Hippolyte Dreyfus heard of the Bahá'í Faith from May Bolles in Paris and soon after accepted it. [AB81–2]
• He was designated by Shoghi Effendi the `first Frenchman to embrace the Faith'. [GPB259]
• He was the first European Bahá'í to visit Iran. [AB81]
• After his marriage to Laura Clifford Barney they adopted the surname Dreyfus-Barney. [AB81]

Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl-i-Gulpáygání arrived in North America. [BFA2:XV]
• Laura Barney financed the visit of Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl to the United States in 1901-04 in order to propagate the Faith and to help publish the translation of his Ḥojaj al-bahīya (Cairo, 1342/1925; tr. Ali-Kuli Khan as The Bahá'í Proofs, New York, 1902; 2nd ed., ed. J. R. I. Cole, Wilmette, Ill., 1983) [Wikipedia, Laura Clifford Barney.]
• See BFA2:80–7 and BW9:855–860 for accounts of his visit.
• See Wikipedia, Green Acre and Wikipedia, Mary Hanford Ford for accounts of Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl at Green Acre.
• Mirza Ahmad Sohrab was sent to assist him. Sohrab remained and worked at the Iranian Consulate until 1912 and during this time he translated much of the correspondence between 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the Western believers. At the conclusion of the American tour he returned to the Holy Land. After the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá he rejected the authority of Shoghi Effendi and was expelled. [APD155]
• [LDNW17] says he was accompanied by Ali-Kuli Kahn.

Laura Clifford Barney made a number of extended visits to `Akká during this period. She brought with her questions to ask `Abdu'l-Bahá and she compiled His responses. These answers were approved by Him and published in the book Some Answered Questions. [AB81–2; BFA2:238]
• For more complete history of the making of Some Answered Questions see "Some Answered Questions" and Its Compiler by Baharieh Rouhani Ma'ani published in Lights of Irfán vol. 18 p425-452.
• See AB81–2 for information about Laura Clifford Barney.
• The translator during this period was Dr Yúnis Afrukhtih (Yúnis Khán), whose memoirs, translated in English as Memories of Nine Years in Akka, make a valuable contribution to the history of the Faith. [BW12:679–81; M9YA341-345]

Hippolyte Dreyfus, Marianne Jerard and Laura Barney visited Russian Turkistan and Iran, specifically Tabriz, Máh-Kú ,and Ishqabad. While in Iran, they witnessed the disturbances associated with the constitutional revolution, which had reached its climax that summer. [BFA2:XVI]
• They were the first Western Bahá'ís to do so. [For72; BFA2:XVI; Some Answered Questions" and Its Compiler by Baharieh Rouhani Ma'ani published in Lights of Irfan, 18, pages 444; Prezi]

`Abdu'l-Bahá started to move His family to the house that He had designed and built in the German colony at the foot of Mount Carmel in Haifa. [BBD107; DH145]
• Laura Clifford Barney helped to purchase the land for the house and to pay for its construction. [DH145]
• See Uplifting Words for photos and a history of the house.
• Some members of the family occupied the house as early as February 1907, if not before. [DH145; GBF56]

The book Some Answered Questions; Collected and Translated from the Persian of Abdu'l-Baha was published simultaneously in Great Britain in English (Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co in London) and was translated into French by Hippolyte Dreyfus under the title Les Leçons de Saint Jean-d'Acre (Ernest Leroux in Paris) and the Persian edition (Al-Núru'l-Abhá fi Mufavi∂áti-'Abdu'l-Bahá)(The Light of Bahá Shining in Discourse with 'Abdu'l-Bahá and had the sub-title Talks During Luncheon ( E.J. Brill in Holland). [AB82; BBD212–13; BFA2:238; ABF8; M9YA 314-219, 340-345; LB108-117]
• See Some Answered Questions" and Its Compiler by Baharieh Rouhani Ma'ani published in Lights of Irfan, 18, pages 425-452. Some details:
  • Laura Barney's first pilgrimage to met 'Abdu'l-Bahá was in 1900. As with other Western pilgrims the practice was to travel to Cairo and from there, after resting from the long travel and permission had been granted, to make the final leg of the journey to the Holy Land. Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl help prepare the visitors for the experience. He became her beloved teacher and friend.
  • Initially she made notes herself for her personal study but decided to make His answers available to others. During her third visit in 1904, when Western visitors were limited because 'Abdu'l-Bahá had been re-incarcerated, she asked permission to bring Ethel Rosenberg as stenographer. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's answers were also recorded in Persian. Mírzá Munír, the son of Mírzá Muhammad-Qulí, the faithful half-brother of Bahá'u'lláh, was given this task. These Persian transcripts were corrected by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, revised and then verified again by HIm and became the basis for the publications that were to follow. Due to this diligence the book can be considered as Bahá'í scripture. [M9YA 340-345; BFA2p238]
  • During this extended visit (winter 1904-1905) the visitors stayed with the Family in the house of 'Abdu'lláh Páshá. Youness Khán Afroukhteh served as interpreter as well as His daughters Rouha Khánum and Munavar Khánum when no men could be present and after Afroukhteh's departure for Europe.

