USA > Vermont > History of the Baptists in Vermont > Part 44
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"A small education society has, for a short time, been in opera- tion in connection with this Association; and although it is but little that we have done, or can do, yet we have afforded assistance to a number of young brethren, some of whom are now manfully engaged in the ministry; some have availed themselves of the pat- ronage of more opulent societies with a view of more thorough education, and others are still under our patronage who, we hope, will do valiantly for the truth."
In 1824, by request of the trustees of Waterville College, the principal part of the donations for that year were approp- riated to the theological students in that institution who had gone from this Association.
In 1826, there was in the treasury, property, in clothing, to the amount of $17.29, and in cash, $33.51. This was divided equally between the New Hampshire, and the Vermont State Con-
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ventions, and the Education Society was dissolved. The amount received by The Vermont State Convention was forwarded to students at Hamilton.
The Shaftsbury Association was not indifferent to the call for Education Societies. Its circular letter, in 1817, contained an earnest appeal for help. "We must encourage and assist, where assistance is necessary, young men of piety and gifts that are ap- proved by the churches, to obtain that portion of human learning which will enable them to understand and rightly divide the word of truth. For any person, while profoundly ignorant of the sys- tem of gospel doctrine and the evidence by which it is supported, to attempt to teach them to others is an absurdity not to be en- dured. In this age of the christian church it is vastly important." A sympathetic appeal in behalf of young men studying for the ministry follows:
At the next meeting of the Association, a committee was appointed to obtain information on the subject of theological seminaries, lay before the Association that information and pro- pose such measures as may be thought best calculated to promote them.
In 1819, a communication was received from Clark Kendrick soliciting aid for the establishment of a theological seminary, and a committee was appointed to make some arrangements and devise some plan of operation with said society. In 1820, Kendrick's proposition was withdrawn and no further action was taken.
An Education Society in connection with the Leyden Associa- tion was organized in 1818, and J. M. Graves was the first bene- ficiary. The circular letter, in 1819, was upon this subject and closed with this appeal: "Long and fervently have our fathers prayed that God would raise up, qualify, and send forth, of the sons of Zion to the ministry. And now we are called upon to unite our alms with our prayers; by which we may offer a living sacrifice, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. When we pay due attention to this subject we know not how many Brainerds, Buch- anans, Martyns, Careys and Judsons we are helping forward; and upon whom the blessings of many ready to perish shall rest. Neglect, and we know we are helping none."
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This organization was maintained till 1830, when it was dissolved and the funds transferred to the Windham Associa- tion Missionary Society. Besides Mr. Graves, it had assisted Jeremiah Hall, Bela Wilcox and Nathan Brown.
The last contribution was from Jeremiah Hall, a note of $50 for what the society had done for him.
The final resolution of the Leyden Association on this subject was, "Resolved, that we regard with peculiar interest the efforts which have been made in different parts of the Union, during the past year, to encourage and facilitate the acquirement of minis- terial education, and especially the organization of the Northern Baptist Education Society, which we think promises great useful- ness to the cause of Christ, and that we believe the time has arrived when the cause of Christ demands that a branch of this society should be constituted in Vermont."
The original constitution of the State Convention assumed the existence of Education societies whose delegates were included in its constituent membership.
The object of the State Convention embraced, not only foreign and domestic missions, but also the instruction of pious young men called to the Gospel ministry. It was regarded as doubtful which of the three should be considered the most important. For a few years, however, the claims of foreign and domestic missions absorbed the attention of the Convention to the exclusion of the one under consideration.
In 1830, Mr. Thresher, corresponding secretary of The Northern Baptist Education Society attended the Convention and urged the organization of a Vermont Branch of the society he represented. There were at that time twelve young men from Vermont under the patronage of the Northern Baptist Educational Society. A branch society was promptly formed, and about $100 subscribed on the spot for its purposes. Thirteen able men were appointed trustees, among them John Conant, of Brandon; Rev. Hadley Proctor, of Rutland; Rev. Alva Sabin, of Georgia; and Rev. Joseph Freeman, of Cavendish. Hadley Proctor, E. B. Smith, Leland Howard and Joseph Freeman were appointed examining committee.
