Fifty Notable Years

Said Mr. Streeter to a friend, one Monday morning: —

"I had something tender to put into my sermon yesterday morning. As I was going to church, a poor woman came to me to borrow a dollar to get bread for her children, and, as I handed it to her, she offered me a small locket containing a braid of hair from the head of a little child she had buried a week ago. 'Take back the locket,' said I; 'it is too sacred for my hands; but keep the dollar, you are welcome to that. It does me more good to give it than you to receive it, and you can have more if you need.' Then she wept, and said she was a poor widow, living in such a street near by, and her poor children had not had a mouthful since yesterday noon, and she had nothing to buy them bread. I knew by her looks that she told me the truth, but to satisfy her I went and saw where she lived, and saw her children, and gave her more money, and told her I would look to her wants again to-morrow. Then I went into the pulpit, and put the incident into a sermon, and I haven't preached so well, nor enjoyed the service so much, for many a day."

His heart was often overflowing with such charities as this, through all his ministry.

He was the life of a conference meeting, and his Friday evening conferences in the Hanover Street vestry were never forgotten by those who attended them. As a pastor, he was always welcomed in the homes of his parishioners, sharing as he did their joys and sorrows with the sympathy of a brother and friend. As an officiating attendant at weddings, he was exceedingly popular, and his yearly marriage list, for a long time, exceeded in numbers that of any other clergyman in Boston. On funeral occasions, he was eminently a "son of consolation." There was such an unction in his usual manner of preaching – a manner so peculiarly adapted to the services of the Sabbath – that a brother minister who highly respected him, quaintly suggested that Sabbathstrain, rather than Sebastian, might properly be used as his name. As another has written of him: "He was an intensely magnetic man. It was not simply what he said, but the spiritual unction with which he uttered the truth, that won and held you."[40 - Rev. A. J. Patterson, D. D.]

Mr. Streeter lived to the age of eighty-four. In his last days he suffered intensely from asthma, which had long afflicted him. He has left the example of a true and noble life to the churches.

Rev. Russell Streeter was a younger brother of Sebastian, and a man of much mental vigor, – sharp, witty, and logical. He had quite a number of ministerial settlements in New England, and in them all was noted for his ability as a preacher, for his peculiarities of character, and his good qualities as a neighbor and citizen. He was the first editor of the "Christian Intelligencer," a Universalist weekly paper, published at Portland, Me.; was minister in that city for some years, and afterwards, much later in life, went to pay the society a long pastorate visit of six and a half years, which proved very agreeable to pastor and people. He died at Woodstock, Vt., Feb. 15, 1880.

Mr. Streeter was a subject of impulses. When in the happy mood, no one, it seemed to us, could preach a more acceptable sermon than he. When not in this favorable frame of mind, he would not always do justice to himself. We can never forget a discourse (the closing one) at a Conference in Orford, N. H., from the text, "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." The sermons previously delivered were timely, and had been well received, and he was fully in the spirit of them all, and felt that he had the strong sympathies of his hearers. His words "dropped like the rain, and distilled as the dew." Doctrine, illustration, exhortation, application, all were excellent, and there was an unction in the whole discourse that left upon the audience impressions most highly favorable to the faith he was setting forth. On another occasion, at the closing of a session of the New Hampshire Convention, at Lebanon, he was the last preacher of the occasion. Very able and impressive discourses had been delivered by five other ministers. Mr. Streeter, in an apparently extemporaneous effort, took special notice of the matter and manner of them all, and of the characters of the speakers; and when he alluded to the sermon of the young and beloved Hanscom, as "an eloquent appeal from one whose hollow and sepulchral tones seemed to indicate that the youthful and faithful speaker was nearing the tomb," the effect was exceedingly impressive.

During the editorial career of Mr. Streeter with the "Christian Intelligencer," he proved himself an able and effective writer, and did much to call attention to the religious principles which he advocated. While in Portland, he was neighbor to Dr. Edward Payson, of distinguished memory in the Congregational Churches; a very zealous advocate of Christianity, as he understood it, and who regarded the Gospel as promulgated by Mr. Streeter as a pernicious and deadly heresy. Mr. Streeter was somewhat fond of looking after him, and noting what he considered to be some of his errors in doctrine. One evening the two happened to greet each other at a meeting where Dr. Payson presided and which Mr. Streeter attended. Soon theological questioning and cross questioning took place, and some very strong denunciatory words were used by the Doctor, who was evidently much excited. Mr. Streeter was cool and keen in his replies, and soon pushed the Doctor into a very close corner, causing him to contradict himself, and to appear to his friends and all present to great disadvantage. It was a triumph of temper as well as of theological ability. The Doctor, saintly man as he surely was, evidently felt the force of his neighbor's replies to him.

