T II B 
 
 MEMORIAL SERMON 
 
 PREACHED IN THE 
 
 igMtrin-JJIaa Slwitnu Joust 
 
 ON THE EAST SABBATH OF ITS OCCUPANCY BY 
 
 THE SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH 
 
 DANIEL C. EDDY, 
 
 PASTOR. 
 
 Ittt itit ^ppenbW. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 (I RAVES & YOUNG, 24 COIINIIILL 
 
 1 8 6 5. 
 

THE 
 
 MEMORIAL SERMON 
 
 PREACHED IN THE 
 
 laJMn-patt Utwimjj Manst 
 
 ON THE LAST SABBATH OF ITS OCCUPANCY BY 
 
 THE SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH 
 
 BY 
 
 DANIEL C. EDDY, 
 
 xth ixxx ^ppcnbiv. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 GRAVES & YOUNG, 24 CORNIIILL. 
 
 18G5. 
 
MEMO E I A L S E E M N. 
 
 Thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee. — Deut. viii. 2. 
 
 This hour is crowded with contending emotions. It comes 
 to us burdened with the memories of the past, and freighted 
 with hopes of the future. It recalls old associations, brings 
 up old faces, and renews forgotten realities. This old Church, 
 after being on this spot more than a hundred years, is about 
 to take down its tabernacle, fold up its tent, and remove 
 to another hpme. This is the last Sabbath service we are to 
 enjoy within these hallowed walls. This is the last sermon 
 that will ever be preached from this pulpit. This is the last 
 time that Baldwin-Place Church will ever come here to gather 
 the manna as it falls from God. This is the last convocation 
 of this sacred body on this clear old spot. 
 
 It is not to be supposed that the Church can go out of this 
 place without tears of sorrow and sighs of regret. There 
 are ties severed to-day that scores of years have formed. 
 There are associations broken up which have been strength- 
 ening for a whole generation. Nobody can forget to-day that 
 Thomas Baldwin and James D. Knowles used to preach here ; 
 that hundreds were gathered to Christ here under the labors 
 of Baron Stow; that for more than a century the standard of 
 Orthodoxy was kept flying here amid the storms of error 
 and opposition. The men who have been born to God here, 
 and who have worshipped at this altar, cannot be forgotten. 
 This day seems to be a great gallery of portraits, along which 
 we walk, looking upon the faces and forms of those who 
 once carried the burdens and lightened tlie labors of the 
 
Church, and who died in hope of the imperishable glory. 
 The records of this Church tell us that Coleman and Wheelock, 
 Adoniram Judson, Sen., Henry J. Ripley, and Irah Chase, were 
 once members here ; that about sixty ministers have presided 
 over, or gone out from, this body ; the latter, some to the dis- 
 tant East, where, amid the spicy breezes, men worship gods 
 of stocks and stones; some to the West, making its prairies 
 blossom as the rose ; and others to the vacant places around 
 us here, blessing New England with their presence and their 
 piety. 
 
 The Baldwin-Place Church originated in a love of the Gos- 
 pel and an adherence to the truth. From the 28th of March, 
 1665, when Thomas Gould, Thomas Osborne, Edward Drinker, 
 and their associates, covenanted to walk together, and con- 
 stituted the First Baptist Church, there existed no other until 
 1743, when James Bownd, John Dabney, and others, entered 
 into covenant, and organized this Church. The cause of 
 the separation does not appear to have been any conviction 
 that a second Church was wanted to supply the demands of a 
 growing population, or meet the exigencies of a city increas- 
 ing in extent and influence. The origin of this body was a 
 protest against what its founders deemed to be a departure 
 from the Gospel on the part of the pastor of the Church then 
 existing. 
 
 After the death of Bev. Elisha Callender, in 1738, the First 
 Church sent to England, and called Rev. Jeremiah Condy to 
 the vacant pastorate, and he was inducted into the office on 
 the 14th of February, 1739. Shortly after his arrival, some of 
 the older and more devout members began to feel the want of 
 spirituality on the part of the minister, and others discovered 
 a looseness in the doctrines he taught in the pulpit. They 
 remonstrated with him without effect, and then appealed to 
 the membership ; but the appeal was powerless. The Church 
 had imbibed the false views of the pastor ; or his personal 
 influence over them was so great that the aggrieved breth- 
 ren could obtain no satisfaction. On the 29th of September, 
 1742, they addressed a letter to the Church, in which they 
 gave their reasons for withdrawing from the communion, and 
 separating themselves from their brethren. They stated the 
 
grounds on which they were dissatisfied with Mr. Condy's 
 doctrine, and expressed the belief that he was an " Arme- 
 nian," a " Free Wilier," holding to a Falling from Grace, and 
 denying Original Sin. They declared their helief that he had 
 denied the doctrines of Election and Predestination, and 
 expressed their dissatisfaction with his way of thinking on 
 that most solemn doctrine of Regeneration. These, and 
 several other points, they made in their letter, and called on 
 the Church to declare themselves on the following articles : — 
 
 " 1. Eternal Election. 
 
 " 2. Original Sin. 
 
 " 3. Grace in Conversion. 
 
 " 4. Justification by Faith. 
 
 " 5. The Saint's Perseverance." 
 
 They professed themselves willing to return to their places 
 in the Church as soon as the body should put itself right on 
 the great doctrines of the Bible. " The Baptist Church," 
 they said, " where you at present worship, was founded on 
 this principle, — Free Grace; or, to vary the phrase, your 
 godly ancestors, the first founders of the said Church, were 
 strict Calvinists as to the points afore-mentioned ; nor would 
 they by any means, as we can prove, suffer a Free-Wilier or 
 Arminian, if they knew a person so to be, to join with the 
 Church. It is high time, we think, — and we hope you will 
 so think also, — to know what are the principles of the pres- 
 ent Baptist Church in Boston, especially as it is feared and 
 rumored that this Church is, in part, gone off from the faith 
 once delivered to the saints, ■ — the faith by which your pious 
 predecessors overcame the world, and which, in them, it is 
 abundantly manifest, worked by love. This, by the grace of 
 God, they held fast in one spirit and with one mind, being 
 in nothing terrified by their adversaries. In this faith your 
 dear godly fathers lived, we know, exemplary, and died 
 triumphantly. 
 
 " We would not be understood to think or mean, by what 
 has been said, that truly because the Baptist Church was 
 once Calvinistical, or that because your godly ancestors were 
 of these and such opinions, therefore you are obliged to be so 
 too, without searching, proving, and thinking for yourselves. 
 
(•» 
 
 By no means. We utterly disclaim such unworthy sentiments. 
 On the contrary, we would have all men use the like liberty 
 as we do ; namely, to judge for ourselves." 
 
 To this letter the Church made no reply ; and, in the October 
 following, the brethren opened an independent place of wor- 
 ship, at the house of James Bownd, corner of Sheafe and 
 Snowhill Streets. This house is still standing, and the very 
 room in which the Church was formed is now occupied by 
 one of the members, — Lydia Ames, who was received to fel- 
 lowship Nov. 1, 1818, during the ministry of him who stands 
 in the history of this body as pre-eminently the man of God. 
 The house is an irregular-shaped wooden building, the inte- 
 rior of which has been much altered since Mr. Bownd died. 
 Many a precious season did they there enjoy, as, without a 
 minister, without an organization, they studied the Bible and 
 looked to God for wisdom. This movement ripened into a 
 Church, which was organized July 27, 1743. Seven persons 
 — James Bownd, John Dabney, Thomas Boucher, John Proc- 
 ter, Ephraim Bosworth, Ephraim Bownd, and Thomas Lewis — 
 united in covenant, and declared themselves a Church of 
 Christ, and the house of James Bownd became the sanctuary 
 of the infant body. " The records of that solemn transac- 
 tion," says Dr. Stow,* " most clearly indicate that those seven 
 believers had a proper sense of the responsibility which they 
 were assuming, and of their entire dependence upon the di- 
 vine blessing for the success of their enterprise. They 
 knew not that they should have the sympathy of any human 
 being beyond their own limited circle ; and they had reason to 
 expect that the pastor and the Church whom they then slowly 
 and reluctantly left would treat them as disorderly schismatics. 
 No minister was present to cheer them by a word of encour- 
 agement; no council was convened to extend the hand of fra- 
 ternal fellowship. They stood alone in the presence of the 
 Head of the Church, and pledged themselves to him and to 
 each other, that they would maintain unshakingly and to the 
 last the standard around which they had rallied, — the standard 
 of evangelical truth and holiness." 
 
 * Centennial Discourse, p. 13. 
 
The first minister was Ephraim Bownd, one of their own 
 number, a man of clear and vigorous thought, good under- 
 standing of the Scriptures, firm in religious faith, and earnestly 
 pious. He had been baptized by Rev. Ebenezer Moulton of 
 Brimfield, and for some time had led the devotions of the 
 little band. The ordaining council met at Warwick, Rhode 
 Island, Sept. 7, 1743, as the ministers who were to assist in it 
 lived in that vicinity ; the Church declaring, by solemn vote, 
 " The said Elders, Wightman, Green, and Moulton, we appre- 
 hend to be sound, clear, and zealously affected to the doctrines 
 of Free and Sovereign Grace, and absolutely averse to the 
 Pelagian and Arminian Tenets." 
 
 The blessing of God seemed to attend the settlement of Mr. 
 Bownd. Baptisms were frequent, and the additions to the 
 Church numerous, and the Spirit of the Lord manifested ap- 
 proval of the well-begun work. 
 
 In June, 1745, the Church, having outgrown the house of 
 Mr. Bownd, removed to Mr. Procter's schoolhouse, " near the 
 junction of Tremont and Court Streets." This schoolhouse 
 must have stood well south of the town that then was ; for 
 not long before we find that Samuel Sewall, afterwards Chief 
 Justice of Massachusetts, represented to the General Court 
 " that his house of wood in Boston, where the Rev. John 
 Cotton formerly dwelt, which house is considerably distant 
 from other buildings, standeth very bleak," and prayed 
 for liberty to build " a small porch of wood about seven feet 
 square to break off the wind from the fore door of said house ; " 
 which request the Court granted. Mr. Sewall's house was 
 not far from Mr. Procter's schoolhouse, the former being near- 
 ly opposite where the Museum building now stands, in the 
 most densely crowded and populous part of Boston. This 
 was regarded as an advance movement; and the congregation 
 increased so that the schoolhouse became too small to hold the 
 people who wished to attend. The necessity of a meeting- 
 house being apparent, and the strength of the Church being 
 adequate to its erection, a small building was built on the spot 
 now occupied by this venerable structure. The house was 
 smaller than the vestry we now occupy, being only forty-five; 
 by thirty-two feet, and containing but thirty-two pews ; and six 
 
8 
 
 of these were in a gallery over the entrance. Mr. Bownd 
 remained pastor until his death, June 18, 17G5. During his 
 ministry of twenty-two years, one hundred and ninety-four 
 persons were added to the Church. The last years of his life 
 were years of great physical weakness and prostration. Afflict- 
 ed with paralysis, his work ceased hefore his ministry termi- 
 nated. He was a good man, and a faithful teacher of religion. 
 " It appears that Mr. Bownd," says Dr. Baldwin,* " was an 
 ahle minister of the New Testament. Like Apollos, he was 
 mighty in the Scriptures; and the want of human learning 
 was evidently made up by that gracious unction with which 
 God was pleased to favor him." 
 
 About a year before Mr. Bownd's death, Rev. Samuel Still- 
 man was invited to become his assistant in the work of the 
 ministry. Removing from Bordentown, N.J., to Boston, Dr. 
 Stillman won the hearts of the people by his eloquence and 
 piety ; but, at the end of a single year, he was called to the 
 pastorate of the First Church, made vacant by the resignation 
 of Mr. Condy, which he accepted, and was installed Jan. 9, 
 1765, about one hundred years from the organization of the 
 Church in Charlestown. The call of the First Church, given 
 under the circumstances, and accepted by Mr. Stillman, to- 
 gether with the fact that several members of this body ac- 
 companied him to the parent Church, produced a most unhappy 
 state of variance between the two. For years there was no 
 fellowship or sympathy between them ; and Dr. Stillman, 
 though universally popular and beloved, was not permitted to 
 preach in the house until 1772. when the Church voted that 
 such an act might be allowed. It does not become us at this 
 day to sit in judgment on the course of any of the parties to 
 this sad quarrel, which held these Churches apart for so many 
 years. 
 
 The First Church held on its way, increasing in strength 
 and power. The house on Stillman Street gave place to a 
 better one on the corner of Hanover and Union Streets, and 
 that, in turn, was abandoned to commercial purposes; and the 
 new and elegant structure rose on Somerset Street, an orna- 
 
 * Dedication Sermon, Jan. 1, 1811. 
 
9 
 
 merit to the denomination, the tall spire of which can be seen 
 by the stranger approaching the city in almost any direc- 
 tion. 
 
 First Baj>tist Church, 
 
 From 1765 to 1770, the Church was without a pastor, rent 
 and torn by want of harmony within, and surrounded by ele- 
 ments of evil without. The withdrawal ofthe co-pastor, taking 
 with him some of the best materials in the Church, and his 
 subsequent popularity, which for years gave the First Church 
 the ascendency, was distracting and paralyzing to this body. 
 
 2 
 
10 
 
 Dr. Stow* very kindly says, " There is no evidence, however, 
 thai Mr. Stillman was guilty of any thing dishonorable. lie pre- 
 ferred, as would any man, the situation of sole pastor to that 
 of colleague. lie saw in the First Church an open lidd for 
 extensive usefulness, where there was no certainly that, in 
 case of Mr. Bownd's decease, he should be his successor. He 
 had faithfully fulfilled his contract by laboring one year; and 
 he perceived no good reason for declining the proffered situa- 
 tion. Who that considers the history of the two Churches 
 can for a moment regret that Dr. Stillman was forty-two years 
 the pastor of the First, any more than that Dr. Baldwin was 
 thirty-five years the pastor of the Second?'' 
 
 At length God sent the afflicted. Church another pastor, 
 Mr. John Davis, of Delaware. He was ordained to the pas- 
 toral office, Sept. 9, 1770. For a season it seemed as if the old 
 days were returning. The appearance of new faces in the 
 house of worship, the conversion of sinners to God, the intro- 
 duction of a kindlier feeling, were all hopeful evidences of 
 good. But God's ways are different from our ways. At the 
 end of two years, Mr. Davis was obliged, in consequence of ill 
 health, to retire from the pulpit, and his dismission was granted 
 July 19, 1772, six persons having united with the church dur- 
 ing his ministry. He died the following year, while travelling 
 on the banks of the Ohio, and went up to God with trium- 
 phant hope.f 
 
 The third pastor was Rev. Isaac Skillman (afterwards Dr.), 
 who entered upon his labors in 1773. For fourteen years he 
 continued in office, and during that time only thirty-two per- 
 sons united with the Church. The historians of the Church 
 admit that his administration was not a successful one ; and Dr. 
 Stow suggests that his proximity to the captivating preacher 
 who then filled the pulpit of the First Church, and the scatter- 
 ing influence of the Revolutionary War, might, in part at least, 
 account for this want of success. Dr. Baldwin speaks of him 
 as a sensible, learned man, and considered by many as a good 
 preacher, but admits his unpopularity. 
 
