F 74 
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 Copy 1 
 
 OTHER MEN HAVE LABORED 
 
 A SERMON 
 
 Preached December 7th., 1879, 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. CALVIN S. LOCKE, 
 
 A MEMBER OF THE THIRD PARISH IN DEDHAM. 
 
 |) u b i i s b c b b n ft c q nc s t . 
 
 DEDHAM. MASS.: 
 PRINTED BY HUGH B. MCQUILLEN, 
 
 i 8 So. 
 
 JE-2S 
 
OTHER MEN HAVE LABORED : 
 
 A SEKMON 
 
 Preached December 7th., 1879, 
 
 REV. CALVIN S. LOCKE, 
 
 A MEMBER OF THE THIRD PARISH IN DEDHAM. 
 
 u b 1 1 s b e & b g Request. 
 
 DEDHAM. MASS.: 
 PRINTED BY HUGH H. MCQUILLEN. 
 
 1880. 
 

 Amer. Ant. Soc. 
 25 Jl I90i 
 
DISCOURSE. 
 
 OTHER MEN HAVE LABORED : YE HAVE ENTERED INTO 
 THEIR LABORS— John iv : 58. 
 
 One hundred and fifty years ago, the thirty or forty 
 families living in this part of the town went to meeting in a 
 building standing on the site of the one now occupied by the 
 First Parish in Dedham. Those who were in affluent cir- 
 cumstances rode, perhaps, in chaises, while others went on 
 horseback, ladies riding behind their husband or brothers 
 on pillions, while others still, wended their way on -foot, 
 back and forth, through the majestic oaks and maples and 
 chestnuts of the primeval forest. The homes which they 
 left were different from ours. A huge fire-place, capable of 
 receiving on its heavy andirons' logs four feet long, occupied 
 a part of one side of the living-room. Sometimes this fire- 
 place was large enough to have a seat within its limits, 
 where the children could sit and catch a glimpse of the stars 
 passing overhead, or hear the snow hissing through the 
 smoke, or pop corn and roast chestnuts in the ashes ; or, if 
 inclined to learn, study their arithmetic by the blaze of a 
 pine knot, while other members of the family mended, knit 
 and sewed, by the dim light of a tallow candle.* Near 
 
 *I :im informed that kitchens were also lit by a hake, (provincial Eng- 
 lish for hook.) This consisted of a wooden crane fastened above the fire- 
 place'. From the end of the crane hung a notched iron rod on which an 
 irou bowl containing urease might be raised or lowered. A wick lay in 
 the howl and thus a lamp was furnished, very convenient for change of 
 position, hut perhaps more primitive iu form and construction than the 
 ancient ones exhumed at Cyprus. 
 
 Another local word, whichei', (orthography uncertain), means a hut 
 constructed of poles brought together at the top and covered with sods. 
 
the fireplace stood the dye-tub where the yarn was colored^ 
 for the frocks and the stockings. Connected with the chim- 
 ney was the huge oven, which evciy Saturday was well 
 heated, and yielded to the good housewife a rich store of 
 brown bread, and pies, and baked beans. On a crane in 
 the lire-place hung kettles in which moat and vegetables 
 were boiled. Coals raked out upon the hearth served for 
 broiling or frying, and a Dutch oven or kettle with a con- 
 cave cover for receiving coals was used for occasional baking, 
 and the roasting-jack cooked the beef or turkey for Thanks- 
 giving dinner, or perhaps more frequently the fowl was 
 suspended by a cord before the tire, and the luscious gravy 
 distilled into a dripping-pan beneath. There were no 
 matches to light the tire in the morning. At night the glow- 
 ing back log was carefully covered with ashes, and usually 
 furnished a fine bed of coals as the day began. If by acci- 
 dent the fire was extinguished, the only resource was to send 
 to a neighbor for a dish of live coals, or to have recourse to 
 the aggravating process of striking fire with steel, flint and 
 tinder. Looking about the kitchen, you saw the large wheel 
 on which the mother or older daughters spun the wool 
 which the father and sons had carded into rolls, the small 
 wheel with a treadle, on which an aged aunt or grandmother 
 spun the flax for sheets and towels, and in the rear a loom 
 on which the cloth for the family was woven. At one end 
 was the cupboard, or, as it was sometimes called, the 
 dresser, on which stood the shining pewter plates and tank- 
 ards, with possibly a few pieces of earthen ware. Over- 
 head, at certain seasons of the year, hung festoons of quar- 
 tered apples or circles of pumpkins, and in a room near by 
 you could see the long rows of cheeses, objects of house- 
 wifely cart 1 and pride. Over the fireplace hung the powder- 
 horn, shot-bag and musket, ready for use against prowling 
 foxes, Avolves, or Indians, or more pleasantly employed 
 against the deer, rabbits and partridges ; while, perhaps on 
 some quaint three-legged stand lav the family bible, almost 
 
the only book in the household. From these plain dwell- 
 ings, homes of hard work, of unremitting industry and close 
 economy, your ancestors and their New England contempo- 
 raries went to the house of woTship with an effort which we 
 cannot realize, and with a constancy and interest which we 
 should do well to emulate. 
 
 In Dedham, they went to a meeting-house, the second 
 built on or near the same site, which is described as beinir 
 "a singular structure," with its double row of galleries ; a 
 raised platform with seats along the north and south walls ; 
 the floor also occupied with seats, a few pews only being 
 erected at the sides. There was a platform, as it is ex- 
 pressed, "above the outside covering," or roof. A cupola 
 or rude turret rose from the centre, surmounted, not by a 
 steeple proper, but by a short pole or staff, as it appeared to 
 the eye, serving merely to support a vane. The bell was 
 rung by a person standing in the body-seats, or in the aisle 
 between them, in the central part of the house below. 
 There was no ceiling above, nor were the sides plastered, 
 and the whole interior seemed to be studded with spars. 
 Four persons occupied the deacons' seat in front of the pulpit, 
 and the deacons' wives had a special place assigned them in 
 another part of the church. "At three corners of the house 
 were staircases leading to the galleries." The lower gallery 
 on the north was "for women and lads," the gallery above for 
 "young women and maids," the south gallery for men, and 
 the seats in the lower part of the house were parted in the 
 middle by an aisle, — the men to be ranged on one side, and 
 the women on the other. — [Dr. Lamson's Sermon, preached 
 the Sunday after fortieth anniversary ot his ordination, pp. 
 33 and 34.] 
 