Mr. Streeter was an able writer. His "Familiar Conversations" have been much read. They were adapted to the time in which they were written, and so were some of his works on the revival movements of the Orthodox Churches in New England and elsewhere, thirty or forty years ago. His little volume entitled, "The Latest News from Three Worlds, – Heaven, Earth, and Hell," was a scorching satire upon the extravagances connected with these movements. Scriptural argument and strong logic are mixed with keenest wit, mirthfulness, tenderness, and rhetoric most glowing and redundant. The ministers and churches to whom these reviews were addressed must have seen themselves in no very commendable light in that glass. Those who have once read the book attentively are not likely to forget it. While engaged in the "Burchard War" in Vermont, he published a pamphlet entitled, "Mirror of Calvinistic Fanaticism; or, Jedediah Burchard & Co., During a Protracted Meeting of Twenty-six Days in Woodstock, Vt." It was an effective issue.

During most of his ministry, Mr. Streeter was a zealous and successful advocate of the temperance reform. His addresses were always lively and interesting, full of anecdote, ludicrous hits, and quaint sayings. He was popular in all places and with all sects in this work, and many who would hardly consent to hear him advocate his religious sentiments realized much enjoyment in listening to his defence of temperance principles. On one occasion he was in the pulpit with a clergyman whose sense of self-dignity was "above the ordinary," and who evidently had no strong inclination to be the subject of a joke. While Mr. Streeter was addressing the meeting, he took occasion to describe the different mixtures of strong drink which were in use almost everywhere previous to the temperance reformation. "The last article of all," said he, "added to perfect the dram, was – was – really, strange to say, but I have just now lost the name! Will some one please to mention it?" "Nutmeg!" exclaimed the dignified clergyman near him. "That's it!" responded Mr. Streeter. "He's well informed in these matters, I'll warrant you."

We have heard an account of his attendance, in Western New York, at a meeting where a Methodist and a Universalist were to preach in the same meeting-house one Sunday. The Universalist was to speak in the morning, and the Methodist in the afternoon. In the last sermon the preacher was very severe in his treatment of Universalists and their doctrine. Mr. Streeter, seeing that there would be no opportunity for a rejoinder to his statements, asked his ministering brother the privilege of taking his place in offering the closing prayer, in which, in the most reverential, solemn, and emphatic manner, he briefly noted what he considered the misrepresentations of the last speaker, and left upon the audience an impression decidedly favorable to his own faith. The whole exercise, quaint as it was, was so remarkably able and timely, that all criticism of it seemed to be silenced.

Rev. Thomas Jones was a successor of Rev. John Murray, at Gloucester, Mass. He came from the Methodists in England, and once belonged to the Lady Huntington connection. He was a veritable Welshman, honest, kind-hearted, blunt in speech, and unique in his method and style of sermonizing. His discourses were most positive statements of Universalism, and abounded in Scriptural quotations. Some one wittily said of Father Balfour, that so great was his reliance on the authority of the Bible, that he would go to it to find out whether a suspected bank-note were counterfeit or not. A parishioner of Father Jones remarked of him, that he could hardly get through saying grace, even at a Fourth of July festival, without repeating the passage, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." He had a long settlement in Gloucester, and died there at a ripe old age (eighty-three), Aug. 20, 1846. The discourse at the funeral was delivered by Rev. A. D. Mayo, the officiating minister and pastor at the time. He paid a just tribute to the honored old Christian soldier, and to the early defenders of our faith in America.

Rev. Paul Dean received fellowship as a Universalist minister in 1805. He afterwards preached extensively in Vermont and New Hampshire, and moved to Whitestown, N. Y., in 1810. He traversed frequently large portions of Central and Western New York, and held several successful discussions, – two, particularly, with Rev. Mr. Lacy, then a Methodist, afterwards an Episcopalian Bishop. He removed to Boston in 1813, and in 1823 his friends left the First Church, and built for him the church in Bulfinch Street, now Unitarian. About 1828, he withdrew from the fellowship of the Universalists, and, with a few others, formed the "Massachusetts Restorationist Association." On its decline he left Boston, and settled in Framingham, in 1840. He was an eloquent and popular preacher, and was for many years an active Freemason, holding, during the greater part of his manhood, the highest offices of that Order in the United States. He died in Framingham, of paralysis, Oct. 5, 1860, aged seventy-seven years.

In his early ministry, Mr. Dean, while in Central New York, was subject to the oppositions which others of his fraternity sometimes encountered. On one occasion, an over-zealous woman was so highly incensed at the expectation of his coming to the house where she resided, that she had in preparation a kettle of hot water with which to greet him, but was prevented by others from effecting her evil design.

