i < i t * J JL MEMORIAL. « I UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS UINARY SEP 14 1916 t Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/memorialofreveliOOhook HT53iVio MEMORIAL. The Rev. Elias Cornelius Hooker died in the pastor- ate of the Congregational Church, in Stockbridge, Massachu- setts, December 5th, 1873. For brief periods of years he had been pastor of the North Church in Newburyport, and also of the First Church in Nashua, New Hampshire. At the time of his decease, he had sustained the relation to the Church in Stockbridge three years and nearly six months. His minis- terial life, from the date of his licensure to that of his death, was but thirteen years and seven months. His age was forty- one years. Mr. Hooker was a lineal descendant, on the paternal side, and in the eighth generation, of the Puritan father, Thomas Hooker, of Marfield, Leicestershire, England. He was the first pastor of the Church in Hartford, Connecticut. In the family of Jonathan Edwards, — a fruitful branch from that of Thomas Hooker, — the subject of this Memorial was in the fifth generation. On his maternal side his line of ancestral descent is traced back through the families of the Huntingtons and Trumbulls of Connecticut, to the Puritan father, John Robinson of Leyden, Holland. In the lines of his ancestries there have been — so far as ascertained — over fifty ministers of the gospel. Of the female descendants in these ancestral lines, fifty or more have been the wives of ministers of other families. BURTON HIST, COLLECTION DETROIT EXCHANGE DUPLICATE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBAN A-CHAMPAIGN 4 Mr. Hooker was born in Bennington, Vermont, July 19th, 1832 ; the oldest son of Edward W. Hooker and Faith Trum- bull (Huntington) Hooker. His parents gave his baptismal name in memory of the Rev. Dr. Elias Cornelius, a relative of the family by marriage, and who died in the Correspond- ing Secretaryship of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. His entrance on the Christian life was in his seventeenth year, in time of a revival of religion in the Normal School at Westfield, Massachusetts. He was pre- paring for the profession of a school teacher. As might be expected, his entrance on “ the way of life in Christ Jesus ” brought him face to face with new and surpassingly interest- ing and important objects for which to live. He formed his de- cision to commence study in preparation for the Christian ministry. On the last day of 1849, he passed, with the family, through overwhelming affliction, in the sudden death of the beloved daughter and sister, Elizabeth. Divine grace appeared in clear and delightful manner in him, amidst the scenes of affecting dispensation. A near relative, with us, in our grief, wrote of him : 44 One dear child of your father has been translated into the kingdom of Christ on earth. How would your heart melt with gratitude and love, to hear Cornelius pray, in this family ; and to see his happy, expressive countenance bright- ened by the consciousness of his new hopes and purposes. All his perplexities as to the great aim and business of his life are now at an end.” In May following, the family were again bereaved, in the death of the inestimable and beloved wife and mother. For sev- eral years she had suffered impaired health ; disenabling her for the cares and duties devolving upon her, and for the “ labors of love ” in which she had earnestly co-operated with her husband among his people. She thus soon followed her beloved daughter. Her prayers for this consecrated and tenderly beloved son had been answered. And in these afflic- tions of family, the heavenly Father had begun the process of 5 his “ refining and purifying ” for the “good work ” appointed him. He soon after united with the church in South Wind- sor, Connecticut. He spent one year in studies preparatory for college at Monson Academy, Massachusetts At its close his venerable and generous kinsman, Samuel Farrar, Esq., of Andover, offered him assistance in completing his course of preparation for college, in the Phillips Academy. He very thankfully accepted the offer, as bringing him under the instructions of one of the most thorough and successful teachers in our country. The year of his residence there was one of high enjoyment of his studies under Dr. Samuel H. Taylor. From the Academy at Andover, Mr. Hooker passed to membership in Wiliams College, whence he graduated in 1857. He joined the Theological Seminary at Princetown, New Jersey. In senior year there he received from the Congre- gational Association of Rutland County, Vermont, his licen- sure as a candidate for the Christian ministry. From the first of his entrance on Christian life and his de- cision for the ministry, Mr. Hooker had contemplated the devotion of himself to the Foreign Missionary service. In his senior year in the Seminary, he attended the Anniversary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis- sions in Philadelphia. His soul was