SKETCHES OF MINISTERS--_continued_.
"Thus bravely live heroic men,
A consecrated band;
Life is to them a battle-field,
Their hearts a holy-land."
TUCKERMAN.
A highly-esteemed minister of our faith, and a vigorous and stirring
advocate of Christian reform, was Rev. ELHANAN W. REYNOLDS. Although
his career as minister and author was not long, the most valuable
years of his life were given to the work of promulgating the Gospel.
He was settled as pastor in Java, Sherman, Buffalo, Jamestown,
Watertown, and Lockport, N. Y.; in Norwich, Conn.; and Lynn, Mass. He
was a highly acceptable preacher, and wielded a fruitful and facile
pen. His little volume, "The Records of Bubbleton Parish," is one of
much interest in showing as it does the trials of Christian ministers
and parishes because of the discordant elements in them, and in the
vividness with which some of the characters in the particular parish
at Bubbleton are drawn. But his best work, and one that evinces
unmistakably the strong qualities of the writer's intellect and the
soundness of his orthodoxy in morals, is his volume entitled "The True
Story of the Barons of the South; or, the Rationale of the American
Conflict," issued in 1862. It is a compact but lively presentation of
the origin and growth of American slavery, from its inception with the
Virginian colonists to the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion.
It is an unequivocal statement of facts, and an irresistible appeal to
Americans for the overthrow of the gigantic abomination of slavery,
and the defence and maintenance of that freedom signified in the
immortal Declaration sent out by our Revolutionary fathers from this
nation, to all the other nations of the earth. It is one of the
trumpet-calls to duty among the many that gave inspiration and life to
that desperate strife which sent American slavery to "the receptacle
of things lost on earth." Mr. Reynolds is worthy of honorable
remembrance as one of the heroes of that strife. A discriminating
writer has said of him: "As a preacher he was strong and often
brilliant; as a scholar his explorations were extensive, and his
acquisitions the gold refined from innumerable heaps of dross,
patiently searched out; and as a writer he was master of a style which
would have been his passport to the first literary circles of
America." He died at Milwaukee, Wis., August 31, 1868, aged
thirty-nine years.
Rev. NATHANIEL GUNNISON, a native of New Hampshire, was ordained to
the ministry in 1837. He had entered it through much painstaking, and
was thoroughly in earnest in his work. He was pastor in New Hampshire,
Massachusetts, and Maine, and for eight years in Halifax, N. S., in
which place he met with marked success. At one time the bishop of the
Episcopalian church assailed him, and, not having a correct knowledge
of our doctrines, laid himself open to a searching review from Mr.
Gunnison. The controversy was a prolonged one, both oral and written,
and the result was that the Episcopal church lost ground and members,
and the Universalist church realized a corresponding increase. The
civil war in our country broke out towards the close of Mr. Gunnison's
pastorate. Halifax being in strong sympathy with the South, he stood
almost alone in his defence of the North, and gave offence to some of
the leading members of the society by his zealous exertions for the
North while acting as Deputy Consul of the United States. He
subsequently removed to Maine, where he died of paralysis in 1871,
while in the midst of his active labors. His son, Rev. A. Gunnison, of
Brooklyn, N. Y., pays this touching tribute to his honored parent:--
"At the age of fifty-seven, the pastor of whom we speak was
paralyzed. Upon the early morning of the Sabbath, the secret blow
fell upon him, but yet he went to his work, and with half his body
dead went through his Sabbath service. Then came the weary months of
battling with death. Disease was stayed by the vigor of an
unconquerable will, and dragging his heavy limb, with right arm
lifeless at his side, he took up again the burden of his work....
The other day, in the lumber of a storage room, we found the old
trunk which contained the sermons of this veteran preacher, and
there upon the top a package of huge MSS. written in rude fashion,
unlike the singularly clear penmanship of the remaining mass. These
were the sermons written after the fell shock came to him, for at
fifty-eight years of age, finding that never again could the
accustomed hand hold the pen, the old man had with his left hand
learned to write, and until the last, week by week, the fresh sermon
came quick and vital from a brain which would not cease to work."
His busy ministry of thirty-four years was a Christian success.