An honest and clear-minded man was Rev. Walter Balfour, who came from his native Scotland to Charlestown, Mass. He was first a Congregationalist, and afterwards a Baptist, and an acceptable preacher with both sects; a Greek and Hebrew scholar, and well instructed in sacred literature. A most conscientious believer was he in the old theology of Scottish orthodoxy. He had never dreamed that Universalism could be true. But he was a reader and thinker, and especially inclined to the good use of his logical powers. He read the works of American orthodox authors, among whom was Professor Stuart of Andover, for whose opinions he had profound respect. The Professor became engaged in a controversy with the eminent Unitarian, Dr. Channing, and Mr. Balfour followed up the discussion with deep interest. In his attempts to set forth Christ as equal with God, the Professor cited the words of the Revelator (Rev. v. 13), where "things in heaven, in earth, and under the earth" (a periphrasis for the universe), are said to bow the knee to Jesus, and ascribe blessing, honor, glory, and power to him. "If this be not spiritual worship," says the Professor, "and if Christ be not the object of it here, I am unable to produce a case where worship can be called spiritual and divine." Mr. Balfour read and pondered. He had not doubted the Trinity, the equality of Christ with the Father. But what is the import of this statement, that the universe is offering spiritual worship to Christ? Is this the Professor's meaning? Would he thus avow the truth of Universalism? He becomes anxious on the subject; addresses a respectful but earnest letter to the Andover teacher, asking an explanation of this statement; awaits patiently an answer, but none comes. Writes again and again, still receiving no reply. After nearly a year and a half, his last appeal is made. An equivocal answer came, expressing unwillingness to reply to anonymous newspaper writers! Frivolous pretension, and in discreditable contrast with the honesty and sincerity of the inquirer. Bound to oppose Universalism, as the creed of the Institution compelled him to, why would not the Professor seek to save this inquirer from its fatal enticements? But the Professor's neglect was the inquirer's opportunity. He continued his inquiries, and the result was his conversion to the Universalist faith, his life interest in it afterwards, and the writing of volumes in its defence, which aided in disseminating a knowledge of it widely throughout the land. Thus Andover inadvertently, through the unwillingness of this its teacher to save the honest inquirer from error, gave to the Universalist Church one of its ablest, most devoted, and worthy ministers and defenders. That is a part of its history henceforth.

A minister of marked character, and of much service to the Universalist Church, was Rev. John Bisbe. He was a Massachusetts man, and graduated at Brown University, in 1814. He was a student of law for a short time in Taunton, and while employed as a teacher in New Hampshire, became acquainted with Universalism, and subsequently a preacher of it. His reading was extensive, and his knowledge of the English language quite thorough. In ordinary conversation he expressed himself with a striking precision. He preached first in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts, and was settled in Hartford, Conn., from 1824 to 1827, when he became pastor of the Universalist Church in Portland, Me. He was an impressive preacher, with no attempt at the sensational. His personal appearance was notable: a thin man, of stiff, perpendicular carriage and measured walk; with light hair, pale face, and very dark eyes, almost a glittering black. The distinguished literary author, John Neal, said of him: —

"I have heard Mr. Bisbe repeatedly, and the more I hear him the better I like him. He is fervid, free, and powerful, uses lofty and generous language, and where he fails to reason, it would appear to be not so much from a want of metaphysical power as from a habit of disregarding it. From his appearance you would not expect much; but, notwithstanding this, he is decidedly the most eloquent preacher in our part of the country. He is, moreover, a man of exceedingly happy erudition."

The editor of the "Eastern Argus" wrote of him as: —

"A distinguished and talented preacher, of transcendent powers of mind and eloquence in the pulpit; eloquence that moved and burned as he breathed it, and that sunk deep into the heart through the understanding as well as the passions of his audience."

He took especial interest in the church institution, in the Bible-class for scriptural exposition, and in all that pertained to personal religious culture and the work of Christian charity. He died March 1, 1829, aged thirty six. The death scene was indicative of the strength and joy of his faith.

Soon after Rev. Thomas F. King came to Portsmouth, N. H., he became acquainted with Mr. Bisbe. He had a high admiration of the talents and worth of the man before they met. Previous to the introduction, Mr. King had been told of the stiffness and precision of Mr. Bisbe in his salutations of others, and was humorously inclined to use a little of the same precision in their first greeting. The effect, to an observer, was amusing in the extreme. But both parties preserved their dignity.