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This action of the Convention was regarded as eventful. "It is now confidently believed, " said the secretary in his first report, "that the energies of the whole denomination will soon be concentrated on one point, and that manifold advantages will result to the churches from this society long after its projectors and present supporters shall rest from their labors amid the clods of the valley."
The next year the society reported six young men under its patronage, calling for about $375. In 1832, the society reported eight young men under its patronage. The expense of sup- porting these was $450. Besides these there were ten young men from Vermont on the funds of the parent society, making eighteen in all. The Board of the Vermont branch society had been com- pelled to reject five applicants for lack of funds. Ladies' Education societies were organized, as auxiliaries to the branch, in Middle- town, East Bethel and an auxiliary, probably of ladies, at Pas- sumpsic. These contributed both money and boxes of goods. The Convention in 1831, and 1832, by resolution, recommended to the churches the observance of the first Monday in January as a day of fasting and prayer, and that we pray especially for an in- crease in the ministry and for a blessing on the labors of the Education Society.
In 1833, the Convention recommended to the churches the raising of funds averaging twelve and a half cents per member for their branch of the Northern Baptist Education Society. Five Associations took collections for its treasury. The removal of E. B. Smith from the State brought the work of the secretaryship upon Rev. George B. Ide. His report for 1833 is an interesting chapter in the history of this organization. The year was com- menced by the Board under circumstances of deep discouragement. None but men of sturdy faith and commendable courage would have ventured to go forward. But feeling themselves sacredly called to the high and holy work of supplying the world with an efficient ministry, sensitive to the voice of conscience and the call of destitute churches, they resolved to authorize the reception of every applicant for patronage, who should present the necessary credentials, and give evidence of having the requisite qualifica-
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tions; and pledged themselves to meet the appropriations which might thus arise, to the utmost extent of their personal responsi- bility. The result justified the experiment. Friends rallied; the treasury was replenished; debt extinguished, and every applicant promptly helped. The receipts were $331.59, being more than double those of the previous year. Eighteen young men received assistance, two of whom were in college, the others in different academies.
In 1833, in accordance with the plan of the parent society, appropriations were diminished to $12 per quarter, to men in pre- paratory studies, and increased to not exceeding $75 per quarter, to men pursuing further studies. Appropriations were considered as loans, to be repaid gradually after the completion of studies. The student was required to have an examination upon the month's previous study before the Board.
In 1834, Rev. Bela Jacobs, secretary of the Western Baptist Education Society, gave an address before the society on the moral and intellectual condition of the states in the Mississippi valley. Subscriptions for that society were immediately taken, amounting to $100.
The number of students assisted that year by the Vermont branch was twenty-one, and the whole amount expended was $417.75.
During the first two years of its existence, this society paid its funds, and recommended its beneficiaries, to the parent so- ciety; but subsequently it was resolved that the Vermont branch retain its own funds, and support its own beneficiaries, and make an effort to increase its funds, to enable them to receive all appli- cants of suitable promise and support them, subject to the same regulations with the beneficiaries of the parent society.
In 1825, twenty-five young men were aided, at a cost of $631.92 and the treasury was overdrawn to the amount of over $300. The money had been hired so that the beneficiaries had not been in- convenienced. The work began to drag heavily. The want of a permanent secretary, the pecuniary embarrassment of the coun- try and various other causes very greatly depressed the Board. To
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relieve the situation it was recommended that Young Men's Educa- tion Societies be organized in each Association, auxiliary to this society.
The experiment of running a branch society, practically in- dependent of the parent society, did not prove entirely satisfactory. The great distance of the beneficiaries from each other, and the difficulty of securing full quarterly meetings of the Board, proved serious impediments. The parent society was requested to be- come our agent to receive the returns of our beneficiaries and to make them regular quarterly remittances. The request was kindly granted. The advantages were promptly seen.
Some who had become disheartened by a failure of support returned to their studies, and other promising young men were added to their number.
