Church in Chicago for theological reasons. He seems to have developed Universalist leanings after the deaths of his children, along with some other strange beliefs. Whether or not the Overcomers were a cult is for someone else to decide. This much also is true: the theology of “It Is Well” is solid, and the song’s message is inspiring, no matter who wrote it. And the American Colony, whatever their theological eccentricities, did some amazing work of compassion for decades, but especially in the years of the "Great War," when nearly every other Western Christian abandoned the city.

Mostly, the book is a unique picture of life in Jerusalem in the years of the Ottoman Empire and the British Mandate. It’s also a story of inspiring Christian compassion.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author is a daughter of the man who wrote the well known hymn "It Is Well With My Soul." He wrote the hymn after his wife and four daughters were crossing the Atlantic on a ship which was struck and sank after only a few minutes. Only his wife was saved from the wreckage. Later, when crossing the Atlantic when the captain of the ship informed Spafford they were over the very spot where the ship went down, Spafford was inspired to write that hymn.

Spafford and his wife returned to Chicago, where Bertha and another daughter were born. Unfortunately, Spafford also changed his views on doctrine, and no longer believed in hell or eternal punishment, and believed that all would eventually be saved. This made him unpopular and unwelcome in his Presbyterian Church where he had been a pillar for years. After a few years he and his wife decided to emigrate to Jerusalem where they established what came to be known as the American Colony with several other families.

Vester is very good at name dropping as she mentions all the people who visited the American Colony over the years. It appears the Colony did a great deal of nursing and famine relief to all the peoples of Jerusalem, without regard to creed or religion. But the social gospel seems to have taken over, with little to no gospel and all social work of various kinds.

If one is interested in the history of Jerusalem during this time, they may want to read this book, but otherwise, don't waste your time.

[Tesca Michaelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an interesting peek into history. I enjoyed how Mrs. Vester wrote and learned much about historical events in the US as well as Jerusalem and even in other parts of the world. Her family's legacy was very encouraging to read about and certainly spurs one on to love and good deeds.

[Paige Abbott · Rating 4 out of 5]

enlightening, sad, amazing. could get a tad offtrack, but always recentered.

[Lyvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent historical account, albeit an extremely biased one, of the city over a fascinating period from the end of the 19th century till the middle of the 20th. The American Colony photographs included in the book are testament to the history and urban development of the period. I have read the book several times, most recently for a book club discussion at the end of May, 2011. The meeting was held in the lovely courtyard of the American Colony Hotel, one of the unique historical locations that Jerusalem has to offer.

For a different perspective on the American Colony and its leader for decades, Anna Spafford (the mother of Bertha Vester, the author of Our Jerusalem) I highly recommend an excellent, more objective and very thoroughly researched book, American Priestess: The Extraordinary Story of Anna Spafford and the American Colony in Jerusalem, by Jane Fletcher Geniesse. This will give the reader a more complete understanding of the Spafford family, the Colony and thy dynamics of the relationship between the two. It also tells the stories of other members of the Colony, which are hardly mentioned in Vester's personal memoir.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly my most cherished book after the Bible. Author Bertha Spafford Vester's story began with the tragedy that gave us the song written by her father: "It Is Well With My Soul". It is her story, it is the story of Jerusalem's wonderful American Colony, it is the story of the refounding of Jerusalem from the final decades of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire to the launching of the new county of Israel. Mrs. Vester lived and ministered through it all; her family's history is inseparable from that of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem is inseparable from her family. What more could be said to add substance? I will continue to reread this book anytime that I long to, but cannot, revisit Israel itself and once again walk over to and through the remaining, active buildings of the historic American Colony. I accept that unless you have lived in Jerusalem at length, a reader's level of understanding and appreciation is diminished.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our Jerusalem is a very interesting account of Horatio Spafford ( who wrote the famous hymn It Is Well With My Soul) and the American Colony in Jerusalem founded by the Spaffords in the late 1800's. Written by Bertha Spafford Vestor, Horatio's youngest daughter, who would later take over running the colony after both her parents died.
Bertha tells of the torment Horatio and family went through in surviving many tragedies (The Great Chicago Fire, real estate losses and the loss of (at the time) all his children, when the Ville du Havr ship sank when his wife and children were heading to Europe), life in the Colony, and the injustice of how the American Consolate in Jerusalem treated those in the Colony and spread false rumors and waged legal battles.

[Vivian Ronay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very lucky to find this book in the window of a Paris used bookshop on a return from Amman when I changed my ticket to stay two nights in Paris as long as the plane was stopping there.
I had stayed at the American Colony hotel and to not only learn the history of the building but the history of Jerusalem and the Bedouin the author's family knew was terrific. It also fills in countless little bits of history of the city's culture that were completely new to me.
The author's Chicago family emigrated to Jerusalem because they became tired of the Puritanical style of Christianity that srrounded them in Chicago in 1881 (and before).

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

A true pioneer in the Holy Land