SKETCHES OF MINISTERS.
"Insignificant as the denomination of Universalists may now appear
in the eyes of the world, it is not to be doubted that the time is
coming when it will occupy in this country, and throughout all
Christendom, a much more commanding position, and men will ask for
the beginning of what they shall then see, and love to read the
story of our present struggles and victories."--REV. T. J. SAWYER, D. D.
It is within the first century of our national republic, just passed,
that this great faith in the universality of God's love and of the
work of Christian salvation with man, has gained a prominence in the
churches which it had not known since the earlier times of
Christianity. It is of the last half century, in connection with the
history of this faith, however, that I would more particularly speak,
as it is within this period that the work of its promulgation in our
own country has been especially realized, its public advocates
multiplied, and their ministries extended in many of the States of our
Union. Its publications and other educational forces have increased,
and, as we have seen, it has identified itself with some of the most
significant reforms of the age. Many of its friends and
representatives have been among the worthy and excellent of the times
in which they have lived, and not a few of its public advocates
deserve to be honorably and thankfully remembered in the present and
the future for the contributions they have made to the progress of the
church in the knowledge of Christian truth and the realization and
enjoyment of the Christian life. It is one of the enjoyments connected
with the preparation of these pages, that the writer may call them up
in memory and speak of them as they appear to him, and note some of
their characteristics, and pay them that tribute of respect and honor
which they so justly merit.
Though others may appear as their successors in the same high calling,
they can scarcely be more faithful or effective in their labors than
have these earnest defenders of the Abrahamic faith who have been
foremost in its promulgation during the past generation. If many of
them now rest from their labors, their works surely follow them, and
their names deserve tender and thankful remembrance by their survivors
in the church for whose prosperity and honor they so hopefully,
bravely, and faithfully taught and wrought.
It should be understood that, in the succeeding sketches of ministers,
it is not the intent of the writer to present anything like a full
record of all who have faithfully served in this capacity in our
country during the time of our church history comprehended in these
pages. A complete biographical encyclopædia cannot be compassed in so
limited a space. It is from his own particular standpoint of
observation and recollection that the writer presents his testimony.
Furthermore, it is mainly to those now departed that these references
are made.
The BALLOUS have been conspicuous in this conflict of religious
opinions during the present century. Foremost among the family of
preachers, most of whom have departed, stands acknowledged Hosea the
elder, one of the strongest theologians of the past or present in New
England. He lived through half the present century, being nearly
thirty years old when he entered it, and was vigorous to the last at
the age of eighty-one. The statement of his life-history is not a new
one now. The four ample volumes containing it, by Dr. Whittemore, have
been extensively read, and will be for years to come. But having known
and revered him, it is an unspeakable pleasure to the writer to state
his impressions of the man and the preacher.
HOSEA BALLOU (a native of Richmond, N. H.), came from the home of
a worthy Baptist clergyman, whose means of living and supporting a
large family were small. He had but meagre opportunities for
education, but employed what he had to the best advantage, and became
a school-teacher in early manhood. He joined the Baptist Church when
quite young, but afterwards grew out of its theology, and became
convinced of the truth of Universalism. Discouraged in his first
attempts as a public speaker, he grew more confident, and soon
attracted much attention, wherever he appeared, as an advocate of his
faith. His pastorates were in Barnard, Vt., Portsmouth, N. H., Salem
and Boston, Mass. He died in the last-named city, June 7, 1852, after
a pastorate of more than thirty years. His two sons, Hosea F., of
Vermont, and Massena B., of Stoughton, Mass., have served in the
ministry many years.
Mr. Ballou was gifted with great logical clearness, aptness, and
force. His preaching was plain, scriptural, and often fervent, and no
one could bring home to the hearer the great themes of the Divine
Fatherhood and Human Brotherhood more effectively than he. Wakeful
indeed must be the theological opponent who could evade the force of
his logic. He employed the Socratic method, by drawing the objector
out, so that his own statements would confound or confute him. Many
valiant ones of the opposite faith were there who could readily assail
and denounce his doctrines, where his replies could not reach them,
but who would be very sure to keep at a respectful distance from that
"sword of the Spirit" which he wielded with such consummate skill.
Of the published works of Mr. Ballou, none have evinced more mental
clearness and vigor than his volume on "Atonement," issued in
1805.[37] Its plainness and adaptedness to the common reader, its
sharp logic, and above all its apt and convincing appeals to the
Scriptures, render it a timely helper everywhere and always, in the
discussion of the theologies which have assumed the Christian name,
and which are now being so closely scrutinized. Every reader and
student of theology understands something of the old theory of
Atonement so long dominant in the Christian Church, so exceedingly
perplexing to honest and independent inquirers, so hard to be
vindicated by its ablest advocates, and so surely sowing the seeds of
scepticism and infidelity in many minds. Volume after volume has
appeared in defence and attempted illustration of it. Sin an infinite
evil, being a violation of infinite law, and therefore the law
requiring an infinite sacrifice, short of which no atonement could be
made; the transgression of Adam bringing the whole human race into the
same situation of sin and misery, and subjecting them all to the
infinite penalty of an infinite law, which they had violated in their
parent before they individually existed. In view of this penalty,
which was endless suffering, God himself, to placate his own wrath
against the delinquents, assumed a body of flesh and blood, and
suffered the penalty of the law by death,--not that God himself
actually died, but the human body in which he came,--this is deemed
the infinite sacrifice by which it is possible for a part of mankind
to be saved. "Divines of the greatest ability," writes Mr. Ballou,
"and of the first rank among the _literati_, have drained the last
faculty of invention in plodding through the dark region of
metaphysics to bring up a Samuel to explain the solecism of
_satisfying an infinite dissatisfaction_."
Now let us note how the author of "Atonement" quietly sets forth this
absurdity. It is all comprehended in a single page of the volume:--
"We will state it as it is often stated by those who believe it,
which is by the likeness of debt and credit. The sinner owed a debt
to Divine Justice, which he was unable to discharge; the Divine
Being cannot, consistently with his honor, dispense with the pay,
but says, 'I must have what is my just due;' but as the debtor has
not ability to pay the smallest fraction, Divine Wisdom lays a deep,
concerted, mysterious plan for the debt to be discharged. And how
was it? Why, for God to pay it himself!
"Our neighbor owes us a hundred pounds; time of payment comes, and
we make a demand for our dues. Says our neighbor, 'My misfortunes
have been such that I am not the possessor of the smallest fraction
of property in the world; and as much as I owe you I am worse than
nothing.' I declare to him positively that I will not lose so much
as a fraction of the interest, and leave him. A friend calls, and
asks me how I succeeded in obtaining my dues of my neighbor. I
reply, 'My neighbor is not, nor will he ever be, able to pay me any
part of my demand.' My friend says he is sorry that I should lose my
debt. I answer, 'I shall not lose it. I have very fortunately, in my
meditations on the subject, thought of a method by which I can avail
myself of the whole, to my full satisfaction; and I think it is a
method which no person in the world but myself could ever have
discovered.' My friend is curious and impatient to know the secret,
never before found out. The reader may guess his confusion on my
telling him, 'that as I have that sum already by me, I am now going
to pay up the obligation before the interest is any larger!' This
has been called the Gospel plan, which contains the depths of
infinite wisdom."
What could be plainer, and how could the justness of this
representation be questioned? Questioned it was, of course, not by any
attempt at elaborate examination and refutation, but by a sermon now
and then given out from some Orthodox pulpit, by some honest minister,
entrenched behind the prejudices of his hearers, and altogether
disinclined to meet the whole question in the broadest daylight of
investigation. Out of this plain exposition, and others like it, since
made, have come the examinations, and statements, and restatements,
and amendments, and improvements of the orthodox doctrine of
Atonement, which are keeping astir at this hour the pulpits and
schools of theology all over the land and across the seas.
Many are the anecdotes of Mr. Ballou given in the biographies already
before the public. Were we to attempt a selection, we should be at a
loss where to begin. We have one in mind, given us by Rev. Moses
Ballou, which we have never seen in our religious journals. A Mr.
