USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Andover > Necrology, 1890-1900 (Andover Theological Seminary) > Part 42
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He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Hobart College in 1860. He was a member of the Lexington Historical Society, and at one time its president; also an honorary member of the Danvers Historical Society. Rev. Edward G. Porter, of Dorchester (Class of 1864), who as a pastor in Lexington knew Dr. Porter well, thus writes of him: "In his later years Dr. Porter rendered acceptable aid by officiating in various places as opportunity offered. His manner was always dignified and reverent; his counsel always at the dis- posal of his friends. He lived directly opposite to Dr. Cyrus Hamlin, and the cordial affection which these two Christian veterans had for each other was often seen in their houses, on the streets of Lexington, and in the frequent public assemblies of a religious or patriotic character, at which they usually contributed a large share of the eloquence, not to say the wit, of the occasion. Dr. Porter was very tall and very erect to the last. His bearing toward all was that of a punctilious gentleman of the old school. His intelligent face was lighted by a spirit of true benevolence which won all hearts and gave him a position of the highest respect and honor."
Dr. Porter was married, April 9, 1849, to Elizabeth Eustis Langdon, of Portsmouth, N. H., daughter of Henry Sherburne Langdon and Ann Eustis, sister of Governor William Eustis of Massachusetts. She survives him, with one daughter.
He died of old age, at Lexington, Mass., March 2, 1899, aged eighty-one years, eight months, and eleven days.
CLASS OF 1846.
William Thomas Briggs. (Resident Licentiate.)
Son of Custing Otis Briggs and Mercy Little Thomas; born in Scituate, Mass., December 1, 1815; fitted for college at Hanover, Weymouth, and Middleborough Academies; entered Oneida Institute, Whitesboro, N. Y., in 1841, and graduated in 1844; studied in the Theological Department of Oneida Institute, 1844-45, and in this Seminary, as resident licentiate, 1845-46. He was ordained as pastor of the evangelical church in North Andover (then the North Parish of Andover), Mass., November 4, 1846, and remained there until 1855; was pastor in Princeton, Mass., 1856-63; served for a short time as chaplain in Finley Hospital, Washington, and in January, 1864, went to New- bern, N. C., as assistant to Rev. Horace James (Class of 1843), Superintendent of Freedmen, remaining in that service until the close of the war. He was installed pastor over the Congregational church in East Douglass, Mass.,
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March 21, 1866, and continued as such until 1887-twenty-one years - being then made pastor emeritus and residing in East Douglass during his life.
Mr. Briggs published a sermon on The Presidential Election, November 8, 1868; a Thanksgiving Discourse on The Goodness of God to this Nation, November 27, 1879; and A Compendium of Doctrine, a Pocket Companion for Believers. Rev. James H. Childs, of Northbridge, Mass. (Class of 1875), sends this tribute: "Rev. William T. Briggs has been for thirty-two years a member of the Worcester South Association, and for all these years closely and honora- bly identified with our circle of ministers and churches. His words and his life have been a continual inspiration to us. Natural to him was a marked dignity and even courtliness of manner, which was delightful to all who met him, because of his evident friendliness, his deep and cordial sympathy, and the warmth of his generous heart. A striking characteristic was a certain dry humor and pleasantry continually bubbling up and helping to make him the life of any gathering. But this was not all. He had a strong character and firm convictions. He knew what he believed and why. His sermons were more than ordinarily forceful and practical. He was eagerly sought after to make addresses at ordinations and on other special occasions, and they were sure to be able, spicy, helpful, spiritual. Never afraid of the face of man, he maintained a high and noble standard in regard to Sabbath observance, tem- perance, and other reforms. A sound adviser, conservative in theological belief, severe in opposition to anything like insincerity or unfaithfulness, he was yet kindly tolerant toward those who honestly differed from him in opinion. He will be sadly missed in the meetings of the Conference and of the Associa- tion, and in the churches where he was so well and widely known."
