USA > Massachusetts > Suffolk County > Boston > Annals of King's Chapel from the Puritan age of New England to the present day > Part 27
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38
His modesty and retiring disposition probably lessened in some degree the number of his intimate friends in college; but to many of his classmates he was bound by the closest ties of affection, and especially to those with whom he sympathized in love of the classics and modern literature. Few among them read more or with more discrimination, and very few possessed his retentive powers and rare conversational faculty. His men- ory was remarkable; and his familiarity with poetry, with Shakespeare, and with the best of classical authors ancient and modern, was illustrated by a wealth of ready quotation and by keen and clear criticism. He was a student of books and a student of men as well, an excellent judge of character, and charitable in his estimates as was to have been expected from a nature so generous and forbearing.
The college years passed happily for him until his senior year, when a long and dangerous illness from typhoid fever interrupted his studies ; and though he was able to rejoin his class before its graduating exercises, the precarious state of his health forbade continuous application, and prevented his attain- ing the high rank otherwise secure to him. The loss of his mother at this time, who worn out by the cares and anxieties of his illness died from the same dread disease, added to the sadness of his last year in college. With her his relations had ever been of a peculiarly intimate and confidential character, and her death was a surpassing grief to him. To her religious na- ture and teachings was largely due his own high spiritual nature ; and it is more than probable that the sadness of this experience turned his thoughts more closely to the choice of his sacred profession. Apart from his college friends at this time, Mr. Foote's closest intimacy was with the valued friend of his grand- father, Judge White, - Dr. James Walker, then President of Har- vard College, and a man of singular wisdom and learning. At his house he was a frequent and welcome visitor, and to no one in after years did he render a deeper feeling of gratitude. Dr.
574
ANNALS OF KING'S CHAPEL.
Walker's broad experience, his keen insight into human char- acter, his unfailing kindness and sympathy, were of inestimable value during the four years of Mr. Foote's college life; and he was not only encouraged and aided by friendship and generous counsel, but impressed and guided in habits of thought and style of writing by familiarity with one who was a model of the best English style, and a profound, eloquent, and philosophi- cal preacher. Nor was this a one-sided intimacy; the lovable qualities of Henry Foote's nature, his conspicuous ability, his fondness for research, and the enthusiasm with which he de- voted himself to the acquisition of varied and useful knowledge, attracted Dr. Walker's attention, interested him, and created almost a fatherly relation between him and the young collegian. This feeling was only strengthened after graduation, and con- tinued a source of constant pleasure to both during Dr. Walker's life. It was a great happiness to Mr. Foote that he was able by delicate attention and frequent visits to Dr. Walker in the lat- ter's declining days to manifest his gratitude and his appreciation of the value of this long friendship. While he was at the Divinity School the removal of Dr. A. P. Peabody to Cambridge gained for Mr. Foote another highly prized friend, at whose house and in whose company were spent many hours of pleasure and instruction. His fondness for the classic poets and Italian literature gained him also the notice and encouragement of James Russell Lowell, then filling the Professorship of Modern Lan- guages and Belles-Lettres at Harvard College; and in company with some of his classmates, Mr. Foote read and studied with Mr. Lowell with rare delight.
Graduating from Harvard in 1858, Mr. Foote entered the Divinity School at Cambridge. He had been brought up with conservative Unitarian views, and studied to fit himself for the ministry of that faith. He remained in the School until July, 1861, so distinguishing himself by his ripe scholarship and ability that before his course was completed the attention of several vacant parishes was attracted to him ; and before gradu- ating he was invited to the Unitarian Church at Cincinnati, Ohio, to the church of the same faith in Portsmouth, N. H., recently vacated by his friend Dr. Peabody, and soon after to King's Chapel in Boston. This latter church had for him great attractions : its liturgy, adapted from the Episcopal form, appealed to the conservatism of his nature, which, though broad and liberal in its doctrines, was attached to the impressive and formal ceremonials of the past; its history was rich in the tra-
A. S. Deabrily.
575
MEMOIR OF MR. FOOTE.
