History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 56

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed. n 85042884-1
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1538

USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I > Part 56

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In 1746 Dr. Edward Angustus Holyoke, who was born in 1728, was graduated at Harvard, and, in 1749, commenced in Salem the practice of medicine, which he continued eighty years. He published many med- ical articles iu the reviews of his profession, and sci- entific papers in the "Memoirs of the American Academy of Science." He possessed great repose of body and spirit, and that balance of powers which usually attends longevity.

It was about 1770 that Timothy Pickering com- menced his career as soldier and statesman by pub- lishing a manual of military tactics which he nsed in drill service before the breaking out of the Revo- lutionary War, and whose principles he applied in a critical review of the military training of his superior officers as the war went on. He found time, in the midst of his duties in the army, in Congress, iu the Cabinet and in agriculture, to publish au exhaustive letter on the "Conduct of the American Government towards Great Britain and France," and a "Review of the Correspondence between President John Adams and W. Cunningham," besides many valuable papers connected with his varied official service. Colonel Pickering was not only governed by a high sense of duty throughont his long career, and by strong convictions, but he also expressed himself in a nervous, vigorous style, and in controversial corre- spondence was a most formidable foe. To no man is this country more indebted for its independent na- tionality and the strength of its institutions. He per- formed his service with such fearlessness and honesty that he was at times placed on the defensive; but he now stands in the front rank of the great and pure men of the Revolutionary and Constitutional period in our history. In a literary point of view, he has left for the imitation of those statesmen who come after him a clear and impressive style and great power of statement.

The adoption of the Constitution and the organiza- tion of the Union found the country almost entirely absorbed by political controversies, and most vigorous endeavors to restore the languishing business of a people exhausted by a long war and a feeble and un- satisfactory system of government. The pulpit, the

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bar and the newspaper press absorbed nearly all the cultivated talent of the country. The progress of Arminianism and the development of Unitarianism gave rise to a most animated theological controversy, and the issues, growing out of various interpretations of the Federal Constitution, brought out a strong body of writers on these subjects. Rev. Thomas Bar- nard, of the North Church, published many occa- sional sermons, beginning in 1786, among which may be found an eloquent discourse delivered on the death of Washington, following in this respect his father, Rev. Thomas Barnard, of the First Church, who be- gan his publications in 1743.

One of the most remarkable writers and investi- gators of that day was Rev. John Prince, LL.D., who was born in Boston in 1751, and died in Salem in 1836. He was graduated at Harvard College in 1776, and was ordained minister over the First Church in Salem in 1779. He was a most indefatigable worker, and applied himself to scientific research, often at the expense of his ministerial and parochial duties. He was an intimate friend of Count Rum- ford, who commenced his great career in this town as author and investigator in 1765, and joined in many of his inventions and scientific experiments. He improved largely the air-pump, and tested many plaus for warming rooms. He published many sermons, among which are a Fast Sermon in 1798, a Charitable Sermon in 1806, a sermon on the death of Dr. Barnard in 1814, and a sermon before the Bible Society in 1816. His labors and his character were noticed by many scientific, literary and historical societies, and were reviewed by many leading periodicals of the day.

Dr. Prince exerted a commanding influence on the community in which he lived and his memory is warmly cherished in Salem. In theology he passed from Arminianism to Unitarianism with many of his clerical associates, and set a noble example of the ca- pacity of a liberal-minded man to retain his faith while pursuing his theological investigations and modifying his views. His style was simple and some- what severe, but it was used by him to convey sound doctrine, and a fund of valuable information and much food for thought.

William Bentley was ordained over the East Church four years after Dr. Prince commenced his labors at the First Church. He was born in Boston in 1759; was graduated at Harvard in 1777; and died in 1819. He was one of the ablest men of his time. His learn- ing was extensive, and he used it, not only in the pulpit, but also in the newspaper press, to which he was a liberal contributor, and in a more elaborate work upon the history of Salem. He was at one time the editor of the Essex Register. In poli- tics he was an ardent Republican and espoused the cause of Jefferson and advocated his interpretation of the Constitution. In theology he was an extreme Arminian, and paused not when he reached Unitarian- ism, but adopted with great force and ability those