Having moved all His family to Haifa, `Abdu'l-Bahá Himself moved from the House of `Abdu'lláh Páshá to His new home at 7 Haparsim (Persian) Street, Haifa. [BBD13, 107; DH145]
• Laura Barney helped with the purchase of the land and with the plans. [Prezi]

After four and half days of travel over 2500 kilometres L'Orénoque arrived in Marseilles, France's major port on the Mediterranean. 'Abdu'l-Bahá was met by Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney who had recently married (28 April). He and his wife would be 'Abdu'l-Bahá's constant companions in France and would later be in His company in England and the eastern United States. They had already met 'Abdu'l-Baha in Palestine and Laura stayed there between 1904 and 1906. [ABF8]
• He stayed at the Hôtel Louvre de la Paix at 53, la Canebière (today a C&A department store). [ABF9]
• Thus began His first trip to France. It lasted 4 days.

In the evening in the home of Hippolyte and Laura Dreyfus Barney at 15 Rue Greuze 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave His last talk in Paris for this trip. [PT168-172; ABF240-243; SoW Vol 2 No 16 December 31, 1911 p6]
• 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke about the future of Paris. He said that He could see the day when Paris is "bathed in the light of the Holy Spirit". [SYH48]

The defection of Dr Amín Faríd, (b. 1882, d. 1953)`Abdu'l-Bahá's translator while in America, became known publicly. His mother was a sister of Munirih Khanum, wife of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. [CB341, AB407]
• For his activities against `Abdu'l-Bahá see AB230, 402, 407–9.
• Dr. Aminu'lláh Faríd travelled to Europe in defiance of the wishes of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. In the absence of Lady Blomfield in London, a meeting at the Kingsway Hall had been arranged for him. Dr Lutfu'lláh prevented Dr Farid from speaking. Mason Remey and George Latimer were in London at the time. 'Abdu'l-Bahá also sent Dr Habibu'lláh Khudákhsh (later called Dr Mu'ayyad) and 'Azízu'lláh Bahádur to go to Europe to counter his activities. They were in Stuttgart when the war broke out. He recalled all four to the Holy Land (Sep-Oct). [AB407-409; Concerning Covenant-breakers: Excerpt by 'Abdu'l-Bahá translated by Ahang Rabbani] iiiii
• Laura and Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney were dispatched to the United States where Mrs. Chevalier had been acting as Dr. Farid's emissary. [AB408]
• See the message from Shoghi Effendi in MBW53-54.
• For a description of his activities as a young man in 'Akká see M9YA108.

  When Aminu'llah Farid (Ameen Ullah Fareed) left the United States in 1913, and settled in Cairo as he had been instructed by 'Abdul'-Bahá. (He had displeased Him during the western journey by appealing to the wealthier American Bahá'ís for money. He had been rebuked and had apologized three times but on the fourth instance he was sent away. 'Abdu'l-Bahá revealed that Fareed had been soliciting funds from visitors to Haifa to build a hospital on Mount Carmel. When built, he lived in it himself and later rented it. While in North America he obtained yet more money claiming that he had to mortgage the hospital.) On the 24th of November 1913 he married a rich American, Gladys Elaine Hoerber of Chicago, whom he had presumably met while he was studying homeopathic medicine in Chicago.

  He travelled from Egypt to Europe and on the 21st of June, 1914 he arrived in London with his wife, his mother Radiyyih Khánum, his sister Farhangíz and her husband, Sydney Sprague and their infant son. The next day a telegram arrived from 'Abdu'l-Bahá expelling Fareed and his family from the Bahá'í community. Mason Ramey and George Latimer were in London at the time en route to Haifa. They assisted the community in understanding the implications. Both families were refused entry to a Unity Feast that had been scheduled. Fareed's father, Mírzá Asadu'lláh and his maternal uncle, Sayyid Yahyá arrived in London with a story that he had consulted with 'Abdu'l-Bahá about Fareed's situation and had come to an agreement, but that he had lost the letters from 'Abdu'l-Bahá that he had brought with him addressed to the Bahá'í community. It was soon evident that Asadu'lláh had sided with his son in the matter. Mírzá Asadu'lláh Isfahaní, his son Fareed, as well as his daughter Farhangíz and her husband, Sydney Spraque, were all prohibited from partaking in the Bahá'í community. They associated with the New Thought and psychic community in London teaching their own version of the Bahá'í faith and spiritual practice. They left Britain for America arriving from Liverpool on the 14th of October, 1915 and finally settled in Los Angeles where Sprague took up a career as writer of musical plays, Mirza Asadu'llah, his daughter Farhangiz Sprague and son Fareed began lecturing on religion and Iranian culture. Fareed also had a medical practice.

