USA > Maine > History of the Baptists in Maine > Part 36
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HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
was again taken with fever, and died at York, Sierra Leone, Jan. 11, 1850.
Mrs. Brooks was a devoted Christian woman, deeply religious, and truly consecrated to Christian service. She gave the best years of her life to work for the fugitive slaves, and was one of Africa's early missionary martyrs. In the fourth annual report of the American Missionary Association, this noble tribute is paid to the memory of Fidelia Coburn Brooks : "Before her departure from this country, she had greatly won upon the friends of human- ity by her self-denying and arduous labors, in which she had freely expended a large part of the property she had inherited. Before she left her native land, she made over to the Association the whole of what remained, valued at over $1,000, reserving to herself only a sufficient sum to procure a decent outfit for Africa. She possessed a sound mind in a naturally vigorous body, weakened, however, more than she supposed by her hardships in Canada, and had in a remarkable degree consecrated herself to the cause of Christ, as a missionary among the people of color, which was her chosen field. Her experience, sound judg- ment, and devotedness inspired the committee with a very strong persuasion that her services would be invaluable to this mission. But God has otherwise ordered. In his inscrutable providence, although she was permitted to see the hills of Africa, to step upon that vast continent, and to converse with some of the native inhabitants, she was not granted the indulgence of her long-cherished desire, a participation in the active labors of the mission. She was soon cut down. With her dying breath she rejoiced that she had been allowed to see Africa, there breathe out her prayers for the conversion of its inhabitants, and bear her dying testimony to the excellence of the missionary cause."
As the work of the American Baptist Home Mission Society broadened with the growth of the country, the interest of the Baptists in Maine, as in all of the eastern States, was increasingly enlisted, especially as immigra-
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HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
tion brought to our shores from the old world foreigners of various nationalities, and largely Roman Catholics. The opening of new territories, soon to become States, also attracted eastern people westward, and there was need of workers in gathering and organizing churches and in building church edifices. Then, at the close of the Civil War, work in behalf of the freedmen appealed strongly to those who had been interested in the welfare of the slaves in earlier days.
To this work among the freedmen Rev. G. M. P. King, a native of Oxford, Me., and a graduate of Waterville College in 1857, early devoted himself. At the close of the Civil War, while pastor at East Providence, R. I., he was serving on the Christian Commission, and entered Richmond, Va., with the Union army, April 3, 1865. At once he was impressed with the importance of educa- tional work in behalf of the freedmen, and resigning his pastorate he devoted himself for two years to the work of teaching freedmen in Richmond.
In 1867, he became principal of the National Theologi- cal Institute in Washington, D. C. Among the students were colored preachers who could read only certain chap- ters in the Bible, could not write their names, yet they knew their deficiencies and desired help in securing edu- cational training.
The year 1868 found the school in more desirable quar- ters on Judiciary Square. The building was a war-time barrack, with two rooms poorly equipped, and with many discomforts. An assistant was employed, classes were formed with more care, and plans were arranged for care- ful work. A class of young women was admitted, and before the close of the year the school was well organized.
At the close of 1868, the institute was united with Wayland Seminary, an institution organized in 1867 by the American Baptist Home Mission Society, in connec- tion with the labors of teachers who were appointed for educational work among the freedmen. Dr. King was now made president of the seminary. One of Dr. King's
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HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
assistants was Miss Mary A. Howe, who was a native of Dexter, Maine. Her father died when she was six years of age, and she knew what it was to endure hardness in securing her education. Miss Howe went to Richmond, Va., in 1865, and gathered a school of six hundred pupils in the old First African church. She was in charge of this school two years, and attracted much attention by her skill in molding the material thus acquired. There are strong men, filling places of responsibility to-day, who were trained by Miss Howe in those two eventful years. Gov- ernor Coburn, in whose household Miss Howe had found a home before entering upon this service, visited Richmond and made an examination of Miss Howe's school. It was in this way that he was made acquainted with work in behalf of the freedmen, and discovered its possibilities. Later Miss Howe took charge of a school for poor whites in Wilmington, N. C. At the close of her year in Wil- mington she began her work in Washington. But the work proved too much for Miss Howe's delicate nervous condition. She died March 31, 1871, and was brought back to her native State for burial from the Coburn home in Showhegan.