Among the foremost of the advocates of this old and new Gospel in New England, we may justly name the sturdy and indefatigable Thomas Whittemore. He began earthly life with the present century, Jan. 1, 1800. He came up from life's humblest walks. His parents educated him religiously in moderate Calvinistic sentiments, but he grew out of them and became sceptical, until his attention was arrested and his mind deeply impressed by the preaching of Rev. Hosea Ballou, in Boston. An acquaintance with Mr. Ballou turned his attention to the ministry, and he became a diligent student in preparation for that calling. His first sermon, written upon the bench at intervals between his working hours, was preached in Roxbury, his dress for the occasion providentially coming in to him, as he was too poor to obtain it himself. His first pastorate was in Milford, his second and longer one in Cambridgeport, Mass., in which place he had his home until his death. His work as editor of the "Trumpet" was a long and vigorous one, and the volumes that came from his pen beside this weekly periodical were of much value to the Christian Church. Historical, exegetical, musical, were they, all for the good of the Christian cause, in whose interest it was his delight to work. He was a proud banner-bearer of his church. Universalism was to him the Alpha and Omega of theology and religion. He saw nothing that could take its place, and held no fellowship with those who were disposed to compromise its claims. His editorial pen was alive with clear scriptural expositions, watchful warnings against the religious errors of the times, and bold and defiant defences of what he accepted as Christian truth. His "Modern History of Universalism" is a book of rare merit, and his "Commentary on the Apocalypse" one of the plainest and most sensible ever given to the public, and one which theological critics of the dominant sects have been wary enough to let alone. His four volumes of the life and writings of Rev. Hosea Ballou make out a valuable epitome of the history of Universalism in Massachusetts and in other parts of New England, from the beginning to the middle of the century. He had ready wit, a never-failing flow of spirits, and a genial temperament, which drew to him hosts of friends. His preaching was always popular with the masses, – scriptural, logical, often strikingly illustrated, if occasionally in a homely way, fervent and telling with his congregations. He was a welcome evangelist all over New England. He was a man of rare business qualifications also. He rendered much civic service to the State as legislator, and was highly efficient as president and director of bank and railroad corporations. He was stricken with paralysis more than a year before his decease, and never regained his vigor. He departed this life in 1861, in his sixty-second year.[41 - For a more particular account of Dr. Whittemore, the reader is referred to his Memoir, by the author of this work. Universalist Publishing House, 1878.]

Mr. Whittemore is remembered as a controversialist, and with those who beheld him chiefly in this light his other qualities may not have been fairly estimated. His very position as a Christian theologian was aggressive. He came into the field to face what he deemed religious error, and to give it battle, asking only that freedom of thought and expression which Christian faithfulness demands. During his active life, years ago, a ministering brother (Rev. T. J. Sawyer, D. D.) wrote of him: —

"Perhaps some may think him wanting in refinement and grace, and others, I know, regard him as at times bolder and plainer than necessary. That he deals severely with some of his opposers is certain, yet, with all his severity, there is a frankness and manliness which challenges the respect even of his enemies. Then it is but just to remember the school in which he has been disciplined. He who has been called to stand at the head of the prominent Universalist press of New England for the last twenty years must have learned ere this to defend himself and his course. It has been no warfare for paper hats and silk gloves. The head needed a helmet of steel, and the hand must know how to grasp the sword and spear. Reflect for one moment on the Batcheldors, the McClures, the Cooks, the Matthew Hale Smiths, with whom Mr. Whittemore has been called to contend, and then tell me if the old soldier has not come out of the fight with charity and kindness worthy of admiration. Paul fought with beasts at Ephesus; Whittemore has been scarcely more fortunate in Boston. Upon the whole, Mr. Whittemore is a man whose life and character deserve high consideration. He is supposed by some to be too much a party man, and to consult with too much exclusiveness the interest of the denomination of which he is so prominent a member. Perhaps it is so, but if this charge is sustained against him, I hope I may be included in the same condemnation."[42 - "Universalist Miscellany," Vol. VI., p. 290.]

Mr. Whittemore's strong traits were: 1. Positiveness of interest in the Christian Gospel. He had a positive faith to promote and defend. He seemed to realize the force of Paul's statements: "I know whom I have believed." "Therefore we are always confident." 2. Fervor. He believed in Christian earnestness and zeal; was more afraid of frost than of fire in the churches. 3. Industry. This in him was indomitable. One of his sayings was, "Dead fish float with the tide, – live ones swim against it." He was one of the living ones, who stemmed opposition and wrought victories. The grand words of our poet Fields are illustrative of him, —

"Souls that freed from prison bars,
Struck the blows themselves have won,
Grappling with their evil stars,
Stand, like Uriel, in the sun."