Mr. Briggs married, October 20, 1846, Harriet Swan Dana, of Scituate, Mass., daughter of Henry Ballard Dana and Harriet Cushing Swan. She died March 7, 1849. He married, second, November 10, 1852, Abbie Learned Davis, of Oxford, Mass., daughter of Jonathan Davis and Betsey Gilbert, and sister of the late Hon. George L. Davis of North Andover. Two children (one of the first marriage) died in infancy, and one in childhood. A son, William H. Briggs, a graduate of Harvard Law School and lawyer in Minneapolis, died in 1897; a daughter, Helen L. R. Briggs, a graduate of Wellesley College, wife of Rev. Carlton P. Mills, died in 1889.
Mr. Briggs died of old age, at East Douglass, Mass., September 24, 1898, aged eighty-two years, nine months, and twenty-three days.
OLASS OF 1847.
William DeLoss Love, D. D. (Non-graduate.)
Son of Maj. William Love and Lucinda Oakes; born in Barre, N. Y., September 29, 1819; prepared for college at Albion (N. Y.) Academy and Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, Lima, N. Y .; graduated at Hamilton College, 1843; teacher in Buffalo (N. Y.) High School, 1843-44; studied in this Semi_ nary, 1844-45, and in Yale Divinity School, 1845-47; licensed by the New Haven West Association, in the Theological Lecture Rooms, New Haven, August 10, 1847. He was ordained as pastor of the Howe Street Church, New Haven, Ct., April 5, 1848, and remained there until 1852; pastor of Eastern
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Congregational Church, New York City, 1852; of Second Church, Berlin, Ct., 1853-57 ; of Spring Street Church, Milwaukee, Wis., 1858-71; at East Saginaw, Mich., 1871-76; without charge, Andover, Mass., 1877-78 ; pastor at South Hadley, Mass., 1879-89; afterwards without charge, residing with his son at Hartford, Ct., 1889-94, and with his daughters in St. Paul, Minn., 1894, until his death.
He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Hamilton College in 1871. He was a trustee of Olivet College when in Michigan, and of Mt. Hol- yoke Seminary when at South Hadley. He served in the United States Christian Commission for three months in the last year of the civil war, and was for a time secretary of the Chicago Branch of the Freedmen's Aid Society. He was editor of the Wisconsin Puritan, at Milwaukee, six years. He pub- lished the following volumes : Child's Book on Slavery, 1857; Wisconsin in the War of the Rebellion, 1866; Christ Preaching to the Spirits in Prison, 1883; Future Probation Examined, 1888 ; St. Paul and Woman, 1894; Sabbath and Sunday, 1896. Among his printed discourses were : Obedience to Rulers, Fore- fathers' Day, 1850; Smitten, but not as Our Enemies, 1865; The Reforming Power of the Gospel (baccalaureate sermon at Mt. Holyoke Seminary), 1885; The Holy Spirit's Office with Mankind, 1886. He also contributed important articles to the Bibliotheca Sacra and the New Englander.
Rev. G. S. F. Savage, D. D., of Chicago Theological Seminary (Class of 1847), writes: " I was privileged to be intimately associated with Dr. Love, during his three years' course of theological study at Andover and New Haven, and the friendship then formed continued to the close of his useful life. No one could be intimately associated with him without being deeply impressed with his devout spirit, his unwavering adherence to fixed principles, his con- scientiousness, and his fidelity to duty. As a student, he thoroughly studied and mastered the topics under consideration in the classroom. He came to clear and decided convictions of truth and duty, and was inflexible in his
adherence to them. He was evangelical in his faith and consecrated in his life. As a reformer he was an able and ardent advocate of the anti-slavery, freed-man, and temperance causes, when these were unpopular. As a true patriot he showed his patriotism by self-sacrificing labors in the Christian Commission, and by his history of Wisconsin in the war. He excelled as a pastor, and is held in loving and grateful remembrance in the several parishes, East and West, where he ministered. As a friend and Christian brother he was large-hearted and genial, winning the confidence and hearts of those who knew him best. The memory of what he was, and of what he did, is a precious inheritance to his family and his friends."
