John Harvey Kellogg, of Battle Creek Sanitarium fame, was a full brother to William Keith Kellogg, of breakfast cereal fame. A half brother, Smith Moses Kellogg, was the father of Lena and Anna Bell Kellogg. Emma, a full sister to John Harvey and William Keith, married Charles Leonidas Sobeski Kellogg, a Kellogg from another side of the family. Wilfred Custer Kellogg was their son. Emma and Charles were fourth cousins; the grandfathers of Ezekiel Kellogg and Josiah Kellogg were brothers.
 

The Kelloggs were thick into the Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Moses Eastman Kellogg, Wilfred's uncle, was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1802. Moses Eastman was named after his maternal grandfather. He was the son of Rev. Edward Kellogg who joined the New Hampshire and Vermont conference of the Methodist Evangelical Church in May 1832 and was ordained. He and his wife, Betsy Wheeler Eastman, embraced the doctrines of the Seventh Day Adventists in 1856 and remained in that faith until their death. Moses Eastman was born in East Richford, Vermont in 1850. He married Orebal Regina Austin in Berkshire, Vermont in 1874, and thereafter moved to Battle Creek. He was ordained into the SDA and wrote a book entitled, The Supremacy of Peter. He was an editor and editorial writer for SDA publications from 1891 to 1897.
 

Wilfred's father, Charles Leonidas Sobeski Kellogg, served in the Civil War one year with the Vermont Volunteer Heavy Artillery, was an eye witness to Sheridan's ride from Winchester to Cedar Creek, and was present at the battles of Cedar Creek and Appomattox. After honorable discharge he became a traveling salesman and later a minister in the SDA in Battle Creek.
 

On the other side of the family John Preston married twice. He first wife, Mary Ann Call died September 27, 1841, whereupon he married Ann Janette Stanley on March 29, 1842. Ann Stanley had served as a maid and help to the John Preston Kellogg household; she was twenty years junior to John Preston, but they had a kind and compassionate relationship which resulted in ten children. The last, Hester Ann, was born in 1866 when John Preston was sixty-three years old, He was a broom manufacturer who resided in Tyrone, Flint, Jackson and later Battle Creek, Michigan. He was also a Seventh Day Adventist and belonged to the Republican political party. He was the father of the famous Kelloggs. He died in Battle Creek on May 10, 1881.
 

The above facts are listed in The Kelloggs In the Old World and the New by Timothy Hopkins, Sunset Press, San Francisco, 1903.
 

was an uncle to Wilfred, Lena and Anna. But Smith Moses Kellogg was the father of Lena and Anna descended from another branch. The Battle Creek City Directory shows another Moses Smith Kellogg from still another branch. He moved into Battle Creek in 1901 where he lived with a son named Arthur and died there in 1907 at the age of 87.
 

Many Kellogg's worked for the SDA and their publishing enterprises. Moses Eastman first shows up in 1893 as editor of the Review and Herald. In 1896 he is editor of the Youth's Instructor. In the directory of 1897-1898 he is listed merely as a journalist, with his home at 348 Van Buren. The 1901-02 entry says he removed to Cooper Station, New York, but the 1903-04 directory has him back again as a travel agent, still at 348 Van Buren. In 1907 he became a driver for the Sanitarium, and in 1910 he was a teamster for the Kellogg Food Co. He continues in the directory until 1916, the last date I checked.
 

We can also follow the career of William K. Kellogg of breakfast cereal fame, who first appears as a bookkeeper, residing at 107 Champion. In 1887 he is shown again as a bookkeeper, but now for the Health Publishing Co. residing at 349 Champion. Somewhere between 1889 and 1890 he moved again, but this time to 246 Champion. In 1891 he appears as the business manager of the Good Health Publishing Co. William Sadler worked with him during this period. In 1895 W. K. Kellogg is shown as the manager of the Modern Medicine Co. at 65 Washington. These were all enterprises of his brother, John Harvey Kellogg. He continued to rise in importance on the Battle Creek scene until, in 1906, he organized the breakfast food company which bore his name, and became an important contributor to the region's economy.
 

Lena Kellogg appears in the City Directory twice, both times as a nurse at the Sanitarium, first in 1893 and again in 1897. Her sister Anna first appears in 1897 and continues until 1904, when she "removes" to Paris, Illinois. This may be where the parents of the girls then lived, for Lena and William Sadler were married in Paris in 1897 when Lena was twenty-two years old. Many of the Kelloggs were highly mobile.
 