Rev. JOHN MATHER AUSTIN was, on his mother's side, a descendant of the
Mathers distinguished in early colonial times, of which Cotton Mather
is best known in history. He was born in Redfield, Oswego Co., N. Y.,
Sept. 26, 1805, and died in Rochester, Dec. 20, 1880. The first
fifteen years of his life were spent in Watertown, N. Y., to which
place his parents moved during his infancy. He learned the art of
printing in early life, and while employed in it in Troy, N. Y., he
became a member of the Universalist society in that place. His
interest in religious truth became here stimulated to activity, so
that he studied for the ministry, and received fellowship at the
Hudson River Association in 1832. His first pastorate was in
Montpelier, Vt., his next in South Danvers (now Peabody), Mass., when,
after a pastorate there of nine years, he was settled in Auburn,
N. Y., in 1844. In 1851 he resigned his pastorate in Auburn, and took
the editorship of the "Christian Ambassador," then published at that
place.
In 1861 Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State during the
administration of President Lincoln, and a firm friend of Mr. Austin,
tendered him the consulship of the West Indies, which was declined.
The consulship of Prince Edward's Island was afterwards offered him,
which was also declined. In 1863 a commission was sent him, signed by
Secretary of War Stanton, by which he was appointed paymaster in the
army with the rank of major. Mr. Austin was reluctant to relinquish
his work in the ministry, but after much persuasion he entered the
governmental service and remained until 1866, when he was mustered
out. After leaving the army he resumed his labors in the ministry,
preaching occasionally until 1875, when the disease began to develop
which ultimately caused his death.
For many years Mr. Austin was probably the most prominent preacher in
Central New York. He was a profound theologian, and a preacher and
debater of great power. His theological discussion at Genoa with Rev.
Mr. Holmes of the Methodist church gave him a wide notoriety. So ably
conducted was it on the part of Mr. Austin that, it was said, many who
heard him were converted to his views.
Secretary Seward at one time began to write a life of John Quincy
Adams, which was neglected and finally abandoned for want of time to
complete it. At the request of Mr. Seward, Mr. Austin undertook and
finished the work. He was the author of several books of merit; among
them, "A Voice to the Young," "Austin on the Attributes," "Golden
Steps for the Young," and "A Voice to the Married." Mr. Austin had
excellent traits of character. His mind was keenly logical, his
emotional nature was deep and strong, and his social qualities were
eminently attractive.
Rev. TOBIAS H. MILLER. A rare man was he, of clear intellect,
unfailing memory, tenderest sympathies, always thinking, always ready
to talk, and always talking well. He was deeply religious, but his
religion was of the cheerful, hopeful kind. He was born and had his
early rearing in "the old town by the sea"[46]--Portsmouth, N. H., and
was blessed with the watchful care of a pious and faithful mother. He
was early instructed in the Puritanic orthodoxy of New England, and
grew up to be an approved expounder of it. For a time he was editor of
the "Observer," the Orthodox weekly journal of New Hampshire, and was
a kind of active adjutant-general of the forces of that division of
the church militant in his native State. He was always to be trusted
in his work, and was held in high esteem by all his brethren as by all
who best knew him. In later life his Scriptural investigations led him
to accept the doctrine of Universalism as the truth of God, in which
doctrine he continued as an acceptable preacher to the end of his
days. His espousal of Universalism did not lessen the respect of his
former brethren for him. They never seemed to doubt the purity of his
motives nor the excellency of his Christian character. He stood in
their pulpits from time to time during his later years.
He was a devoted Christian reformer. He became interested in the
"Washingtonian" temperance movement in Portsmouth in 1841, and
whenever opportunity offered gave his word and work to promote the
cause of total abstinence from all intoxicants. In the anti-slavery
agitation his voice was raised for freedom, and soon after the
Proclamation of Emancipation made by President Lincoln he repeated, in
the Universalist pulpit in Portsmouth, an address which he wrote and
delivered nearly thirty years before on the subject of slavery, which
showed how accurately he had forecast the future and how his early
auguries had been fulfilled.