 Boys at that time were sometimes troublesome, and seats 
 were constructed for them, at different times, in different 
 parts of the house, some of them in the aisles, and some at the 
 foot of the pulpit stairs, where they could be watched over. 
 In many meeting-houses, constables or tithingmen were 
 
6 
 
 employed to keep the boys in order and the people awake. 
 Each constable had a wand with a hare's foot on one end, 
 and a hare's tail on the other. " If any woman went to 
 sleep, the constable touched her on the forehead with the 
 hare's tail, but if a small boy nodded, he was rapped with 
 the other end not quite so gently." Services were some- 
 times three or four hours long, the sexton turning the hour- 
 glass before the minister at the end of every hour. The 
 congregation was expected to stand during the prayer, which 
 sometimes continued thirty or forty minutes. The hymns 
 were given out line by line by a deacon, and sung by the 
 congregation. rf The whole number of tunes known to the 
 people did not exceed ten, and few congregations could go 
 beyond five." The extreme strictness which prevailed in 
 many settlements never existed in Dedham, whose inhabi- 
 tants seem from the first to have been rather liberal in their 
 religious views, and incliued^to grant considerable personal 
 freedom to those whom they, by vote of the town, admitted 
 to their number. In many places people were not allowed 
 to stay at home from religious services. Men were fined 
 for every unnecessary absence, and if they staid away a 
 month together, they might be put into stocks, or into a 
 ■wooden cage. — [Higginson's Young Folks History, p. 76.] 
 About 160 years ago, the people in the south part of the 
 town, now Norwood, and in the part where we live, became 
 uneasy at the inconvenience of going to meeting in Dedham. 
 The violent dissensions which then prevailed in the Dedham 
 church may also have exerted a disturbing influence. At 
 various times from 1717 till 1728, petitions were presented 
 from citizens in this part of the town, requesting to be freed 
 from paying the minister in Dedham, that they might have 
 preaching among themselves. In May, 1728, money was 
 granted by the town to support preaching in the southerly 
 part, and perhaps under this grant meetings for religious 
 worship were held in the house now inhabited by Newton 
 and David Ellis, near Ellis station. The first house on Sum- 
 
mer street, now nearly in ruins, and owned by Mr. Henry 
 Draper, formerly by Mr. Lemuel Gay, was used as a place 
 of worship by the first members of the Episcopal church in 
 this town, who, in consequence of a petition presented March 
 18th, 1734, had part of the tax payable to the pastor of the first 
 church remitted. The action of the town setting off the 
 south and west portions of it as a parish or precinct was con- 
 firmed by the Geueral Court in 1730. The great subject of 
 discussion among those who inhabited this place one hundred 
 and fifty years ago, was where the meeting-house should be 
 located. So great was the difference of opinion on this mat- 
 ter, that in 1733 the inhabitants of West Dedham separated 
 from those in South Dedham, and returned to the " Old 
 Precinct." The agitation for a distinct society, however, 
 continued. The frame of a meeting-house had been erected 
 as early as 1731, not far from the house now occupied by 
 Mr. Greenwood Fuller, on land given by Mr. Joseph Ellis, 
 whose descendants of the fourth, fifth and sixth generations 
 we still number among our congregation. This frame was 
 purchased and roughly covered. A church was organized 
 January 4, 1735, and Rev. Josiah D wight was installed as 
 pastor, and had for his residence the east part of the house 
 of Greenwood Fuller, which tradition reports was purchased 
 and finished off by the parish for this purpose. The mem- 
 bers of the old parish were unfavorable to the separation, 
 and did not comply with the invitation to be present at the 
 installation of Mr. Dwight. And it was not till January 
 10th, 1736, that, after a struggle of twenty years, an act of 
 incorporation was passed, giving this parish a distinct exist- 
 ence. After the first meeting-house had been occupied for 
 nearly three-quarters of a century, it became necessary to 
 make large repairs or to build a new house. Which course 
 to take and where to locate the house were questions which 
 violently excited the society, and almost equally divided it. 
 The majority, however, decided to build a house on the spot 
 where we now worship. Others withdrew and began the 
 formation of what is now the Baptist society. 
 
Mr. Aaron Baker, a carpenter, purchased the old house, 
 and disposed of it to the seceding members, who moved it to 
 the place on which it now stands, and fitted it for their own 
 use. This meeting-house had a gallery, a high pulpit with 
 sounding-board above it, three aisles and square pews. The 
 upper portion of the panel of the pews was made of open 
 work by the insertion of upright turned pieces of wood which 
 may have been nine inches long, and set six inches apart. 
 The seats were raised when the congregation stood during 
 the long prayer, and their noisy downfall probably marked 
 the one supreme moment of the day to the younger portion 
 of the audience. Chairs stood in the pews for the use of 
 older members of the family. 
 
 On the 26th of February, 1809, seventy years ago last 
 February, Rev. Mr. Thacher delivered a discourse on taking 
 leave of the ancient house, and on the subsequent Sunday 
 the new house was dedicated, ministers from the South and 
 First Parish taking part in the exercises. I quote from the 
 former discourse a passage, both as a specimen of Mr.Thach- 
 er's style and as pertinent to the present occasion : 
 
 "We are already informed," he says, "that this house has 
 stood for seventy-eight years. Not a head which planned, nor a 
 hand employed in building it, but what has long been mouldering 
 in the dust. Very few, either in the parish or town, now survive, 
 who then existed : nor is there a single person now living who 
 was then the head of a family. Of those who signed the first 
 church covenant, one only was alive after my settlement in this 
 place. The same has been dead for more than a quarter of a cen- 
 tury. Since the above-named period, what numbers in this incon- 
 siderable hamlet have been born, formed connexions, and expired ! 
 Families then the most flourishing and prosperous in this parish, 
 long since blasted by misery and depression, by their remains, 
 give us an affecting picture, — of man born to few days and full of 
 trouble. And though this place be more stationary than any within 
 my knowledge, as to the sameness of names and families, houses 
 and inclosures, yet, were the first settlers to rise from the grave, 
 they could scarcely trace out their former residence and situation." 
 