 * Centennial Discourse, p. 22. 
 
 t He died Dec. 13, 1773. His last words were: " In a little time I expect to be with 
 Christ, to see him as he is known, and as he is not known." — Dr. Caldicutt's Narra- 
 tive, p. 25. 
 
11 
 
 Dr. Skillman was followed by Rev. Thomas Gair, a young 
 man of great excellence of character, who had been baptized 
 into the First Church by Dr. Stillrnan. During his ministry, 
 which lasted only two years, being terminated by death, the 
 house of worship was enlarged, and twenty persons were 
 added to the membership. He was installed April 23, 1788, 
 and died April 27, 1790. The settlement of Mr. Gair was 
 memorable as being the commencement of the era of good feel- 
 ing between the two Churches. Up to this time, Dr. Skillman 
 had not officiated in anyway in the meeting-house of the Second 
 Church since he left in 1761. But Mr. Gair having been con* 
 verted under his ministry, and the old feeling having, to some 
 extent, passed away, the most amicable relations began to exist 
 between the two bodies, who had one common work and one 
 common faith. Long ere this, it may be remarked, the evil 
 influence of Mr. Condy's views had ceased, and the two 
 Churches held the same apostolic faith. 
 
 The death of Mr. Gair was a terrible blow. The Church 
 was recovering from its former difficulties and trials. The 
 young pastor was universally beloved, and his death at that 
 time was deemed a great misfortune. But God knows, men 
 do not ; and the death of Mr. Gair opened the way to the pul- 
 pit for one, who, without disrespect to others, has given 
 character to the Church, shape and style to its history, and 
 honor to its name, — Rev. Thomas Baldwin. 
 
 Dr. Baldwin was born in Bozrah, Conn., Dec. 23, 1753, 
 and was the only son of his parents, Thomas and Mary 
 Baldwin. His father died while Thomas was an infant; and 
 he was left to the care of his mother, an intelligent and 
 pious woman, who, after the death of her husband, devoted 
 herself to the culture of the mind and heart of her son. 
 When he was about sixteen years of age, his mother again 
 married,* and removed to Canaan. X.H.. which was then a set- 
 tlement consisting of a few scattered families. Btere the young 
 man. like Christ his master, wrought at his trade (being a 
 blacksmith), assisting his step-sire, who was blacksmith, car- 
 penter, and miller. While thus employed, he married .Miss 
 
 * A Mr. Eames of New Hampshire. 
 
12 
 
 Ruth Huntington, a young lady of Norwich, Conn. About 
 five years after this event, he became the subject of that great 
 and gracious change which resulted in so much usefulness to 
 man and so much glory to God. He himself gives us some 
 particulars of this change,* showing how God led him from step 
 to step. 
 
 " I had no reason to believe," he says, " that I had ever 
 been the subject of such religious impressions as many others 
 have, during my early years. I had indeed a general convic- 
 tion of the reality of revealed religion, and that I had no lot 
 nor part in it. When, however, my conscience accused me of 
 living without God and without hope in the world, I was 
 usually able to pacify it by promises of future amendment, or 
 by recurring to the plea of inability. Often, when I had spent 
 an evening, until a late hour, in mirth and dancing, when I 
 came to lay my head upon my pillow, the thought of sudden 
 death would intrude into my mind. Such questions as these 
 would often force themselves upon me : ' What if you should 
 die before morning? What if the judgment day should 
 come?' The answer was, 'I am unprepared for either.' 
 These thoughts at times caused me to weep freely. But per- 
 haps when the morning returned, all was forgotten. Although 
 I resolved at some future time to be religious (for I supposed 
 I could be religious at any time), yet I never fixed that time 
 as near at hand. There always appeared some peculiar ob- 
 stacles in the way, and some sinful propensities to be indulged 
 before I could think of being religious. Thus I lived, from 
 year to year, in a state of awful security and forgetfulness of 
 God." 
 
 In November, 1777, God took from him a son between six 
 and seven months old, and his mind was again turned to 
 religious things ; but he was not led to Christ until three 
 years afterwards. Let him tell his own sacred story : — 
 
 "In the summer of 1780, my mind became at times very 
 uneasy. I had serious thoughts about religion, yet did not 
 feel determined to set about it in earnest. I had a decided 
 conviction that there must be a change of heart, or all the 
 
 * In an article furnished for the press after his death by Mrs. Baldwin. 
 
outward forms of religion would be unavailing. Often would 
 I say, ' What shall I do to be saved ? How can I come to 
 Christ ? Oh that some man would guide me ! ' Thus I went 
 mourning, from clay to day, as without the light of the sun. 
 The world had lost its charms. The pleasures that had here- 
 tofore appeared so fascinating now seemed so extremely in- 
 sipid that I wondered I could ever have thought so highly of 
 them. They not only appeared empty and trifling, but, to a 
 great degree, disgusting. 
 
 " After spending an anxious and almost sleepless night, 
 I arose just after the dawning of the day, and resolved once 
 more to pray. I said, with Jonah, ' I will look again towards 
 his holy temple.' I knelt down, and, in a few broken senten- 
 ces, tried to send my cries to the mercy-seat. I felt con- 
 vinced that I had done nothing to merit the divine favor, nor 
 could I do any thing, though I were eternally to perish. This 
 I thought I confessed to the Lord ; and, as my last refuge, 
 endeavored to cast myself upon the mercy of God. During 
 this day I felt less anxiety than I had done for many days be- 
 fore. Sometimes I hoped I had given myself to God, and 
 sometimes I feared that my convictions were wearing off, and 
 then I should return again unto folly. 
 
 " Just in the twilight of the same day, I had occasion to 
 walk to a neighbor's house, about a quarter of a mile distant. 
 As I walked, a new train of thought occupied my mind. How 
 happy, thought I, are the angels ! They are happy because 
 they are holy, and have never sinned. How unhappy I am 
 on account of sin ! My thoughts now ran back to Adam in 
 the garden. I thought I would have given the world, had it 
 been at my command, if he had never sinned ; then I should 
 not have been a sinner. But now I felt myself a dreadful 
 sinner, and could see no way by which I could be made holy. 
 At the same time, I was convinced that unless I were made 
 holy I could never be made happy. It appeared that I bad 
 a great something to do ; what it was or how to do it I knew 
 not. Immediately, as I walked, this passage of Scripture came 
 powerfully into my mind: ' Behold the Lamb of God, which 
 taketh away the sin of the world.' A gleam of hope seemed 
 to come from these words. But I thought they were only 
 
14 
 
 words which I had read, and were now suggested by my 
 imagination. They seemed to be repeated the second time: 
 ' Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of 
 the world.' The effect was overwhelming. In an instant 
 the great plan of mercy through the atmiement of Christ was 
 astonishingly opened to my view. ITe appeared to be just 
 such a Saviour as I needed. I saw that by his atonement lie 
 had (so far as an atonement could do it) ' taken away the sin 
 of the world.' ' What,' said I to myself, ' is it only to believe in 
 Jesus Christ in order to be saved ? ' It appeared almost too 
 free and too glorious. It seemed impossible that it should be 
 true. But the more I reflected, the more clear it appeared 
 that this was the Gospel method of salvation. I could not 
 help taking hold of it, and thought 1 saw in it a glorious con- 
 sistency with the attributes of God. 
 
 " My mind now became calm, but not transported. It oc- 
 curred to me that this was not such a conversion as I had 
 been looking for. I had expected my distress to be increased 
 until I should see myself hanging, as it were, over everlasting 
 burnings, and that then I should have some discovery of the 
 Saviour; but in what way I knew not. Those sweet words 
 would still recur to my mind, ' Behold the Lamb of God, which 
 taketh away the sin of the world.' " 
 
 This conflict of mind continued for a long while. The 
 man's bosom was agitated by contending emotions. God and 
 the world struggled in his torn heart for the mastery. At 
 times he leaned towards the cross, and anon the world pre- 
 sented its charms, and he was swayed by its false attractions. 
 Hope and fear, joy and sorrow, tears and smiles, were his por 
 tion. Under the lash of conscience, and the striving of the 
 Holy Spirit, he was ready to exclaim, with the great apostle to 
 the Gentiles, " Oh, wretched man, that I am ! " In all the bit- 
 terness of his spirit, he realized how hard it is for a sinner 
 to be justified by the law ; and when he turned his tearful 
 eyes to Sinai, he saw nothing but lightnings, he heard nothing 
 but thunderings. The gracious change which ensued, the 
 peace which came like a river into his soul, was ample com- 
 pensation for all he had endured of deep and dark conviction. 
 Once converted, he conferred not with flesh and blood, but 
 
15 
 
 ascended to new heights of glory and grace, and received 
 from God that strength which, in after years, made him so 
 faithful in winning souls to Christ. 
 
 But Mr. Baldwin had been educated as a Congregational ist, 
 and a new trial was before him. His mind became awakened 
 upon the subject of baptism. He wished to unite with the 
 Church, but he had lost faith in the rite which had been prac- 
 tised upon him while a babe, and could not rest on that as 
 valid baptism. But how could he break away from the sect he 
 loved? Let him tell us the process: — 
 
 " I had been educated in the principles, and what I now 
 consider the prejudices, of the Congregationalists. I had road 
 little on the baptismal controversy, except ' Dickenson's Di- 
 vine Right of Infant Baptism.' This work had been reprinted 
 with a preface by eight Congregational ministers of the then 
 town of Norwich", one of whom was my great-uncle, under 
 whose instructions I had been brought up. I thought very 
 highly of the work, and had read it with much attention more 
 than once, in order to furnish myself with arguments in favor 
 of infant baptism. These arguments had satisfied my mind 
 until now, when I read the Scriptures with different feelings. 
 I wished to be candid, and to receive the truth wherever I 
 might find it. But, after all, when I perceived that the evi- 
 dence appeared against my former sentiments, and in favor of 
 the baptism of believing adults only, it required an amazing 
 struggle to surrender the point. I concealed my conflicts 
 from all my Baptist friends, but unbosomed myself freely to 
 several Pedobaptist ministers, hoping that they might be able 
 to remove my difficulties. But all of them proved physicians 
 of no value. I had fully resolved to follow the truth where- 
 soever I might find it. I well knew, moreover, that all my 
 earthly connections were decided Pedobaptists. I endeavored 
 to count the cost, and, though J should forfeit their friendship, 
 fell determined to follow the dictates of my own conscience. 
 
 "During my unsettled state of mind, a respectable Congre- 
 gational minister visited and lodged at my house. In the 
 course of the evening, he introduced the subject of his visit, 
 which was. he said, to invite me to offer myself a candidate 
 for examination before the Association to which he belonged, 
 
16 
 
 •with a view to my being licensed to preach the Gospel in their 
 fellowship. But being so far convinced of the correctness of 
 the distinguishing sentiments of the Baptists, I thought it 
 improper to take any step until my mind should be decided. 
 I thanked him for his friendly invitation ; but frankly told him 
 the state of my mind. I requested him, if he thought I was 
 in danger of embracing an error, to endeavor to reclaim me. 
 With this view, I requested him to tell me where to find a 
 warrant for infant baptism. He immediately referred to 
 Genesis xvii., and went at large into the ordinary argument 
 founded upon the Abrahamic covenant. After conversing till 
 a late hour, I informed him that I had hoped he would have 
 convinced me that infant baptism was right; but was sorry to 
 say, he had entirely failed. My conscience still preponderated 
 toward the opinions of the Baptists. 'Sir,' said I, ' in this 
 case, what shall I do? 7 'Why,' said he, 'if we cannot 
 agree to think alike, we must agree to differ.' We united in 
 prayer, and retired to rest. 
 
 " Previously to my baptism, I visited my friends at Nor- 
 wich, Conn. I then took an opportunity of conversing with 
 my former venerable pastor. He received me very kindly ; 
 and when, at his request, I related my religious exercises, was 
 quite melted into tears. But when, towards the close of the 
 evening, he suspected, from some of my inquiries, that my 
 mind was not established in the doctrines of Pedobaptism, he 
 remarked to me, in rather a stern tone of voice, ' Well, 
 Thomas, if you renounce your infant baptism, and are re-bap- 
 tized, I shall reprobate you, notwithstanding all that you have 
 told me.' I was much shocked at the remark." 
 
 The question having been settled in his own mind, he was 
 baptized, in the summer of 1781, by Rev. Elisha Ransom of 
 Woodstock, Vt. 
 
 The people with whom he had cast his lot were few and 
 weak, and Mr. Baldwin was led from the first to a more con- 
 spicuous part than his natural modesty would have chosen. 
 He was induced to lead in the exercises of the conference 
 room, and exhort in the absence of a preacher. 
 
 Soon it became very evident to the Church that he should 
 give his whole attention to the work of the ministry, and the 
 
17 
 
 subject was accordingly laid before him. At first he rejected 
 all such ideas. The ministry was a sacred work, and he 
 shrunk from duties which he deemed himself inadequate to 
 perform. But, in 1783, he was induced to submit to Ordina- 
 tion, under the solemn conviction that God required it of him. 
 The service was performed in Canaan, on the 11th of June. 
 Rev. Samuel Shepherd preached the sermon, and the same 
 brother who led him down into the waters of baptism gave 
 him a solemn charge. He acted as pastor of the Church 
 seven years, during which time he was in labors abundant, 
 like Paul in his own hired house, preaching the Gospel to all 
 who came in unto him. For these arduous toils he received 
 but little compensation, and, while preaching the Gospel, was 
 obliged to apply himself to some extent to a secular vocation, 
 lie himself declares that, while at Canaan, his salary did not 
 average forty dollars a year. And yet he worked hard, and 
 was a diligent servant of the public. He made long journeys, 
 visited destitute churches, and labored, in season and out of 
 season, to win souls to Christ. He says, in his autobiogra- 
 phy, " My mode of travelling was on horseback. In pursuing 
 my appointments, I had often to climb the ragged mountain 
 and descend the deep ravine. These exchanges, from rocky 
 steeps to dismal swamps, were far from unfrequent at that 
 early period of the settlement of this part of our country. 
 The roads are since so improved, that it would be difficult to 
 persuade the traveller now-a-days that they had ever been as 
 bad as the early settlers represent." 
 
 At length this Church heard of him, and he was invited to 
 preach in the pulpit vacated by the death of Mr. Gair ; and he 
 delivered his first discourse in Boston on the morning of July 
 4, 1790. The people were at once impressed with the idea 
 of his fitness for the pastoral labors and pulpit ministrations of 
 that place. He labored to the increased satisfaction of the peo- 
 ple from July to September, when he accepted an invitation to 
 become the religious teacher of the people to whom he had 
 been preaching the Gospel. He was publicly installed as pas- 
 tor of the Second Baptist Church on the 10th ef November 
 of the same year. Dr. Stillman, of the First Church, preached 
 
 3 
 
18 
 
 the sermon ; and, as long as the two preachers remained in 
 the same relations, the most kind and tender feelings existed 
 between them. The two men were remarkably unlike, and yet 
 both were remarkably successful ; and to them the whole Chris- 
 tian community looked, as to two of the most laborious and 
 successful champions of evangelical religion. Side by side 
 they stood, stemming the torrent of infidelity and falsehood 
 which, about the close of the last century, swept in upon the 
 Church of Jesus Christ. 
 