Buckman, a relative of Mr. Ballou, had taken it upon him as a matter
of conscience, with very little mental preparation, to be a preacher.
He had a good deal of self-assurance, and, withal, strong love of
approbation. Being in company with Mr. Ballou, at one time, he was
anxious to get an approving word from him, and said, "Brother Ballou,
I am awfully tried with myself." "Ah!" said Mr. Ballou, "Why so? What
is the trouble?" "Why," said Mr. Buckman, "it is this: to think that I
should ever try to preach, and know so little. Now, what do you think
about it?" "Why," said Mr. Ballou, hesitating a little, "if you really
want to know my mind, I think--_that--if you knew a little more, you
would never try again_!"
How welcome was he at the great meetings of the church,--conferences,
associations, conventions. He was usually called upon to give the
discourse at the close of the meeting. And it was often a feast to
hear him, as he would dwell upon the excellency of the divine
attributes, the "exceeding great and precious promises," and the plain
and reasonable precepts of the gospel. A prophetic word of good cheer
would be spoken by him at such times. He would see, and make others
see, the clouds receding, and the clear day opening in the blue and
golden sky beyond. However acceptably others had preached before him,
the expectation was that somehow his discoursing would give finish and
sanction to them all. And it was so. At Barre, Vt., where the General
Convention met in 1831, excellent discourses were delivered by able
ministers present, and so rich and varied were the topics dwelt upon,
that the query was somewhat humorously proposed, "What will Father
Ballou have to say after all this?" Judge of our interest and delight
when the modest man arose, and in the most quiet way proposed for his
text the words of Elihu, in Job, xxxvi. 2: "Suffer me a little, and I
will show thee that I have yet to speak on God's behalf." And such a
vindication of the character of the gracious Father of all in face of
the aspersions cast upon it by his weak and erring children! It was
simply electrifying.
The late Rev. Theodore Clapp, D. D., of New Orleans, and a minister in
the Unitarian Church, once related that, being present in a gathering
of Unitarian clergymen in Boston, the conversation turned on the
changes which had been effected in the theology of New England, and
the question who, of all her great divines, had wrought the most and
greatest changes. Of course Channing had the most advocates; but there
were some who named Edwards, Emmons, Hopkins, and other doctors of the
Orthodox Schools. At last Dr. Clapp, who had remained silent, was
appealed to. "Gentlemen," said he, "you have not yet named the man!"
"What!" replied all in astonishment, "not named him!" "No, gentlemen,
you have not yet named him." "Why, who can it be? We have named every
preacher of eminence in New England." "And yet, gentlemen, you have
not named _the_ man." "Well, who do you say he is?" With great
impressiveness, Mr. Clapp uttered the name. "Hosea Ballou has effected
more and greater changes in the theological opinions of the people of
New England, than any man dead or living." There was silence for a
time, and the discussion was not renewed.[38]
Mr. Ballou was a vigorous writer. His "Treatise on the Atonement,"
"Notes on the Parables," and volumes of sermons, are among his best
offerings to the public. The first-named book ought to be read
throughout Christendom. He was through his professional life a welcome
contributor to the periodicals of the church. He has stood and will
continue to stand high. His imposing statue at Mount Auburn will look
out upon generations mentally and spiritually blest through his
truthful ministries.
The eldest son of Mr. Ballou, Rev. HOSEA FAXON BALLOU, was born in
Dana, Mass., April 4, 1799, and died in Wilmington, Vt., May 20, 1881.
At the age of thirty he became desirous of entering the ministry, but
hesitated from anxiety as to the support of his growing family. He
began the study of theology, however, and in 1832, after a few months
with Rev. Benjamin Whittemore, preached with success three times in
the vicinity of Boston, and was called to Whitingham, Vt. He was
ordained at Boston, June 30, 1833. After a pastorate of nearly
twenty-five years at Whitingham he went to Wilmington, where he was
pastor until, in 1872, the infirmities of age led him to abandon the
pulpit, after a ministry of forty years without the loss of a single
Sunday. In person Mr. Ballou was tall, erect, and strong, bearing a
marked resemblance to his distinguished father in face and form as
well as in mental characteristics. His sermons evinced a high order of
intellect and cultivation. During the last seventeen years of his
residence in Whitingham, he held the office of town clerk, and in
Wilmington was twice elected to the Constitutional Convention and once
to the State Legislature. He was President of the Wilmington Savings
Bank for seven years before his death, and occupied many other
positions of honor and trust. He reared a large family of children,
and it has been said of him, in truth we may believe, that during the
past fifty years no man in Southern Vermont exerted so wide an
influence over religious opinions.
Another son of Mr. Ballou, MASSENA B. BALLOU, was pastor of the
Universalist Church in Stoughton, Mass., for twenty-five years, and
now resides in that town, at an advanced age.
An elder brother of Hosea was Rev. DAVID BALLOU, of Munroe, Mass.,
a man of remarkable acuteness as a reasoner, and quite as sound a
theologian as the more distinguished one just noticed, but whose
success as a preacher was much less, because of the want of that ease
and fluency in the delivery of his discourses which his brother
possessed. But those who knew him well have borne witness to the
excellence of his character and his great ability as an expounder of
the Word of the Gospel.
His son, Rev. MOSES BALLOU, held a prominent place in our church as
one of its talented ministers, and as a writer of more than ordinary
ability. He was born in Munroe, Mass., March 24, 1811. Educated at the
academy at Brattleboro, Vt., he began preaching at the age of
twenty-two. One of his earliest charges was at Bath, N. H. He was
subsequently settled at Portsmouth, where he had pastorates twice. He
had charge of the churches at Bridgeport, Hartford, and New Haven,
Conn., and in later years removed to New York city, where he was
pastor of the Bleecker Street Church. He then came to Philadelphia,
and took charge of the Church of the Restoration. Failing in health,
he gave up his work in that city, and removed to Atco, N. J. His
friends there erected for him a small church edifice, where he held
service when able so to do. He died in Philadelphia, May 19, 1879.
He was the author of two books,--one the "Memorial of Rev. Merritt
Sanford;" the other, "The Divine Character Vindicated," a review of
Rev. Edward Beecher's work, entitled "The Conflict of Ages." This
last-named volume indicates the masterly mental strength of the man.
Dr. Beecher himself, we are informed, acknowledged it to have been the
ablest of any reply made to his work. It has never yet been read by
Universalists as it deserves to be. Mr. Ballou was not only a strong
and logical writer, but an earnest and eloquent preacher. Dr. T. B.
Thayer writes of him:--
"In his best days, when in the vigor of his manhood, physically and
mentally, few men could hold a thoughtful and intellectual audience
to closer attention than he; and even those who differed from him
theologically acknowledged the ability with which he maintained his
positions, and were little disposed to enter the lists of
controversial argument against them. And at times when the great
truths of the Gospel seemed, in the midst of his speaking, to dawn
upon him in new and larger revelation, he would break into speech
that thrilled his hearers, and lifted them for a space into the
fellowship of the angels.
"He knew for a good while that the end was approaching, and he was
ready. Death was to him only the door that opened into the new
immortal life, which was almost as presently real to him as the life
he was living here. And when, at the last, his life-long friend,
Rev. James Shrigley, said good-bye to him, he exclaimed, 'Why say
good-bye, when we shall meet again to-morrow?'"
[Illustration: H. Ballou 2d.
From a Dag.
H. W. Smith Sc.
J. H. Daniels Pr.]
Of all the worthies in this company of church leaders of which we are
speaking, not one of them is entitled to a higher place than HOSEA
BALLOU, D. D., or "2d," as he was called before the doctorate was
conferred upon him. A rare man was he, a clear-headed and closely
logical thinker, an untiring student, one of the soundest of
preachers, and humblest and noblest of men. We have no fear of using
language too strong in our statement of his character, its
pre-eminence and worth. An editor of a volume of his discourses has
given it, on the title-page, from Laman Blanchard:--
"His thoughts were as a pyramid up-piled,
On whose far top an angel sat and smiled,
Yet in his heart was he a simple child."