deeply moved, with in- terest in that meeting, and the subject of Foreign Missions. The frequent embarrassments by ill health which he suffered had somewhat discouraged his missionary wishes and expec- tations. These discouragements, and his receipt of applica- tions to preach as a candidate for pastoral settlements, ulti- mately led to his relinquishment of his wish to enter the ser- vice of foreign missions. The North Congregational Church in Newburyport, Massa- chusetts, invited him to their then vacant pastorship. Com- mitting himself to the divine guidance and help, he accepted the call, and was ordained Dec. 11th, 1860. His church and himself were made happy in early tokens of the awakening 6 and reviving influences of the Holy Spirit, and in “ the joy of harvest.” He delighted in his work. Whether however from self- diffidence, or from the seriousness of the employment of preaching, or from other causes, he had a peculiar sensitive- ness to the publicity of his Sabbath work. In a letter to his brother, he wrote : “ I find a parish like this a big load, and sometimes I stagger and am half bewildered, as I try to carry the bulk — made up of multiplicity of bulks. How- ever, it is very pleasant work to me ; easier, — hard as it is, — than I anticipated ; and having a great many little allevia- tions and encouragements which are as “ oil to the wheels.’’ The weather does have a great deal to do with our perform- ances. Sometimes when I have an extra poor sermon, if I dared, I should pray for foul weather. At such times, either for want of prayer, or for another reason which I cannot ven- ture to suggest the day is distressingly pleasant, and the the audience distressingly numerous and attentive. A minis- ter is as a city set on a hill, for revealing of his defects as well as his excellencies Sometimes, when I am especially sen- sitive to the fact that I am a candle, merely, and feel as if there were great propriety in my being 4 put under a bushel,’ it is very trying to be obliged to stand boldly up on 4 the can- dle-stick.’ At such times, however, I blaze or flicker as I can, hoping that somebody will get a little light.” Between Mr. Hooker and his younger brother there was a difference of a few years in age. Their preparations for college, however, and their studies in college, being mostly pursued under the same instructor, their intellectual train- ing brought them into intercourse in which they were on fair parity, and naturally studied each other’s minds and tastes, and generously estimated each other’s powers. While most intimate and fraternal, as they advanced in their studies and professions, their intercouse became enlivened and stimulated by occasional testings of each other in the arena of meta- physics and theology. Meanwhile, on all the fundamental 7 truths of the gospel, they were in entire harmony with each other, and in full accordance with the views of divine truth and of Christian character, experience and life, which distin- guished their ancestors, and which compose that system to which Paul gave the designation, “ Christ Jesus and Him Crucified.” In the month of March following his ordination, the North Church edifice was destroyed by fire ; a severe loss, and inter- posing embarrassments to his work. Strengthened, however, for his duties in the trying exigency, he laid himself out for his people’s encouragement. The Baptist Church edifice was kindly offered. His people, with energy and promptitude, prosecuted rebuilding “ the house of the Lord.” They were happy in its dedication in the month of October following. Mr. Hooker, meanwhile, became very happily married to Miss Margarette Ceoelia De Bevoise, of Bedford, Long Is- land ; a lady of great excellence and promise of usefulness in the station of a pastor’s wife Her health failed early in the course of the year, and she died in April 1862, Care and solicitude for her, added to his parochial labors, finally pros- trated his own health ; and his services became interrupted for a time. The coming on of the war, with its attendant agitations and perils to the nation, enlisted Mr. Hooker’s feelings as a patriot, and stirred his spirit as a Christian minister. On May 5th, 1861, he addressed his congregation in a sermon on Jere- miah 48 : 10. On Sabbath July 29, 1862, he again addressed his people, in a discourse entitled, “ The nation responsible to God for the punishment of traitors;” on the text Jermiah 49; 23. The two discourses were published, by request. In the spirit of them he held himself ready for his own personal duties, whatever they would be, whether in the pulpit or the field. In one of the conscriptions for the enlargement of the United States Army, and which reached men of the pulpit, he was drafted. He promptly presented himself to be mustered into the ranks. The Medical Examiner, however, rejected him as 8 not haying sufficient ability for military service, from unsound health and delicate constitution. Meanwhile, he deeply felt for those who were called to part