 For a time the transplanted preacher was but little better 
 paid in Boston than he had been in Canaan. The committee 
 appointed by the Church to extend the call, dated Aug. 22, 
 1790, signed by Jacob Holland, John Martin, Richard Smith, 
 William Brown, Josiah Bacon, and Joseph Shed, stated the 
 terms of settlement, some of which sound strangely to our ears 
 in this age. " They have," say the committee, " also thought 
 it their duty to engage you six dollars per week for the first 
 six months, and then to increase it as they shall find them- 
 selves able ; and also to find you all that part of the dwelling- 
 house now occupied by the Widow Gair (excepting the front 
 chamber), together with the improvement of the garden, be- 
 low the gate ; and also to allow you fifteen cords of wood, 
 delivered at the house." Dr. Caldicott states that, "Agree- 
 ably to this engagement, at the end of six months, they raised 
 the salary to eight dollars, and not long after to ten, and then 
 to twelve, to fifteen, to eighteen, and then to twenty ; this was 
 paid weekly, with punctuality." 
 
 The change from the uncultivated wilds of New Hampshire 
 to the refined society of Boston did not lessen the labors of 
 the man of God. In 1803 he became editor of the "Mission- 
 ary Magazine" and continued his connection with it up to the 
 time of his death. He also issued from the press pamphlet 
 after pamphlet in rapid succession. He published three con- 
 troversial works, besides about thirty sermons on various top- 
 ics. Twice he discoursed before the Honorable Senate and the 
 House of Representatives, — once on the death of Lieut.- 
 Governor Samuel Phillips, and once on the day of General 
 Election. The honorary degree of A.M. was conferred on him 
 
 
19 
 
 by Brown University, and the degree of Doctor of Divinity 
 was given by Union College. At the time of his death he 
 was trustee of Columbia College, and also a Fellow of Brown 
 University. Clerical titles, so questionable in their propriety 
 and influence, were not as much used then as now. Dr. Stow, 
 in a semi-centennial discourse delivered before the Boston 
 South Association in 1861, speaking of one of the earlier 
 meetings of the Warren Association, remarks, " Several titled 
 ministers were present, not so many as there are now, but 
 there was no apparent recognition of the factitious differ- 
 ence. 'Brother' Stephen Gano was Moderator, and ' Broth- 
 er ' Thomas Baldwin, Clerk. 'Brother' William Staughton 
 was present, as a messenger from the Philadelphia Associa- 
 tion." 
 
 Dr. Baldwin was one of the best of preachers, — best in the 
 highest, noblest sense. He was a man of much prayer, of 
 cheerful yet dignified demeanor. He was generous, kind, 
 hospitable, manly. Every work of his hands bore the mark of 
 sincerity ; and his memory will be cherished long after that of 
 the mere orator has faded away. 
 
 Dr. Baldwin had much to do with the progress of his denom- 
 ination in New England; and his influence has not ceased, 
 and will not until long after the present generation has de- 
 scended to the grave. Many of the sermons of Dr. Baldwin 
 were delivered without notes, and were full of strong thoughts, 
 appropriately if not eloquently expressed. He seldom made a 
 random speech, or preached an ineffective sermon. Hence 
 he was always acceptable in the pulpit, and in the public as- 
 sembly never failed to give a hallowed impression to each 
 exercise. He sometimes wrote poetry, though without much 
 success. One of his hymns, of which we give a few verses, 
 however, continues to be sung, and has often enlivened the 
 social and public gathering. It has much more of the spirit of 
 Christian love and kindness than of real poetical genius : — 
 
 From whence doth this union arise 
 
 That conquers our hatred by love, — 
 That fastens our souls in such ties 
 
 As nature and time can't remove ? 
 
20 
 
 It cannot in Eden be found, 
 
 Nor yet in a paradise lost ; 
 It grows on Immanuel's ground, 
 
 And Jesus' rich blood it did cost. 
 
 My friends are so dear unto me, 
 
 Our hearts arc united in love; 
 Where Jesus is gone we shall be, 
 
 In yonder bright mansions above. 
 
 Than why so unwilling to part, 
 
 Since there we shall all meet again ? 
 Engraved on Immanuel's heart, 
 
 At distance we cannot remain. 
 
 With Jesus we ever shall reign, 
 
 And all his bright glories shall, see ; 
 And sing, Hallelujah, Amen ! 
 
 Amen, even so let it be. 
 
 Dr. Baldwin Avas also the author of an excellent baptismal 
 hymn, which is found in our collections : — 
 
 Come, happy souls, adore the Lamb, 
 Who loved our race ere time began, — 
 Who veiled his Godhead in our clay, 
 And in an humble manger lay. 
 
 To Jordan's stream the Spirit led, 
 
 To mark the path his saints should tread ; 
 
 Joyful they trace the sacred way, 
 
 To see the place inhere Jesus kit/. 
 
 Immersed by John in Jordan's wave, 
 The Saviour left his watery grave ; 
 Heaven owned the deed, approved the way, 
 And blest the place where Jesus lay. 
 
 Come, all who love his precious name, — 
 Come, tread his steps and learn of him : 
 Happy beyond expression they 
 Who rind the place where Jesus lay. 
 
 During the pastorate of Dr. Baldwin, a period of thirty-five 
 years, 826 persons united with the Church ; the old building 
 
21 
 
 waa removed, the last sermon being preached in it April 22, 
 1810, from Psalm liv. 2,3: "Enlarge the place of thy tent, 
 <fcc. ; " and this editice was built, which the pastor dedicated, 
 Jan. 1, 1811, preaching from Hag. ii. 9: "The gloiy of this 
 latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord 
 of Hosts, and in this place will I give peace." 
 
 The old house had been twice enlarged, — once during the 
 ministry of Mr. Gair, and again during the ministry of Dr. 
 Baldwin. "From the date of his installation," says Dr. Caldi- 
 cott in his narrative,* " commences the prosperity of the Church, 
 which continued with but little interruption for years. In a 
 short time the congregation had so increased that the edifice 
 became too small to accommodate the hearers; and it was found 
 necessary again to enlarge it, which was done by dividing it, 
 and adding eighteen feet in the middle. The work was com- 
 menced Sept. 18, 1797, and finished Nov. 30 following, — 
 Thanksgiving Day. The house was embellished by a beautiful 
 clock, the donation of Mr. John Hoffman, by an elegant cut- 
 glass chandelier, imported from England, and the communion 
 service was so enlarged, by purchases and donations, as to 
 be worth $551.44." Speaking of the new house, the same 
 authority says, "In the spring of 1810, the congregation 
 had become so large that fears were entertained of their 
 safety, on account of the supposed weakness of some parts of 
 the old meeting-house, and steps were therefore taken towards 
 the erection of a new one. This work was undertaken the 
 same year. The old house was taken down and removed. 
 The corner-stone of the new one was laid by the pastor's own 
 hand, Monday morning, May 28, 1810, at ten o'clock. The 
 walls were laid in solid clay, to the depth of from ten to twenty 
 feet below the brick work ; the house was eighty-five feet by 
 seventy-five, exclusive of the porch, which was thirty-eight by 
 eighteen. The tower was sixty-four feet high. It was origi- 
 nally intended to have a handsome cupola. On the lower floor 
 were one hundred and forty-two pews, and forty-four in the 
 galleries, — in the whole, one hundred and eighty-six. The 
 whole expense, exclusive of the land, was about twenty-four 
 
 * Tp. 29, 30. 
 
22 
 
 thousand dollars. This house, with the exception of the altera- 
 tions since made, is the same in which the Church now wor- 
 ships. The house was dedicated by solemn and somewhat 
 imposing services on Jan. 1, 1811. It is supposed that more 
 than three thousand persons were present at the dedication." 
 
 lialdwin l'lace. 
 
 During the thirty-five years of Dr. Baldwin, that remark- 
 able revolution in theological opinions, which almost swept 
 New England Orthodoxy out of existence, occurred, and, amid 
 the howling of that storm, the two Baptist Churches, side by 
 side, held up the banner of the cross with unflinching devo- 
 tion, and to them evangelical views are indebted for much of 
 the strength and permanence they have to-day. Very inter- 
 esting would be a volume of his wise sayings, and the interest- 
 ing incidents connected with his ministry in this place, which 
 was crowded with touching things.* 
 
 * The following anecdotes of Dr. Baldwin, which we believe are well authenticated, 
 will give us a view of certain peculiarities possessed by the good man to an eminent 
 degree. The first dates far back in his early history: — 
 
 During his ministry at Canaan, on a certain year, there was such a failure of the corn 
 crop in the town, that the inhabitants were obliged tq go to a neighboring town for a 
 supply. A benevolent individual in Enfield, a short distance from Canaan, had a large 
 quantity on hand, which he resolved to sell to the poor that had no horses, and there- 
 fore could not well go as far as Lebanon, where there was an abundance, which those 
 
23 
 
 At a social festival at Baldwin-Place Church, held a few 
 years since, in which many of the members of olden time 
 united, Rev. Levi Tucker, D.D., at that time pastor of the 
 Church, since deceased, made the following statement: " Fifty- 
 six years ago there came three tall young men from a distance 
 of ten miles in the country, requesting baptism of Dr. Baldwin, 
 and admission with the Second Church. The rite was to be 
 performed after the morning service, in the Mill-Pond, which 
 then laved the foundations of the house. A miller who owed 
 the Baptists a hearty grudge, and was eager to inflict his spite 
 upon them, staid away from his own meeting that he might 
 drain the pond. The baptism could not be performed, and the 
 young men requested that it might be administered in the 
 pond at South Reading. The Doctor consented, and, in the 
 face of threats of personal violence, celebrated for the first 
 time in those waters, which have since been styled the Enon 
 of that vicinity, the ordinance of baptism. The wrath of the 
 miller disseminated the truth, and was made an occasion of 
 the founding of a Church in South Reading. He himself, 
 afterwards residing in that place, was, through the preaching 
 of a Baptist minister, convinced of sin, converted, and zeal- 
 ously, like Saul, supported the faith which he once destroyed. 
 Two of those three tall young men are present." 
 
 Dr. Baldwin died while absent from Boston. A few days 
 
 who had hordes could easily obtain. One of the most thrifty inhabitants of Canaan 
 went on his horse and applied for corn, which, for the reason stated, was firmly re- 
 fused. Returning home in high exasperation, he passed Elder Baldwin, employed on 
 the roadside at his secular vocation as a carpenter. Reining up, and addressing the 
 Elder, he iJeclared that he wished lie was a devil, that he might have the pleasure of 
 tormenting in hell the man who refused to sell him the corn. " Stop ! stop ! " exclaimed 
 the Elder, " you only want the right kind of a foot to be one already; " and, brandish- 
 ing his broad-axe, added, " Put it up here on the block, and I will make you one in a 
 minute" — a cloven one. The man spurred up his horse without replying, and was 
 out of sight as soon as possible. ....... 
 
 The doctor, while riding along in his carriage, met a teamster of a sulky disposition, 
 who was inclined to use the advantage which his heavier vehicle gave him, and re- 
 fused to take one side of the road, which at that spot was quite narrow. The doctor 
 came to a stand-still, and, looking at the fellow, said, — 
 
 '• Sir, if you do not get out of my way, I will serve you as I did a man a few days 
 ago." 
 
 " Bow was that?" said the teamster. 
 
 " I got out of his way," was the ready and good-natured reply. 
 
 Dr. Baldwin would, at any time, sooner give the entire road than engage in a quarrel. 
 
24 
 
 before his death he started for Waterville, to attend the Col- 
 lege Anniversary in 1825. He preached at Hallowed on the 
 preceding Sabbath, and arrived at Waterville on Monday. 
 He retired early in the evening, and slept quietly two hours, 
 and awoke ; and then, with a single groan, the spirit fled to 
 the God who gave it. 
 
 The tidings spread through the crowds of people who on 
 the following morning arrived to attend the public services of 
 the college, that Baldwin, the loved and honored, was no more. 
 The smiling countenances of the people were exchanged for 
 gloom and tears, and what was designed as a joyous festival 
 was converted into a season of lamentation. The corpse was 
 borne back to Boston, enclosed in a leaden coffin, and on Fri- 
 day the mournful procession arrived in the midst of a loving, 
 weeping people. The funeral services were held in this 
 house, which was filled to overflowing with a tearful congre- 
 gation. Rev. Dr. Sharp preached a discourse from the words, 
 "He was a good man ;" and the body was home to its long 
 home. Thousands followed to the grave, of all sects and par- 
 ties : and for months, " the mourners went about the streets." 
 
 I have dwelt thus at length upon the life and ministry of 
 Dr. Baldwin, because his name is associated with the Church 
 so intimately, and because his ministry, under God, lifted it 
 out of the condition in which it was left at the death of Mr. 
 Gair, to a position of influence and independence. 
 
 The sixth pastor was Rev. James D. Knowles, who had 
 preached here as a supply previous to the death of Dr. Bald- 
 win ; and when that venerable servant of God ended his work, 
 the hearts of the people naturally turned to Mr. Knowles as his 
 successor, and he was ordained Dec. 28, 1825, the sermon be- 
 ing preached by Rev. Irah Chase of Newton, from Matthew 
 xvi. 26. 
 
 Dr. Stow speaks of Mr. Knowles as having some " traits of 
 character that fitted him, perhaps better than any other man 
 on the continent, to be the successor of the incomparable 
 Baldwin. His natural temper was peculiarly amiable ; his feel- 
 ings were uniformly kind and tender; he was ever gentle, 
 mild, and forbearing ; he loved peace, and for its maintenance 
 would sacrifice almost any thing but truth and conscience. In 
 
25 
 
 equanimity amidst disturbing influences, I never saw him sur- 
 passed. He was ever cool and deliberate in forming his opin- 
 ions, and therefore he seldom had occasion to alter them. No 
 man was firmer than he in the maintenance of the right and 
 true ; while in matters that involved no important principle, 
 no man was more flexible and conciliatory. On him rested 
 the mantle of his departed predecessor ; and, taking up the 
 work of the pastor just where that man of God had left it, he 
 went forward with a prudence, and a judiciousness, and an 
 efficiency, that commanded general admiration." 
 
 Repeatedly did Mr. Knowles have the pleasure of seeing 
 the work of God revived in the Church, and his ministry, 
 which lasted seven years, was crowned with rich blessings. 
 During those seven years, three hundred and three persons 
 were added to the church, many of whom entered by baptism. 
 Mr. Knowles resigned his pastoral office, in consequence of 
 failing health, in Sept. 1832, and became professor in New- 
 ton Theological Institution, which service he performed until 
 the 9th of May, 1838, when he died of a malignant disease 
 which he contracted while attending missionary meetings in 
 New York. He died universally lamented, and his memory 
 lingers to this day as a sweet fragrance. His ministry, though 
 brief, was effective, earnest, spiritual, and successful. 
 