He was of Guilford, Vt., born there in 1796. His parents were
Baptists, but the thoughtful and studious boy, before the age of
nineteen, had embraced Universalism. He began early the study of Latin
and Greek, and gave much attention in later days to ecclesiastical
history. He was pastor in Stafford, Conn., and in Roxbury and Medford,
Mass. He was for some years one of the editors of the "Universalist
Magazine," and afterwards of the "Quarterly," a publication which
under his supervision was a most creditable addition to the literature
of the Christian Church. His most valuable contribution to this
literature is his "Ancient History of Universalism," the result of
long and patient research in a new field of inquiry, and which proved
to be a work of acknowledged merit. It settled at once and for all
time the loose statement that Universalism was a new doctrine, not
known to any extent in olden times. Some of the brightest lights in
the Christian Church are recognized as its early advocates. Harvard
University, of which he was for some years a trustee, conferred upon
him its honorary degree of D. D.; and Tufts College, for which he had
anxiously pleaded and diligently labored, elected him her first
president. "His scholarship," writes another, "was not only general
and varied, but exact in details, and frequently astonishing by its
minute acquaintance with things and events out of the ordinary
channels of information; and his knowledge was so unostentatiously
held, and kindly and modestly imparted, that it required special
inquiry to elicit it, and seemed but natural to him. His gentle
manners and readiness to impart information, and his mild and loving
spirit, won for him the esteem of all who became acquainted with him,
so that their admiration of the scholar and teacher were often lost in
their affection for the friend."
Two brothers of Dr. Ballou, LEVI and WILLIAM S., were for years
preachers and pastors in New England. William resided in the West for
a time, where he died in 1865. Levi was pastor of the Universalist
Church in North Orange, Mass., for nineteen years. Clear-minded,
gentle, and yet forcible men were they, making good proof of their
ministry.
Rev. EDWARD TURNER was for years one of the ablest ministers in the
Universalist Church. He was born in Medfield, Mass., July 28, 1776,
and was in early life sent to the school of the celebrated Hannah
Adams and her sister. In 1786 his family removed to Sturbridge, Mass.,
and in his seventeenth year he was at Leicester Academy. He was
educated under "orthodox" influence, and used to say that he "held the
minister in such fearful reverence that he would jump over the wall to
hide himself if he saw that he must meet him on the road." The towns
in the section of Worcester County in which he lived were among those
where Universalism was first preached. Oxford, especially, was one of
its strongholds, the first Convention having met there when he was ten
years old. In such a neighborhood he could not have lived long without
hearing something of the "strange doctrine," but all that is known is,
that he is said to have been a Universalist as early as his sixteenth
or seventeenth year. He began to preach in 1798, when, at the age of
twenty-two, he preached his first sermon at Bennington, Vt. He first
appears in the public records of the Universalists in 1800, when it is
stated that a Letter of License was given him by the General
Convention. From this time until 1824 his name appears in the records
nearly every year. He is mentioned in the records of the Convention
for 1803 as of Sturbridge and also of Charlton, from which it is
inferred that both these towns had societies of which he was pastor.
In 1809 he removed to Salem, Mass. Here he remained till June, 1814,
when he accepted a call to Charlestown, Mass. In March, 1824, he
accepted an invitation to Portsmouth, N. H., where he continued till
the spring of 1828. He was afterwards minister in Charlton, his old
home, and at Fishkill Landing, N. Y. In 1841 he removed to Jamaica
Plain, to a home left by a son-in-law, where he passed the remainder
of his days. He was twice married. He occasionally preached up to the
last. He was present as one of the bearers at the funeral of his old
friend and co-worker, Mr. Ballou, June 9, 1852, and departed this life
Jan. 24, 1853.
With the opinions of the elder Ballou in regard to future (or
no-future) punishment he had no sympathy; and an estrangement somehow
grew up, which led him to connect himself, later in life, with the
Unitarians, instead of remaining with those in the Universalist
ministry, such as H. Ballou, 2d., the Streeters and Skinners, Rev. L.
Willis, Thomas F. King, and others, whose opinions coincided with his
own. A severe illness in 1811 wrought a marked change in him. Before
this he was quite robust and erect, afterwards he appeared more
feeble. Previous to this sickness, like Mr. Ballou, he had been
exclusively an extemporaneous preacher, and is said to have been one
of the "rousing" sort,--live, vehement, electric; but from this period
his whole manner changed, and his ordinary preaching became subdued,
languid, what is called "moderate," at times, perhaps, even heavy. Dr.
E. G. Brooks, in an excellent biographical notice of him, says:--
"He had immense latent power. At times, when kindled by some great
occasion, or stirred by opposition or some peculiar circumstance,
this came out. Then he preached with all his old fire, and sometimes
rose into impassioned and commanding eloquence. 'All the fountains
of the great deep' within him 'were broken up,' and thought and
feeling came in a flood. Rev. Russell Streeter writes me, 'On
Convention occasions he was, on the whole, _second to no one_.' My
parents tell me that he was 'sometimes _very_ animated.' They speak
particularly of one sermon in Portsmouth, called forth by some
bitter outbreak of opposition, when he preached with surpassing
effect. Others report similar instances. Doctrinal sermons in
abundance he preached, but even those most argumentative and most
sharply controversial were flavored with a religious meaning and
reasoned to practical ends. He never preached a sermon that was
_merely_ doctrinal, but always made dogmatic discussion subordinate
to moral impression. Though in a mistaken estimate of duty, as we
believe, he separated from us, his name can never be taken out of
our records as one of the worthiest of our early heroes, nor his
work cease to be an occasion of gratitude and honorable pride to us,
nor his reverent and saintly character fail to be one of the most
precious portions of our denominational inheritance."[39]
The STREETER brothers are to be numbered in this "company of the
preachers." SEBASTIAN was for more than thirty years pastor of the
First Universalist Church, on Hanover Street, Boston. He was a
minister of marked character, light-framed, nervous, dark-eyed, of
quick movement, clear and strong-minded, voluble in speech, affable,
at home everywhere, especially in the pulpit.
Under many disadvantages, he laid for himself the foundation of a
professional education. He intended to qualify himself for the law,
but a superior wisdom and will called him to the Christian pulpit. At
the age of eighteen, while a school-teacher in New Hampshire, he was a
talented advocate of Christian Universalism. At twenty-two he preached
his first discourse. He travelled extensively as a missionary in
Maine, encountering the reproach which awaited the advocacy of his
faith in those days in many parts of New England, and having the honor
of being stoned once while preaching in a Christian house of worship,
and by a zealous member of a church. With him, however, opposition was
an incentive to new earnestness in his work. He was singularly gifted
as a preacher. He despised all garishness and affectation, and was
usually full of his theme. There was in him a latent fire of
eloquence, which when kindled stirred his audience to the depths of
their souls. The writer calls to mind occasions of his preaching: one,
while the hearer was standing in the doorway of a church at a meeting
of the General Convention in Vermont. The pulpit was between the doors
that opened upon the faces of the congregation. The preacher was in
the heat of his discoursing on the words of Jesus, "And I, if I be
lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." There were no
indifferent listeners, and but few dry eyes to be seen. The
remembrance has often been an inspiration. The other was at the
session of the Rockingham Association, in Nottingham, N. H., in 1833.
Mr. Streeter delivered the occasional discourse, an able and a timely
one. He was speaking of reforms and reformers, and was all aglow with
his theme. He thus came to a climax:--
"We know of a revivalist and reformer infinitely superior in skill
and power to those of all sects combined; one who will continue to
move onward, 'conquering and to conquer,' till he has 'renewed a
right spirit' in every heart, till he has reformed fully and forever
the countless millions of our race. Yes, blessed be God, we know his
name. It is Jesus of Nazareth; the Lion of the Tribe of Judah; the
Son of God; the Saviour of the world!" ["Amen!" from a brother
minister.][40] The preacher responded: "Hallelujah! Glory to God in
the highest! Jesus will make all things new. Let heaven proclaim his
honor; let earth echo and re-echo his praises; and let eternity
respond them through the long and lofty roll of its interminable
ages!"