This house which we now occupy, an elegant one if we 
 consider the time when it was erected, and a substantial one 
 if we consider how well it has sustained the violence of the 
 winds to which its elevated situation exposes it, stands on 
 land given by Deacon Ichabod Ellis, (three-quarters of an 
 acre) and by Mr. Newell Ellis, (one-quarter of an acre.) 
 The first bell was the gift of Hon. Joshua Fisher of Beverly, 
 and the pulpit was decorated by the ladies of the parish, at 
 the expense of seventy dollars.* Although the society was 
 weakened by the secession of a part of its members, and 
 had recently borne the heavy expense of erecting a new 
 building, it took early measures shortly afterwards to en- 
 sure its perpetual existence on or very near the spot where 
 we uoav worship, by the establishment of a fund. In 1811, 
 about $2000 was subscribed by members of the parish. 
 Three thousand dollars were added by the bequest of Hon. 
 Joshua Fisher, and at the decease of Rev. Thomas Thacher, 
 his real and personal estate fell to the parish. In 
 1836 the money value of the fund was $5252.82. By 
 the liberal bequest of Mr. Lusher Gay the fund was 
 largely increased in 1866, and is now $15,606.66. The in- 
 terior of the church, dedicated in 1809, probably remained 
 without much alteration till the year 1855. At thai? time 
 the floor was about two feet lower than at present. The 
 pulpit, although it had twice been lowered, was very high, 
 and was reached on each side by formidable flights of stairs. 
 The floor of the house was occupied by oblong pews. 
 Stoves were put in this meeting-house not before the fall of 
 1817. Previous to that time, both in the old building and 
 this, heated bricks and foot-stoves containing pans of coals, 
 were the only heating apparatus which your ancestors used 
 during the long Sunday services. During the summer and 
 autumn of 1855, repairs (costing $1230.30) were carried on 
 
 *For this bell a larger cm- was substituted in 1838, ami the difference 
 in value, $200, was paid by Deacon John Richards. 
 
10 
 
 under the direction of a committee chosen by the parish, 
 services being held meanwhile in Nahatan Hall. The floor 
 was raised ; a lower and more elegant pulpit was substi- 
 tuted for the old, and the scattered, uncomfortable and 
 uncomely pews were exchanged for the concentric seats, 
 which both bring the members of the congregation nearer 
 one another, and face to face with the minister ; the bare 
 walls and ceiling were handsomely frescoed ; and it is worthy 
 of note that these repairs were accomplished without the 
 alienation of a single member, and that they gave geueral 
 satisfaction. The Ladies' 'Benevolent Society carpeted, 
 cushioned and otherwise furnished the church at an expense 
 of $577.68. At the same time " Hymns for the Church of 
 Christ" was substituted for Greenwood's collection. Recently 
 the Hymn and Service Book, published by the American 
 Unitarian Association, has been introduced. The new horse- 
 sheds were built in 1869, and a portion of w r oodland be- 
 longing to the parish was sold to pay for their erection. In 
 1854 the choir consisted of persons who, for many years, 
 with hardly a Sunday's absence, had furnished the musical 
 part of the religious services. Mr. Merrill Ellis led the 
 choir, and accompanied it with a violin. Mr. Rufus French 
 played on a bass viol. The choir was accustomed to take 
 the pitch, before beginning to sing, by sounding the first, 
 third, fifth and eighth notes of the scale. Mr. William King 
 Gay, Mr. Horace Gay, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Gay, Mr. 
 Theodore Gay,* Mrs. Mary Gay, Mrs. Bunker Gay, Mr. and 
 Mrs. Anson Gay, Miss Delia White, Mrs. Caleb Ellis, 
 Mrs. Martha Ellis, Miss Abby Baker, Mrs. Joshua 
 Spear, were then, and for several years after, members of 
 the choir. In 1857 the organ, which was built in 1821 for 
 the First Parish in Dedham, was purchased for this society. 
 It was opened Ju\y 12, and is noticed in a sermon delivered 
 
 Mr. Theodore Gay was postmaster or assistant postmaster from 
 March I. L824, when the Tost Office was first opened in West Dedham, 
 till L879. 
 
11 
 
 ou that day. Twenty years later, in the spring of 1877, a 
 Tw tan costing $1500 was substituted for the old one. 
 "hundred dollars were allowed for the old organ, 
 Eight hundred and eleven dollars -and seventy ^ cento . «.e 
 given by the Ladies' Benevolent Society, and the balance 
 one Lied and ninety-seven dollars and thirty cento was 
 furnild by the liberality of a member and frequent bene- 
 factor* of this society. . 
 
 The money given by the Benevolent Society was ong.- 
 mll ,y devoted to the enlargement and decoration of the 
 " metery.t but the action of the town rendering it .unneces- 
 sary to apply the money to the purpose first intended it 
 21 used l "d in the purchase of an organ Some years 
 since, a cabinet organ was purchased tor the us o the 
 Sunday school. Lamps were put ,n perhaps as early as 
 1866. It was the custom for several years to decorate the 
 church with evergreen at Christmas, and to celebrate that 
 festal in the evening with a tree, and with songs and rec- 
 "s by members of the Sunday School. The church wa 
 also used for lectures during two or three winters. Ihe 
 £eX of the hall in the new Colburn school-house, and 
 the convenient accommodations furnished by Baker's Hall, 
 
 I SSna't^ center, was ha>f an acre phased I. 175, 
 
 o f x:^ »*™™~j%££ t j%z:r£ 
 
 lwntnptnfland purchased ot Josepn *isuei. 
 was enlarged b a ract of land L p ..^ and the pro- 
 
 joint fair was held by the Baptis .aim ,.„ niPterv The Ladies- 
 
 Lds were used for building the fence* Mfl» u etery. T^ ^ ^ 
 Benevolent Society, m , ddition to ^^' of Proprie tors 
 
 care and decoration of he cemetery The ^ Corpor 
 
 was organized January 5th and Julj 9th UbU, 
 
 tionmade by the town tor the ^^g^^ t , the location 
 
 "»■ * ^ ° UtSet ' g r Wh" M • a Xt,a to pacify two 
 
 of the burying gronnd. V< hi n B ■ .i ■ . burie(J ^ 
 
 SStoTSe^^^r^-W*.- « 
 
 "if God Almighty spares my lite, I will. 
 
12 
 
 now render such a use of our place of worship unnecessary. 
 This place has never known a pleasanter occasion than 
 that afforded by the meeting of the Norfolk County Confer- 
 ence in the summer of 1877. The house was crowded with 
 delegates from the various societies in our vicinity. An 
 eloquent discourse was delivered by Dr. C. A. Bartol in 
 answer to the question, How shall we obtain knowledge 
 of God? And the subject was discussed by other ministers. 
 A marked feature of this conference was the collation given 
 in a barn west of the church, which had been handsomely 
 trimmed and decorated for the occasion. Seats had been 
 placed along the floor and on the scaffold. Tables were 
 erected at one end of the barn, and although the company 
 assembled was twice the number anticipated, ample provi- 
 sion was found for all. 
 
 I have now given a brief history of our meeting-house. 
 Let me next speak of the successive ministers who have 
 been settled in this parish. More extended notices of their 
 character and ministry than the limits of this discourse will 
 allow, will be found in the centennial sermon of Rev. John 
 White, and in the discourse delivered at the funeral of Rev. 
 John White by Rev. Dr. Alvan Lamsou. The first minister 
 of this society was Rev. Josiah Dwight. He was installed 
 June 4th, 1735, and was dismissed, on account of dissen- 
 sions between him and the parish, May 20th, 1743. Mr. 
 Thacher writes of him : "Mr. Dwight was supposed by his 
 contemporaries to be a man of good natural abilities, and 
 considerable acquirements in ancient learning. He was 
 well versed in Old School Divinity, and was respected by 
 the more enlightened as a scholar and a gentleman. Though 
 a man of piety and virtue, he was singular in his manners. 
 His peculiarities increased in his old age." 
 
