USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Andover > Necrology, 1890-1900 (Andover Theological Seminary) > Part 25
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lay down the leadership and serve in the ranks again than to seem to com- promise what he regarded as vital in the conduct of our missions. Relieved of the responsibilities of his great office, he gave himself, so far as his health per- mitted, to other forms of service for our churches and charities, our colleges and seminaries, our literature and missions, dispensing for himself and in sacred trust for others an unrecorded and generous beneficence. The catholic disposi- tion which he made by will of his own considerable estate attests his loyalty to his lifelong estimate of the doctrines, polity, traditions, and institutions of the Pilgrim faith.
"Dr. Alden's interest in this Seminary goes back to his boyhood. The at- mosphere of his home was charged with Andover influences. His father was an active trustee and benefactor, and sometimes brought the son with him on his official visits. In due time the son was four years a student, a professor- elect, fourteen years a trustee, again and again a benefactor to Seminary and Academy, and the means of calling out gifts from others."
Dr. Alden was married, April 25, 1850, to Maria Hyde, of Bath, Me., daughter of Dea. Gershom Hyde and Sarah Hyde. She survives him.
Dr. Alden died of heart failure, at his home in Boston, April 30, 1896, aged seventy-one years and nineteen days.
John Wheeler Harding.
Son of Rev. Sewall Harding and Eliza Wheeler; born in Waltham, Mass., October 12, 1821 ; prepared for college at Phillips Academy, Andover ; spent his freshman year at Amherst College, but graduated at Yale College, 1845; took the full course in this Seminary, 1845-48; licensed by the Mendon Association, April 11, 1848; continued his study here as Abbot Resident, 1848-49. He was ordained as pastor of the church in Longmeadow, Mass., January 1, 1850, and continued in its service forty-one years, retaining his sum- mer residence there, but acting during the remainder of the year as pastor of the little church in Ormond, Fla., from 1891 to the time of his death.
Mr. Harding was a corporate member of the American Board, one of the executive committee of the Home Missionary Society, and an influential advo- cate of the work of the American Missionary Association. He was a prominent member from their formation of the Connecticut Valley Congregational Club and the Connecticut Valley Historical Society, and also of literary and library asso- ciations in the city of Springfield. He was for many years connected with the Springfield Republican as a contributor of book reviews and of valuable articles and letters of travel from Europe and the East. His historical address at the one hundredth anniversary of Longmeadow, in 1883, was published in the vol- ume of the Proceedings of the Centennial Celebration, of which he was one of the compilers.
The value of Mr. Harding's pastorate in Longmeadow was grandly recog- nized at the celebration of its fortieth anniversary in 1890, in which, by person or by letter, many clergymen were participants, including his classmate, Dr. E. K. Alden, whose memorial precedes this. Perhaps the most fitting trib- ute to this long and faithful service in a single church and community is that prepared by the church itself and read at his funeral: "Resolved, that the sudden death of Rev. John W. Harding has come as a shock and a grief to our
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whole community. His pastorate of forty-two years gave him a unique oppor- tunity to build himself broadly and deeply into the life of the town, and his serv- ices have been so various and so extensive that he will be greatly missed everywhere. He was ready as a citizen for every good work, as his labors in the interests of our schools and in the founding and maintenance of our street improvement association will testify. No son of the town, of the most ancient Longmeadow lineage, could have been more thoroughly at home in our history or more heartily in sympathy with our honorable traditions. His wide knowl- edge of men and his connection with various organizations outside of the town brought here as visitors and speakers many of the most notable men of our time. He had a genius for winning friends, and everywhere was quickly at home with the best people. He was a man of great prudence, of unfailing charity of judgment, a humble and devout Christian, a pastor beloved and hon- ored, under whose ministry nearly all of the present members of our church joined its numbers. It will be hard for us all to think of the town with him absent from it forever."
Mr. Harding was married, December 29, 1852, to Mehitable Pratt Lane, of East Abington, Mass., daughter of Jenkins Lane and Mehitable Jenkins. She survives him, with two sons and two daughters.
Mr. Harding died of heart failure, arising from fatty degeneration of the heart, at Ormond, Fla., April 14, 1896, aged seventy-four years, six months, and two days.
CLASS OF 1849.
Stephen Abbott Holt.