Being a practical printer, soon after his arrival at manhood, while in
Newburyport in the office of the "Herald," he formed the acquaintance
of John G. Whittier and William Lloyd Garrison. With the latter he
stood side by side at the printer's case, and a strong life-long
friendship grew up between them. Mr. Garrison says of him:--
"He was a very Benjamin Franklin for good sense and axiomatic
speech, in spirit always as fresh and pure as a new-blown rose. His
nature was large, generous, sympathetic, self-denying, reverent.
From his example I drew moral inspiration, and was signally aided in
my endeavors after ideal perfection and practical goodness. He was
as true to his highest convictions of duty as the needle to the
pole."
Mr. Miller was a terse and ready writer. A journalist speaks of him as
one "who with a stroke of his pen would illumine dark themes and
confound vain philosophers, and who blended the clear vision of a
Franklin with the modesty of a child." He was born Aug. 10, 1801, and
died in Portsmouth, March 30, 1870.
Rev. MARTIN J. STEERE was originally from Rhode Island. He was for
nearly twenty years a minister of marked ability and excellent
reputation in the Free Baptist Church, and for some time the editor of
its weekly journal, "The Morning Star." Given to scriptural
investigation, he anxiously, but slowly and cautiously, reasoned
himself into Universalism. Convinced that this was the New Testament
Gospel, it was his desire to make known the pre-eminent faith to
others who might be seeking religious truth. He soon issued his
"Footprints Heavenward; or, Universalism the More Excellent Way;" a
volume in the form of letters, addressed to his former brethren in the
ministry, relating his travail of mind in search of Christian truth,
and stating some of the evidences which led him to see "the truth as
it is in Jesus." The work has been read with interest and profit by
many. In 1859 Mr. Steere received the fellowship of the Universalist
Church, and subsequently had pastorates in Maine, Massachusetts, and
Connecticut. He was a vigorous thinker, plain, direct, and impressive
in his discoursing, and deeply devotional in spirit. One who knew him
has written: "The continued tone of his spirit was restorative to the
perplexed and desponding; his piety was cheerful, his deportment
humble. His religion was his life." His death, in the triumph of
Christian faith, occurred at Athol, Mass., in January, 1877.
Rev. FRANKLIN S. BLISS was born Sept. 30, 1828, in Cheshire, Mass.,
and died March 23, 1873, in Greensboro, N. C., whither he had gone for
the benefit of his health. At the age of ten he removed with his
family to Lanesboro, Mass., where two years afterwards his mother
died. At the age of eight an illness so affected his eyes that he
became nearly blind, and when he began to regain his sight his hearing
became impaired. At the age of sixteen, finding he could see by using
very powerful glasses, he applied himself to close study. Being soon
prostrated, twice by fever, the foundation was laid for infirmities
which attended him ever after. He became a believer in Universalism
while on a sick bed, but did not avow his sentiments until some time
afterward, when he resolved to enter the ministry. His family were at
first strongly opposed to this course on his part, but they all
afterwards became pleased with his success and reputation as a Gospel
minister. After some time spent in school-teaching, in 1853 he entered
the Liberal Institute at South Woodstock, Vt. (then under the charge
of Rev. J. S. Lee), at which time he was described as a pale-faced,
feeble-looking young man, but with a firm will and settled purpose to
do the most and the best that was possible under the circumstances.
His decision of character, concentration of purpose, and love for the
work of his chosen profession, overcame all impediments, compensated
for lack of health, and rendered him eminently successful and useful
as a Gospel minister. He was ordained at Enfield, N. H., in 1855, in
which place he ministered for two years. Subsequently he removed to
Barre, Vt., where he labored for fifteen years, with exemplary
fidelity and abundant success. In him we have a striking instance of
the inward force of Christian character to overcome bodily infirmities
and accomplish wonders in that ministry whose most eminent apostle
said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me."
In the winter of 1871, Mr. Bliss sought release from pastoral labor
and care, and for some time tried a southern climate for aid. But the
hope proved illusory. His earthly work was done, and well done. A
friend with him at the departure writes: "I wish you could have
witnessed his last days--and his beautiful death. It was glorious."
