■ WITH FI wmmmmmmmmmm vmmmmin* w m*ivi) 9 K* w . > FROM THE LIBRARY OF REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON, D. D. BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO THE LIBRARY OF PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY \j h\r : FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. "And I saw that there was an Ocean of Darkness and Death; but an infinite Ocean of Light and Love (lowed over the Ocean of Darkness ; and in th:it I saw the infinite Love of God."— George Fox's Journal. " I'niversalism was the evening .star of the church as the night of the dark ages came on, and appeared as the morning star at the dawn of the Reformation." Thomas Whittemore, D.D. l/ A ■>,-,; 'J,,?* /' s c J APR 23 1932 * TABLE Ei% 60 /CM se^ VIEWS MINISTRY OF CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALIS! DURING THE LAST HALF-CENTURY. Biograpljtcal Sketches* By JOHN G. ADAMS, D.D. ILLUSTRATED WITH PORTRAITS. BOSTON: UXTVERSALIST PUBLISHING HOUSE. 1882. Copyright, 1SS2, By Universalist Publishing House. University Press: JonN Wilson and Son, Cambridge. PREFACE. Every intelligent reader of that expressive line of Longfellow, " Let the dead past bury its dead," under- stands that if "the dead past" may be buried, as it deserves to be, the living past will be remembered, recorded, celebrated, honored in all time to come. It is well, always, that we have our eyes open to this fact. Among the many voices heard in the discussions going on in the religious world during the last half- century, has been that of Christian Universalism. It is still speaking more emphatically and widely than ever. A brief and comprehensive notice of its mani- festations is surely worthy of consideration at the pres- ent time. It is the intent of this volume to keep in sacred remembrance some of the preachers and defend- ers of the Gospel of God's impartial grace, who in times when it was frowned upon and misrepresented in and out of the churches, had the Christian courage and loyalty to avow and maintain it. They have made the past not " dead," but gloriously alive in their faith and works. In addition to the biographical sketches here given, other kindred matter of interest to the general reader li PREFACE. will be presented, such as the rise and progress of the Universalist church in America ; its growth in agree- ment with the genius and civilization of our republic ; its place in the reformatory work of the last fifty years ; its present status ; its educational resources and aspects ; its definite organized work; its missionary spirit and intent, with an outlook into the future. The reader will understand that the views here taken are from the standpoint of a New England minister's observation, and do not embrace particulars which a wider survey might have included. Furthermore, the author would say, that in the ac- count of ministers here given, nothing like a complete biographical encyclopaedia is intended ; hence, he does not consider himself responsible for what is not in the volume, but presents it as it is, with a thankful heart that he is able in this humble effort to vindicate the faithful dead, and to address the living in behalf of that cause which they honored and promoted. J. G. A. Melrose Highlands, November, 1882. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. THE WORLD'S PROGRESS. PAGE The Century just passed. — Last Half-century and Changes in it. — Words of Rev. Dr. Macleod and Governor Long. — Moral Prog- ress ; Hopeful View. — Enlargement of Religious Thought. — Christianity a Universal Religion. — Words of Dr. Uhlhorn and Dean Milman 13 CHAPTER II. CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALIS!!. The Name; what it indicates. — Ancient Universalism. — Dr. E. Beecher's Testimony. — Statements of Others. — Mr. Lecky and Dr. Shaff. — Universalism of the Present Time. — In Eu- rope 19 CHAPTER III. UNIVERSALIS!! IN AMERICA. Its Rise with the Republic. — Declaration of Independence. — Its Christian Signification. — Mr. Bancroft's Statement. — Spirit of the Constitution of the Republic. — Nature, Unity, Interest, and Destination of the one Family of Man. — Speech of Dr. T. Whit- temore. — Murray in Faneuil Hall 23 IV COXTENTS. CHAPTER IV. EARLY ADVOCACY OF UNIVERSALIS!! IN AMERICA. PAGE Murray and De Benneville. — Universalists as a separate Sect, and Reasons for it. — Statement of Rev. Dr. J. H. Tuttle. — Murray's Associates in the Ministry. — Their Characteristics. — State- ment of Rev. Dr. J. Smith Dodge. — Description by Rev. Dr. A. D. Mayo 30 CHAPTER V. GROWTH. Ministers at the beginning of the Present Century. — Statement of Rev. Dr. Miner. — Educational Aids and Publications. — Mur- ray Centenary Fund. — Woman's Centenary Aid Association. — Theological Changes. — Calvinism, Arminianism, Universalism. — Evidences of the Influence of the Latter in these Changes. — Orthodox Concessions 36 CHAPTER VI. UNIVERSALISM, UNITARIANISM, RATIONALISM. Liberal Christianity. — Indecision of Unitarians respecting the Sal- vation of All. — Ballou on Atonement. — Bold Vindication of their Faith by Universalists. — Tribute to Unitarianism. — Its Defects. — Mr. Parker's Influence. — Difficulty in answering a Question. — Disavowal of Mr. Parker's Rationalism by Univer- salists. — Resolutions of Boston Association. — Mr. Parker re- viewed by Rev. 0. A. Skinner and Rev. Dr. Lothrop. — Discus- sions respecting Christian Fellowship. — Dr. Ballou's Article in Universalist Quarterly; never Answered. — Mr. R. W. Emer- son and his Testimony to Universalism 42 CHAPTER VII. REFORM MOVEMENTS AND UNIVERSALISM. Universalist Reform Association. — First Meeting, and Festival Ad- dresses. — Continuation of Meetings, a Feature of Anniversary Week. — Anti-Slavery Resolutions.— Festivals in Faneuil Hall. — Rendition of Burns ; Notes of Freedom on the Occasion . . 50 CONTENTS. CHAPTER VIII. NEW ENGLAND ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY; UNIVERSALIST PROTEST. PAGE Mr. Garrison and His Associates. — Marlboro Chapel, " Eloquence dog-cheap there." — The Debaters. — Rev. John Pierpont and his Remarkable Plea. — Wendell Phillips's Reply to it. — Mobs in Boston and at Concord, N. H. — Denunciatory Spirit. — Anti- Sabbath Convention. — N. P. Rogers and the "Herald of Free- dom." — Momentum of the Anti-Slavery Reform. — Political Changes. — War of the Rebellion and Downfall of Slavery. — Universalist Churches in this Reform. — Protest of Ministers against Slavery 58 CHAPTER IX. REFORMATORY PROGRESS. The Temperance Reform. — Its Rise and Course in the Past ; Its Present Aspects. — The Peace Question. — War Spirit of the Past contrary to Christianity. — Growth of the Christian Idea. — Peace Publications. — Sumner's Oration. — National Disputes can be settled by Arbitration ; Instances. — Victor Hugo's Words. — Treatment of Criminals. — Capital Punishment. — Position and Work of Woman. — Other Questions G6 CHAPTER X. THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH AND ITS WOMEN. Some of the Gifted Authors. — Women Workers in the Churches, Pulpits, and Educational Institutions. — Organized Effort. — Woman's Centenary Aid Association. — Its Work in the Cen- tennial Year. — Tribute from the " Christian Leader." — Work of the Association since. — Mrs. C. A. Soule and the Scotland Mission. — Church in Glasgow. — Circulation of Church Liter- ature 79 CHAPTER XT. SKETCHES OP MINISTERS. Hosea Ballou. — Hosea F. Ballon. — Massena Ballou. — David Bal- lou. — Moses Ballou. — Hosea Ballou, D.D. — Levi and W. S. Ballou. — Edward Turner. — Sebastian Streeter. — Russell v i CONTENTS. PAGE Streeter. — Thomas Jones. — Paul Dean. — Walter Balfour. — John Bisbe.— Thomas Wliittemore, D.D. — Benjamin Wliitte- more, D.D.— Dolphus Skinner, D.D. —Warren Skinner. — Otis A. Skinner, D.D. — Samuel P. Skinner. —Joseph O. Skinner. — Nathaniel Stacy.— Stephen R. Smith. — Sylvanus Cobb, D.D. — Menzies Rayner 84 CHAPTER XII. Thomas F. King. — Thomas Starr King. — Abel C. Thomas. — S. W. Fuller. — William A. Drew. — I. D. Williamson, D.D. — Kittredge Haven. — John Boyden. — John Moore. — Henry Ba- con. — D. K. Lee, D.D 129 CHAPTER XIII. George Bates. — Ezekiel Vose. — Lemuel Willis. — John H. Willis. — Theodore Clapp. — John A. Gurley. — Enoch M. Pingree. — Thomas J. Greenwood. — Elbridge Ger^ Brooks, D.D. — Eb- enezer Fisher, D.D. — Rev. Seth Stetson. — William Bell. — Calvin Gardner 152 CHAPTER XIV. Josiah Gilman. — Emmons Partridge. — William I. Reese. — Al- bert A. Folsom. — William C Hanscom. — Merritt Sanford. — Alexander R. Abbott. — Henry C. Leonard. — Abraham Nor- wood. — Charles Spear. — James W. Putnam. — James W. Den- nis.— Henry B. Soule. — Obadiah II. Tillotson 168 CHAPTER XV. Elhanan W. Reynolds. — Nathaniel Gunnison. — John M. Austin. — Tobias H. Miller. — Martin J. Steere. — Franklin S. Bliss.— Russell Tomlinson. — De Witt C. Tomlinson. — Levi C. Marvin. — Giles Bailey. — John E. Palmer. — William W.Wilson. — William R. Chamberlain 181 CHAPTER XVI. Samuel C. Loveland. — David Pickering. — George Rogers. — Lewis F. W. Andrews. — Charles W. Mellen. — Henry A. Eaton. — W. A. P. Dillingham. — John G. Bartholomew, D.D. — E. II. Chapin, D.D. — Joseph D. Pierce. — Thomas J. Carney. — James M. Cook 199 CONTENTS. vii CHAPTER XVII. W. Bruce. — Frederick A. Hodsdon. — Ezekiel W. Coffin. — Edward A. Drew. — Norris C. Hodgdon. — 8. P. Landers. — John Nichols. — Robert Killain. — Charles II. Webster. — Asa P. Cleverly. — Thomas J. Whitcomb. — George W. Whitney. — Robinson Breare 221 CHAPTER XVIII. Zadoc H. Howe. — Willard C. George. — Mark Powers. — L. L. Rec- ord. — H. H. Baker. — James W. Ford. — E. H. Lake. — L.B. Mason. — Lafayette Barstow. — Stillman Barden. — T. J. Ten- ney. — C. II. Dutton. — Robert Bartlett 232 CHAPTER XIX. Rufus S. Pope. — W. M. De Long. — W. B. Linnell. —Joshua Brit- ton. — George Messenger. — John T. Goodrich. — Franklin C. Flint. — Hope Bain. — Woodbury M. Fernald. — C. P. Mallory. — Elvira J. Powers. — Fanny U. Roberts. — Prudy Le Clerc Haskell. — Living Ministers: C. F. Le Fevre, D D — Lucius R. Paige, D.D. — A. A. Miner, D.D. — Thomas J. Sawyer, D.D. — Thomas B. Thayer, D.D. — William S. Balch, D.D. — William H. Ryder, D.D. — Birthplace of Rev. H. Ballou 257 CHAPTER XX. EDUCATIONAL AIDS. Universalism and Education. — Tufts College. — Lombard Univer- sity. — St. Lawrence University. — Buchtel College. — Clinton Liberal Institute. — Dean Academy. — Goddard Seminary. — Westbrook Seminary. — Green Mountain Perkins Institute. — Other Aids. — The Sunday School. — Church Literature. — A Sensible and Urgent Appeal 293 CHAPTER XXI. THE LAITY. Needed Support of the Ministry ; how the Laity can render it. — Instances noted 302 viii CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXII. THE PRESENT OUTLOOK. PAGE Changes. — The Episcopal and Congregational Churches. — The Beecher Family. — Congregationalists at Plymouth in 18G5. — Question of the Divine Responsibility. — Dr. Patton, Rev. John Miller, Miss Elizabeth Stuart Phelps. — Orthodoxy at Andover. — Questions respecting it. — Expedients to avoid the Admission of Eniversalism. — Prophecy of Rev. Dr. Hosea Ballou. — A late Acknowledgment of its Truthfulness. — Spirit of Inquiry among the Sects. — Spurgeon's Words. — The World and Church moving. — Growth of our Nation during the Last Half Century. — Words of Hon. R. C. Winthrop at Yorktown. — Work of the Universalist Church Now and Henceforth. — A Pos- itive Faith. — The Creed Question noted. — A True Christian Life. — Missionary Inspiration and Action. — Conclusion . . . 307 LIST OF PORTRAITS. Page Rev. Hosea Ballou Frontispiece Hosea Ballou, D.D 95 Thomas Whittemore, D.D Ill Otis A. Skinner, D.D 116 Sylvanus Cobb, D.D 124 John Moore 147 Henry Bacon 148 Elbridge G. Brooks, D.D 161 Ebenezer Fisher, D.D 163 Lucius R. Paige, D.D 259 Alonzo A. Miner, D.D 262 Thomas J. Sawyer, D.D 268 Thomas B. Thayer, D.D 275 William H. Ryder, D.D 283 Mr. Thomas A. Goddard 298 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. FIFTY NOTABLE YEAES. CHAPTER I. THE WORLD'S PROGRESS. "Even now, after eighteen centuries of Christianity, we may be in- volved in some enormous error, of which the Christianity of the future will make us ashamed." — Vixet. " Yet I doubt not through the ages one increasing purpose runs, And the thoughts of men are widened by the process of the suns." Tennyson. " " I ''HE world moves." This is one of the confident ■*- sayings of those who believe in human progres- sion. It is an ordination of Divine Providence from the beginning that man should realize mental and. moral growth through the successive generations of his earthly life. And this divine purpose has been manifest in the past history of our race. They who think, taking the amplest view of the present condition of mankind, any former time was better than the present, do not right- fully discriminate. " If," says Sydney Smith, "you say that our ancestors were wiser than we, mention your date and your year." Enlightened humanity cannot be content with its present attainments. Its purest and highest aspirations respond to that clarion word of Christian heroism, " Let us go on unto perfection ! " 14 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. Of all the centuries of human history which have yet been numbered, none have been more notable than the one in which we are living. Since its commence- ment some of the most remarkable changes that can be recorded of any age or period have taken place. Edu- cation, art, science, human government and enterprise, religious thought, all have made progress. Nations have changed, men have changed, if not in nature, yet in convictions respecting man's capability, obligation, and destiny. The Old World and the New have wit- nessed these transformations. It is of the changes indicative of human progress within the middle of the present century that I desire to speak in this volume ; for during this period there seems to have been a more rapid succession of them than ever, evincing the capability of our race for an advancement to which no philosophy of the past or present has been able to set bounds. There have been, during this time, nobler revolutions than those effected hy war, by the downfall of governments and dynasties, — revolutions more excellent and enduring. We mean those wrought by human thought, investigation, discov- ery, and invention. Apt and forcible are the words of Dr. Norman Macleod, written at the close of the jear 1869: " In a few hours the century will have lived its threescore and ten years. I question if since time began, — with the exception of three or four great eras, such as the calling of Abraham, the Exodus, the birth of Christ, the Reformation, the invention of printing, or, it may be, the breaking up- of the Roman Empire, the birth of Mohammed or of Buddha, — such an influ- ential period has existed. The invention of the steam- engine, the discoveiy of gas, telegraph, chloroform, . THE WORLD'S PROGRESS. 15 with the freedom of slaves, the British acquisition of India, the opening up of the world to the Gospel, the translations of the Scriptures, will make it forever memorable." Equally expressive are the words re- cently spoken by the chief magistrate of Massachusetts : " Think of what has been done in the matter of edu- cation, of public schools, of universities of learning for both sexes and all races. In science we have unlocked the secrets of the earth, the air, and the sea, and made them not merely matters of wonder, but handmaids of homely use. In all matters of comfort, of use, of ele- gance, of convenient living, of house and table, and furniture, and light, and warmth, and health, and travel, what thorough and beneficent advance equally for all, shaming the petty meanness with which, unjust alike to the old times and the new, we inveigh against the new times and overrate the old ! " 1 And what, more especially, of moral revolution and progress during the last half century ? The indications are evidently hopeful and cheering. Human nature is indeed the same, but it has been under new and better influences in modern than in more remote time. Human governments have improved, and even the worst of them are better now than they were fifty years ago. Human laws have been rendered more human and less bar- barous. Sympathy for the poor, the degraded, the sinful, has been more truly awakened, and is at this moment in more active operation than at any previous time. The moral obligations of political rulers, and those who sustain them, have been perhaps more vigor- ously discussed during these years than in any other 1 Oration of Governor Long before the municipal authorities and citi- zens of Boston, July 4, 1882. 16 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. fifty years preceding ; so that there seems now a more favorable opportunity than at almost any previous day this side that of the Jewish Theocracy, to impress this truth upon the public mind, that if individuals should have consciences and a sense of responsibility to God, so should communities ; that " righteousness exalteth a nation, while sin is a reproach to any people." Religious toleration also has increased. The rigid sectarianism of the past has been giving way, so that now the hunters of heresy, and the executioners of those who held it, are read of rather than seen. The false deity which even some Christians have worshipped in the past, and the false humanity with which they have supposed them- selves endowed, have been in some good degree ex- changed for more rational conceptions of God the Father, and of man the offspring. And this change is daily going on ; never was it more perceptible than at the present hour. We should manifest an unpardonable blindness in noting these evidences of human advancement, if we were to leave out of the account the most significant of all forces in it, — we mean Christianity. This we regard as the foremost power in the spiritual progress thus far realized in our world, and which promises to effect for the race its highest exaltation. Refinement and barbarism have more or less marked the history of the world in the past; they do still; but where does the light of civilization shine brightest among the nations? The answer is, where the Christian religion, in its true spirit, most widely prevails. And it is the increasing prevalence of it which gives us the assurance of that consummation of the Redeemer's work with men, when they all " come in the unity of THE WORLD'S PROGRESS 17 the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man ; unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." l Christianity is a universal religion. Herein is its pre- eminence. It is for man everywhere and in all time. No other religion has so clearly asserted this claim for itself, and no other promises to do so much for man- kind. True, it has had to make its way against the errors and prejudices and corruptions of the world. It has been mixed with human errors, and has been professed, taught, and practised in too many instances by those who have failed to realize clearly the heaven- liness of its spirit, and its far-reaching, regenerative, and overcoming power. Its earliest promulgators failed to see at first this grand characteristic of its universality. An able Christian historian has written : " Nothing is more remarkable than to see the horizon of the Apostles gradually receding, and, instead of resting on the bor- ders of the Holy Land, comprehending at length the whole world ; barrier after barrier falling down before the superior wisdom which was infused into their minds; first, the proselytes of the gate, the foreign conformists to Judaism, and, ere long, the Gentiles themselves admitted within the pale ; until Christianity stood forth, demanded the homage, and promised its rewards to the faith of the whole human race ; proclaimed itself in language which the world had as yet never heard, the one, true universal reliarion." 2 Rev. Dr. Gerhard Uhlhorn, of Germany, in his able work, " The Conflict of Christianity with Heathenism," speaking of the early development of Christianity in the 1 Eph. iv. 13. 2 Miknan's " History of Christianity." 2 18 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. Roman Empire, calls it the first step to its universalism. "Itself passing out from the ancient narrowness into a world-wide breadth of thought and life, the old world became capable of accepting the Universalism of Christianity." l The old world and the new have yet many steps forward to take in this pathway of a continually increasing brightness. CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALISM. 19 CHAPTER II. CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALISM. " Universalism is a living movement, organized out of the grandest ideas and spiritual facts of the universe ; gathering into itself the richest and mightiest moral forces, and working towards the most positive prac- tical ends ; and a man is a Universalist, and is the better off for being a Universalist, only as some sense of what Universalism thus is, and of the force of its motives, and the reality of its work, flows down, a quickening power, into his being." — E. G. Brooks, D.D. THE name Universalism, as connected with Chris- tianity, has been especially notable during the present century. But the principles which it implies were averred by the Christian church in its earliest days. It signifies God's unchanging paternal interest in all his children; an interest insuring his just dealing with them for their obedience or disobedience of his beneficent laws, and their final release from sin, and life in righteousness. Under its present name, Uni- versalism is comparatively recent ; its special church history being comprehended in something more than a century. But its principles and doctrines are as old as the Christian records, and are found in the Old Testament teachings. Just as all the sects in Christen- dom, though belonging to modern times, profess to trace whatever they may deem essential back to the Apostles, so believers in Universalism make the same 20 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. reference, as one of their number has well stated it : " If we have no business here because we came so late, our neighbors must fall under the same condemnation. In mere assumption we are neither younger nor older than they." The Universalist Church claims the New Testament as the basis of its doctrines. It cites the Gospels, the Apostolic History and the Epistles, Christ, and his first ministers, as authority for its pretensions. After the apostles, its lights appear in the early centuries of the Christian era. Dr. Edward Beecher, in his able work, " The Scriptural Doctrine of Future Retribution," shows that at about the time of Origen, out of the six theological schools in Christendom, four taught Universal Salvation as the faith of the Christian Church, — the one at Cyesarea, the one at Antioch, the one at Alexandria, the one at Edessa. That eminent light of the early church, Origen, who so ably and successfully maintained the claims of Chris- tianity against the abusive attacks of the heathen Cel- sus, was a Universalist. So was Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem, and Gregory Thaumaturgus, bishop of Neo- cresarea ; and so were the most distinguished by piety and learning of the masters of the great theological seminary of the early Church, the Catechetical school at Alexandria. Doederlein said that "the more pro- foundly learned any one was in Christian antiquity, so much more did he cherish and defend the hope that the suffering of the wicked would at some time come to an end." 1 And Hagenbach, commenting on a remark of Augustine, says, " that even that great father of Ortho- doxy admitted a relative cessation of damnation." Also, 1 Civitate Dei, lib. xxi., chap. 16. CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALIS*!. 