USA > Maine > History of the Baptists in Maine > Part 35
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Rev. Frederick H. Eveleth, D. D.,1 was born in Durham, March 21, 1843. A thoughtful, scholarly boy, he made preparation for a college course of study and entered Colby University in 1866, graduating in 1870. Then for theological study he went to the Newton Theological Insti- tution, where he was graduated in 1873. It was his pur- pose to devote himself to service in the foreign field, and having been accepted as a missionary of the American Baptist Missionary Union, he was ordained at the First Baptist church, Portland, Sept. 2, 1873, and with Mrs. Eveleth, he sailed for his distant field of labor. At first he was stationed at Toungoo, continuing his work there from 1873 to 1885. He was at Rangoon from 1885 to 1890, and at Sandoway from 1890 to 1896. Since 1896, he has been connected with the Theological Seminary at Insein, holding the presidency of the Burman Theological Semi- nary, and doing efficient service in the training of young men for the work of the Christian ministry. Dr. Eveleth has the reputation of being one of the best Burmese scholars connected with our mission. Mrs. Eveleth is a daughter of Rev. J. F. Eveleth, one of our formerly well- known Maine Baptist ministers, and was born in Orono, June 26, 1852.
From Maine, in 1874, three missionaries went to the for- eign field, Rev. and Mrs. Henry W. Hale and Rev. A. K.
1 He was baptized by Rev. W. H. Shailer, D. D., in the old Federal St. Baptist church, Portland, in 1862, and at the same time Dr. Shailer baptized his nephew, Rev. W. H. S. Hascall, born in Pittsford, Vt., Dec. 30, 1850, who in 1872 went to Burma and became con- nected with the mission press at Rangoon. But longing for distinctively missionary work he was ordained in 1877. He was in this country from 1880 to 1883, and then returned to Burma. From 1889 to 1903 he was in the pastorate in this country. He is now stationed at Thongze, Burma, doing, as always, strong, faithful service for Christ.
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HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
Gurney. Mr. Hale was born in Southwest Harbor, Mt. Desert, Oct. 7, 1843. He was graduated at Colby Univer- sity in 1867, was at the Baptist Union Theological Sem- inary, Chicago, Ill., 1871-72, and at Newton Theological Institution 1872-74. Having been ordained in Auburn, Aug. 20, 1874, he made his way to Burma with Mrs. Hale. For many years he was stationed at Shwegyin, then at Moulmein and afterwards at Tavoy. At present Mr. and Mrs. Hale are in this country on furlough. Mrs. Hale, daughter of Elbridge G. and Emma (Norton) Coffin, was born in Auburn, Feb. 7, 1849. She is a granddaughter of Rev. Ransom Norton, one of our early Maine Baptist ministers, who came from Martha's Vineyard to Maine with Sylvanus Boardman.
Rev. Albanus K. Gurney was born in Cumberland, May 29, 1845. He was graduated at Colby University in 1871, and Newton Theological Institution in 1874. His ordina- tion occurred at Yarmouth Aug. 26, 1874, the First Bap- tist church, Portland, of which he was a member, having called a council at Yarmouth in connection with the meet- ings of the Cumberland Association. Mr. Gurney received his appointment as a missionary of the American Baptist Missionary Union April 21, 1874, and was assigned to service in Assam. He was stationed at Sibsagar, and that has been his field of labor since. Much of his time has been spent in translating the Old Testament into the Assamese language. This work was completed in 1903, and Mr. Gurney, with Mrs. Gurney, returned to this coun- try for a well-earned rest. Mrs. Gurney is a native of Jay, and was married to Mr. Gurney July 19, 1877, in the historic chapel in Calcutta in which Adoniram Judson and his wife were baptized.