 Mr. Knowles was followed by Rev. Baron (now Dr.) Stow, 
 who, at the time, was settled in Portsmouth, N.H. ; and he 
 was installed Nov. 15, 1832, Mr. Knowles preaching the 
 sermon on the occasion from 1 Pet. i. 24, 25. What Dr. 
 Stow says about the fitness of Mr. Knowles to follow Dr. 
 Baldwin may well be said of his fitness to follow them both. 
 He brought to this pulpit some of the most excellent traits 
 of both of these men, and deepened and made lasting their 
 work. The ministry of Dr. Stow continued fifteen years and 
 three-fourths; and the Lord blessed him mightily, and he met 
 here with more tangible and decided success than did his 
 predecessor, Dr. Baldwin. During his ministry, nine hundred 
 and fifty-one persons united with the Church. Several pre- 
 cious revivals of religion were enjoyed, and among them 
 that which occurred in connection with the labors of Rev. 
 Jacob Knapp in 1841-2. The power of God seemed to attend 
 
26 
 
 the labors of Dr. Stow to a remarkable degree. Tbe Cburch 
 enjoyed great prosperity, and were united and harmonious in 
 all their actions. Not only was the Church built up, but other 
 changes occurred. "In 1842," says Dr. Caldicott, " a very 
 extensive and important alteration was made in the meeting- 
 house. The audience-room being then where the vestry-room 
 now is, — the vestry being in a small and inconvenient building 
 where the house of Rev. Phineas Stowe now stands, and the 
 Church feeling the need of suitable committee-rooms, as well 
 as of a larger vestry, — it was resolved to raise the roof of the 
 house, and elevate the walls, so as to place the audience-room 
 where it now is, and to convert the former one into vestries, 
 committee-rooms, &c. To pay for this, as also to liquidate a 
 debt of about four thousand dollars, some of the society's prop- 
 erty was sold : the Church voted two thousand dollars from 
 its funds, and yet the cost of the alteration so much exceeded 
 first estimates as still to leave a debt upon the society of some 
 seven thousand dollars, the payment of which having only 
 been provided for during the year past (1853)." 
 
 When Dr. Stow had been pastor of the Church about eleven 
 years, the change of population from north to west and south 
 commenced, and the society began to decline. So great was 
 the tide of emigration, that the pastor became discouraged, 
 and foresaw the day when Baldwin Place would be deserted, 
 and extinction or removal would take place. What he foresaw 
 more than twenty years ago is to us a present reality. What he 
 predicted has come to pass ; and we have been forced to adopt 
 the plan of removal to prevent extinction. Failing in health, 
 discouraged in his labors, Dr. Stow resigned July 1, 1848 ; 
 taking with him, to Rowe Street, some very efficient members 
 of this body, but followed with the respect, kind wishes, and 
 esteem of the Church and congregation, who regretted his de- 
 parture, and deplored his loss.* 
 
 The ministry of Dr. Stow was emphatically a living min- 
 istry. The Church, during all that period, was intensely 
 active. Discipline was carefully maintained ; evening meet- 
 
 * An interesting letter from Dr. Stow will be found appended to this 
 discourse. 
 
27 
 
 ings were well sustained; the social element of the Church 
 was well developed ; the audiences on the Sabbath were large 
 and appreciative ; the Sunday school was in successful prog- 
 ress ; conversions were frequent ; well-proportioned, symmet- 
 rical Christian character was a marked feature of the mem- 
 bership ; benevolent operations were steadily carried forward ; 
 the Gospel prevailed against error, and Zion rejoiced in the 
 Lord God of Israel. Whatever this pastor's success might 
 have been before, during his ministry here it was signal and 
 glorious.* 
 
 The people here did not take the same sombre view that 
 Dr. Stow did, and little thought was entertained of abandoning 
 this old spot; but, gathering strength for another trial, the 
 Church invited Rev. Levi Tucker, D.D., of Washington-street 
 Church, Buffalo, to the vacant pastorate. He accepted the call, 
 and at the close of the year 1848 commenced his labors. For a 
 time he was very successful. The house was crowded ; the 
 Church was revived ; baptisms took place, and there seemed to 
 be a tide of prosperity setting in. The hopes of the people 
 rose, and all things seemed to be doing well. But this state of 
 things did not long continue. The pastor, in less than two 
 years, lost his accomplished and excellent wife by death : his 
 own health failed ; and he was obliged to resign his charge, 
 which he did, Sept. 2, 1862, for the purpose of seeking rest 
 and relaxation in foreign lands, from which he returned only 
 to die. His death occurred at Cincinatus, N.Y., Aug. 20, 
 1853. His remains were brought to this city ; and his funeral 
 service took place in this house, Dr. Stow preaching the ser- 
 mon from 1 Sam. xx. 3 ; and Drs. Neale and Beecher, and Rev. 
 Mr. Bosworth, taking part in the exercises. He was buried at 
 Woodlawn Cemetery, in the Church lot by the side of his wife. 
 During his ministry of three years and two-thirds, one hundred 
 and eighty-seven persons united with the Church; and some of 
 the present members remember him with gratitude as their 
 spiritual parent and friend. 
 
 * Dr. Stow was born in Croydon, N.H., June 16, 1801. He graduated at 
 Columbian College, D.C., in 1825 ; was ordained at Portsmouth, N.H., l s :'7. 
 Previous to his ordination, he edited the Columbian Star two years. His miu- 
 sterial life has been spent, thus far, with three churches. 
 
28 
 
 Rev. Thomas Ford Caldicott, D.D., then pastor of the First 
 Church, Charlestown, was called to the pulpit, and commenced 
 his work Nov. 1, 1853. His ministry was successful, and one 
 hundred and ten persons united with the Church; plans of 
 benevolence were formed that are in operation up to this time ; 
 various good projects were started to advance the interests of 
 Zion, and Dr. Caldicott resigned Jan. 8, 1858, and is remem- 
 bered as an active and laborious pastor. He loved work him- 
 self, and infused a love of work into the people. He is now 
 pastor in Toronto, C.W. 
 
 The tenth pastor was Rev. James Belcher, called from the 
 Church in Ellsworth, Me. He assumed the pastoral office Dec. 7, 
 1858, and resigned July 16, 1861. During his pastorate, Rev. 
 Jacob Knapp was invited to visit the church a second time ; 
 and for some weeks he labored, but without much success. 
 There seemed to be a want of harmony with him, that caused 
 his visit to be a positive failure. About the same time, the 
 Church united with other Churches in an outside effort, 
 meetings being held at Tammany Hall, a room in the National 
 Theatre building ; but the effort was soon abandoned. About 
 fifty-six persons united with the Church during Mr. Belcher's 
 ministry. 
 
 Rev. Stephen Remington was the next pastor, Rev. J. C. 
 Stockbridge, D.D., having supplied the pulpit several months 
 after the retirement of Mr. Belcher. The installation of Mr. 
 Remington took place Oct. 28, 1862. Several of the pastors 
 who assisted in the service were convinced that his ministry 
 would be short ; they being sure that the Church could not live 
 in its present location. Dr. Hague, who gave him the Hand of 
 Fellowship on the occasion, told him that he had " no future " in 
 Baldwin Place. But for months he labored on, turning every 
 stone, using all the means in his power, and at the end of 
 seventeen months resigned, convinced that it was useless 
 longer to contend with Providence. The additions were small, 
 only four having joined the Church during his brief pastorate. 
 
 The Church had now reached the crisis of its history. That 
 matters could not go on so very long was evident ; and the 
 future of Baldwin-Place Church became a problem. To con- 
 tinue worship in Baldwin Place seemed almost impossible. 
 
29 
 
 The Protestants who once had filled the house had moved 
 away ; and their tenements were occupied by people who never 
 enter a Protestant house of worship. The income from rents 
 had become small, a few were bearing many burdens, and some 
 change seemed a necessity. But a removal appeared almost 
 as difficult. Most of the members lived in Chelsea, Charlestown, 
 or at the extreme North End, and could not follow the Church 
 to the South End, where only was room for it, and where only 
 it could find a new lease of life. To God the Church went in 
 its extremity. Before Him the case was laid, and on Him the 
 burden was rolled. Soon it became the conviction of a ma- 
 jority of the brethren and sisters that a removal to South 
 End was the only thing that would save the history of the 
 Church from a speedy termination. When this conviction was 
 reached, there was but one mind. All hearts united ; and the 
 vote to change the location to the south part of the city was 
 nearly or quite unanimous. It cost a struggle to come to 
 this resolution ; but, when duty seemed clear, there was no 
 hesitation, and the sacrifice was made. The necessary prep- 
 arations were entered upon at once to dispose of the prop- 
 erty, and change the location of the Church. 
 
 With that change in view, the present pastor was called, 
 and was installed Dec. 25, 1864. Since then the house has 
 been sold to the " Union Mission and Home for Little Wan- 
 derers," a corporation of gentlemen who propose to make 
 themselves useful among the children that are neglected and 
 outcast. The society sell the property for $20,000, and retain 
 the organ, pulpit, carpets, and all the furniture. It is pleasant 
 to know that this meetingdiouse, which is a sacred spot to so 
 many, is not to be converted into a brewery, a stable, a foun- 
 dery, nor a Church where error will be taught, but into a 
 home for little wanderers. 
 
 The last baptism occurred here on Sunday, Jan. 29, 1865 ; 
 Miss Harriet C. Kennard, whose father and mother, now in 
 heaven, were both members here, was the candidate. The 
 last Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was this afternoon, and 
 the last discourse here is now being preached. 
 
 In reviewing the history of the Church, there is much to in- 
 struct and encourage us. What great things have come from a 
 
30 
 
 very small beginning ! What wonders have perseverance and 
 piety wrought here ! Fur a long time the Church was in 
 affliction. At the time of the death of Mr. Davis, the ,-ecoud 
 minister, the number of members was but fifty, one-half less 
 than when Mr. Bownd died, seven or eight years before. When 
 Mr. Gair died, and Mr. Baldwin took his place, after a history 
 of nearly forty years, the membership was only eighty-nine. 
 Dr. Baldwin left it four hundred and forty-five ; Dr. Stow left it 
 six hundred and seventy-nine ; Dr. Tucker left it seven hun- 
 dred and twenty. It is now but three hundred and sixty, and 
 these are scattered far and wide. 
 
 From 1743, for many years, this Church claimed to be the 
 First Church. This claim was based upon the fact that those 
 who came out from the main body held to the old doctrines of 
 the Baptists, while those who remained, it was alleged, had 
 departed from them. In time, however, the claim was aban- 
 doned ; and in 1834, an act of the Legislature gave this body 
 the name it bears to day, — Baldwin-Place Church. Whatever 
 right the Church may have had, or supposed itself to have, 
 under ecclesiastical law, to the name it retained so long, no 
 one can regret that it abandoned it in a spirit of generous 
 fraternity to the old Church, which, on the seventh day of 
 June, in the present year, will celebrate its second centennial 
 anniversary. 
 
 Dr. Baldwin used to baptize in a mill-pond near the house, 
 which some of you will remember. The baptistry was first in- 
 troduced in 1833, soon after the installation of Dr. Stow, and 
 has been in constant use ever since ; more than a thousand 
 persons having been baptized in it. It will be taken out, and 
 removed to the new Church, still to be a baptismal sepulchre 
 for such as shall be buried with our Lord. 
 
 The hymn-books that have been used are Sternhold and 
 Hopkins and Tate and Brady, employed down to the time of 
 Mr. Davis ; Watts's Psalms and Hymns, used from the time of 
 Mr. Davis until the introduction of the " Psalmist," prepared 
 by Dr. Stow, then pastor, and Rev. S. F. Smith, D.D., a for- 
 mer member of the Church : and the latter book is now in use. 
 
 It may be worthy of remark, in this connection, that the 
 singing in Baldwin-Place Church has long been an attractive 
 
31 
 
 feature in the worship of the sabbath. A fine organ, built 
 by Appleton, was introduced into the house in 1834. Gen- 
 eral B. F. Edmands has been connected with the choir for 
 forty-four years, and has acted as chorister for more than 
 thirty-five years. Such an instance of permanency is rarely 
 found in these shifting, changing days. It is due to General 
 Edmands to say, in this connection, that an effective and excel- 
 lent choir has been maintained in periods when the Church 
 was most depressed. 
 
 The Church sought and obtained admission to the Warren 
 Association in 1772; in 1811 it was one of the Churches that 
 organized the Boston Association ; and when, in 1849, that 
 body was divided, this Church took its place as the second 
 in age in the Boston North. If ever the Church should unite 
 with the Boston South Association, within whose geographical 
 limits its new edifice will stand, that will be the fourth associa- 
 tion to which it has belonged, and it will be the oldest Church 
 in that body. 
 
 Besides the pastors whose honored names have been enu- 
 merated to-day, the roll of the Church shows a goodly number 
 of ministers, once members here, who have served God with 
 fidelity. And among them we may mention the following : 
 
 Nathaniel Kendrick, D.D., who was licensed by the 
 Church in 1803; and, after pastoral labors in Lansingburgh, 
 Middlebury, Vt., and Eaton, N.Y., was elected to the Theo- 
 logical Professorship in Madison University in 1822, and for 
 twenty -five years filled that post, dying in 1848. 
 
 Asa Niles, baptized by Dr. Baldwin, and ordained at a 
 meeting of the Warren Association, held at Warren, Sept. 11, 
 1805, his pastor preaching the sermon from 2 Tim. ii. 1. He 
 was settled at New Salem, several other places, and died many 
 years ago. A good man. 
 
 William Bently, called " Father Bently," and well known 
 by the older people of our denomination. He spent most of his 
 life in the State of Connecticut. He was at one time pastor 
 of the First Church in Worcester. He died at Wethersfield, 
 Conn., at a very advanced age ; and Dr. Turnbull preached his 
 funeral sermon. 
 
 Daniel Chessman was ordained as pastor of the Church in 
 
32 
 
 Warren, R.I., March 5, 1818. Rev. Dr. Baldwin preached the 
 sermon. Mr. Chessman served the Master well in several pas- 
 torates, and earned a good degree, and died in triumphant 
 hope, — a good minister of Jesus Christ. He was a pastor in 
 Lynn, and Hallowell, Me. ; and in his pulpit, Dr. Baldwin 
 preached his last sermon. 
 
 Jambs Parsons was ordained to the work of an evangelist 
 at Newport, N.H., Oct. 7, 1819, and afterward settled at Cole- 
 raine, and several other places. 
 
 Thomas B. Ripley, baptized by Dr. Baldwin, who preached 
 his ordination sermon, July 24, 1815, at Portland, Me., from 
 Col. iv. 17. He has been for many years city missionary in 
 Portland, where he has been the means of great good. 
 
 Isaac Child was baptized by Dr. Baldwin, and for many 
 years has been in the spirit- world. He was esteemed and 
 loved by the Christian people with whom he associated. 
 
 Barnabas Bates, an able man, but somewhat eccentric. He 
 afterward deserted our views, abandoned the Baptists, and la- 
 bored to deny what he aforetime built up. He was at one 
 time settled at Bristol, R.I. 
 
 Rev. David Goddard, father of an eminent missionary of 
 the same name. He was ordained to the pastorate of the Bap- 
 tist Church in Wendell, Jan. 24, 1814, and for many years was 
 a faithful and devoted minister of our Lord Jesus Christ. His 
 son arrived at Singapore, June, 1839. 
 
 James Colman, the companion of Edward W. Wheelock in 
 his voyage from this country to the East. He was born in 
 Boston, Feb. 19, 1794, was baptized into this Church by Dr. 
 Baldwin in Oct. 1804, at the age of ten years. When the 
 Third Church (now Charles Street) was formed, in 1807, he 
 went out with others to constitute it. He died July 4, 1822, 
 at Cox's Bazar, Arracan. 
 
