USA > Rhode Island > Memorial encyclopedia of the state of Rhode Island > Part 35
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The Episcopal church during the past fifty years in the country might claim among its ministers some of the most forceful and capable of person- alities, men whose great personal vigor would have made them great leaders in any walk of life, men whose complete devotion to their great calling was evidenced by every act of their careers. A critic of this quality might well feel abashed at being confronted by a man, let us say, of Bishop Brooks' tre- mendous vitality, or not less so by the vivid personality, the trenchant intel- lect and indefatigable zeal of such a man as the Rt. Rev. William Neilson Mc Vickar, late bishop of Rhode Island.
Bishop McVickar, whose death on June 28, 1910, was a severe loss not only to the entire diocese over which he had so long presided, but to the whole Protestant Episcopal Church in America, was descended from a race long celebrated for their dominant strength of character-the hardy people of Northern Ireland-and inherited from his forebears many of the ster- ling virtues that characterized them. His great-grandfather, John Mc- Vickar, came from that region to the United States in the latter part of the eighteenth century, and settled in New York City, where he was prominent in the life of the community, a well known philanthropist, and a vestryman of Trinity Church. It is said that so great was his reputation for charity that his associates were in the habit of asking "Who has McVickar helped to-day?" His wife was Anna Moore, of Newtown, Long Island, a daughter of John Moore, of that place. The next generation was represented by James Mc Vickar, their son, who, like his father, was a successful merchant in New York City. He was married to Miss Eweretta Constable, of New York City, and it was their son, Dr. John A. Mc Vickar, of New York City, who was the father of Bishop Mc Vickar.
William Neilson Mc Vickar was born October 19, 1843, a son of Dr. John
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A. and Charlotte (Neilson) McVickar, who had three other children-Susan N., who married P. L. Mills, of New York, and afterwards of Ruddington Hall, Nottinghamshire, England; Eweretta C., and James. During his child- hood and youth, Bishop McVickar remained in the city of his birth and there received his education, attending first an excellent private school, where he prepared himself for college, and then becoming a student at Columbia University, from which he graduated with the class of 1865, taking many of the class honors, and with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and entered the Philadelphia Divinity School in the autumn of the same year. He remained there a year and then returned to New York City, where he entered the General Theological Seminary. He was made a deacon in 1867, and was graduated in 1868, when he became an assistant to the Rev. Dr. Stephen H. Tyng, of St. George's Church, the same year receiving the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Columbia. He was ordained to the priesthood in the month of July in the same year, and was elected rector of the newly formed parish of Holy Trinity in Harlem, becoming its first rector. At first there was no church building there, and his services were conducted in a hall with a congregation that sometimes did not number more than eight or ten persons. Under the guidance of their new rector, however, the congregation grew with great rapidity, and the parish pros- pered so greatly that when he left it only seven years later, there was a large church and Sunday school building on the corner of Fifth avenue and One Hundred and Twenty-fifth street. While rector of this parish he was offered a tutorship in Columbia University by President Barnard, but declined. He had been called to St. Paul's Church in Boston in 1873, but had declined, so interested was he in his charge; but in 1875 he accepted a call to Holy Trin- ity, Philadelphia. He remained in Philadelphia for twenty-two years as rector of this church, but, besides attending to the affairs of the parish, he made himself prominent in diocesan affairs generally and became a well known figure in the church. In 1883 he was appointed a deputy to the gen- eral convention, a post he held until elected bishop. He was a member of the board of managers of the Deaf and Dumb Institution of Pennsylvania; a trustee of the diocese; a member of the board of overseers of the Philadel- phia Divinity School; a member of the board of managers of the Episcopal Hospital; and a member of the board of managers of the General Board of Missions.