 In 1743, just before the beginning of King George's 
 war, Mr. Andrew Tyler was ordained as minister of this 
 society, and continued in that relation till December 17th, 
 1772, almost exactly a year before the tea was thrown over- 
 
13 
 
 board in Boston harbor. During his ministry occurred the 
 French and Indian war in tills country, and the Seven 
 Years' war in Europe. The burdens imposed upon the 
 colonists were heavy, and were increased by dissensions 
 among themselves. Private animosities were carried into 
 the churches, and distracted the attention of their members 
 from the religious and moral culture which are the true 
 ends for which churches are organized. Mr. Tyler and 
 this society had their full share in these dissensions. He is 
 described "as a man of handsome personal appearance, of 
 polite and engaging manners and graceful address, highly 
 gifted in prayer." From a perusal of two of his discourses, 
 he seems to me to have been a well-educated man, and 
 possessed of great fluency in the use of language. His sen- 
 tences are long and involved, and full of parentheses. His 
 discourses must have been difficult for his hearers to follow, 
 and his style forms a striking contrast to the short, sharp- 
 cut sentences of Mr. Thacher. The temper of the times, 
 and the unpleasantness of the relation between Mr. Tyler 
 and this society, may be judged by this extract from the 
 parish records of 1772 : 
 
 ''The laws of the province require that a minister should be 
 learned, orthodox, able, pious, and of good conversation, but your 
 committee is humbly of the opinion that the minister of this parish 
 is very deficient in some of these qualifications. As to his learn- 
 ing, the committee, not being judges in that matter, can only say 
 that some men of learning have given intimations that he was 
 reckoned at college a very indifferent scholar, and ministers in 
 general are looked upon to be much his superiors in that respect. 
 As to his orthodoxy, the parish have never made any complaint, 
 nor clo the committee. As to his ability, which we take not to 
 imply the same thing as learning, but is understood by us to 
 mean the same thing as an able minister of the New Testament, 
 that is, one apt to teach, who always feeds his flock, one able to 
 convince gainsayers, who can comfort as well as reprove, one 
 who can govern his own temper, and bear with the infirmities of 
 others. In all these particulars, we consider Mr. Tyler deficient. 
 
14 
 
 But what is most exceptionable, Air. Tyler does not appear to be 
 a man of piety and good conversation. He is frequently guilty 
 of rash and unguarded expressions, of a disregard to truth. He 
 has handled the word of God deceitfully, in order to level his 
 artillery against those with whom he has been offended. He has 
 been noisy, boisterous, and turbulent. In administering the dis- 
 cipline of the church, he has been partial through prejudice." 
 
 — Worthington, 
 
 We rnay well suppose that the controversy connected 
 with Mr. Tyler's dismission, and the burdens which the 
 parish had borne during the colonial wars, left it ill pre- 
 pared for the severer struggle of the Revolution. After 
 Mr. Tyler left, it does not appear that any money was 
 granted by the parish for the supply of the pulpit until 
 March 8th, 1774. "A committee was then chosen to confer 
 with members of the South Parish on the subject of congre- 
 gating together on Lord's Days, three months from the suc- 
 ceeding April, in their meeting-house, and in the meeting- 
 house of this 2~>arish , alternately. It does not appear from 
 the records that this scheme was carried into effect." 
 Large sums, (at one time £1200,) were levied on the polls 
 and ratable estates of the parish in order to carry on the 
 war, and its young men were called away to engage in mili- 
 tary service. For seven years this society was without a 
 minister, but just a century ago, in 1779, the year when the 
 British were plundering along the coast of Connecticut, and 
 Putnam took his famous ride down a precipice, and An- 
 thony Wayne stormed Stony Point, and Paul Jones, after 
 a desperate fight, captured two English frigates, the fortu- 
 nate choice of Mr. Thomas Thaeher for minister was made 
 by the people of this parish. He was a man of remarkable 
 ability, a good scholar in the classics and in history, an 
 original, independent thinker, vigorous and outspoken in 
 his speech, excitable in his temper, but ready to make 
 amends by apology, when he seemed to have done another 
 injustice. He was generous and hospitable to such an extent 
 
15 
 
 that, at his decease, after a ministry of thirty-three years, 
 his property was very small. His wit was keen and pene- 
 trating, and must have cut severely those who were exposed 
 to it. Several of his sayings, and reports of his practical 
 jokes, have come down through three-quarters of a century, 
 and serve to illustrate the lines of Shakespeare : 
 
 "The evil that men do (or say) lives after them ; 
 The good is oft interred with their bones." 
 
 I have already quoted a passage from one of his dis- 
 courses. Two other brief extracts will help you to form an 
 idea of his characteristics. Speaking of the Apostles, he 
 says : 
 
 "How different theirconduct from that of modern enthusiasts 
 and impostors ! What other proof of their authority do they give 
 but their bare word ? What art or science are they masters of, 
 unless that of fascination and deceit ? What credentials do they 
 exhibit except impudence and low breeding ? Or, what miracle 
 do they work, unless the number of fools and maniacs they col- 
 lect to hear them vociferating their blasphemy and impertinence ? 
 When men thus presumptuously run before they are sent, and 
 intrude themselves into offices for which they are manifestly unfit, 
 it is no breach of Christian charity to pronounce them impostors 
 or self-deluded, and it is difficult to determine whether knave or 
 fool is the predominant trait in their character." 
 
 Speaking of the ministry in the hands of men destitute 
 of talent and education, he remarks : 
 
 "In one solitary instance, we know our blessed Lord had 
 need of an Ass, but I do not find from a syllable of the New 
 Testament, that he ever commissioned that sagacious animal to 
 be an Apostle." 
 
 Mr. Thacher was a sympathizing pastor, a warm friend, 
 a hater of cant, superstition and bigotry, one of the pioneers 
 in that movement which, under Channing, Ware, and their 
 compeers, led to the separate establishment of the liberal 
 wing of the Congregational church under the Unitarian 
 name. Mr. Thacher's pastorate continued till his decease, 
 October 19th, 1812. 
 