 Edward Willard Wheelock lies sleeping beneath the waters 
 of the Bay of Bengal. He was baptized by Dr. Baldwin in the 
 sixteenth year of his age. In 1817 he was appointed a mission- 
 ary to Burmah. In his application he says, " Oh, if it is con- 
 sistent that one so unworthy and so unqualified as myself 
 should engage in this glorious work, deny me not, I beseech 
 you, the unspeakable privilege ; deny me not the fondest, the 
 
most ardent desire of my soul, that can, in this world, be grati- 
 fied ! To deny me this would be to deprive me of the greatest 
 happiness which, in this world, I can possibly enjoy. I had 
 rather be a missionary of the cross than a king on a throne. Let 
 the men of this world possess its glittering toys; let the miser 
 grasp his cankered gold ; let the voluptuary enjoy his sordid 
 pleasures; let the ambitious ascend to the pinnacle of earthly 
 honor; but let me enjoy the sweet satisfaction of directing the 
 poor pagans to the ' Lamb of God.' I court no greater good ; 
 I desire no greater joy ; I seek no greater honor. To Burmah 
 would I go ; in Burmah would I live ; in Burmah would I toil; 
 in Burmah would I die ; and in Burmah avouIcI I be buried." 
 
 He lived to reach his field of labor; but his mental system, 
 receiving a severe strain, failed, and he was soon called home. 
 He was on his way to Calcutta from Rangoon, when he came 
 to his end in a moment of delirium. The following paragraph 
 will explain it all: " On the 20th of August, 1819, while Mrs. 
 Wheelock was engaged in writing', and he, to her, appar- 
 ently asleep, she heard the water-gallery door close ; and look- 
 ing around, saw that he was gone. She sprang to the door, 
 and, opening it, found, to her unspeakable grief, he had vanished 
 from her sight forever." 
 
 Colman and Wheelock were ordained in this house Sept. 
 10, 1817. Rev. Mr. Chaplin, of Danvers, preached the ser- 
 mon, Dr. Baldwin gave the charge, and Dr. Sharp the Right 
 Hand of Fellowship. Messrs. Winchell, Grafton, Holies, and 
 Williams united in the service. 
 
 Henry J. Ripley, D.D., author of several volumes of Notes 
 on the Various Books of the Bible, and several other works, 
 was baptized by Rev. Dr. Baldwin, his esteemed friend. 
 He graduated at Harvard College in 1816, studied theol- 
 ogy at Andover, was ordained in this house, Nov. 7. 1819, Dr 
 Baldwin preaching the sermon; and from L826 filled a Pro- 
 fessor's chair at Xewton. His connection with the Institution 
 lately ceased; and hundreds of young men will remember him 
 with affectionate regard as a hind friend and faithful teacher. 
 
 Recel LoTHROPwas baptized by Dr. Baldwin, and for a time 
 was settled at Cavendish, Vt. His course was not such as to 
 reflect honor upon the Church which sent him forth. 
 
34 
 
 Adoniram Judson, sen., formerly a Congregational minister, 
 and father of the apostle to Burmah. He was a Congrega- 
 tionalist, and at various periods was settled at Maiden, Ply- 
 mouth, and Newton. He was baptized in 1817, together with 
 his wife and daughter, by Rev. Dr. Baldwin. He was after- 
 ward settled at Nobleboro', Me., and died Nov. 25, 1826. He 
 was a man of considerable culture and biblical attainments, 
 and a humble, sincere Christian. 
 
 Elisha S. Williams, son of a Presbyterian minister, gradu- 
 ated at Yale College, and became pastor in Brunswick and 
 Beverly, where he labored many years. He came to Boston 
 in the decline of his life, and died in Beverly at an advanced 
 age, a man of great rectitude and piety. From 1812 to .1827, 
 he was a member of this Church. He was born in 1757, grad- 
 uated in 1775, baptized by Rev. Eliphalet Smith, ordained in 
 1799, and died in 1845. 
 
 Stephen Lovell united with this Church by letter, and was 
 settled for some time with the Church at Cambridgeport, and 
 finally became editor of the " Olive Branch," a literary paper, 
 which has ceased to exist. He was not connected with the 
 Baptists at the time of his death. 
 
 Ieah Chase, D.D., born in 1793, graduated at Middlebury 
 College, 1814, educated in theology at Andover, united with 
 this body by letter. He was ordained in 1817 at Danvers, 
 during a session of the Boston Association, and, after spending 
 some years as a missionary in the West, became a Professor 
 in the Theological School in Philadelphia, which was after- 
 wards transferred to Washington. In 1825 he became con- 
 nected with Newton Institution, and continued a Professor there 
 until 1845. He died in 1864, universally lamented by the 
 denomination of which he was one of the most distinguished 
 scholars. 
 
 Stephen Chapin, D.D., ordained a Congregationalist, after 
 having studied theology under Dr. Emmons, of Franklin, and 
 settled in Hillsborough and Mount Vernon, N.H. The Half-way 
 Covenant led him to review his position ; and, in the study, he 
 became a Baptist, and was baptized by Dr. Baldwin in 1818. 
 The following year he became pastor of the Church in North 
 Yarmouth, but soon accepted the chair of theology in Water- 
 
35 
 
 ville College, in which he continued until 1828, when he Was 
 elected President of Columbian College, which position he 
 filled until 1841. He died a few years afterward. 
 
 Alvah Woods, D.D., for a time a professor in Brown Uni- 
 versity, afterwards President of Transylvania University, 
 Kentucky, and then of Tuscaloosa University, Ala. His 
 later years have been spent in retirement at Providence. 
 
 James A. Boswell studied with Dr. Chaplin, of Danvers, 
 and afterwards ordained as pastor in that town ; preached at 
 various places, with much usefulness ; and died at Bow, N.H., 
 leaving an unblemished reputation and a precious memory. 
 
 S. C. Dillaway was ordained at Charlestown as an evangel- 
 ist. Dr. Baldwin preached the sermon from Eph. iv. 8, 11, 12. 
 He was settled in Randolph and other places, but long since 
 went to his rest. 
 
 Lewis E. Caswell, baptized by Dr. Baldwin, July 6, 1817, 
 received by this Church in 1829, was settled five years in 
 Meredith, and eight years in Ware, N.H., but has spent most 
 of his life in city mission work. He is still a member of the 
 Church, and usefully employed in ministering to the necessi- 
 ties of the poor. He has been very active in the temperance 
 reform and in the antislavery cause. 
 
 B. F. Farxsworth, D.D., came to this Church by letter, and 
 spent most of his life as a teacher of youth. He was for many 
 years Principal of the New Hampton Institution, and after- 
 wards President of Georgetown College. He was editor, for a 
 time, of the " Christian Watchman." He died May 4, 1851, near 
 Lexington, Ky., after a long illness. 
 
 William Collier, for many years a most excellent city mis- 
 sionary. Mr. Collier was, for three years, pastor of the Gold- 
 street (now the First) Baptist Church, in New York. He was 
 installed as pastor of the First Church, Charlestown, May 3, 
 1804, where he continued fifteen years and four months. 
 
 Caleb B. Shute was baptized by Dr. Baldwin in 1825, just 
 before the death of the venerable pastor. He was ordained at 
 Dunstable, and was for several years in the Sabbath-school 
 Depository in Cornhill, and made himself useful to Zfon. He 
 is now dead. 
 
 Lemuel Porter, D.D., died at Chicago, where he was acting 
 
36 
 
 as district secretary for the American Tract Society, in 1864. 
 He was baptized by Dr. Baldwin, graduated at Waterville Col- 
 lege, and became pastor of the Worthen-street Church, Lowell, 
 where he remained sixteen years. He subsequently removed 
 to Pittsfield, where he was settled for several years. He was 
 also pastor of the church in Bloomington, 111., for a short time. 
 He was a useful and laborious minister. 
 
 Samuel Francis Smith, D.D., a poet and preacher, who 
 was born in Boston, 1809, graduated at Harvard, 1829, ordained 
 as pastor of the Baptist Church in Waterville, Me., in 1834, 
 after which he was elected Professor of Modern Languages in 
 the college, where he continued until 1842, when he removed 
 to Newton, and became pastor of the First Church. Dr. Smith 
 was the author of the beautiful hymn " America," one of the 
 compilers of the " Psalmist," and for a long time the editor of 
 the " Christian Review." He was baptized at an early age. 
 
 John Peak, a godly man, who, after various settlements, 
 afflicted with a grievous lameness, sought rest in the bosom 
 of this Church. He was one of the pioneers in Baptist work 
 in New England, labored long and well for the Master, and 
 died, leaving a fragrant memory and blessed influence. He 
 was one of those fathers who labored hard, with little com- 
 pensation, laying the foundations of our history. He was 
 pastor in Newburyport for many years. 
 
 Joseph W. Eaton was baptized by Rev. Mr. Knowles. He 
 graduated at Harvard University, pursued a course of study 
 at Newton, and, on graduating, took the pastoral charge of the 
 First Church in Lowell, as the successor of Rev. E. W. Free- 
 man. He was subsequently settled with the churches in 
 Springfield, Keeseville, N.Y., Danversport, and other places. 
 He yet lives ; but, by ill health, is laid aside from pulpit labors. 
 
 Nathaniel Hervey, baptized by Rev. Mr. Knowles, and 
 alter preparatory studies, graduated at Newton in 1833. On 
 entering the ministry, he settled at Westboro', Medford, East 
 Cambridge, Andover, and some other places, where he was 
 largely useful. Embracing the doctrines of William Miller, 
 Mr. Hervey preached them for some years ; but at length re- 
 turned to the denomination which he left, and died in its com- 
 munion in 1855. 
 
37 
 
 Martin T. Sumner was baptized by Rev. Mr. Knowles, and 
 graduated at Brown University. From this Church he was 
 dismissed to the Second Baptist Church in Richmond, Va. He 
 was ordained, and became pastor of a Church near that city, 
 and afterwards removed farther south. In the bitter Rebellion 
 he has taken sides against the Government of our country. 
 
 George W. Patch, baptized by Rev. Mr. Knowles in 1841, 
 and after graduating at Brown University, and spending some 
 time at Newton, and being licensed to preach by the First 
 Church, was ordained at Wenham, Mass., where his first pas- 
 toral labors were performed. He was afterward settled at 
 Sharon, and now for nearly seventeen years has been the labori- 
 ous and earnest pastor of the Church in Marblehead. In 1864 
 and 1865, he occupied a seat in the Massachusetts Legislature, 
 being elected by his fellow-townsmen, mainly with reference 
 to the interests of temperance and liberty ; his failing health 
 leading him to accept the position. 
 
 Oliver A. Dodge was a native of Hampton Falls, and joined 
 this Church by letter in 1833. In 1834 he was settled as pastor 
 of the Church in Lexington, where he died soon after. 
 
 Pearley P. Sanderson, a man of excellent character and 
 sincere piety, was settled at Beverly Farms, and has been 
 a pastor in several other places, where he has labored with 
 much fidelity. 
 
 John Cannan was baptized by Rev. Dr. Stow. He had 
 been a Pedobaptist minister, and, after his union with this 
 Church, labored as a city missionary, but soon went to his 
 long home. 
 
 David A. Richardson joined by letter under Mr. Knowles's 
 pastorate. A short time after Dr. Stow's settlement, lie ap- 
 plied to the Church for a license to preach, which was refused. 
 He returned to Vermont, whence he came, removed his mem- 
 bership to Londonderry, was licensed and ordained, and died 
 many years ago. 
 
 Benjamin C. Thomas, now a faithful missionary at Eenthada, 
 Burmah, was baptized by Dr. Stow, Oct. 28, 1838. He >ul>- 
 seipiently became amember of the Harvard-street Church, with 
 which he is now connected. He was the founder of one or 
 two mission schools while pursuing his studies at Newton,and 
 
38 
 
 has been the instrument of great good since he commenced 
 his labors in Burmah. 
 
 Alvah Hovey, D.D., baptized elsewhere, and united here 
 by letter. On graduating at the Theological Institution at 
 Newton, he was appointed Professor of Christian Theology, 
 and has held that position up to this time, filling the chair 
 with great ability. A treatise on " Miracles " has just come 
 from his pen. 
 
 Thomas W. Clark, received by letter, and has been in the 
 army as chaplain, having previously preached at Nantucket. 
 
 Willard P. Upham was baptized by Dr. Stow, April 16, 
 1837, and has spent most of his ministerial life as a devoted 
 missionary among the Cherokees ; but is now residing near the 
 city of Boston. 
 
 James W. Capen, baptized by Rev. Dr. Stow, April 5, 1838, 
 licensed to preach by this Church, ordained in this house, 
 and, settling in California, became an Episcopalian. 
 
 Henry F. Lane, baptized by Dr. Stow, April 26, 1840, was 
 licensed to preach by this Church, and has been settled in New 
 London, N.H., North Dorchester, and Lawrence. He is now 
 doing faithful service as pastor of the Baptist Church in Ports- 
 mouth, N.H. 
 
 Robert Henry Harlow was baptized by Dr. Stow, June 7, 
 1835. He has been settled at Osterville on Cape Cod, and 
 has done some service in other places, preaching as an 
 occasional supply. He graduated at Brown University and 
 at Newton. 
 
 Elisha V. Glover, a business man of Camden, N.J., who, 
 feeling the necessity of a new meeting-house in a destitute 
 part of the city, built a most commodious house of worship, in 
 which he preaches the Gospel to an efficient Church. He was 
 baptized by Mr. Knowles, May 6, 1827. 
 
 J. C. Hartshorn was baptized by Rev. Mr. Knowles, grad- 
 uated at Brown University and at Newton Institution. He 
 entered the ministry, and was settled for several years at 
 Georgetown, Mass., when failing health caused him to resort 
 to secular business, which he now pursues in the city of Prov- 
 idence. 
 
 George M. Condron was baptized by Rev. Dr. Tucker, May 
 
39 
 
 6, 1849, pursued a course of study at Rochester, and, after 
 various labors, entered the Federal army as a chaplain, where 
 he made himself useful to the brave men in arms. 
 
 Henry Hincklt, pastor of the Church in Winchester, where 
 he was ordained in 18G0, the present pastor of Baldwin Place 
 having preached the sermon on the occasion. He was baptized 
 by Rev. Dr. Tucker, June 5, 1849, with twenty other persons. 
 
 Charles C. Miller, who has labored in the West. He was 
 baptized by Dr. Caldicott in 1854, and ordained Feb. 1858, at 
 Alpine, Mich. 
 
 J. Judson Miller, the pastor of the Church in Somerville, 
 baptized by Dr. Caldicott in 1855, ordained Sept. 17, 1861, 
 and has of late been much prospered in the work of the Lord, 
 a revival having attended his labors. 
 
 A. M. Higgins, baptized by Rev. Dr. Stow, March 27, 1842, 
 graduated at Brown University and Newton Institution, li- 
 censed to preach the Gospel by this Church, July 24, 1855, 
 ordained in this house in 1857, and has been settled in Leo- 
 minster and Plaistow, where he exerted a healthful and salu- 
 tary influence. 
 
 Stephen Pillsbury, baptized by Dr. Stow, after hesitating 
 long as to duty, was ordained as pastor of the Baptist Church 
 in Dunbarton, N.H., where he now is laboring as a minister of 
 the Gospel. 
 
 Samuel T. Frost was baptized by Rev. James Belcher, 
 and feeling it his duty to enter the Gospel ministry, made ap- 
 plication, but was discouraged by his pastor. The claims of 
 the work led him to seek encouragement elsewhere, and he 
 was ordained by the Free Will Baptists at Andover, N.H., 
 but not feeling that he was in the right place among them, 
 returned to us, and is now preaching to the Baptist Church in 
 Lexington. 
 