  [LGHC208; The Bahá'í Community of the British Isles 1844-1963 p288-293]

The book was in high demand and the Society had sold all its copies so they asked Laura Barney for permission for a second publishing. She took the opportunity to make some corrections and added "one lesson". She asked that the copyright of the book be put in her name in the United States. [LB174-175]

Between the years of 1920 to 1922 they stayed in many cities in China including Chengdu.

A new edition of Some Answered Questions was published by the Bahá'í Publishing Committee which resulted in some discussion with Laura Dreyfus Barney. At some point she had given the copyright to the Bahá'í Publishing Committee but she expected to be consulted on matters related to the book. She said that she did not consider Some Answered Questions "my book" but that "it is in my trust".

When she received a copy of the new edition in March she made suggestions about the Introduction of the last printing of the book as she did not feel the length and character of the Introduction did not "harmonize" with the text that followed and they did not make any point about the authenticity of the material with was equivalent to a Tablet that had been signed and sealed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. She clarified that when posing questions and obtaining the answers she had not wished to trust her notes and that was why at least four people were present during the sessions. She also clarified that all of the talks had taken place in Akka, not in Haifa. Three hundred copies if the book had been printed and it would have been costly to eliminate the Introduction and the dust jacket so a promise was made to include her suggestions on subsequent printings. [LB322-327]

This was probably about the 8th edition of Some Answered Questions in English. Subsequent editions were done in 1964, 1968, 1970, 1971 and in 2014 by the Bahá'í World Centre. [BEL3.117-3.130]

• It had been published in Germany in 1959, the first nine chapters had been published in Korean in 1960 and in Italian by the National Spiritual Assembly of Italy and Switzerland in 1961. [LB236]

Laura Clifford Dreyfus-Barney, (b. 30 Nov 1879, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, USA) passed away in Paris. [BW16:296]
• For her obituary see BW16:535–8.
• She was buried at Cimetiere de Passy, Paris, City of Paris, Île-de-France, France.
• She is best known for having compiled the Bahá'í text Some Answered Questions from her interviews with `Abdu'l-Bahá during her visit to Akka between 1904 and 1906. [Wikipedia]
• See Laura Barney's Discipleship to 'Abdu'l-Bahá: Tracing a Theological Flow from the Middle East to the United States, 1900–1916 by Layli Maria Miron in The Journal of Bahá'í Studies 28.1-2 2018.
• She was the only Western woman to have been designated as "Amatu'l-Bahá" (Handmaid of Bahá) by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. [Some Answered Questions" and Its Compiler by Baharieh Rouhani Ma'ani published in Lights of Irfan, 18, pages 445; M9YA314]
• At the end of the war she placed her faith in the League of Nations and represented the International Council of Women in that body, playing an important role in cultural exchange. She was the only woman named by the League Council to sit on the Sub-Committee of experts on Education, a post which she held for many years, beginning in 1926. On 23 July 1925 she was appointed Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur. In that same year she formed under the aegis of the League of Nations the 'Liaison Committee of Major International Organizations to promote through Education better Understanding between Peoples and Classes' and became a permanent member of the committee as well as its liaison officer. In 1934 she became a member of the Advisory Committee of the League of Nations on Teaching; she was also a member of the French Committee on Intellectual Co-operation. [BW15p537]
• See A Glimpse into the Life of Laura Dreyfus-Barney by Mona Khademi for a brief biography of Laura Barney and her family.
• My Interview with Laura Dreyfus-Barney by Jack McLean (1967)
• See The Life of Laura Barney by Mona Khademi published by George Ronald in 2022.
  • See page 67-71 for an account of her recording of the "table talks" of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
  • See page399 for her listing in Who's Who in America.

The publication of the new, extensively retranslated edition, of Some Answered Questions. It is a collection of transcriptions of table talks given by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 'Akká between 1904 and 1906 in response to questions posed by Laura Dreyfus-Barney. It was first published in 1908.

In the Foreword to this edition the Universal House of Justice explained:

The main objective of this retranslation has been to better represent the substance and the style of the original, in particular by capturing more clearly the subtleties of 'Abdu'l‑Bahá's explanations, approximating more closely a style that is at once conversational and elevated, and by rendering more consistently the philosophical terms used throughout the text. While not bound by the original translation, this version nevertheless strives to retain many of its elegant expressions and felicitous turns of phrase. [SAQxvi]
• For a Spanish translation, Contestación A Unas Preguntas of the 1994 edition
• Some Answered Questions 1990 edition.
• Some Answered Questions: Study Outline compiled by Brett Zamir.iiiii
• See the message from the Universal House of Justice dated 21 February 2016 addressed to an individual in response to a question regarding evolution.