21 Gieseler affirms, "A belief in the unalienable power of amendment in all intelligent beings, and the limited duration of future punishment, was general in the West, and among the opponents of Origen." l Of the very time when the influence of Origen was so great in the Church, and when, there can be no good reason to doubt, the doctrine of universal salvation was held by many, if not the majority of Christians, Mr. Lecky, in his history of " Morals in Europe," says, " The Christian community exhibited a moral purity which, if it has been equalled, has never for a long time been sur- passed." Dr. Schaff says of the condemnation of Origen, which included the doctrine of universal restoration, " It was a death-blow to theological science in the Greek Church, and left it to stiffen gradually into a mechanical tradi- tionalism and formalism." The increased light shed upon ecclesiastical history during the present century shows most clearly the growth of this faith from the first centuries of the Christian era to the present time. It has increased with the mental and moral progress of mankind, with its best civilization. What is written for these pages will represent especially the rise and progress of the Universalist Church in America. It is proper, however, to say that the faith it represents has had growth also in other lands. It has long been known in Great Britain, where a few churches have made a distinct avowal of it, while individuals scattered here and there have had strong interest in it. The Unitarians of England generally avow it. In the Established Church, faith in the doc- 1 Civitate Dei, lib. xxi., chap. 1G. 22 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. trine of endless punishment is not demanded as a con- dition of church-membership, while some of its most distinguished leaders have advocated with marked ability the doctrine of the Fatherhood of God in full agreement with the doctrine of the final recon- ciliation of all souls to him. We meet with Univer- salism in its essential elements in Neander, the eminent Christian historian, and in commentators and scholars in England and on the Continent. The faith is ex- pressed in the poetry of Wordsworth, Tennyson, and others. 1 The able ministers Coquerel (father and son) were advocates of it in the Reformed Church in France (Paris). The leaven of this faith is in individuals; the doctrine is often held and openly avowed from the pulpit and through the press, as well as in private by a large number of persons in various communions, who may have but little knowledge of each other, or of the advocacy of this faith elsewhere through special organ- izations. 1 For evidence of the many utterances of the Universalist idea in the literature of the past, the reader is referred to the volume entitled "A Cloud of Witnesses," by Kev. John W. Hanson, D.D., Chicago, 1880. UNIVERSALISM IN AMERICA. 23 CHAPTER III. UNIVERSALISM IN AMERICA. " Christianity is recognized as a democratic element, profitable for all conditions of men, as the Declaration of Independence and our Consti- tution are the palladium of our civil and religious rights." — Dr. J. W. Francis, author of " Old New York." T TNIVERSALISM in America took its rise with the ^ Republic. The coming of John Murray to our shores, and the proclamation of the gospel of universal grace, was but a little time previous to the issuing of the Declaration of Independence by the American colonies. These colonies had come to the full and bold utterance with which the Declaration opens : " We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Through ages of light and of darkness this sacred truth had had but little growth or power in the human mind. But it was there, and was not to die there. It lived through all the world's change, commotion, and revolution, and the set time had now come when it should have a clearer and stronger expression and demonstration than our old or new worlds had yet known. This declaration of our fathers signified the inestimable value of man — of every man — to himself, his fellow man, and his God. 24 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. It asserts the doctrine of human equality, not that all men have the same intellectual or moral capacities, or should possess an equal amount of property, or be in- vested with the same political privileges ; but the religious doctrine that all are of " one blood," children of one Father, protected by one Providence, made to aid, to bless and build each other up in truth, justice, and righteousness henceforth while the world stands. It signifies human equality and human rights in their broadest and most rational sense. As wrote Alexander Hamilton : k ' All men have one common origin, they participate in a common nature, and consequently have one common right. No reason can be assigned why one man should exercise any pre-eminence among his fellow creatures, unless they have voluntarily vested him with it." It was this conviction, based on a principle, that carried our fathers through the Revolution, and gave to us that Constitution which was afterwards the work of their hands. The object of this Constitution is explicitly declared, " To form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity." This signified not the growth and strengthening of a sentiment that would justify the building up of one class upon the sub- jugation of another. We have a statement of the whole truth in the emphatic language of Mr. Bancroft, as he speaks of the intent of the framers of the Declaration on which our Constitution is based. " The Declaration, avoiding specious and vague generalities, grounds itself with anxious care upon the past, and reconciles right and fact. The assertion of right was made for the en- UNIVERSALIS!! IN AMERICA. 25 tire world of mankind, and all coming generations, with- out any exceptions whatever ; for the proposition which admits of exceptions can never be self-evident. And as it was put forth in the name of the ascendant people of that time, it was sure to make the circuit of the world, passing everywhere through the despotic countries of Europe ; and the astonished nations, as they read that all men are created equal, started out of their lethargy, like those who have been exiles from childhood, when they suddenly hear the dimly remembered accents of their mother tongue." 1 It was meet and right that when this great word went forth to awaken the nations to a new realization, there should be heard at the same time in our laud the trumpet notes of that gospel which proclaims the unbinding of the heavy burdens of humanity, liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. As Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the signers of the Decla- ration of Independence (and a believer in Christian Universalism), in a letter to Rev. Mr. Winchester, alluding to Rev. John Wesley, writes : " His writings will ere long revive in support of our doctrine — for if Christ died for all, as Mr. Wesley always taught, it will soon appear as a necessary consequence that all shall be saved. ... At present we wish liberty to the whole world. The next touch of the celestial magnet upon the human heart will direct it into wishes for the salvation of all mankind." This new political life, upon which our nation entered, signified the equality, true sonship, brotherhood, capa- bility, and earthly destination of man. It meant democ- racy, not the democracy of numbers merely, nor of 1 Bancroft's History of the United States, vol. viii. 26 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. political parties struggling for supremacy and the spoils of the victors, but a democracy having in view a com- mon good — the greatest good of all. It means intelli- gence, thrift, education, and religion for the masses ; it means this for one people, means it for all nations of mankind. Precisely this is signified by the re-affirma- tion on these western shores of that gospel anciently proclaimed to the Athenians by the Christian apostle : " God, that made the world . . . hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth, ... as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring." 1 A common humanity, a common interest and destiny, are declared. It is a common humanity with which Christ is in sympathy ; which makes him who would be highest in the Divine estimation the servant of all ; which recog- nizes the Golden Rule, directs the strong to bear the infirmities of the weak, and men everywhere to be helpers one of another, because their interests are not antagonistic, when the laws that govern their nature are clearly understood. They have unity : " What binds one, binds all, Love of things true and right." Men have, too, a common interest under the Divine guardianship. Wherever there is a man, there is a being in whose soul God has implanted aspirations after himself, a propensity to religion, a feeling after him which may be misled by superstition, or overlaid by ignorance, or elevated by knowledge into purest piety, but which is yet there. Wherever he exists the Sovereign Power holds him in discipline, demands an i Acts, xvii. 24, 28. UNIVERSALIS!! IN AMERICA. 27 account from him at his tribunal of impartial justice, and will not permit him to go out of his hands. To whatever heights he ascends, God still encompasses him ; into whatever depths he may fall, he is still held by the guardian beneficent power. One destiny, also, is affirmed of this great body of humanity ; a blessing instituted in the beginning, including all families, kindreds, nations. No divine favoritism towards one over another do we see. The law and the prophets point towards this universal grace of God to man. Israel and the Gentile world shall alike share it. The apocalyptic vision opens it up to the eye of faith. "And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I, saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever." l What is this but the fact, and the ultimate completeness and glory of the unity of the race ? One Father, Brotherhood, Saviour, Hom- age, Destiny. Other theologies had made distinctions and endless separations in representing mankind ; had denied, as they still deny, this fraternal relationship, this positive family connection ; had represented God rather as an arbitrary sovereign than loving Father, and the Divine government a wilful monarchy instead of a just and merciful dispensation under which each soul is of equal value, and the good of one is the good of all. Unbelief has said, as in the language of Spinoza : " The right extends as far as the force of the natural right or law, jus et institutum naturce is nothing more than the rules i Eev. v. 13. 28 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. of the nature of each individual." The divisions and contentions, classes and castes, the impositions, frauds, and oppressions which have more or less marked the social relations of mankind, all come of this pernicious error growing out of the unchecked selfishness of the human heart. Christian Universalism forever contra- dicts this error. It affirms that the great body of humanity is one, and that it is death to sunder it. " If one member suffer, all the members suffer with it ; if one rejoice, all rejoice together ; for the body is not one member, but many." 1 In the affirmation of the Gos- pel, religious bigotry and exclusiveness find a constant reproof; undue boasting, arrogance, and pride are hushed by this grand conviction that " One is our Father who is in heaven, and all we are brethren." The broadest philanthropy is awakened everywhere in man. The world becomes the one great field of effort for the enlightenment, relief, upraising, and perfect- ing of humanity. In the strong and noble words of another : " Universalism and the Revolution began to rise together. They were rocked together in the same stormy days, in the cradle of American liberty. 2 The banner of Universalism is love. Let that banner be lifted up. It shall symbol yet the true idea of the Declaration of Independence, ' All men are created equal.' I look forward to the time when our flag shall wave in unsullied glory, not over smoking ruins, at the mast-head of our battle-ships, on bloody fields, from the parapets of our forts, merely ; but the stars and stripes i 1 Cor. xii. 14, 26. 2 When Rev. John Murray first preached in Faneuil Hall, Nov. 26, 1773, he discoursed from this appropriate text: "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." — John, viii. 36. UNI VERS ALISM IN AMERICA. 29 and the white banner together, floating over slaves redeemed, sinners converted, evil statutes abolished, the people united, and the North and the South one." 1 1 Eev. T. Whittemore, D. D. Speech at Faneuil Hall Festival, 1858. 30 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. CHAPTER IV. EARLY ADVOCACY OF UNIVERSALIS*! IN AMERICA. " The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." — Isaiah, xl. 3. "D EV. JOHN MURRAY, from England, landed on -*-^- the shore of New Jersey in 1770. He came hither much oppressed in spirit on account of severe afflictions in England, and had determined not to place himself before the public again as a preacher. His published biography tells us how differently the arrange- ments were made by Providence respecting him. It is a remarkable record, that of his meeting with Thomas Potter, who declared that he had been long waiting for the minister who had now come, that he must preach in the new meeting-house which had been builded for him ; and who, in face of the preacher's refusal to comply with his request, declared that the wind would not change for him to leave in the vessel until he had de- livered his message. After a severe mental conflict the stranger consented to preach on the following Sunday. Due notice was given, and the house was filled with attentive listeners. There had been some other preaching of Universalism in different places in America previous to this time, as there were here and there those who cherished the EARLY ADVOCACY OF UNIVERSALISM. 31 faith and made public avowal of it. Dr. George de Benneville, a fugitive from France because of religious persecution, established himself near Germ an town, Pa., as a physician, and being a devout believer in Univer- salism, took occasion often to advocate it in public, with much effect. This beginning on the part of Mr. Murray, however, opened the way to a systematic, permanent movement, and led to the establishment of Universalist churches. He preached much in New England, and was settled in Portsmouth, N. H., and afterwards in Boston, where he remained pastor of one church for nearly thirty years. In his preaching at first, Mr. Murray did not design to establish a separate sect. He was welcomed by ministers and their follow- ers into orthodox pulpits, until his outspoken views respecting the salvation of the race raised a strong opposition against him, which made him an object of persecution, and marked him as the propagator of a dangerous heresy. Thus excluded from Christian com- munion and fellowship by other sects, it was but reason- able and just that the believers in Universalism should assume for themselves the rights and privileges of a distinct and independent Christian fraternity ; so that other sects were responsible for the separation of this branch of the Christian church from themselves. It has been justly said by another: — " If there was sin in this schism, in this separate religious organization, it was a sin for which the other sects of those times should bear the blame. They turned us out of doors, because we dared express our earnest solemn opinions, and we had only these two alternatives, — to sta}' out of doors or go in at those which were hung on Universalist hinges. Does anybody to-day condemn us because we chose the lat- 32 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. ter? We do not uncharitably condemn them for the course they took ; the}* acted, in most cases, conscientiously ; and it was, perhaps, a providential necessity of the times that the two elements should separate ; that the two classes of Christians, holding views so opposite, should walk apart for a while. Denied the fellowship of other churches at the start, we have tried to be content with the fellowship of Christ ; and we neither desire nor ask for any other until we are deemed wortlry of it. That we can endure to be called heretics, even infidels, that we can stand alone, and yet live, and grow, and win the respect of the best part of the world, is already demonstrated. Our great anxiety in the future will be to show to all right-minded people, by our life rather than our word, that we are Christians, that this last form of Protestantism is only more genuine, because nearer the truth, than the first." 1 Contemporary with Mr. Murray during his early min- istry in America Avere Elhanan Winchester, a highly gifted and effective minister; Thomas Jones, formerly of the Lady Huntington connection in England, and afterwards settled at Gloucester, Mass. ; Adams and Zebulon Streeter, Caleb Rich, Thomas Barnes, Noah Parker, Noah Murray, George Richards, William Far- well, Joab Young, Hosea and David Ballon, Edward Turner, — most of these preachers in New England ; Abel Sargent in Western Pennsylvania, and a few others. Dr. Joseph Priestley was for a time in Philadelphia, where he advocated the doctrine of the final restora- tion of all souls ; and Rev. Dr. Mayhew and Rev. Dr. Chauncey, although not identified with the work of the ministers already mentioned, had made distinct avowals of this same faith. A remarkable fact in connection 1 Eev. J. H. Tuttle, D. D. EARLY ADVOCACY OF UNIVERSALISM. 33 with the history of most of these men is, that they were not from theological schools, nor largely endowed with literary qualifications. They were men of clear mental perceptions, were well versed in the Bible, ready and apt in their references to it, of sincere convictions, and of indomitable will. The} 7, went forth in readiness for whatever encounters might await them, never fear- ing what theological forces might appear in their way, so long as they felt assured that " the sword of the Spirit'' would not fail them, and that they should be made " strong in the Lord," and victorious in his might. Well has it been written : — " It will be brave reading when somebody shall display to us how the faith came quietly to exist at far distant points, Pennsylvania, New York, New England, variously born of widel} T different antecedents, but gradually converging to a general likeness hy the time John Murray came to be the nucleus around which all should centre, an organic but unor- ganized mass, without form but not void. Then will follow the long history of separated and desultory warfare with the established prejudices and partialities of the Christian sects, during which every verse of Scripture was discussed, every doctrine examined from the base, every conventional habit of thought dragged to the light and called to account, every inch of theological ground stubbornly fought over. All this while there were annual meetings called the General Con- vention and recognized as a centre of denominational union, but they were little more than voluntary mass-meetings ; all authority was jealously reserved to societies or local Associ- ations, with the largest liberty of individual preference, and Universalists, like Israel under its Judges, did as seemed good in every man's sight. Men in less deadly earnest, or dealing with doctrines less profound and fundamental, would have formed a close compact early in their history. But it 3 34 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. was in the nature of the case that these revolted thinkers should be shy of new bonds, and that these divers searching the deeps should think little of the surface. It was only when there came to be multitudes born in the faith, with intellect- ual habits and social affinities based on Universalism, with established worship and gathered congregations scattered across the continent, that the imperative need of a firm union for work and discipline was felt ; and to reach this point had taken almost a hundred years." - As time passes, and new phases of the church repre- senting the Universalist faith appear, and new advocates of it arise, these days of its first advocacy in our land may lose their significance to many minds in the increasing attractions connected with the same church in the pres- ent time. But he who would see most clearly the hand of Divine Providence in the breaking of the light of this new dispensation upon our shores, will hold in just and sacred estimation this " clay of small things," when these faithful ones stood forth to declare its glad tidings. So graphically have the words of another given the deserved tribute to their works, that we gladly record them in these pages. "The early defenders of Universalism were plain, earnest men, aroused to the exertion of all their energies by the presence of a great thought. The truth of God's universal love and benevolent purpose in creation possessed them. They saw it everywhere, prefigured in Hebrew types, pre- dicted by the prophets, implied in every word of Jesus, enforced in every letter of his apostles. The}* taught it in all places, and by all methods, in parish churches and district school-houses, in fields and workshops, in pulpits with stones 1 Rev. J. Smith Dodge, D.D. EARLY ADVOCACY OF UNIVERSALIS!!. 35 flying about their heads, in rooms filled with the odor of nauseous drugs, in face of the reckless slander of the undig- nified and the quiet contempt of the dignified portion of the clerg}'. They were armed at all points, like the old war engines that, overturned every moment, always stood right side up. They turned the tables upon the literal Calvinistic interpreters, and held a text to floor every opponent. They were not moved by ridicule, for they pos- sessed a keen sense of the ludicrous, and knew well how to expose the absurdities of the piebald theology of the churches. To the threats of their opponents they opposed Hudibrastie rhymes; to their missiles, words like old Murray's, 'While I have a " thus saith the Lord " for every point of doctrine which I advance, not all the stones in Boston, except they stop my breath, shall shut my mouth or arrest my testimony.' To the arguments of their adversaries, a logic like that of Ballon, simple as the talk of a little child, strong as the tramp of a giant. There were varieties of opinion among them ; they had not all come up to the mount of their elevation by the same path, but the sublime truth 'God is Love' burned like an undying flame in their souls, and united them like brothers. Thank God that the sleep of the church was awakened by these strong champions. Nobly they spake their words in days when it was a disgrace in the e}'es of men ! " 1 1 Rev. A. D. Mayo, Sermon at Funeral of Rev. Thomas Jones of Gloucester, Mas?., 1846. 36 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. CHAPTER V. GROWTH. " Day by day the doctrine of the eternity of evil is being driven into its native night before a higher view of the nature of God, and a nobler belief in Him as the undying righteousness. " — Rev. Stopfokd A. Brooke. \ T the beginning of the present century, thirty years -*■ ^- from the time of Mr. Murray's first preaching in America, there were a few more than twenty preachers of Universalism here. By the year 1813 there were forty ; in 1840 there were four hundred and sixty-three. At the present time our church " Register " reports the number seven hundred and thirty. And this increase of ministerial force is not the most noticeable fact in con- nection with the advancement of this faith. Other instrumentalities are to be taken into the account. As the preacher at the centenary meeting of the National Convention stated: " Our lists, latterly, have been more closely pruned ; our parishes have been greatly strength- ened ; our bases of operations have been fortified ; our clergy have made great advances in devising liberal things ; and our laity, possessing far greater wealth, and holding far higher social positions than formerly, more nobly respond, and with greater alacrity, to the far-sighted demands now so frequently made upon them. There are scores of our parishes in the GROWTH. 37 various sections of our Zion, any one of which can now be moved to a greater work for a worthy object outside its own interests, than could our whole church twenty-five years ago." 1 Educational improvements have also contributed to this favorable change. At first there were no theological seminaries nor academies in aid of this faith. In process of time these grew up and were made serviceable in the promotion of it, so that now not less than seven acade- mies, five colleges, including three professional schools, two of divinity and one of law, having an aggregate property of more than two millions of dollars, are to be counted among its working forces. The publications in the interests of this faith have had large increase. Books, pamphlets, tracts, weekly and monthty journals, and the " Quarterly," commentaries on the Scriptures, together with well-sustained publishing houses, are additional influences constantly in operation to aid the efforts of the ministry. The Murray Centenary Fund, projected in 1869, is designed to aid in the education of the clergy, the circulation of denominational literature, and in church extension. This Fund amounted, Oct. 1, 1880, to $121,757.29. The Woman's Centenary Aid Association was organized in 1869 to assist in raising the Murray Fund, and was incorporated Sept. 18, 1873. It is supported wholly by voluntary contributions and annual memberships. These are all evidences of life and advancement, and indicate a larger increase in the future, which may be realized with a zeal in operation like that which has effected the change already noted. Of the theological changes realized since the opening of the present century, what shall we say? and all of 1 Rev. Dr. A. A. Miner, Discourse at Gloucester, September, 1870. 