with their friends, drafted for the army. When called to marry soldiers, he presented their marriage fees to their respective brides, “as a morsel of consolation for having to resign their husbands so soon for the service of their country.” The time arrived, however, when his low state of health, and his depressing consciousness of inability to continue his services as pastor of the North Church, constrained him to the resignation of his parochial charge. The reluctance of his people to the measure led them to propose that he take a year’s recess. They offered the continuance of his salary during the period, and pledged the supply of his pulpit. He went on a voyage to Cuba, and returned and took another to Europe ; traveled in England and Scotland, and visited France and Switzerland. Returning, toward the close of the proposed year, not having regained his health sufficiently to render it safe to resume his work, and with deep regret to himself and his people, he was compelled to renew his request for dismission. After an interval of several months, his health having gradually become so far improved as to justify him in cau- tious experiments in preaching, he ventured upon an en- gagement for a temporary supply of the pulpit, of the First Church aud society in Nashua, New Hampshire. As time passed on, and his ability for service gradually increased, the people united in extending to him a call to their pastorship. His installation took place on September 14th, 1865. In December following he was married to Miss Sarah B. M. Williams, of Newburyport, Massachusetts ; a relationship which proved highly conducive to his happiness and usefulness during the rest of his life. In Nashua, he found himself among a people loving the faithful dispensation of the gospel and its ordinances ; and giving him a large place in their respect, confidence and affec- 9 tion. His health enabled him, for a length of time, to dis- charge his duties with a good measure of ease and satisfac- tion The circumstances of his parish were in all respects prosperous, harmonious, and in their religious condition, gratifying. He and his people rejoiced in the reviving influ- ences of the Holy Spirit, in hopeful conversions and in addi- tions to the Church . The co-operation of all the evangelical Churches in the city, with each other in whatever pertained to the interests of the kingdom of Christ, was cordial and pleasant. The district of Congregational Churches surround- ing N asliua he found a pleasant and prosperous one. And the ministerial fraternity in the region was unsurpassed in worth of character, and in activity, usefulness, mutual affection and confidence. The time arrived, however, in the third year of his pastorate when he became prostrated upon the bed of sickness. The apprehensions which he felt of being again laid aside from his work ripened into the trying certainty to his own concep- tions, that he could not reasonably expect again to resume his labors. He formed the determination to resign his pastor- ship, and communicated his resignation to the Church and Society. It fell upon their minds to the production both of surprise and sorrow. He was unwilling* to listen to proposals contemplating a recess from his labors. He instinctively, and with intense feeling, shrank from the idea of a minister being a burden upon his people, and pressed their acceptance of his resignation without delay. Their consent was reluc- tantly given, and a council, called for the purpose of his dis- mission, resulted therefor. Mr Hooker’s pastoral affections were more deeply tried by the dissolution of his relationship with the Church in Nashua than could be fully understood by the people. While taking, — with such decision, — his steps for the purpose, he was inflicting pain upon himself. His attachment to them was of strength and ardor unsurpassed by what he had experienced in his first pastorate. To one living with him, and observing 10 how his people in all their interests were in all his thoughts and devisings for their spiritual good, Paul’s words to the Corinthians had illustration: “ I willvery gladly spend and be spent for you.”* A minister who succeeds another minister can acquaint himself with his predecessor through study of his people, as he finds them. Mr Hooker’s immediate successor, the Rev. Frederick Alvord, thus writes : “ A singular providence called me to succeed him in the First Church in Nashua, and I count it a rare felicity to follow such a man. He prepared the way, by his good sense and wise administration. He bequeathed no Church quarrels, left behind him no ‘ roots of bitterness ’ to trouble his successor. As a preacher he was eminently evangelical. He exalted 4 the Cross of Christ.’ As a pastor he was always welcome in the homes of his families. He took into them a blessing, and left a blessing. Few have excelled him in whole-souled devotion to his work. His eye was single. So transparent was his character, so unselfish were his motives and so lofty his aims that he inspired confidence at once. All felt that they could safely trust him. And in the preacher and pastor trustworthiness is a quality beyond all price. The Lord mul- tiply the number of ministers of like pureness and consecra- tion.” Through the divine blessing on means for regaining his health, Mr. Hooker again became able to preach, cautiously restricting his labors, however, within his strength. He preached, for short periods, to several congregations. At length he had the satisfaction of feeling that he might once more allow himself to think of entering a pastorship. *That Mr. Hooker’s attachment to the people of his pastoral charge in Nashua was fully reciprocated, it is proper to state in this connec- tion, that though four years afterward, his path of descent to his grave lay at a distance from their homes, among another people and in another State, yet their affectionate remembrances of him, and their sympathy for him, his family and the people of Stockbridge, attended him and them in his last ill- ness. They were represented on the occasion of his funeral. And the present Memorial owes its preparation and appearance from the press to their solicitation. 11 in April, 1870, the Congregational Church and Society in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, solicited his services. He com- plied with this invitation, and visited them for a few weeks, occupying their pulpit. They extended to him a unanimous call to their pastorship. There were peculiar attractions for him in Stockbridge, as a field for his labors. And with such promise of health, he was very happy in the pastoral relation which became established. He engaged in his work with a satisfaction which fully equalled that which he had experi- enced in the places of his previous ministries. In the autum of 1870, “ The Edwards Family Meeting” was held in Stockbridge. Mr. Hooker entered into the ob- jects contemplated, and was placed on the Committee of Arrangements. By the people, he was requested to deliver, in their behalf, an 44 Address of Welcome.” The meeting was held September 6th and 7th. In the Memorial Volume, subsequently published, his Address of Welcome appears in full, of which the following was the conclusion : 44 Before I close, let me say, that there was One personal Friend of the great man in Whom he took great delight ; of Whom he said, himself : 4 1 have often had sweet compla- cency in Him. He has appeared to me a glorious and lovely Being.’ That Friend is living still. He is 4 the same yes- terday and to-day, and forever.’ We have already joined with you, honored friends, in special and reverent invitation to Him to be present on this occasion. And is not this bright morning His smiling acceptance ? May He indeed grace your festival. May He contribute, — as none other can, — to your endeavors to honor the memory of his faith- ful servant. Then shall your coming together prove not only, — as you intend it, — 4 an act of piety toward the illustrious dead,’ and 4 a measure of fratenal regard for each other,’ but also a means of promoting that cause to which your rever- end ancestor devoted all the great powers of his mind and heart.” To this Address of Welcome, the Hon. J. W. Edwards, of Marquette, Michigan, as President of the Meeting, respond- ed in grateful and cordial language. Mr. Hooker, devoting himself to his loved studies and labors, prosecuted his work with a satisfaction unsurpassed in any of his previous years of ministry. Surrounded by a Church where Scripture truth had been dispensed by such men for so many generations, and where revivals of religion had been frequent, as divine attestations to ministerial fidelity, well might he think of it as “ a field which the Lord hath blessed.” He saw the divine blessing attending his own labors there, especially among the young people of his congregation, many of whom became subjects of divine grace and united with the Church. It could truly be said of both pastor and people, that they enjoyed a union and harmony such as emi- nently conduces to growth in all the interests of “ the life that now is, and of that which is to come.” On the first day of 1873, occurred the Stockbridge New Year’s Prayer Meeting, which for a long course of years had been observed by Christians there, of the different denomi- nations. That meeting was held in the Congregational Hall. It was very fully and solemnly attended. Mr. Hooker presi- ded in the meeting, apparently in good health ; addressed the assembly with fervency and impressiveness, and in a hope- fulness of spirit which was animating, as regarded the then opening year. As the winter months advanced, he was able to perform his duties, in comfortable health. A severe iufluenza was at- tended and followed by some discouraging symptoms. He continued, however, to preach, though with some difficulty, for several Sabbaths. On Sabbath, March 16th, 1873, he preached a sermon upon the text Mark xi. 24, the words of Christ: “Therefore 1 say unto you, what