Son of Uriah Holt (who went from Andover with his parents, Jacob Holt and Rhoda Abbot to the new township of Oxford, in the District of Maine, in 1795, and became a famous surveyor in Maine, being for many years the agent of Judge Phillips and afterwards of " Squire Farrar " in surveying and selling Phillips Academy lands) and Hannah Farnum; born in Norway, Me., Febru- ary 13. 1820; prepared for college at Phillips Academy, Andover ; graduated at Bowdoin College, 1846; took the full course of study in this Seminary, 1846- 1849; was licensed to preach by the Andover Association, meeting with Rev. John L. Taylor, Andover, April 17, 1849. He was ordained at Milton, Vt., January 1, 1850, but after a pastorate of one year there was obliged by the fail- ure of his health to abandon the ministry. He soon engaged in the lumber business in Boston in partnership with his father-in-law, Mr. Henry Cutter, upon whose death he became the head of the firm. He continued in business until about one year before his death, having his residence in Winchester.
Mr. Holt was a prominent and active member of the church in Winchester, and his former pastor, Rev. Charles R. Seymour, of Bennington, Vt. (Class of 1874), allows the use of his tribute published in the Congregationalist : “ Busi- ness, however, although requiring close attention, did not deprive Mr. Holt of the enjoyments of an intellectual life. Chosen hours daily, or rather nightly, were devoted to books and to a correspondence in relation to themes philosoph- ical. His favorite subject was that of Biblical theology. For fifty years he was a Bible teacher, and his activity as a student enabled him to produce the ripe thought of past and present with that varied illustration which is the result of extended research. He was not afraid of advanced ideas or theories, and was
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quite ready to adopt the newer view if it appealed to his unprejudiced judg- ment. The Congregational Church of Winchester has reason to be grateful for Mr. Holt's constant attention to every department of its life and work. The extensive repairs and ornamentation of ten years ago give token of his taste and sacrifice. But his labors and gifts were not confined to one field, ex- cept as we may say the field is the world. He had the spirit of the missionary and was a leader in that grand endeavor to bring into one comprehensive view the whole of humanity, by which Christians of the day are enabled to toil and pray for the world with the mind of the Master."
Mr. Holt was married, May 28, 1850, to Nancy Wyman Cutter, of Boston, daughter of Henry Cutter and Nancy Wyman. She survives him, with four of their seven children, the youngest of whom is a graduate of Harvard College, 1896.
Mr. Holt died very suddenly of heart disease, in Boston, December 14, 1895, aged seventy-five years, ten months, and one day.
OLASS OF 1852.
Sylvanus Cobb Kendall.
Son of Charleville Kendall and Jane Safford; born in Searsmont, Me., November 23, 1824; fitted for college at China (Me.) Academy; studied in Waterville College (now Colby University) one year, and graduated at Am- herst College, 1849; took the full course in this Seminary, 1849-52, and stud- ied here as resident licentiate, 1852-53, having been licensed to preach by the Andover Association, meeting with Rev. W. T. Briggs, North Andover, April 13, 1852. He was ordained as pastor over the church in Webster, Mass., March 29, 1854, and remained there three years; pastor, Milford, N. H., 1858-60; returned to Webster, for eight other years of service, 1860-68; pastor, Milford, Mass., 1868-72; acting pastor, Winthrop Church, Holbrook, Mass., 1872-73; without charge, Lancaster, Mass., 1874-76; acting pastor, Williamsburg, Mass., 1876-78, and Leominster, Mass., 1878-79; without charge, Boston, Mass., 1880; pastor, Ellington, Ct., 1881-86; acting pastor, Dudley, Mass., 1887-89; resided after- wards in Bradford, Mass., and, from 1892, in Townsend, Mass.
Mr. Kendall broke down from overwork in 1872 and was never afterwards strong, his exposure when shipwrecked on Long Island Sound in the autumn of that year having laid the foundation for subsequent years of feebleness, in which he was able to preach for short periods only. But from the different places of his ministry have come abundant testimonies to the ability and fidel- ity of his pastoral service similar to that written by Rev. Henry A. Blake (Class of 1876), of Webster, Mass. : " Those who remember Mr. Kendall here join in speaking of him as a strong preacher, who demanded and aroused thought in his hearers, and also often wrought by his preaching profound and lasting im- pressions. His sympathies when aroused were deep and led to very helpful ministries, while he was of a modest and very sensitive spirit."
Mr. Kendall was married to Betsey Payson Greenleaf, of Bradford, Mass., daughter of Benjamin Greenleaf, the eminent mathematician, and Lucretia Kimball, who survives him. They had two sons and one daughter, but all are deceased.
Mr. Kendall died of angina pectoris, at Townsend, Mass., October 12, 1895, aged seventy years, ten months, and nineteen days.
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John Quincy Peabody.