38 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. them indicating an approach to this very faith of which we are speaking. When Murray and his contemporaries entered upon their work in America, the old Calvin- istic theology had almost undisputed sway here ; and for fifty years afterwards it was more or less so. But since 1830 up to the present time, including the middle of this century, the advancement in theological thought has been as marked as have these other changes and signs of progress to which we have alluded. True, Arminianism came in with the Methodistic movement, and made vigorous warfare upon the old theology, with its " five points " so tenaciously adhered to. But Methodism held fast that abominable dogma, eternal punishment, and failed to see God's purposes any more effective in the final salvation of souls than did Calvinism with its full assurance of the salvation of " the elect " only. The Arminian deity seems to have had no fixed purpose as to the number of the finally redeemed. Though he foreknew, he was not pleased to ordain, or in the words of Dr. Adam Clarke : " I conclude that God, although omniscient, is not obliged, in consequence of this, to know all that he can know." * The God of Calvin, though having a determinate will, appeared as a tyrannical sovereign ; the God of Ar- minius, as lacking in purpose and in power. The one made the salvation of a certain number sure ; the other left all in uncertainty, because so much depended solely on the will of the creature. The two systems summed up, however, amounted to Universalism. The one affirmed that every soul for whom Christ died would be saved ; the other, that Christ, " by the grace of God, tasted death for every man." 2 Opposed as were the 1 Comra. on Acts, ii. 23. 2 Heb. ii. 9. GRO WTH. 39 two sects representing these theologies, in the begin- ning, they have settled down into quite a fraternal compromise during the last half century. Pulpit ex- changes are free among their ministers, and, although here and there some of the old peculiarities of Calvin- ism occasionally find utterance, the statement of a noted Congregation alist minister seems to express the thought of both parties, " Election means, whosoever will ; reprobation, whosoever wont." 1 It was in face of what were deemed the main errors of both these theologies that Universalism stood forth as the vindicator of God the just and merciful Father of all his children, their Judge and Saviour, through Christ who gave himself a ransom for all, and whose own ex- pressive statement of the result of his ministry was, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." 2 It has been during the ministry of this faith in the present century that the leading doctrines of the the- ology formerly prevalent in our land have been ques- tioned, investigated, and in many minds outgrown. Who now believes in the endless suffering of infants? a doctrine deemed unquestionable in the churches a cen- tury ago. Even the existence of it at that time, in face of the most stubborn facts, has been denied by those whose parents and grandparents heard it from the Christian pulpit. Who assents to the doctrine of the total de- pravity of human nature, its inability " to do a good deed or think a good thought," and its utter odiousness in God's sight? What considerations and reconsider- ations are there of that doctrine of atonement which involves the assumption that God was so incensed 1 Rev. H. W. Beecher. 2 John, xii. 32 ; 1 Tim. ii. 4. 40 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. against his sinful children that Christ, the second and more merciful person in the Godhead, came into the world and died to appease the wrath of God and render it possible for him to be merciful to the delinquents ; and how much more emphatic is the conviction finding- utterance, so eminently expressive of Christian Univer- salism, " God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved." * And the doctrine of endless punishment, how, during the time of which we are speaking, has this been questioned in the churches of our land. It has been seen that the divine character is involved in this doctrine, and that one of the most difficult of all theological works is to vindicate this char- acter in the light of it. Formerly, it was deemed little short of impiety to question the justice of God when this horrible doctrine was represented as an indication and vindication of it. To cite emphatically the passage in Matthew (xxv. 46), " These shall go away into ever- lasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal," was considered evidence enough that the divine justice could and would be signalized in the utter banishment of great numbers of his children from him, world with- out end. To question the exegesis of the passage as generally given — the original meaning of the word ren- dered "everlasting" and " eternal " — was regarded as a direct affront to the human wisdom of the past that had sanctioned it ; and to declare such an explanation of it as derogatory to " the Eternal Goodness," was to question the veracity of the High and Holy One ! But i John, iii. 16, 17. GROWTH. 41 the thoughts of men have kept at work ; inquiry has gone on ; the old explanation has been most con- fidently and emphatically denied, and a more reasonable and consistent one given. Even the most respectable orthodoxy itself has conceded that the aionian punish- ment here set forth is not necessarily to be understood as implying endless duration, and that in the argument henceforth against the doctrine of universal restoration, this old interpretation of the text need be no longer urged. 1 We have reserved a more extended view of this subject, however, for the close of this volume. 1 Dr. Taylor Lewis. 42 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. CHAPTER VI. UNI VERS ALISM. — UNITARIANISM. — RATIONALISM. " And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone." — Eph. ii. 20. SINCE the growth of the Universalist faith during the present century in our country, that phase of Liberal Christianity denominated Unitarianism has had its rise. It was an outcome of the Arminianism in orthodox churches. It advocated the doctrine of the Unity of God, in opposition to that of the Trinity as held by most of the churches in New England. 1 It also rejected the doctrine of total depravity, affirming that man had within him the germs of goodness, and needed the work of Christian culture to insure his true religious growth and perfection. Respecting the des- tination of man beyond the grave it had no uniform affirmation. Its leading ministers — Drs. Channing, Dewey, Gannett, and others — were undecided as to this great question. Dr. Channing uttered his protest 1 The volume on the Atonement, issued in 1805 by Rev. Hosea Ballou, was the first of any note, in this country, in which the subordination of Christ to the Father was maintained. Dr. Mayhew and Rev. James Freeman, of Boston, had already preached anti-Trinitarian views in that city, and Dr. Priestley and a Mr. Butler had preached them in other parts of the country. But Mr. Ballou's circumstances had not, it is likely, allowed him to know what these men believed and taught. — Rev. Dk. A. P. Putnam, in " Religious Magazine," April, 1871. UNIVERSALIS*!. — UNITARIANISM. — RA TIONALISM. 43 against " the horrible thought " of interminable suffer- ing, as affirmed by the dominant sects, while his state- ments respecting the wasted and ill-spent life make it an " impassable gulf from our Creator and from pure and happy beings, — a consuming fire and undying worm."' Dr. Gannett has similar opinions : " Self- reproach, exclusion from the happiness of heaven, re- moval from the favor of God ; to live but to suffer, to feel one's self at variance with all that is true and good and beautiful in the universe ; what more it is, eternity will disclose." Rev. Mr. Alger thinks no fair critic can say that alcovios, eternal or everlasting, when applied to punishment, means absolutely endless, nor, on the other hand, that it does not so mean. The late Rev. E. H. Sears writes that " it is the average opinion of Unita- rians that Restoration is not a doctrine of Revelation." The American Unitarian Association said: " While we do generally hold to the doctrine of the final universal- ity of salvation as a consistent speculation of the reason and a strong belief of the heart, yet we deem it to be in each case a matter of contingency, always depending on conditions freely to be accepted or rejected." The editor of the "Monthly Religious Magazine" — the principal of that class published by Unitarians — writes, in 1870 : " Unitarians do not believe in Universal Res- toration as a doctrine of Revelation fairly yielded by the interpretation of the Scriptures. This, we mean, is the average opinion. They do not think the Bible gives any verdict as to the final salvation of all man- kind." Dr. Dewey, in later times (as in his discourse in the volume of "Pitt Street Chapel Lectures"), has defined the doctrine of the Paternity of God so as to seem in agreement with that of the final salvation 44 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. of all souls. And at the present time perhaps the largest number of Unitarian ministers would not hesi- tate to give their assent to this doctrine on philosophi- cal or scriptural grounds. For the full and clear affirmation of the doctrine of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man, — the former giving assurance of a merciful care of God's offspring, and the latter of the final union, and not sepa- ration, of the great human family, — we are indebted to the fathers of Universalism in our land, — Murray, the Ballous, the Streeters, and their contemporaries. The Universalism which they declared and defended was that of the absolute and universal reign of Divine love, — love that is ever calling the child to obedience and happiness, and warning him against the inevitable and dire consequences of transgression ; love that sent Jesus Christ into the world as the world's Regenerator, unto whom every knee shall bow, and whom every tongue shall confess to be Lord to the glory of God the Father ; love that can and will overcome all hatred, make an end of sin, destroy death, and bring in everlasting right- eousness. This is the Universalism that has led the way in this great advance and change of theological thought, in the New England and other churches, which is so widespread at this hour. It did not wait for public opinion to be ready for it, but went out on its mission, confronting as determined an opposition as has ever met any rising sect since the apostolic days. Its first advo- cates, and most of those who have succeeded them, have had a definite theology, a positive faith to affirm. They have declared it to the world as the best, the pre-emi- nent faith, standing not in the wisdom of men but in the power of God ; and have asked, as they are still UNI VERSALISM. — UNITARIANISM. — RA TIONALISM. 45 asking, all the churches and all the world, to show them a better if they are able to do so. The sincere believers in this faith of the Gospel are glad to welcome all other Christians who would work with them in the eradication of religious error and the enlightenment of men by " the Word of God, that liveth and abideth forever." For what the Unitarian Churches have done of this work they have reason to be thankful, and would heartily co-operate with them in every effort to this desirable and heavenly end. The literary cul- ture and scholarship contributed by Unitarians to the theological thought of the last half-century, as also the faithful and efficient work which they have accom- plished, are, we think, justly appreciated by Universal- ists. They would render to all their dues, while they would humbly but righteously claim their own. It has been a subject of regret on their part, — this was inevi- table, — that in consideration of the Rationalism, so- called, which has so marked this period, Unitarians could not have taken a more positive and united stand in regard to the Divine authority of Christianity, as made known in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. Since Rev. Theodore Parker avowed his Rationalism, and began his Sunday worship service in Boston, it has seemed to most Universalists, as it has to not a few Unitarians, that a more definite theology and an avowed basis of its claims have been called for on the part of those who would displace old errors and estab- lish the older truth of the Christian Gospel ; so that when the question is honestly asked, as it often may be, " What is the difference between Universalism and Unitarianism ? " the answer need not necessarily be another question, " What kind of Unitarianism ? " Such 46 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. a diversity of opinion as must abound where there is no theological basis of Christian fellowship in any sect or fraternity, must fail to give it that concentrated power of Christian truth so evidently needed to turn a perverted world right side up in its religious faith and life. The Universalist Church has all along been aware of this need of a substantial basis of Christian faith in order to its vitality and success. When the Rationalism of Mr. Parker was attracting the attention of the pub- lic, a vigorous discussion came up in the Universalist journals of the time, whether a man should be sustained as a Christian minister who denies the peculiarly divine character of Christ and the account given of his miracles in the Scriptures, and of his resurrection from the dead. 1 The adjourned session of the " Boston Association " at Cambridgeport in December, 18-17, gave special atten- tion to this subject. The resolution presented at a former session a few months before at Lynn, and now again reported, was this : — " Resolved, That this Association express its solemn con- viction that, in order for one to be regarded as a Christian minister with respect to faith, he must believe in the Bible account of the life, teachings, miracles, death, and resurrec- tion of the Lord Jesus Christ." The resolution was sustained by a very large majority of the clergy and laity. It was a plain and honest ut- 1 Mr. Parker's views were the subject of special note and exami- nation on the part of the Universalist journals. A candid and able review of his opinions was given in " The Universalist Miscellany " of April, 1845, by the editor, Rev. O. A. Skinner. Rev. Mr. Lothrop, of the Brattle Square Church (Unitarian), delivered and published a strong discourse in opposition to the Rationalism of Mr. Parker. UNI VERSALISM. — UNITARIANISM. - RA TIONALISM. 47 terance, and gave the Christian world to understand the position of the Universalist Church in regard to authori- tative Christianity. As might have been expected, there was still much discussion as to the grounds of true Christian fellow- ship. It was followed up quite earnestly for a time by Universalists. The question of chief interest was, " Is not the faith of the heart (affections) of more impor- tance than the faith of the intellect?" Shall not the good man have Christian fellowship whatever his theo- logical opinions may be ? In the light of the apostolic statement, " The letter killeth, it is the spirit that giveth life," is not the spirit of primary interest, and the letter comparatively inconsequential ? To which it was re- plied that the spirit of a religion is to be most clearly understood by the letter which explains it ; that the faith of the intellect and that of the heart should cor- respond, in order to the most perfect Christian disciple- ship ; that the good man may be found in all religious communities, but that a good Mohammedan or Brahman could not properly claim Christian fellowship, not receiv- ing Christ as the pre-eminent teacher of divine truth. Dr. A. P. Peabody, of the Unitarian Church, very fairly stated the subject in a discourse given by him at the time of which we speak : — " One question is, whether those who take opposite views of the authenticit} 7 of the Christian miracles shall recognize each other as good men ; and the other, whether they shall give each other countenance as Christian teachers. The former question I am prepared to answer with a cordial yes ; the latter, with an unhesitating and an unqualified no." 1 1 Anti-Supernaturalism, a sermon delivered July 13, 1845, before the Senior Class of the Divinity School, Harvard University. 48 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. About the same time there appeared in the " Univer- salist Quarterly " for October, 1846, from the pen of its able editor, Rev. Dr. Hosea Ballou, an article on " The Faith requisite to Christian Fellowship." The subject is sounded to its depths, and presented in all its bear- ings, clear as light, and plain and conclusive as logic cun make it ; and all in a spirit of the utmost candor. It has never been answered. It may not be improper to speak in this connection of one who, in the beginning of his public life, appeared as a minister in the Unitarian communion, but who after- wards very conscientiously left the ministry and became a literary author and public lecturer, and who acquired a fame everywhere acknowledged in the civilized world as one of its eminent lights and leaders, Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson. As an author, lecturer, and reformer he has made an indelible impression on the minds of men dur- ing the last half century. The foremost thinkers ac- knowledged their indebtedness to him. In his earlier days many of his statements indicated pantheistic opinions. His discourse before the Divinity School in Harvard University in 1838 — so clearly and ably replied to by Rev. Dr. Ware — seemed a singular ques- tioning of the personality of God, and his statements in reference to the personal immortality of the soul hardly indicated a strong Christian hope of this blessing. But in his later expressions of opinion we are 'differently taught. His biographer says of him : 2 " He is not a sceptic or a rationalist in the philosophic sense, and has no real affinity with any of these schools of thought." His own words, indicative of the Deity, are : " Nature is too thin a screen ; the glory of the Creator breaks in 1 Biography of Ralph "Waldo Emerson, hy G. W. Cook. VNIVERSALISM. — UNITARIANISM. — RA TIONALISM. 49 everywhere. There is no chance, no anarchy in the universe." Of the divine beneficence he says, " We see the steady aim of benefit in view from the first. Melioration is the law. The evils we suffer will at last end themselves, through the incessant opposition of Nature to everything hurtful." And of immortality, " All great natures delight in stability ; all great men find eternity affirmed in the very promise of their facul- ties. The being that can share a thought and a feeling so sublime as confidence in truth is no mushroom ; our dissatisfaction with any other solution is the blazing evidence of immortality." And of the divine ruling : " Every wrong is punished ; no moral evil can prosper at last ; the good is absolute, the evil only phenome- nal." And of the significance of Christ, this language is emphatic : " You must not leave out the word Chris- tian, for to leave out that is to leave out everything." All these declarations, as we apprehend them, are in perfect accord with the teaching, spirit, and assurance of the Universalism of the New Testament. In the grandest conceptions to which their author has given utterance, we know of nothing that reaches beyond this, and it is for this that we welcome him as a wit- ness to the truth of the Christian Gospel. 50 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. CHAPTER VII. REFORM MOVEMENTS AND UNIVERS A.LISM. " Universalism is the ultimate of every expansive thought, of every comprehensive sympathy, of all action that embraces man as man, and works in faith for the world's redemption." — Rev. E. G. Brooks, D.D. r I "HE increasing interest awakened by the discussion ■*• of such topics of reform as peace, temperance, human freedom, the treatment of criminals, and others involving the moral uplifting and advancement of man- kind, very naturally had its effect upon the Universalist Church. There were not a few in it who saw very clearly that the great Gospel in which they believed was in the world to do a regenerative work with the human family ; that its first word to every one to whom it came was the call to reformation of character and life ; that it was a direct and perpetual opposition to all that hinders this work, and that therefore they who profess to be its friends and advocates should embrace every opportunity of applying its heavenly forces to the diminishing of human wrong and the establishing of the reign of righteousness in the earth. As other churches were awakened and agitated on these reform questions, so was this one, and in due time it took its stand and made its manifestations in a way creditable to its profession, and in accordance with its hopeful and catholic faith. REFORM MOVEMENTS AND UNIVERSALISM. 51 One of the organizations for the furtherance of this work of Christian reform instituted by this church was that of the Universalist Reform Association. The first direct action taken in reference to the subject was at the session of the Massachusetts Universalist Conven- tion in Hingham, June, 18-iG, when the following reso- lution offered by Rev. C. H. Fay, of Roxbury, was unanimously adopted : — " Resolved, That this Convention recommend to the Univcr- salists of New England to form an Association to be known as the New England Universalist Reform Association, which shall meet annually in Boston dining 'Anniversary Week,' having for its object the collection of such statistical infor- mation relative to the various reform movements of the age as illustrates not only the progress of Christianity as we under- stand it, but the best means of promoting and applying it." A committee was chosen to carry the resolution into effect. An appointed sub-committee issued a circular, urging upon all interested, attention to the main objects of the Association, which were : — "1. To consider the influence of Universalist sentiments in the various reform movements of the age. It must be evi- dent that these sentiments are not essentially confined to the sect which openly professes them. We hold that they lie at the foundation of every true effort for the prevalence of Temperance, Love, Peace, Freedom, and all movements which recognize the Paternity of God and the Brotherhood of Man. To establish the truth of the ultimate connection of these doctrines with all the philanthropic action of our age, to collect statistics and facts which demonstrate it, and to exchange sentiments upon the subject, constitute one great object of the Association. 52 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. "2. To assume our appropriate position in relation to these reforms ; to exert our legitimate influence in them ; and to show in our actions the practical conclusion of Universalist premises, — that he who believes in God's universal Paternity and the Brotherhood of the race cannot in any way counte- nance War, Intemperance, Slavery, or Capital Punishment, but consistently opposes and strives to abolish them all. " The time of holding the meeting, too, deserves consider- ation. It is on Anniversary Week, a week when almost every moral question now agitating the civilized world is represented and discussed in Boston. Hitherto we have sent out no such influence on this occasion as we believe we may exert if our power shall be concentrated and put in operation. We see not wiry our Reform meetings may not be among the most interesting of all now held during this well-known season." l And the} T were. They began successfully, and were steadily and profitably held, up to 1859, during years when these vital moral questions were more intensely considered and debated in New England and throughout our land than at any previous period. Very carefully prepared and able reports were year by year presented to the Association, and resolutions involving the merits of these reformatory topics freely and amicably dis- cussed. Often in other meetings, conventions, associa- tions, conferences, where ecclesiastical matters claimed the chief attention, the introduction of these reform- atory subjects would cause uneasiness and elicit much fault-finding on the part of those opposed to the intro- duction of such agitative themes into these meetings of the church. But at the yearly assemblings of the 1 This circular was signed by the sub-committee, Rev. J. G. Adams aud Rev. E. H. Chapin. REFORM MOVEMENTS AND UNIVERSALISM. 