things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” That discourse — in the process of time — proved to be his last. He began another discourse on Col. 18 iv. 2., “ Continue in prayer and watch in the same with thanksgiving which Mrs. Hooker after his death found among his manuscripts unfinished, but manifestly designed to be the continuation of the subject of the last, Christian prayerfulness. Mr. Hooker left Stockbridge in the opening of the summer that he might try the effect of change of scene and of at- mosphere and climate ; the health of Mrs. Hooker, as well his own, requiring the measure. They first tried the sea air and climate of Nantucket, spending a few weeks, with bene- fit to the health of Mrs. Hooker, but not perceptibly to the improvement of his own. The circumstance was a discour- aging one in its relation to his case. While sojourning at Nantucket he visited Boston, that he might seek medical examination and advice, and called upon one of the prominent physicians. As the result of a careful and thorough examination of his case, the physician in- formed him that his lungs were 'seriously diseased, and that he could not safely resume his professional labors for a long time to come, if ever. Of this opinion, the concurrence of other physicians, whom he subsequently consulted, was con- firmatory Writing to his father, — from Nantucket, July 11th, 1873^ — he said : “ Matters with us have assumed a very new aspect since I last wrote.” Mentioning the particulars of his inter- view in Boston with Dr. Ellis, he proceeds : “ As I have no longer any prospect of usefulness to Stockbridge Church, I have sent them my resignation, which will probably be read next Sabbath. We shall remain here till after the Sabbath, and then providence permitting shall return home “ The future is all dark to us, save as we hope we have hold of His hand who Heads us through no darker rooms than He has gone before.’ As I look back over my life, it seems a series of disappointments. And yet, I try to be grateful that I have been ever useful as I have ” * *The feeling of the father towards his children received new impulse from this sudden change in his prospects of life. “ We were so sorrowful and rest- 14 In his letter to his people, tendering his resignation, after reviewing the previous months of his inability to preach and giving them the result of the recent medical investiga- tion of his case, he expresses his conviction that it is his duty to withdraw from his pastorship and give place to an- other whose health and strength will enable him to perform the labors which their parochial and spiritual interests require. He adds : “ It is with great reluctance and pain that I take this step. I have twice, already, been bidden away from the very entrance, as it were, of what promised to be a useful and happy field of labor. And now this call to cease from labors so lately assumed among you comes in accents that it may be forbodes final disappointment. I need not trouble you with an attempt to express my own private feelings, at being obliged to lay down a loved life work, thus, in the midst. But I may say the sorrow is greatly enhanced, of having to do it among a people for whom I have come to en- tertain such esteem and affection as I do toward you : among whom my labors have been received with exceptional kind- ness, and thus made far more useful and happy than they could otherwise have been. But our Heavenly Father’s hand is in all these things. May you and I be able to recognize it in a spirit of filial and loving submission. As to the time of my release from my pastoral relation to you, so far as I am concerned, I should wish it to take place immediately. So far as the act of an Ecclesiastical Council is concerned, I am content that the matter should rest till you have secured some one to take my place, in which case the same Council that installs him can dismiss me. less that day,” writes his wife, “ that he said he would write to Richard. It would please the child to get a letter all his own. It was hard for him to write, the constrained position wearied him so much. He accomplished it, however, printing the letter with his pen, in length covering nearly a sheet of commercial note paper. He wrote his child nothing of his own health and saddened prospects. It was a beautiful delineation of the actings of a father’s love in prospect of his shortening life and looking upon his little son and daughter and their mother ere long to be left alone. 