There were accommodations at Wayland Seminary at this time for about one hundred and fifty students, but it was not long before the need of more room was impera- tive, and efforts were made by President King and friends of the seminary to secure funds for the purchase of a new location, and for the erection of suitable buildings. In 1871, a new site, on Meridian Hill, in the northern part of Washington, was purchased at a cost of $3,375, and work on the seminary building was commenced in the autumn of 1873. Though only partially finished, the building was occupied in the autumn of 1874. During these two years Dr. King's time was divided between his duties at the seminary and work in raising funds.
At the close of the seminary year for 1875, it occurred to Dr. King that with four students giving "Evenings with Wayland Seminary," he might interest in a greater degree
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HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
friends of the seminary in the building enterprise. Dr. King and his students commenced their work in Wash- ington. Then they worked their way to Philadelphia, Elmira, Buffalo, N. Y., Cleveland, Ohio, Detroit, Mich., then back through New York into New England. From the larger towns they moved out into the villages. Maine helped generously. In this way about $4,000 were secured toward plastering and finishing the building. When com- pleted the building had cost about $20,000.
The next year the seminary entered its new home. The number of teachers was increased and the course of study advanced. Friends and Sunday-schools in Maine supported students and aided in furnishing rooms in the seminary. Many of these rooms bore the names of men and women known and honored in Maine and beyond the boundaries of the State. Students now came to the semi- nary in increasing numbers from all parts of the South.
More room was soon needed, especially for the accom- modation of young women. In 1881, Hon. R. O. Fuller and wife of Cambridge, Mass., visited the school. While they were there Dr. King remarked that an addition to the main building for the young women was greatly needed. Before they left Mr. Fuller said to his wife, "And so you would like to have a Parker Hall added to this building in memory of your mother." Mrs. Fuller assented, and Mr. Fuller said to Dr. King, "I will give one thousand dollars toward the addition." This was the beginning of the movement for the erection of the young women's dormi- tory, which, including furnishings, cost $12,541. It was dedicated Feb. 22, 1882. At this time there were con- nected with the seminary one hundred and ten students and ten teachers.
The seminary continued to prosper. At length it became evident that the buildings would no longer accommodate those who desired to avail themselves of the advantages of the seminary. A new location, with larger grounds, was sought. Dr. King thought he had found a favorable site, but plans were now in contemplation by the Home
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HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
Mission Society which made it desirable to unite the sem- inary with the Richmond Theological Institute at Rich- mond, Va. This was in 1898. It was a disappointment to Dr. King that the work in Washington, which he had prosecuted with so much success, should be brought to a close, and this and the illness of his wife led him to ask to be relieved of the presidency which he had held so long, and with so much honor to himself and the Society. This . request was granted, but in 1900, after the Virginia Union University had entered upon its new and prosperous era, Dr. King was invited to resume his connection with the work by taking charge of the English department, and by accepting a position in the theological department. This invitation he accepted, and in this new work Dr. King is still devoting himself with old-time interest and efficiency to the advancement of the colored people of the South.
During the most of these busy years Dr. King had the constant help of his cultured wife, who, as long as her health and strength permitted, was one of his most effi- cient helpers. She loved to do good, and she had her part in the splendid achievements of Wayland Seminary.
Among the teachers in Wayland Seminary who came from Maine were Miss Lizzie R. Webb of Skowhegan and Mr. Albert M. Richardson of Hebron, both of whom were valuable assistants, serving two years each. Mr. Richard- son was a graduate of Colby, class of 1886, and another graduate of Colby, Dr. J. B. Simpson, is one of the most useful and efficient men connected with the Virginia Union University.
Gov. Abner Coburn of Skowhegan was a generous friend of Wayland Seminary for several years before his death, and in his will he bequeathed fifty thousand dollars to the seminary in memory of his deceased sister, "Fidelia C. Brooks, late missionary to Africa, and Mary A. Howe, late teacher in the seminary." In the new Virginia Univer- sity in Richmond, Va., the memory of this generous gift of Governor Coburn is perpetuated in the fine library building, which is known as Coburn Hall.
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HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
Mrs. C. B. Davis Thayer of Paris, Maine, was another generous friend of Wayland Seminary. An alcove in the library bears the name of C. B. Davis, the beloved pastor of the church on Paris Hill.