53 Reform Association the largest liberty was taken by all who desired to express their opinions on these great questions of the day. The first meeting was a success. It was held in the Second Universalist Church, School Street, on Thurs- day, May 27, 1847. Four addresses were given on these subjects, Peace, Criminal Reform, Temperance, and Human Freedom, and appropriate resolutions dis- cussed and adopted. In connection with this session a social festival was held on Friday morning, and was an occasion of unusual enjoyment to all who took part in it. The historian, Richard Frothingham, Esq., presided, and made an admirable opening address. He was followed by others, among them Chapin, then of rising fame. Pretending to have in hand only "skirts and fragments of ideas," 1 he magically forms them into completeness, and endues them with power. He speaks of Christian- ity and Reform : — " Christianity has not changed or added anything to itself. But we find in it latent truths ; we discern new meaning in old truths. His eye had rested that very morning upon the passage which Jesus read in the synagogue at Nazareth : ' The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor ; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at lib- erty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.' What a profound meaning docs this passage receive now, in the light of these stirring reforms ! How does the truth open before us, vast and deep as the blue heaven over our heads! Christianity authorizes and ani- mates these social movements. Its social spirit and its labors of love make us live more in a year than elsewhere in a life- 54 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. time. The earl}' fathers of our faith began their labor in the early morning, when the light of the truth the}' announced just tinged the mountain-tops ; and now, as they are about vanishing from our horizon, the full effulgence shines upon their gray hairs, and makes them a crown of glory ! " The venerable Ballon made the concluding speech. His words were modest, sweet, and patriarchal. From that ancient saying of Jesus, " The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened," he brought out fresh and comprehensive words inspired by the scenes of yesterday and to-day, and eloquently urged home the admonition to his denominational chil- dren around him, that they should seek to accomplish all their reformatory work in the spirit of Christian love. He concluded, and at the word of the president "The Brave Old Oak" was sung, and responded to by the applause of the audience. From year to year, as these meetings occurred, there was a strong interest in them. They were meetings where freedom of speech was welcomed and enjoyed. The most searching inquiry was invited, and the pro et contra of every resolution offered was presented in all the earnestness in which the debaters deemed it their privilege to indulge. The resolutions at the first meet- ings of the Association indicate its Christian basis. They are expressive of '"gratitude to God in view of the development of our faith in all the great reform movements of the time : that we recognize the Word of God. especially the New Testament scripture, as the basis of all genuine reform ; that an age as prolific as is the present in schemes for the improvement of the REFORM MOVEMENTS AND UNIVERSALISM. 55 race, including such variety, from the most reasonable to the most Utopian, demands of every Christian the most candid and prayerful discrimination, that all his endeav- ors may be wisely directed ; that in these movements we discern the promise of a better time coming, and of the kingdom of God upon the earth ; that as religious sentiment is the controlling element of man's life, there- fore the only true reform is that which seeks to influ- ence men through the medium of religious faith." In discussing topics involving the morals of politics and the great interests of the American Republic, the members of all political parties were regarded as on equal ground. The minister in these meetings had no hesitancy in preaching the morals of politics as he understood them, whatever the opinions of his parish- ioners at home might be. The religion of Christianity was ' ; mixed " with politics as the larger quantity, and wrong, as wrong, arraigned wherever it might be found in church or state, in social or individual habit or life. Our public servants in their high places were deemed subjects of note and animadversion, if their conduct seemed to call for it, in the spirit of the prayer offered by the elder Dr. Beecher in Faneuil Hall : " O Lord, preserve us from speaking evil of our public servants, and especialty save them from such wrong conduct as may call for such speaking on our part! " A resolution passed at the first meeting of the Association states "that, while the early Christians were only subjects, American citizens are the constituents of civil govern- ment; and in all ages Christians are bound to act the Christian principles in all their relations." During the anti-slavery excitement, when the hunters for fugitive slaves were desecrating the ground of New 56 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. England, and members of Congress in their interests were repealing the Missouri Compromise, and many of the ministers of New England were bold enough to remonstrate with them for such action, these most emphatic resolutions were freely debated and unani- mously adopted by the Association. "Resolved, That the clergymen of New England, in their Protest against the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, have pledged themselves anew to freedom and the laws of God ; that this Association cordially approve the course of those who signed the Protest, or otherwise labored to prevent the desecration of that vast territory which had been consecrated by solemn compact to liberty forever ; and we request those Christian ministers who refused to sign that Protest to review their position in regard to this subject. " Resolved, That the men from the North, and especially from New England, who have voted for the iniquitous Nebraska Bill, have proved themselves traitors to the cause of freedom and to the most hallowed traditions of our fathers, and that their conduct deserves the united, unqualified, perpetual reprobation of all friends to human rights, which reproba- tion should be emphatically expressed at the ballot-box." The annual festivals held in those days in Boston by the Universalists were essentially pervaded by the spirit of this Association. The sentiments, songs, and speeches on these occasions were alive with the reformatory in- spiration of the Christian Gospel. The signs of the times were clearly recognized by the speakers, and whatever the especial excitement of the day might be, it was sure to find a sympathetic tongue and ear at the festival table. The festival in 1854 occurring about the time of the rendition of Anthony Burns, the anti- REFORM MOVEMENTS AND UNIVERSALISM. 57 slavery feeling was at white heat. When the company- entered Faneuil Hall and were taking their seats, some sensitively conservative brethren could not suppress the expression of their wishes that no allusion might be made to that event in the addresses about to follow- But the current was so irresistibly in one direction that these fearful pleadings were as the smallest eddies therein. The notes of freedom made the old hall ring. 58 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. CHAPTER VIII. NEW ENGLAND ANTI-SLAVEET SOCIETY. — UNIVEK- SALIST PKOTEST. "What concord hath Christ with Belial."— II. Cor. vi. 15. 'THHE New England Anti-Slavery Society was one of -*- the most vigorous and persistent bodies that ever appeared on these western shores as a reformatory in- stitution. Its chief leader was the indomitable Garri- son, who had vowed that on the vexed question of American slavery " he would be heard," and whose " Liberator " was making its journe} r s from a Boston press throughout the land ; hailed and patronized by a goodly company in the North, denounced as incendiary at the South, where a large sum was offered for the head of its editor. He had sympathetic companions of a persistency equal to his own : Wendell Phillips, Ed- mund Quincy, Samuel E. Sewell, N. P.Rogers, Stephen C. Foster, John Pierpont, Theodore Parker, Parker Pillsbury, Frederick Douglass, and C. L. Remond, among the men of New England, and the Tappans of New York, and representatives at the annual gatherings from Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington. Lucretia Mott and Abby Kelley (afterwards Mrs. Foster) were among the women expounders of this gospel of freedom, and " Anniversary Week " in Boston was made espe- NEW ENGLAND ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 59 cially notable by their gatherings at Marlboro Chapel and Faneuil Hall. No matter what other meetings on that week were dull, there was always an exuberance of liveliness at the Anti-Slavery Convention. " Elo- quence is dog-cheap at Marlboro Chapel," said Ralph Waldo Emerson ; and it was. No better could be heard on the continent. The hardest and boldest reso- lutions were usually up for consideration, denouncing slaveholders and all their abettors, political, ecclesiasti- cal, of whatever standing or profession. Church and state alike were subjects of their maledictions. Their defiance of all opposition had a clarion ring in it. Noth- ing pleased them more than to have their positions questioned or assailed. The adventurous wight who was willing to appear as a contemner of their doctrines was .the very one for whom they were looking, and for whose presence and opposition they were profoundly thankful. Their meetings were electrifying. Such de- bates and orations, such questionings and rejoinders ! Such hymns and spiritual songs, too, sung often by the Hutchinsons to the old tunes of k * Amherst," " Lenox," and "New Jerusalem!" We hear them now; they brought the shouts and tears. We remember a scene in Marlboro Chapel one after- noon during Anniversary Week. There came up for debate the question : " Does the Constitution of the United States justify slavery?" Rev. John Pierpont took the negative, and very logically maintained it for more than an hour. He appeared in the greatness of his strength, and at the close of his argument proposed to those of his auditors who wished, to question his statements. And never was seen a hungrier company of interrogators than then and there came upon him. ^60 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. But he was unmoved as a sea-rock in the midst of the breakers. His side of the question was not popular with most of the speakers and their sympathizers there, and he was subjected to a most searching cross-ques- tioning. But he came out triumphantly (as it seemed) through it all. When three or four would speak at once, he would say : " One at a time, friends ; the mil- ler's rule holds, — first come, first served. I desire to hear you all." The afternoon sunshine suddenly blazing in from one of the windows upon his face, he aptly remarked : " Some subjects are involved in im- penetrable darkness ; but here we seem to have a super- abundance of light ! " When the last inquirer had been answered, the speaker asked : " Are you all through ? " And no other one questioning, he said : " And now, after the fashion of the good old divines, I come to the 'Improvement';" under which head he carefully and briefly reviewed the substance of the debate. It was a masterly plea. But the end was not yet. There was an evening meeting. Again the hall was filled, to listen to a reply to Mr. Pierpont by Wendell Phillips. The orator was in his best mood, and his silvery speech kept the audi- ence spell-bound. It was a complete refutation of the arguments adduced in the afternoon. A clergyman sitting near to Mr. Pierpont said to him : " How can his arguments be answered ? " to which the latter re- plied : " I should like to see the man who could tell me ! " So Greek met Greek in those stirring and stormy days. It was an up-hill movement, this anti-slavery agita- tion. It called out spirits of more colors than those mentioned in " Macbeth." The opposition was intense. NEW ENGLAND ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 01 Garrison's life was in peril in the streets of Boston in 1835, and a little company of his sympathizers, including the poet Whittier and George Thompson, the English philanthropist, were closely followed in the streets of Concord, N. H., one evening, that they might be seized by certain mobocratic ones, and subjected to an immer- sion in some liquid coloring of transient, if not indeli- ble, black ; but the hounded ones escaped, preserving white men's complexions. They were not to be pnt down by mobs nor frightened by any human opposition. They had the spirit of Luther as he went to the Diet at Worms. Though the pro-slavery " devils were thick as the tiles on the houses," they proposed to fight them in the name of God and humanity. Politicians could do nothing with them, and the churches generally discarded them. There was no love lost, however, between them and the churches. The churches did not give them credit for the good they were seeking to do, and they had no words of approval for the humanity of the churches. Even the National Constitution was denounced as " a covenant with death and an agreement with hell," and the churches were accused as upholders of this covenant. So they rea- soned, not always, however, in that charity which the New Testament commends. There were those in the churches as strongly opposed to slavery as themselves, — but they were slow to recognize action against it outside of their own organizations, — who could say, as did Dr. Gannett of the Unitarian Church : — "In principle I am with you. But there are those with whom you are connected, persons who seem to me so to dis- trust the goodness of all others who differ from them, and to look down upon all such with so great a consciousness of G2 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. moral superiorit}*, that I feel myself when in their presence to be in a situation not unlike that of a criminal before his accuser and judge." 1 At one time they held an Anti-Sabbath Convention for a few days, in Boston, during which they said many hard things against the sanctity of this seventh-day worship-time, evidently because they could thus casti- gate the churches for refusing to discuss freely on this day the crying sin of American slavery. It seemed a pity to hear such harsh denunciations by the speakers who were advocating a righteous cause, against an insti- tution that had done so much towards the world's true civilization. But this was one of their methods of car- rying on the reform. A leading spirit in this movement in the " Granite State " was Nathaniel P. Rogers, for a few years the editor of the " Herald of Freedom," issued at Concord, N. IT. He was a lawyer of Plymouth, Grafton County, and a member of the Orthodox Church in that town, and was a descendant of him who was burned at Smithfield, and had the martyr spirit of his noted ancestor. He was a scholarly, witty, and affable man, and wielded as facile a pen as any editor in New England. In many of his descriptive sketches he gave to the scenery of New Hampshire a fascination equal to that with which Sir Walter Scott invests the lochs and hills of Scotland. His plea with Mr. Webster, the great Senator from Massachusetts, to let " his lion voice in one Numidian roar " be heard from his place in Congress on the abomination of Amer- ican slavery and the claims of American freedom, once read, could never be forgotten. When his " Herald of 1 Memoir of Dr. Gannett, by his son, p. 294. NEW ENGLAND ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 63 Freedom " was first issued, some of the stage-drivers from Concord refused to carry it out to the subscribers ; but this hostility, through the personal influence of the editor, soon ceased. Its columns were opened to all sorts of radical sayings against the churches because of their presumed hostility to human freedom ; but as the columns of the paper were free, there were sometimes sound and strong answers to them. Mr. Rogers, worn out with mental toiling and anxiety, was culled from the earthly life in the midst of his years. And so this work of the anti-slavery reformers went steadily forward with increasing momentum, till a more general awakening took place all over the land. The churches were becoming more and more alive to it, and the politicians could in no wise evade it. The seed of " Free-Soilism " sown, " Know-nothingism " sprang up, and one of the two leading political parties became the party of Freedom — of " free soil, free speech, free men." The passage and attempted enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act, and the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, had served to bring about this result. Hence the election of Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency, secession, war, the downfall of slavery. These first agitators lived to see the end they had striven for at- tained. They had been heard, and a stronger than they had heard, and had answered them, and an imploring and struggling nation, "in the day of his power!" Now could one of the first of our poets sing: — " Ring and swing Bells of joy ! On morning's wing Send the song of praise abroad ! With a sound of broken chains Tell the nations that he reigns Who alone is Lord and God ! " 64 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. Of course the Universalist churches could not evade this controversy between freedom and slaveiy. Their very faith invited and encouraged it. The Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man are doctrines which forever stand in opposition to the presumption that man can own property in his fellow man. Of all the Christian sects, Universalists were the last who couid countenance in the light of their beneficent faith the abomination of American slavery. If other theol- ogies gave cause for the aspersion that " God was the greatest slaveholder in the universe," because it was his intention to keep in spiritual bondage and sufferings great numbers of his offspring world without end, Universalism affirmed that- this whole human creation now groaning and travailing in pain shall be delivered from its bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 1 Could this church, bearing its own significant name, be silent, then, when the test time came ? Nay, it was a golden opportunity for her to speak and act. She uttered her voice, firmly, freely, faithfully. True, there were conservatives at first in this church as in others, who dreaded the consequences of the agitation of this subject, who deemed it a polit- ical question rather than a religious one, and feared not only discord and division in the churches because of it, but a disruption of the national union. This timidity wore off in due time, and this manifesto went forth from the Universalists of Massachusetts and other States in 1845. It is a "protest against American slavery," and is signed by three hundred and four Universalist clergymen. The reasons stated as the basis of the protest are these : — i Heb. viii. 21, 22. NEW ENGLAND ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY. 65 " 1. Because slavery denies the eternal distinction between a man and property, ranking a human being with a material thing. 2. Because it does not award to the laborer the fruits of his toil in any higher sense than to the cattle. 3 Because it trammels the intellectual powers and prevents their ex- pansion. 4. Because it checks the development of the moral nature of the slave; denies him rights and therefore responsi- bility. 5. Because it involves a practical denial of the religious nature of the slave. G. Because it presents an insurmount- able barrier to the propagation of the great truth of the Universal Brotherhood and thereby most effectually prevents the progress of true Christianity. 7. Because the essential nature of slavery cannot be altered by any kindness, how great so ever, practised toward the slave. 8. Because the long continuance of a system, of wrong cannot palliate it, but on the other hand augments the demand for its abolition. 9. Because we would in all charity remember that peculiar- ities of situation may affect the judgment and moral sense ; still, we must not forget that no peculiarity of situation can excuse a perpetual denial of universal principles and obliga- tions." 66 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. CHAPTER IX. REFORMATORY PROGRESS. " The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain." — Isaiah, xl. 4. HHE half-century just passed has been notable- for -*- the progress of thought in reference to the sig- nificant reforms now claiming public attention. Fore- most among these is that of Temperance. In no other period of the past has its work been so marked and cheering. In Great Britain and America its manifestations were almost simultaneous. Intem- perance was seen to be a monstrous national vice, and societies were formed for the suppression of it. Abstinence from distilled liquors was at first the pledge taken ; but subsequent discussion of the sub- ject induced the next and safer step forward, of total abstinence from all intoxicants. From 1834 to 1838 nearly the whole of the original societies through Eng- land and Scotland extended their principles on the new and broader declaration, and worked with renewed enthusiasm. 1 The same course was taken in our own country, and similar effects followed. The new pledge was consistent, because it struck at the root of the evil. 1 Chambers' Miscellany. REFORMATORY PROGRESS. 67 The Temperance reform enlisted the S3*mpathies of Universalists in the beginning. It was a vindication of the Gospel of enlightened and pure manhood, main- taining its supremacy over the sinful inclinations and indulgences "that war against the soul." Indeed, one of the first avowed advocates of the practice of total abstinence, as early as 1778, was the well-known and honored Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and a firm believer in Christian Universalism. He not only advocated this practice himself, but was especially interested in com- mending it to the attention of two religious bodies in Pennsylvania, the Episcopalians and Presbyterians, at their annual meetings. When in later days the atten- tion of the Christian churches was called to the con- sideration of this reform, no more zealous friends of it were found than those among Universalists. The Universalist ministry was well represented, and its ser- vices welcomed by others. An instance is remembered of a deserved tribute, given in his peculiar quaintness of speech, by the elder Dr. (Lyman) Beecher, to Rev. Edwin Thompson, at an annual meeting of the Massa- chusetts Temperance Society. Mr. Thompson was State agent for the Society, and had been very active in its work during the year ; so that a speaker alluded to him as having been in that time " the main spoke in the wheel." "Indeed," said Dr. Beecher, " it seems to me that he has been the hub, and all the spokes, and a considerable part of the rim ! " The reform in our country was quickened by the " Washingtonian " movement, which involved the re- formation of the inebriate, and his work to redeem others from the destroyer. Although there were back- 68 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. sliders in this, as in all reformatory movements, yet the number of the saved justified a thousand times the interest taken in the great work itself. It was an indi- cation of what might be done everywhere and in all time by Divine aid, and human will at work relying upon it. It seemed also to emphasize the truth that men, however far overcome by wrong habit, are not to be given over as irreclaimable. It was in accord with the grand idea that there are no lost ones so far astray as to be beyond the mercy which sent Him into the world, who said, " I came nut to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." Legislation took higher and stronger ground in ref- erence to the evil of intemperance. The subject went into politics more than ever. The doctrine of prohib- ition gained advocates. A law favoring it was passed in Massachusetts, and afterwards in Maine. "Prosecu- tions and law-suits followed, and appeals went up to the highest courts to test the constitutionality of the law. This was affirmed by them, just as the framers of the law knew that it would be. Despite all sophisms and evasions, the common sense of every man will settle down into the conviction that the people of a nation, if they would be really strong and free, must employ every safeguard against this giant evil, that has so constantly outraged and cursed our world. The rising of the women of the West, in 1873, to suppress the demoralizing work of the liquor-saloons, was an outspoken, providential protest against these scourges of our civilization. Jeered by the thoughtless, and insulted and cursed by the dealers in the death- poison, it was an indication that made the traffickers in REFOBMATOBY PBOGBESS. 