It was on October 27, 1897, at the convention of the diocese of Rhode Island, that Bishop McVickar was chosen co-adjutor bishop of that diocese, of which Bishop Clark was then in charge. He was consecrated in the Church of the Holy Trinity at Philadelphia, and on the death of Bishop Clark, September 5, 1903, became full bishop of Rhode Island. It would be difficult to overstate the value of Bishop McVickar's services to the diocese that he presided over, for, what with his great earnestness and unusual natural energy, there was scarcely a movement of any kind undertaken for the good of church or community of which he was not the head and front. How greatly he was appreciated throughout the country on account of his scholarship may be seen in the degrees that were bestowed upon him from
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many sources. The degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him in 1885 by Kenyon College, Ohio, and in 1898 the same degree by the Univer- sity of Pennsylvania. In the same year his old college, Columbia, conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology, and in 1904 he received the degree of Doctor of Laws from Brown University.
Perhaps the way to gain the most adequate impression of the place occupied by Bishop Mc Vickar in the community is to examine the multitude of tributes paid him by his associates and the press over the country at the time of his death. It would seem to be the most appropriate manner of ending this brief appreciation to quote from those who were personally acquainted with him and whose words have therefore an authority greater than those of others. Among the most important of these utterances were the resolutions passed by various bodies, religious and otherwise, and it is appropriate to open these with that of the diocesan committee, which read as follows :
The standing committee of the Diocese of Rhode Island is again mysteriously called upon, after a brief interval of less than seven years, to make, in the recess of the con- vention, official announcement of the death of its Bishop, and to bear witness to the profound grief of the diocese in the loss of its beloved head.
The Right Reverend William Neilson McVickar, D. D., LL. D., consecrated January 27, 1898. as Bishop Coadjutor, since September 7, 1903, third Bishop of Rhode Island, rested from his labors at Beverly, Massachusetts, on June 28, 1910. The life thus closed on earth has been one of manifest grace and power. Called from a wide and conspicuous field of parochial experience to the exalted station of the episcopate, Dr. McVickar was amply and eminently prepared to maintain the work and traditions of one of the oldest dioceses of the American Church. He proved an efficient and congenial helpmate to the venerable Bishop Clark through the closing years of the life of that great prelate, whose mantle fell upon his coadjutor as upon a worthy successor.
The fame of Rhode Island under the brilliant chieftainship of Bishop Clark had become fair and far-reaching, and it suffered no eclipse nor wane under Bishop McVickar, who entered at once into the spirit and interests of the Commonwealth and of the Diocese. He won rapidly popular respect and affection on every side, until as he passes from us it is not too much to say he was our first citizen.
In the councils of the Church both in the United States and in England, he was eloquent and forceful. In the great causes of evangelization, philanthropy and social reform, he was a recognized leader whose advice and advocacy were eagerly sought. In the Board of Missions, and as a trustee of the Hampton Institute, he occupied posi- tions of national importance.
Our Bishop's life has been all too brief for our hopes and expectations. His sun seems to have gone down while it was yet day, but little past meridian. We confi- dently looked for him to guide and tend his flock for many years to come in those pleasant ways of truth and peace which have marked his gentle sway. Yet the Episco- pate which now appears to have ended so abruptly has already had its harvests, and will yet yield others as the fruit of its patient sowing. The people of Rhode Island, of all sorts and conditions, of all creeds and of none, have had a vision of the Good Shepherd reflected in Bishop McVickar, and the effect of that vision will be realized for many years to come; the institutions of the Diocese have been fostered by his loving care, and he leaves them in growing strength and vigor ; while, above all, the cathedral idea and organization, the initiative of which was his, will in the future be an enduring monu- ment to William Neilson McVickar, who will stand out in our diocesan history as its founder.
Noble, however, will be that monument of loving kindness which his life and char- acter have reared in human hearts, an ever-living memory of one who loved the souls of men. Priest! Pastor! Bishop! Father in God! Friend, "tender and true ;" farewell, until we greet thee with the "Good morrow of eternity !" Meanwhile, God grant thee His eternal rest, and cause to shine upon thee His perpetual light.