One who has been prominently identified with the edu- cational work of the American Baptist Home Mission Soci- ety, Charles F. Meserve, LL. D., is not a native of Maine, but of North Abington, Mass., yet he is a graduate of Colby, class of 1877, and his first wife, Abbie Mary Whit- tier, was a daughter of David and Mary Whittier (Mary Whittier was a twin sister of the late Rev. J. Ricker, D. D.) of Bangor, while the present Mrs. Meserve is a daughter of the late Dea. John N. Philbrick of Waterville. Dr. Meserve is accordingly so closely indentified with Maine that mention very properly may be made of his service in connection with the service of those from the State of Maine who have had a part in the work of the American Baptist Home Mission Society.
Having served as principal of the High School in Rock- land, Mass., 1877-85, and of the Oak St. School, Spring- field, Mass., 1885-89, Dr. Meserve resigned to accept the superintendency of Haskell Institute, Lawrence, Kan., the largest United States Indian industrial training school in the West. Although a government school, this was a good field for home missionary work. The school had a corps of fifty teachers and employes and five hundred Indian boys and girls, representing more than thirty different tribes from nearly all of the western States and Territories.
The work done was of the most practical nature. The children of the prairie and the forest needed to be instructed in morality, in religion, in the acquisition of an English education and the learning of trades. Half of each day was devoted to work in the school-rooms and the other half to work on the farm, in the garden and the various shops, in which all of the usual industries were carried on. There were a Y. M. C. A. and a Sunday- school connected with the institution, and voluntary reli-
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HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
gious meetings were held. The Indian boys and girls were encouraged to attend the churches in the city of Lawrence, which was near by, and large numbers of them did so, and some were admitted to membership. During the five years of his superintendence substantial progress was made in raising the moral, the religious, the industrial and the intellectual atmosphere of the institution.
Mr. Meserve served as superintendent of Haskell Insti- tute until 1894. He was then invited to become presi- dent of Shaw University, at Raleigh, N. C., one of the large schools supported in the South by the American Bap- tist Home Mission Society. Reluctant to leave his work at Haskell Institute, he at first declined to consider the question of change; but after making a trip to Raleigh, and having looked over the field and seen its great needs and great opportunities, he resigned and entered upon his work at Shaw University in March, 1894.
The ten years of his presidency at Shaw University have been years characterized by constant and earnest service. A large portion of the summers has been spent in the North, directing the correspondence of the institu- tion, addressing associations and churches and meeting individuals in the interest of the work. Through various stages of growth Shaw University has developed into an institution with an enrollment of five hundred students. The institution has industrial departments for young men and young women, in charge of trained instructors, with the most approved modern methods. There are also nor- mal, college and missionary training departments, as well as departments of law, medicine, pharmacy, theology and music, and recently there has been added a well-equipped and up-to-date cooking school. Dr. Meserve has asso- ciated with him in his teaching force Miss Ida J. Brown of Bangor, Miss Emily C. Ayer, a native of Maine, daugh- ter of the late President Ayer of Jackson College, Jack- son, Miss., as financial secretary, Miss Jennie M. Linton of Houlton, and Rev. S. P. Merrill, D. D., formerly pas- tor of the Baptist church in Waterville, as corresponding
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secretary. Miss Alice M. Emerson of Oakland, Me., is superintendent of the hospital and assists in office work.
June 25, 1879, in connection with the anniversaries in Bangor, a Woman's Maine Baptist Home Mission Society, auxiliary to the Woman's American Baptist Home Mis- sion Society in Boston, was organized, with Mrs. W. G. Sargent of Sargentville as president, Mrs. S. G. Sargent of Augusta as recording secretary and Mrs. J. Ricker of Augusta as treasurer. In 1881, Mrs. Anna Sargent Hunt of Augusta was made State vice president of the Woman's American Baptist Home Mission Society. She immedi- ately placed herself in communication with the women of our Baptist churches in Maine, and the children of the Sunday-schools, with a view to the organization of wom- en's societies and mission bands.1 Associational directors were appointed, and in various ways the interests of the Society in the State were promoted. Mrs. Hunt has been prominently identified with the work from that time. Since 1882 she has filled the office of general vice presi- dent. Mrs. Elizabeth H. Bonney of Portland, especially through her connection with the board at Boston, has also been prominently identified with the Society's work. As the work broadened two vice presidents for Maine were appointed, one for the eastern and one for the western part of the State.