16 
 
 April 20th, L s 14, Mr. John White, of Concord, was 
 ordained, and began an acceptable, peaceful ministry of 
 thirty-eight years. Mr. White's natural endowments fitted 
 him eminently for the Christian ministry. He was a sincere 
 believer, and a conscientious, faithful laborer in his Master's 
 cause. He was mild, gentle, courteous and conciliatory ; a 
 man of refinement, good culture and purity. He was dis- 
 creet and practical. The light of a mild, and charitable, 
 and devout spirit shone in his daily walk and conversation, 
 so that, I doubt not, his life was as effective as his preach- 
 ing. He was thoroughly devoted to the welfare of his people, 
 and spared no pains for their intellectual and moral prog- 
 ress. He was personally unknown by me, but it was my 
 privilege to be acquainted with the one who very faithfully 
 shared his labors, and made his home a house of hospitality, 
 not merely a cheerful dwelling for his family, but an attrac- 
 tive place of resort for the members of their parish. I am 
 glad to have this public opportunity to pay this imperfect 
 but sincere and heartfelt tribute of respect and affection to 
 the memory of Mrs. White. 
 
 She had, like Wordsworth's wife, 
 
 "The reason firm, the temperate will. 
 Endurance, foresight, strength, ami skill: 
 A perfect woman, nobly planned. 
 To warn, to comfort, and command." 
 
 She must have been a wise counsellor to her husband, 
 an energetic co-operator with him in his ministerial work, 
 a cheering companion in his hours of depression and dis- 
 couragement. Blessed with remarkable physical strength 
 and health, which she seemed to carry into her old age un- 
 abated, and through which she performed an amount and 
 variety of labor entirely beyond the ability of most women, 
 she also possessed a lady-like <>race and dignity, which 
 enabled her to step from the garden or the kitchen and 
 meet, on equal terms in intelligence, culture, and charm of 
 conversation, visitors who had made these matters special 
 
17 
 
 objects of attainment. She was an admirable household 
 economist, an artist in all that relates to the furnishing of 
 her house, or the setting of her table ; a generous friend to 
 the poor ; a public-spirited member of society ; a trust- 
 worthy friend. She was very active in procuring funds for 
 the decoration and enlargement of our cemetery, and con- 
 tinued, after her husband's decease, to take a lively interest 
 in the prosperity of the parish. Her death was consistent 
 with her life. While engaged in collecting supplies for our 
 soldiers wounded in the War of the Rebellion, she was 
 seized with a severe cold, succeeded by pneumonia, and 
 terminating with her death.* 
 
 The Sunday School connected with this society began 
 during Rev. Mr. White's ministry. It was an innovation 
 greatly opposed at first. Catechising the children by the 
 pastor was the method then employed, followed by the in- 
 struction of graded classes by separate teachers, as at pres- 
 ent. The ministry of Mr. White was terminated by his 
 decease, February 1st, 1852. For nearly three years after- 
 wards the pulpit was supplied by various ministers, and 
 calls were extended to two or three candidates. December 
 6, 1854, the writer of this discourse was ordained as pastor 
 of this church and society, and continued in that relation 
 nine and a half years, till June, 1864, and was afterwards 
 minister of the first parish in Dover, from June, 1868, to 
 April, 1879. After a vacancy of two years, Rev. Henry 
 
 *During Mrs. White's residence in West Dedham, the Ladies' Bene- 
 volent Society was founded in 1831, January 1st. It began with eighty 
 members, and those were invited to join who were "desirous to afford 
 assistance to the poor within the limits of the parish." Mrs. White was 
 president as long as she remained in Dedham. This society has spent, 
 as gifts to individuals, '$1084.34; for the cemetery, $617.06; for the 
 meeting-house, $577.68; for library, $452.76; for organ, $811.70. A 
 Social Library was established in 1817, and the West Dedham Library in 
 1842. A Book Club existed during the greater part of Mr. Locke's min- 
 istry, and the Parish Library was founded in 1866. Large additions 
 were made to the Sunday School Library from the proceeds of a concert 
 »iven by the children in 1858. 
 
18 
 
 Westcott accepted an engagement of one year with the 
 society, and at the eud of this time entered into pastoral 
 relations with the ancient society at Lexington. Mr. Elisha 
 Gifford received a call August 12, 1867, and resigned the 
 charge of the parish March 11, 1872. He was subsequently 
 settled at Presque Isle, Maine, and is now residing in Cam- 
 bridge. Rev. Edward Crowninshield began his ministry 
 the first of January, 1873, and closed his pastoral connec- 
 tion with the society, May 31, 1879. He is now settled 
 over a flourishing society in Belfast, Maine. May 26th, 
 1879, the house* which he occupied, and which had been, 
 at intervals, the home of the ministers of this society for 
 twenty-five years, was burned, and the records of the church 
 were also destroyed in the flames. Your pastors, subse- 
 quent to Mr. White, are still living, and it does not become 
 me to make an estimate of their work and character. Our 
 experience, I think, shows that frequent change is undesir- 
 able, and that each change, even when unaccompanied by 
 any dissension in the society, results in a diminution in our 
 numbers. Our experience teaches us to be very careful in 
 
 * This house formerly stood on the south side of Nahatan street, aud 
 was reached by a lane from Clapboardtrees street. Nahatan Hall was 
 connected with it, and was used without charge by the owner, for the 
 fairs, social gatherings, aud ladies' meetings of the parish. It is a legend 
 about this house that Moll Pitcher, au uncanny woman from Lynn, once 
 stopped at it and asked for a drink of cider. Being refused, she said : 
 "Your neck will snap like this," at the same time breaking the stem of 
 her clay pipe. Shortly after, the man fell and broke his neck. It was 
 also predicted that the house would be destroyed by lire. Near it, once 
 stood the house last owned by Mr. Thomas Connor, which has also been 
 burned. A house east of the church, once owned by Mr. David Ellis, 
 and in which Rev. George and Rev. Rufus Ellis were born, has been re- 
 moved! The first house built in that part of Dedham known as Clap- 
 boardtrees, stood opposite Mr. Greenwood Fuller's, and was occupied by 
 l)ea. Jonathan Onion. It is said a school-house once stood at the corner 
 of Nahatan street, near the old church. Oue eud of this school-house 
 was occupied by a tire-place, and the scholars faced the side walls. At 
 one period, the only school-house in the parish was near the present 
 situation of the Baptist meeting-house. 
 
19 
 
 the selection of our minister, and to give him hearty, 
 efficient support and co-operation when he is established 
 anions us. 
 
