‘Abdu’l-Bahá with the Family of Edward (‘Saffa’) and Carrie (‘Vaffa’) Kinney in New York

:Kinney, Edward (1863-1950) and Carrie (1878-1959) Wealthy New York Bahá’ís. Edward, a musician, was introduced to the Bahá’í Faith by Howard MacNutt in the winter of 1895 and wrote to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá confirming his belief the same night. Carrie became a Bahá’í shortly afterwards. In 1907 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked the Kinneys to go to Egypt to help Zia Bagdadi establish the first tuberculosis hospital in Alexandria. On their return to New York their large home at 780 West End Avenue became a meeting place for Bahá’ís. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave His first talk in America here on April 11, 1912. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá named Edward ‘Saffa’ (serenity) and Carrie ‘Vaffa’ (certitude). See O.Z. Whitehead, Some Early Bahá’ís of the West, pp. 43-53; Bahá’í World, vol. 12, pp. 677-9 and Bahá’í World, vol. 13, pp. 864-5. —Mahmud’s Diary, 444.