At the meeting of the Society held in Skowhegan, Oct. 4, 1881, the members of the Free St. society, Portland, reported that for two years they had carried on home work in connection with their foreign work. More and more the women in our churches have made like combina- tions, and for many years their meetings in connection with our anniversaries have been alike in the interest of home and foreign missions.
The following are the receipts of the Woman's Ameri- can Baptist Home Mission Society from Maine :
1 In February, 1877, Mrs. S. G. Sargent at Augusta organized a Foreign Mission Band. In 1882 the home interests were included, and the little "Busy Bees" are now known as the "Sargent Mission Band" of Augusta-the oldest in the State.
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HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
1880,
$ 26.00
1892,
$2,919.12
1881,
150.25
1893,
2,598.63
1882,
731.40
1894,
2,296.46
1883,
1,514.15
1895,
2,512.92
1884,
1,518.40
1896,
2,402.66
1885,
1,648.51
1897,
2,562.98
1886,
1,696.27
1898,
2,120.25
1887,
2,235.96
1899,
2,050.29
1888,
2,063.92
1900,
2,627.93
1889,
2,353.81
1901,
1,874.49
1890,
2,552.94
1902,
2,540.50
1891,
2,572.63
1903,
2,166.01
Total,
$47,736.48
In the Alaska orphanage the women in our Maine churches have had a special interest from the fact that Mrs. McWhinnie, the wife of a former pastor of the Free St. church, Portland, is superintendent of Alaska work. The receipts for the orphanage from the women in our Maine churches have been as follows :1
1891,
$569.33
1898,
$445.72
1892,
617.40
1899,
498.33
1893,
346.71
1900,
918.03
1894,
485.97
1901,
433.96
1895,
506.97
1902,
603.07
1896,
439.15
1903,
460.74
1897,
409.90
Total,
$6,735.28
1 Receipts of the American Baptist Home Mission Society from the Baptists of Maine will be found in the Appendix.
€
JAMES H. HANSON, LL. D.
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE ACADEMIES.
Plans for the enlargement of the number of students at Colby University occupied the attention of Dr. Champlin in the last years of his presidency. For a long time he had been impressed with the value to the college of the Waterville Classical Institute, then under the principal- ship of Dr. James H. Hanson. With suitable financial resources, the institute, Dr. Champlin believed, could be made much more valuable to the college, and at the meet- ing of the Maine Baptist Education Society at Bath, June 19, 1872, he suggested the importance of raising $50,000 for an endowment of the institute. The suggestion was received with favor, and it was voted that it was expe- dient to raise such a sum for this purpose. At the meet- ing of the Society in the following year the matter was again presented, and a committee was appointed for the purpose of bringing the matter before the trustees of Colby. This was done, and the Colby trustees referred the matter to a committee. April 4, 1874, Hon. Abner Coburn, chairman of the board of trustees, addressed a letter to Dr. Hanson, principal of the institute, offering to give $50,000 to the institute as an endowment provided $50,000 more should be raised to endow two other insti- tutions of similar character, one in the eastern part of the State, and the other in the western, and that at least $40,000 of the amount subscribed by him should be set apart and kept as a permanent fund, the interest only to be used annually forever.
This offer was accepted by the trustees of Colby Uni- versity. Hebron and Houlton academies were selected as the other two institutions to be benefited by the move-
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HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
ment, and Rev. A. R. Crane, then pastor of the Baptist church in Hallowell, was appointed financial agent to raise the money required to meet Governor Coburn's offer.
At the annual meeting of the trustees of Colby, in June, 1877, a plan for the re-organization of the three acade- mies, devised by Dr. Champlin, was adopted, and the Waterville Classical Institute and Hebron and Houlton Academies were affiliated with Colby University. Of the three academies Hebron was the oldest. The facts with reference to its beginnings have already been presented. A principal's home was erected in 1829. During the agi- tation with reference to the establishment of a theological institution in Maine, in 1837, the superintending committee was authorized to correspond with the board of the Bap- tist Theological Association with reference to the estab- lishment of such an institution in connection with Hebron Academy ; but Thomaston was finally selected as the loca- tion of the new theological school. In 1845, it was decided to erect a new building for the academy. This was done, and the building was ready for occupancy in the fall term of 1847.