ditions of the earlier days of the country; its congregation was a large and cultivated one, drawn from the most eminent social and intellectual circles of Boston ; while its pulpit had been filled by such men as Dr. Freeman, Dr. Greenwood, and Dr. Ephraim Peabody, all of them of eminent character and ability, and of saintly lives. But it was no light task for a man so young to follow in such footsteps; and however conscious he might be of his own mental equipment, hesitation was but natural; not until he had been warmly urged to accept by his friends Dr. Walker and Dr. Peabody, did he finally determine to assume this responsible charge. A prominent member of the church had recommended him for its selection as pastor on the Biblical ground of the "faith that was in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice." No advice was ever better justified; for his subsequent success, and the deep and abiding love of his people were won by the example he gave of implicit faith and conscientious endeavor, manifesting in every way his pre-eminent fitness for the pastorate of a church with which he was in fullest sympathy.
Dec. 22, 1861, he was installed as pastor, and assumed his duties with modest firmness, trusting in God to give him power to fulfil the hopes of his people, and render blessed a ministry of absolute and pure devotion. While it is not the province of this sketch to dwell upon his connection with King's Chapel, Mr. Foote's pastorate, which continued until his death, May 29, 1889, can hardly be better described than in his own words shortly before he parted from it forever : " I have tried to make King's Chapel stand in its place in the Kingdom of Christ and in fellowship with all Christians."
It was an exacting position, one requiring the exertion of vigorous powers of mind and body, and in its scope it swept in more than a devotion to this church alone; for so prominent a place made him largely the minister of a great body of those spiritually needy unconnected with the churches of the city. His broad and ready sympathies were at the service of all who sought or would accept his aid. He recognized the field of Christian endeavor beyond the limits of his immediate parish, was earnest in all good works, and gave constantly of his valu- able time and counsel to deeds of charity, and to the numerous organizations in behalf of the poor and churchless of the city. As President of the Benevolent Fraternity of Churches, and as a member of the Boston Provident Association, he was most efficient and active. He was deeply interested in the Society
576
ANNALS OF KING'S CHAPEL.
for the Promotion of Theological Education at Cambridge; and, busy as he was with his parochial duties, he devoted himself for some years to editing the " Unitarian Review." He has been described as " a model pastor according to the highest ideal of the old fidelity in his office; " and no truer or more fitting words could be uttered of him. During his pastorate came the long struggle of the Civil War; and from his church went out the flower of its youth, urged on by his teachings and encouraged by his hearty blessing. All the impulses of his soul were ab- sorbed in the great moral question involved in this contest. He watched the career of the young soldiers from his church with patriotic pride and sympathetic interest; he welcomed them home with heartfelt gratitude; and when some of the noblest of them fell upon the field of battle, his tender and touching words bore comfort and hope to their bereaved friends. It has been truly said of him : " He had a genius for consolation ; and none knew so well as he what to say and what to leave unsaid in the memorials of the honored and lamented dead. . . . The strenu- ous, sympathetic voice of the preacher and the far-away re- sponses of the martial music [kept] proud holiday together." The alternating course of the struggle filled his mind with anx- ious thought; but he never faltered in his belief that from it all would come a freer and better nation. Victory alone was not the end he sought, unless based upon the highest grounds, and consecrated by the deepest moral purpose.
His fondness for the study of history and for antiquarian re- search found abundant opportunity for gratification in his con- nection with the Massachusetts Historical Society, the American Antiquarian Society, the New-England Historic Genealogical Society, and the Essex Institute; while in the experiences of his own church he found a storehouse of rich material. To the latter he gave exhaustive study, publishing an elaborate volume of the " Annals of King's Chapel," and leaving at his death this second volume well advanced, - a work showing the most careful research, uncommon analytical power, and so great a capacity for handling in an interesting and attractive manner dry de- tails of history, that it is deeply to be regretted his engrossing parochial duties left so little time at his command to devote to similar work.
He continued in the pastorate of this church until his death, in May, 1889, with unostentatious fidelity and with rare success.
July 9, 1863, Mr. Foote married Frances A. Eliot, daughter of Samuel A. Eliot, long a member of King's Chapel, and sister of
577
MEMOIR OF MR. FOOTE.
President Eliot of Harvard College. Four children were born to them : Mary, Nov. 6, 1864; Henry Wilder and Frances Eliot, Feb. 2, 1875; and Dorothea, Nov. 3, 1880, of whom the last three survive.