Wilfred first appears in the 1896 City Directory at the age of twenty as a clerk for the Modern Medicine Publishing Co., residing in the South Hall of the Sanitarium, and working for his uncle William K. Kellogg. Wilfred's father died in Lancaster, Massachusetts on May 18, 1896 at the early age of 49. Wilfred's mother Emma first appears in 1897. Apparently Emma and her children moved to Battle Creek after the death of the husband and father.
 

Children were not listed in City Directories until they came of age. Some may have married or moved away, and thus never appear.
 

September 20, 1906.

W. K. Kellogg

I have been having two or three bad days. Dr. Read tells me that I must have a couple of months of quiet and rest. He says that I can be in the office a while each day and that after a year or two of this kind of thing, I shall be in fairly good shape. Yesterday he advised an out-of-town vacation but today has consented to have me live at Goguac, take some treatment at the Sanitarium. He tells me that if I will do this there is no reason why I cannot be in the office a short time each day; at least an hour.

You know without my telling you that I am more than sorry to find myself in this shape. Of course, the only thing for me to do now is to take care of myself and get out of the hole as soon as possible. Dr. Read assures me that with care, I will overcome this condition.

look after his work and Len is doing first class at the warehouse.

I suggest that Goff be placed in formal charge of the office as I don't believe in leaving so many people without a head. This arrangement will enable me to keep up the work I am doing in connection with the Corn Flake business and look after the insurance and do some of the necessary things in connection with the Sanitas and Food Co. business.

If Spaulding comes, I believe I could use French to good advantage, provided you care to spare him.

I have a system of daily reports in operation at the office that enables me, without going into the details of the work, to keep things well in hand.

The matter of compensation is one that I will leave to your generosity.

I shall go to the office a little while this afternoon.

This letter is informative in a number of ways:

4. He is thirty years old, and should have grown beyond youthful pampering.


 

5. He seems to be a good organizer, apparently a talent that ran in the Kellogg line.


 

6. His actual job is not reflected in the Battle Creek City Directory. He apparently is responsible for several executive assignments, including insurance for the Sanitas Food Co. and the Battle Creek Sanitarium Co., as well as other executive duties. He speaks to W. K. Kellogg as though this were an acceptable arrangement among the several business firms in Battle Creek.

August 17, '08

Mr. W. K. Kellogg

If the matter could be arranged without serious inconvenience, I would very much appreciate a leave of absence during September. I have an invitation from my friend Dr. Prince to spend some time with him, perhaps repeating our Moose Head Lake, Me., trip of some years ago. I haven't been feeling at my best for some time, and on this account am somewhat anxious to make the trip, feeling sure that it will put me on my feet as it did before.

The judge advises me that official matters can be taken care of by the election of some other member of the Board as temporary Secretary and Treasurer.

French is familiar with the details of stock transfers, etc., and would be able to handle this without assistance.

I would arrange to be back in ample time to look after the October dividends.

I shall be grateful for anything you can do for me along the line of this request.

1. Here we see a definite attitude of "executive" privilege. Wilfred again does not consider it extraordinary to ask for the time off.


 

2. Again, his difficulties are mental. He has not "been feeling at his best for some little time." Again this letter, with the previous one, suggests a habit of pampering.


 

3. He is definitely in an important position with the corn flakes company. He is a member of the Board, and is handling stock issues, transfers, etc. He would be back in time to handle the October dividend.

Letters dated February 3, and August 12, 1909 show W. K. Kellogg on the road in El Paso, Texas, enroute from Birmingham, headed for Los Angeles, and in Stevensville, Montana. Wilfred is obviously in charge back home. He reports on plant operations, "Len told me this morning we were going to have a fine run today," and "Len worked all night on the new dryer." He reports also on a legal case then in court, promotions with "Sweetheart" pictures and "Funny Jungleland" responses, shipping quantities, and bank balances. In February they received orders for "three cars and 330 cases L.C.L." "Shipments will be seven cars and 225 cases L.C.L., or 3244 cases." They are behind "tonight about twenty-three cars." "Bank balance tonight, $31,475.63." "Sales for February 1st, 3178 cases. Output yesterday 3183 cases." The growth of the cereal business was phenomenal. In August "Sales for 11th were 2814 cases, making total sales so far this month 35,516, as against 34,261 same day last month." They were then waiting for orders to arrive from the west Coast and California on a new "Jungleland" promotion.
 

But all is not well; discontent is stirring within Wilfred. In a letter dated January 28, 1910 Wilfred expresses his deep regrets that he cannot agree with financial policies then set by W. K. Kellogg, and which vitally affect stock holders. He tenders his resignation. He would have informed W. K. personally, but the latter was in Havana, Cuba. He also expresses deep gratitude for taking "a green, inexperienced boy" together with all the "favors, both of a personal and business nature."
 