Miss Myra H. Stetson, daughter of Rev. H. Stetson, was born in Sidney, May 9, 1847. In her home she heard much concerning missions, and consecrated herself to service in the foreign field. Nov. 10, 1874, she received an appoint- ment from the Woman's Baptist Foreign Missionary Soci-
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HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
ety, and went to Burma. But on account of ill health she was soon obliged to relinquish fondly cherished hopes and return to this country. Submissive to the divine will, she received the loving ministrations of the home circle, and died in Sidney, Nov. 3, 1876, shortly after her return.
Miss Ella F. McAllister, born in Portland, June 12, 1852, was educated in the schools of Portland and for awhile was engaged in teaching in her native city. But there was a call for just such service in Burma, and Miss McAllister, who was a member of the First Baptist church in Port- land, heard the call, and received an appointment from the Woman's Baptist Foreign Missionary Society April 16, 1877. Upon reaching Burma she became connected with the Kemendine Girls' School at Rangoon. After nineteen years of service she returned to this country for a period of needed rest. In the autumn of 1902, she set out once more for Burma, but on account of ill health was com- pelled to return to this country after reaching England. In August, 1903, she again left Portland for Burma, and at present is the efficient head of the Girls' High School in Moulmein.
We now come to the period of the student volunteer movement, in which the number of our representatives in the foreign field was largely increased. We can only briefly mention them and their stations.
Miss Julia H. Elwin, born in Winslow, Feb. 5, 1857, went to Burma in 1881, but on account of ill health was obliged to return to this country after a few years, and her service since has been in the home field. Rev. John E. Case, born in Patten, Nov. 27, 1856 (Colby, 1880, New- ton, 1880-1882), went to Burma in 1882, where he has been stationed at Toungoo and Myingyan. On account of ill health he is at present in this country. Rev. James E. Cochrane, born in Monmouth, July 4, 1854 (Colby, 1880, Rochester Theological Seminary, 1883), went to Burma in 1886, but returned to this country in 1889, Mrs. Coch- rane's health rendering a change necessary. Rev. Benja- min F. Turner, born in Dover, Dec. 24, 1855 (Colby, 1884,
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HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
Newton, 1887), went to Burma in 1887, and after ten years' service returned to this country on account of Mrs. Turner's ill health. Rev. John E. Cummings, born in Saco, June 22, 1862 (Colby, 1884, Newton, 1887), went to Burma in 1887, and is still connected with the Henzada mission, but returned with his family in 1904 on furlough . to this country. Rev. John M. Foster, D. D., born in Portland, July 21, 1857 (Colby, 1877, Newton, 1887), went to China in 1887, and was stationed at Swatow until 1903. At present he is in this country, but has been assigned to service at Bangkok, Siam. Rev. Henry P. Cochrane, born in Lewiston, March 25, 1856 (Rochester Theological Semi- nary, 1889), went to Burma in 1889, and until 1903 was stationed at Toungoo. At present, with his family, he is in this country. Rev. John L. Dearing, D. D., born in Webster, Dec. 10, 1858 (Colby, 1884, Newton, 1889), went to Japan in 1889. His work has been largely educational in connection with the Theological Seminary at Yokohama, of which since 1894 he has been president and professor of theology and ethics. Rev. S. W. Hamblen, born in Lov- ell Center, Sept. 12, 1862 (Brown University, 1886, New- ton, 1889), was also assigned to Japan. For many years he was stationed at Sendai. His present station is Tokyo. Rev. W. W. Cochrane (Colby, 1885, Rochester Theologi- cal Seminary, 1890), the third of the Cochrane brothers to engage in missionary service, was born in Monmouth, April 16, 1859. He went to Burma in 1890, and has since labored among the Shans of Upper Burma. Rev. Charles Hadley, born in Lewiston, Aug. 5, 1864 (Bates, 1886, Newton, 1890), went to India in 1890, and was stationed at Madras. On account of failing health he returned to this country, and died in Lewiston, Dec. 21, 1895. Miss Belle Grover, born in Skowhegan, March 28, 1865, joined the Congo mission in 1887. There she was married to Mr. Edward E. Claflin, who died in 1890. Mrs. Claflin returned to this country, but in 1891 went back to Africa. After three years, on account of the severe illness of her mother, she returned to the United States and has since