The State Convention at this time recognized the work form- ally by recommending that collections for this object be taken in the churches on or near the first Sunday in May, annually.
In 1840, the number of students aided was seven. A collec- tion was taken at the annual meeting amounting to $303.03. Eleven years after its organization the society had the satisfaction of knowing that forty young men had received aid, most of whom were then in active work as pastors, teachers or missionaries.
In 1843, the Board in its report raised the question, "What can be done to secure the regular contribution of the churches for this object? Why do not funds flow spontaneously into our treas- ury? Why are we compelled to depend almost entirely upon pledges given at the annual meeting to replenish our treasury? The answer suggested was, "The want of systematic mode of action." At this session, Prof. E. B. Smith, principal of the New Hampton Literary and Theological Institution of New Hampshire, gave an address, following which the Convention appointed nine- teen of its ablest men as delegates, to meet delegates from Maine and New Hampshire the following November, to devise, if prac- ticable, some plan by which the energies of the three states might be concentrated upon the theological department of New Hampton and they in turn receive its benefits.
This committee reported the following year, recommending that, "Whereas, we need a school where some of the young men
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may have theological instruction, not so extended as that of New- ton or Hamilton, we recommend to this Convention to take meas- ures to form some alliance with the New Hampton Institution in its theological department. We also recommend that a committee of three be appointed as a committee on education and corres- pondence with the trustees or a committee of the New Hampton Institution. Brethren E. Hutchinson and J. P. Skinner, of Windsor, and R. Sawyer, of Chester, were appointed as this com- mittee.
In the multiplicity of business at the meeting of 1843, no provision was made for the supply of the treasury, and as a result, the Board were unable to make any appropriations the following year, and was in debt to the parent society to the amount of $267.85.
In 1845, at the Convention held in Rutland, the following resolution was adopted: "Resolved, that the Vermont Branch of the Northern Baptist Education Society be' and hereby is merged into the Convention, upon condition that the Convention appoint a secretary to conduct the correspondence of educational matters, and open her treasury for moneys designated to ministerial educa- tion, to be disbursed to indigent young men preparing for the ministry, as the Board of the Convention shall direct." Rev. J. M. Rockwood was appointed educational secretary.
Thus ended this effort of the Baptists of Vermont to assist in the education of ministers through a branch of the Northern Baptist Education Society, in close alliance with the State Con- vention, and yet, in a measure, distinct from it.
No inconsiderable service of this branch was its effort to awaken public sentiment upon the important subject committed to it. The annual reports of its secretaries, especially those of E. B. Smith, Hadley Proctor, J. M. Graves and John Ide, are masterly discussions of the whole subject of ministerial educa- tion and the beneficiary system for its promotion. These reports, printed in full in the minutes, and sent out by the thousand into the homes of Vermont Baptists, and doubtless read with more care than such pamphlets are now, must have exerted a strong influence overcoming a prejudice against an educated ministry and in
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kindling, somewhat, a flame that has never burned as brightly in this State as the importance, and the needs of the cause demands.
By the merger of 1845, under the conditions named, The Ver- mont Baptist State Convention became the recognized agency for Vermont Baptists in their work of ministerial education. The Convention definitely accepted the responsibility and assumed this as one branch of its work. To this extent it became a branch of the Northern Baptist Educational Society.
The first year following, on account of the sickness of Baxter Burrough, who was to have preached on this subject, no address was given at that session, and in the absence of material for a report none was given by the secretary. The next year, however (1847), Rev. I. H. Barker delivered a sermon on ministerial education, and Mr. Rockwood gave a report, the opening words of which gave one some idea of the condition of sentiment among the churches at that time. Said he, "Brethren, the least observant among us must have felt that the cause of ministerial education in Vermont was laboring. The feeling may have become fixed that the education ship must go down, and that the next approaching Convention would see nothing left but her drifting fragments." Against such a fate he strongly protested.
The Convention this year gave its hearty approval of the efforts making by the New Hampton Institution, to raise a part of its funds in this State. Twenty dollars only passed through the Convention treasury for the cause of this branch. Moses Field gave a disheartening report.