Said Mr. Streeter to a friend, one Monday morning:--
"I had something tender to put into my sermon yesterday morning. As
I was going to church, a poor woman came to me to borrow a dollar to
get bread for her children, and, as I handed it to her, she offered
me a small locket containing a braid of hair from the head of a
little child she had buried a week ago. 'Take back the locket,' said
I; 'it is too sacred for my hands; but keep the dollar, you are
welcome to that. It does me more good to give it than you to receive
it, and you can have more if you need.' Then she wept, and said she
was a poor widow, living in such a street near by, and her poor
children had not had a mouthful since yesterday noon, and she had
nothing to buy them bread. I knew by her looks that she told me the
truth, but to satisfy her I went and saw where she lived, and saw
her children, and gave her more money, and told her I would look to
her wants again to-morrow. Then I went into the pulpit, and put the
incident into a sermon, and I haven't preached so well, nor enjoyed
the service so much, for many a day."
His heart was often overflowing with such charities as this, through
all his ministry.
He was the life of a conference meeting, and his Friday evening
conferences in the Hanover Street vestry were never forgotten by those
who attended them. As a pastor, he was always welcomed in the homes of
his parishioners, sharing as he did their joys and sorrows with the
sympathy of a brother and friend. As an officiating attendant at
weddings, he was exceedingly popular, and his yearly marriage list,
for a long time, exceeded in numbers that of any other clergyman in
Boston. On funeral occasions, he was eminently a "son of consolation."
There was such an unction in his usual manner of preaching--a manner
so peculiarly adapted to the services of the Sabbath--that a brother
minister who highly respected him, quaintly suggested that
_Sabbathstrain_, rather than Sebastian, might properly be used as his
name. As another has written of him: "He was an intensely magnetic
man. It was not simply what he said, but the spiritual unction with
which he uttered the truth, that won and held you."[41]
Mr. Streeter lived to the age of eighty-four. In his last days he
suffered intensely from asthma, which had long afflicted him. He has
left the example of a true and noble life to the churches.
Rev. RUSSELL STREETER was a younger brother of Sebastian, and a man of
much mental vigor,--sharp, witty, and logical. He had quite a number
of ministerial settlements in New England, and in them all was noted
for his ability as a preacher, for his peculiarities of character, and
his good qualities as a neighbor and citizen. He was the first editor
of the "Christian Intelligencer," a Universalist weekly paper,
published at Portland, Me.; was minister in that city for some years,
and afterwards, much later in life, went to pay the society a long
pastorate visit of six and a half years, which proved very agreeable
to pastor and people. He died at Woodstock, Vt., Feb. 15, 1880.
Mr. Streeter was a subject of impulses. When in the happy mood, no
one, it seemed to us, could preach a more acceptable sermon than he.
When not in this favorable frame of mind, he would not always do
justice to himself. We can never forget a discourse (the closing one)
at a Conference in Orford, N. H., from the text, "Behold how good and
how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." The
sermons previously delivered were timely, and had been well received,
and he was fully in the spirit of them all, and felt that he had the
strong sympathies of his hearers. His words "dropped like the rain,
and distilled as the dew." Doctrine, illustration, exhortation,
application, all were excellent, and there was an unction in the whole
discourse that left upon the audience impressions most highly
favorable to the faith he was setting forth. On another occasion, at
the closing of a session of the New Hampshire Convention, at Lebanon,
he was the last preacher of the occasion. Very able and impressive
discourses had been delivered by five other ministers. Mr. Streeter,
in an apparently extemporaneous effort, took special notice of the
matter and manner of them all, and of the characters of the speakers;
and when he alluded to the sermon of the young and beloved Hanscom, as
"an eloquent appeal from one whose hollow and sepulchral tones seemed
to indicate that the youthful and faithful speaker was nearing the
tomb," the effect was exceedingly impressive.
During the editorial career of Mr. Streeter with the "Christian
Intelligencer," he proved himself an able and effective writer, and
did much to call attention to the religious principles which he
advocated. While in Portland, he was neighbor to Dr. Edward Payson, of
distinguished memory in the Congregational Churches; a very zealous
advocate of Christianity, as he understood it, and who regarded the
Gospel as promulgated by Mr. Streeter as a pernicious and deadly
heresy. Mr. Streeter was somewhat fond of looking after him, and
noting what he considered to be some of his errors in doctrine. One
evening the two happened to greet each other at a meeting where Dr.
Payson presided and which Mr. Streeter attended. Soon theological
questioning and cross questioning took place, and some very strong
denunciatory words were used by the Doctor, who was evidently much
excited. Mr. Streeter was cool and keen in his replies, and soon
pushed the Doctor into a very close corner, causing him to contradict
himself, and to appear to his friends and all present to great
disadvantage. It was a triumph of temper as well as of theological
ability. The Doctor, saintly man as he surely was, evidently felt the
force of his neighbor's replies to him.
Mr. Streeter was an able writer. His "Familiar Conversations" have
been much read. They were adapted to the time in which they were
written, and so were some of his works on the revival movements of the
Orthodox Churches in New England and elsewhere, thirty or forty years
ago. His little volume entitled, "The Latest News from Three
Worlds,--Heaven, Earth, and Hell," was a scorching satire upon the
extravagances connected with these movements. Scriptural argument and
strong logic are mixed with keenest wit, mirthfulness, tenderness, and
rhetoric most glowing and redundant. The ministers and churches to
whom these reviews were addressed must have seen themselves in no very
commendable light in that glass. Those who have once read the book
attentively are not likely to forget it. While engaged in the
"Burchard War" in Vermont, he published a pamphlet entitled, "Mirror
of Calvinistic Fanaticism; or, Jedediah Burchard & Co., During a
Protracted Meeting of Twenty-six Days in Woodstock, Vt." It was an
effective issue.
During most of his ministry, Mr. Streeter was a zealous and successful
advocate of the temperance reform. His addresses were always lively
and interesting, full of anecdote, ludicrous hits, and quaint sayings.
He was popular in all places and with all sects in this work, and many
who would hardly consent to hear him advocate his religious sentiments
realized much enjoyment in listening to his defence of temperance
principles. On one occasion he was in the pulpit with a clergyman
whose sense of self-dignity was "above the ordinary," and who
evidently had no strong inclination to be the subject of a joke. While
Mr. Streeter was addressing the meeting, he took occasion to describe
the different mixtures of strong drink which were in use almost
everywhere previous to the temperance reformation. "The last article
of all," said he, "added to perfect the dram, was--was--really,
strange to say, but I have just now lost the name! Will some one
please to mention it?" "Nutmeg!" exclaimed the dignified clergyman
near him. "That's it!" responded Mr. Streeter. "He's well informed in
these matters, I'll warrant you."
We have heard an account of his attendance, in Western New York, at a
meeting where a Methodist and a Universalist were to preach in the
same meeting-house one Sunday. The Universalist was to speak in the
morning, and the Methodist in the afternoon. In the last sermon the
preacher was very severe in his treatment of Universalists and their
doctrine. Mr. Streeter, seeing that there would be no opportunity for
a rejoinder to his statements, asked his ministering brother the
privilege of taking his place in offering the closing prayer, in
which, in the most reverential, solemn, and emphatic manner, he
briefly noted what he considered the misrepresentations of the last
speaker, and left upon the audience an impression decidedly favorable
to his own faith. The whole exercise, quaint as it was, was so
remarkably able and timely, that all criticism of it seemed to be
silenced.