doctrines which since his day have been more gener- erally accepted by the followers of Emerson and Par- ker and the German school. He was a most ardent patriot and left his pulpit in mid-service to defend the town of Marblehead and the frigate " Constitu- tion," when she was chased into that harbor, now fa- mous as the rendezvous of the competing yachts of the country. Dr. Bentley was at his death warmly eulo- gized by Edward Everett, at the time a professor in Harvard College. But it was not found con- venient to publish the sermon. He left his valuable library to the theological school at Meadville, and the American Antiquarian Society, at Worcester. He was a most beloved pastor and friend, and his memory is held as a most precious legacy by the descendants of those who loved him in his lifetime, and worshipped his spirit after death. Dr. Bentley published : "A Sermon at Stone Chapel, Boston," 1790; "Sermon on the death of Jonathan Gardner," 1791 ; "Psalms and Hymns," 1795; "A Masonic Discourse," 1796; "Ar- tillery Election Sermon," 1796; "Sermon on the death of General Fiske," 1797; "A Masonic Dis- course," 1797 ; " Masonic Charge," 1798; " History of Salem," 1800; "Sermon on the death of B. Hodges," 1804; "Sermon on the ordination of Joseph Richard- son Hingham," 1806 ; " Election Sermon," 1807.

These two distinguished divines performed great service in the work of sustaining the literary reputa- tion and power of Salem-a duty which before their death was taken up by one of the most learned and exemplary sons of this town, the Hon. John Picker- ing. He was born in Salem in 1772, a son of Timothy Pickering, and spent his early life in public service at home and abroad. He was secretary of legation to Portugal, and afterwards private secretary of Rufus King, in London. He filled many important positions as instructor at Harvard, practiced law in Salem until 1830, was a Senator from Essex and a member of the House of Representatives from Salem, and revised and arranged the Statutes of Massachusetts. He was, during his life, a most diligent student. His works are of great value to the scholar, and attracted the favorable attention of learned men at liome and abroad. In 1816 he published " a vocabulary or col- lection of words and phrases which have been sup- posed to be popular in the United States," a work which was accepted at once as of great value by scholars on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1829 he published a volume "On the Adoption of a Uniform Orthography for the Indian Languages of North America," to which students of etymology made con- stant reference. In 1836 he published " Remarks on the Indian Languages of North America," accepted as a most valuable treatise by General Cass, W. H. Prescott, Du Poncean, Ludewig and others. In 1826 he published " A Comprehensive Lexicon of the Greek Language, adapted to the schools and colleges of the United States," a book which ran through many edi- tions and was published in Edinburgh by Professor

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George Dunbar, with additions. The third American edition was so enlarged and improved as to be ac- cepted as final authority. Mr. Pickering also pub- lished "A Fourth of July Oration in Salem," in 1804; " Eulogy on Nathaniel Bowditch, before the Academy of Arts and Sciences," 1838; " Lecture on the Alleged Uncertainty of the Law," 1834; "Dr. Edwards' Obser- vations on the Language of the Muhekaneew In- dians," 1823; "Eliot's Indian Grammar," 1822; "Father Rasles' Dictionary of the Abnaki Lan- guage," and the " Vocabulary of Josiah Cotton," and " A Grammar of the Cherokee Language." He ed- ited with a memoir "Peirce's History of Harvard University." In connection with Judge White, of Salem, he published an edition of "Sallust," in 1805. He also published a translation of " M. Dupin's Ref- utation of J. Salvador's Trial of Jesus," prefixed to the "Examination of the Testimony of the Four Evangelists ; " " A Review of the McLeod Inter- national Question ; " " Remarks on Greek Grammar;" " An Address Before the American Oriental Society ;" " A Paper on the Roman Law ; " "An Article on National Rights ;" "An Essay on the Agrarian Laws ;" " An Essay on the Pronunciation of Greek ; " one on the "Priority of Greek Studies; " one on the " Egyptian Jurisprudence ; " papers on the "Cochin China Language," and " Prescott's History of Ferdi- nand and Isabella."

The scholarship of Dr. Pickering, especially as a linguist, has seldom been surpassed. He had a pro- found knowledge of more than twenty languages. President Felton said of him that "he was one of the noblest and most learned men our country has pro- duced." He possessed great purity of character and a most amiable and gentle disposition. His mind was enlarged by much learning and his heart was con- stantly warmed by his devotion to scholarly labor and his daily intimacy with the works of students of all ages and every country.

