USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Andover > Necrology, 1890-1900 (Andover Theological Seminary) > Part 47
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He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Williams College in 1855, and that of Doctor of Laws from Bowdoin College in 1871. He delivered the Hyde Lectures on Foreign Missions in this Seminary, 1869-72, the lectures being published in 1874, under the title of The Kingdom of Christ on Earth. Other publications were Zaccheus, a prize essay on The Scriptural Plan of Beneficence, 1849; Christ's Prayer for the Glorification of his Redeemed, 1866; The Philosophical Basis of Theism, 1883; The Self-Revelation of God, 1887; God, Creator and Lord of All, 1896. Besides these he published numerous sermons and addresses, and the first of the "Boston Lectures on Christianity and Skepticism," 1870, on The Christian Doctrine of Human Progress con- trasted with the Naturalistic. He also contributed many articles to the Bibli- otheca Sacra and the New Englander.
Rev. Charles Ray Palmer, D. D., of New Haven, Ct. (Class of 1859), sends the following tribute: "In the decease of Dr. Harris, there passed from earth one of the ablest of theologians and one of the saintliest of men. Those who knew him best find it hard to speak of him in terms of moderation. Whether regarded as a scholar, as an instructor, as a thinker, as a preacher, as an associate, as a man, the remembrance of him calls from them expressions of loving appreciation, of the highest admiration. Before all things a theo- logian, he made the impression that he might have easily distinguished himself in other and diverse intellectual pursuits. Awake to the interest of every line of inquiry, and appreciative of learning to the last, of the many who have risen to distinction as theologians in New England, he was probably the man of the widest knowledge. Through his forty years of diligent and effective teaching, and the noteworthy volumes which he contributed to the thought of his time, he wrought services to the Church to which no estimate can do justice. As little can one measure the charm of his personality. Great as were his powers and his attainments, he was simple, modest, unexacting, in the extreme.
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Neither ardent or demonstrative, he exhibited a friendliness which stood all tests, and a charity which was imperturbable. While himself a man of positive convictions, he showed a generous consideration of the convictions of others. While admirably equipped for controversy, he never engaged in it. None who came within the atmosphere of his life could feel a disposition to antagonize him. More impressive than what he said, or what he wrote, or what he did, seemed what he was-a gracious and magnanimous nature, a most exemplary disciple of his Divine Master, a Christian gentleman, a blameless man. In his latest days his serenity and his helpfulness suggested a character irradiated by light from an open heaven."
Brief quotations are added from a tribute to his uncle, published in the Congregationalist, by President George Harris, D. D., LL. D., of Amherst College (Class of 1869) : "Dr. Harris belonged to no school. He could not be classified as old school or new school, as conservative or progressive, for he embraced those eternal principles which are ever old and ever new, which are in perfect proportion, and in which the little is not magnified nor the great minimized. His theology was the revelation of God's grace and love in Jesus Christ for the redemption and perfection of men, the Kingdom of God on earth, and the law of service in that kingdom -a scientific, rational, ethical, and spiritual theology which could not be narrowed to provincialisms. . . . Until he was eighty, he preached nearly every Sunday in New Haven and vicinity. He never had a note before him, yet his style was as finished as though every word had been written. He always spoke on great themes, with profound thought clear as crystal, made real by apt illustration and rising at times to eloquence. He was most powerful in public addresses at the time of the Civil War, as a favorite speaker at mass meetings of citizens, while he was in Bangor. During the darkest hours of the war he could stir the spirit of loyalty by impressing the great principles of national life. He was statesman and orator, not appealing to the passions of the hour, but to true patriotism. . . . A great man has finished his work. He was great in humility, never seeking to advance his own interests, and was not as widely known and hon- ored as he deserved to be. But to hundreds of ministers he was the most in- spiring teacher, to thousands of Christians the most spiritual preacher, to scores of friends the holiest and loveliest man, and to all of them the best representative of the Master who proclaimed the truth that makes men free."