Another minister of the same ancestral family was Rev. Benjamin Whittemore, D. D., born in Lancaster, Mass., May 30, 1801; died in Mattapan, Boston, April 26, 1881. He was educated at the academies in Lancaster and Groton, and became in early life a convert to Universalism, mainly through reading the writings of Rev. Hosea Ballou. He felt impelled to enter the ministry. He had successful pastorates in West Scituate, Mass.; Troy, N. Y.; South Boston, Mass.; and Norwich, Conn. In 1843, he took possession of the old homestead in Lancaster, where he remained ten years without pastoral charge, but working in various ways for the promotion of the Christian cause. He was instrumental in establishing a Universalist society in Fitchburg, Mass. In his later years he became blind, but, in spite of this infirmity, he continued to preach occasionally, repeating his hymns and Scripture lessons from memory. He was always heartily engaged in his work. As an expositor of the Scriptures he possessed eminent ability, and in preaching, his logical method and aptness enabled him to express his convictions with great force. He was a sturdy defender of Christianity against the objections of the doubting and unbelieving. He received the degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology, of Tuft's College, in 1867. His wife was Mandana, the third daughter of Rev. Hosea Ballou. They were united in life for nearly sixty years. His intellect was unclouded to the last, and "his faith grew brighter as his spirit took its flight."

An eminent and effective "defender of the faith" was Rev. Dolphus Skinner, D. D., whose death took place in Utica, N. Y., in 1869. He was born in Westmoreland, N. H., in 1800, and passed his minority in labor on a farm, attendance at a neighboring academy, and keeping school. His theological studies were with Rev. S. C. Loveland, of Reading, Vt., and he entered the ministry in 1823. The most of his life was passed in Utica, N. Y., where as preacher and editor he proved himself one of the ablest promulgators of the Universalist faith in the land. The "Evangelical Magazine and Gospel Advocate," of which he was for many years editor, had a large circulation. He was a very popular preacher in Central New York. Of commanding person, with a voice of great volume and softness, with the readiest use of language, he was a favorite with the people. His discourses were strong, doctrinally and practically, and his ministries at funerals were exceedingly satisfactory. During his ministry of forty years, he preached over five thousand discourses. He was the author of valuable books and pamphlets. His letters to Drs. Aiken and Lansing, and his discussion with Rev. Alexander Campbell, evince much ability. He was a Christian reformer. The "Clinton Liberal Institute" has been greatly indebted to his timely and unwearied exertions for its prosperity. He was a Christian patriot also, and took a lively interest in the political welfare of his country. The termination of his earthly life was peaceful. "I am an old soldier," said he to his physician, "and am about to receive my discharge." After a night of quiet from his protracted pain, he entered that morning which opens the resurrection life to man.

A brother of Dolphus was Rev. Warren Skinner, who passed the great part of his life in Vermont, and who was well known there, and in most of New England, as a talented and useful minister. His personal appearance was, like that of his brother, imposing, and his discoursing, if a little heavy in manner at times, always methodical and sound. He was a staunch friend of Universalism, and had great faith in its evangelizing power. During some part of his ministry he was a useful expository writer in the church journals. He did much valuable missionary work, and lived to a ripe old age in full possession of his mental powers. He gave a son to the ministry, Rev. Charles A. Skinner, now of Somerville, Mass.

Rev. Otis A. Skinner was an honor to the church. His native place was Royalton, Vt., but he came forth as a minister from Langdon, N. H., at the early age of nineteen. He was apprenticed to a clothier for a while before his ministry began. From his first school days he was thoughtful and studious, and succeeded in gaining a very good English education, beside giving some attention to the Greek and Latin languages. He was for some time a student with Rev. S. C. Loveland, of Reading, Vt. The writer first saw him at Kingston, N. H., at the session of the Rockingham Association, in 1828. He was just twenty-one, and a most attractive young man to behold, a sweet sunshiny glow in his comely countenance, which seemed most agreeably set in his golden ringlets of hair. We heard him preach then, at a private house, to a very good audience in the evening. He stood in front of the old family clock, and gave us a very sensible and well-arranged discourse from the text, "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him" (Ps. cxxvi. 6). It was full of the plainest Universalism. He was soon settled in Woburn, Mass., where he gave a good account of himself, and afterwards in Baltimore, Md., where he was united in marriage with Angela, eldest daughter of Rev. Sebastian Streeter. He had a vigorous ministry in that city, including a public theological controversy with Rev. Mr. Breckenridge of the Presbyterian Church. From Baltimore he came back to Massachusetts, and settled in Haverhill, where he edited for a time the "Gospel Sun," as he had edited the "Southern Pioneer" in Baltimore.