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The clerical body known as the Rhode Island Clergy adopted the fol- lowing minute:
The clergy of the Diocese of Rhode Island, profoundly moved by the death of their late Bishop, William Neilson McVickar, desire to express their sense of loss and make some record of what he has been to them.
Twelve years ago, known to but few of us, well known perhaps to none of us, he came among us as a needed coadjutor to an honored predecessor whose years had become to him a burden. How faithfully and tenderly he served him. many of us can bear witness. Assuming nothing to himself, deferring all things to his elder, putting sturdy shoulders beneath whatever load had become irksome, bringing cheer and com- fort with look and word, he discharged each task that devolved upon him. As a son ministering to a loved and revered father, he toiled gladly.
Then in due season his place was changed. . He was alone in his office. Very quickly he magnified that office, not in its dignities, but in its duties. He grew in the discharge of it. He assumed new responsibilities. Wherever there was sickness or sorrow brought to his notice, his gentle presence was felt consoling it. As fresh social opportunities opened before him, he made his own precedents for dealing with them. He did not claim a wider jurisdiction ; it was accorded to him because he revealed him- sclf as a man of God and a brother of men. With holy and humble heart, and with resolute because consecrated purpose, he went forward and his people followed him.
He helped each one of us as far as we sought or would accept his service. He became a minister at large, a pastor among pastors, within and without his own com- munion. He brought with him everywhere a willingness to serve, a sound judgment, patience to wait, a spirit of peace and good will. His large heart went forth on loving errands to his clergy, his laity, his fellow citizens. Wisely and thoughtfully he con- cerncd himself with public interests, seeking always that they should be founded on righteousness. He was at home everywhere, for he was always in his Father's house and concerned with his Father's business.
In the pulpit or on the platform, his word was with power. The common people heard him gladly. They felt his transparent honesty, were stirred by his gencrous zeal. He spoke on the common level, as one who stood beside them, however he might tower above them. His life was his best message. Being dead he yet speaketh. The tones of that marvelous voice, vibrant with sympathy, are silent, but we hear and would heed them still.
The executive board of the Rhode Island Federation of Churches, the Carpenters' District Council, the board of directors of the Fountain Street Church House, were among the many other organizations that passed appropriate resolutions, and besides these the press of the country and many private individuals added their tribute to his memory. In the course of a long obituary article appearing in "The News" of Newport, Rhode Island, the following words occur which, as they contain an excellent description of the bishop's personal appearance, it will be well to quote here. Says "The News:"
He was a man of magnificent physique. He was six feet five inches tall, and built on extraordinarily large proportions. His build made him a commanding figure in any gathering where he happened to be. It is related of him that he, while still a young man, together with Phillips Brooks and Judge Gray of Boston, both of whom were also of mammoth build, was attending a convention at London. A speaker, in discussing the American people, described them as a decadent race, and declared emphatically that their stature was growing less. When the orator had finished, the three massive young Americans rose side by side, squared their shoulders, and announced: "We are Ameri- cans." Bishop McVickar always smiled when this story was related, and would not vouch for its authenticity.
He possessed a voice of great richness and sweetness. As a pulpit speaker he was noted particularly for his qualities of earnestness and sincerity. His friends were
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particularly charmed with the simplicity of character and attractive personality. The Bishop was described as a conservative broad churchman. He was especially noted for his belief in the necessity of an earnest spiritual life. .
One of the things most noteworthy about the many personal utter- ances was the fact that they were made by men of every variety of creed and belief, all of whom united spontaneously in praise of his great qualities. Dr. Frank Goodwin, rector of the First Baptist Church of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, had this to say:
Just now our State is lamenting the untimely death of one of the noblemen in the ranks of churchmien. Bishop McVickar still leads, though the giant form strides the earth no more. That hand will still guide and that voice continue to give counsel through many coming years. Four days after the death of Lincoln, Chaplain McCabe wrote in his journal: "Our Atlas has gone to the shades of Erebus. Who will now uphold the falling skies?" In like manner our churchmen of every name will lament the loss of this leader "whose strength was as the strength of ten," because his heart was pure. Religion has always been generous in its gift of great and good inen for the highest leadership of mankind. It will continue to do the same in the future.