Dr. Harris was married, April 30, 1839, to Deborah Robbins Dickinson, of Amherst, Mass., daughter of Hon. John Dickinson (for many years Judge of Probate in Washington County, Maine) and Rebecca Ellis. She died July 25, 1876. He married, second, October 11, 1877, Mrs. Mary Skinner Fitch, of New Haven, Ct., daughter of Roger Sherman Skinner and Mary L. de Forest, and widow of John W. Fitch. She survives him, with her daughter (by her first husband, Rev. Samuel D. Marsh, missionary to the Zulus), the wife of Princi- pal Edward G. Coy, of Lakeville, Ct. An adopted daughter of Dr. Harris was the wife of Rev. E. P. Parker, D. D., of Hartford, Ct.
Dr. Harris died of pneumonia, at Litchfield, Ct., June 25, 1899, aged eighty-five years and eleven days.
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CLASS OF 1841.
Joseph Andrew Canfield.
Son of Capt. Ira Canfield and Melinda Buckingham; born in East Had- dam, Ct., April 11, 1813; left an orphan when two years old, his father, with all his crew, perishing in the memorable gale of September 12, 1815; fitted for college at the academies in Essex and Madison, Ct .; , graduated in 1838 at Oneida Institute, a manual labor institution at Whitesboro, N. Y., then under the presidency of Rev. Beriah Green (Class of 1822), a noted reformer and abolitionist; took the full course in this Seminary, 1838-41, his graduating ad- dress, September 1, 1841, being upon "Old Heresies under New Names." He was licensed to preach by the Andover Association, meeting with Rev. Samuel C. Jackson, Andover, April 18, 1841, and was stated supply in the Presbyterian church at Belleville, N. Y., 1841-42, at Chaumont and Dexter, N. Y., 1842-43, at Chaumont and Lafargeville, N. Y., 1843-45. He was then ordained, September 17, 1845, at Chaumont, and continued as pastor there until 1863, preaching also at Lafargeville till 1847. He was chaplain of the Clinton State Prison, Dannemora, N. Y., 1863-69; acting pastor of Congrega- tional church at Antwerp, N. Y., 1869-74; chaplain of State Prison, Sing Sing, N. Y., 1874-76; without charge, Sing Sing and Oswego, N. Y., 1876-77 ; pastor of Presbyterian church, Theresa, N. Y., from 1877 to January 1, 1885. He resided without charge, but often preaching, at Oswego and Antwerp, N. Y., and San Antonio, Texas, 1885-94, afterward, at Elmira, N. Y., till his death.
Mr. Canfield wrote, two years ago: "One classmate is found in the last Necrology, Thomas Laurie. We were quite intimate at Andover, often ram- bling over the hills and in the country about. I have never met him since we parted at the Seminary, and have been so located that I have rarely met any of my classmates, and hardly know if any are yet among the living. The son of one of them, bearing his father's name - Isaac Jennings - is now pastor of the First Presbyterian church of Elmira, where I attend worship." A part of Dr. Jennings' tribute to Mr. Canfield is quoted from the Evangelist : " I found that he had been a classmate of my father at Andover, and with this introduc- tion soon came to realize that behind that well preserved and active body there was also a well preserved and well furnished mind, a choice spirit, a warm heart, and an abiding serenity, which indicated him to be a man of consecrated life. Further acquaintance taught me that he loved the church of Christ and its stated meetings, and would always be in his place on Sabbath morning and evening and at the mid-week prayer meeting, rain or shine, though living quite a distance from the church, and was ever ready to contribute to its interest words of spiritual wisdom and unshaken faith out of a ripe experience, as well as prayers of tenderness and longing desire for the triumph of Christ's king- dom. He loved Jesus Christ with a simple, childlike faith, and strove to follow him in his life, in the home, and among the neighbors, in such wise that his spirit was a benediction wherever he went. The children loved him, the youth confided in him, the mature trusted him and sought his counsel. His life was well spent, and his taking away simply a translation."