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HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
married Mr. S. M. Field of Newark, N. J. Rev. Arthur H. Curtis, born in Portland, July 20, 1866 (Newton, 1891), went to India in 1892, and has since been connected with the Telugu mission. Mrs. Curtis is a daughter of Rev. Dr. John E. Clough. Mr. Curtis and his family are now in this country.1 Miss Orissa W. Gould, born in Alna, Dec. 19, 1861, having fitted herself for service as a medi- cal missionary at the Woman's Medical College in New York, went to India in 1893 and was stationed at Nellore. On account of a complete nervous breakdown she returned to the United States in 1897. After her return, as her strength permitted she devoted herself to philanthropic and missionary work among the poor of the East Side, New York City. She died in New York, May 3, 1904. Mrs. H. Y. Corey, born at Tenant's Harbor, July 3, 1868, is in the service of the Foreign Missionary Society of the Baptist Convention of the Maritime Provinces, and is sta- tioned at Parla-Kimidi, Madras Presidency, India.
The contributions of the churches in Maine for foreign missions from 1874, arranged in decades, are as follows :
1874,
$6,457.45
1884,
$3,177.60
1894,
$4,764.84
1875,
6,595.32
1885,
3,589.21
1895,
4,488.62
1876,
6,202.32
1886,
3,531.15
1896,
5,191.55
1877,
4,495.19
1887,
2,630.17
1897,
3,923.05
1878,
5,897.08
1888,
2,892.48
1898,
4,004.30
1879,
2,987.92
1889,
4,421.48
1899,
3,876.55
1880,
4,701.09
1890,
3,286.55
1900,
4,850.34
1881,
5,356.37
1891,
3,162.20
1901,
5,880.77
1882,
2,928.94
1892,
3,200.88
1902,
4,880.35
1883,
2,892.24
1893,
7,027.96
1903,
6,059.21
$48,513.92
$36,919.68
$47,918.98
While it is worthy of note that the contributions for the decade 1894-1903 amounted to $47,918.98, or $10,999.30 more than in the decade 1884-1893 ($36,919.68), although
1 Rev. Edwin N. Fletcher, although not born in Maine, should be mentioned here. He was born at Newton Center, Mass., April 23, 1866 (Colgate, 1886, Hamilton Theological Seminary, 1892), and went to China in 1892. Returning to this country in 1895, he served the church in Fairfield as pastor. In 1898 he returned to China, and died near Ningpo, July 14, 1899.
405
HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
in this latter decade occurred the missionary jubilee offer- ing, it is equally worthy of note that the contributions in the decade 1874-1883 amounted to $48,513.92, or $594.94 more than in the decade 1894-1903. This, however is to be remembered, that the Woman's Foreign Missionary Soci- ety began to receive contributions from the women of the churches in 1872. The amount received in that year from Maine was $199.86. In 1873 it was $1,114.63. The contri- butions from the same source since that time, arranged in decades, are as follows :
1874,
$1,716.29
1884,
$2,259.56
1894,
$2,932.97
1875,
1,970.10
1885,
3,534.81
1895,
2,990.26
1876,
2,022.78
1886,
2,718.66
1896,
3,507.84
1877,
1,963.54
1887,
2,541.22
1897,
3,344.72
1878,
1,883.32
1888,
2,898.31
1898,
2,778.27
1879,
1,774.49
1889,
2,823.23
1899,
2,414.06
1880,
2,143.70
1890,
3,302.91
1900,
2,464.41
1881,
1,913.75
1891,
3,203.44
1901,
3,688.58
1882,
2,066.83
1892,
3,301.70
1902,
2,457.10
1883,
2,085.52
1893,
4,683.19
1903,
2,993.21
$19,540.32
$31,267.03
$29,571.42
If the contributions received from Maine by the Wom- an's Baptist Foreign Missionary Society are added to those received from Maine by the American Baptist Missionary Union we shall have the following totals :
1874-1883.