During the years occupied by John Pickering in per- forming his great literary work, Joseph Story entered upon his remarkable career as poet, legislator, law- yer and jurist. He was born in Marblehead Septem- ber 18, 1779 ; was graduated at Harvard in 1798; was admitted to the bar in 1801, and commenced the practice of his profession at once in Salem, where he resided until appointed professor of law at Harvard in 1829. He was a lawyer who had acknowledged power as an adviser and an advocate, even in the early days of his professional labors. He was a most influential member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and during his term of service in Congress, to which he was elected as a Jeffersonian Republican, in 1808, he pursued a course of great independence and commanding influence. During this period of his public career he had entered upon the field of authorship with great zeal, and was al- ready recognized as an eloquent orator, a graceful scholar and an able expounder of the law. As early as

1804 he published a poem, entitled "The Power of Solitude," which, whatever may have been its poetic merit, indicated the grace and fervor of the author's mind. He then commenced his long catalogue of treatises on various branches of the law. He pub- lished "A Selection of Pleadings in Civil Actions " in 1805; "The Public and General Statutes passed by the Congress of the United States from 1789 to 1827;" " Commentaries on the Law of Bailments," 1832; " Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, with a preliminary review of the Constitu- tional History of the Colonies and States before the adoption of the Constitution," 1833; " Commentaries on the Conflict of Laws, Foreign and Domestic, in regard to Contracts, Rights and Remedies, and espe- cially in regard to Marriages, Divorces, Wills, Succes- sions and Judgments, " 1834; " Commentaries on Equity Jurisprudence as administered in England and America," 1835; "Commentaries on Equity Pleadings and the incidents thereto, according to the Practice of the Courts of Equity in England and America," 1838; "Commentaries on the Law of Agency as a Branch of Commercial and Maritime Jurisprudence, with occasional Illustrations from the Civil and Foreign Law," 1839; "Commentaries on the Law of Partnership as a Branch of Commercial and Maritime Jurisprudence," 1842; "Commentaries on the Law of Bills of Exchange, Foreign and In- land, as administered iu England and America, with occasional Illustrations from the Commercial Law of the Nations of Continental Europe," 1843; "Com- mentaries on the Law of Promissory Notes, and Guaranties of Notes and Checks on Banks and Bankers, with occasional Illustrations from the Commercial Law of the Nations of Continental Europe," 1845; be- sides numerous decisions on his circuit as United States justice, of which Sir James Mackintosh said they were "admired by all cultivators of the law of nations."

It would not be supposed that in the midst of such vast and constant labor as a lawyer, professor, jurist and author, Judge Story would have found time for productions of a more purely literary character, and yet the list of these is long and interesting. He delivered in Salem an eulogy on George Washington, 1800; eulogy on Captain J. Lawrence and Lieutenant C. Ludlow, 1813 ; sketch of the life of Samuel Dexter, 1816 .; charge to the grand juries of the Circuit Courts at Boston and Providence, 1819; charge to the grand jury of the Circuit Court of Portland, 1829; address before the members of the Suffolk bar, 1821; dis- course before the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Har- vard, 1826; discourse before the Essex Historical Society, 1828; discourse on inauguration as Dane Professor of Law in Harvard University, 1829; ad- dress on the dedication of the cemetery at Mount Auburn, 1831; discourse on the funeral obseqnies of John Hooker Ashmun, 1833; discourse on the life, character and services of Hon. John Marshall, LL.D.,

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1835; lectures on the Science of Government, 1838; discourse before the Alumni of Harvard College, 1842 ; charge to the grand jury of Rhode Island on treason, 1845; with many occasional speeches and pamphlets.

America has produced but few men equal in all respects to Judge Story. As a student he combined patience, diligence, comprehension and enthusiasm to a most extraordinary degree. He turned his atten- tion in his early life to the hardest of all seienees, in which dispassionate judgment and cold deliberation are essentially required. And yet he filled the tem- ple of the law with a genial warmth and a radiant glow which could not be surpassed by any work of taste and imagination, and has rarely been equaled in those spheres which are dedicated to fervor and devotion. He had a sacred regard for the law, and he inspired his hearers with the same sense of reverent admiration. His mind, with its vast grasp and broad understanding, worked on with the rapidity of light. And while exercising his vigorous powers, he had most genial attractions for his associates, and those whom he taught, and in his family he always won the most ardent affection by his kindness and gen- tleness and simplicity. He was a great lawyer, a great author, a great eitizen, and a kind and affectionate parent. Mrs. Farrar said of him, "He was the beau- ideal of a judge." His justice was always tempered with mercy.