Mr. Canfield was married, May 10, 1842, to Harriet Jane Gates, of Whites- town, N. Y., daughter of Eliphaz Gates and Lucy Lamb. She died November
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4, 1891. He had two adopted daughters, with one of whom, the widow of Lieut. J. C. Myers, U. S. A., he spent his last years.
Mr. Canfield died of heart failure, at Arlington, N. J., October 16, 1899, aged eighty-six years, six months, and five days.
OLASS OF 1843.
Ariel Ebenezer Parish Perkins, D.D. (Non-graduate.)
Son of Rev. Ebenezer Perkins (Class of 1817) and Amelia Parish, and grandson of Rev. Ariel Parish, of Manchester, Mass .; born in Royalston, Mass., October 11, 1820; fitted for college at Phillips Academy, Andover ; graduated at Amherst College, 1840; studied in this Seminary, 1840-41 ; con- tinued theological study with his father at Royalston, 1841-42, and with Rev. Zedekiah S. Barstow, at Keene, N. H., 1842-44, being for that time the prin- cipal of Keene Academy. He was ordained as pastor of the church at Phillips- ton, Mass., September 18, 1844, his father preaching the sermon. He remained there until 1855, and was then pastor of the East Church, Ware, Mass., for thirty years, 1855-85. He afterward resided in Worcester, Mass., without charge, but occasionally preaching, until his death.
He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Williams College in 1870. He was a member of the Worcester Society of Antiquity, a trustee of Hartford Theological Seminary, 1877-86, and a corporate member of the American Board from 1874. He served for six weeks as delegate of the Chris- tian Commission in the Army of the Potomac in the spring of 1865. He was a member of the National Congregational Council in Boston, 1865, and moder- ator of the State Association in 1869 and in 1887. He published anniversary sermons preached at Ware in 1875 and 1880, a Semi-centennial Sermon before the Brookfield Associational Conference in 1871, and several Thanksgiving and memorial sermons. He was very much interested in all branches of nature study. He gave lectures on geology in his first pastorate, knew all the rare flowers and rare birds, and made a fine collection of shells, now in the Ware Library.
Rev. Amos H. Coolidge, of Worcester (Class of 1856), for over forty years a ministerial neighbor of Dr. Perkins, sends the following tribute : “ Dr. Perkins was one of those robust, sturdy clergymen who have honored the New England ministry. He was solid, portly, symmetrical, and commanding in his physical proportions, and never, till near the end of his long life, knew by experience what sickness was. He was equally large and vigorous in his intel- lectual and moral quality - well-balanced, sensible, and ruled by fixed principle. He was a theologian of the older school, but kept abreast with the modern movements of scholarship, and while true to the old gospel, and emphatic and open in the expression of his convictions, was broad and tolerant in his judg- ments and feeling toward those from whom he differed. He was moderator of a larger number of councils, probably, than any other man in Central Massa- chusetts. He was an authority in ecclesiastical usages, and repeatedly rendered valuable service in harmonizing differences in churches. He had a long, effic- ient, and useful ministry ; and when at length he ceased to be a pastor, be- came the most judicious, loyal, sympathetic, and helpful of parishioners, and his relations both to his pastor and to the church were intimate and affectionate."
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Dr. Perkins was married, September 25, 1850, to Emily Pearson, of Han- over, N. H., daughter of Samuel Atkinson Pearson and Sarah Ann Boardman. She died November 11, 1854. He married, second, February 19, 1856, Susan Osborn Poor, of South Danvers (now Peabody), Mass., daughter of Hon. Henry Poor and Mary Osborn. She survives him, with four sons and one daughter. Two sons are professors, respectively, in Throop Polytechnic In- stitute, Pasadena, Cal., and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville; one son is in business in New York City, and one, Rev. Henry P. Perkins, is a mission- ary of the American Board in North China. The daughter is the wife of Dr. L. M. Nason, of Worcester. Three sons died in childhood.