Here we have an indication of the high moral standards Wilfred set for himself and others. He does not like "shady" business practices, whatever they may have been. He does not specify.
 

We have no evidence of the reception W. K. Kellogg gave this news. We do not know if he persuaded Wilfred to continue with the corn flakes company, or if Wilfred departed. The City Directory listings suggest that he continued in Battle Creek executive positions until 1912 when the course of his life changed entirely, although he continued as "Secretary" of the Battle Creek Sanitarium until 1915.
 

A similar notice appeared in the Battle Creek Inquirer on the same day.
 

Wilfred Custer Kellogg of Battle Creek was one of the principals of a double wedding which was solemnized last evening at La Grange, Indiana (sic), when he was married to Miss Anna Kellogg. Miss Sarah Willmer of La Grange and Edward Van Bond of Dallas, Texas were the other bridal pair. The two young women have been close friends for many years, and have made their home during recent years with Miss Kellogg's brother-in-law and sister, Dr. and Mrs. William Samuel Sadler, of La Grange, at whose residence the double wedding was celebrated at 8 o'clock last evening. Miss Kellogg is the daughter of Smith M. Kellogg of Pomona, Cal. Mr. Kellogg and his bride will make their home at 64 Oaklawn avenue after Nov. 1. He is secretary and treasurer of the Battle Creek Optical company and secretary of the Battle Creek Sanitarium Company, Ltd. He is one of the city's most promising young business men, and everyone will be deeply interested in his marriage with one of Illinois' fairest daughters.

Those plans did not mature. Wilfred decided to live with the Sadler's and he continued to live with the Sadler's or in adjacent apartments until he died in 1956.
 

I searched all records in the Cook County Courthouse that pertained to the property at 56 South 6th Avenue in La Grange, for the period that the Sadler's lived there. I learned that William Sadler transferred the property to Wilfred on June 14, 1913. Lena financed the sale; Wilfred signed a trust deed to her. Then, on November 15, Wilfred sold the property to James F. Slapak, where Slapak's wife Wilhelmina set up a doctor's office. Refer to the tabulation.
 

Several questions arise as to the motivations behind these transactions. If Wilfred sold his properties in Battle Creek, why did he need Lena to finance him, except that he did not have sufficient equity to purchase the La Grange property outright, in spite of his positions, which certainly must have paid well. Why did Sadler not finance him, or at least Sadler and Lena? Wilfred does not show in either the 1912 or 1913 La Grange city directories, although Anna does as Mrs. Wilfred C. Kellogg? The Sadler household moved from La Grange in 1913. If the property transactions are indicative, Sadler and Lena must have moved out around June. Did Wilfred and Anna remain until November? Since Anna had lived with her sister from 1904, when the Sadlers entered medical school, it would seem that the sisters had a strong attachment to one another. Anna had become part of the Chautauqua circuit in 1907, and was thus a business component of Sadler's activities, as well as a family member. Did Sadler try to get Anna and Wilfred away from his household, and on to their own?
 

Not for long. Wilfred shows up in the Chicago city directory in 1915 as a manager at 32 N. State Street, Sadler's clinic operation, and at 2146 Lincoln Park West, the next Sadler address. Wilfred continued to be listed as the manager at 32 N. State St. until Sadler moved his operations to 533 Diversey Parkway in 1922, whereupon Wilfred became manager at that address. Wilfred and Anna continued to live with the Sadlers until Lena died in 1939, when they moved to 2756 N. Hampden Court, an apartment building directly to the rear of 533.
 

A curiosity in my search was the lack of a personal Wilfred listing for La Grange and for many years in the Chicago City Directory. He shows as manager at 32 N. State Street, probably because he was part of the Sadler business activity, but does not show in personal listings, although Anna does. There was a definite avoidance of the City Directory listings by Wilfred.
 

I inquired of several people who knew Wilfred. What kind of man was he? When I suggested that he might have been the "spiritual conduit" for The Urantia Papers I invariable met with laughter, not laughter of derision but of amusement. All considered it ludicrous that he was anything but a "good office man."
 

My first impression of him included a certain humility of manner and expression. He was definitely not an "extrovert." The expression "hard-nosed business man" in the terminology of the time was and is, in my opinion, totally inapplicable. He was indeed, "a gentleman."

During the reading process Mr. Kellogg might be observed occasionally passing by the door of the reader's sanctuary, but he never entered or indulged in frivolous conversation. His movements were very quiet and self-effacing. He seemed to be very conscious of the reader's concentration, making every effort to see that neither he nor others would break into it.

As I came to know him better I was greatly impressed with his respect for his fellow human beings and his desire to serve them, which, in no way detracted anything from his own sense of self-consciousness. I felt a "good man" truly applied to him.