Rev. THOMAS JONES was a successor of Rev. John Murray, at Gloucester,
Mass. He came from the Methodists in England, and once belonged to the
Lady Huntington connection. He was a veritable Welshman, honest,
kind-hearted, blunt in speech, and unique in his method and style of
sermonizing. His discourses were most positive statements of
Universalism, and abounded in Scriptural quotations. Some one wittily
said of Father Balfour, that so great was his reliance on the
authority of the Bible, that he would go to it to find out whether a
suspected bank-note were counterfeit or not. A parishioner of Father
Jones remarked of him, that he could hardly get through saying grace,
even at a Fourth of July festival, without repeating the passage, "For
as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." He had
a long settlement in Gloucester, and died there at a ripe old age
(eighty-three), Aug. 20, 1846. The discourse at the funeral was
delivered by Rev. A. D. Mayo, the officiating minister and pastor at
the time. He paid a just tribute to the honored old Christian soldier,
and to the early defenders of our faith in America.
Rev. PAUL DEAN received fellowship as a Universalist minister in 1805.
He afterwards preached extensively in Vermont and New Hampshire, and
moved to Whitestown, N. Y., in 1810. He traversed frequently large
portions of Central and Western New York, and held several successful
discussions,--two, particularly, with Rev. Mr. Lacy, then a Methodist,
afterwards an Episcopalian Bishop. He removed to Boston in 1813, and
in 1823 his friends left the First Church, and built for him the
church in Bulfinch Street, now Unitarian. About 1828, he withdrew from
the fellowship of the Universalists, and, with a few others, formed
the "Massachusetts Restorationist Association." On its decline he left
Boston, and settled in Framingham, in 1840. He was an eloquent and
popular preacher, and was for many years an active Freemason, holding,
during the greater part of his manhood, the highest offices of that
Order in the United States. He died in Framingham, of paralysis, Oct.
5, 1860, aged seventy-seven years.
In his early ministry, Mr. Dean, while in Central New York, was
subject to the oppositions which others of his fraternity sometimes
encountered. On one occasion, an over-zealous woman was so highly
incensed at the expectation of his coming to the house where she
resided, that she had in preparation a kettle of hot water with which
to greet him, but was prevented by others from effecting her evil
design.
An honest and clear-minded man was Rev. WALTER BALFOUR, who came from
his native Scotland to Charlestown, Mass. He was first a
Congregationalist, and afterwards a Baptist, and an acceptable
preacher with both sects; a Greek and Hebrew scholar, and well
instructed in sacred literature. A most conscientious believer was he
in the old theology of Scottish orthodoxy. He had never dreamed that
Universalism could be true. But he was a reader and thinker, and
especially inclined to the good use of his logical powers. He read the
works of American orthodox authors, among whom was Professor Stuart of
Andover, for whose opinions he had profound respect. The Professor
became engaged in a controversy with the eminent Unitarian, Dr.
Channing, and Mr. Balfour followed up the discussion with deep
interest. In his attempts to set forth Christ as equal with God, the
Professor cited the words of the Revelator (Rev. v. 13), where "things
in heaven, in earth, and under the earth" (a periphrasis for the
universe), are said to bow the knee to Jesus, and ascribe blessing,
honor, glory, and power to him. "If this be not spiritual worship,"
says the Professor, "and if Christ be not the object of it here, I am
unable to produce a case where worship can be called spiritual and
divine." Mr. Balfour read and pondered. He had not doubted the
Trinity, the equality of Christ with the Father. But what is the
import of this statement, that the universe is offering spiritual
worship to Christ? Is this the Professor's meaning? Would he thus avow
the truth of Universalism? He becomes anxious on the subject;
addresses a respectful but earnest letter to the Andover teacher,
asking an explanation of this statement; awaits patiently an answer,
but none comes. Writes again and again, still receiving no reply.
After nearly a year and a half, his last appeal is made. An equivocal
answer came, expressing unwillingness to reply to anonymous newspaper
writers! Frivolous pretension, and in discreditable contrast with the
honesty and sincerity of the inquirer. Bound to oppose Universalism,
as the creed of the Institution compelled him to, why would not the
Professor seek to save this inquirer from its fatal enticements? But
the Professor's neglect was the inquirer's opportunity. He continued
his inquiries, and the result was his conversion to the Universalist
faith, his life interest in it afterwards, and the writing of volumes
in its defence, which aided in disseminating a knowledge of it widely
throughout the land. Thus Andover inadvertently, through the
unwillingness of this its teacher to save the honest inquirer from
error, gave to the Universalist Church one of its ablest, most
devoted, and worthy ministers and defenders. That is a part of its
history henceforth.
A minister of marked character, and of much service to the
Universalist Church, was Rev. JOHN BISBE. He was a Massachusetts man,
and graduated at Brown University, in 1814. He was a student of law
for a short time in Taunton, and while employed as a teacher in New
Hampshire, became acquainted with Universalism, and subsequently a
preacher of it. His reading was extensive, and his knowledge of the
English language quite thorough. In ordinary conversation he expressed
himself with a striking precision. He preached first in Connecticut
and Western Massachusetts, and was settled in Hartford, Conn., from
1824 to 1827, when he became pastor of the Universalist Church in
Portland, Me. He was an impressive preacher, with no attempt at the
sensational. His personal appearance was notable: a thin man, of
stiff, perpendicular carriage and measured walk; with light hair, pale
face, and very dark eyes, almost a glittering black. The distinguished
literary author, John Neal, said of him:--
"I have heard Mr. Bisbe repeatedly, and the more I hear him the
better I like him. He is fervid, free, and powerful, uses lofty and
generous language, and where he fails to reason, it would appear to
be not so much from a want of metaphysical power as from a habit of
disregarding it. From his appearance you would not expect much; but,
notwithstanding this, he is decidedly the most eloquent preacher in
our part of the country. He is, moreover, a man of exceedingly happy
erudition."
The editor of the "Eastern Argus" wrote of him as:--
"A distinguished and talented preacher, of transcendent powers of
mind and eloquence in the pulpit; eloquence that moved and burned as
he breathed it, and that sunk deep into the heart through the
understanding as well as the passions of his audience."
He took especial interest in the church institution, in the
Bible-class for scriptural exposition, and in all that pertained to
personal religious culture and the work of Christian charity. He died
March 1, 1829, aged thirty six. The death scene was indicative of the
strength and joy of his faith.
Soon after Rev. Thomas F. King came to Portsmouth, N. H., he became
acquainted with Mr. Bisbe. He had a high admiration of the talents and
worth of the man before they met. Previous to the introduction, Mr.
King had been told of the stiffness and precision of Mr. Bisbe in his
salutations of others, and was humorously inclined to use a little of
the same precision in their first greeting. The effect, to an
observer, was amusing in the extreme. But both parties preserved their
dignity.
[Illustration: Thos. Whittemore.
H. W. Smith.]
Among the foremost of the advocates of this old and new Gospel in New
England, we may justly name the sturdy and indefatigable THOMAS
WHITTEMORE. He began earthly life with the present century, Jan. 1,
1800. He came up from life's humblest walks. His parents educated him
religiously in moderate Calvinistic sentiments, but he grew out of
them and became sceptical, until his attention was arrested and his
mind deeply impressed by the preaching of Rev. Hosea Ballou, in
Boston. An acquaintance with Mr. Ballou turned his attention to the
ministry, and he became a diligent student in preparation for that
calling. His first sermon, written upon the bench at intervals between
his working hours, was preached in Roxbury, his dress for the occasion
providentially coming in to him, as he was too poor to obtain it
himself. His first pastorate was in Milford, his second and longer one
in Cambridgeport, Mass., in which place he had his home until his
death. His work as editor of the "Trumpet" was a long and vigorous
one, and the volumes that came from his pen beside this weekly
periodical were of much value to the Christian Church. Historical,
exegetical, musical, were they, all for the good of the Christian
cause, in whose interest it was his delight to work. He was a proud
banner-bearer of his church. Universalism was to him the Alpha and
Omega of theology and religion. He saw nothing that could take its
place, and held no fellowship with those who were disposed to
compromise its claims. His editorial pen was alive with clear
scriptural expositions, watchful warnings against the religious errors
of the times, and bold and defiant defences of what he accepted as
Christian truth. His "Modern History of Universalism" is a book of
rare merit, and his "Commentary on the Apocalypse" one of the plainest
and most sensible ever given to the public, and one which theological
critics of the dominant sects have been wary enough to let alone. His
four volumes of the life and writings of Rev. Hosea Ballou make out a
valuable epitome of the history of Universalism in Massachusetts and
in other parts of New England, from the beginning to the middle of the
century. He had ready wit, a never-failing flow of spirits, and a
genial temperament, which drew to him hosts of friends. His preaching
was always popular with the masses,--scriptural, logical, often
strikingly illustrated, if occasionally in a homely way, fervent and
telling with his congregations. He was a welcome evangelist all over
New England. He was a man of rare business qualifications also. He
rendered much civic service to the State as legislator, and was highly
efficient as president and director of bank and railroad corporations.