Son of Ezekiel Peabody and Polly Goodhue ; born in Ipswich, Mass., July 28, 1825; fitted for college at the Ipswich Grammar School; graduated at Am- herst College, 1848; studied in this Seminary, 1848-49 and 1850-52; licensed to preach by the Andover Association, meeting with Rev. W. T. Briggs, North Andover, April 13, 1852; resident licentiate here, 1852-53. He served as home missionary at Sedgwick, Me., 1853, as acting pastor at North Beverly, Mass., 1853-55, and at Topsham, Me., 1855-56. He was ordained December 17, 1856, over the church at Fryeburg, Me., and remained there until 1859, when he was compelled by failing health to relinquish further service. He resided after- wards until his death in Ipswich, Mass.
Although retired for nearly a half century from active ministerial labor, only occasionally preaching in the earlier years of this period, his life was one of quiet but earnest usefulness. For several years he served his town in the care of the schools, for which his thorough training and scholarly attainments specially fitted him. Though an invalid for nearly this whole period -for the last seven years never leaving the immediate vicinity of his residence - his life was a continual sermon and his example an abiding benediction. From early parishioners and from later friends have come many testimonies to the effective influence not only of his rich and scholarly sermons and of his pastoral service, but of his quiet, personal efforts for the blessing of others. One writes that he " in his youth was with many others influenced by Mr. Peabody to take a stand for Christ." Another, a well-known educator, writes: "I can never forget a call that I received from him when I was a student at Dartmouth, and the gentle, earnest way in which he pressed upon me the interest that was nearest his heart. These and other things revealed to me the gentleness and purity of his spirit." From another tribute this is quoted : " He was loyal to church, country, and home, and never found wanting in any service that Providence permitted him to render. Above all, he was loyal to God, and bore with cheer- fulness for many years an amount of suffering few others knew. Surely the Lord honored him not only by success in His vineyard, but by setting him apart for the exemplification of patience, 'perfect and entire, wanting nothing.'"'
Mr. Peabody was married, January 27, 1869, to Mrs. Mary Sophia Coburn, of Ipswich, daughter of Rev. David Tenney Kimball and Dolly Varnum Co- burn, sister of Rev. David Tenney Kimball, of the Class of 1834, and widow of John Dunning Coburn, of Brunswick, Me.
Mr. Peabody died of consumption, at Ipswich, Mass., November 6, 1895, aged seventy years, three months, and eight days.
Nathaniel George Clark, D.D., LL.D. (Non-graduate.)
Son of Charles Clark, M.D., and Clarissa Boyden; born in Calais, Vt., January 18, 1825; prepared for college at the Washington County Grammar School, Montpelier, Vt .; graduated at the University of Vermont, 1845; taught in the High School at Keene, N. H., 1845-47, and in the Montpelier school, 1847-48; studied in this Seminary, 1848-49; was tutor in the University of Vermont, 1849-50; returned here for the middle year, 1850-51; graduated at Auburn Theological Seminary, 1852; spent several months, in company with his Auburn classmate and lifelong friend, Julius H. Seelye (a tribute to whom
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he wrote for the Necrology of last year), in study under Müller and Tholuck in Germany. He was professor of English Literature in the University of Ver- mont, 1852-57, of English Literature and Latin, 1857-63, being also librarian of the college, 1853-63. He was licensed by the Winooski (Vt.) Association, Octo- ber 16, 1855, and ordained to the ministry in Burlington, Vt., October 13, 1857. He was professor of Logic, Rhetoric, and English Literature in Union College from 1863 to 1865, when he was called to the service of the American Board, being associated one year with Dr. Rufus Anderson (Class of 1822), and in 1866 succeeding him as Foreign Secretary. This office he held until compelled in 1894 by failing strength to lay down its burden.
He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Union College in 1865, and that of Doctor of Laws from the University of Vermont in 1875. He was for many years a trustee of Mt. Holyoke Seminary and College and of Welles- ley College, being president of the board in the latter institution. He published one text-book, The Elements of the English Language, in 1863. His spoken, written, and printed words in behalf of the missionary work are innumerable, and have gone out through all the earth. His wise and earnest labor for nearly thirty years in the sacred cause to which he had consecrated the energies of his strong intellect and warm heart gained the admiration, confidence, and love of the Christian community at home and of the great host of missionary workers abroad.