 William S. Barnes, the last of all the ministers who have 
 gone out from us. He was baptized by Rev. Dr. Tucker, and 
 ordained in Melrose, where he now preaches the Gospel of 
 our Lord very acceptably. 
 
 One member of the Church, John S. Holmes, is now pursuing 
 a course of study, preparatory to the ministry, at Rochester, 
 N.Y. 
 
40 
 
 "While pastor at Baldwin Place, Dr. Stow baptized, at Fed- 
 eral Street, nineteen persons, among whom were Alfred Coburn, 
 May 5, 1833, and Lyman Jewett, July 7, 1833. The former 
 is qow a pastor in New Hampshire, and the latter a beloved 
 missionary at Nellore, India. Dr. Stow also baptized Susan II. 
 Stone, April 22, 1836, now wife of Rev. Mr. Ward, of Assam. 
 
 There are probably others, who, having been members of 
 this Church, have gone into the ministry. We look upon the 
 array of piety and talent they present as one, and not the 
 slightest, proof of the usefulness of this body. 
 
 Time would fail me to mention even the names of the excel- 
 lent laymen who have gone out from this altar, and have filled 
 positions of trust and honor in the Church and in the world. 
 There is scarcely a Church which has not more or less repre- 
 sentatives of Baldwin Place in it, — Deacons Lincoln and Lewis, 
 of Rowe Street; Smith, of Shawmut Church; Wilbur, of Bow- 
 doin Square; Chipman and Perkins, of the Temple; Woodman, 
 of the First Church, Charlestown; Vialle, of the Bethel; Hart, 
 of Dudley street; Jones, of Cary Avenue Church; Hunter, of 
 Maiden ; Taylor, of Union Church ; Carleton, of the Central 
 Church, Salem ; Brown, of Watertown ; Charter, of Somer- 
 ville, and many others of pious life and hope. The Church 
 seems to have been a great manufactory to turn out useful men 
 and women for the cause and service of Christ ; and holy per- 
 sons, filling all the positions of trust in Church and State* 
 have gone out from this altar, — gone to bless and save the 
 world. -(• 
 
 * Gov. Joseph A. Gilmore of New Hampshire was a member of Baldwin 
 Place. Hon. J. Warren Men-ill, {he present mayor of Cambridge, was also a 
 member here. Both were baptized by Dr. Stow. 
 
 t Since this discourse was delivered, several of the most aged members of 
 the Church have gone to their reward. Among these are Miss Sarah Bum- 
 stead, who died on the 10th of April, 1865, at the age of 91 years, and Mr. 
 Reuben T. Robinson, who died April 16, 1865, at the age of 72 years. The 
 former of these was insane many years previous to her death ; but, in her 
 lucid moments, Baldwin-Place Church was the subject of her sweetest thoughts, 
 and in her wanderings nothing would so quickly recall her as the name of her 
 former sainted pastor. The latter died calmly and serenely in his house, 17 
 Cooper Street, beloved by all who knew him, and mourned by a large circle 
 of friends. 
 
41 
 
 This Church has been very blessed in its contributions of 
 members to form other Churches in the city and vicinity. In 
 1807 it became evident that another Church, nearer that south 
 toward which we are moving, was needed, and the Charles- 
 
 Charles- Street Church. 
 
 Street Church was formed. A committee consisting of Thomas 
 Kendall, Samuel Adams, and Heman Lincoln was appointed 
 by the South-End brethren and sisters to address a letter to 
 this Church, asking the advice and counsel of the body. In 
 answer, letters were granted to nineteen persons ; and, on the 
 7th of August, they, with five from the First Church, were 
 constituted the Third Baptist Church. The meeting-house 
 was dedicated the same day. The house erected by the new 
 Church is here given. It was built of brick, seventy-five feet 
 square, exclusive of the tower. It cost $27,000, and in the 
 tower was placed the first bell the Baptists ever had in the city. 
 Rev. Caleb Blood, of Shaftsbury, Vt., became pastor ; and in 
 1812, Rev. Daniel Sharp succeeded him, and remained pastor 
 until his death in 1853. 
 
 The relations between the Second and Third Churches were 
 always amicable. Dr. Baldwin preached the sermon when the 
 Third Church was formed, and also took part at the recognition 
 of Mr. Sharp. Dr. Sharp was followed in the pastorate by Rev. 
 
 6 
 
42 
 
 J. C. Stockbridge, and Dr. Stockbridge was succeeded, in 18G2, 
 by Rev. William Hague, D.D., as the present minister.* 
 
 When, in 1825, it became evident that another Church was 
 needed to meet the growing wants of Boston, the old Church 
 was ready and willing to send out her sons and daughters 
 to assist in the formation of the Federal (now Rowe) Street 
 Church. A preliminary meeting was held at the house of Dr. 
 
 Eowe-Street Church. 
 
 Baldwin on the 25th of February : other meetings followed ; 
 and a lot of ground was secured for an edifice, the corner- 
 
 * Dr. Hague has since become pastor of Shawmut- Avenue Church. 
 
43 
 
 stone of which was laid Sept. 25, 1826. It was of brick, eighty- 
 six by seventy-six feet in dimensions, and contained a hun. 
 dred and fifty-one pews. The land cost $15,348, and the house 
 was built in shares of a hundred dollars each; two hundred 
 shares being taken up. Dr. Baldwin did not live to lay the cor- 
 ner-stone and dedicate the edifice ; but the people were ad- 
 dressed at the consecration of the house by Mr. Knowles. his 
 successor. Of the forty-five persons organized as a Church, 
 July 16, 1827, twenty-four were from Baldwin Place. Driven 
 out by business, the Church removed, and in 1847 erected the 
 fine house of which a view is here given ; and the pastors 
 have been, — Howard Maicom, G. B. Ide, Handel G. Nott, 
 William Hague, and Baron Stow. Soon a new movement was 
 made for another Church. The population rolling south- 
 ward made it necessary that a new colony should be plant- 
 ed; and though it did not spring as directly from this Church 
 as did the others, yet Baldwin Place contributed to it many 
 valuable members; the larger number being from Federal 
 Street and Charles Street. A few friends met, Sept. 6, 1838, 
 at the house of John F. Edwards, and after prayer resolved to 
 make a beginning. A room was hired over the Boylston 
 
 'Harvard-street Jiaptist Church. 
 
 Market; and on the 27th of March, 1839, the Church was publicly 
 
 recognized. In 1840 the Church removed to the Me'o leon ; 
 
44 
 
 a revival of religion followed ; a pastor, Rev. Robert Turnbull, 
 P.D., was settled, the services of installation being held in 
 Charles-Street Church. The house on the corner of Harrison 
 Avenue and Harvard Street was erected at a cost of $40,000, 
 and was dedicated as the Harvard-Street Baptist Church, and 
 Robert Turnbull, Joseph Banvard, A. H. Burlingham, D. C. 
 Eddy, and Warren Randolph, have been pastors. The same 
 year a delegation went from this body to assist in the for- 
 mation of the Church worshipping in Tremont Temple. The 
 old Tremont Theatre was purchased ; and nineteen of our 
 members united with others in the formation of a Church de- 
 signed to furnish free seats to all who should attend, and also 
 to take radical antimasonic and antislavery ground. The 
 Temple was commenced in 1844, and after various struggles the 
 present Tremont Temple was completed and dedicated to the 
 service of God, and is one of the most beautiful and spacious 
 halls for public gatherings on this continent. It is held by a 
 corporation, and the Church have the free use of the audience- 
 room on the Sabbath-day, and no charge is made for seats. 
 
 Tremont Tonple. 
 
 About the same time the claims of the West End were 
 urged ; and a Church in that locality was suggested. Several 
 able and influential brethren, among whom were Asa Wilbur 
 and Benjamin Smith of this Church, and Moses Pond of 
 the First Church, had several meetings, and, after much 
 discussion and prayer, resolved to organize themselves into 
 
15 
 
 a Church of our Lord Jesus Christ. A lot of land on the north 
 side of Bowdoin Square was selected ; and a substantial gran- 
 ite edifice, ninety-six feet in height, exclusive of the tower, 
 and costing upwards of $70,000, was built. The Church was 
 constituted Sept. 17, 1840, with one hundred and thirty-seven 
 members, of whom seventy-nine were from Baldwin-Place. 
 R. W. Cushman, Pharcellus Church, William H. Wines, J. N. 
 Murdock, and 0. T. Walker, have been pastors of the Bowdoin- 
 Square Church. 
 
 Eowdoin-Sqtiare Church. 
 
 Besides these, the Church in Hingham, the two Churches in 
 Somerville, the Bunker-hill Church in Charlestown, and several 
 others in the city and out of it, have drawn largely on tin's 
 venerable body. 
 
 But the history of Baldwin-Place Church in this section of 
 the city terminates to-day. Next Sabbath we shall worship in 
 another place, and be surrounded by other circumstances. 
 The chapel on Canton Street, built by the Shawmut Congre- 
 gational Church, and which afterwards cradled the Shawmut 
 Baptist Church and the Church of the Unity, has been hired 
 for a temporary home.* It will seat nearly live hundred per- 
 
 * At $300 per annum. Services were commenced here .Tan. 8, L865. The 
 audience the fii>t Sabbath morning consisted of thirty-seven persons. 
 
46 
 
 sons ; and, when carpeted and furnished, will be a pleasant and 
 commodious meeting-place. In the mean while plans are being 
 drawn for a new house of worship, which, as soon as estimates 
 can be secured, will be presented to the public. It is proposed 
 to commence work as soon as the opening spring will allow 
 the spade of the laborer to upturn the earth ; and we hope, in 
 time, to finish a Church which shall be an ornament to the city, 
 a home for souls, and an earthly dwelling-place for God. 
 
 In leaving this spot, we do not feel that we are leaving 
 North End without Baptist preaching and gospel ordinances ; 
 for the Bethel Society having purchased at an expense of 
 $30,000 the Universalist meeting-house on the corner of Han- 
 over and Bennett Streets, which was erected in 1838, it has 
 been opened for the excellent seaman's chaplain, Rev. Phineas 
 Stowe, who, since 1845, has been laboring in this city for 
 landsmen and seamen. Thus, on the spot where John Murray 
 preached original Universalism, and within the walls erected 
 for Sebastian Streeter, the converts gathered by Thomas Bald- 
 win may find a home. 
 
 The past is all registered in heaven ; the toils, the sacri- 
 fices, the whole history, of this Church, from 1743 to 18G5, is 
 all sealed up for the last day. Of the twelve pastors who have 
 preached here, seven have passed away. Of the deacons who 
 have officiated here, almost all have gone home ; and others 
 are only waiting until the angel-call is heard, and they go up 
 to the Church on high. 
 
 Brethren and fathers, how strange and eventful the times in 
 which we live ! How august the events that are passing 
 around us ! How little did the founders of this Church think 
 of the scenes amid which we find ourselves to-day ! Dr. Stow, 
 in closing his centennial discourse, July 27, 1843, remarked : 
 " When another hundred years shall have finished their circuit 
 and another pastor shall stand here to add a second chapter to 
 her history, all we, and many hundreds of our successors, shall 
 have passed on to our eternal home. And what shall be the 
 contents of that additional chapter? What names and dates 
 will supply the vacancy in that mural tablet? Whose voice 
 will then, in thunder-tones, proclaim here the truths of the 
 everlasting Gospel ? Who will then, in yonder choir, sing the 
 
47 
 
 praises of the most high God-? Who will be the pastor of the 
 associate Churches ? What will be the condition of our country ? 
 Will she still be a Republic, free, united, intelligent, prosper- 
 ous, — the beacon', to the nations, of political wisdom and moral 
 virtue ? Will Protestant Christianity then be the prevalent 
 religion of the land ? Will slavery, that foul offence against 
 both God and man, be effectually and forever abolished ?" Not 
 one hundred years, but less than one-fourth of that time, has 
 rolled away ; and the old Church has put on her garments, taken 
 her staff, and prepared to depart to another field of usefulness. 
 Less than a quarter of a century has gone ; and the preacher 
 of that centennial sermon has entered another field, and the 
 Church has had five pastors since then ! Less than a quarter 
 of a century has rolled away ; and every Baptist pastor in the 
 city at that time, with one exception,* has vacated his pulpit : 
 and most of the Churches have changed pastors repeatedly ! 
 Less than a quarter of a century has expired, and the Republic 
 has been convulsed with the most stupendous civil war the 
 world has ever seen, the States have been rent asunder, and 
 all the hopes of Constitutional liberty have been placed in 
 peril ! Less than a quarter of a century has been added to 
 the returnless past, and " slavery, that foul offence against God 
 and man," has received its death-blow; and, while we are gather- 
 ing strength for our departure to a new field of labor, the land 
 is rocking with the joy felt on the passage of the Constitutional 
 Amendment that blots the system out forever ! Who, on the 
 twenty-seventh day of July, 1843, would have dared predict 
 such changes ? Who then would have deemed such a war with- 
 in the bounds of possibility? Who would have dreamed of 
 the extinction of slavery in a sea of blood ? The mind of the 
 preacher on that occasion seemed to struggle with the idea, 
 that, in a century, God might work some great change, that 
 some mighty events would startle the globe ; but no one here 
 that day dreamed of what we see. History has Keen written 
 a volume in a month. Events have crowded upon each other 
 thick and fast, until we stand appalled at the magnitude of the 
 procession of changes. 
 
 * Dr. Ncale of the First Church, settled in 1837. 
 
48 
 
 » 
 
 And the future — what shall it be? — the future of this 
 Church, the future of Boston, the future of America? Events 
 ripen so fast, that we cannot look forward a century. A single 
 decade, — a single year, — how full it seems of change, commo- 
 tion, revolution ! What revolutions in human condition ! What 
 changes in the opinions of men ! What strides of science ! 
 what advancement of art ! What triumphs of intellect ! 
 
 And now we shut the book, and close the record. Prepare 
 ye for the arduous work before you. The field in which the 
 new house is to be built is far from here ; and it will be 
 with difficulty that some of you can get there. But one thing 
 we ask of you to-night. Go on with us, whatever may be the 
 inconvenience, until the Church finds a resting-place and a 
 lodgement in its new home. Do not falter in the hour of peril. 
 The Church has voted to remove : forsake her not until she 
 shall enter the Land of Promise. It will be a sacrifice ; but we 
 have a right to ask it of you. For Zion's sake ; for the old 
 Church, who took you in when you were converted ; for Christ's 
 sake, ■ — ■ make what sacrifice is demanded in this enterprise. We 
 cannot, while removing, afford to lose the prayers, the faith, 
 the labors, or the contributions, of one single member. Let 
 this be the earnest Christian determination of all, — that, come 
 what will, Baldwin-Place Church shall not be abandoned until 
 its new edifice is built, and its future is secured.* 
 
 * The society was so successful in making arrangements, that a lot of land of 
 ample size was secured on the corner of Warren Avenue and Canton Street, 
 and the building was commenced on the 23d of May, 1865. The house is in 
 Norman- Gothic style of architecture, 113 feet long, and 110 feet wide in the 
 transepts. A tower and spire ornamental in appearance will grace the north-east 
 corner. The materials will be brick, with brown-stone trimmings. The inte- 
 rior will be finished in black walnut and chestnut combined. The ceiling will 
 be finished with the clear-story, and the whole will be lighted with tinted and 
 ground glass. It is expected that the house will seat about 1200 persons, and 
 with the land will cost about $90,000. It is expected that the corner-stone 
 will be laid about the first of July, and that the edifice will be completed in 
 about one year from the date of its commencement, while some hopes are 
 cherished that the lecture-room may be ready for occupancy by Christmas of 
 the present year. The building committee consists of Messrs. William E. 
 Smith, A. G. Stimson, J. E. Daniels, Thomas Mair, Joseph Sawyer, and C. A. 
 Vialle. 
 