1884-1893,
1894-1903.
$48,513.92
$36,919.68
$47,918.98
19,540.32
31,267.03
29,571.42
$68,054.24
$68,186.71
$77,490.40
Y.
The amount received in this last decade under review shows a gratifying increase in the contributions for for- eign missions made by our Maine Baptist churches. Espe- cially is this increase gratifying as it occurs in a period which has been marked by a wider and deeper interest in the work of the Maine Baptist Missionary Convention, and in that of the American Baptist Home Mission Society.
CHAPTER XXV.
THE BAPTISTS OF MAINE AND HOME MISSIONS.
Concerning home mission work the Baptists of Maine have not been unmindful. Even in the early period there was work beyond the boundaries of the district as Rev. John Tripp made his way to the scattered settlements in northern New Hampshire, as Rev. Phinehas Pilsbury vis- ited Vermont, Upper Canada, and the northern part of New York, and as Rev. Isaac Case, fired by missionary zeal, carried the gospel message across the border into New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
But Maine has had a part in the work of our Ameri- can Baptist Home Mission Society. Maine Baptists were represented at the organization of the Home Mission Soci- ety in New York in April, 1832. Gen. Alford Richard- son, of the First Baptist church in Portland, was at the head of the list of vice presidents; and at the head of the list of directors stands the name of Jeremiah Chap- lin, D. D., president of Waterville College. The first mis- sionary appointment of the Society, made May 11, 1832, was given to Rev. Thomas W. Merrill, a son of Rev. Daniel Merrill of Sedgwick. Mr. Merrill was born in Sedgwick, Feb. 18, 1802, was graduated at Waterville College in 1825 and Newton Theological Institution in 1828. After his graduation, Mr. Merrill was a professor one year in the New Hampton Literary and Theological Institution at New Hampton, N. H. But the missionary spirit was strong in the man, and in the autumn of 1829 he made his way to Michigan, then a territory. It was his pur- pose, as he wrote, "to promote the intellectual as well as moral advancement of the people of the territory of Mich- igan." At first he devoted himself to teaching, opening
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HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS 'IN MAINE.
a classical school at Ann Arbor, and with him was asso- ciated his brother, Moses Merrill. It is said that this clas- sical school, which received considerable patronage from Detroit and other places, was the foundation of the Uni- versity of Michigan. In the following year, with larger educational purposes in view, Mr. Merrill visited various parts of the territory seeking signers to a petition asking the Legislature to charter a literary institution to be des- ignated the Michigan and Huron Institute, and to be under Baptist control. Meanwhile he was urged to take charge of an incorporated academy at Ann Arbor ; but Mr. Mer- rill was unwilling to dismiss his denominational aims and hopes, and located at Prairie Ronde, with the aid of whose first settlers he erected a building for educational and reli- gious purposes, which was occupied for those uses as early as the winter of 1830-31. Mr. Merrill was ordained at Detroit, Mich., Feb. 6, 1831, and devoted much of his time to missionary work in new communities and as opportu- nity offered. Later, in 1831, he returned to the East and solicited aid in the State of New York for the proposed Huron and Michigan Institute. At the Baptist Conven- tion of that State he received an endorsement of his plans and purposes from such men as Elon Galusha, Archibald Maclay, Jonathan Going and B. T. Welch. Returning to Michigan, Mr. Merrill, with the help of able assistants, secured from the Legislature an act incorporating the Michigan and Huron Institute, and the act was approved by the governor April 22, 1833. The charter did not locate the institute, but in the autumn of 1835, the question as to location was decided in favor of Kalamazoo. In Febru- ary, 1855, the charter of the institute was amended, so as to give the institution collegiate powers, and the name was changed to Kalamazoo College. Mr. Merrill died in Lansing, Mich., April 8, 1878, aged seventy-six years. In the provisions of his will he gave proof of his continued interest in Kalamazoo College, and ten thousand dollars came into the possession of the college from the bequest which he made.