Dr. Perkins died of paralysis, at Worcester, Mass., June 27, 1899, aged seventy-eight years, eight months, and sixteen days.
CLASS OF 1846.
James Monroe Bailey, D.D.
Son of James Bailey and Sarah Davis; born in Andover, N. H., March 3, 1817; fitted for college at New Hampton (N. H.) Academical Institution ; graduated at Dartmouth College, 1843, studied in Seminary, 1843-46, rooming throughout the course with his college classmate, Dr. George H. Atkinson ; graduating address, September 2, 1846, was upon " The Scripture Import of the word Mystery." He was licensed to preach by the Weare Quarterly Meet- ing of the Free Baptist Church, at Wilmot, N. H., in May, 1846, and ordained by a council of the Cumberland Quarterly Meeting, at West Buxton, Me., Feb- ruary 17, 1847. He was pastor at West Buxton until 1855; of Casco Street Church, Portland, Me., 1855-56; at Saco, Me., 1856-59; at Manchester, N. H., 1859-62; at Great Falls (now Somersworth), N. H., 1862-64; professor of Sacred Literature and Homiletics in the Free Baptist Theological School, New Hampton, N. H., 1866-68; pastor, Cape Elizabeth, Me., 1868-70; West Bux- ton, Me., 1870-73; residence at Saco, Me., from 1862.
He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Hillsdale College, Michigan, in 1869. He was one of the school committee when in Buxton, and supervisor of the schools in Saco for twenty-four years. He was an overseer of the New Hampton Literary Institution eight years, and trustee seven years, and for over thirty years corresponding editor of the Morning Star, then pub- lished at Dover, N. H. He was for twenty-five years secretary of the Maine Western Yearly Meeting, and for twenty years of the Cumberland Quarterly Meeting. He published a Genealogy of the Hobson Family (1875, 15 pp.).
Rev. Prof. James A. Howe, D. D., of the Cobb Divinity School, Lewiston, Me. (Class of 1862), sends the following tribute: "Dr. Bailey had by nature a well-balanced mind, possessing many excellent qualities, equally well devel- oped, rather than a few of an extraordinary degree of development. He had also by his faithful study at Dartmouth and at Andover a well-disciplined mind, fitting him to be, what he proved to be, 'a good minister of Jesus Christ.' He had by grace a deep religious life, a spirit pure, devout, and earnest, so that in his parishes he did not labor in vain. Scholarly habits and evangelical zeal, joined with a directly practical turn of mind, caused his ministry to prosper. Versatile in attainments and in habits, it was not difficult for him to pass from
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the pastoral office to that of instructor in a theological school, or to the editorial sanctum, or to become superintendent of a city's public schools, and in all to win an honorable reputation. Modest and genial, true to principle in all cir- cumstances, a humble disciple, a fervent Christian, he enobled life wherever he lived, and represented character at its best. He died full of years, respected and honored by all who knew him."
Dr. Bailey married, September 14, 1847, Ethelinda Hobson, of West Buxton, Me., daughter of Dea. Joseph Hobson and Mary Townsend. She died July 19, 1894. He had two sons, one a business man in New York City ; the other died at the age of twenty-five.
Dr. Bailey died of heart disease, following grip, at Saco, Me., January 6, 1899, aged eighty-one years, ten months, and three days.
Daniel Little Furber, D. D.
Son of Dea. Jeremiah Furber and Eliza (Nichols) Little; born in Sand- wich, N. H., October 14, 1820 ; prepared for college at Sandwich Academy, at Fryeburg (Me.) Academy, and at Portland (Me.) Academy; graduated at Dartmouth College, 1843; took the full course in this Seminary, 1843-46, his Commencement address, September 2, 1846, being upon "Objections to the Doctrine of Perseverance; " licensed to preach by the Andover Association, meeting with Rev. Samuel C. Jackson at Andover, April 6, 1846; continued study here as resident licentiate, 1846-47. He was ordained pastor of the First Church, Newton, Mass., December 1, 1847, Rev. Nehemiah Adams of Boston (Class of 1829), preaching the sermon. In this pastorate Dr. Furber continued for thirty-five years, becoming pastor emeritus in 1882, and residing still at Newton Centre, until his death.