 During the quarter of a century since my ordination 
 in this meeting-house, some changes have taken place which 
 are worth noting. Twenty-five y%ars ago it was customary 
 to toll the bell the morning after a death in the parish, first 
 striking three strokes if it was a man, two strokes if a 
 woman, and one stroke for a child, and then the age was 
 tolled. The bell was also struck while the procession was 
 marching to the grave. This custom went into disuse about 
 1868. It was also customary for bereaved families to have 
 notes read by the minister on Sundays subsequent to a fune- 
 ral, requesting the sympathy and prayers of the congregation. 
 The annual parish meeting, in March, was opened with 
 prayer. The Lord's Supper has also been abandoned, not 
 I believe, from any low estimate of its value, but from a 
 diffidence and reluctance to take a position which might 
 seem to imply an assumption of peculiar excellence. I be- 
 lieve that this view of the Lord's Supper and church mem- 
 bership is groundless, and hope that soon this ancient rite, 
 and the touching rite of infant baptism, may be renewed, 
 and that the limits of the church may be as extended as that 
 of the society itself. Public services on Thanksgiving Day 
 and Fast Day have not been held since 1864. Previous to 
 1870, it was customary to hold two services, one in the 
 morning and the other in the afternoon. In that year, it 
 was voted that there be no service the first two Sundays in 
 August, and no afternoon service in July and August, and 
 that the parish committee be authorized to dispense with 
 the afternoon service on stormy days. Not long after, the 
 second service was entirely abandoned. The number of the 
 congregation now, and twenty-five years ago, does not 
 greatly vary. The number of families has considerably 
 diminished. At that time, there were maivy aged members 
 connected with this society, too old and infirm, many of 
 
20 
 
 them, to be present at public worship. These have passed 
 away, and their places been frequently taken by those who 
 have not united with any religious society. I see by my vis- 
 iting list of 186Q, that there were eighty-two families to 
 which I was accustomed to extend pastoral care. Now 
 there is about one-half that number which the pastor of this 
 society might be expected to visit. The existence among 
 us of a large portion of the population that attend religious 
 services nowhere, is not peculiar to this place. It seems to 
 be an increasing evil, and needs to be met by vigorous and 
 united efforts on the part of those who are interested in the 
 maintainance of the means of moral and religious training. 
 
 Twenty-five years ! A casual visitor, even though a care- 
 ful observer, might not notice any extended changes in our 
 place during that period. There are the same areas of pas- 
 ture, woodland, and cultivated fields. Not many dwellings 
 have been erected, nor many removed or demolished. But 
 compare the congregation that then assembled within these 
 walls with the one that now meets here, and we see evidence 
 of the busy hand of change. Many of those who were then 
 actively interested in this society, men and women who were 
 distinguished for integrity and moral worth, and sincere 
 piety, and sweetness and purity of disposition, have passed 
 away. Permit me to recall to your thoughts that procession 
 which year by year has gone from us into the Silent Land. 
 As I take the homes of the parish in their order, you will 
 
 Note. — Some changes in the occupations of the inhabitants may be 
 noted. During the second war with Great Britain, large quantities of 
 beef and pork were packed in West Dedham, and as the coast was block- 
 aded, some of the men, among them Mr. James Pettee, Mr. Samuel 
 French, and Mr. Colburn Ellis, drove horse or ox teams to New York 
 and Philadelphia. The trip to the former place took three weeks ; to the 
 latter, six. An iron foundry was standing in West Dedham about the 
 middle of the current century, and daring the Civil War malleable iron 
 works did a flourishing business. In 1854, and for many years pre- 
 viously, the women in this town, and adjacent towns, sewed straw braid. 
 The use of machinery has now entirely desti'03-ed this occupation. 
 
21 
 
 see that there are very few that the angel of death has not 
 visited. The amiable wife of Mr. Allen Colburn, the aged 
 Mr. Samuel French, Mrs. Hepzibah French, Mrs. Ezechiel 
 Kingsbury, who made her humble home lovely with flowers, 
 Mrs. Jason Gay, Mr. Alvin Gay, the aged Mrs. Dean and 
 her daughter, Mr. Chas. D. Morgan, the venerable Capt. 
 Jeremiah Baker, whose life continued nearly a century, and 
 at whose house Mr. Thacher staid when he first preached as 
 a candidate ; patient Mrs. Thompson and her group of intel- 
 ligent and attractive daughters ; Miss Betsy Turner, the gen- 
 tle Mrs. Ellis Gay, Mr. Merrill Ellis, for manyyears clerk 
 of the parish and leader of the choir; Mrs. Achsah Shat- 
 tuck and her daughter, universally beloved ; Mr. Leonard 
 Mason, Mrs. Lusher Baker, the good wife and careful 
 mother ; Mr. Nathan Phillips, the respected and upright citi- 
 zen ; Mr. Alfred Baker, Mrs. Olive Guild, a mother deserv- 
 edly loved and honored by her many children ; Dr. Howe, 
 the kiud physician, and his wife long prominent in connec- 
 tion with the Ladies' Benevolent Society ; Mr. George Draper, 
 Mr. Henry Gay, a man who, with his father, Win. King 
 Gay, took a deep interest in the welfare of the parish ; Miss 
 Lizzie Gay, who died sustained and comforted by the faith 
 that she should at once join her father; Mr. Caleb Smith, 
 Mr. Newell Fisher, Mrs. Parker, the model of neat house- 
 keepers, four of whose children are still connected with this 
 society ; Mrs. Steele, Mr. Hartshorn Boyden, Mr. Horace 
 Gay, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Sarah Allen, Mrs. Elizabeth Owen, 
 Mr. and Mrs. David Boyd, Mrs. Amy Draper, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Luther Cheney, Mr. Leonard Smith, Mr. James Pettee, the 
 diligent reader and independent thinker ; his daughter, Lucy 
 Pettee, remarkable fur her social qualities ; Mr. Colburn 
 Ellis, a leading man in the society and his wife distinguished 
 for Christian gentleness and humility ; Mr. Rufus French and 
 his wife so many years an invalid ; Mrs. Samuel Cheney, 
 Mrs. Fairbanks, Mr. Seth Gay, Miss Amanda Cheney, ven- 
 erable Mr. Jason Ellis and his cordial wife ; Mrs. Chloe 
 
22 
 
 Fisher, Miss Clarissa Richards, her sister Polly Richards, 
 and Mr. Avery Whiting, Mr. John Baker, ready of memory 
 and fluent of speech ; Mr. Hezekiah Turner, who died while 
 ringing the bell for public worship ; Mr. and Mrs. William 
 King Gay, the honest and diligent Mr. Eaton Whiting and 
 his estimable wife, and his son George, the patriot soldier ; 
 Mr. Joel Gay, Miss Sophia Gay, Mr. Richard Ellis, Mrs. 
 Bailey, Mrs. Nathaniel Colburn, Mrs. Thaddeus Gay, Mrs. 
 Cobb, Mrs. Cynthia Kingsbury, Mrs. Katy Kingsbury, Mr. 
 and Mrs. Lusher Gay, the benefactors of the parish, not 
 merely by tlie bequest of their estate, but by their efforts 
 and influence while living : — these are some of the names 
 that I recall. These are the persons whose faces we miss 
 as we enter your homes or meet together in this house. 
 The recital of their names, taken in connection with 
 removal of families to other places of residence, shows 
 our numerical loss, but the greatness of this loss can 
 only be estimated by those who knew intimately the 
 steady trustworthiness, the discretion, the good judgment, 
 the public spirit, the quiet, unpretending virtues, the gen- 
 tleness, affection and religious trust, whose influence left 
 behind a rich treasure in the hearts of surviving friends, is all 
 that remains of those dear ones whose forms and faces we 
 shall see on earth no more. 
 