Dr. Love was married, September 9, 1847, to Matilda Wallace, of Clinton, N. Y., daughter of Edward M. Longworth and Eliza Tyler. She survives him, with four sons and two daughters, one son having died in infancy. The sons all graduated at Hamilton College, and two, Rev. William DeLoss Love, Jr., and Rev. Archibald Longworth Love, were graduates of this Seminary.
He died of paralysis, at the home of his daughter in St. Paul, Minn., September 5, 1898, aged seventy-eight years, eleven months, and seven days.
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CLASS OF 1848.
William Thomas Reynolds. (Non-graduate.)
Son of James Reynolds and Hetty Smith; born in West Haven, Ct., November 16, 1823; fitted for college at the Episcopal Academy in Cheshire, Ct. ; graduated at Yale College, 1845; studied in this Seminary, 1845-46; graduated at Yale Divinity School, 1848; licensed to preach by the New Haven West Association, August 10, 1847. He began preaching at Sherman, N. Y., in 1851, and was ordained as pastor of the Congregational church there, April 22, 1852, continuing in that pastorate until 1855; was acting pastor at Kiantone, N. Y., six years, 1856-62 ; began pastoral service in North Haven, Ct., April I, 1863, was formally installed pastor, April 29, 1869, became pastor emeritus after thirty years of service in that church, in April, 1893, and continued to reside there until his death.
Mr. Reynolds published An Historical Address on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Town of North Haven, 1886, and contributed to the New Haven Historical Society, of which he was a member, papers recording his researches in local history.
Rev. Sylvanus F. Marvin, of Woodbridge, Ct., a friend in college and Seminary, and a neighboring pastor for many years, said in a memorial sermon : " Brother Reynolds was scholarly in his habits. He had an analytical mind which sifted matters to their foundation and accepted nothing from a mere cursory examination, but must probe to the bottom facts before he would accept or indorse any proposition. He was naturally speculative in his mind, but clung to the cardinal doctrines of the cross. As a sermonizer he was careful and methodical. His sermons were characterized for their candor and truth- fulness and the clearness of the truth which they presented; and with his candid and earnest presenting of them in their delivery they became effective in abundant harvests, in the development of character, and in winning souls to Christ."
Mr. Reynolds was married, November 18, 1850, to Sarah Maria Painter, of West Haven, Ct., daughter of Alexis Painter and Thalia Maria McMahon. She died September 4, 1898. Three daughters died in childhood. A son and a daughter survive: Mr. James B. Reynolds, head worker in the University Settlement of New York City; and Miss Annie M. Reynolds, World's Secretary of the Young Women's Christian Association, London.
Mr. Reynolds died of paralysis of the brain, at North Haven, Ct., January 22, 1899, aged seventy-five years, two months, and six days.
CLASS OF 1849.
John Hopkins Gurney.
Son of Joseph Gurney and Lois Hopkins; born in Dover, Me., September 21, 1821 ; he spent his childhood and youth in Boston, where the family removed soon after his birth ; studied in the Preparatory Department of Oberlin College, 1839-41 ; graduated at Oberlin College, 1845; taught common schools and singing schools in western New York, 1845-47; in this Seminary, 1847-49, speaking at the Commencement, September 5, 1849, on " Success in Preaching Dependent on a Correct Theology." He was licensed to preach by the
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Andover Association, meeting with Rev. John L. Taylor at Andover, April 17, 1849. He was ordained as pastor at East St. Johnsbury, Vt., February 22, 1850, and remained there until 1856; was pastor at New Braintree, Mass., 1856-69; and of the church of Foxcroft and Dover, Me., 1869-75; was then acting pastor of Trinity Church, Neponset, Mass., 1876-77 ; at Harvard, Mass., 1878-79; at Humboldt, Io., 1880-82; at Dover, S. D., 1882-88. He was after- wards without charge, residing at Oberlin, O., 1888-91, then visiting his chil- dren in their different homes, and returning to Dover, S. D., a few weeks before his death.