He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Dartmouth College in 1874. He was a corporate member of the American Board from 1874. He published (in connection with Professors Park and Phelps) Hymns and Choirs, or the Matter and the Manner of the Service of Song in the House of the Lord, 1860; Religion and Education in a Republic, Election Sermon, 1881 ; Historical Discourse, 225th Anniversary of First Church, Newton, 1889; Life and Services of Prof. Austin Phelps, delivered at Andover, 1891; Missionary Labors of the Apostle Eliot, 1897; Jubilee Anniversary of Pastorate, 1897. Mr. Furber was president of the famous Lockhart Society when in the Seminary, as he had been of the college musical society at Hanover, as well as instructor of music in the Young Ladies' Seminary there, whose principal he afterward married. This remarkable gift, which became such an important factor in his life work, is fittingly referred to in the tributes which follow. An interesting reminiscence is given by Professor Park, of Mr. Furber's musical contributions to social parties which they attended while traveling together abroad. One was given by a professor at Oxford, another by Sir James Y. Simpson at Edinburgh; at the latter, which included, among other distinguished persons, a daughter of Dr. Chalmers, a niece of David Hume, and Mrs. Cousin, the poetess (author of "Immanuel's Land "), Mr. Furber, "at the request of Sir James, after rendering several classical selections, sang some of the American Revival Melodies, playing his own accompaniments; all were delighted with the rich- ness and expressiveness of his voice."
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Rev. Daniel T. Fiske, D. D., of Newburyport, Mass., sends this word about his classmate : " I have only pleasant memories of Dr. Furber, during those years when we were classmates in Andover Seminary. His personal appearance was attractive, his manners gentle and winsome, his application to the duties in hand, commendable. He was simple as a child. He was even then passionately fond of music, and had already acquired skill as an organist and a leader of choirs, which made neighboring churches eager for his services on the Sabbath. This passionate love of music gave tone to his whole char- acter as well as to his voice, softening, sweetening, beautifying both, so that in all his deeds and in all his words, whether speaking, praying, or singing, there was melody and rhythm. His surviving classmates, four in number, sincerely mourn his loss. But who can doubt that with a joyous outburst of song he has greeted those who had gone before, and that he will greet those who will soon follow him ! "
Rev. Henry J. Patrick, D. D., of Newton (Class of 1853), writes : " After a delightful intimacy with Dr. Furber of nearly forty years in adjacent parishes, it is a pleasure to recall the blessing of such companionship. It has brightened in his departure. One could not meet and part from him without feeling him- self to be a better man for his presence. He was a man of exceptional char- acter. The strength of the hills came to him from his New Hampshire home. Christian parents left an impress upon his character which was seen through all his life. In the struggles through which he passed in the choice of a pro- fession, impressively portrayed in his Jubilee sermon, the prayers of his saintly mother had a decisive influence. It was music or the ministry. He enjoyed the former, but his mother had chosen the latter for him. The real decision was in the question, 'Not what I enjoy most, but how can I do the most good and best serve my Master? ' Hardly less was his debt to the noble, queenly woman, his wife, who wrought effectively by his side through her life.