In 1849, the Convention passed a resolution approving the action of the Northern Baptist Education Society in calling a con- vention of the New England States to meet in Boston the 1st and 2nd of November next for the adoption of some plan of cooperation between them, and for consideration of the general interests con- nected with this department of christian effort.
C. A. Thomas, E. Hutchinson and L. Hayden were appointed a committee of examination and correspondence, whose duty it was to be to receive applications from young men, examine them and recommend them to the patronage of the Northern Baptist Education Society, give what direction they might deem necessary
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to the secretary, respecting his labors in the State, and, in con- nection with him, do what they could to interest the churches in their efforts.
By invitation of the Newton Theological Institution, a visitor was appointed to act with others on an examining committee of that institution.
In 1852, T. F. Caldicott, secretary of the Northern Baptist Education Society, delivered an address at the Convention, and a collection of $100 was at once taken for the society.
At the same session of the Convention, the sum of $2000 was subscribed to complete the endowment of New Hampton Institu- tion, to be retransferred to Fairfax, Vt.
At this time the work of the ministerial education received a new and strong impulse, and the State made for itself then a record that it has never surpassed. New Hampton Institution was bodily transferred to Fairfax, faculty, students and all.
The Northern Educational Union was organized in support of New Hampton Institution, and especially to provide the neces- sary aid for students for the ministry. As early as 1853, there were fifteen ministerial students enjoying the benefits of this in- stitution and others were preparing to enter.
For a few years this institution, though always financially embarrassed, did a splendid work in its theological department. It had an exceedingly able faculty, consisting of Rev. E. B. Smith, D. D., Rev. James Upham, D. D., Rev. Mark Cummings, A. M., Daniel Putnam, A. B., Selim Peabody, A. B., and S. M. Bassett.
For a few years this institution was the pride of our denomi- nation in the State, but for lack of financial support it soon lan- guished and ceased to be a denominational school.
There was no general awakening among the churches for the financial support of this work. In 1862, the Convention did, under the spur of the moment, raise $520, and voted to attempt, by a com- mittee, to raise the amount to $1000 for the New Hampton minis- terial students, but the additional amount was not raised. At the session when this special contribution was taken, a resolution passed, "That the money now raised and which shall be raised hereafter for the purpose of educating young men at New Hampton
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Institution at Fairfax, for the ministry, be committed to the treasurer of this Convention, subject to the order of the Northern Educational Union."
This action apparently broke the organized connection be- tween the Convention and the Northern Baptist Education So- ciety, for in his report, in 1864, Mark Carpenter refers to the fact that "We are excised from the Northern Baptist Education So- ciety."
At the close of the war of the Rebellion the claims of the Na- tional Theological Institution for the education of freed men for the ministry received the endorsement of the Convention, and, on one occasion, $100 was raised for its work.
For many years there has been nothing specially worthy of record in this connection. Once, in 1870, to meet an evident emergency, the Convention invited the New York Baptist Educa- tion Society to send a man into our State for a short time to secure contributions from our churches, which should be sacredly applied to the benefit of students from our State in Hamilton.
Rev. G. W. Lasher, of the New York Society, Dr. G. W. Bos- worth, of the Northern Educational Society, Dr. Geo. Bullen, and others, have represented the work at intervals.
For more than fifty years the Convention kept this subject be- fore the churches by able addresses of great inspirational and educative value. Committees and secretaries without number have been appointed to make reports, and resolutions have been passed expressive of interest, but for some reason the churches, generally, have not been thoroughly aroused to benevolent action for the sake of an educated ministry, and what has been accom- plished has been at a comparatively small cost.
Since 1899, the subject of ministerial education has disap- peared from the programs and resolutions of our State Convention. Meanwhile, however, some of the churches (sixteen on an average, annually), have kept the cause in mind and contributed $2,565 for its support.
The review of the organized efforts of Vermont Baptists in the cause of ministerial education is somewhat humilating. It must be confessed that interest in forwarding this work by assisting
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students for the ministry, financially, has not been so general nor so deep as the relative importance of the work deserves. This, however, in justice, may be said that there has always been an honest difference of opinion as to the wisdom of the beneficiary system.