49 
 
 And now, farewell ! Farewell to these hallowed walls, to 
 these precious associations, to these tender scenes! And yet 
 the Church does not die. We have nothing here hut bricks, 
 mortar, and beams. The Church has a future. " Through 
 death to life " is the history of men, churches, and nations. 
 Things that die, die to live again. 
 
 " The star is not extinguished when it sets 
 Upon the dull horizon : it but goes 
 To shine in other skies, then re-appear 
 In ours, as fresh as when it first arose. 
 
 " The river is not lost when o'er the rock 
 It pours its flood into the abyss below : 
 Its scattered force regathering from the shock, 
 It hastens onward with yet fuller flow. 
 
 " The bright sun dies not when the shadowing orb 
 Of the eclipsing moon obscures its ray : 
 It still is shining on ; and soon to us 
 
 Will burst undimmed into the joy of day. 
 
 " The fine gold has not perished when the flame 
 Seizes upon it with consuming glow : 
 In freshened splendor it comes forth anew 
 To sparkle on the monarch's throne or brow. 
 
 " Thus nothing dies, or only dies to live : 
 
 Star, stream, sun, flower, the dewdrop, and the gold, — 
 Each goodly thing, instinct with buoyant hope, — 
 Hastes to put on its purer, finer mould." 
 
 Through this separation, this sundering of ties, this breaking 
 up of affections, comes the prolonged life and continued history 
 of the old Church. Whatever may become of this venerable 
 structure, Baldwin-Place Church will live, — live when we 
 are dead. 
 
 Where are the godly men who once ministered at this altar, 
 bore the burdens of the Church, or were pillars in the house, 
 of God? Where arc the men whose names you love to hear, 
 — Ensign Lincoln, Jacob I Tiler, Jonathan Carleton, Edward 
 Smith, Ezra Chamberlain, Ezra Eaton, and many others of pre- 
 
 7 
 
50 
 
 cious faith ? Dead ; but the Church lives ! And how soon 
 Heman Lincoln, who remembers well when there were but 
 two Baptist Churches in this city, and Jonathan Loring, who 
 was born in 1785, and many other of the aged saints, will be 
 before the throne of God ! — but the Church will live. God 
 is in her history, and he gives her immortality. 
 
 " Glorious things are spoken of thee, city of God ! I will 
 make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that love thee. 
 Behold Philistia and Tyre, with Ethopia ! this man was born 
 there. And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was 
 born in her ; and the Highest himself shall establish her. The 
 Lord shall count, when lie writeth up the people, that this man 
 was born there. As well the singers as the players on instru- 
 ments shall be there. All my springs are in thee." 
 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 Baldwin-Place Church property having been sold to a corporation of 
 gentlemen, to be known as the "Baldwin-Place Home for Little Wanderers," 
 memorial services were held on Sunday and Monday, Feb. 12 and 13, 1865. 
 On Sunday afternoon, the Lord's Supper was administered to a large company 
 of past and present members of the church. Baron Stow, D.D., broke the 
 bread, assisted by Rev. Stephen Remington, the late pastor, and Rev. Daniel 
 C. Eddy, D.D., the present pastor. 
 
 At the close of the service, the hand of Church-fellowship was extended to 
 the last person baptized in the house ; and addresses were made by Rev. 
 Stephen Remington, Hon. Heman Lincoln, Rev. George Carleton, Edward 
 Chamberlain, Jonathan Loring, A. G. Stimson, and others. The service was 
 tender, solemn, and memorable. 
 
 On Sunday evening, the exercise was opened by the singing of the following 
 hymn, written by Gen. B. F. Edmands, for forty years connected with the 
 
 choir : — 
 
 We venerate the house 
 
 Our fathers reared to God ; 
 In which, in days of yore, 
 He fixed his blest abode. 
 What glories are described of old ! 
 What wonders are of Zion told! 
 
 From habitations near 
 
 Came up a numerous train, 
 Who found rich blessings here 
 Which filled their homes again; 
 For grace, and faith, and mighty love 
 Revealing to them life above. 
 
 In these our later times 
 
 Thy dealings, Lord, ordain : 
 
 Thy children's homes shall be 
 
 Far from this sacred fane: 
 
 Thy will directs, we leave its walls, 
 
 And Charity approves the calls. 
 
 Though oft, in foregone time 
 Thy special presence came 
 To these thy holy courts, 
 Here to record thy name, 
 Yet thus, where'er thy saints convene, 
 There they will meet the Almighty King. 
 
52 
 
 Lord of Hosts ! how prized 
 
 Thy tabernacles are, 
 By all the pious throngs 
 Who pay their service there ! 
 Where Faith, bright seraph, points the way 
 To realms of everlasting day. 
 
 The memorial sermon was then preached by the pastor; Rev. R. II. Neale, 
 D.D., of the First Church, and Rev. J. D. Fulton, of Tremont Temple, offered 
 prayers; and the benediction was pronounced by Rev. Stephen Remington. 
 
 On Monday afternoon, a large congregation filled the spacious house. Rev. 
 J. Warren Eaton, a former member, read the Scriptures ; Rev. T. O. Walker, 
 of Bowdoin Square, offered prayer; and addresses were made by Rev. S. 
 Remington, N. O. Hart, of Roxbury, J. Loring, Taylor, and Clapp, of Cam- 
 bridge, Loring, of Rowe Street, Wilbur, of Bowdoin Square, Stimson and 
 Caswell, of Baldwin Place, Rev. A. M. Higgins, a former member, the pastor, 
 and others. It was ascertained that there were present at this service twenty- 
 five persons who had been baptized by Rev. Dr. Baldwin, twenty-nine by Rev. 
 Mr. Knowles, ninety-one by Rev. Dr. Stow, and sixteen by Rev. Dr. Tucker. 
 The exercises were closed by the singing of a hymn by the congregation, and 
 the benediction by Rev. Dr. Smith, of Newton. The friends then repaired 
 to the vestry, and partook of a collation which had been provided. Two or 
 three hours were spent in the most agreeable manner. 
 
 In the evening, the house was again filled. Rev. J. C. Stockbridge, D.D., 
 read the Scriptures. Rev. J. Tilson, of Hingham, offered prayer. The fol- 
 lowing hymn, written for the occasion by Rev. S. D. Phelps, D.D., was 
 
 sung. 
 
 What holy memories, Lord, to-day 
 
 Cluster within these ancient walls, 
 Where oft our fathers met to pray, 
 
 And hear the Gospel's trumpet-calls ! 
 
 Here rose their grateful praise to heaven, 
 
 Here came the Spirit with the Word: 
 Manua divine to saints was given; 
 
 And sinners found by faith the Lord. 
 
 In glory now are precious throngs 
 
 Who saw the cross, and bore it here ; 
 In scenes of trial sang their songs, 
 
 In rapt communion dropped a tear. 
 
 Children of this dear mother's name, 
 
 If yet around the sacred place, 
 Or other fields their labor claim, 
 
 Father, bless with richest grace ! 
 
 Farewell, sweet spot of loved renown ! 
 
 Thy name shall hallow still our home: 
 Saviour, go with us, bless, and crown 
 
 With brighter glories years to come! 
 
53 
 
 The pastor then read the following letter from Rev. Dr. Stow, who was 
 prevented from being present on account of illness. 
 
 My dear Brethren and Friends, — I feel it a severe afflic- 
 tion that I cannot be present, and participate in the farewell ser- 
 vices which you, this evening, conclude. And yet, perhaps, it is 
 well that I am detained; for those services, with their multiplied 
 associations, would make a draft upon my sensibilities which I might 
 be ill able to bear. I can easily conceive, that, to many of you, the oc- 
 casion must be one of great tenderness and solemnity. Probably some 
 of you can understand why it would be to me profoundly suggestive 
 and heart-touching. Fifteen years and eight months I was there as 
 pastor, surrounded and sustained by a faithful band of co-laborers. It 
 was, from beginning to end, a period of severe toil ; but it was not less 
 a period of sweet enjoyment. My memory is charged with the facts, 
 and every review mellows my heart with emotion. Hardly, in my pres- 
 ent physical condition, should I have strength to endure the rush of 
 reminiscences which, were I to be with you this evening, would surely 
 come up with overwhelming force. May the Saviour be present by 
 his promised Comforter, directing thought, feeling, and utterance, and 
 making the whole service conducive to your spiritual benefit ! Let none 
 bid adieu to a spot hallowed by such sacred memories, till they shall 
 have consecrated themselves anew to Him who loved them, and gave 
 himself for them ! The first service in that house was prayer; its very 
 walls are redolent of the prayers of fifty-four years : let the final ser- 
 vice be prayer ! 
 
 Perhaps a few personal recollections may not be unacceptable. 
 
 Coming direct from my New-Hampshire home, one hundred miles 
 away, I first entered Boston, June 19, 1822, and stopped with Dr. 
 Baldwin, then residing in the large wooden house at the north-west 
 corner of Portland and Hanover Streets. To see that godly veteran 
 had long been my desire. When he resided in Canaan, N.H., he had 
 often preached in my native town ; and I had heard the older people 
 speak warmly of his sermons in private dwellings, in barns, and in 
 orchards, and of his baptizing the converted in streams, which had to 
 me, on that account, a special sacredness. I had read every thing from 
 his pen that came in my way, and especially the quarterly numbers of the 
 "Massachusetts Baptist Missionary Magazine," of which, for many 
 years, he was sole editor. One of his printed sermons, read by my father 
 to his family on a sabbath evening, made a deep impression upon my 
 mind, and was never forgotten. 
 
 The man of God, upon whose hospitality I had no claim, gave me a 
 cordial welcome, and assigned me what he pleasantly called '• The 
 
54 
 
 prophet's chamber." To him, and the late Ensign Lincoln, both of 
 precious memory, I was indebted for means to defray the expense of 
 my passage in the schooner " Reaper," Capt. Percival, to Baltimore, on 
 my way to enter the Columbian College at Washington. Brother Lewis 
 E. Caswell, then keeping a shoe-store in Union Street, interested him- 
 self for me, and, besides other favors, gave me a book, " Jones on tbe 
 Trinity," which I still have, and cherish as a memento of appreciated 
 kindness. The Rev. Joseph Elliot, whom I had known in the country, 
 was then pastor of the Dudlcyrstreet Church in Roxbury ; and I walked 
 out to see him and acknowledge some tokens of his generosity. The 
 long road, now Washington Street, was then called, in different sections, 
 by different names, — as Cornhill, Marlborough Street, Newbury Street, 
 Orange Street, &c. The book-stores of Samuel T. Armstrong, Lincoln 
 and Edmands, Manning and Loring, were to me objects of interest, for 
 I had read many a book with their imprint. I looked long at the Old 
 South Church; for I knew its history in connection with the American 
 Revolution. As I passed onward, I was interested in the signs on 
 shops and stores, and noted especially the frequency of one, — "Li- 
 censed to keep and sell gunpowder." Beyond Boylston Market, the 
 buildings were mostly of wood, and scattered. Much of the space was 
 devoted to vegetable and flower gardens, with shrubbery and fruit- 
 trees. In what is now Ward Eleven, a city in itself, there was but one 
 street ; and the dwellings were very few. The South Cove, on the one 
 side, and Back Bay on the other, were visible for a long distance. 
 There was the isthmus; and I thought of Charles Wesley's hymn, — 
 
 "Lo! on a narrow neck of land," 
 
 but, as I could see across the waters on either side, I could not ex- 
 actly add, — 
 
 " 'Twixt two unbounded seas I stand." 
 
 As it was then high tide, I noticed at one point that the water on each 
 side came nearly up to the rude fence. In the pastures were masses 
 of conglomerate rock, or pudding stone, and clumps of barberry-bushes 
 and other shrubs. Little did I then dream that " the Neck " would, in 
 two scores of years, receive such a dilatation, and have lavished upon 
 it such an outlay, for the homes of a swarming population. Roxbury 
 was then too far off for " annexation ;" now she is too near for her 
 long to avoid that result. As I looked over the expanse of Back Bay, 
 and marked the long line of beach, there was no prophecy indicating 
 that the Second Baptist Church, nestled at the foot of Copp's Hill, 
 
55 
 
 would ever be transferred to a point then far out from the shore, and 
 deeply buried in tide-water. 
 
 I had heard of Dr. Baldwin's theory, that " the way to learn to 
 preach is to preach," but did not suppose he would call for a specimen 
 of my proficiency. That thing, however, he did in his own peculiar 
 way. On Friday morning, he inquired if I had ever preached : my 
 answer was, " I have tried a few times." — -" Well," said he, " did you 
 not succeed ? This evening will be our weekly lecture ; and I wish 
 you to give them a plain New-Hampshire talk, such as I used to give 
 the folks up among your native hills. We are a plain people ; and you 
 need not be afraid." I had then more confidence in my ability to 
 preach than I now have, and required not much urging in that direc- 
 tion. As the vestry, on the south side of the narrow court, since 
 widened into Baldwin Place, was small and inconvenient, the service 
 was held in the house which you are now vacating ; and I stood at the 
 communion-table. My text was, Matt. xvi. 26 : " What is a man prof- 
 ited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Like 
 most other beginners, I was not dismayed at the greatness of my 
 subject. I was favored with " liberty," and had good attention ; but 
 it did not once occur to me how presumptuous I was in venturing to 
 stand in the place of the great Baptist apostle of New England. Those 
 who remember him will understand me, when I say, that, in two days, I 
 had seen enough of his meek gentleness and paternal cordiality to 
 make me unembarrassed by his presence. At the close of the service, 
 he put his hand upon my head, and blandly said, " My young brother, 
 you have a good voice. Go to Washington, and let Dr. Staughton tutor 
 it a while ; and I guess you will make a preacher." 
 
 My college room-mate, James D. Knowles, and myself, were guests 
 at Dr. Baldwin's in August, 1825. On the sabbath, August 21, Mr. 
 Knowles preached in the morning, and Dr. Baldwin in the after- 
 noon, — his last sermon in Boston. That evening Dr. Baldwin bade 
 us good-night, and retired early, saying he must meet Deacon Bacheller 
 and wife, of Lynn, at the steamboat-wharf, by half-past three the next 
 morning. We heard the carriage at the door before daylight, and soon 
 it bore away the good man and his wife, to return the following week 
 under greatly changed conditions. The next Friday evening, I preached 
 the lecture in the Second Church, and was introduced to several mem- 
 bers, who, seven years afterwards, welcomed me as pastor. I was 
 stopping with Deacon Heman Lincoln, then residing in T.ynde Street, 
 when, at the hour of breakfast, news came of the sudden decease, on 
 the 29th, of Dr. Baldwin, .'it Waterville, Me. A- the steamer, bearing 
 his remains, came up the bay. the bells of the city were tolled, and the 
 
56 
 
 crowd on the wharf was immense. The impression of that scene is 
 deep and ineffaceable in my memory. Boston has since paid funeral 
 honors to many a great man departed ; but over no one have so many 
 tears of affectionate grief been shed. Goodness commands a deeper 
 heart-homage than greatness. 
 