In a quiet way the academy thus far had carried on its work. It had been served by faithful teachers, and among its graduates were men who had won distinction in the various walks of life. Familiar names among the principals from 1847 are those of George G. Fairbanks, A. K. P. Small, Mark H. Dunnell, Charles J. Prescott, Joseph F. Elder, A. C. Herrick, and John F. Moody ;1 while among Hebron students are found the names of Seba Smith, Henry Bond, Adam Wilson, Elijah Hamlin, John B. Brown, St. John Smith, Henry B. Smith, Wil- liam Pitt Fessenden, Hannibal Hamlin, John D. Long and Eugene Hale.
But a new era in the history of the institution opened with the movement in 1874 to endow three preparatory schools to be affiliated with Colby University. The real
1 A full list of the preceptors at Hebron, prepared by Judge Bonney. is given in the Hebron Semester for November, 1891.
B. F. STURTEVANT.
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HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
estate of Hebron Academy at that time consisted of about fifteen acres of land, on which was located an acad- emy building of brick, with two recitation rooms, without desks, and two other small rooms, 8x12. There were also on the grounds a chapel, erected in 1867, and a boarding house, erected in 1827, the whole property having an esti- mated value of not more than $5,000.
Dr. Crane, in his endowment effort, secured about $40,000 of the amount required to meet Governor Coburn's condi- tional offer. On account of a period of financial stringency in the country, however, the completion of the undertaking was delayed. At length brighter days dawned. In 1882, a committee, consisting of President Pepper, Rev. A. R. Crane and Judge Bonney, was appointed by the trustees of the college to raise the amount necessary in order to complete the endowment subscription. Subsequently Dr. Ricker was added to the committee. A generous gift from Hon. E. C. Fitz of Boston was an encouragement to the committee, and the full amount was now soon obtained.1
In 1885, Mr. W. E. Sargent became principal of the academy, another gift, but a gift whose value cannot be estimated. It was soon evident that larger accommo- dations must be provided for the increasing number of students. Mr. Sargent presented the needs of a new academy building to the trustees of Colby at their annual meeting in 1886. Soon after, Mr. B. F. Sturtevant of Jamaica Plain, Mass., who as a member of the board heard Mr. Sargent's plea and was deeply impressed by it, shortly after offered to give the academy $10,000 toward the erection of a new building provided the friends of the academy would raise $30,000 in addition. Rev. C. M. Emery was appointed financial agent of the academy
1 In 1875, while Dr. Crane was soliciting subscriptions to the academy endowment fund, he interviewed, among others, David Anderson and his wife, Nancy Anderson, of Liver- more Falls. As a result of that interview wills were made by which the entire property of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson should go to Hebron Academy. If the property amounted to less than $10,000 at the death of the survivor, it was to accumulate until that amount was reached. Mrs. Anderson died in 1883, and David Anderson Sept. 20, 1885. In 1890, the academy received the $10,000, now known as the Anderson Fund.
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HISTORY OF THE BAPTISTS IN MAINE.
and commenced his work in April, 1887. In this effort Mr. Emery had the untiring assistance of Hon. Percival Bonney of Portland, a graduate of Hebron, and enthusias- tically devoted to all its interests. In an address before the Boston Social Union in 1889, Judge Bonney presented the claims of Hebron in a forceful address. About $15,000 were then needed to meet Mr. Sturtevant's conditional offer. That sum and more was secured. Including Mr. Sturtevant's $10,000, the total amount of cash actually paid in was about $48,000. Additional land for the acad- emy was acquired by purchase, and also about four acres were donated by Mr. Edward S. Dunham, a member of the board of trustees. An academy building, since known as Sturtevant Hall, was erected at a cost of about $30,000. A house for the principal was also erected at a cost of about $5,000. A swamp in front of the academy build- ing was drained, the grounds graded, and a system of sewerage was established at a cost of about $4,000. At the same time an appropriation of $1,500 was made to the Baptist church in Hebron, to aid in the enlargement of the church edifice, the academy to have the free use of the same for public purposes. After meeting these various expenditures, the academy had $5,000 remaining, which was added to the Hebron endowment fund in the hands of the college.
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