A new Universalist society having been formed of worshippers in Boylston Hall, Boston, he was invited to become its pastor. So prosperous was his ministry, that a church edifice was soon erected in Warren Street. Here his pulpit services and pastoral work were very acceptable. He became a publisher of valuable books, and again the editor of a monthly journal, "The Universalist Miscellany." In 1846 he became pastor of Orchard Street Universalist Church in New York city; and in 1848 consented to be agent for raising $100,000 for the new college (now Tufts) proposed to be erected in Medford, Mass. For seven years he was in this laudable work, giving it his faithful attention in addition to his duties as pastor of the Warren Street Church, to the ministry of which he had been invited again most unanimously. No man could have been in his "labors more abundant" than he in this canvassing for the new college. He solicited everywhere, and especially among those of like faith with himself. Indifference, the averted eye or "cold shoulder," chilled not his ardor. He drew, by his persuasive words, dollars from pockets that seemed at his first call firmly closed against him. He succeeded in securing the amount needed for the endowment of the college and its necessary expenses, superintended the erection of the buildings, and at times when the means could not otherwise be readily obtained, paid the workmen from his quarterly pastor's income. One of the proudest days of his life was that on which the corner-stone of the college was laid. Since then, the institution has prospered; larger endowments have given it strength, faithful teachers have honored it, and its sons have gone forth bearing with them the evidences of the scholarship which can be secured to its students. Beautiful for outward situation, a literary Mount Zion of the Universalist Church in New England, it gives promise of yet increasing prosperity. But never will it outgrow its indebtedness to its first financial agent, who wrought so indefatigably, nobly, and successfully in its behalf.

In 1857 Mr. Skinner was induced by family considerations to move West. After residing in Elgin, Kansas County, Ill., for a few months, he was invited and persuaded to become president of Lombard University, at Galesburg, Ill. Here again was work for him, as the college needed much exertion that it might prosper. And he aided it essentially. But the task was too heavy, and after two years' hard service his health gave way. The death of his brother Samuel occurring at Chicago, he was called upon to give attention to his financial affairs. This was an additional burden too great for him to bear, but still his spirit for a while seemed proof against his bodily weaknesses. He removed to Joliet, and took upon him more than two healthful men could perform. He would preach to his own congregation in Joliet on Sunday morning, then ride five miles to Lockport and preach at one o'clock, thence nine miles to Plainfield and hold a service at three, and then return home to meet a crowd of listeners in his own church in the evening. This, added to his missionary work in the adjoining country towns, including funeral services on other days of the week, together with his business perplexities in the settlement of his brother's estate, proved too much for him. The end of this useful earthly life was near; fever set in, and did its work rapidly. It was the Christian believer's death scene. His faith was strong, his hope bright, his face and thought were turned heavenward. The last interview with a beloved daughter was inexpressibly touching, – her heroic self-control and his calm, heavenly resignation. His departure was the Christian saint's triumph. It occurred Sept. 18, 1861.

There was nothing of the flashy or sensational in the ministry of Mr. Skinner. He was a plain, logical, practical preacher, "in doctrine showing uncorruptness," an able expounder of the Scriptures, and a faithful looker-up of religious error. His strictures on the revivalism of Rev. Mr. Knapp in Boston, and his review of Rev. Theodore Parker's theology, in the "Universalist Miscellany," were good evidences of his fidelity to the New Testament Gospel and the intent of its work with mankind. As a pastor he was not to be excelled. He knew his flocks at their homes, and personal attachments to him as a friend, adviser, and companion were very strong. He was in this calling one of the models. He received the degree of A. M. from Harvard University, and that of D. D. from Lombard.

Of his brother Samuel P. we may say that he was a man of more than ordinary endowments. He was for a time in the ministry, and preached some in New England. He afterwards became editor of the "New Covenant," in Chicago. He was a quiet and sensible preacher, and excelled as a writer of clear, compact, and well-arranged expositions of Scripture, many of which enriched the columns of his paper.

Rev. Joseph Oberlin Skinner was of Piermont, N. H., born there in 1816. He came into the ministry through much hard study and striving. Trained in the old theology of New England, he became a believer in Universalism by being first awakened to a consideration of its doctrines by the preaching of Rev. John Moore. In 1834 he went to Lowell, Mass., and was for a time employed in a cotton-mill. He was encouraged by Rev. T. B. Thayer, then pastor of the First Universalist Church in that city, to enter the ministry, and was afterwards a student of theology in the family of Rev. Sylvanus Cobb, of Malden, Mass. He was minister in Holliston, Framingham, Dudley, and Concord, Mass.; in Ludlow and Chester, Vt.; in Nashua, N. H.; in Malone, N. Y.; in Montpelier and St. Albans, Vt.; and in Waterville, Me., where he died of paralysis, in 1879. He was for a time associate editor of the "Christian Repository," published at Montpelier, Vt. His labors were many and successful. His literary accomplishments were of a high order, and he was a faithful and impressive preacher. At the last of life he was confined to his bed for more than eleven months, helpless, but in quiet resignation to the Divine will. When asked if the faith with which he had comforted others was sufficient for himself in this great trial, he answered in the affirmative, adding, "I do not want any new revelation; I am satisfied with what we now have." He was a frequent contributor to the denominational and secular papers, wrote many articles for the "Universalist Quarterly," and prepared a history of the Masonic lodge of Waterville, which was very highly appreciated by the members of that order. He was for many years the accurate and able editor of the yearly "Universalist Register." In recognition of his scholarly attainments, Colby University, in 1872, conferred upon him the honorary degree of A. M.