The Rt. Rev. Monseigneur Thomas F. Doran, vicar-general of the Provi- dence diocese of the Roman Catholic church, also expressed himself in warm admiration of Bishop McVickar, as well as countless other clergymen.
The words of the Rev. Mr. Goodwin, of the Pawtucket Congregational Church, may well close this paper. Mr. Goodwin said:
It is true of this great Christian, as was said at the death of Mark Hopkins, "A great life has gone down, but it has not gone out." Bishop McVickar was a man of simple and childlike spirit, with the beautiful freshness of youth unsullied by years of wide experience in the world. He was kind, tenderhearted and generous, always a friend of the weak, and a manly colaborer with the strong. An aristocrat in culture and refinement, his sympathies yet wide and democratic, the interests of all sorts of men being ever of great concern to him.
He was ever a great human, truly illustrating the words of the Hebrew prophet, "In whom God spoke, I will make a man more rare than fine gold." He was a great church- man, dignifying the high office with which his own church had honored him, and throwing the ample mantle of catholicity of heart over all those who under whatsoever name are striving to do God's will on earth. To-day even the churches which were founded on the idea of a church without a Bishop and a State without a King, feel that from them also has been taken a leader of commanding strength and a fearless champion of truth and righteousness.
It was eminently fitting that the services held at his funeral should end with the words of Christian confidence illustrative of his life of joy, helpful- ness and conquering hope :
"The strife is o'er, the battle is done, The victory of life is won, The song of triumph has begun."
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Erwin James France
T HE State of Rhode Island, despite its place as the smallest of the States of the Union, has not been behind its larger neigh- bors in the number of illustrious men it has contributed to the various learned professions, and especially to that of law, the traditions of which have been most honorably upheld, the ideals and standards fully realized, in the conduct of its bench and bar throughout the entire period of its history. Of the generation just passed, there were many whose names might be adduced in support of this statement, and there would be few of the cities and towns of the State that could not contribute their quota. If we should turn our attention to Woonsocket, for instance, there are many names that would suggest themselves to us, but none more quickly than that of Erwin James France, the distinguished gentleman whose name heads this brief appreciation, who, during the thirty-two years in which he practiced the law, established and maintained a record of honor and ability second to none, and whose death on the first day of April, 1914, was felt as a loss to the community at large. .
Born March 1, 1856, at Burrillville, Rhode Island, Mr. France was a son of the late James Erwin and Susan (Phillips) France, old and highly respected residents of that town. With the exception of some comparatively short periods spent away as a college student, he dwelt practically his entire life in the two towns of Burrillville and Woonsocket, his childhood and youth in the former, and the extremely long period of his professional career in the latter. He gained the first portion of his education in the schools of his native town, and spent two years in the excellent institution known as the Moses Brown School in Providence, where he had taken the course to pre- pare him for a college career. He then taught school for a short period, and then matriculated at Brown University, where he took the Bachelor of Philosophy course and was graduated with the class of 1876. He was of an extremely studious turn of mind, and it was while pursuing this course at Brown, in which he distinguished himself and drew the favorable attention of his masters, that he determined upon a professional career for himself, and then chose the law as his choice of careers. (All during his course at Brown University he taught evening school and taught school in his native town after leaving the university). Accordingly, with this purpose in view, he went to Boston, and there became a student in the Law School of the Boston University, and was graduated in 1882. He passed his bar examina- tions shortly after, and was immediately admitted to practice in Rhode Island. At first he became associated with the late Walter I. Ballou, of Woonsocket, and it was not long before his name began to be spoken of as one of the rising young attorneys of the city. Eventually Mr. Ballou retired from private practice, and Mr. France then opened an office in the Hope building, where he continued his successful practice and was recognized as
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one of the leaders of the bar in the county. His practice, indeed, extended all through the northern part of the State, and was concerned with some of the most important litigation undertaken there at that time. He was equally competent as a student, a writer of briefs, and as a trial lawyer, possessing the power to think on his feet.