Several attributes of character can be deduced from Wilfred's personal choices. He did not marry until he was thirty-six years old. Then he married a first cousin, one year his junior, who probably took pity on him. He lived with his mother until age thirty-five, one year before his departure from Battle Creek, certainly not unheard of, but definitely a retiring personality who did not feel a call to strike out on his own. He never had ambitions to make conquests, whether in artistic creative fields, in business, or with the fair sex. Environmental pressures made him uneasy; he needed "time off" to recuperate. By thirty-seven years of age he did not have sufficient personal funds to buy a home. He went to a sister-in-law and cousin, to help him, not to a bank or financing office. And even that became an aborted effort. His real estate ownership in La Grange did not last more than five months. Perhaps the family tried to get him to "be a man," to exert some self initiative. If so, they failed. He never did exhibit self ambitions, even to the end of his life, more than as an office "manager," which probably was a personal favor by Sadler. He lived with the Sadler's until circumstances forced him out of that household when he was sixty-four years old.
 

Sadler described the Sleeping Subject as "a hard-boiled business man, member of the board of trade and stock exchange." Wilfred most definitely was not "a hard-boiled businessman." He declined to join his uncle in "hard-boiled" business decisions. Wilfred was never a member of the Chicago Board of Trade, nor was he stock broker, although he handled the issue and transfer of stock for his uncle, an executive position, not a stock trade position. Wilfred could not have been the Sleeping Subject on these grounds.
 

Sadler also described the Sleeping Subject as "approaching middle age." In 1908 Wilfred was thirty-two years old. We do not apply the descriptive phrase "middle age" to anyone forty years of age or less. Usually it is reserved for someone fifty or older. In 1908 Wilfred was not even "approaching" middle age. Therefore Wilfred could not have been the Sleeping Subject on those grounds.
 

Wilfred was busy in Battle Creek in 1908, the year Sadler first met the Sleeping Subject. He lived with his mother, and was manager of the Sales Department of the Battle Creek Sanitarium Company. He was not then a stock broker, or in any other business activity in Chicago or La Grange, nor did he live in Chicago or La Grange. Wilfred could not have been the Sleeping Subject on those grounds.
 

For his book, Urantia, Martin Gardner failed to do the research necessary to demonstrate these several items which deny Wilfred as the Sleeping Subject. He based his conclusions mostly on rumor and speculation, a pathetic choice for one with his reputation. Furthermore, Gardner had other information available which showed that Wilfred could not have been the Sleeping Subject.
 

In a letter dated October 21, 1942 Loose states that, at one time, there were seventeen Contact Commissioners, those who dealt directly with the Sleeping Subject in the early days. They would have included Sadler and his family, together with the Kellogg's, medical and psychological consultants, magicians to test the methods by which the Sleeping Subject might have performed some the observed feats, or others who might shed light on the strange behavior of the man during the "night vigils." In that letter Loose states about the wife of the Sleeping Subject:
 

". . . the phone was direct from her to Sadler's home phone and it lay between Christy and the Kelloggs to go through the phone lists of the Contact Commissioners and call them and tell them to hurry to the home of the instrument."
 

The wife of the Sleeping Subject would be awakened by his strange behavior, whereupon she would call the Sadlers, regardless of the time of night. William Sadler and the Sleeping Subject felt the episodes were so important to understand his "affliction" they were willing to pay the phone company for a direct tie line to Sadler's phone.
 

A group of people numbering more than four or five certainly must have been involved in observation of the Sleeping Subject during these episodes. One can remember four or five people out of one's head. If Anna and Wilfred Kellogg shared the call responsibility with Christy, Sadler's adopted daughter and stenographer for the night sessions, the list must have included at least ten or twelve, or perhaps more, people. The knowledge that so many people were willing to arise from their beds in the middle of the night to attend these unusual sessions is highly intriguing.
 

Furthermore, there was an urgency about getting to the home of the Sleeping Subject. The task of making telephone contact with the many "Contact Commissioners" was not left to one person. The job was shared to save time.
 

Obviously, Wilfred could not have been the Sleeping Subject if he were calling other people to hurry to the home of the Sleeping Subject. But Gardner chose to totally ignore this item of information, nor did he inform his readers about it. He censored vital information to avoid exposing his theory.
 

Furthermore, Sadler said the lease of the Sleeping Subject expired that fall, the fall of 1908, and that he moved into an apartment "in the same block." Here Sadler clearly distinguishes the physical locations of the Sleeping Subject outside the household locations of the Sadlers. Wilfred, when he came to La Grange in 1912, actually lived with the Sadlers, in their house, not in an apartment in the same block. Wilfred could not have been the Sleeping Subject on those grounds.