Nathaniel Stacy, born in New Salem, Franklin County, Mass., came to manhood at the close of the last century, and, after hard toiling in early life, with but small educational advantages, he concluded from sincere convictions of duty to become a preacher of the faith which he had embraced in early life. He was small and feeble bodily, but of sanguine temperament and great firmness and persistence of will. He was encouraged by Rev. Hosea Ballou to leave a secular avocation and prepare himself for the ministry. His first sermon was preached with much diffidence on his part, but he was encouraged to persevere in his efforts, and soon came to be a very acceptable speaker wherever he appeared as an advocate of his faith. He itinerated much in Massachusetts and Vermont, and afterwards much more in the Middle and Western States. No preacher of the Gospel was ever more engrossed in his work than he. All the vicissitudes of an itinerant's life were his for many years. Yet his ardor never waned, and his hopefulness helped him to meet all discouragements and surmount all obstacles. He was a veritable Christian apostle, and was welcomed everywhere by young and old wherever he came as a messenger to the churches. Many remember his ministry with deepest satisfaction, and his name stands high in the church as one of the most truthful and devoted of its evangelists. His autobiography was published in quite a large volume, in Columbus, Pa., in 1850. It is full of interesting incidents and apt and able expositions of the faith of the Gospel. Mr. Stacy departed this life at Columbus, Pa., April 4, 1869.

Rev. Stephen R. Smith. Of this eloquent and honored minister, his biographer, Dr. T. J. Sawyer, writes: —

"Few men have risen to a higher position in the denomination of Universalists, exerted a wider influence, or wrought out a brighter or more enviable fame. He was born and educated in the humblest circumstances. Being early led by the force of his own convictions to embrace an unpopular faith, he soon found himself impelled by a stern sense of duty to consecrate his life to its promulgation and defence. His health, never the firmest, was soon shattered by incessant application to study and the hardships endured in the early planting of Universalism in Central and Western New York, so that a large part of his life was spent and his work done under this great disadvantage. But the soul that burned within him was superior to bodily infirmity, and flashed and blazed forth from a frame so attenuated and slender that even those most familiar with him were astonished by the vigor and sweep of his transcendent intellect, the youthful play of his fancy, and the strokes of his wit. Nor was his moral character inferior to his intellectual endowments. Seldom does one meet with a warmer heart or a sterner integrity than distinguished him."[43 - Memoir of Rev. Stephen R. Smith. By Rev. Thomas J. Sawyer, D. D. Boston: Published by Abel Tompkins, 1852.]

His pastorates were in New Hartford, Clinton, Albany, and Buffalo, N. Y., and Philadelphia, Pa. He was born in Albany, in 1788, and died in Buffalo, in 1850, aged sixty-one. It was truly said of him at his death, "But one individual in the denomination can expect higher or more heartfelt tributes of love and reverence." His eloquence in the pulpit was often compared with that of Henry Clay in the halls of Congress. It was the delight of the writer to hear him three times at meetings of the United States Convention, the last in Boston in the School Street Church, from the text, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." The discourse was radiant with the truth, and electrifying with the spirit and power of the Gospel.

A sturdy theologian, as well as a conscientious Christian was that stalwart man from one of the villages of Maine, the Rev. Sylvanus Cobb. The title "D. D.," when conferred upon him, was significant. He was an able theologian. His words in discourse were weighty, his sentences often as ponderous as those of Dr. Johnson, and if called to controversial work, Longfellow's "Village Blacksmith" was an illustration of him: —

"You could hear him swing his heavy sledge
With measured beat and slow."

If warmed up in exhortation or appeal, he was grandly fervent. He never evaded the toughest theological problem proposed to him for consideration, but seemed always in readiness to attempt a solution of it. His "Compend of Divinity" is an elaborate work, his "Commentary on the New Testament" an excellent helper in the family and Sunday-school, and his discussions with Dr. Nehemiah Adams and Rev. C. F. Hudson, involving the questions respecting endless punishment and the annihilation of the wicked, are highly creditable to him as a Christian theologian. As editor of the "Christian Freeman" for twenty-five years, and as a temperance and anti-slavery reformer, he waged a good warfare for the right. He was pastor in Waterville, Me., and in Malden, Waltham, and East Boston, Mass.