Rev. E. E. Strong, D.D., Editorial Secretary of the Board (Class of 1855), writes : "Dr. Clark was a man grandly endowed, having fine intellectual powers, a sympathetic nature, and a commanding personal presence. After finishing his course of education, he spent some years as a teacher, and in this depart- ment of service he would have achieved eminence. But he had a longing for direct Christian service, and he gave his life to the interests of missions with a true consecration. No side issues absorbed his energies; he was ambitious only to promote the kingdom of God on the earth. His life and character and Christian devotion won the sincerest love of those who knew him, and his asso- ciates rejoice in the memory of a friend so true, a counselor so wise, a leader so able, and a Christian so saintly and pure."
Rev. Wilson A. Farnsworth, D.D., of the Western Turkey Mission (Class of 1852), writes : " My love and admiration of Dr. Clark date from 1850, when we were classmates at Andover. I did not have the honor of being one of his most intimate friends, but with his natural abundance of love he took us all in and was beloved of all. When we were in the seminary I wrote brief sketches and, to some extent, prophecies of my classmates. Two or three years ago I was looking at them and was pleased to see on what a high pedestal I placed Clark. One thing I remember that I recorded was his remarkable 'power over an audience.' We had other men who were as strong as Clark in a debate, but somehow he always had the audience on his side. Before he had spoken half a dozen sentences people would forget that he was a disputant. They would say, ' There is an honest man - we can believe what he says.' What can I say of him as the Foreign Secretary of the American Board? I happened to be pres- ent at that meeting of the Board when he was chosen to fill that office, and remember with what humility he said, 'How can I take the place of such a man as Dr. Anderson?' He very soon won the confidence and the love of all the missionaries with whom he had official relations. His deep and tender sympathy
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made each one of his correspondents feel that in him he had a true friend. He knew and shared with them their joys and sorrows. If he was compelled to communicate what would cause them sorrow, they knew that he had felt the sorrow first. His interest in them showed itself especially in the tender, fatherly regard which he had for their children when they were obliged to send them to America. Hence, in part at least, his interest in South Hadley and Welles- ley. His interest in the children of missionaries sometimes, I dare say often, showed itself in a very practical way. On one occasion when my daughter, now in Turkey, was at Mt. Holyoke he handed her fifty dollars, and, that she might feel less hesitancy in accepting it, said, 'I want to do it for old friendship's sake.' Very few know what sorrow he felt at resigning his connection with the Turkey missions. That sorrow was mutual. We felt that we were parting with a wise and loving friend. Indeed, his wisdom was only surpassed by his love. But 'over there' with what joy have the Goodells, the Blisses, and others wel- comed him !"
Dr. Clark was married, August 16, 1854, to Mary Bowland Reed, of Mont- pelier. Vt., daughter of Hon. Hezekiah H. Reed and Martha P. Barnard. She died February 11, 1859. He married, second, May 8, 1861, Elizabeth Sargent Worcester, daughter of Rev. Isaac R. Worcester, editor of the Missionary Herald (Class of 1835), and Mary Sophia Sargent. She survives him, with two daughters, their only son having died in 1891.
Dr. Clark died of rheumatism, complicated with heart disease, at his home in West Roxbury, Mass., January 3, 1896, aged seventy years, eleven months, and fifteen days.
CLASS OF 1853.
David Bremner.
Son of Dea. William Bremner and Helen Frazer; born in Keith, Banff- shire, Scotland, January 25, 1828 ; prepared for college at Gilmanton (N. H.) Academy; graduated at Dartmouth College, 1850; took the full course in this Seminary, 1850-53, and studied here as resident licentiate, 1854. He was or- dained pastor over the Second Church, in Rockport, Mass., May 2, 1855, re- maining there till 1864; pastor of Third Church, Plymouth, Mass., 1864-68; without charge, Boxford, Mass., 1868-70; pastor of First Church, Derry, N. H., 1871-73; without charge, Boxford, Mass., 1874-75; acting pastor, Plaistow, N. H., 1875-79, and Raynham, Mass., 1879-81; clerk at the head of the Li- brary Department, Agricultural Department, 1882-85; acting pastor, Scituate, Mass., 1886-92; and in Hawley, Mass., 1894-95.