But it was probably in another department of activity that Mr. France was best known, namely, his connections with public affairs, wherein he was very active and rendered an invaluable service to the entire community ex- tending over a long term of years. As early as 1882 he served as council- man in Burrillville, and in 1885 that town elected hin to represent it in the State Senate, in which body he served during that and the following year. Ten years later, in 1896, he was elected to the General Assembly from Woonsocket. He was a member of this body until 1001, and during that time took a most prominent part in legislation, serving on many important committees and gaining for himself a reputation for a powerful grasp of affairs and for an unusual disinterestedness in his aims and purity in his methods. Besides these important positions, he also held many others con- nected with the local affairs of the city, and in these no less distinguished himself. He was a member of the school committee of Woonsocket for a considerable period, and clerk of the board from 1890 to 1898, and he was also coroner from 1892 to 1898. In the latter year he was chosen city solici- tor, a post for which his talents especially fitted him. From that time onward to his death in 1914, a period of sixteen years, he rendered distin- guished service to the community in this difficult capacity. And all this he did in addition to carrying on his own large private practice. His partici- pation in the life of the community did not even stop here, although it may well be supposed that the strength and faculties of most men would have been taxed to the uttermost by tasks so large and rigorously exacting. But Mr. France seemed always to find time and energy for anything of impor- tance that sued for his attention, and he was known as a leader in many movements undertaken for the welfare of the community. He was a mem- ber of several important organizations also, among which should be men- tioned the American Bar Association and the body of men that has since organized into the Woonsocket Bar Association, and the Sons of Brown.
Mr. France was united in marriage on the 10th day of October, 1888, to Miss Emma Spring, of Pascoag, Rhode Island. To them was born one daughter, Helen Sayles France, a graduate of Mt. Holyoke College, with the class of 1913.
During the long years of his residence in Burrillville and Woonsocket, Mr. France made and retained hundreds of friends, his very attractive per- sonality winning the hearts of all who associated with him and his sterling virtues cementing and making firm the friendships thus begun. The qual- ities that he possessed were such as to fit him especially for the career he chose. Of a clear and analytical mind, and with a patience to study deeply and ponder upon every possible eventuality, a profound student of his sub- ject, he added to these qualifications the final one of hard common sense, which made him an equally safe counsellor and potent champion. One of
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his cherished desires was the organization of the Woonsocket Bar Associa- tion, and although he did not live to see its consummation, it was actually accomplished immediately after his death, and one of the first official acts of the new association was to pass resolutions in honor of his memory. This sketch cannot close more appropriately than with these resolutions which speak feelingly of the estimate of Mr. France by his colleagues and the honor in which they held him. They follow :
We. the Bar Association of Woonsocket, in special session convened, at the court- room of the Twelfth District Court of Rhode Island, on this second day of April, A D. 1914, do hereby pass and publish the following: Whereas, the Supreme Judge of the Universe, in His infinite wisdom, has called from the courts here below to the tribunal beyond, our late friend, associate and brother, Erwin James France, late city solicitor of the city of Woonsocket, be it resolved that we hereby wish to record our appreciation of his ability, judgment and devotion to the approved traditions of the Bar during the thirty-two years of his practice as attorney and counsellor in the courts of the State of Rhode Island.
That we recognize and appreciate the many fine traits of character that went to make up his sturdy manhood.
That we recognize the value of his faithful and successful services as city solicitor of the City of Woonsocket during the nearly seventeen years of his incumbency of that office, and his loyal devotion in that position to his conception of his duty in that official position and to the best interests of the community.
That we mourn his loss as a lawyer, as a citizen and as a man, and hereby extend to his family our most sincere sympathy in the great loss they sustain in the death of the devoted husband and father.
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