Rev. RUSSELL TOMLINSON had a long and unbroken pastorate of
twenty-seven years in Plymouth, Mass. He was born in Newtown, Conn.,
Oct. 1, 1808, and died in Plymouth, March 4, 1878. In his early
ministry he entered the field as a missionary in Western New York,
where he labored for two years, travelling on horseback hundreds of
miles, and preaching wherever opportunity offered, receiving slender
compensation for his services, and often none at all. He was settled
at Le Roy, Buffalo, Ridgeway, and Rochester, N. Y., before his removal
to Plymouth. He resigned his charge in the latter place in 1866, and
thenceforth devoted himself to the practice of medicine of the
Homœopathic School, to which he had previously given much study,
obtaining a fair practice and a good reputation.
Mr. Tomlinson was a very positive man, of strong will and inflexible
purpose. He was of such dignified demeanor that strangers were likely
to suppose him cold and austere in his nature; but those who knew him
intimately speak in highest terms of his kind and tender heart, that
was instant in response to any appeal from the unfortunate, the sick,
or afflicted. After his decease, instances of his unostentatious
charity came to light that were never suspected by his nearest
friends. He was strongly interested in the temperance reform, and was
through life an earnest and unflinching worker in that cause. He was
interested and active in educational enterprises, serving for many
years on the school board of Plymouth, and under Governor Boutwell he
was appointed a member of the School Board of Massachusetts. He was a
preacher of no ordinary talent, an honest and devout Christian, a
faithful worker in the Church, to the end that he might induce men to
become followers of Him whose religion is not in "the letter that
killeth, but in the Spirit that giveth life."
Rev. DE WITT CLINTON TOMLINSON was born in Gaines, Orleans County,
N. Y., Aug. 24, 1824, and died at Wedron, Ill., July 27, 1881. He
prepared for the ministry at Clinton, N. Y., under the supervision of
Rev. Dr. T. J. Sawyer, and began to preach in 1846. He had twelve
pastorates in New York and at the West, also one in Boston, Mass.,
during twenty years of his ministry. He was at Chicago, Ill., in 1880,
and maintained his residence there until his death. He was a vigorous,
fervent, and faithful man. With a physique that seemed to defy fatigue
and disease, he was able to do a vast amount of pastoral and other
work. He had a peculiar aptness for the financial work of the church.
He was employed in soliciting aid successively for the Canton
Theological School, for the Murray Fund, and for Buchtel College in
Ohio, and his labors for each were successful. His last employment was
as State Superintendent for Illinois, in which he was engaged nearly
up to the time of his death. In the midst of his strength and
usefulness, he was stricken with disease at a grove meeting, where,
although slightly indisposed, he preached what proved his last sermon.
His work had been well done.
Rev. LEVI C. MARVIN, born in Alstead, N. H., in 1808, was one of those
energetic men who achieve their position in life by their own unaided
efforts. His first work in a literary course beyond the common schools
was done in an academy in Chesterfield, N. H., in the fall of 1828.
The next year he is a teacher in Rhinebeck, N. Y. In 1831, being
invited by Rev. I. D. Williamson to enter his household, as a student
of theology, he accepted, and after some months commenced preaching.
He was ordained in 1834. The next year he removed to Newark, N. J.,
where he had a pastorate of more than three years, when he went to
Missouri, and took up his residence in Arrow Rock, Saline County. A
few years later found him a resident of Booneville, Cooper County,
where he held a discussion with Rev. Mr. Slocum, a Presbyterian. The
discussion embraced twelve lectures on each side, and extended with
unabated interest through six weeks. In 1848 he removed to
Jacksonville, Ill., where he had a discussion with Rev. C. W. Lewis,
Methodist. In 1850 he became a resident of Springfield, Ill., where he
made the acquaintance and secured the warm personal friendship of the
late President Lincoln. From that place, in 1856, he returned to
Missouri, and made in Clinton his permanent home. After his return he
had two public discussions: one at Springfield, Ill., with Rev. Mr.
Johnson, Campbellite, and the other at Georgetown, Mo., with Rev.