In 1867 he laid aside for a while the duties of his ministry, and accompanied his father upon a trip to Europe, enjoying with the hearty enthusiasm of his nature the varied experiences of foreign travel. An interesting account of this trip was pub- lished by his father in letters to the "Salem Gazette," vigorous in their tone, and displaying keen powers of observation and vivid descriptive faculties. He returned refreshed and strength- ened, and resumed with buoyant spirit the work of his profes- sion. At no period of his life were his powers as a preacher more marked than at this time, and his influence upon the community was greatly broadened and increased; but a recur- rence of the troublesome throat affection, which never afterward wholly left him, enforced another absence, and from May to December, 1878, he travelled through Spain, Greece, Turkey, Palestine, and Egypt. The holy associations clustering round these latter countries, so closely related to his life's work and study, were a source of continual enjoyment to him, and im- pressed themselves deeply upon his religious nature. Natural scenery had always been his delight, and upon this journey he revelled in its most attractive form. Nothing seemed want- ing to his complete happiness but firmer health and a fuller opportunity of sharing such unalloyed pleasure with those he loved.
He rejoined his church in the early winter of 1879, rich in experience and with ardent hopes; but again his labors were for a time interrupted by illness, and he was compelled to seek health in a more Southern clime. Returning to his post in the spring, for some years he continued a life of usefulness, steadily gaining in influence, and increasing his hold upon his people and the community.
The sad death of his much loved daughter Mary, in December, 1885, came to him with crushing force; but his fortitude and Christian resignation never forsook him, and without a murmur or a doubt he went in and out among his people attending to all their needs with a cheerful spirit, chastened by grief, but reso- lute that no personal loss should abate his zeal or impair his usefulness and courage. It was a hard and wearing inward struggle, and it came when there was dire need of his utmost physical strength. Doubtless complete recovery was retarded
VOL. II. - 37
578
ANNALS OF KING'S CHAPEL.
by the burden he so uncomplainingly bore, and he was less able in its presence to contend with the seeds of disease already SOWN.
The commemoration by King's Chapel of the completion of two hundred years since its foundation was celebrated in 1886. Most elaborate preparations were made, many distinguished gentlemen took part in the proceedings, and the church was thronged. His position as pastor naturally made him a most prominent figure, and involved for him great and fatiguing labor. His discourse upon the occasion was learned, thoughtful, and eloquent, - second to none of the able addresses delivered. He entered into the spirit of the occasion with his accustomed enthusiasm, and was more than gratified with its complete success. So much interest had been awakened that he subse- quently collected the proceedings, which were published in a most attractive and interesting volume.
This, perhaps, was the culmination of his life's work. The few remaining years were those of regular duties nobly per- formed, and a continuation of the relations between him and his parish of perfect confidence and love. While far from robust, his health had not seemed seriously impaired until the fall of 1888, when he was seized with what at first appeared only a severe bronchial attack; but more threatening symptoms super- vened. His heart became seriously affected; and through the long winter of 1888-1889, he suffered greatly, with times of alternate hope and doubt, but with calm and happy resignation. His sick chamber was the abode of cheerfulness and genuine faith. Friends who came to. visit him with saddened hearts went from his presence comforted by the assurance that with him at least all was well.
In alluding to the loveliness of this last illness, when the Christian spirit of the man of faith rose above his painful sur- roundings, the Rev. George L. Chaney, one of his nearest friends, in a touching sermon at the memorial service in King's Chapel, June 9, 1889, used these words: " It seems as if he had been appointed to linger on the border line between the seen and the unseen worlds that he might confirm our faith in heaven, even though, like enraptured Paul, he could not wholly report the unspeakable glories." This whole sermon is so full of deep feeling, and so felicitous in its illustration of the character of Mr. Foote, -especially in its happy quotation from Mr. Foote's own words, as upon his bed of sickness he contemplated the probable outcome of the disease, - that I may repeat here many
579
MEMOIR OF MR. FOOTE.
of those expressions, uttered at intervals, but showing how pre- pared the sufferer was for the last great change, and yet how his mind dwelt upon his work in life, knowing that it was in- complete, but conscious that he had given his best endeavor :
"I carry unfinished duties out of the world with me. It's a great cross to me."
" I have perfect faith in the divine love. We can bear all things if only the Lord will not withhold the light of his countenance."