During the three years of his service as a lecturing agent of the Middlesex County Temperance Society, he was entertained more or less at the houses of clergymen. On one occasion, in Dracut, at the house of a Presbyterian minister, he was thus questioned by his friend: "I have been thinking, my dear sir, about your doctrine, and it seems to me, even if it is true, it is hardly expedient to preach it, for all men will finally be saved, whether it be preached or not. But if it should prove to be an error, the consequences of believing it will be terrible." "You have reasoned erroneously," replied Mr. Cobb, "from having assumed that my doctrine exerts not so good a moral influence as yours. Here is your mistake: you believe that we are here forming characters for eternity, and that we carry with us into the future life and retain there the moral dispositions and affections which we cultivate in this life. Now if this doctrine of yours proves true, I shall be an eternal gainer from the faith I cherish here, because it produces supreme love to God, sweet reconciliation to his government, and a cheerful, happy state of mind. I would greatly prefer to bear through eternity the mind and character formed by my religion, than such as yours must naturally produce. Yet I am not expecting the heaven of eternity as a reward. I am more than paid for loving and serving God here; I feel that I am God's poor debtor; and I trust in his grace forever." "I was not expecting such an answer as that," was the sole reply of the questioner.

Mr. C. departed this life in East Boston in December, 1866.

In 1827 Rev. Menzies Rayner entered the Universalist ministry from the Episcopalian church. He was born at South Hempstead, L. I., Nov. 23, 1770. His advantages for learning were principally derived from private instruction. He showed early signs of superior abilities. When very young he became a convert to Methodism, and before the age of twenty-one commenced preaching as an itinerant. He was ordained at Lynn, Mass., by Bishop Asbury. He continued to itinerate according to the rules of the Methodist Church for more than two years, when he received and accepted an invitation to settle with the Protestant Episcopal Church in Elizabethtown, N. J., where he was ordained as a minister in that church by the Right Rev. Bishop Provost of New York. After a pastorate of six years in that place, he accepted a call to the rectorship of the Episcopal Church in Hartford, Conn., where he continued ten years. He next removed to Huntington, Conn., and took a joint rectorship of that town and New Hartford (now Munroe). He remained there sixteen years, when from close and prayerful inquiry and study of the Scriptures he became convinced of the truth of the doctrine of Universal Salvation. He asked and obtained an honorable dismissal from Bishop Brownell of that diocese. Through all his subsequent life he continued to enjoy the respect and esteem of several distinguished clergymen of that church. So much Bishop Brownell pledged to him at the time of his withdrawal.

Soon after becoming known as a Universalist, he was called to the pastorate of the church in Hartford left vacant by the removal of Rev. John Bisbe to Portland, Me. He continued in Hartford four years, when he was earnestly solicited to remove to Portland and take charge of the society there left without a pastor by the death of Mr. Bisbe. He accepted the call, and remained there four years, excepting one winter, which he spent in North Carolina, where, and in intermediate places, he preached the Gospel. Afterwards he had pastorates in Troy and Lansingburg, N. Y., and preached in Schenectady, Fort Ann, Hartford, and other places. For a year and a half he ministered to the Bleecker St. Universalist Society in New York city. He resided in that city until his death, which occurred Nov. 22, 1850. He retained his mental vigor until a few days before his departure at the age of eighty.

"Father Rayner," as he was familiarly called, was a remarkable man. His mental powers were of a high order, his social qualities made him always attractive, his wit was keen, but he had great tenderness and depth of feeling. His appearance in the pulpit was venerable and apostolic, and his preaching clear, powerful, and convincing. He gave to the world some printed works, which exhibit the clear and logical character of his mind. While at Huntington, he published a review of a sermon on Regeneration, by Dr. Taylor, of New Haven, and another of a sermon by Dr. Tyler, of Southbury, on the "Perseverance of the Saints." This was replied to by Dr. Tyler, who was again reviewed in a pamphlet of sixty pages, which closed the controversy. While at Hartford, he edited a paper called the "Inquirer," and at Portland the "Christian Pilot." While at the latter place, he delivered "Nine Lectures on the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus." He also published a review of a missionary sermon by Dr. Tyler, and a sermon entitled "St. Paul a Universalist."

While Mr. Rayner was with the Episcopalians, frequent theological discussions took place in the ministerial circles. On one occasion, among other questions considered, Mr. Rayner proposed this: "Has every human being a just reason to be thankful for the gift of existence?" He cautioned all who would answer it directly, "Yes" or "No," to consider very carefully before giving the answer, because of one other question which might follow. But all present were agreed in the decision that every man had just cause for thanksgiving for the life conferred upon him. "Now," said Mr. Rayner, "answer me this: If any of the human race are to be doomed to unending misery, have such ones any cause for such thankfulness?" "Why, Brother Rayner, you are a Universalist," said one of the ministers. "But that has nothing to do with the question," was the response; "you are all agreed, I see, in your answer."