69 strong drink thoughtful, the friends of woman to take new note of her righteous demands and of her reform- atory power, and every true soldier in the temperance army to put on new courage in view of the many instru- mentalities which God is able to raise up in aid of His redeeming work with His children. One result of the Woman's Crusade has been the formation of the Wom- an's Christian Temperance Unions in all parts of our land. The signs of progress in this reform are more sig- nificant than ever. The popularity of the Prohibitory Law in Maine ; the Prohibitory clause just put into the Kansas and Iowa Constitutions, and proposed in other States ; the numerous Reform Leagues ; the proposal to institute in our Congress a thorough inves- tigation in reference to the bearing of this question of liquor-making and vending on the industrial, social, and political welfare of our nation; the continued discussion of the effects of the use of intoxicants by leading states- men, scientists, and medical professors of our age, and the bringing out of new facts, all showing the vital importance of the Temperance reform ; and, also, the evident tendency of these movements, as apprehended by the devotees of the liquor interests themselves, moving them, as at a recent convention of brewers in Washington, to avow their determination to defeat, if possible, by all practicable means, the legal, moral, and especially the religious endeavors put forth against the evil by which they are enriched at the expense of the prosperity, happiness, and peace of so many millions of our land, — these facts are unmistakable indications of still greater achievements in the days and years to come. 70 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. Like most reforms, this one must work a long way on to its completion. The evil against which it con- tends is deep-seated and far-reaching. Appetite, avarice, and the drinking usages of society are its strongholds. But all these are not impervious to the inroads of the right upon them. The public conscience is awake to the demands of this reform as it never was before. When that is more truthfully and generally educated, moral suasion will have freer course, and restrictive laws will find a stronger support everywhere. Peace. The history of our race is one of warfare. " Wars and fiffhtingfs " have been realized among men from the beginning, and the world has not outgrown the sanguin- ary strife. Even during the time of which Ave are speaking in these pages, when so much has been done for the mental and moral enlightenment of mankind, these murderous human contentions have been going on in the Old World and the New. Our own nation lias passed through one of the darkest passages of its history. The war of the Rebellion came of a war that existed previous to the withdrawal of the Southern States of our Union, the war of slavery, — for slavery itself is war always, an outrage on the rights of human beings, perpetrated by members of a common brother- hood. And thus one Avar opened the Avay to another. They Avho were warring upon others could no longer bear to have their wrong-doings questioned, but claimed the right to multiply and perpetuate them. So came secession, so came the fratricidal contest. The major- ity of the nation did not seek Avar, did not desire it. But the Unionists of the nation deemed themselves REFORMATORY PROGRESS. 71 justified in resisting the efforts of the secessionists to dismember the nation, and so through a defensive war- fare sought to preserve the Union. It was a terrible ordeal, and although the abomination of slavery was swept away, it was at the cost of tens of thousands of lives, of a vast amount of treasure, of suffering as yet unrevealed, and of a lamentable demoralization. The Almighty brought out of it a new order of things with our nation, by abolishing human bondage and placing freedom in the ascendancy. The new order, however, is not yet fully effected. It will take time, wisdom-, patience, mutual forbearance, sympathy, and fraternal help to secure this result. But one reform aids another. A higher view of the claims of human freedom will tend to effect a clearer perception of the great claims of the human brother- hood. If man is too good to be enslaved by his fellow- man, he is too good to be destro}~ed by him. If human freedom is sacred, so is human life. And we are sure that this grand conception has been very clearly real- ized, and as clearly affirmed, during the middle of the present century. In the midst of the world's conflicts during this time, the advocates of peace principles, on both sides of the Atlantic, have not been inactive. They have had a hearing, if a limited one, in Christendom. Peace asso- ciations have been more operative than before, and the pulpit and press have made new appeals to the public for the promotion of peace principles. Excellent publi- cations in essay, sermon, or oration have been issued from the press. We hear of one Sunday, in 1845, when one hundred and twenty peace sermons were preached in the city of London. Our philanthropic countryman, 72 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. Elihu Burritt, has done much for this cause. One of the ablest and most admirable of appeals in behalf of " peace on earth and good will to men " was given in 1845, in Boston, by Charles Sumner, — -who mav be jnstly reckoned as one of the brightest lights among philanthropists and statesmen of the present century, — on " The True Grandeur of Nations." Moved by the threatening aspect of affairs between the United States and Mexico, the orator denounced the war system as the ordeal by battle still unwisely continued by inter- national law as the arbiter of justice between nations, and insisted that this system ought to give way to peaceful arbitration for the settlement of international questions, as the private ordeal of battle had given way to such substitutes in the administration of justice be- tween individuals. "The oration attracted unusual attention, led to much controversy, and was widely circulated both in America and Europe. It was pro- nounced by Richard Cobden to be ' the most ncble contribution made by any modern writer to the cause of peace.' " l The delusion that wars must always be expected more or less with mankind is a vagary of barbarism, and not a true Christian thought. Rather is the poet right, when he says : — " War is a game, which, were their subjects wise, Kings would not play at." Wars may be lessened, may be outgrown in human societ}\ There are better wa} r s of settling human dis- putes than by an appeal to arms. Facts in the history of our own nation prove it. Here are a few of them : — 1 New Amer. Enc. REFORMATORY PROGRESS. 73 In 1794, the question of the Northeastern boundary between the United States and the dependencies of Great Britain was settled by arbitration. In 1822, the question of restitution or compensation for slaves found on board of British vessels during the war of 1812. The mutter was referred to the Emperor of Russia, and his award accepted by both nations. In 1858, a difficulty between the United States and the government of Chili and Peru, was referred to the arbitration of the King of the Belgians, and settled by his award. In 1869, the claims of the United States and Great Britain to landed property in and about Puget Sound were adjusted by peaceable reference. In 1871, the well-known Alabama claim, which caused so much ill feeling between the United States and Eng- land, and threatened to involve the two countries in a terrible war. President Grant, referring to the settle- ment of this claim, said in his message of Dec. 8, 1871 : — "This year has witnessed two great nations, having one language and lineage, settling by peaceful arbitration dis- putes of long standing, which were liable at any time to bring nations to a bloody conflict. The example thus set, if suc- cessful in its final issue, will be followed fry other civilized nations, and finally be the means of restoring to pursuits of industry millions of men now maintained to settle the dis- putes of nations by the sword." Is this good possible ? Assuredly, if good is able to prevail over evil, right over wrong, love over hatred. And what does the Christian Gospel signify but this : " Peace on earth and good will toward men " ? This "good will " shall come, if Christians will do their duty 74 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. by insisting on the practicability of it. The under- current of a better feeling is gaining force as the great truth of the Brotherhood of Man is more deeply and extensively realized. If the present toiling-time is dark, there is light beyond it, the unerring prophecy of the time when " nations shall learn war no more." As said Victor Hugo, at the Congress of Peace in Paris, in 1849: — ' ' A day will come when the onhy battle-field shall be the market open to commerce and the mind opening to new ideas ; when a cannon shall be exhibited in public museums just as an instrument of torture is now, and people shall be aston- ished how such a thing could have been. A da} - shall come when those two immense groups, the United States of Amer- ica and the United States of Europe, shall be seen placed in presence of each other, extending the hand of fellowship across the ocean, exchanging their produce, their commerce, their industry, their arts, their genius, clearing the earth, peopling the deserts, meliorating creation under the eyes of the Creator, and uniting, for the good of all, these two irre- sistible and infinite powers, — the fraternity of men and the power of God." In agreement with the foregoing statements in refer- ence to the reform movements of our time, we may note more briefly certain other indications of the increase of that spirit which would lessen the afflictions and wrongs and promote the well-being of society. The Treatment of Criminals has been a subject of much thought and discussion during the generation just passed. It has been, and still is, an open question among the more thoughtful, whether the subject of the proper treatment of criminals REFORMATORY PROGRESS. 75 has been regarded aright. We may justly plead for benevolent sympathy without being the apologist of crime. Conscience must be remembered as well as the cry of pitying tenderness, and punishment must have a meaning, or the distinctions of right and wrong are lost. " It will be a sad day," as one has truly said, " when those who violate our laws are more pitied than blamed." Christians are bound by their religion to labor for the prevention of crime, and for the strict ap- plication of all righteous laws to the criminal ; to im- press as they can the awf illness of sin on their own and on other's consciences, and to recall the fallen back to virtue, shamed by his sin, and resolute and strong in the working of a regenerated will, thus vindicating and imi- tating " the goodness and severity of God." The treatment of convicts in our prisons at the present time is generally more in accordance with these con- siderations than in the past, when severity was deemed more needful as applied to criminals who were subjects of total depravity, than a proportionate mercy, which regarded them not only as lost ones, but as capable of a possible restoration to their rightful Owner and Al- mighty Friend. The reform schools in our different States are working in this Christian direction. The subject of Cajntal Punishment has elicited much attention during the time of which we are speaking. It has been discussed in newspapers, pamphlets, legislatures, pulpits, and lyceum halls. Some of our States have abolished the gallows, others are agitating this subject in their legislatures. The present governor (Long) of Massachusetts, in his annual mes- 76 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. sages of the last two years, has recommended the abo- lition of the death penalty. A large number of ministers of the Universalist Church have constantly affirmed their opposition to it. Rev. Charles Spear published a sensible work on the subject, and Rev. Hosea Ballou, D. D., thirty years since, gave the whole question a very thorough investigation, in reply to Rev. Dr. Cheever of New York, and others. 1 Michigan was the first State in the Union to abolish the death penalty, and a late Report makes the statement that, with a population of 1,500,000, no man lias been executed in the State dur- ing the last thirty-five years, and that a less number of murders have been perpetrated during the last ten years, in ratio to the population, than during the same decade in any other State where public or even private executions have prevailed. 2 Capital punishment has also been abolished in Maine. The Position and Work of Woman has also been a subject of deep and wide-spread interest. Christianity has ever given to woman a place denied her by all other religions. As Christian thought has had freer course, and Christian theology and practical work new and brighter development, the relations of woman to the welfare and progress of human society have been more clearly understood and appreciated. Her rights in law are now more plainly and justly de- fined, and the importance of her equal education with the other sex admitted and emphasized. She is promi- nent and indispensable as a teacher, all over the land ; 1 Universalist Quarterly, Vol. VI. No. 4, October, 1849. 2 " Gospel Banner," Augusta, Me., June 10, 1882. REFORMATORY PROGRESS. 77 she is a graduate of the college and a professor there ; she is a successful practitioner in the legal and medical professions ; she is an ordained minister of the Gospel ; she is a merchant, a book-keeper and accountant, an editor, an artist, a mechanic, a farmer, and has more than average success in all these departments of activ- ity. Her right to the ballot is slowly but surely coming to a settlement, which it will take time and thought on her part (for when she asks for the ballot it will be hers), and enlightened legislation to effect. Where she has exercised this right, none but favorable results have been witnessed. 1 Our State legislatures are called upon to give attention to the subject, and a committee of our national Congress have just decided to report a proposed amendment to the Constitution, declaring that kk the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be de- nied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex, and giving Congress the power, by appropriate legislation, to enforce the provisions of this article." If Congress will agree to propose this amend- ment, and three fourths of the States will ratify it, woman suffrage will be legalized. Other Questions. The philanthropic and successful efforts in behalf of the blind, the deaf and dumb, and feeble minded, of fallen women, and orphan children, are becoming more and more apparent every year, all in cheering accord with that restorative mercy and power evinced in Him whose mission was to relieve the sorrows and remove 1 The Governor of Wyoming affirms that woman suffrage is an un- qualified success in the Territory. 78 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. the afflictive evils that beset mankind. And no more unmistakable evidence of the decline of that horrible doctrine of endless suffering for the wicked can be real- ized, than the instituting and maintaining societies for the suppression of cruelty to animals. Surety, the Father of our spirits will not be less merciful towards any of his children, than these children are justly called upon to be to the inferior creatures of his forming hand ! These are some of the signs of Christian progress during the last half-century. Laus Deo ! THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH AND ITS WOMEN. 79 CHAPTER X. THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH AND ITS WOMEN. "Help those women which labored with me in the churches." — Paul, Phil. iv. 3. A I ^IIE Universalist Church is much indebted to its -*■ faithful women. Taking into consideration its comparative numbers, no other church in America has been more signally favored in the genial and healthful influence of its writers who have borne the honorable name of Woman. They have been instrumental in spreading the doctrines of the primitive Gospel and the moral bearings of their religion before the world in most attractive and impressive forms, and have disa- bused the public in its wrong estimate of the character and ability of the advocates of Universalism and the tendency and influence of its principles. Among those worthy to be remembered in this goodly company, who have passed from the present life during the last half-century, we may mention the gifted sister poets, Alice and Phoebe Gary, Mrs. Sarah Broughton, Mrs. Julia H. Scott, Mrs. Sarah C. E. Mayo, Mrs. Char- lotte A. Jerauld, Mrs. Henrietta A. Bingham, Mrs. Elmina 11. B. Waldo, Mrs. Luella J. B. Case, and Mrs. E. H. Cobb. Among the living we may note the names of Mrs. Catharine M, Sawyer, whose contributions to our church journals are so well known ; Mrs. Mary A. Livermore, 80 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. who in her past connection with our church work and literature has gained such a high reputation with her voice and pen, as well as in her deeds of benevolence and mercy during the war of the rebellion ; Mrs. Julia A. Carney, whose hymns and instruction books have made her name so familiar in our Sunday-schools and homes ; Mrs. Caroline A. Soule, whose consecrated words and works have secured her a name which the church of her love will hold in righteous estimation ; Mrs. Nancy T. Munroe, Mrs. Lathrop (formerly Mrs. Bacon), Mrs. E. M. Bruce, Mrs. J. L. Patterson, Mrs. S. M. Perkins, Mrs. P. A. Hanaford, Miss Carnahan, Miss Remick, Miss Minnie S. Davis, — but it is diffi- cult to know where to draw the line in this counting. Others might be named, would space permit, who have made their contributions to the literature of the church. The older and well known retain " their wonted fires," and the new and younger are coining to succeed and honor them. Some of our women are speaking our best and most practical words in our churches, prayer and conference and missionary meetings; in our Sunday- schools, conventions, and associations ; in our pulpits, as evangelists and pastors ; in our educational insti- tutions. If the Universalist Church has not at this hour as brilliant a presentation of Christian literature from the pen of its women as it had thirty years since, there never was more of the practical and available talent of woman in it than at the present time ; never so much organized effort on their part as now. This effort seems to have taken new form and life since the Centenary Year of the church came round, — 1870. Previous to that date, the history of many a new movement, many a new parish or church, had been the THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH AND ITS WOMEN. 81 history of woman's fidelity in the inception, progress, and success of the enterprise. It was but natural, then, that in the inspiration awakened by the approach of this centennial year, the women of the church should be aroused to new and still greater effort. And thus it was that the " Woman's Centenary Aid Association " was organized at Buffalo, N. Y., in September, 1869. The organization was effected, and the main work under it was to aid in the raising of the proposed " Murray Fund," of £200,000. The total amount raised by that Association for this object, in all the States and else- where, deducting comparatively moderate expenses, and placed in the treasury of the United States Convention for the Murray Fund, was $35,000. Nearly 13,000 women thus became members of the Association. The fact was a new and cheering manifestation. The " Christian Leader," a Universalist journal of New York city, thus alluded to it: — " If our women need no eulogy, we need the satisfaction of making a warm, explicit confession of our admiration of their attempt, and our gratitude for what they have done. They can well afford to dispense with the acknowledgment, but we cannot afford not to make it. It becomes us here to raise no question as to woman's fitness for certain employ- ments and political prerogatives, hitherto the prerogatives of the rougher sex. But should we reach what some call ' ex- treme views ' on the several points, and should our zeal bring us onto the platform as a champion thereof, the sledge- hammer we should wield is, the work of the Universalist women in their Centenary Tear. God bless and make us grateful for our women ! " Since that time the Association has taken the title of the "Womans' Centenary Association" (dropping 82 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. the word " Aid " used in the beginning in reference to its work in connection with the United States Conven- tion). It lias much other work of its own now. Its tract publishing and circulation, its Scotland Mission, its endowment of women professorships in one of our colleges, its special gifts for the aid of theological stu- dents, the helping of needy and worthy parish organi- zations, establishing Sunday-schools in waste places, and assisting to sustain them and other beneficent works, are included in its ministries. Every year's report of its doings has spoken to the public of the utility and effectiveness of its work. In May, 1875, Mrs. Caroline A. Soule, the first Presi- dent of the Association, sailed from New York city for Scotland, on a mission of observation, as a company of believers there had for some time received aid and en- couragement from the Association. She passed several months in Scotland, preaching in Dunfermline, Glas- gow, Larbert, Dundee, and other places, and organized the "Scottish Universalist Convention." She also as- sisted at the dedication of a little church in Stenhouse- muir, the only Universalist Church edifice in Great Britain. Three years afterwards she went, by approval of the Association, as a preacher and missionary. After preaching awhile in Dundee and Glasgow, in 1879 she organized, in the last-named place, the " St. Paul Uni- versalist 011111x11," and established a Sunday-school and church library. Great numbers of tracts and many books (twenty barrels of closely -packed matter) were circulated as helps in her work. The rite of ordination was conferred upon her by the Seottish Convention. During her work in Scotland she has proved, by her fidelity, self-sacrifice, and persistence in her work dur- THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH AND ITS WOMEN. 83 ing many and severe discouragements, her qualifications for a Christian missionary worthy to be recorded among the most devoted of any in the other churches who have been strengthened and honored by the accomplishment of devoted women in their missionary fields. Her work is a noble beginning of that which may continue to be done by the Universalist Church, if it shall possess a zeal commensurate with the magnitude of that pre- eminent Gospel to be " preached to every creature," which it is called of God to maintain. Christian Uni- versalism and woman, " what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." 1 1 For a more ample view of the position and work of the women of the Universalist Church, we refer the reader to the volume recently given to the puhlic by Mrs. E. R. Hanson, entitled " Our Women Workers." Chicago, 1882. 