" I have never had any dread of dying. Why should one dread going nearer to God?"
" So little way - so near."
" My mind is never vacant as I lie here. I can't talk; but I can think, and I can trust."
" It's the same world beyond, - the world of love and trust and Christ."
" Faith, faith, faith ! I believe that what I have been taught is true. I believe that what those I have loved trusted in, they were safe in."
" The reality of the divine help, - if only I could make others feel that without dwelling on my own experience !"
" How the wonderful love and kindness of friends surround me like a benediction ! "
Upon his bed of pain his thoughts reverted to his beloved church, and many were the messages he sent: -
"I wish my people knew how I loved them."
"Give my love to everybody at the church."
"I feel so sure that these friends who have met me in the care and love of them here will meet me in the same care and love, - perfectly sure."
" I do so long to reach out to my dear people. I have so many things of love and trust to say to them ; but I have not the strength. It's been the real bond of pastor and people."
"They know without my telling them that I believe with my whole heart what I have tried to persuade them."
"Every text of joy and faith in the New Testament says what I want to say to them."
In April, the approach of the Easter Festival filled his mind with thoughts of his people; and Easter Sunday, April 21, 1889, he sent this last tender greeting : -
EASTER, April 21, ISS9.
DEAR FRIENDS, - With a great desire, I long to be with you in the joy and thankfulness of this happy, holy Easter time. On twenty-five
580
ANNALS OF KING'S CHAPEL.
Easters I have had the privilege of standing in this place ; and now I rejoice to be very near in body, and present with you in spirit.
Let us share together not only the flowers and the gladness, but the deepest thoughts of this festival of the risen Christ. To it belong all the heights to which our souls can rise, where we shall be in communion with the great host of holy souls on earth and in heaven, and all the deeds of ministering love of which he was the example.
" Active in charity, Praise him in verity ! His feast, prepare it ye ! His message, bear it ye ! His joy, declare it ye ! Then is the Master near, Then is he here."
May the God of peace fill our thoughts with gratitude for the great gift of trust in him as our Father and in the life eternal, which makes the seen and unseen worlds one !
A few weeks later the final summons came, and May 29, 1889, the earthly life of this faithful minister of God was closed. To the last his thoughts were absorbed in his family, his people, and his church; and the tender messages of hope he received all through his illness were met by the most grateful and heart- felt responses. His innumerable expressions of cheerful trust and faith during those painful weeks were repeated to sad hearts ; but they bore encouragement to all who realized what a depth of experience they illustrated, and what nobility of character they exemplified. No better or more characteristic illustration of the beauty of his utterances can be given than the following extract from a letter dictated by him when too ill to write: "I cannot sleep without sending you a word out of a full heart; yet I will not speak of sympathy, but of thoughts of blessing and gratitude with which every thought of - must be filled. Let me share with you your thankfulness for her. I pray God that you may be folded about by the light and peace into which her precious soul has entered, and I know that you can wait in trust and hope."
The man passes from among us, but the memory survives as a genuine inspiration to holy living. The life of Henry Wilder Foote was not an eventful one. It was not calculated to im- press those who seek stirring action or passionate and glow- ing oratory. It is simply the story of a long and successful pastorate, wholly devoted to the duties of a sacred profession, and relying for its abiding influence upon its earnest faith, thor-
581
MEMOIR OF MR. FOOTE.
ough scholarship, and a warm and sympathetic heart. His power lay in a well-rounded, unselfish character, added to great natu- ral ability and deep spiritual insight. Had the modesty of his nature allowed more determined self-assertion, his talents would have entitled him to even greater distinction than he attained; but he sought no other reward than that acquired by unob- trusive devotion to duty, and absolute sincerity of purpose. The measure of his influence is not that of his prominence as a preacher, nor of his success in maintaining and increasing a large congregation active in religious and elevating work, but rather in the example he gave of a consistent and laborious Christian life.