 These men and women have labored : ye have entered 
 into their labors. The problem which we have set before 
 us in this society, and others of like character, is not an 
 easy one. Our purpose is to have a religion without gloom, 
 bigotry, cant, or superstition ; earnest and devout, but 
 without clap-trap and sensationalism ; a faith without nar- 
 rowness ; a piety without asceticism ; a high standard of 
 morality, without self-righteousness or uncharitableness. 
 We wish to use the world without abusing it, to be of the 
 world and still to be kept from the evil in the world. We 
 wish to engage in innocent amusements, and feel that God's 
 blessing rests upon us in our gaiety and mirth and recrea- 
 
23 
 
 tion. We wish, while we keep ourselves open to all the 
 elevating and refining influences of the age, to its education, 
 discoveries, art and culture, also to keep steadily with us 
 a sense of God's nearness to us, and of his providence, love 
 and care. We wish for freedom of thought, and on the 
 part of individuals a sincere, conscientious search for the 
 truth. We want a fellowship of hearts, a communion of 
 souls, undisturbed by doubt, jealousy, or suspicion. We 
 want unity of action, and we want the working power of 
 every man, woman and child in this society, for the pros- 
 perity of our parish, and still more for the upbuilding of 
 that spiritual temple within us, more majestic and beautiful 
 than mortal hands can rear. My observation has shown 
 that the destructive worm gnawing at the vitals of our 
 smaller societies is private feuds and resentments. Some- 
 body is slighted ; somebody is neglected ; somebody is crit- 
 icized ; somebody is censured ; somebody's services are not 
 appreciated; somebody is unjustly treated and spoken of; 
 and somebody quietly stops attendance upon our public ser- 
 vices, or ceases to use his peculiar gifts for the general 
 good. This course is a natural one. The impulse towards 
 it is one to which I am not myself insensible, but I believe 
 the truly Christian way is to resist it. Lay aside resent- 
 ments, forget and forgive the offences, perhaps unintentional, 
 that have been committed against you. Take hold of the 
 work for which you are best fitted. If you can do but 
 little, your presence, your desire to be helpful, the sense of 
 your approval, will encourage others. No child that goes 
 into a corner and sulks, by himself, is happy. It is only 
 when he forgets the plaything that has been broken, or the 
 hasty word, or the angry blow, and joins with his com- 
 rades, that he has enjoyment. We must work together in 
 order to be knit together. We must know one another 
 in order to have mutual confidence. We must be mutually 
 helpful, conciliatory, charitable, and kindly disposed, in 
 order to be a living, and genuine, and thriving church of 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
24 
 
 Other men have labored. They have established this 
 society ; they have erected this house ; they have contrib- 
 uted generously the means for the maintainance of religious 
 services ; they have been thoughtful for the long line of 
 generations to succeed. Enter ye into their labors. Take ' 
 up the tasks and the burdens which your fathers have left. 
 Render effectual in your lives and characters the influences 
 which they sought to transmit. Add the weight of your 
 good character and exertions to the grand increasing inheri- 
 tance which moves down the stream of time. 
 
 Other men have labored. Not merely the men of this 
 society. We are "heirs of all the ages, and enjoy the long 
 result of time." From this Bible, thirty centuries look 
 down upon us. Patriarchs, prophets, martyrs, the apostles' 
 glorious company, saints, reformers, good men and women 
 of all times and ages, have hallowed the world by their 
 presence, and made it easier for us to know the truth and 
 follow duty. Jesus, the founder of the Universal Church, 
 has left his example, his words, the influence and spirit of 
 his life, for our inspiration. Let us enter earnestly, persist- 
 ently, vigorously, into the labors of these generous, noble, 
 devoted souls. Let us enter into their labors, and then 
 shall we not hear in our hearts the sweet voice : 
 
 Come, ye who labor and auk. heavy laden, and I will give you 
 
 REST. « 
 
 s 
 Well done, good and faithful servant; enter ye into the joy 
 
 of your Lord. 
 
NOTICE 
 
 O F 
 
 REV. JOHN WHITE AND MRS. DELIA J. H. WHITE. 
 
 By Rev. C. C. Sewall. 
 
 Mr. White was born in Concord, Mass., December 2 2d, 
 1787 He was the son of Mr. John White, a beloved and vene- 
 rated citizen of that place, and for many years a deacon of the 
 Congregational Church there. He received his academical educa- 
 tion chiefly at Exeter, New Hampshire. He graduated at Har- 
 vard University in 1805, and was, immediately afterwards, a tutor 
 at Bowdoin College for one year. He completed his preparation 
 for the ministry at Cambridge, and became the pastor of the 
 Third Congregational Church, in Dedham, April 20, 1814. 
 
 One of the earliest and most marked traits of his character 
 
 was a purpose and desire to live a useful and exemplary life ; to 
 
 acquire stores of knowledge, which might enable him to benefit 
 
 and improve others, as well as to gratify, strengthen, and elevate 
 
 himself He resolved to cherish those affections, and practice 
 
 those virtues, which would win for him respect and confidence, 
 
 and encourage in others, like purpose and determination. When 
 
 a tutor in college-as it is known to the writer-he was held m 
 
 highest esteem by one* of the most distinguished officers of the 
 
 institution, who was his contemporary there. Of his ministry at 
 
 Dedham, it can never be forgotten by those now living who 
 
 shared its benefit and felt its influence, how devoted and faithfu 
 
 he was to the primary objects and sacred duties of the pastoral 
 
 relation: Never ambitious of distinction for literary attainments, 
 
 or for rhetorical display, and never covetous of human applause, 
 
 he sought and labored with continual earnestness to convey to 
 
 ♦Professor Cleavelaml. 
 