15 “ A ncl now, my dear people, I commend you to Him who is our only sufficient stay, and guide, and comforter, in all the trying changes of this life? May 4 His good Spirit ’ ever dwell with you, and may the blessings of salvation, through Jesus Christ his Son, abound in your hearts unto eternal life.” In response to this communication his people unanimously adopted the following : Resolved : That our pastor, the Rev. E. C. Hooker, be respectfully but earnestly requested, to acquiesce in the sin- cere wish and desire of his Church and people, that his letter of resignation be allowed to lie over, without final and de- finite action, till the first of April next. Resolved : That it is our wish that the salary of our Pas- tor be continued as usual, to the first of next April.” In his reply, acknowledging his receipt of the resolutions communicated to him, he remarks : “ I have only to say, that inasmuch as my sole object in tendering my resignation was to leave you at liberty to act in present circumstances as should seem best to yourselves, I am ready to accede to your request. The relationship existing between us is very dear to me, and I am more than glad to have it continued, so long as it may be consistent with your wishes and interest ; though I shall be unwilling that it continues one moment longer. For your generous kindness expressed in the reso- lution that my salary be paid in fu]l for the year, to the first of April, 1874, I desire you to accept my most sincere and heartyj thanks. Dependent as I am upon my professional labors for support, I know not what I should do but for your timely aid thus afforded. And permit me to add, that this action, and indeed all contained in the resolutions above referred to, taken with your exceedingly patient and kind treatment of me and my family during the past months, is helping, greatly, to keep hope bright in these days of trial and uncertainty. With prayer unceasing for your highest wel- 16 fare, in' all respects, as a Church and People, I remain yours in Christian affection, E. C. Hooker.” Encouraged and cheered by the generosity and kindness of his people, and shrinking from all experiments suggested for trying a change of climate for the winter, he decided to re- main in Stockbridge. This decision prepared him to “ study to be quiet,” and to use whatever means might be for his comfort, with his dear family and people around him, and for the softening of the winter to his case. The first depressing effects of the opinions of his medical advisers became in some degree alleviated. Occasional alleviations of the symptoms of his disease, led him and all who loved him to think of the possibility that he might yet be spared in life, and do some- thing more in his Lord’s service. In one of his letters, — dic- tated when in such hopefulness, — he spoke of the earnest prayer of himself and his beloved wife, pleading, “ Lord if thou wilt!” and added: “Sometimes I feel such confidence that He will hear our prayer, that I am almost betrayed into saying, * When I get well I will do so and so.’ I do not feel anxious to understand the precise meaning of certain symptoms in my case, and do not care to consult physicians further. Humanly speaking it is no matter what the Doctors say, tor unquestionably I am beyond relief from human power alone. But it is not human power that has anything to do with stay- ing my hopes in these days.” He highly enjoyed the scenery of Stockbridge and its sur- roundings, while the beautiful and gorgeous hues of the for- ests were coming on and passing. “ We have had a remarka- ble series of fine autumnal days. I wish you could have seen Stockbridge in these last ten days. These hills have been in a blaze of glory, and it is getting to be almost weari- some to the eye, under the bright sun.” In one of his letters, he gives details of the numerous and various tokens of the considerate kindness of his friends around him, designed for his comfort. Such tokens were IT not from his people alone, but from those of the other reli- gious societies. He said : “ Manifestations of friendship which are constantly made by those around us fill our hearts sometimes to overflowing. No one could have kinder friends, or those more delicate in their attentions.” After mention- ing some marked instances, he writes: “ There does not seem to be a person in the parish who does not take pleasure in doing kind acts for us. All this is very surprising to me. I cannot but wonder that I should have such friends. But I feel that they are all only so many instruments expressing the love of my Heavenly Father. Indeed His friendship is the all-absorbing joy of my soul. No words of Scripture express my feelings so well as those of the Psalmist : “Whom have I in Heaven but Thee, and there is none on earth that I desire besides Thee.” Thus, though his path was obviously toward the grave, it was being “ paved with love,” — the love of his Heavenly Father, and of his attached people. Time, however, had shown, that during all these alternating hopes and solicitudes, encouragements and disappointments, he was slowly approaching the close of life. By the gen- tlest steps possible, his Heavenly Father was leading him in the direction of the Celestial City. His sister, residing in Boston, on returning from a few days visit to him, thus writes : “ I have been with Cornelius and seen on what a thread his life hangs, till I used to go away and weep, because I could not bear the strain of trying to look on the bright side another minute, without