He was fortunate in the inheritance of a cheerful, sanguine spirit. He was gifted with a pure and impressive style ; he added to an engaging manner gentle and refined tones of voice, quick and ready sympathies, a thorough intellectual training, a mature judgment, and firm and courageous devotion to the truths of his faith. He was liberal in his views, and at the same time con- servative and cautious; ready to accept without fear any result of modern scientific investigation, and yet slow to reach con- clusions which required an abandonment of the strong foothold of his earlier belief. He accepted nothing without profound study and reflection, and followed no guide but that of his own honest head and heart. Theological controversy was never to his taste, and in his preaching he but rarely entered upon its domains. Sensationalism and pretence he avoided in the pulpit, as he shunned any ostentation or unreality in private or public life.
Though with few superiors in the Boston pulpit in accurate and exhaustive knowledge of theological, historical, and scien- tific subjects, his style of preaching was simple and clear, never dogmatic, but impressive by its vigor, its convincing method, and its intense spiritual earnestness. In his judgment of his fellow-men he was candid and charitable; no hasty condemna- tion ever fell from his lips. He strove with all his might to render impartial justice, and however intense his hatred of the sin, never to forget that the unfortunate sinner might by kind and just treatment be led in time to a higher life.
A life like this is a permanent influence for good, reaching far beyond its short span of years, and dependent less upon ostensible outward works than upon its own simple majesty and holiness. A friend after his decease used the following words, which describe the feeling of so many others who knew
582
ANNALS OF KING'S CHAPEL.
him: "I had great satisfaction in his friendship, and in the thought that he was so near. I think I never met him without feeling better and happier." Upon the pedestal of the marble bust by Thomas Ball erected to his memory in King's Chapel is this inscription, not only showing the love of his parishioners, but with rare felicity portraying the character of the man : --
HENRY WILDER FOOTE MINISTER OF TIHIS CHURCH FROM DECEMBER 1861 TO MAY 1889 BORN IN SALEM JUNE 2 1838 DIED IN BOSTON MAY 29 1889 A MAN OF THOROUGH LEARNING BROAD CHARITY AND CLEAR UNSWERVING FAITH GENTLE - PURE -STRONG WISE IN JUDGMENT TENDER IN SYMPATHY RICH IN HOLY THOUGHIT AND WORK REVERING JUSTICE HE LOVED MERCY AND WALKED HUMBLY WITH HIS GOD HIS EVER-PRESENT SENSE OF DUTY INSPIRED A LIFE WHOSE JOY WAS TO STRENGTIIEN AND CHEER WITH VICTORIOUS FAITH AND ABIDING PEACE HE LIVED AMONG US BLESSING AND BLESSED
His success was in the deep impression he made upon the hearts and consciences of those who knew or heard him, and in the inestimable value of an inspiring memory, made sacred by the evidence of high talents faithfully used, by honest and con- sistent purpose, and by a true and pure life wholly devoted to the spiritual and moral welfare of his fellow-men. Lives such as his are so far above the materialism of the day, so apart from all that goes to make up the whirling activities of modern soci- ety, that they are impressive, not from any unreality, but as representing something higher and holier than our common experience. They can be studied and can well be imitated as Divine in their nature, and as a revelation of the possibility of an approach to the highest standard of mortal endeavor.
APPENDIX.
,
LIST
OF
PROPRIETORS OF PEWS IN THE FIRST CHAPEL, PRIOR TO 1754, COMPILED FROM THE LEDGER.
AN Account of the Pews in Kings Chapel as they are Numbred & Who Are the Present Proprietors, as Examind by the Records in the Church Books by James Gordon Ch Warden, in Aprile & May, 1747. The Numbers Are Painted on the doors of each respective Pew, in Oyle Collors, by a Vote of the Minister, Ch : Wardens & Vestry ; Dated Aprile 13. 1733. first Rated or assesd March 26. 1744.
Pew No.
I. The Gov! for the time being to Sitt in w! his familly. Called the Kings Pew.
2. Charles Paxton Esq!
3. Coll. Estes Hatch. £10. Mar 26. 1728.
He paid
4. Eliakim Hutchinson Esq!
5. Cap: Iames Forbes.
6. Henry Frankland, Esq! (Title given Aprile 15. 1747); for wch he paid £30. old Ten!
7. James Gordon. (He relinquish! his Pew Nº 67. Value £25 & paid £5 more, Mar 3. 1743.4 in exch?
8. The Children or heirs of Mad: Bannister.
9. Charles Apthorp.
10. We Speakman. Voted Apr: 6. 1733 -he paid £15 & relin- quishd his other Pew Nº 92.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.