He was stricken with paralysis more than a year before his decease,
and never regained his vigor. He departed this life in 1861, in his
sixty-second year.[42]
Mr. Whittemore is remembered as a controversialist, and with those who
beheld him chiefly in this light his other qualities may not have been
fairly estimated. His very position as a Christian theologian was
aggressive. He came into the field to face what he deemed religious
error, and to give it battle, asking only that freedom of thought and
expression which Christian faithfulness demands. During his active
life, years ago, a ministering brother (Rev. T. J. Sawyer, D. D.)
wrote of him:--
"Perhaps some may think him wanting in refinement and grace, and
others, I know, regard him as at times bolder and plainer than
necessary. That he deals severely with some of his opposers is
certain, yet, with all his severity, there is a frankness and
manliness which challenges the respect even of his enemies. Then it
is but just to remember the school in which he has been disciplined.
He who has been called to stand at the head of the prominent
Universalist press of New England for the last twenty years must
have learned ere this to defend himself and his course. It has been
no warfare for paper hats and silk gloves. The head needed a helmet
of steel, and the hand must know how to grasp the sword and spear.
Reflect for one moment on the Batcheldors, the McClures, the Cooks,
the Matthew Hale Smiths, with whom Mr. Whittemore has been called to
contend, and then tell me if the old soldier has not come out of the
fight with charity and kindness worthy of admiration. Paul fought
with beasts at Ephesus; Whittemore has been scarcely more fortunate
in Boston. Upon the whole, Mr. Whittemore is a man whose life and
character deserve high consideration. He is supposed by some to be
too much a party man, and to consult with too much exclusiveness the
interest of the denomination of which he is so prominent a member.
Perhaps it is so, but if this charge is sustained against him, I
hope I may be included in the same condemnation."[43]
Mr. Whittemore's strong traits were: 1. Positiveness of interest in
the Christian Gospel. He had a positive faith to promote and defend.
He seemed to realize the force of Paul's statements: "I know whom I
have believed." "Therefore we are always confident." 2. Fervor. He
believed in Christian earnestness and zeal; was more afraid of frost
than of fire in the churches. 3. Industry. This in him was
indomitable. One of his sayings was, "Dead fish float with the
tide,--live ones swim against it." He was one of the living ones, who
stemmed opposition and wrought victories. The grand words of our poet
Fields are illustrative of him,--
"Souls that freed from prison bars,
Struck the blows themselves have won,
Grappling with their evil stars,
Stand, like Uriel, in the sun."
Another minister of the same ancestral family was Rev. BENJAMIN
WHITTEMORE, D. D., born in Lancaster, Mass., May 30, 1801; died in
Mattapan, Boston, April 26, 1881. He was educated at the academies in
Lancaster and Groton, and became in early life a convert to
Universalism, mainly through reading the writings of Rev. Hosea
Ballou. He felt impelled to enter the ministry. He had successful
pastorates in West Scituate, Mass.; Troy, N. Y.; South Boston, Mass.;
and Norwich, Conn. In 1843, he took possession of the old homestead in
Lancaster, where he remained ten years without pastoral charge, but
working in various ways for the promotion of the Christian cause. He
was instrumental in establishing a Universalist society in Fitchburg,
Mass. In his later years he became blind, but, in spite of this
infirmity, he continued to preach occasionally, repeating his hymns
and Scripture lessons from memory. He was always heartily engaged in
his work. As an expositor of the Scriptures he possessed eminent
ability, and in preaching, his logical method and aptness enabled him
to express his convictions with great force. He was a sturdy defender
of Christianity against the objections of the doubting and
unbelieving. He received the degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology, of
Tuft's College, in 1867. His wife was Mandana, the third daughter of
Rev. Hosea Ballou. They were united in life for nearly sixty years.
His intellect was unclouded to the last, and "his faith grew brighter
as his spirit took its flight."
An eminent and effective "defender of the faith" was Rev. DOLPHUS
SKINNER, D. D., whose death took place in Utica, N. Y., in 1869. He
was born in Westmoreland, N. H., in 1800, and passed his minority in
labor on a farm, attendance at a neighboring academy, and keeping
school. His theological studies were with Rev. S. C. Loveland, of
Reading, Vt., and he entered the ministry in 1823. The most of his
life was passed in Utica, N. Y., where as preacher and editor he
proved himself one of the ablest promulgators of the Universalist
faith in the land. The "Evangelical Magazine and Gospel Advocate," of
which he was for many years editor, had a large circulation. He was a
very popular preacher in Central New York. Of commanding person, with
a voice of great volume and softness, with the readiest use of
language, he was a favorite with the people. His discourses were
strong, doctrinally and practically, and his ministries at funerals
were exceedingly satisfactory. During his ministry of forty years, he
preached over five thousand discourses. He was the author of valuable
books and pamphlets. His letters to Drs. Aiken and Lansing, and his
discussion with Rev. Alexander Campbell, evince much ability. He was a
Christian reformer. The "Clinton Liberal Institute" has been greatly
indebted to his timely and unwearied exertions for its prosperity. He
was a Christian patriot also, and took a lively interest in the
political welfare of his country. The termination of his earthly life
was peaceful. "I am an old soldier," said he to his physician, "and am
about to receive my discharge." After a night of quiet from his
protracted pain, he entered that morning which opens the resurrection
life to man.
A brother of Dolphus was Rev. WARREN SKINNER, who passed the great
part of his life in Vermont, and who was well known there, and in most
of New England, as a talented and useful minister. His personal
appearance was, like that of his brother, imposing, and his
discoursing, if a little heavy in manner at times, always methodical
and sound. He was a staunch friend of Universalism, and had great
faith in its evangelizing power. During some part of his ministry he
was a useful expository writer in the church journals. He did much
valuable missionary work, and lived to a ripe old age in full
possession of his mental powers. He gave a son to the ministry, Rev.
Charles A. Skinner, now of Somerville, Mass.
[Illustration: Otis A. Skinner.
J. A. J. Wilcox, Boston.]
Rev. OTIS A. SKINNER was an honor to the church. His native place was
Royalton, Vt., but he came forth as a minister from Langdon, N. H., at
the early age of nineteen. He was apprenticed to a clothier for a
while before his ministry began. From his first school days he was
thoughtful and studious, and succeeded in gaining a very good English
education, beside giving some attention to the Greek and Latin
languages. He was for some time a student with Rev. S. C. Loveland, of
Reading, Vt. The writer first saw him at Kingston, N. H., at the
session of the Rockingham Association, in 1828. He was just
twenty-one, and a most attractive young man to behold, a sweet
sunshiny glow in his comely countenance, which seemed most agreeably
set in his golden ringlets of hair. We heard him preach then, at a
private house, to a very good audience in the evening. He stood in
front of the old family clock, and gave us a very sensible and
well-arranged discourse from the text, "He that goeth forth and
weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with
rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him" (Ps. cxxvi. 6). It was full
of the plainest Universalism. He was soon settled in Woburn, Mass.,
where he gave a good account of himself, and afterwards in Baltimore,
Md., where he was united in marriage with Angela, eldest daughter of
Rev. Sebastian Streeter. He had a vigorous ministry in that city,
including a public theological controversy with Rev. Mr. Breckenridge
of the Presbyterian Church. From Baltimore he came back to
Massachusetts, and settled in Haverhill, where he edited for a time
the "Gospel Sun," as he had edited the "Southern Pioneer" in Baltimore.