W. W. Suddath, Presbyterian.
Mr. Marvin was an exceedingly hard toiler. Much of his ministry was
spent as an itinerant, with but small remuneration, so that extra
efforts in teaching school were necessary on his part. His moral
uprightness, his genial nature and social qualities were of the
highest order, and secured him many friends. During the rebellion he
was a strong Union man,--the only man in the county where he lived who
gave a vote for Abraham Lincoln for President. His efforts in behalf
of the Union awakened a bitterness of feeling often endangering his
person and life. During that period he was for two sessions a member
of the Legislature of Missouri. At one session he was chosen Speaker
of the House. At the same time his brother, Hon. A. C. Marvin, was a
member of the Senate and acting Lieutenant-Governor. On one occasion
the two houses met for the transaction of some special business, when
the unusual scene occurred of two brothers presiding over the joint
session. He was a strong, pure-minded, and conscientious Christian
reformer, religiously and politically. His last days of long
confinement and much pain were cheered with the hopeful light and
comfort of that Gospel which he so loved to commend to his fellow-men.
He died July 5, 1878.
Rev. GILES BAILEY, born in Acworth, N. H., in 1815, was a diligent
scholar and an able preacher. He acquired considerable knowledge of
the classics, receiving instruction from Hon. Horace Maynard. At the
age of seventeen he began a successful career as a school teacher in
Vermont and New Hampshire, and was through life warmly interested in
educational movements. After pursuing his theological studies with the
late Rev. Lemuel Willis, he was ordained in Winthrop, Me., in 1840. He
was settled in Winthrop for two years, then moved to Brunswick, where
he remained seven years, then lived three years in Oldtown, three in
Dexter, two in Claremont, N. H.; then returned to Maine, and lived
eight years in Gardiner and two in Belfast, and finally, in the fall
of 1869, he removed to Reading, Pa., where after nearly nine years of
faithful labor, he closed a noble and useful life.
Adherence to right and principle was a marked feature in the character
of this "good minister of Jesus Christ." He was strongly interested in
all reform movements, and the energetic boldness of his position on
the anti-slavery question is well remembered by his associates. His
addresses on that subject were so filled with burning indignation and
tender pathos, that all hearts were stirred by his eloquence. In
addition to his regular work as a preacher and pastor, he was a
frequent and valuable contributor to our denominational papers. He
wrote, many years ago, a series of letters over the signature of
"Lucius," for the "Christian Ambassador," which attracted much
attention. They revealed unusual literary ability and grasp of
thought, and excited much curiosity in regard to their authorship. For
a time he occupied the editorial chair of the "Universalist." He has
left a clean, manly, and luminous record.
Rev. JOHN E. PALMER, who lived to the great age of ninety years, was a
native of Portsmouth, N. H. He was by trade a printer, and became a
convert to the doctrines of the "Christian Baptists," under the
ministrations of the noted Elias Smith. He began to preach in the
fellowship of that sect, and was ordained in 1809. The earlier years
of his ministry were spent in Warren, N. H., and Danville, Vt. It was
while living in the latter place that he outgrew his early belief in
endless punishment, and came to an undoubting faith that God will have
all men to be saved. He was suddenly arrested by a circumstance which
called his attention to a comparison of his own faith with that of the
"more excellent way" in which afterwards his footsteps were directed.
A very respectable young man, who had never been converted, while on a
fishing excursion, was drowned. It was a deeply afflictive blow to the
surviving family and friends. Mr. Palmer knew that he should be called
upon to preach the funeral sermon. He was greatly distressed. What
could he do? The apostles, he saw, had a faith which enabled them to
comfort those who were "in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith they
themselves were comforted of God." Had he that faith? He says: "I
slept not a wink that night. I walked the house, I read my Bible, I
prayed for light; and I never preached the doctrine of endless woe
again."
In 1819 Mr. Palmer was called to the charge of the Universalist
Society in Barre, Vt., where he labored for eighteen years, scattering
the seed of truth over a wide region, for he was an indefatigable
missionary all through his life. On leaving Barre, he lived two years
in Waitsfield, Vt., and then gave himself to missionary work in
Northern Vermont and New Hampshire. One who was well acquainted with
his ministry writes of him:--
"We can vouch for the devout, evangelical spirit of his services,
the logic of his sermons, the perspicuity of his style, his fluency
of speech, the impressiveness of his delivery. He spoke always
extemporaneously, but his discourses were always coherent, sound,
and clear. There was an evident sincerity and earnestness in the man
that attracted the hearer's attention, and there was a natural
tremulousness in his voice that gave a peculiar pathos to his
discourses. There were in his words a certain indefinable grace and
force which are the gift of God, and not communicable by art or
learning. He was a man of deep religious feeling. Though he had
decided opinions, yet he was the soul of candor and forbearance in
his treatment of 'those of the contrary part.' He was a faithful and
true witness."