408
HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
Mr. Moses Merrill, a younger son of Rev. Daniel Mer- rill, accompanied his brother, Thomas W. Merrill, to Michigan. While engaged in teaching, he preached as opportunity offered, and in February, 1830, he devoted himself to theological study, having in view mission work among the Indians. Having married, June 1, 1830, Miss Eliza Wilcox, he removed in the spring of 1831 to English Prarie, Ind. Correspondence with the General Missionary Convention of the Baptist Denomination in the United States for Foreign Missions, which had established mis- sions among the Indians of our own country, led to the appointment of Mr. and Mrs. Merrill as missionaries at Sault St. Marie. Before proceeding to this field of labor they spent a part of the summer of 1832 in Sedgwick, Maine, and the ordination of Mr. Merrill occurred at this time. Mr. and Mrs. Merrill reached Sault St. Marie, on their return to the West, September 20th. It was the expectation of the board that they would find their field of labor among the Chippewa Indians at the head of Lake Superior, but before the arrival of spring the plan was changed, and they were assigned to service at the Shawanoe mission in Missouri. After a brief residence in Missouri, however, they moved on to Bellevue, Indian Territory, and the first white settlement in what is now the State of Nebraska. Here Mr. and Mrs. Merrill entered upon missionary labor among the Otoe Indians. Mrs. Merrill, Nov. 25, 1835, opened at Bellevue the first school in Nebraska, her scholars being mostly Otoe Indian chil- dren and half breeds. Mr. Merrill devoted himself to preaching, at first through an Indian interpreter. Build- ings for mission purposes were erected near the Otoe village. As an aid in his mission work, Mr. Merrill, with the assistance of Louis Dorion, his interpreter, made a translation of Lieberkuhn's History of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ into the language of the Otoe, Iowa and Missouri Indians. This was published in June, 1837. But Mr. Merrill was not long permitted to engage in this service to which he had devoted himself with such
FIRST CHURCH, SKOWHEGAN.
409
HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
entire consecration. He was stricken with consumption, which rapidly developed, and he died Feb. 6, 1840. His last words were an expression of the wish that someone might be sent to take his place and lead the Indians to Christ. The Otoes knew him as "The-one-who-always- speaks-the-truth."1
At the Kennebec Association in Farmington, in 1836, it was "Resolved, That we view with deep interest the object of the American Baptist Home Mission Society in relation to the valley of the Mississippi." In 1838, the association held its annual meeting in Industry. Among those present was Miss Fidelia Coburn,2 a sister of the late ex-Gov. Abner Coburn. Dea. Heman Lincoln of Bos- ton, treasurer of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions, and the first president of the American Baptist Home Mis- sion Society, was there to represent the interests of the Society. Rev. Sylvanus Boardman was moderator of the association, and preached the introductory sermon. Dea- con Lincoln addressed the association with reference to foreign missions. Miss Coburn was deeply interested in this address. She was an officer in a foreign mission society in her own church, and she regarded it as a privi- lege that on the return of the delegates from the asso- ciation, she had the pleasure of again hearing Deacon Lincoln in her own church at Bloomfield, now Skowhegan.
In 1839, Miss Coburn had a long and severe illness, which confined her to her bed seven months. During this time she came to the determination that if her life was
1 Rev. S. P. Merrill, D. D., formerly pastor of the Baptist church in Waterville, and a son of Rev. Moses Merrill, was born at Bellevue, while his parents were residing there. He was the first white child born in Nebraska, whose name and date of birth are definitely known. His mother spent her last years with this son, and is remembered in Water- ville and Biddeford, where Rev. S. P. Merrill had pastorates. She died in Rochester, N. Y., Nov. 12, 1882. Rev. S. P. Merrill has the only copy of the original edition of his father's translation of the History of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. In memory of the missionary service which his father and mother performed among the Indians in Nebraska, Dr. Merrill has reprinted this translation page for page. On the title page of the original work Mr. Merrill designates himself a "Missionary of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions," and this was correct; but it seemed best to record his missionary service in this chapter devoted to home mission work performed by Maine Baptists.