A new Universalist society having been formed of worshippers in
Boylston Hall, Boston, he was invited to become its pastor. So
prosperous was his ministry, that a church edifice was soon erected in
Warren Street. Here his pulpit services and pastoral work were very
acceptable. He became a publisher of valuable books, and again the
editor of a monthly journal, "The Universalist Miscellany." In 1846 he
became pastor of Orchard Street Universalist Church in New York city;
and in 1848 consented to be agent for raising $100,000 for the new
college (now Tufts) proposed to be erected in Medford, Mass. For seven
years he was in this laudable work, giving it his faithful attention
in addition to his duties as pastor of the Warren Street Church, to
the ministry of which he had been invited again most unanimously. No
man could have been in his "labors more abundant" than he in this
canvassing for the new college. He solicited everywhere, and
especially among those of like faith with himself. Indifference, the
averted eye or "cold shoulder," chilled not his ardor. He drew, by his
persuasive words, dollars from pockets that seemed at his first call
firmly closed against him. He succeeded in securing the amount needed
for the endowment of the college and its necessary expenses,
superintended the erection of the buildings, and at times when the
means could not otherwise be readily obtained, paid the workmen from
his quarterly pastor's income. One of the proudest days of his life
was that on which the corner-stone of the college was laid. Since
then, the institution has prospered; larger endowments have given it
strength, faithful teachers have honored it, and its sons have gone
forth bearing with them the evidences of the scholarship which can be
secured to its students. Beautiful for outward situation, a literary
Mount Zion of the Universalist Church in New England, it gives promise
of yet increasing prosperity. But never will it outgrow its
indebtedness to its first financial agent, who wrought so
indefatigably, nobly, and successfully in its behalf.
In 1857 Mr. Skinner was induced by family considerations to move West.
After residing in Elgin, Kansas County, Ill., for a few months, he was
invited and persuaded to become president of Lombard University, at
Galesburg, Ill. Here again was work for him, as the college needed
much exertion that it might prosper. And he aided it essentially. But
the task was too heavy, and after two years' hard service his health
gave way. The death of his brother Samuel occurring at Chicago, he was
called upon to give attention to his financial affairs. This was an
additional burden too great for him to bear, but still his spirit for
a while seemed proof against his bodily weaknesses. He removed to
Joliet, and took upon him more than two healthful men could perform.
He would preach to his own congregation in Joliet on Sunday morning,
then ride five miles to Lockport and preach at one o'clock, thence
nine miles to Plainfield and hold a service at three, and then return
home to meet a crowd of listeners in his own church in the evening.
This, added to his missionary work in the adjoining country towns,
including funeral services on other days of the week, together with
his business perplexities in the settlement of his brother's estate,
proved too much for him. The end of this useful earthly life was near;
fever set in, and did its work rapidly. It was the Christian
believer's death scene. His faith was strong, his hope bright, his
face and thought were turned heavenward. The last interview with a
beloved daughter was inexpressibly touching,--her heroic self-control
and his calm, heavenly resignation. His departure was the Christian
saint's triumph. It occurred Sept. 18, 1861.
There was nothing of the flashy or sensational in the ministry of Mr.
Skinner. He was a plain, logical, practical preacher, "in doctrine
showing uncorruptness," an able expounder of the Scriptures, and a
faithful looker-up of religious error. His strictures on the
revivalism of Rev. Mr. Knapp in Boston, and his review of Rev.
Theodore Parker's theology, in the "Universalist Miscellany," were
good evidences of his fidelity to the New Testament Gospel and the
intent of its work with mankind. As a pastor he was not to be
excelled. He knew his flocks at their homes, and personal attachments
to him as a friend, adviser, and companion were very strong. He was in
this calling one of the models. He received the degree of A. M. from
Harvard University, and that of D. D. from Lombard.
Of his brother Samuel P. we may say that he was a man of more than
ordinary endowments. He was for a time in the ministry, and preached
some in New England. He afterwards became editor of the "New
Covenant," in Chicago. He was a quiet and sensible preacher, and
excelled as a writer of clear, compact, and well-arranged expositions
of Scripture, many of which enriched the columns of his paper.
Rev. JOSEPH OBERLIN SKINNER was of Piermont, N. H., born there in
1816. He came into the ministry through much hard study and striving.
Trained in the old theology of New England, he became a believer in
Universalism by being first awakened to a consideration of its
doctrines by the preaching of Rev. John Moore. In 1834 he went to
Lowell, Mass., and was for a time employed in a cotton-mill. He was
encouraged by Rev. T. B. Thayer, then pastor of the First Universalist
Church in that city, to enter the ministry, and was afterwards a
student of theology in the family of Rev. Sylvanus Cobb, of Malden,
Mass. He was minister in Holliston, Framingham, Dudley, and Concord,
Mass.; in Ludlow and Chester, Vt.; in Nashua, N. H.; in Malone, N. Y.;
in Montpelier and St. Albans, Vt.; and in Waterville, Me., where he
died of paralysis, in 1879. He was for a time associate editor of the
"Christian Repository," published at Montpelier, Vt. His labors were
many and successful. His literary accomplishments were of a high
order, and he was a faithful and impressive preacher. At the last of
life he was confined to his bed for more than eleven months, helpless,
but in quiet resignation to the Divine will. When asked if the faith
with which he had comforted others was sufficient for himself in this
great trial, he answered in the affirmative, adding, "I do not want
any _new_ revelation; I am satisfied with what we now have." He was a
frequent contributor to the denominational and secular papers, wrote
many articles for the "Universalist Quarterly," and prepared a history
of the Masonic lodge of Waterville, which was very highly appreciated
by the members of that order. He was for many years the accurate and
able editor of the yearly "Universalist Register." In recognition of
his scholarly attainments, Colby University, in 1872, conferred upon
him the honorary degree of A. M.
NATHANIEL STACY, born in New Salem, Franklin County, Mass., came to
manhood at the close of the last century, and, after hard toiling in
early life, with but small educational advantages, he concluded from
sincere convictions of duty to become a preacher of the faith which he
had embraced in early life. He was small and feeble bodily, but of
sanguine temperament and great firmness and persistence of will. He
was encouraged by Rev. Hosea Ballou to leave a secular avocation and
prepare himself for the ministry. His first sermon was preached with
much diffidence on his part, but he was encouraged to persevere in his
efforts, and soon came to be a very acceptable speaker wherever he
appeared as an advocate of his faith. He itinerated much in
Massachusetts and Vermont, and afterwards much more in the Middle and
Western States. No preacher of the Gospel was ever more engrossed in
his work than he. All the vicissitudes of an itinerant's life were his
for many years. Yet his ardor never waned, and his hopefulness helped
him to meet all discouragements and surmount all obstacles. He was a
veritable Christian apostle, and was welcomed everywhere by young and
old wherever he came as a messenger to the churches. Many remember his
ministry with deepest satisfaction, and his name stands high in the
church as one of the most truthful and devoted of its evangelists. His
autobiography was published in quite a large volume, in Columbus, Pa.,
in 1850. It is full of interesting incidents and apt and able
expositions of the faith of the Gospel. Mr. Stacy departed this life
at Columbus, Pa., April 4, 1869.
Rev. STEPHEN R. SMITH. Of this eloquent and honored minister, his
biographer, Dr. T. J. Sawyer, writes:--
"Few men have risen to a higher position in the denomination of
Universalists, exerted a wider influence, or wrought out a brighter
or more enviable fame. He was born and educated in the humblest
circumstances. Being early led by the force of his own convictions
to embrace an unpopular faith, he soon found himself impelled by a
stern sense of duty to consecrate his life to its promulgation and
defence. His health, never the firmest, was soon shattered by
incessant application to study and the hardships endured in the
early planting of Universalism in Central and Western New York, so
that a large part of his life was spent and his work done under this
great disadvantage. But the soul that burned within him was superior
to bodily infirmity, and flashed and blazed forth from a frame so
attenuated and slender that even those most familiar with him were
astonished by the vigor and sweep of his transcendent intellect, the
youthful play of his fancy, and the strokes of his wit. Nor was his
moral character inferior to his intellectual endowments. Seldom does
one meet with a warmer heart or a sterner integrity than
distinguished him."[44]
His pastorates were in New Hartford, Clinton, Albany, and Buffalo,
N. Y., and Philadelphia, Pa. He was born in Albany, in 1788, and died
in Buffalo, in 1850, aged sixty-one. It was truly said of him at his
death, "But one individual in the denomination can expect higher or
more heartfelt tributes of love and reverence." His eloquence in the
pulpit was often compared with that of Henry Clay in the halls of
Congress. It was the delight of the writer to hear him three times at
meetings of the United States Convention, the last in Boston in the
School Street Church, from the text, "And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men unto me." The discourse was radiant with
the truth, and electrifying with the spirit and power of the Gospel.