The career of Nathaniel Bowditch, whicb, in an in- tellectual point of view, is one of the most remarkable and admirable records in history, commenced in Salem almost contemporaneously with that of John Picker- ing and Joseph Story. Pickering was born in 1772, Bowditch in 1773, and Story, who made no delays in his youth, in 1779. Pickering delivered his first ora- tion in Salem in 1804. Bowditch published "The Practical Navigator " in 1802, and Story was ad- mitted to the bar in Salem in 1801 to overtake in accomplishment his great contemporaries. They removed to Boston about the same time, carrying with them the great reputation they had already achieved,

Dr. Bowditeh was born in Salem in 1773, and died in Boston in 1838. He began life in the forecastle of an East Indiaman, and before he had relinquished his interest in navigation he had become the mariner's guide across the trackless sea. Placed in charge of an insurance company in Salem, he advanced from "The Practical Navigator" to the "Mecanique Celeste," and the interpreter of Laplace to all English-speaking nations, and when he was called to a higher posi- tion in Boston as the organizer and president of the Massachusetts Hospital Life Insurance Company, an enduring monument to his financial wisdom and skill, he continued his studies still, until he aceom - plished that great literary work upon which his fame rests so securely. He seems to have been indifferent to all obstacles from the beginning to the end of his

great career. At ten years of age he was compelled by poverty to labor for his own living. He followed the seas, mostly in a subordinate capacity, until he had reached mature manhood. And when he en- tered upon the great work of his life he was obliged to eall his family about him, and confer with them as to the possibility of his publishing his volumes withont outside aid. The same economy and eour- age which bore him through his early trials bore him also through the later struggles, fortunately support- ed as he was by the resolute determination of his wife and children. While engaged in his work he seemed to be unconscious of disturbance or interrup- tion, and his most difficult ealeulations were.made in the midst of the amusements of his family. The "Mecanique Celeste " appeared in four large volumes in 1829, '32, '34, '38. And by the strength of his genius he stood in the front rank of the great students and mathematicians of the world.

Dr. Bowditch possessed this great mental power, but he was remarkable also for his foresight, prudence, integrity and courage. His influence was felt in commereial cireles, in scientific associations, in the government of Harvard College, and on the lives of those who bore his name, and went out from his domestie circle to practice the virtues he had given them as his best legaey.

The Rev. Samuel Worcester, D.D., commeneed a long and useful career as pastor, preacher and author iu charge of the Tabernacle Church in Salem, in 1803. He was born in Hollis, N. H., in 1770, was graduated at Dartmouth in 1795 and died in 1821. He was a theologieal scholar of great ability, and entered with zeal and power into the controversies of his day. From 1810 until his death he was corresponding sec- retary of the A. B. C. F. M., and he was untiring in his efficient support of that association. He published six sermons on the doctrine of " Eternal Judgment," 1800 ; "A Discourse on the Covenant with Abraham," 1805; "Three Letters to the Rev. W. E. Channing on Unitarianism," 1815; an edition of Watts' Hymns, 1818 ; many magazine articles and the first ten Reports of the A. B. C. F. M. He was considered one of the ablest supporters and advocates of orthodox Christian- ity, and was counted worthy of elaborate reviews and notiees by such writers as Jeremiah Evarts, A. P. Peabody and Rufus Anderson. Dr. Worcester added much to the literary reputation of Salem, and his presence and services gave importance to the town. He presented a fine example of the New England clergy of a former date; and he raised a standard which his theological associates were proud to follow, and which has served as a mark for those who have succeeded him. He brought harmony and strength to a church organization which had passed through many trials and changes, and gave it the proud dis- tinction of sending forth the first foreign missionaries to the East Indies.

The Rev. Elias Cornelius was settled as an associate

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of Dr. Worcester in 1819, and dismissed in 1826. He was the author of " The Little Osage Captive," 1822, and a "Sermon on the Trinity," 1826.

Benjamin Peirce, who was born in Salem in 1778, and died in 1831, contributed largely to the literature of his times. He became librarian of Harvard Col- lege in 1826, and retained this station until his death. He was the author of a " History of Harvard College from 1636 to the Revolution ; " a "Catalogue of the Library of Harvard College," 1830. He was a dili- gent scholar and a most useful official in the college.