26 
 
 the people of his charge clear views of divine truth, and to create 
 in their minds right apprehensions of the duties and obligations 
 incumbent upon them in all the relations of life ; to commend and 
 enforce upon them those practical lessons of nature and of revela- 
 tion, the faithful observance of which would give to their life a 
 higher value, and to their hearts the sweetest peace. He dis- 
 coursed to them in simple, yet forcible language, of the being, 
 perfections, and providence of God ; of his relation to us all ; of 
 his infinite love and unerring wisdom in all the revelations of his 
 will and designs. of his providence for the truest welfare and hap- 
 piness of his children on earth. He told them of the mission and 
 ministry of Jesus Christ, and of the wondrous purpose of his 
 life and death ; of the spirit which he breathed in all his inter- 
 course and experiences in the world ; and of the perfection of his 
 example, in which we might follow his steps. His preaching was 
 chiefly and eminently practical, and its effect was visibly and per- 
 manently benefical to his hearers. Its character and tendency 
 are still exemplified in the spirit and life of individuals who yet 
 survive him. Its salutary influence was happily felt by others, 
 who are now witnesses to his fidelity to their souls, and sharers 
 of his joy in heaven. 
 
 We have had like knowledge of no one among his contem- 
 poraries in the ministry, whose record was more entirely free from 
 any stain of worldly ambition, or of unfaithfulness to the highest 
 ends and obligations of the pastoral relation. His uniform sin- 
 gleness of purpose and earnestness of endeavor to "make full 
 proof of his ministry" in the spiritual health and prosperity of his 
 flock, were happily productive of that inward peace which out- 
 lasts all human favor, and is infinitely better than all human 
 applause. His transparent simplicity and sincerity, the calm dig- 
 nity of his bearing, and the warmth of his affections, made him a 
 favorite with all his associates in the ministry, and among his 
 many friends in all the relations of life. He was accustomed, 
 during many years, to receive into his family students from the 
 university and elsewhere, to whom he devoted the closest atten- 
 tion as an instructor, and on whom he impressed a grateful sense 
 of his deep interest in, and care for them, like those of a father. 
 His home was a place of happiness to all its inmates, and into it 
 nothing was admitted that would needlessly wound the affections, 
 or embitter the thoughts of any resident there. 
 
27 
 
 When worn with the labors of a long and faithful ministry, 
 and enfeebled by the progress of natural decay in a frame never 
 robust, yet never Weakened by hurtful indulgences, he was sud- 
 denly smitten with fatal disease,' the same serene and trustful 
 spirit, so apparent in his active life, continued its influence and' its 
 manifestations in the chamber sickness, and at the sure approach 
 of death. Receiving the most devoted attention and anxious care 
 of those dearest to him on earth ; sharing the tenderest sympathy 
 and constant offices of kindness of his parishioners and numerous 
 friends ; soothed by his own memories of the past, and by the testi- 
 mony of a peaceful conscience ; sustained by Christian faith and 
 cheered by Christian hope, he was soon released from his suffer- 
 ings, and passed on to the heavenly rest and reward of a good and 
 faithful servant of God and minister of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 Of Mrs. White, it must be a pleasure to all who knew her, 
 to recall the beauty and excellence of her character and life. 
 Born in Williamstown, Mass., she early became the adopted daugh- 
 ter of one of her relatives,— the Rev. Mr. Holcomb, pastor of the 
 First Congregational Church in Sterling, Mass. With the cul- 
 ture of her mind and development of her character, while in his 
 family, she attracted the attention and won the esteem of all who 
 frequently saw her ; and, having been recommended to Mr. White 
 as most worthy of his affections, and peculiarly adapted to fill the 
 place of a clergyman's wife, the attachment between them became 
 mutually strong, and they were married January ist, 1816. Sel- 
 dom is it that a relation, involving so great responsibilities and 
 attended with so much liability to curious observation, and often 
 to unkind remark, which wounds the sensitive mind, is so happily 
 freed from any cause of regret or unhappiness ; or is so constantly 
 and fully accompanied with those satisfactions which best reward 
 the faithful endeavor to discharge every duty, and to satisfy every 
 demand upon the affections and the energies of one who ventures 
 
 to fill it. 
 
 Mrs. White readily became, in every respect, a fit helpmate 
 to her husband in all his pastoral and his domestic affairs. With 
 a deep and lively interest in the education of the young, and a 
 desire to increase her husband's moderate income, she added to 
 her other cares and labors the instruction and discipline of a 
 school, and there made her influence felt in minds then best fitted 
 
28 
 
 to receive those impressions which would remain with them in 
 after years. When the school had been relinquished, it was her 
 habit to devote more of her time and thought to the leading inter- 
 ests of the parish, and by her warm sympathy, by frequent and 
 familiar visiting among the people, and by wisely directed counsel 
 and encouragement, she aimed to promote the growth of those 
 aspirations and desires, which would render the instructions off the 
 pulpit more beneficial to their hearers, and to form and establish 
 those relations and attachments to their minister, which would 
 best reward him, and advance their own moral and religious 
 improvement. 
 
 Whatever might affect any of the people, whether of joy or 
 sorrow, was of interest to her, and whenever sickness, suffering, or 
 bereavement became their experience, her sympathy and helpful, 
 comforting presence was quickly afforded to them. But it was in 
 her own home, in all her domestic arrangements, and in the con- 
 stant demands upon her there, that the disposition and ability of 
 Mrs. White were most actively and fully developed. It was there 
 that she drew and attached to her,in largest measure, the administra- 
 tion and cordial affection of those who observed her daily life, and 
 shared the results of her endeavors to promote their comfort and 
 happiness ; of those who felt the inspiration of her bright mind 
 and her tender, loving heart. Her home was the abode of warm 
 and generous hospitality, and of pleasing attentions to all her 
 friends and her many casual visitors. The professional associates 
 of her husband were always glad of an opportunity to exchange 
 pulpit services with him, and to renew the pleasure of a visit to his 
 family. On Sunday evenings, often at other times, — but then in 
 particular, — some of his familiar and long-attached parishioners 
 would gather at his fireside, and there receive and impart those 
 expressions of confidence and esteem which most gratify and 
 encourage both the visitors and the visited. 
 
 In every proposition for the general benefit of the community, 
 as well as for the parish, separately, — and many such- originated 
 with her — Mrs. White was amongst the most active and interested in 
 the completion of them. In the exceedingly neat and appropriate 
 church, where the congregation of worshippers now assembles, 
 there will be, to many, touching reminiscences of her zealous and 
 hopeful endeavors to replace its former aspect and condition by 
 more tasteful arrangements and better accommodations ; an ob- 
 
29 
 
 ject, the completion of which was exceedingly gratifying to her and 
 her friends, as it was, also, most worthy of commendation to the 
 parish. In the beautiful cemetery, which now attracts the notice 
 of every thoughful passer-by, there will ever remain a memento of 
 the tenderness of affection, and the zealous and untiring efforts of 
 her who was largely instrumental in the repair and adornment of 
 it. There the remains of her husband and of herself by his side, 
 now repose, bringing to those who knew and loved them, many 
 affecting reminiscences of their characters and lives, and the glad- 
 dening hopes of a blissful reunion with their sanctified spirits, in 
 a better world. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 014 077 340 2 I