[Illustration: Sylvanus Cobb.
J. A. J. Wilcox, Boston.]
A sturdy theologian, as well as a conscientious Christian was that
stalwart man from one of the villages of Maine, the Rev. SYLVANUS
COBB. The title "D. D.," when conferred upon him, was significant. He
was an able theologian. His words in discourse were weighty, his
sentences often as ponderous as those of Dr. Johnson, and if called to
controversial work, Longfellow's "Village Blacksmith" was an
illustration of him:--
"You could hear him swing his heavy sledge
With measured beat and slow."
If warmed up in exhortation or appeal, he was grandly fervent. He
never evaded the toughest theological problem proposed to him for
consideration, but seemed always in readiness to attempt a solution of
it. His "Compend of Divinity" is an elaborate work, his "Commentary on
the New Testament" an excellent helper in the family and
Sunday-school, and his discussions with Dr. Nehemiah Adams and Rev.
C. F. Hudson, involving the questions respecting endless punishment
and the annihilation of the wicked, are highly creditable to him as a
Christian theologian. As editor of the "Christian Freeman" for
twenty-five years, and as a temperance and anti-slavery reformer, he
waged a good warfare for the right. He was pastor in Waterville, Me.,
and in Malden, Waltham, and East Boston, Mass.
During the three years of his service as a lecturing agent of the
Middlesex County Temperance Society, he was entertained more or less
at the houses of clergymen. On one occasion, in Dracut, at the house
of a Presbyterian minister, he was thus questioned by his friend: "I
have been thinking, my dear sir, about your doctrine, and it seems to
me, even if it is true, it is hardly expedient to preach it, for all
men will finally be saved, whether it be preached or not. But if it
should prove to be an error, the consequences of believing it will be
terrible." "You have reasoned erroneously," replied Mr. Cobb, "from
having assumed that my doctrine exerts not so good a moral influence
as yours. Here is your mistake: you believe that we are here forming
characters for eternity, and that we carry with us into the future
life and retain there the moral dispositions and affections which we
cultivate in this life. Now if this doctrine of yours proves true, I
shall be an eternal gainer from the faith I cherish here, because it
produces supreme love to God, sweet reconciliation to his government,
and a cheerful, happy state of mind. I would greatly prefer to bear
through eternity the mind and character formed by my religion, than
such as yours must naturally produce. Yet I am not expecting the
heaven of eternity as a reward. I am more than paid for loving and
serving God here; I feel that I am God's poor debtor; and I trust in
his grace forever." "I was not expecting such an answer as that," was
the sole reply of the questioner.
Mr. C. departed this life in East Boston in December, 1866.
In 1827 Rev. MENZIES RAYNER entered the Universalist ministry from the
Episcopalian church. He was born at South Hempstead, L. I., Nov. 23,
1770. His advantages for learning were principally derived from
private instruction. He showed early signs of superior abilities. When
very young he became a convert to Methodism, and before the age of
twenty-one commenced preaching as an itinerant. He was ordained at
Lynn, Mass., by Bishop Asbury. He continued to itinerate according to
the rules of the Methodist Church for more than two years, when he
received and accepted an invitation to settle with the Protestant
Episcopal Church in Elizabethtown, N. J., where he was ordained as a
minister in that church by the Right Rev. Bishop Provost of New York.
After a pastorate of six years in that place, he accepted a call to
the rectorship of the Episcopal Church in Hartford, Conn., where he
continued ten years. He next removed to Huntington, Conn., and took a
joint rectorship of that town and New Hartford (now Munroe). He
remained there sixteen years, when from close and prayerful inquiry
and study of the Scriptures he became convinced of the truth of the
doctrine of Universal Salvation. He asked and obtained an honorable
dismissal from Bishop Brownell of that diocese. Through all his
subsequent life he continued to enjoy the respect and esteem of
several distinguished clergymen of that church. So much Bishop
Brownell pledged to him at the time of his withdrawal.
Soon after becoming known as a Universalist, he was called to the
pastorate of the church in Hartford left vacant by the removal of Rev.
John Bisbe to Portland, Me. He continued in Hartford four years, when
he was earnestly solicited to remove to Portland and take charge of
the society there left without a pastor by the death of Mr. Bisbe. He
accepted the call, and remained there four years, excepting one
winter, which he spent in North Carolina, where, and in intermediate
places, he preached the Gospel. Afterwards he had pastorates in Troy
and Lansingburg, N. Y., and preached in Schenectady, Fort Ann,
Hartford, and other places. For a year and a half he ministered to the
Bleecker St. Universalist Society in New York city. He resided in that
city until his death, which occurred Nov. 22, 1850. He retained his
mental vigor until a few days before his departure at the age of
eighty.
"Father Rayner," as he was familiarly called, was a remarkable man.
His mental powers were of a high order, his social qualities made him
always attractive, his wit was keen, but he had great tenderness and
depth of feeling. His appearance in the pulpit was venerable and
apostolic, and his preaching clear, powerful, and convincing. He gave
to the world some printed works, which exhibit the clear and logical
character of his mind. While at Huntington, he published a review of a
sermon on Regeneration, by Dr. Taylor, of New Haven, and another of a
sermon by Dr. Tyler, of Southbury, on the "Perseverance of the
Saints." This was replied to by Dr. Tyler, who was again reviewed in a
pamphlet of sixty pages, which closed the controversy. While at
Hartford, he edited a paper called the "Inquirer," and at Portland the
"Christian Pilot." While at the latter place, he delivered "Nine
Lectures on the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus." He also
published a review of a missionary sermon by Dr. Tyler, and a sermon
entitled "St. Paul a Universalist."
While Mr. Rayner was with the Episcopalians, frequent theological
discussions took place in the ministerial circles. On one occasion,
among other questions considered, Mr. Rayner proposed this: "Has every
human being a just reason to be thankful for the gift of existence?"
He cautioned all who would answer it directly, "Yes" or "No," to
consider very carefully before giving the answer, because of one other
question which might follow. But all present were agreed in the
decision that every man had just cause for thanksgiving for the life
conferred upon him. "Now," said Mr. Rayner, "answer me this: If any of
the human race are to be doomed to unending misery, have such ones any
cause for such thankfulness?" "Why, Brother Rayner, you are a
Universalist," said one of the ministers. "But that has nothing to do
with the question," was the response; "you are all agreed, I see, in
your answer."
[37] A new edition of this valuable work, with an Introduction by Rev.
Dr. Miner, Mr. Ballou's successor in the Boston pastorate, has just been
issued by the Universalist Publishing House in this city. It ought to
have a new and a larger circulation than ever. The writer owes his
conversion to Universalism, by divine grace, to the reading of this book.
[38] Account by Rev. A. B. Grosh.
[39] "Universalist Quarterly" for April and July, 1871.
[40] Rev. A. C. Thomas.
[41] Rev. A. J. Patterson, D. D.
[42] For a more particular account of Dr. Whittemore, the reader is
referred to his Memoir, by the author of this work. Universalist Publishing
House, 1878.
[43] "Universalist Miscellany," Vol. VI., p. 290.
[44] Memoir of Rev. Stephen R. Smith. By Rev. Thomas J. Sawyer,
D. D. Boston: Published by Abel Tompkins, 1852.