It is refreshing to turn from considering our financial con- tributions to consider our contribution of men, whose liberal cul- ture and wide influence in educational lines bear witness to the fact that Vermont Baptists have not wholly underestimated the value of education for the ministry. Young men, by heroic per- sonal effort and by the help of parents and friends, have secured thorough training for their sacred calling, and proved the wisdom of the time and means thus spent.
These have been presidents of colleges: Jonathan Going, D. D., at Granville, Ohio; Robert E. Patterson, D. D., president of Waterville College, Maine, Kovington, Ky., Columbian Col- lege, D. C., Shurtliff College, Ill., Newton, Theological Institu- tion, Mass .; Lewis A. Dunn, president, Central University, Pella, Iowa; Lewis B. Hibbard, president, Leland University, La .; Na- thaniel Colver, president, Freedmans' Institution, Richmond, Va .; T. C. Graves, L. L. D., president, Mary Female College, more than thirty years; James R. Kendrick, president, Vassar College, 1885- 1886; Nathaniel Kendrick, first president, Hamilton, now Colgate University; Norman Wood, D. D., president, Shurtleff College, Ill., 1852-1855; Alvah Woods, president, Alabama University, Ala., 1831; George C. Chandler, D. D., president, Franklin College, Ill., 1843-1850, also of a Baptist College in Oregon.
The following have been professors in colleges or universities: Romeo Elton, Brown University; Beriah Leach, D. D., Seth Whit- man, Daniel Haskall, Roswell R. Prentice, Edward Judson, D. D., David Estes, D. D., in Hamilton; Thomas Conant, D. D., and A. C. Kendrick, D. D., L. L. D., both in Hamilton and Rochester; E. B. Hurlburt, D. D., in Chicago; James Tenbroke, in McGill College, Toronto, Can.
The following have been presidents or professors in Theolog- ical Institutions: Ira Chase, D. D., Alvah Hovey, D. D., E. P. Gould, D. D., at Newton; Eli B. Smith, D. D., and James Upham, D. D., at New Hampton Institution; A. S. Hobart, Crozer.
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All these have been members of Baptist churches in Vermont, and all except five have been born or brought up here by the im- migration of their parents in infancy. On this Dr. Archibald remarked, "We are not aware that any Baptists, whose numbers have not averaged more than nine thousand for the last seventy- five years, have furnished an equal number of instructors for our higher institutions of learning in all that period of time."
To these names might well be added such as these: Ezra Fisher, from the church in North Springfield, who after a pas- torate there of some years, went as a missionary of the American Baptist Home Mission Society, first to Iowa, and thence in 1845 to Oregon. He left Iowa in April, and reached Tualatin Plains in Oregon, December 5, having been seven months on the road and having traveled more than 2,500 miles. In company with Hezekiah Johnson, he laid the foundation of the Baptist cause in Oregon, and underwent hardships and privations such as men will not be called to experience again in the history of this country.
E. H. Gray, D. D., laid the foundations of a university in California. H. I. Parker secured the establishment of the school at Beaver Dam, Wis. S. S. Cutting, D. D., was the prominent mover in the Educational Convention at Brooklyn, N. Y., which originated the great educational uplift of Baptists throughout the country. Nathan Brown gave to Assam and to Japan, the New Testament translated into their own tongue. A long list of finely educated men who have served in the foreign field might be added.
It is not generally known, but it is a fact, that the Chicago Theological Seminary, now a part of Chicago University, had its origin with Vermont men.
The story is too interesting to be abbreviated. The late Brother Mial Davis, of Burlington, stated the facts of the case as follows: "In June, 1867, that great preacher, the man of great intellect and spiritual power, Nathaniel Colver, left his Tremont Temple church and came to Burlington, Vt., preaching in the First Baptist church on the Sabbath. His sweet spirit and deep insight into God's truth, with his great force of delivery, greatly interested Mr. Lawrence Barnes. The writer was not less interested, but he had listened to his powerful preaching in Boston twenty years be-
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