2 Fidelia Coburn was the oldest daughter of Eleazer and Mary (Weston) Coburn, and was born at Bloomfield, Feb. 2, 1805.
410
HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
spared she would devote it to some definite Christian work. It was to carry out this determination that, in the summer of 1842, she went to Queen's Bush, Canada, as a missionary to the fugitive slaves who had made their way across the border. Queen's Bush was the name given to a tract of country several hundreds of miles in extent north of Lake Erie and the terminus of the various lines of the underground railroad running through Ohio. It was at that time almost an unbroken wilderness. Fidelia Coburn was one of the pioneers in mission work among the refugees in the Bush, and was there nearly eight years in all, making a few brief summer visits to Maine. The first two years she spent at Dawn settlement, with Rev. Hiram Wilson and wife. Then she went to a new settlement, where for some years she was alone. The story of her life there, and of the hardships and priva- tions she endured, as gathered from her letters, is most thrilling. By sharing the sufferings and labors of the colored people she succeeded in winning the affection and confidence of those whom oppression had rendered suspi- cious. The poor fugitives arrived in Canada in a condi- tion of utter destitution and great ignorance. Their most pressing needs were relieved, and they were taught as far as possible to help themselves. Both adults and children were gathered into schools. It was soon found that the most promising work was with the children. Miss Coburn had from a dozen to twenty of these in her own family. The school she organized took the name of Mount Hope Mission School, and was in the town of Waterloo, Wel- lington District, C. W. Oct. 6, 1847, Fidelia Coburn was married to Rev. John S. Brooks, formerly of Duxbury, Mass., who had already been two years in the Bush.
The Canadian mission work was undenominational. It was under the charge of a committee, and was sup- ported by friends of the anti-slavery movement in all the churches. Collections were made for it in England, and in the different northern States. Mrs. Brooks' work was supported in large part by her own means, with gifts from
411
HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
members of her family and personal friends. Friends of the cause in the Maine churches sent her contributions of money and barrels of clothing and supplies. In one letter she acknowledges the receipt of barrels from Bloomfield, Hallowell, Winthrop and New Sharon. She erected her own house and schoolhouse.
At a conference held in 1848, at which the different sta- tions in the Bush were represented, it was decided that such of the schools as had not been taken by the Canadian government should be affiliated with some missionary soci- ety. Mount Hope Mission School was taken by the Amer- ican Missionary Association, and the school property was transferred to it by Mr. and Mrs. Brooks. In 1849, on account of changes at the settlement, many settlers hav- ing sold their farms and moved away, the school became reduced so that it could be left with the assistant. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks, therefore, decided to leave, and offered themselves to the American Missionary Association to be sent to Africa.
They were assigned to the Mendi mission, a mission to wild tribes in West Africa, which had been founded a few years before as the result of the shipwreck, upon Long Island, of a slaver containing people of the tribes. The slaves were declared free by the United States courts, and some of them were carried back to Africa, accompanied by white missionaries, to make a mission settlement among their own people. One of the shipwrecked girls, who had been educated in the United States, went back with Mrs. Brooks. The Mendi mission came under the care of the American Missionary Association at the organization of the latter, and remained so until 1885, when it was trans- ferred to the United Brethren.
Mr. and Mrs. Brooks sailed Nov. 2, 1849, and landed at Freetown, Sierra Leone, Dec. 14, 1849. Mrs. Brooks was sick with a high fever during the entire voyage, but ral- lied upon landing. When, however, the missionary party re-embarked to go up the York river to the mission, she
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