Mr. Gurney served in the U. S. Christian Commission in the spring of 1865, the compiler of this sketch meeting him at " the front," a few days before the capture of Richmond. The following is quoted from a notice in a local paper, written by a member of his church at New Braintree: "Mr. Gurney brought to us a strong mind, good common sense, firm convictions, an ability always to grasp the situation and rise to the occasion, and a thorough citizen- ship. His fondness for agricultural pursuits endeared him to many a farmer who seldom entered a church. He was chairman of the school committee during the thirteen years of his ministry, and one of the main instrumentalities in securing the demolition of our old schoolhouses and substituting new and improved ones. He was earnest in his advocacy of all measures that would promote the welfare of the community."
Rev. Isaac C. White, of Plymouth, Mass., a classmate in college, and both classmate and roommate in Seminary, sends the following : "Mr. Gurney formed the purpose of preparing for the ministry while in the employ of a business firm in Boston, of which the late Rev. James C. White was the head. He entered Oberlin College, as that institution was specially designed to pre- pare young men for the ministry, and he did not fail to imbibe liberally the unique religious influences which pervaded the atmosphere of that institution. As one of the speakers at Commencement, his oration was received with marked attention by the congregation filling the large church, which had been finished just in season for the graduating exercises. His study of Hebrew in college enabled him to enter the Seminary in advance - in the spring term of the junior year - and as in the college, so in the Seminary, he was a devoted student. He was thoroughly furnished for the work of the ministry, and his high resolve for usefulness was not disappointed in an honored and successful ministry. His deep, rich voice largely increased the influence and power of his pulpit services. Four churches in New England, and one in the far West, which he organized, and from whose communion he passed into the church triumphant, cherish his memory, as do his classmates, who celebrate their fif- tieth anniversary the present year."
Mr. Gurney was married, September 21, 1849, to Susan Simpson Irvine, of Sandusky, O., a classmate at Oberlin, daughter of Thomas Irvine and Betsey Rose. She died July 22, 1892. They had six sons and two daughters, one of the sons dying in infancy at New Braintree. One of the sons graduated at Oberlin, another at the University of Maine; three reside in Tennessee, one in Boston, and one in Dover, S. D., the postoffice being named in honor of his native town in Maine. The office was established in his own house, where also the Dover church was organized and its first meetings held.
Mr. Gurney died of angina pectoris, at Dover, S. D., December 7, 1898, aged seventy-seven years, two months, and sixteen days.
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Philo Beckwith Wilcox.
Son of Amos Wilcox and Lydia Kinney ; born in Benson, Vt., January 18, 1818; prepared for college at Burr Seminary, Manchester, Vt .; graduated at the University of Vermont, 1845; studied in this Seminary, 1845-46, and 1847-49, teaching at Brandon, Vt., 1846-47; graduated September 5, 1849, his address being on "Material Nature Illustrative of Moral Truth." He was licensed to preach by the Andover Association, meeting with Rev. John L. Taylor, Andover, April 17, 1849; supplied vacant churches in Vermont, 1849- 50, and spent a part of the year 1850-51 in study at Andover, as resident licentiate. He was ordained at East Bridgewater, Mass., May 14, 1851, and was pastor of the Union Congregational Church in East and West Bridgewater, until 1860. He was then acting pastor of the First Church in Norway, Me. 1860-65 (of the Second Church also, 1860-62); at Otisfield, Me., 1865-70, and at Blue Hill, Me., 1871-72. From 1872 he resided without charge at North- boro, Mass., until his death.