84 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. CHAPTER XI. 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. TT 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 Chris- tianity. 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 SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 85 have made to the progress of the church in the knowl- edge of Christian truth and the realization and enjoj*- ment 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 th ?ir charac- teristics, and pay them that tribute of respect and honor which the} r 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 defend- ers 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 thank- ful 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 encyclopaedia cannot be com- passed in so limited a space. It is from his own partic- ular stand-point 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. Fore- most among the family of preachers, most of whom have departed, stands acknowledged Hosea the elder, one of 86 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. 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 impres- sions 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 at- tempts 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 Bar- nard, Vt., Portsmouth, N. H., Salem and Boston, Mass. He died in the last-named city, June 7, 18")2, 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. Wake- SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 87 fill 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 cgnfute 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. Ballon, none have evinced more mental clearness and vigor than his vol- ume on " Atonement," issued in 1805. 1 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 advo- cates, 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 1 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. 88 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. of which no atonement could be made ; the transgres- sion 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 ex- isted. In view of this penalty, which was endless suf- fering, 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 bod}' 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. Ballon, " 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 dis- charge ; 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 fur 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 pay- ment 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 ; SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 89 and as much as I owe you I am worse than nothing.' I de- clare to him positively that I will not lose so much as a frac- tion 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 pa}' me any part of my demand.' M}' friend says he is sorry that 1 should lose my debt. I answer, k I shall not lose it. I have very fortunately, in 1113- meditations on the subject, thought of a method by which I can avail myself of the whole, to 1113' full satisfaction ; and I think it is a method which no person in the world but nvyself could ever have discovered.' My friend is curious and impatient to know the secret, never before found out. The reader ma} T 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 exami- nation 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 hear- ers, and altogether disinclined to meet the whole ques- tion in the broadest daylight of investigation. Out of this plain exposition, and others like it, since made, have come the examinations, and statements, and re- statements, 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 90 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. attempt a selection, we should be at a loss where to begin. We have one in mind, given us by Rev. Moses Ballon, which we have never seen in our religious jour- nals. 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-assnrance, 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 awfulty 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 ? " " W T hy," said Mr. Ballou, hesitating a little, " if yon really want to know my mind, I think — that — if you knew a little more, you would never try again I " 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 prom- ises," and the plain and reasonable precepts of the gos- pel. 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 SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 91 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 Or- leans, 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. '* Gentle- men," said he, " you have not yet named the man ! " " What ! " replied all in astonishment, ;k 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 92 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. living." There was silence for a time, and the discus- sion was not renewed. 1 Mr. Ballou was a vigorous writer. His " Treatise on the Atonement," "Notes on the Parables," and vol- umes of sermons, are among his best offerings to the public. The first-named book ought to be read through- out 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 Whitte- more, 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 Wil- mington, where he was pastor until, in 1872, the infirmi- ties 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. Dur- ing the last seventeen years of his residence in Whiting- 1 Account by Rev. A. B. Grosh. SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 93 ham, 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 Ports- mouth, where he had pastorates twice. He had charge 94 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. of the cliurches 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 "Me- morial of Rev. Merritt Sanford ; " the other, " The Divine Character Vindicated," a review of Rev. Ed- ward 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 in- formed, 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 elo- quent 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 fel- lowship 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 SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 95 opened into the new immortal life, which was almost as pres- ently 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 sa}- good-bye, when we shall meet again to-morrow ? ' " 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 Ballotj, 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 Blan chard : — " 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 Univer- salism. 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 Rox- bury 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 val- uable contribution to this literature is his " Ancient History of Universalism," the result of long and patient 96 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. 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 knowl- edge was so unostentatiously held, and kindly and mod- estly 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 SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 97 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 Stur- bridge, Mass., and in his seventeenth year he was at' Leicester Academy. He was educated under " ortho- dox " influence, and used to say that he " held the min- ister 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 Wor- cester County in which he lived were among those where Universalism was first preached. Oxford, espe- cially, 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 heaving something of the "strange doctrine," but all that is known is, that he is said to have been a Uni- versalist 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 Universal- ists 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 Charl- ton, from which it is inferred that both these towns had societies of which he was pastor. In 1809 he re- moved 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 Ports- mouth, 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 re- 7 98 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. moved 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 fune- ral 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 ill- ness in 1811 wrought a marked change in him. Before this he was quite robust and erect, afterwards he ap- peared 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 \>y 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 Con- vention occasions he was, on the whole, second to no one.'' My parents tell me that he was ' sometimes very animated.' SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 99 They speak particularly of one sermon in Portsmouth, called forth by some bitter outbreak of opposition, when be 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 he- roes, 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 denomi- national inheritance." 1 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 Hamp- shire, he was a talented advocate of Christian Univer- salism. At twenty-two he preached his first discourse. He travelled extensively as a missionary in Maine, en- countering the reproach which awaited the advocacy of 1 "-Universalist Quarterly" for April and July, 1871. 100 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. 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 Rock- ingham 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 ruin- SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 101 ister.] 1 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 loug and lofty roll of its interminable ages ! " Said Mr. Streeter to a friend, one Monday morn- ing:— " I had something tender to put into my sermon yesterday morning. As I was going to church, a poor woman came to me to boiTOW 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 b}^, and her poor children had not had a mouthful since yesterday noon, and she had nothing to bu} T 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 have n'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 Fri- day evening conferences in the Hanover Street vestry were never forgotten by those who attended them. As a pastor, lie was always, welcomed in the homes of his 1 Rev. A. C. Thomas. 102 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. 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 prop- erly 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." l 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, witt} r , and logical. He had quite a number of minis- terial 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 In- telligencer," 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, 1 Rev. A. J. Patterson, D. D. SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 103 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 clos- ing 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 dis- course 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 Han- bcom, as " an eloquent appeal from one whose hollow and sepulchral tones seemed to indicate that the youth- ful 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 104 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. 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 under- stood 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 ques- tioning 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 ex- travagances connected with these movements. Scrip- tural argument and strong logic are mixed with keenest wit, mirthfulness, tenderness, and rhetoric most glowing and redundant. The ministers and churches to whom SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 105 these reviews were addressed must have seen them- selves 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 Bur- chard & Co., During a Protracted Meeting of Twenty- six Days in Woodstock, Vt." It was an effective issue. During most of his ministr} r , Mr. Streeter was a zeal- ous and successful advocate of the temperance reform. His addresses were always lively and interesting, full of anecdote, ludicrous hits, and quaint saj'ings. 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 men- tion it?" "Nutmeg!" exclaimed the dignified cler- gyman near him. " That 's it ! " responded Mr. Streeter. " He 's well informed in these matters, I "11 warrant you." We have heard an account of his attendance, in Western New York, at a meeting where a Methodist 106 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. 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 treat- ment of Universalists and their doctrine. Mr. Streeter, seeing that there would be no opportunity for a re- joinder to his statements, asked his ministering brother the privilege of taking his place in offering the closing pniyer, 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 Meth- odists in England, and once belonged to the Lady Huntington connection. He was a veritable Welsh- man, 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 counter- feit 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 repeat- ing the passage, " For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." He had a long set- tlement in Gloucester, and died there at a ripe old age SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 107 (eighty-three), Aug. 20, 1846. The discourse at the funeral was delivered by Rev. A. D. Mayo, the offici- ating 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 Universa- list minister in 1805. He afterwards preached, exten- sively 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, dur- ing the greater part of his manhood, the highest offices of that Order in the United States. He died in Fra- mingham, 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 occa- sion, 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. 108 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. 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 consci- entious 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 Pro- fessor became engaged in a controversy with the emi- nent 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 equal- ity 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 respect- ful but earnest letter to the Andover teacher, asking an explanation of this statement ; awaits patiently an SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 109 answer, but none comes. Writes again and again, still re- ceiving 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 Universalis m, 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 conver- sion to the Universalist faith, his life interest in it after- wards, and the writing of volumes in its defence, which aided in disseminating a knowledge of it widely through- out 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 Univer- salism, and subsequently a preacher of it. His reading was extensive, and his knowledge of the English lan- guage quite thorough. In ordinary conversation he ex- pressed 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 Port- 110 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. land, Me. He was an impressive preacher, with no attempt at the sensational. His personal appearance was notable : a thin man, of stiff, perpendicular car- riage 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, notwith- standing this, he is decidedly the most eloquent preacher in our part of the country. He is, moreover, a man of exceed- ingly 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. SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. Ill 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. 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 scepti- cal, until his attention was arrested and his mind deeply impressed by the preaching of Rev. Hosea Ballon, 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 ser- mon, 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 112 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. fellowship with those who were disposed to compromise its claims. His editorial pen was alive with clear scrip- tural 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 plain- est 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, — scrip- tural, logical, often strikingly illustrated, if occasionally in a homely way, fervent and telling with his congrega- tions. He was a welcome evangelist all over New Eng- land. He was a man of rare business qualifications also. He rendered much civic service to the State as legis- lator, 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. 1 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. 1 For a more particular account of Dr. Whittemore, the reader is referred to his Memoir, by the author of this work. Universalist Pub- lishing House, 1878. SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 113 His very position as a Christian theologian was aggres- sive. 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 remem- ber the school in which he has been disciplined. He who has been called to stand at the head of the prominent Universa- list 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 con- tend, 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 condemna- tion." i 1 " Universalist Miscellany," Vol. VI., p. 290. 114 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. 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. 8. 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 Lancas- ter, 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 SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 115 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. Dolphtjs Skinner, D. D., whose death took place in Utica, N. Y., in 1869. He was born in West- moreland, 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 Universa- list 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 per- son, 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 exceed- ingly satisfactory. During his ministry of forty years, 116 FIFTY NOTABLE 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 Insti- tute " 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 resur- rection life to man. A brother of Dolphus was Rev. Waeeen Skinner, who passed the great part of his life in Vermont, and who was well known there, and in most of New Eng- land, 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. 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 / ' // > ^£. y/rs / / j ■ , ■ 2 SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 117 nineteen. He was apprenticed to a clothier for a wliile before his ministry began. From his first school days he was thoughtful and studious, and succeeded in pain- ing 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 famil} r clock, and gave us a very sensible and well-arranged discourse from the text, " He that goeth forth and weepeth, bear- ing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with re- joicing, 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 ac- count 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 Presby- terian Church. From Baltimore he came back to Massa- chusetts, and settled in Haverhill, where he edited for a time the " Gospel Sun," as he had edited the " South- ern 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. 118 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. 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 Uni- versalist 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 Med ford, Mass. For seven years he was in this laudable work, giving it his faithful attention in addi- tion 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 en- dowments 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 situa- tion, 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 SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 119 to its first financial agent, who wrought so indefatigably, nobly, and successfully in its behalf. In 1857 Mr. Skinner was induced by family consid- erations to move West. After residing in Elgin, Kansas County, 111., for a few months, he was invited and per- suaded to become president of Lombard University, at Galesburg, 111. 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 re- moved 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 listen- ers 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 inter- view with a beloved daughter was inexpressibly touch- ing, — her heroic self-control and his calm, heavenly resignation. His departure was the Christian saint's triumph. It occurred Sect. 18 1861. 120 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. There was nothing of the flashy or sensational in the ministry of Mr. Skinner. He was a plain, logical, prac- tical preacher, "in doctrine showing uncorruptness," an able expounder of the Scriptures, and a faithful looker-up of religious error. His strictures on the re- vivalism of Rev. Mr. Knapp in Boston, and his review of Rev. Theodore Parker's theology, in the " Universa- list 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 attach- ments 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 Uni- versity, 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 Obeeltn 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 SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 121 Rev. T. B. Thayer, then pastor of the First Universa- list Church in that cit} T , to enter the ministry, and was afterwards a student of theology in the family of Rev. Sylvanus Cobb, of Maiden, 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 accomplish- ments 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 suffi- cient 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 Quar- terly,*' 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 sin- 122 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. cere 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 Ballon 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 discourage- ments 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 sat- isfaction, 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 denomi- nation of Universalists, exerted a wider influence, or wrought SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 123 out a brighter or more enviable fame. He was born and ed- ucated 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 Iry 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 fauc}', and the strokes of his wit. Nor was his moral charac- ter inferior to his intellectual endowments. Seldom does one meet with a warmer heart or a sterner integrity than distin- guished him." 1 His pastorates were in New Hartford, Clinton, Al- bany, 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 Chi}' in the halls of Con- gress. 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 1 Memoir of Rev. Stephen R. Smith. By Rev. Thomas J. Sawyer, D. D. Boston: Published by Abel Tompkins, 1852. SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 125 " I have been thinking, my dear sir, about your doc- trine, 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 gov- ernment, 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 lovino- 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 Univer- salist 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 126 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. Methodism, and before the age of twent} T -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 invi- tation to settle with the Protestant Episcopal Church in Elizabethtown, N. J., where lie was ordained as a minister in that church by the Right Rev. Bishop Pro- vost 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 contin- ued ten years. He next removed to Huntington, Conn., and took a joint rectorship of that town and New Hart- ford (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 doc- trine 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 lie 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 pastor- ates in Troy and Lansingburg, N. Y., and preached SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 127 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 re- view of a missionary sermon by Dr. Tyler, and a sermon entitled " St. Paul a Universalist." While Mr. Rayner was with the Episcopalians, fre- quent theological discussions took place in the ministe- rial 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 128 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. 