" In the pulpit, the parish, the home, the community, he was the same, the disciple of his Lord, like Paul in his faith, like John in his love. Sincerity was stamped upon his whole life. As a preacher he shunned not to declare the whole counsel of God. He loved to preach 'Christ and Him crucified.' His heart was in his words. In the very tones of his voice, he revealed his earnest soul-seeking love. 'We had the silver trumpet last Sunday,' said one of my parishioners after hearing him on exchange. He had a rare voice for speech and song. Rufus Choate heard him one Sabbath at the Essex Street Church, in his early ministry, and was arrested by the tone and modulation of his voice, and remarked upon the rarity of this gift. As a pastor he was faithful, respon- sive, sympathetic. He was a true son of consolation in his ministry of prayer and song. His sweet, clear tenor voice has uplifted many a burdened soul. He knew his people and loved them all, making them in thought and welfare his own, always revealing this love in some ministration. Dr. Furber loved Andover. His associations with Professors Park and Phelps endeared it to him. He was companion in foreign travel with Professor Park, and Professor Phelps chose him to preach his memorial sermon. With the later teachings of the Seminary he did not sympathize, and actively protested against them. But in this, as in other things, his loyalty to his convictions secured the respect of those who differed from him. But the test of his faith came in these last days. The weakness and suffering, the lingering, tried his soul more than we
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can know. He turned for support to the Word, to song, and to prayer. The best day of the week, the Sabbath, he would have himself chosen to be his last day on earth. The evening had come, the bells were ringing for the hour of service. As his attendants were about to assist him to bed, he swooned, fell back, and was gone. And now we recall the last words in that commemorative discourse, ' The time is not far distant when there will be a manifestation of the sons of God, when you will enter through the gates into the city, and its glory will burst upon you. As Bunyan says, " All the bells of the city will ring when you enter. There you will see the King in his beauty and on his throne. On that mount of perpetual transfiguration you will build your tabernacles, and that will be your eternal home."' Is it too much to think that the last sounds to linger in his ears were the church bells summoning to evening service, and that the first sound to greet him as he passed through the gates were the bells of heaven ringing their welcome of joy? "
Dr. Furber was married, September 13, 1850, to Mrs. Maria Brigham Peabody, of Hanover, N. H., daughter of Lincoln Brigham and Lucy Forbes of Cambridge, Mass., and widow of Rev. Prof. David Peabody (Class of 1831), of Dartmouth College. She died September 19, 1882.
Dr. Furber died of valvular disease of heart, at Newton Centre, Mass., November 19, 1899, aged seventy-nine years, one month, and five days.
CLASS OF 1847.
Thomas Wilson.
Son of Claudio Wilson and Margaret Downie; born in Paisley, Scotland, June 15, 1822; came to this country at the age of seven years; prepared for college at the Lowell (Mass.) High School; graduated at Dartmouth College, 1844; studied in this Seminary, 1844-45, and 1846-47, and the intervening year at Yale Divinity School; graduating address, September I, 1847, upon "Tendency of the Exclusive Study of the Physical Sciences to Infidelity." He was licensed to preach by the Andover Association, meeting with Rev. John L. Taylor at Andover, April 12, 1847, and was ordained as first pastor of the Second Church in Palmer, Mass., March 1, 1848, Rev. Lyman Whiting of Lawrence (Class of 1842) preaching the sermon. He remained there until 1852; was pastor at Westford, Mass., 1853-56; at Stoughton, Mass., twenty years, 1856-76; acting pastor at Eaton, N. Y., 1877-92; afterward resided, without charge, at Waterville, N. Y., until his death.
Mr. Wilson was a member of the School Committee or Superintendent of Public Schools in all the places of his Massachusetts pastorates, and a member of the Massachusetts Legislature from Stoughton, in 1867. He published the Centennial Historical Address at Palmer, 1852; Prohibition vs. License, address before Norfolk County Temperance Society ; Memorial Address before the Grand Army of the Republic, at Stoughton, 1871, and other occasional sermons. It is an interesting fact that Mr. Wilson's father, who was a Paisley shawl weaver, had invented valuable improvements in the weaving of ingrain carpets, and had put a loom in operation at Kilmarnock ; in 1826 an American manufacturer engaged him to bring the invention to this country. The drawings were secreted in a false bottom of his trunk, and the
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