The Rev. James Flint was born in Reading 1779, was graduated at Harvard 1802, and installed over the East Church 1821. He died in 1855. He had great mental powers, a glowing imagination, an in- cessant activity. Ralph Waldo Emerson said he had genius. His literary remains consist of a volume of sermons, occasional sermons and addresses and a few sweet and fervid hymns scattered here and there in the collections for churches. There are those who remember him with great esteem and reverence. He published : " The Christian Ministry," 1806 ; "Sermon on Ordination of Rev. N. Whitman Bil- lerin," 1814; "God a Refuge in Times of Calamity and Danger," 1814; "Election Sermon," 1815; "Dis- course at Plymouth on the Landing of the Pilgrims," 1816; "Ordination of Seth Alden, Marlboro'," 1819; "Sermon on the Death of Rev. Abiel Abbot," Beverly, 1828; "Sermon on the Sabbath," 1828; "Sermon on Indolence," 1829; " Change: Phi Beta Kappa Poem, Harvard," 1839; "Collection of Hymns," 1843; "Sermon on the Vanity of Earthly Possessions," 1844; "Sermons on Leaving the East Church," 1845; "Sermon on the Death of Dr. Brazer," 1846; " Ser- mons on the Deaths of President Taylor and Hon. U. Silsbee," 1850; "Posthumous Volume of Sermons and of Poems," 1852.

The Rev. John Brazer was born in Worcester in 1789, was graduated at Harvard in 1813, where he was tutor and professor until 1820, in which year he was ordained pastor of the North Church. Dr. Brazer was a most polished scholar, and on all public occa- sions when he was called on to deliver a sermon or ad- dress he acquitted himself with great taste and finish. His style was not easily surpassed. He was a strong and consistent and conservative Unitarian, and his congregation was one of the largest and most influen- tial in the town. He delivered the Dudleian Lectures at Harvard in 1836, and published a volume of ser- mons about the same time. His labors were mostly confined to his parish, and he left a valuable literary harvest from his fertile and well-cultivated mind. Dr. Brazer published; "Discourse for Promotion of Christian Education," 1825; "Sermon on the Death of Dr. Holyoke," 1829; "Power of Unitarianism," 1829; "Ordination of Jonathan Cole," 1829; " Me- moir of Dr. Holyoke," 1830; "Sermon on the Value of the Public Exercises of Religion," 1832; "Efficacy of Prayer," 1832; "Duty of Active Benevolence,"

1835; "Essay on Divinc Influence," 1835; " Lesson of the Past," 1837; "Present Darkness of God's Providence," 1841; "Sermon on the Death of Hon. Benj. Pickman," 1843; "Sermon on the Death of Hon. Leverett Saltonstall," 1843; "Posthumous vol- nme of Sermons."

Henry Pickering, a brother of John Pickering, born in 1781, was for some time a merchant in Salem, and afterwards removed to New York. He printed a vol- ume of poems for private distribution in 1830, and a poem entitled the " Ruins of Paestum " in 1822. He possessed the scholarly tastes of the family, and en- joyed a fine reputation as a gentleman of refinement and learning.

As a friend of the distinguished authors just enu- merated, and as a graceful scholar, wise legal adviser and patron of letters, no man ever stood higher than the Hon. Daniel Appleton White. He was born in Methuen in 1776, was gradnated at Harvard in 1799, and devoted himself for some years to teaching. He was admitted to the bar in 1804, and was appointed judge of probate for Essex County in 1815, at which time he took up his residence in Salem for the re- mainder of his life. He died in 1861. He published a "Eulogy of Washington at Haverhill," 1800 ; "View of the Jurisdiction of the Court of Probate in Massa- chusetts," 1822 ; a " Eulogy of Nathaniel Bowditch," 1838; an address at the consecration of Harmony Grove Cemetery, 1840 ; “ New England Congregation- alism in its Origin and Purity," 1861 ; besides nnmer- ous pamphlets.

Judge White led a long and useful life in Salem. His literary work was always done with great taste and skill, with a purity and terseness of style rarely equaled, and with great wisdom and humanity. His mind was always guided by a high moral sense. In his connection with public affairs he always exercised the most untiring devotion to the welfare of the com- munity, and steadily entertained lofty views of the duties of a Christian commonwealth. To the libraries of Salem and to the educational work of the Lyceum, which he founded, and the Essex Institute, which he patronized liberally, he rendered a service which should never be forgotten. He was known as the friend of the scholar and of sound learning.

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History of Essex County, Massachusetts : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Vol. I, Part 56

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed. n 85042884-1 Publication date: 1888 Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co. Number of Pages: 1538

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton), ed. n 85042884-1
Publication date: 1888
Publisher: Philadelphia : J. W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1538