Did Canright Recant?

Quotes from The Case of D.M. Canright, pp. 159-161, Library of Congress Catalog Number: 64-23172

A woman claiming to be Canright's secretary made a number of claims regarding him. The weight of evidence indicates Canright never had this woman as a secretary.

1. Canright lived in a different city. Canright's secretary claimed to have been employed by him in 1912-1913 in Battle Creek. The evidence indicates Canright lived in Grand Rapids during those years. In 1912 Canright's son was in Alaska, so the burden of caring for the family farm fell upon Mr. Canright. It is very unlikely he lived in Battle Creek in 1912 while he had the burden of taking care of a farm in Grand Rapids. On Jan. 2, 1913, Canright's wife died. His son stated that after his mother's death, he lived with his father "for several years" in Grand Rapids.

2. Canright's son denied his father ever had a secretary. Canright's son Jess wrote about his father's professed secretary:

Now in regard to the secretary: as you know, he left the Adventists in 1887, which was the year I was born. Up to the time I was seven or eight [1895], I wouldn't be able to say much about it, but from then on, I am very sure he had no secretary other than...Fred Rudy.

When Norman Douty sent Jess Canright the name of the secretary, he wrote back in reply:

Never heard the name of _______ at any time.

3. Secretary wrong about Canright's leg. The secretary claimed that Canright had a peg leg. That is false. Fred Rudy, who lived next door to Canright in Grand Rapids declared in a letter on Feb. 25, 1963:

Mr. D.M. Canright had two good legs when I knew him, and he was very active from daylight to dark.

Mrs. North, another neighbor, wrote on May 27, 1963:

I am sure Mr. Canright did not have a peg leg.

Furthermore, Canright's nephew in Portland, Oregon wrote that he had several pictures of his uncle Dudley which indicated he had two good legs. Finally, Canright's son wrote on Jan. 3, 1963,

"As to his losing a leg in his father's hay field, that is pure fiction."

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