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 thanksgiv- ing 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 an- swer." SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 129 CHAPTER XII. sketches of ministers — continued. " Go forth, all hands ! God's fallow lands Need ploughmen, seedmen, reapers ! Plough deep and long ; uproot old Wrong ; Turn Sin, turn Slaveries under; Sow Wisdom, Lowliness, Freedom, Holiness, And reap in joy and wonder ! " Rev. D. K. Lee, D. D. 73 EV. THOMAS F. KING was a minister of rare -*-^- qualities. He came up from the humble walks of life, and by hard study and the improvement of every opportunity for mental culture, became a scholar of ex- cellent acquirements. He was an enthusiastic believer in the Gospel, and one of its most eloquent preachers and defenders. He was especially acquainted with the evidences of natural and revealed religion, and well pre- pared to present them for the consideration of sceptical minds. His voice was rich, deep, and musical, and as a reader he could hardly be excelled. This, aside from their intrinsic merits, made his discourses strongly im- pressive. An instance is cited of a disaffected hearer who had concluded not to attend his meetings any more, finding himself at the door of the church one morning, after the service had opened, in expectation of hearing a stranger preach. Mr. King was there, reading the Scriptures, — the invitation in Isaiah's prophecies, "Ho, 130 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. every one that thirsteth, come } r e to the waters," &c. The hearer stood still, listened, attempted to leave, and was held fast. Again he started, but the words reached him, " Incline your ear, and come unto me ; hear, and your soul shall live ! " Further resistance was useless. His place in the sanctuary was taken again, and held afterwards while lie lived. Mr. King had a large, warm, sympathetic heart, and made the joys and sorrows of his people his own. He was the life of the social circle, and his fund of anecdote and good humor usually insured him a warm reception everywhere. He had an unusually rich bass voice in singing. His pulpit services were pervaded with a profound reverential spirit. He was pastor in Hudson, N. Y., Portsmouth, N. H., and Charles- town, Mass., in which last-named place he departed'this life, Sept. 13, 1839. His death was a Christian's triumph. Of his eminent son, Thomas Starr Kikg, what can we say that most readers do not already know ? and yet the man and his life will always bear noting and will never fail to be admired. He was born in the city of New York, Dec. 17, 1824. He early manifested singu- lar aptitude for study and deep conscientiousness. His education was desultory, but with his quickness of ap- prehension he acquired Latin and French at an early age. At fifteen, on the death of his father, he became the head of the family, and worked for their support as a clerk and school-teacher. In the mean time he was an untiring student of metaphysics and theology. One of his historians, Mr. E. P. Whipple, writes of him : — " He mastered the results of the great German and French critics of the Bible. To many of our present young students exegesis practically means exit Jesus ; but King, in all his SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 131 eager quest of truth, and dutiful acknowledgment of the ser- vice which the great German theologians had rendered to the rational interpretation of the Scriptures, never lost his original hold on Christ Jesus as the express image of God, — as the Son who reveals to us the Father, — as the ideal embodiment of a perfected Humanity. Such a person had a natural call to the ministry." His first sermon was preached in Woburn, in the autumn of 1845. In the summer of the next year he was invited to the pastorate of the Universalist Church in Charlestown, then made vacant by the removal of the Rev. E. II. Chapin to Boston. He accepted the call, and enjoyed a bus}^ and happy ministry there, until his urerent call to become the minister of the Hollis Street (Unitarian) Church in Boston. The first invitation he declined, and made a voyage to Fayal to recruit his health which had been impaired by his incessant labors. The invitation was renewed on his return home, and he was installed in his new place in December, 1848. This course on his part was not agreeable to many of his Universalist friends, but they had no doubt that it was conscientiously taken by him, and most of them always retained their good will and heart-fellowship for him. They knew that his work would be mainly in the right direction always ; and they were not disappointed. As a public literary lecturer, he was among the foremost in the land. In April, 1860, Mr. King took charge of the Unitarian Church in San Francisco, Cal. He saw a field there which he deemed it an opportunity to occupy, both as a Christian minister and an American patriot. He entered with his whole soul into the defence of the national cause and in opposition to the traitorous intent of the 132 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. secession conspirators. In the pulpit and on the plat- form lie vindicated the national honor and pleaded for the maintenance of the national Union. As his biographer, Mr. Whipple, writes : " As far as regards the keeping of California loyal to the Union during the civil war, he ranks at least in the first file of its eminent citizens. His reputation was not confined to the Pacific coast, but extended over the whole country." 1 He literally wore out his life in this great and glorious field of exertion. Diphtheria came finally, and he passed into the higher life, March 4, 1865. His words at the last were : " I feel all the privileges and greatness of the future." One of our ablest theologians and most devoted min- isters was Rev. Abel Charles Thomas, born in Exe- ter, Berks Co., Pa., July 11, 1807. He was of Quaker lineage, his grandfather Abel having been a distin- guished preacher of the Society of Friends during fifty- six years. It was of Rev. A. B. Grosh, then of Marietta, Pa., that he received his first knowledge of Universalism. In 1827 he went to Philadelphia as a printer, and was there encouraged by resident ministers, Rev. S. R. Smith, and Rev. T. Fisk, to enter the ministry. He preached his first sermon in the Lombard St. Church in Novem- ber, 1828. In the following January he became pub- lisher and co-editor with Mr. Fisk of the " Gospel Herald and Universalist Review " in New York city, writing editorials, putting them in type, conducting the 1 The mother of Mr. King was a woman of keen intellect and of many virtues, and her talented son held her in highest esteem. As his popu- larity in California was increasing, there was a serious talk at one time of sending him as senator to Congress. The mother, hearing of this, wrote in a letter to her son : " Be on your guard. Don't let Satan take you to the top of Mt. Shasta, and show you Washington! " SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 133 correspondence, and as he says, " writing his sermons on a pine board by night," for he had begun his ministerial labors April 5, 1829, preaching in a small frame meet- ing-house on Grand St. In less than a year from the delivery of his first sermon, he responded to a cordial invitation to become pastor of the Lombard St. Church, Philadelphia, which connection continued with mutual interest of pastor and people for ten years. In 1834 and 1835 a discussion took place between Mr. Thomas and Rev. Ezra Stiles Ely, D. D., which was afterwards issued in book form, and has probably been more widely circulated and had a more permanent interest and use- fulness than any other theological discussion in our country. It gave to Mr. Thomas a fame which will always be connected with his memory. Visiting New England after the discussion had closed, he received a most cordial and enthusiastic welcome, and preached in many places to large and deeply interested congrega- tions. Mr. Thomas removed to Lowell in the autumn of 1839, and took charge of the Second Church. Here he and his co-laborer, Rev. T. B. Thayer, started the " Star of Bethlehem," a vigorous weekly publication in support of the Universalist faith. While living here, he estab- lished the " Lowell Offering," a new movement for that time, and which elicited much interest in this country and in England. After three years' active and efficient work in Lowell, and after a few months' travel for his health, he went to Brooklyn, N. Y., where he organized a society and was one of eight men who built the first Universalist church in that city. From Brooklyn he went to Cincinnati, O., in 1844 ; but declining health and overwork obliged him to resign his charge in 1847. 134 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. After a year's rest he returned to his old parish in Phil- adelphia. Twelve years later he was induced to go out as a missionary of Universalism to England and Scot- land ; the required funds were promptly raised, and accompanied by his family, in May, 1852, he sailed for England. His time was spent chiefly in London and Edinburgh, though he preached in all the principal cities of the United Kingdom, and made careful investigation of the religious aspect of affairs there. At the close of a year's labor he was joined in London b} r his co-worker in Lowell, Rev. T. B. Thayer, and wife, and for six months they travelled together on the Continent. He then returned to Philadelphia, and resumed his labor there. During the late war, with its manifold excitements and fatigues, the visiting and caring for the sick and wounded in the hospitals, and his active interest in as- sisting the soldiers constantly passing to and fro, made serious inroads on his long-enfeebled frame, so that he was obliged to resign his charge in 1863. He removed to Hightstown, N. J., where he preached two years, one sermon a Sunday, as a labor of love. He then spent two years in Bridgeport, Conn., preaching in Danbury and other places as his strength permitted. In the spring of 1807 he purchased a farm at Tacony, Philadel- phia, which was thenceforth his home. Mr. Thomas was the author of several volumes be- sides the " Ely and Thomas Discussion ; " his " Auto- biography," "The Gospel Liturgy," "The Songs of " Zion," " A Century of Universalism," &c. He wrote also some very useful and popular tracts, — among them "213 Questions without Answers," which has had a wider reading and attracted more attention than any SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 135 other tract ever issued from our press. It has had a circulation of at least a million copies. The questions are strong, awakening, and searching. Rev. T. B. Thayer, D. D., makes this brief but truth- ful statement of the character of Mr. Thomas : — "As a teacher, he was a man of wonderful gifts. His sermons were largely doctrinal, expositoiy, and defensive, as the position of our church at the time he began preaching demanded. He was clear, terse and logical, and original in the statement and discussion of his subject, with just enough of quaint Quaker phrase to give it spice, yet alive with the beauty and the glow of the poet's vision and illustration ; and sometimes, when a sudden burst of feeling and inspiration came upon him, he rose to the highest demands of oratory, his eloquence became electric, and, like a full-charged battery, thrilled the entire congregation, until every heart beat with the pulses of his own faith and fervor. As a controversialist, he had few equals. His discussion with Dr. Ely, as an exhibi- tion of the Universalist argument, was, and still is, the best and most persuasive work of the kind in our denominational history, and admirably displays the skill, logic, fairness and manly courtesy of Mr. Thomas as a debater. As a Christian gentleman, he was distinguished for the grace and courtesy of his manners, for his thoughtful kindness towards all, for his remarkable conversational gifts, and for the personal mag- netism by which he attracted to himself all with whom he came in contact, 3'oung and old, strangers and friends alike.'' For the last three years of his life he was confined to his home, and quietly passed on in full assurance of the immortal life, Sept. 27, 1880. Mr. Thomas was married Feb. 14, 1843, to Miss M. Louise Palmer, of Pottsville, Pa., who survives him, and is one of the active and effi- cient " womei) workers " of our church. 136 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. Contemporary with Mr. Thomas during his ministry in Philadelphia was Rev. Savillion W. Fuller, who became pastor of the Callowhill Street Universalist Church in that city in 1833. We are indebted to Mr. Thomas, who, in his " Autobiography," has given us a truthful though brief account of the worthy man : — " His mind was comprehensive. His power of analysis was displayed alike in sermonizing and conversation. His perception was quick, his reflection rigid, and his stern con- science denounced what logic condemned. As a public speaker he was unequal. Sometimes he was tame, at others mightily stirring by forcible thought embodied in unusually glowing language. The average placed him in a high rank among the eloquent men of the age. In every respect of social nobility I never knew his superior. ' He bore through suffering, toil, and ruth, Within his heart tlie dew of youth, And on his lip the smile of truth.' He carried sunshine into all circles of the young and the old, the literary and the religious. Even the house of mourn- ing seemed radiant in his visitations of loving trust. His keen wit was without asperity, and his ardent zeal was uni- forml}- tempered by charity. His beaming face was a true index of the inner man." He united with Mr. Thomas in a letter to four distin- guished clergymen of Philadelphia, inviting them to lecture in the Universalist churches in that city on points of doctrinal difference between the parties. The result of the invitation was, finally, the Ely and Thomas discussion. An instance in illustration of Mr. Fuller's aptness in emergencies is given in the " Companion and Register " of 1858. Entering the stage-coach for Utica one day, SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 137 he found it full of passengers, among whom was a some- what noted "revivalist" of that time, and his friend, a deacon. Mr. Fuller soon became disgusted with the coarse, brow-beating dogmatism of the revivalist toward the unassuming passengers, and took up the argument against him. Enraged at being foiled in controversy and overmatched in wit, the elder poured out a torrent of abusive language, when Mr. Fuller arrested his vulgar tirade by saying in a dignified and authoritative tone, " Stop, sir ! Not another word from your lips ! Why, sir, you are making a mere blackguard of yourself. Not another word, sir ! " (arresting the reply before it could be commenced). "Not another word, I tell you! Why, you have already disgraced yourself and your pro- fession, and, if allowed to continue, would disgrace the company you are in and the very horses that draw you along ! " The mortified man shrunk into his corner, cowed by an imperiousness as much excelling his own in energy and power as it towered above him in dignity and truth. But his deacon was determined not to be put down thus, and spoke up with much spirit, " Sir, this is a free country, and others have a right to speak as well as yourself." " Most certainly, my dear sir," said Mr. Fuller, with one of his beaming looks and in his bland- est tones, " most certainly, sir ; and I hope you will exercise your right." " Yes, sir ; and I mean to exercise it, sir ; I '11 let you know, sir, that I shall speak as much as I please, sir," said the now enraged deacon. " That 's right," replied the very courteous Fuller, " speak on, my dear sir ; we wish to hear you speak." " Yes, sir," continued the choking deacon, " and I '11 let you know that you can't shut my mouth, sir." " Oh, no, sir, — . 138 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. Heaven forbid fliat I should attempt it — I want you to speak — so, speak on, sir — we like to hear you." " Yes, sir, and I won't ask your permission, neither ! I '11 let you know, sir, that you are not my keeper, sir ! " said the deacon, now almost bursting with rage. " Certainly not, sir," was the very quiet but smiling reply, " cer- tainly not, sir, — I am a pastor, not a keeper of swine." A prolonged, hearty laugh from the passengers finally died away, and " there was a great calm." The deacon reclined in sullen silence, and the remainder of the jour- ney was enlivened by pleasant and profitable conversa- tion between Mr. Fuller and the other passengers. Rev. William Allen Drew, most of whose life was passed in Maine, was born in Kingston, Mass., Dec. 11, 1798. He fitted for college in early life, but adverse circumstances compelled him to abandon his studies and go to Bath, Me., in 1813, where he was employed as a clerk for two years. He then spent four years at work on a farm in Hallo well. In 1819 he accepted an invita- tion to take charge of Farmington Academy, and re- mained in that position five years. He preached his first sermon in Farmington, Oct. 1, 1821, and was fel- lowshipped the same year. He remained in Farmington as teacher and preacher until 1824, when he began preaching in Belfast, and removed there Jan. 1, 1825. He remained there two years, preaching also in Camden, in Thomaston, and in other towns in the vicinity. In December, 1825, he began the publication of a religious paper called " The Christian Visitant," which was after- wards merged in " The Christian Intelligencer," pub- lished at Portland by Rev. Russell Streeter, and Mr. Drew was associated with him in the editorial work. SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 139 In January, 1827, he removed to Augusta, in which place he had his home during the remainder of his life. The "Intelligencer" was removed to Gardiner at the same time, and he became its sole editor. From 1831 to 1833 he published " The Christian Preacher," a monthly journal of sermons. He established the " Gospel Ban- ner" in 1835, and edited it with marked ability until 1857. After his connection ceased with the " Banner," he was editor of the " Rural Intelligencer " for a few years, and was at different times connected with the " Maine Cultivator," the " Augusta Courier," and per- haps some other papers. He was a contributor to the " Gospel Banner " even after the burden of years and infirmities pressed heavily upon him. He was eminently fitted for the editorship of a public journal. Mr. Drew organized the First Universalist Church in Augusta in 1833. He was ordained its pastor when the meeting-house was dedicated, Nov. 26, 1835, preached to it constantly, and performed pastoral labors until 1848. Rev. Dr. Quinby, who published a biographical sketch of him after his decease, writes : — " As a writer and editor he had few equals. His pen was ever ready, he never tired. Many of his productions bore the marks of great research and deep thought, though evi- dently written in the midst of a pressure of other occupations. His theology was plain and straightforward. All could un- derstand him. His descriptions of scenes and places were vivid, natural, and generally true to the life. He had many admirers as a controversialist. Possessing a wide range of thought, good knowledge of the Bible, a well-balanced and discerning intellect, a ready wit, and naturally exceedingly sarcastic, he was a stalwart defender of Universalism in Maine, and proved himself competent to any emergency." 140 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. Rev. Isaac Dowd Williamson was one of the ablest advocates of the Universalis faith. He was born in Pomfret, Vt., April 4, 1807, and died in Cincinnati, Ohio, Nov. 26, 1876. In early life he learned the clothier's trade, and had no other schooling than that of the common district school ; but his ardent thirst for knowledge, his force of character and enthusiasm made amends for lack of external aid. He was troubled with many doubts in his thoughts about religion until, at about the age of fifteen, Ballou's " Treatise on the Atonement" was put into his hands. He read it with avidity, and was greatly enlightened and encouraged. He had hitherto thought that all sorrow and suffering were inflicted by God in anger upon his children for their sins. The first sermon from a Universalist to which he listened was delivered by Rev. Kittredge Haven, from the text, " Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he re- ceiveth " ( Heb. xii. 6). It lifted him out of his doubts and sent him away rejoicing. He went into a solitary place and wept for joy, and upon his knees vowed that if God would spare his life, and he could ever be quali- fied, he would enter upon the work of the ministry, a purpose which he followed out most faithfully. He preached his first sermon Oct. 1, 1827, in Springfield, Vt. After supplying the pulpit a short time in Langdon, N.H., he settled in 1828 in Jaffrey, N. H., and was or- dained by the Franklin Association, at Townsend, Vt. Sept. 10, 1829. In June of the same year he removed to Albany, N. Y., where he lived seven years. From 1837 to 1851 he resided as pastor in Poughkeepsie a year and a half, in Baltimore two years, in New York city three, in Philadelphia three, in Mobile two winters, SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 141 in Memphis, Ky., in Lowell, Mass., one year. From Lowell be removed to Louisville, Ky., remaining there two years, from there to Philadelphia, where lie spent three years, which was his last regular pastorate, al- though he supplied in Cincinnati after his return from Philadelphia. He was with Rev. C. F. Lefevre, editor of the " Gospel Anchor " at Troy, N. Y., about 1880, a paper afterwards merged in the " Religious Inquirer, " published at Hartford, Conn., Mr. Williamson continu- ing to edit it. He was one of the editors of the " Herald and Era," published at Louisville, Ky., and was for about ten years connected with the " Star in the West " as joint proprietor and editor, though for several of his last years performing no editorial labor. Dr. Williamson, through most of his life, was afflicted with asthma in its severest form, but his vigorous will enabled him, in spite of it, to perform much labor. He delivered nearly 4,000 sermons, published nine volumes, beside many pamphlets, and for forty years was con- nected with our periodicals. He once crossed the At- lantic, and preached the Gospel of Impartial Grace in Great Britain. He took seven voyages of 2,000- miles coastwise by sea on the same errand. In his voyage to Europe, one of his fellow passengers was Washington Irving, then on his way to Spain. Mr. Williamson conducted the religious services on board the vessel, one Sunday morning, discoursing on the Paternal character, purposes and requirements of God, in accordance with Christian Universalism. After the service, Mr. Irving, who had been an attentive listener, cordially thanked the preacher for his sermon, adding emphatically, " These, sir, are my views r and I am trying to live in agreement with them." 142 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. Mr. Williamson was a prominent and highly respected member of the Society of Odd Fellows, lectured far and wide in exposition and defence of their principles, and went to England mainly in their service. He was for many years Grand Chaplain of the Grand Lodge of the United States, and the ritual now in use by the Or- der was largely from his pen. He received the honor- ary degree of Doctor of Divinity from Norwich, Vt., University, in 1850. The writer of this sketch first heard Dr. Williamson preach at the session of the Uni- versalist General Convention held in Strafford, Vt., in 1832. The subject was " Lukewarmness rebuked ; " the text, Rev. iii. 15: "I would thou wertcold or hot. " No noisy, declamatory appeal was it, no clap-trap ef- fort reminding the audience of the " smartness " of the one to whom they are listening ; but a clear, strong, ear- nest statement of the greatness of the Truth of God and of its pre-eminent claims upon the attention, love, and consecrated zeal of every believer in its unsearch- able riches. In illustration (not profuse), in persua- siveness and application, it could not have been improved. The large old church was filled, the audi- ence were in closest attention to the end, and many were the silent, sympathetic "aniens" in response when his words were ended. The discourse afterwards ap- peared in the " Gospel Preacher," a monthly publica- tion issued at Augusta, Me. The " Rudiments of Theological and Moral Science " may be considered the summing up of Mr. Williamson's theological thinking during his ministry. It is a nota- ble vindication of the Divine Sovereignty, a sovereignty infinitely glorified in the Divine Paternity. Although some of its reasonings savor too much of what is called SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 143 fatalism to be accepted as practically healthful when men are called upon to " work out their own