His sermon upon the death of Mrs. Mary L. Gale was published in 1861. He represented Rockport in the legislature in 1863, and was chaplain of the House of Representatives in 1864. He served for many years as a trustee of Pinkerton Academy, Derry, N. H. Rev. Lysander Dickerman, D.D., of New York City (Class of 1856), sends this tribute : " When tarrying for a while in New Hampshire in 1853, Mr. Bremner called on me as a stranger. From that time to the day of his death we often met, and our friendship was warm and uninterrupted. At my ordination he was the one I chose to give me the right hand of fellowship, and afterwards, at his installation at Plymouth, I per- formed a similar service for him. In 1871 we met in Germany as fellow stu-
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dents, and the friendship of earlier years was cemented. We were at one time settled near each other, and I have heard him preach many times. His style was graceful and classic ; his sermons often contained passages of great beauty and discriminating thought; above all, his spirit was sweet, earnest, and evan- gelical. His sympathies were with his people in their trials; he participated in their joys and sorrows; he never lost sight of his one single aim - to bring old and young up to the life that is hid with Christ in God. Had his work been less placid and modest, his pastorates might have been longer and more extensively popular, but nobody was ever bound to his people by a stronger mutual affection than he. He was a critical Biblical scholar, keeping fresh through life his knowledge of Hebrew and Greek. A faithful counselor, a true friend, of pure, consistent character - the devoted pastor, who pointed the road to heaven and led the way. I have visited the home of his early boyhood, and have found there a universal esteem and an admiration for the manly Chris- tian qualities which he exhibited even in his youth. Men are still living who are proud that they ever aided him in his early struggles. Such a life has its reward in the grateful memories of those who have been won by his faithful ministries and by his gentle, loving spirit to the better life."
Rev. Dr. Lyman Whiting, of East Charlemont, Mass. (Class of 1842), who was on the council when, "on a beautiful day in May, 1855, he was ordained pastor of a newly formed church in Rockport by the sea, Professor Park preach- ing the sermon," writes of Mr. Bremner's service in the last year of his life in the hill country of Western Massachusetts : " His ministry was marked by care- fully stated truth, set forth by a well-taught mind and a glowing heart. His manner was quiet, with a warmth, almost pathos, of tone, and with an unusual purity of speech and thought."
He was married, September 20, 1854, to Sarah Elizabeth Kimball, of Box- ford, Mass., daughter of Capt. Samuel Kimball and Elizabeth Sawyer. She survives him, with two sons and one daughter, their eldest son having died in youth. One son, a graduate of Yale and of Harvard Medical College, is a physician in New York City. Another studied at Yale and Boston University Law School.
Mr. Bremner died of Bright's disease, at Boxford, Mass., December 9, 1895, aged sixty-seven years, ten months, and fourteen days.
Henry Smith Huntington. (Non-graduate.)
Son of Rev. Henry Smith (Class of 1815) and Hannah Thomas Huntington ; born in Camden, N. Y., June 30, 1828; his father dying when the son was a few days old, he was brought up by his grandfather, Hon. George Huntington, at Rome, N. Y., and his name changed from Henry Huntington Smith to Henry Smith Huntington ; prepared for college at Major Duff's Military Academy, New Brighton, Staten Island, N. Y .; graduated at the College of New Jersey, 1850 ; studied in this Seminary, 1850-51, and graduated at Princeton Seminary, 1853; ordained by the Presbytery of Troy, November 15, 1858, and acting pas- tor at Caldwell, N. Y., 1857-62; Ione City, Cal., 1863-64 ; Watsonville, Cal., 1865-67; First Church, Wilmington, Del., 1868-69; of Reformed Church, Owasco, N. Y., 1869-70; of Calvary Presbyterian Church, Auburn, N. Y., 1870-74; pastor-elect, Caldwell, N. Y., 1876-79; evangelist at Lake George,
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N. Y., 1879. Transferring then his connection to the Episcopal Church, he was ordained deacon by Bishop Coxe, September 20, 1881, and priest by the same, at Hammondsport, N. Y., September 28, 1882. He was rector of St. Mathias Church, East Aurora, N. Y., 1881-83; of Trinity Church, Lancaster, N. Y., 1883-87; of the Church of the Epiphany, Suspension Bridge, N. Y., 1887-93; chaplain of the Church Charity Foundation, Buffalo, N. Y., 1893-95.
The following is quoted from a tribute to Mr. Huntington in the Church Home Quarterly, of Buffalo: "In the number of saintly men who have minis- tered to the spiritual needs of the workers and beneficiaries of the Foundation, none have brought to the performance of their sacred duties a higher spiritual life and a more earnest zeal for the cause of our holy religion. He possessed rare mental gifts, which were enriched by patient study and broadened by ex- tensive travel. His deep religious and spiritual character made his ministra- tions peculiarly effective, and also acceptable and profitable to those whom he served. He was the ideal chaplain, and in the sphere to which the latter years of his life were devoted he exemplified all that was beautiful in the life and character of a Christian gentleman and of a faithful priest in the Catholic and Apostolic Church."
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