Rev. WILLIAM W. WILSON was of Stoddard, N. H., born in 1819. An
accident, by which he lost one of his hands at the age of thirteen,
turned his attention to books and study. He was educated in the
Orthodox faith, as it is called, but was awakened to a special
interest in the subject of religion by listening to the preaching of
Rev. J. V. Wilson (not a relative) in his native town. Acquiring an
academic education, and becoming a believer in Christian Universalism,
he began to preach at the age of twenty-two. He was ordained in 1842
at Laconia, N. H., preaching in that town about two years. He was
afterwards two years in Centre Harbor, four years in West Haverhill,
Mass., five years in Dover, Me., and in Southbridge, Mass., eight
years. In 1867 he went to Chatham, Mass., but was compelled by
ill-health to resign his charge. In 1870 he removed to Oxford, Mass.,
but after two years was again compelled to rest. In 1873 he was
stricken with a partial paralysis, and from that time, though not
entirely helpless, was unable to go on with his ministerial work.
However, he never ceased to take a deep interest in the welfare of his
parish and of the denomination. He was a great sufferer during the
last days of his life, but was constantly hopeful in the light of his
holy faith. He departed this life June 19, 1874. He was quite well
known to our clergymen in New England, and beloved and honored for his
many virtues and for his faithful ministry. He was a Christian
reformer, was genial and utterly sincere in all his work, and leaves a
fragrant and blessed memory.
Rev. WILLIAM R. CHAMBERLIN, born in Brookfield, N. H., Nov. 2, 1816,
was a man of marked ability, and a very acceptable preacher. In early
manhood he was a successful school-teacher. He was ordained as a
preacher in Dighton, Mass., in 1847, and was induced to go to
Abington, Va., and engage in missionary work in that State. For two
years he preached in the Virginia backwoods,--in its highways and
byways, in school-houses, mills, and log cabins,--enduring great
hardship, encountering many dangers, risking his life from violence,
and depending for support solely on Divine Providence. In the autumn
of 1849 he went to Cincinnati, O., and for twelve years was employed
as a book-keeper. But though engaged during the week in secular
pursuits, his activity in behalf of his faith did not in the least
decline. He connected himself with the Second Universalist Church in
that city, and for three years was superintendent of its Sunday
school. Subsequently he became superintendent of the school at the
First Church, and held the position for seven years. It was in this
capacity that he was eminently useful and happy. His influence over
children was unbounded; they were irresistibly drawn to him. He had a
most fertile imagination, and was ever ready with stories such as
children love to hear. He laughed and wept by turns, and with these
emotions the school was always in close sympathy. He had all the gifts
of an improvisatore of the olden time.
Uneasy in his work out of the ministry, in 1867 he laid aside his
accountant's pen, and entered it again. He was settled successively at
Mendota, Ill.; Vinton, Council Bluffs, and Dubuque, Iowa; and at
Clinton, N. Y., at which last place he closed his earthly life. His
work in Clinton was very successful. He attached his people to him by
his amiable disposition, his unselfish spirit, and devotion to his
work. His sermons were always compact and often highly polished.
Intellectual and cultivated people always admired and enjoyed them.
When in 1873 he went on a kind of missionary tour to England and
Scotland, wherever he preached, his sermons were highly spoken of, and
it is known that they impressed on those who heard them a high idea of
American Universalism.
For the last three or four years of his life he was a great sufferer
from an incurable disease, but he worked steadily on until nearly the
end. His last service was held in his own house, in March, 1876, when
he arose from his sick-bed and gave the right hand of fellowship to
twenty-one persons, baptizing seven, and consecrating the babe of a
friend. The announcement of his physician that his end was near he
hailed with joy, and thus entered into the heavenly rest.
[46] See Harper's Monthly Mag. for October, 1874.