salvation with fear and trembling," it is in the highest degree helpful and hopeful to all of weak faith who need to realize that God has will and purpose of his own, and works within his children " to will and to do of his own good pleasure." God's beneficent sovereignty was to him the adamantine foundation of the Gospel. As strong and effective by voice and pen as the ministry of this good man has been, there were those at the begin- ning of it who were inclined to wonder at his attempt to enter this profession. Light-minded critics uttered their innocent witticisms, and sober well-wishers of our denomination very plainly hinted to him that he might possibly do quite as much service to it in some other line of effort than that of preaching ! But all this to the pure-minded young soldier of the Cross was but an incentive to renewed exertion. They who doubted knew not that the Lord had called him, and had pur- posed for him a life of honorable labor in his holy ser- vice. Father Ballou used to say, "When the Lord undertakes to make a minister, he always makes a good one." Dr. Williamson was thus made. He has given " full proof " of his ministry, and now having gone " up higher," his works will follow him. One of the ministers of a long pastorate in Vermont was Rev. Kittredge Haven. He was of a family of nine sons and two daughters, and was born in Framing- ham, Mass., Feb. 24, 1793, and died in Shoreham, Vt., May 4, 1877, aged 84. His father removed in 1802 to Cambridge, and in 1810 to Boston, where he established himself in a crockery store. The subject of this notice 144 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. was providentially drawn to attend the ministry of Rev. Paul Dean, under whose preaching he was converted to Universalism, sang- in his choir at his installation as col- league with Rev. John Murray in 1813, studied for the ministry with Mr. Dean, and in his pulpit preached his first sermon in July, 1819. In the spring of 1820 Mr. Haven made a preaching tour into Maine, spending one Sabbath in each of the towns of Waterville, Brunswick, Livermore, Winthrop and Turner, and in Portland three Sundays. After returning to Boston he received a letter from Turner, inviting him to become a pastor there, but he declined the call. Soon afterwards he took a journey into Vermont, and in Dec. 1820 settled in Bethel, on a salary of $5 per Sunday, which was the customary pay of a young preacher in those days. He was ordained at Kingsbury, N. Y., Oct. 14, 1821, by the Northern Association, embracing Vermont, a part of Canada, and all that part of New York which bordered on Lake Champlain. Two ministers only besides him- self were present on that occasion, Rev. S. C. Loveland and Rev. Robert Bartlett. In 1829 Mr. Haven moved to Shoreham, and there he remained until death, preaching there regularly thirty-seven years, and occa- sionally, every year, from Jan. 1, 1825, to Jan. 1, 1870, — in all forty -five years. Mr. Haven was an earnest and effective preacher. He was not especially noted for learning or eloquence, but was a plain, vigorous, and scriptural advocate of the Gospel. His preaching was a continuous stream of truth flowing forth in a strong and fervent delivery from the beginning to the close of his discourse. He possessed excellent judgment, sterling integrity, an amiable and Christian spirit, and unostentatious piety. SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 145 He won and secured the respect of all men by his kindness of heart, his gentlemanly manners, and pure life. He made Universalism respected wherever he was known. Congregational ministers even called him evan- gelical. He left an honored name to his children and to the church which he had faithfully served for fifty years. He was uncle of the late Bishop Gilbert Haven of the M. E. Church. The ministry of Rev. John Boyden was one of the most useful and honored of any in our churches. He was born in Sturbridge, Mass., May 14, 1809, and died in Woonsocket, R. I., Sept. 28, 1869. He attended the public schools in his native town during his youth, and engaged in teaching schools winters before he reached his twentieth year. In 1829 he resolved to enter upon the calling to which he had for some time felt drawn, and began his studies for the Christian ministry under the direction of the elder Rev. Hosea Ballou. His first sermon was preached in Annisquam, near Gloucester, Mass. In the following year (1830), he was ordained at Berlin, Conn. It was his first settlement, and he remained there four years. He next located at Dudley, Mass., where he continued as pastor until 1840, when he removed to Woonsocket, where lie had before, preached occasionally, and became the first pastor of the new society in that place, which had just erected a church. His pastorate here reached nearly the limit of thirty years. As a preacher, he was plain, sound, and forcible. He never attempted great things in the way of sensational effort. He had too much good sense, and too refined notions of propriety to do that. His eloquence was in 10 146 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. the sincerity, truthfulness, and earnestness of his state- ments and appeals. He was a clear and strong reasoner, and had always good illustrations of his subject at hand. Incidents from his own experience were often made most timely and impressive in his discourses. He was pointedly doctrinal and thoroughly practical in his ser- mons, generally using great simplicity and plainness of speech, but always giving evidence of a deep heart in- terest in the message he was delivering. As a minister of Christian consolation he seemed pre- eminent. In this respect no preacher perhaps was more acceptable to our people. His calls to attend funerals, sometimes at long distances out of his own parish, were many. Old friends, who had long known him, when bereaved and afflicted were thankful to hear his voice speaking to them the comforting words of divine truth. He was a true Christian reformer. All through his ministry this had been his character. Clear in his per- ceptions, sound in his judgments, consistent in his posi- tions, and with an adamantine firmness in his adherence to principle, he was always ready to give his word and influence in aid of the reforms of the times. As an ad- vocate of temperance and human freedom, he was sur- passed by none in his faithfulness. How his own people loved him ! and how long and closely and happily were they united ! That silver wed- ding celebration of the pastoral union in 1864 ; what evi- dence it gave of that unity of the spirit which can bind a good pastor and an appreciative people for so long a time with interest deepening as years increase, and which is such a reproof of the many injudicious calls and frequent resignations which afflict too many churches ! What a golden halo is set around this long settlement of the faithful pastor and his loving people. Qsifiiu, SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 259 for its publications. His health at this present writing is quite firm for one of his years, a slight failure of eye- sight and a partial paralysis of the right hand being his principal infirmity. Mr. Le Fevre enjoys a deservedly high reputation. His pulpit talents have always been appreciated by his congregations. His discourses have indicated a keen and well-balanced mind, logical force, and ripe scholar- ship. In social life he has always exerted a salutary influence ; his wit and humor being admirable accom- paniments of his gentlemanly dignity and sympathetic spirit. He has proved a valuable acquisition to the church whose pleasure it is to make this truthful record of him. Rev. Lucius Robinson Paige, D. D., is, with two exceptions, 1 the oldest living minister in the Universa- list Church. He was born in Hardwick, Mass., March 8, 1802, and was educated in the public schools of his native village. On reaching his majority he began his work as a preacher, and did some effective missionary work as a layman. In 1825 he was ordained, and was settled at Springfield, Mass., where he remained four 3'ears. During this time, his faith being assailed by two ministers of the Methodist church, Rev. Timothy Merritt and Rev. Wilbur Fisk, Mr. Paige entered into a controversy with them, and proved himself an able advocate and defender of the Christian Gospel. The debate still exists in pamphlet form, and is one of the most pithy and searching that can be found. The spirit and behavior of the bigoted opponents of Univer- 1 Rev. Thomas G. Famsworth of Waltham, Mass., ordained in 1822, and Rev. Alvin Dinstuore of Woodland, Cal., ordained in 1823. 260 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. salism are strikingly illustrated, as well as the readiness and efficienc} 7 of the assailed one to meet and to deal with them. Mr. Paige was next minister in Rockport, and removed from there to Cambridgeport, where he was installed pastor of the First Universalist Society July 8, 1832. He held this position until 1839, after which he took no pastorate, but continued to preach frequently for more than twenty years afterwards, and has been active in the ministry until within a few years. In 1833 he published his "Selections from Eminent Commentators," a work showing most conclusively the admission on the part of orthodox writers of the very ground taken by Universalists in their explanation of many passages of Scripture supposed to stand in opposi- tion to Universalism. It was a strong call upon all can- did inquirers after Christian truth, and has made its impress in the progress of Christian thought since it was issued. In 1838 he published " Questions on Select Portions of the Gospels," designed for Sunday schools and Bible classes. His greatest work, however, is his Commentary on the New Testament, the first vol- ume of which was published in 1844, and the last in 1870. The work is the result of sound judgment, care- ful research and close thought, and is a monument of the steady and untiring industry of the writer. It has been highly acceptable to those on whose behalf it was prepared. While engaged upon it, he also contributed to the denominational papers, and gathered materials for the history of Cambridge, which was published in 1877. He has also been actively engaged in secular pursuits. He was town clerk from March, 1839, to January, 1840, and from March, 1843, to May, 1846, and city clerk SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 261 from May, 1846, to October, 1855, and representative in the General Court in 1878 and 1879. He was treasurer of the Cambridgeport Savings Bank from April, 1855, to April, 1871, and has been cashier and president of the Cambridge Bank. He received the degree of A. M. from Harvard in 1850, and D. D. from Tufts in 1861. Although he has retired from business, during the past few years Dr. Paige has given much attention to the preparation of a history of his native town, Hard- wick, and after many years of hard work the task is completed and the manuscript is now ready for the printer. He is a member of the Massachusetts Histori- cal Society, and one of the oldest on the roll ; also of the American Antiquarian and Phi Beta Kappa societies. As a Mason he has stood high. He joined the Order in Little Falls, N. Y., in 1824, became Worshipful Mas- ter of the Hard wick Lodge in 1826, having previously been exalted to the Royal Arch degree at Greenwich, and having joined the Knights Templars in 1824. He is now the oldest Past Commander of the Knights Tem- plars within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. He became Steward of the Most Wor- shipful Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in 1848, and dea- con in 1850. The year following he was elected right worshipful deputy grand master. Upon retiring from that position, he became a permanent member, and is now the oldest surviving permanent member of the Grand Lodge. In 1861 he received the thirty-third degree Scottish, and was at once admitted a member of the Supreme Council. Here he served as Secretary two years, and Minister of State three years. He is now, as he has been for* nineteen years past, resident representative of the Supreme Council of Belgium. 262 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. One of the most noticeable events in the life of Dr. Paige was that of the celebration of his eightieth birth- day, in the vestry of the Universalist Church in Cam- bridgeport, on the evening of March 8, 1882. A large company was assembled, and after a feast at the tables, very impressive exercises followed. Rev. O. A. Saf- ford, pastor of the Universalist Church, presided, and introduced Dr. Paige to the company, who heard from him a very appropriate and affecting address. The assembly was then addressed by Mayor Fox of Cam- bridge, Rev. Dr. Mc Kenzie of the Congregational church, Rev. Drs. Sawyer, Adams, Miner, and Capen, Rev. C. A. Skinner, J. A. Jacobs, Esq., the city clerk, and Capt. J. W. Cotton. A letter, expressive of his sincere and hearty respect for Dr. Paige, was read from Professor Longfellow. A handsome illustrated copy of Longfellow's Poems was presented to the doctor, bear- ing this inscription: "Presented by a few old friends, with their congratulations and best wishes on the 80th anniversary of his birthday." On Monday, May 1, 1882, the Columbus Avenue Universalist Church celebrated the thirty-fourth anni- versary of the pastorate of Rev. Alonzo Ames Miner, D. D., LL. D., who entered upon his duties as a col- league of the late Rev. Hosea Ballou, pastor of the Second Universalist Society in Boston, in place of Rev. Dr. E. H. Chapin, called to New York. Mr. Miner was born in Lempster, N. H., Aug, 17, 1814. His ancestors on both sides were distinguished by good sense and firm physical constitutions. His remote American forefather, Thomas Miner, landed at Bos- ton in the same year with the elder Winthrop (1630), SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 263 and removed to Connecticut with the company of the younger Winthrop about 1646. His grandfather, Charles Miner, served in the Revolutionary War, and removed to New Hampshire soon after its close. Thomas Miner, his ancestor, was a descendant of Henry Bulman of the Mendip Hills, Somersetshire, England, who furnished Edward III., when on his way to embark for the wars of France, with an escort of one hundred men, selected from his servants and from the men em- ployed in his mines. For this service the king honored him with a coat of arms, and changed his name to Miner. Dr. Miner was so feeble in his youth that it seemed doubtful whether he would grow up into mature life. But good care and judicious training wrought a change for the better, which was doubtless aided by a vigorous will. His education was gained at village schools and academies in New Hampshire and Vermont. He began teaching between terms when he was sixteen years of age, and in 1835 took entire charge of the Scientific and Military Academy at Unity, N. H. His first discourse in the pulpit was deliverd in February, 1838. In 1839 he received ordination, and was settled in Methuen, Mass. In 1842 he removed to Lowell, where he be- came an efficient yoke-fellow with the pastor of the First Universalist Church, and where they made good proof of their ministry in the pulpit and through the press. Dr. Miner remained in Lowell as pastor of the Second Society until the removal of Rev. E. H. Chapin from Boston to New York, when he was called to take his place as colleague with Rev. Hosea Ballon at the Universalist Church in School St. On the death of Mr. Ballou, he became pastor of the church, which office he 264 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. still retains. His health failing him partially in 1851, he visited Europe, and on his return found that his church edifice had been remodelled during his absence, at a cost of $20,000. Subsequently, in 1872 the build- ing in School Street was put to secular uses, and the edifice now occupied on Columbus Avenue was erected at a cost of $150,000. During his long pastorate, two colleagues have been settled with him, Rev. Roland Connor, for a short time, and Rev. Henry I. Cushman, now pastor of the First Universalist Church in Provi- dence, R. I. In 1862, after the decease of Rev. Dr. Ballou, Presi- dent of Tufts College, Dr. Miner was chosen to this office, and took upon himself its duties in connection with his work as pastor in Boston. His energy seemed adequate to this double task for a time, until it became evident to him and his friends that the interests of both college and parish required his main attention to be given to but one of them. He chose the parish, to the great satisfaction of its members, and Rev. E. H. Capen, one of the alumni of the college, was elected its presi- dent. Through his past life-course Dr. Miner has been one of the most indefatigable of toilers. As a Christian minister and reformer he is widely known. His pulpit talents are of the highest order. His clear, strong, and readily modulated voice, his sharp logic, often " on fire," his good scholarship, his aptness not only in making his points, but in the elucidation of them ; his thorough ac- quaintance with the evidences of his faith, and especially with the scriptural proofs of it ; his directness in strik- ing at the wrong, as he perceives it, with most telling blows, and his uncompromising adherence to what he SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 265 considers the right, are sure to gain him a respectful and serious hearing wherever he comes before the public. His many published discourses evince his power as a the- ologian, and his little volume, " The Old. Forts Taken," embodies a searching review of some of the over-confi- dent statements of Rev. Joseph Cook on the religious signs of the times. It would have been well for Christian truth, and for some of the churches professing it, whose representatives so readily applauded many of the stirring and sensational words of Mr. Cook at the moment of their utterance in Boston, could they have listened also to a close and rigid questioning of them by Dr. Miner. The Universalist Church generally, we think, would be quite willing to abide by the presentation of its faith and the claims of it, by him. At a conversation circle, embrac- ing members of the " Radical Club," held in Boston within a few years, where all shades of religious opinion were represented, the question " Is Christianity a Fi- nality ? " or, in substance, can any religion superior to it be given to man ? was proposed for consideration. After various discussions on the subject from the purest orthodoxy to the most radical " liberalism," Dr. Miner, who had come in while the subject was under discussion, was invited by the chairman to speak. His statements were very readily made, viz. that the Christianity of the New Testament included the best religion conceivable by man, meeting his deepest spiritual wants, answering his highest aspirations after the purest life here, and his most anxious hopes respecting the future of himself and the race. All this is presented, and its complete fulfil- ment with all souls assured through Christ, the promise of whose mission is, that ultimately " God shall be all in all." If Christianity is true, therefore, it will have no successor. The discussion was at an end. 266 FIFTY NOT ABIE YEARS. As. a Christian reformer Dr. Miner has gained a de- served prominence. He has been outspoken on the subject of Capital Punishment, advocating its abolish- ment, and in the Anti-slavery war proved himself one of the veterans. It is in the Temperance reform, however, that he has taken a strong and marked interest. As ail advocate of Prohibition he is one of the leaders in the land. The pamphlet on Prohibition, published in 1867, containing his arguments on the subject before the Massachusetts Legislative Committee in the Represen- tatives' Hall, is one of the most readable documents of the times. 1 His ready answers to the questions proposed to him, and his telling questions pressed upon the advo- cates of liquor license laws, on that occasion, evinced a mastery of the situation not often realized. In temper- ance conventions and conferences he has often some searching criticisms on the city officials in their evasions of the laws respecting the liquor traffic ; and on every available occasion when called to speak on the moral needs of the State and the moral responsibility of the people, he is quite sure to give a few ringing notes em- phasizing the temperance reform. Dr. Miner has been for ten years past President of the Massachusetts Tem- perance Alliance. As an educator Dr. Miner has done good work. He began it early, and has never lost interest in it. As president of the college, a member of the State Board of Education, and Chairman of the Board of Visitors of the Normal Art School, he has been true to it constantly. His business talent is well known. He is a safe and far-seeing financier, to whom the interests of the busy 1 "Argument on the Right and Duty of Prohibition." By A. A. Miner, April 2, 1867. SKETCHES OF MINISTERS. 267 movers " on 'change " are somewhat familiar. In all financial plans and operations demanding his action he is especially and effectively at home. He is President of the Universalist Publishing House, and is still one of the trustees of Tufts College. The degree of D. D. was conferred upon him by Harvard College, and that of LL. D. by Tufts soon after his resignation of the presi- dency of that institution. He was one of the" Hundred Boston Orators ; "' having been called to deliver the ora- tion before the authorities and citizens of Boston, July 4, 1855. The positiveness and persistence of Dr. Miner have sometimes had the effect to alienate rather than concili- ate those who might conscientiously differ from him in their convictions of right and duty. It is to be la- mented, however, that where we find one possessing his degree of positiveness in what he believes to be right, we are more or less " troubled on every side " by those who are only half-men because of the low policies and expediencies hy which they are governed. His confi- dence in the right seems instinctive ; as he says, " A mountain can be tunnelled ; a principle never." A Boston secular journal just now speaks of him : — " His honesty nobody has ever questioned. If he hit hard, he hit where he believed hard hitting was warranted and in- dispensable. It is fortunate for the world, perhaps, that he took a liberal side in theology. Had he been a Calvin ist, he would have been as uncompromising as any one of those Puritan inflexibles who drove Baptists into Rhode Island and Quakers into eternity ; had he embraced Catholicism, heretics would have fared the worse for it, and he could hardly have found his fitting place anywhere short of the college of cardi- nals, with its possibilities toward the chair of St. Peter. J5y 268 FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS. the same qualities that make him a terror to his enemies, he binds his followers to him with hooks of steel." ' Rev. Thomas Jeffersox Sawyer, D. D., was born in Reading, Windsor Co., Vt., Jan. 9, 1804. His father was one of the earliest settlers of the town, having re- moved with his father's family from Pomfret, Conn. The son enjoyed very good advantages for acquiring a common-school education, and at the age of eighteen had gained such a mastery of the branches then taught in such schools as to become a teacher, in which capa- city he served three or four months every year until he entered his profession. He entered Middlebury College in the autumn of 1825, having completed his preparation after he was twenty-one, and graduated in 1829. As there were no theological schools to aid him, he went to study with Rev. William S. Balch, then at Winches- ter, N. H., who was soon called to Albany. Mr. S. remained in Winchester through the winter, preaching occasionally, reading the Iliad of Homer, and studying such theological works as he had opportunity to find. In April, 1830, he went to New York, and took charge of a small society there in Grand Street. The chapel in which he preached had been built and was for several years occupied as an Episcopal church. It was afterwards purchased by the Universalists. In 1832 Mr. Sawyer entered upon his ministry with his people in a new place, a church on Orchard Street. The church was built three or four years before by a small society of the Reformed Dutch Church, from which the property fell into the hands of two enter- prising builders who had been the contractors for it i Boston Transcript of May 1, 1882. &TAA-XLJ