Rev. J. E. B. Jewett, of Pepperell, Mass., a Seminary classmate, writes : " Philo B. Wilcox was a good man -one who loved God and all his fellow- men. He was a true Christian and scholar, though less demonstrative than most men. It ever seemed to be his desire to do good and make the world better and happier. He was more than an ordinary scholar, and in a great many directions. Whatever the subject of conversation or discussion, he could give the facts in the case. So great was his love of books, he could not visit a bookstore without buying one or more books. In this way he accumu- lated a large library and was very familiar with its contents. He was an omnivorous reader, and his memory was so good that the epithet of 'walking encyclopædia ' was frequently and appropriately applied to him. As a hus- band, father and friend, he was loving, genial, and kind-hearted. As a minister he was faithful, studious, and beloved. His sermons were biblical, practical, and well laden with good and true thoughts, often with beautiful and profound thoughts. His labors as a preacher were blest. He lived the life and died the death of the righteous, and I doubt not has received the righteous man's reward."
Mr. Wilcox was married, July 9, 1851, to Rebecca Maria Jewett, of Pepperell, Mass., daughter of Dea. Henry Jewett and Rebecca Blood, and sister of Rev. J. E. B. Jewett, whose tribute to him is given above. She died April 1, 1852. He married, second, April 18, 1854, Sophronia Sampson Fisher, of Northboro, Mass., daughter of Nathaniel Fisher and Eliza Sampson. She died February 13, 1892. He left one daughter -widow of the late Rev. Prof. George R. Freeman, of Meadville Theological School - and three sons.
Mr. Wilcox died of cystitis, at Northboro, Mass., June 5, 1898, aged eighty years, four months, and seventeen days.
CLASS OF 1851.
Ira Case. (Non-graduate.)
Son of Thaddeus Case and Mary Fellows; born in Chelsea, Vt., August II, 1820; fitted for college at Kimball Union Academy, Meriden, N. H., IS41-44 ; studied three years at Middlebury College, and graduated at Amherst College, 1848; studied in this Seminary, 1848-49, and at the Theological Institute of
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Connecticut at East Windsor (now at Hartford), 1849-51 ; licensed by the Hart- ford North Association, June 4, 1850. He was acting pastor, Chester, Mass., 1851-52; ordained pastor of the West Congregational Church, Orford, N. H., November 30, 1852, and remained there two years; was acting pastor at Under- hill, Vt., 1855-57; at Croydon, N. H., 1857-58; resided at Grantham, N. H., 1858-60. He was in business at Providence, R. I., 1860-72; resided in North Scituate, R. I., teaching an ungraded school, and preaching for a time to a Bap- tist church at West Scituate ("his views on baptism having changed "), 1872- 75; then retired to a small farm in North Scituate; removed to Olneyville, R. I., in 1893, and resided there until his death.
He published Ability and Inability, 1855; Light from Prophecy, or Comments on the Revelation and Other Prophecies, 1871 ; One Hundred Ques- tions and Answers on Moral Agency, 1872 ; besides two poems in 1869, A Poeti- cal Exposition of the Trumpets and Vials, and A Poetical Exposition of Prophe- cies Relating to the Great Apostasy of 1,260 Years and to the Succeeding Millenium. A letter, describing his last hours, says that "his wife repeated to him familiar hymns, which he repeated after her. The last one was :
When on my bed, diseased, oppressed, I turn and sigh and long for rest, Thou great Physician, see my grief, And grant thy servant sweet relief.
He had just repeated these words when his head dropped; 'sweet relief ' had come ! "
Rev. Robert D. Miller, of Malden, Mass., writes of Mr. Case : " We were classmates at Middlebury and Amherst, and room-mates at Middlebury; we came together in the Seminary on East Windsor Hill, where I boarded in his family; we were intimate friends all the way. In college I counted him as a thoroughly Christian man; the harmony of his profession and example con- vinced me that I was wronging myself in not seeking at once what I saw him to have. He became an ardent defender of Dr. Tyler's view as to the absolute supremacy of God, of His unrestricted ability to bring the greatest desirable good out of all permitted evil. He had no sympathy with Dr. Taylor's claim that if God overrules and counteracts evil so as to make forever secure the largest desirable measure of good, it must be that He thus makes the evil itself a good thing. He could not see how the absolute sovereignty of the Infinite One can be made to harmonize with the fully responsible activity of His intelli- gent creatures. We have had protracted correspondence on these points, and he has seemed determined to class me with Armenians, putting the reins of government into the hands of the dependent creature. Brother Case has lived a consistent Christian life and done good work for his Lord and Master."