 During the ministry of Mr. Knowlcs as your pastor, I was often in 
 Boston, and preached for him many a sermon. From our earliest 
 acquaintance we had been intimate. Few knew him so well as myself. 
 Hundreds admired him for his superior talent, his pure taste, his lite- 
 rary culture, and his refinement of manners; but only those whom he 
 admitted to his confidence understood the warmth of his heart. With 
 the appearance of cold reserve and self-satisfaction, he was really one 
 of the most simple-hearted and child-like of men. Luther Bice once 
 said of him, in my hearing, " I could never get beneath his jacket." 
 That was probably the feeling of many ; but it was not true of all. He 
 was far from demonstrative with his affections ; but he was kind in 
 spirit, and remarkably lenient in his judgment of others. I have 
 never known the man whom I loved more, or who proved himself, on 
 long acquaintance, worthy of greater respect. 
 
 In February, 1832, 1 assisted him a whole week in a protracted meet- 
 ing. The streets were almost impassable from the depth of the snow ; but 
 the attendance was good. The meetings were held principally in the 
 vestry, and, as the pastor was not in good health, were chiefly under 
 my direction. Prayer was heard, and good was done ; but the appar- 
 ent results were not large. 
 
 Early in the following autumn, soon after the resignation of Mr. 
 Knowles, I was invited by a committee to preach a few weeks in 
 Baldwin Place, apparently as a supply, but, as I well understood, with 
 reference to something further. I was then pastor of the Middle- 
 street Church in Portsmouth, N.H. ; and my sense of justice to that 
 dear people forbade my compliance with such a request, and I simply 
 declined it. A few weeks afterwards, an invitation came from both 
 the Church and society to become their pastor. That I could honor- 
 ably accept; and my affirmative answer was promptly given. My first 
 sermon was the weekly lecture in the vestry, Nov. 2, 1832, from Ps. 
 lxxxv. 6 : " Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy people may rejoice 
 in thee ? " The sermon was intended as a key-note of my ministry in 
 that place, as it had been in my previous pastorate; and many of you 
 are aware how conformable to it were my labors. My first residence 
 was at 39 Charter Street, in a house owned and long occupied by 
 Deacon Joseph Woodcock. My first funeral was of a child of Lewis 
 Smith, in Prince Street. The first couple I married was Samuel Parks 
 and Eliza S. Fuller, in Portland Street. 
 
57 
 
 At the time of my settlement, the northern part of the city contained 
 very few foreigners. The nearest Roman-Catholic place of worship 
 was in Franklin Street. The population was dense ; and, though not 
 of the wealthier classes, they were of the kind most easily reached by 
 evangelical influences. The congregation was remarkably homogeneous. 
 There were no aristocratic families. None were above attending a 
 vestry meeting. It was refreshing to see how general and how cordial 
 was the feeling of social equality. To the prevalence of that feeling 
 I attribute, under God, much of my success in that field. I had no 
 temptation to cater to the taste of any particular class ; all were about 
 on a level ; and every sermon, like the scythe of a mower, might shave 
 the ground. 
 
 Very few of my hearers resided south of a line running from Long 
 Wharf through State, Court, and Cambridge Streets, to Cambridge 
 Bridge. When the house was the fullest, from 1834 to 1845, the 
 great body of my people resided north of Elm and Portland Streets. 
 I probably had then more Americans every sabbath than can now be 
 found in the First Ward. 
 
 When I commenced my labors, the deacons were Edward Smith, 
 Jacob Hiler, Ezra Chamberlain, Samuel Beal, Benjamin Kimball, and 
 Benjamin Smith, all good men and true. Of these, two survive, hav- 
 ing their membership in other Churches. Subsequently, two others were 
 elected. I delight to remember the many who were then active in the 
 Church, ready co-workers with the pastor. Hardly shall I disparage 
 the brethren if I speak in strong terms of the piety, steadfastness, 
 and holy consistency of a large body of female members. Might it 
 not seem invidious, I could, from memory, give the names of a hundred, 
 mostly baptized by Dr. Baldwin, and trained by him in doctrinal belief 
 and in ways of holy living. I can understand the apostle when he 
 speaks of godly women who labored with him in the Gospel. But the 
 brethren were not deficient. They stood by me, and encouraged me in 
 my spiritual work ; and I remember with gratitude their zealous, useful 
 fidelities. 
 
 When I entered upon the charge of the Church, its membership 
 was four hundred and seventy-nine. In the next ten years, three hun- 
 dred and forty-eight were dismissed, mostly to form new Churches. 
 Yet, at the end of ten years, the membership was eight hundred and 
 sixty-one. In that period we had three revivals of great power. The 
 most memorable one was in 1838, for it was most decidedly marked as 
 the product of the Holy Spirit. Many still remember and will aever 
 forget that hallowed evening of Dec. 31, 1*37, when, under a sermon, 
 — the union lecture of the four Churches, — more than a hundred 
 
 8 
 
58 
 
 were awakened, who subsequently related their experience of sovereign 
 grace, and were baptized. The strength added to the Church by that 
 revival was greater than by any other, except by the one in 1808—4. 
 
 Since my retirement from the pastorate in Baldwin Place, I have 
 often been called to officiate at the (funerals of the more aged members. 
 I could render the service with heart. I knew their history ; I knew 
 the depths of their experience; I could bear intelligent testimony to 
 their worth. Of the many who drew from me a promise, that, if within 
 reach, I would perform for them that final service, only a very few 
 remain, waiting their Lord's time to pass over the river, and join the 
 great multitude on the shining shore. The prospect of re-union with 
 so many of that dear Church in the better land is to me inspiring and 
 glorious. My heart would fain give their names. But, no : I must 
 forbear ; for I might omit some precious ones of whom the world was 
 not worthy. They are all registered in the Lamb's Book of Life. 
 
 The Baldwin-Place Church, as I have known it, has been distin- 
 guished for union of the body. I doubt if any Church of equal numbers 
 has been more closely united than this has been since the settle- 
 ment of Dr. Baldwin, nearly seventy-five years ago. Its harmony in 
 all that period has seldom been seriously disturbed. Differences of 
 opinion have been superficial, and quickly adjusted. The spirit of 
 peace — "the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace" — has been 
 strong and predominant. If ever brethren contended, they did it 
 awkwardly ; for they knew not how to quarrel. I have often wondered 
 at the tenacity of their union. Knowing well the strength of the 
 Democratic element, I have observed with admiration the Christian cor- 
 diality with which the minority would submit to a decision, patiently 
 acquiescing, even when they were not convinced. Much of their pros- 
 perity has been owing to their harmony. Their decline has not, in tbe 
 least, been attributable to internal causes. They have held together 
 and worked together in brotherly love. 
 
 There has been special attention to corrective discipline. Regard 
 has been had to the purity of the Church. Scandals have been promptly 
 noted and reprehended. Some things tolerated in other Churches have 
 ever been in this Church subject to animadversion. If any may have 
 thought her discipline sometimes too stringent, none have charged it 
 with favoritism or partiality. By acting promptly, she has cleared her- 
 self from reproach, and vindicated the cause of truth and good morals. 
 Where evidence of contrition was apparent, no Church was ever more 
 forgiving or ready to welcome back the censured. 
 
 The liberality of the Baldwin-Place Church is worthy of mention. 
 Knowing the limitations of their pecuniary ability, I was often amazed 
 
59 
 
 at the ease with which they could raise generous contributions for neces- 
 sary purposes. In other Churches, often the few give largely, and 
 many give nothing. In Baldwin Place, none gave largely, but many 
 gave something; and thus aggregates frequently exceeded my anticipa- 
 tions. Such giving I regarded as healthful to the Church. It is the 
 Gospel rule, — every one according to ability. 
 
 As I knew the Church, it was, by the grace of God, eminent for 
 spirituality. The great majority of the members maintained habitual 
 devotion. Family altars were numerous. Prayer-meetings were such 
 in reality as well as in name. The prayers of that people were all 
 along my comfort and support. The number of those who walked 
 with God was large ; and I felt as if I were among those who willingly 
 were "strangers and pilgrims on the earth." 
 
 Now that the Church is about to strike its tent and remove, the new 
 pastor can hardly feel as I should, were I the leader in the migration. 
 He cannot understand how much must be left behind. I should cling 
 strongly to that portion of the precious flock; and have many a heart- 
 ache before I could bid them adieu. But Providence has wisely and 
 graciously ordered the whole matter. Some must go; others cannot. 
 It is well that the leader in the enterprise is free to work for the good 
 of the Christian cause, and, while he deals tenderly with all, is not 
 unduly restrained by personal attachments. Since I ceased to be pastor 
 in Baldwin Place, I have scrupulously avoided alluring away its mem- 
 bers. Now that many will be compelled to seek new homes, how gladly 
 should I welcome them into the fold where I am the overseer ! 
 
 Brethren and friends, my heart is full, and I could write indefi- 
 nitely ; but I must not monopolize your attention. I feel tenderly 
 under the melting reminiscences called up by the occasion. When 
 quite young, I read in Ossian, that " the memory of joys past is like 
 the music of Caryl, pleasant, but mournful to the soul." Such is my 
 state of mind. The review is pleasant because it pertains to joys; 
 it is mournful because those joys are /></■■</. But, blessed be the God 
 of all grace, there are joys to come. We are going, in rapid succession, 
 to a home where no changes bring sadness to the heart ; where no 
 separations lacerate the sensibilities ; where all the good will be to- 
 gether, and remain together forever, one consolidated Church. Let us 
 unweariedly perform our allotted service, and patiently wait for the 
 setting of our sun, and steadfastly hope for the promised rest! These 
 tearful partings are only for a season. The children of God never see 
 one another for the last time. Ami. best of all. the .Master say-. 
 " Yet a little while, ami ye shall see M K." 
 
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 •• A little while '" to wear the robe of Badness, 
 And toil with weary step through miry ways, 
 Then to pour forth the fragrant oil <>f gladness, 
 
 And clasp the girdle round the robe of praise. 
 
 " A little while," 'midst shadow and illusion, 
 To strive, by faith, love's mysteries to spell, 
 Then read each dark enigma's bright solution, 
 
 And hail sight's verdict, " He doth all things well." 
 
 Ln fraternal sympathy with you all, 
 
 BARON STOW. 
 
 Haiuuson Avenue, 18th February, 1865. 
 
 Addresses were then made by Rev. Dr. Neale, Rev. J. Tilson, Hon. J. 
 Warren Merrill, Deacon J. Loring, Rev. Henry Hinkley, a former member, 
 and others. 
 
 At nine o'clock, Rev. Samuel F. Smith, D.D., once a member, addressed 
 the assembly, and read the following poem. 
 
 Dear is each well-remembered face 
 
 Laid up in Memory's shrine; 
 No scene will drive them from their place, 
 
 Or dim one precious line: 
 We linger, chained by love, to-da}-, 
 
 Amid the hallowed past, 
 And weep, as mournfully we say, 
 
 This hour must be the last. 
 
 Here were our early footsteps brought ; 
 
 And here, in riper years, 
 Our hearts, with joy or sorrow fraught, 
 
 Burdened with doubts and fears, • 
 
 Like rivers swollen with floods in spring, 
 
 Gushed with repentant grief, 
 Or felt the power of grace to bring 
 
 The needed, sweet relief. 
 
 Here pilgrims came, with weary feet, 
 
 And sat in pious trust, 
 And left — their pilgrimage complete — 
 
 The memory of the just. 
 We linger in the places where 
 
 Their honored footsteps trod, 
 And trace the path of faith and prayer, 
 
 By which they passed to God. 
 
 Here we have pledged the solemn vow. 
 
 To him who reigns above; 
 Here learned in humble faith to bow 
 
 To him whose name is love; 
 
61 
 
 Here have we stood, a grateful band, 
 Nor sought such bonds to part; 
 
 Dear every brother's faithful hand, 
 Each sister's loving heart. 
 
 As pilgrims — doomed awhile to roam 
 
 On some far-distant shore, 
 Returned to seek their early home, 
 
 Their well-known cottage-door — 
 Mourn for the friends of earlier times, 
 
 For many an honored head; 
 Some fled, long since, to other climes, 
 
 Some sleeping with the dead ; 
 
 Some rifled of their youthful bloom, 
 
 White rose-leaves on their brow; 
 Some shadowed o'er by clouds of gloom, — 
 
 (Alas, how altered now!) 
 We seek the friends to memory dear — ■ 
 
 How many seek in vain ! 
 Oh ! who will bring our loved ones here, 
 
 Just as they were, again ? 
 
 Gone, but not lost ; in nobler spheres, 
 
 Redeemed and saved they shine; 
 Each hand a palm of glory bears, 
 
 Each brow, a light divine; 
 And we on earth, and they above, 
 
 Led by one Shepherd's hand, 
 Encircled by one wreath of love, 
 
 Form still one blessed band. 
 
 'Tis done : we leave the hallowed ground, 
 
 But keep what grace has done ; 
 The rushing tide of life has found 
 
 New victories to be won. 
 But, temple where the saints have prayed, 
 
 Where God has deigned to dwell, — 
 How shall we let thy glory fade? 
 
 How shall we say " Farewell " ? 
 
 How shall we leave the sacred shrine, 
 
 Where once our fathers trod? 
 How darken here the light divine 
 
 Of those who walked with God? 
 With quivering lip, with tearful eye, 
 
 With calm but bleeding heart, 
 We sit in mournful sympathy, 
 
 And breathe the word, " Depart."' 
 
 But yonder springs in joyous light, 
 
 A temple high and pure: 
 The I m| in raiment bright, 
 
 Shall leave its court* no more. 
 
62 
 
 No night shall darken o'er its wall, 
 
 No sigh with anthems blend, 
 No mourner weep, no shadow fall: 
 
 Its worship never cud. 
 
 There they that sowed in faith and tears 
 
 Shall reap in endless joy; 
 And saints from all the varied years 
 
 Shall find one glad employ; 
 Cemented by one bond of love, 
 
 Striking one heavenly strain, 
 Our members all shall meet above, 
 
 Baldwin-Place Church again. 
 
 Henry S. Washburn, Esq., thou arose, and said he was not a past member, 
 but his heart was touched by the spirit of the occasion ; and closed as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 We are waiting, while we linger, 
 
 For one tender farewell more; 
 
 We arc waiting, while the echoes 
 
 Now are dying on the shore; 
 We are waiting, as the cable 
 
 Now is loosed from off the strand, 
 'Twixt the altar and the portals, 
 We are waiting, hand in hand. 
 
 Through the rustling of the pinions 
 
 Of angelic hosts we go, — 
 They who bore with us the burden 
 
 Of this weary march below. 
 Clinging to the cross, still closer, 
 
 While our yearning bosoms swell, — 
 We will whisper, oh! beloved, 
 
 Now, our parting word, Fakewell! 
 
 The concluding prayer was offered by the very venerable Deacon Loring, 
 for sixty-one years a worshipper on this spot; and the benediction was pro- 
 nounced by the pastor. The whole occasion was one of sweet and tender 
 interest, and made memorable the last days of Baldwin-Place Church in its 
 early home. 
 
 Press of George C. Rand «. Avery, No. 3 Coruhill. 
 

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