Mr. Case was married, November 15, 1849, to Mary Ann Eaton, of Salisbury, N. H., daughter of John Ladd Eaton and Mary Morgan. She survives him, with three daughters and one son ; one child died in infancy.
Mr. Case died of heart failure, following gastritis of six years' duration, at Olneyville, R. I., March 6, 1899, aged seventy-eight years, six months, and twenty-five days.
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CLASS OF 1853.
William Cowper Dickinson, D. D.
Son of Rev. Baxter Dickinson, D. D. (Class of 1821) and Martha Bush ; born in Longmeadow, Mass., January 26, 1827; fitted for college at the academy in Auburn, N. Y., where his father was then Professor of Sacred Rhetoric, and with Rev. Prof. Henry A. Nelson, D. D., then a student in Auburn Seminary, graduated at Amherst College, 1848; teacher in Monson (Mass.) Academy, 1848-49; studied in Union Theological Seminary, 1849-51 ; tutor in Amherst College, 1851-52 ; preceptor of Lawrence Academy, Groton, Mass., 1852; in this Seminary, 1852-53, the subject of his Commencement address, September 7, 1853, being "Intimations in Nature that Man was Cre- ated Holy; " licensed to preach by the Norfolk Association, meeting with Rev. William B. Hammond (Class of 1843), at South Braintree, April 26, 1853; resident licentiate in this Seminary, 1853-54. He was ordained as pastor of the Central Church, Middleboro, Mass., April 12, 1854, and remained there until 1856; was stated supply of the Hanover Street Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, Del., 1856, and of the Congregational Church, Gloucester, Mass., 1856-57 ; pastor, Kenosha, Wis., 1858-59; of Presbyterian Church, Lake Forest, Ill., 1859-67 (being also teacher of college class in the academy now merged in Lake Forest University, 1859-63); stated supply of the Calvary Presbyterian Church, Chicago, Ill., 1868 ; pastor of Congregational and Presby- terian church, Battle Creek, Mich., 1870-72; of Second Presbyterian Church, Lafayette, Ind., 1872-82; without charge at Lafayette, 1883-84; pastor, Col- lege Hill, O., 1884-87; without charge afterwards at Evanston, Ill., but often supplying temporarily pulpits in Chicago and its suburbs.
He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Wabash College, 1878. Rev. Henry J. Patrick, D. D., of Newton, Mass., Mr. Dickinson's classmate, sends this tribute : " As a classmate of Mr. Dickinson, both in college and seminary, it is a pleasure to recall the companionship of those years, and to send a word of tribute to his memory. He was the valedictorian of our class. As a linguist he excelled. His translations in the class-room were a delight to hear. Though so fine a scholar, there was nothing of the recluse about him. He was genial and companionable. To a natural refinement was added the culture of a choice home, which impressed one even in familiar intercourse and in casual meeting. He was always so courteous as not to offend any one, and so charitable as not to have aught against any one. In his belief he was both conservative and progressive; while tenacious of the vital truths of the gospel, he was open to light from all sides. In his successive pastorates, which were mostly at the West, he left the abiding impress of a man illustrating the spirit of the gospel in his life. His last years have been passed in quiet retire- ment. Last summer was the fiftieth anniversary of our graduation at college. He sent a beautiful letter to the class meeting, with tender allusions to our vanishing ranks. We did not anticipate that so soon would a star be prefixed to his name."
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