relief. His dear wife needed to have every word possible on the bright side, when we used to get away and talk over all the symp- toms, bad and good. As for him, if we broke down in his presence, the dear fellow sometimes wept like a child, sobbing aloud. He was so full of beautiful and heavenly spirit that — either way — it took all our heart to look forward to what seemed certainty, while we were all trying to comfort each other with hopes that God’s will might be, to give him back 18 to us. His letters are sometimes so blight that when I get one I feel strong in faith and full of courage. All our hope is in God. We know that all will be right. Never was he so precious as now. He is child-like in sensiblity to little things, and to love and sympathy and thoughtfulness. He does not wish any of us to be reserved with him. He is very near his Heavenly Father, it seems to me, while, — dear man, — he does try to get well, and prays for it constantly He says he “ wishes he might get well, if only in answer to his prayer ; and that all might know that it was so, that God would show his power, as beyond all the belief of doctors, even.” Mrs. Hooker wrote : “ One of his last days he said, 4 I have a good deal of vitality left yet.’ ‘Yes,’ I said, 4 but you have a sad tone, as you speak it.’ He replied, 4 1 apprehend that I have vitality enough to suffer, but not to recover.’ His only fear was, that, through the greatness of his sufferings, which he dreaded, he might do or say something that would bring dishonor to his 4 Lord and Master.’ I was glad that I had opportunity to tell him, before he left us, that through all these months, I had been astonished even at the gentle, brave patience which he showed. He evinced rare self con- trol, and I do not doubt that the strength for it was given in answer to his earnest prayers. He wished that Thanksgiving day might be pleasant as possible, 4 for ’ said he, 4 1 have a great many things for which to lie thankful.’ And he very much enjoyed the day. 44 Thanksgiving was his last good day. At noon he took his ride with Col. Goodrich. Saturday Mr. De Bevoise came to see him, and he had a very pleasant day with him. They rode together. It was his last ride. 44 On the following Thursday when the Doctor called, Corne- lius told him, — what he had before expressed, — his fears of suffocation. The Doctor replied, that his sufferings were nearly over. He was surprised; and I had to repeat the re- mark to him. He asked the Doctor if he was sure. When 19 the Doctor told him there were unmistakable signs, he said : 4 1 thought I should live several months yet ; I did not think myself sick enough to die.’ 44 After a few minutes he said : 4 How quiet I feel ! I be- lieve I can say : 4 Come Lord Jesus , come quickly ! ’ I took Mabel and Richard to him, and he gave each of them and me our last kiss, bidding us adieu. In his sleep, and dreaming, he seemed living over some of his past life, and was among his travels in Europe ; but my voice easily recalled him to consciousness. Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence were spending the night with us. After ten o’clock he ‘became unconscious. There was nothing I could do for him, and, worn out, I put my head down by his, and we slept, till the last few moments. His breathing grew fainter and fainter, and finally stopped, — at half past one. 44 Our friends have been more than kind. Everything has been done for me, except decisions I must make ; and these my dear husband had anticipated, and rendered as easy as possible for me, by giving me his wishes. I arranged that the people should take their last view of him on the Sabbath in his study. A cross of flowers was laid on the foot of the casket, and a crown of flowers was placed on a Bible at his head, and near it a little sheaf of wheat. His face was beau- tiful ; and, dressed as he was ordinarily, it looked like a sleep.” His sister Sarah, writing to their father, of the funeral, says : 44 The services were appointed for Monday, at 3 : 30 P. M., to give opportunity for the arrival of friends by the train due at that hour. The prayers at the house, by Rev. Mr. Dole, and in the Church by Mr. Lawrence, were appropri- ate and tender. The day was dark, and it was necessary to light the pulpit, which was done by shaded lamps. The pul- pit and the family slip were draped in black. It was sad to see, that after so many months of wonderful brightness in his spirit, all should be so dark, when he was to be laid away. The first hymn had been selected by Cornelius himself, 4 Jesus, lover of my soul,’ etc. 20 Rev. Mr. Scudder’s address, afterwards printed for private distribution, was very appropriate. Long and intimate ac- quaintance had prepared him to speak of him justly, and from the full heart of a Christian brother in the ministry. He brought before the people, in a brief review, and in prominent points, what he had been as a minister. Speaking of his pastoral success, as due to his great love of his people, he remarked : 4 Mr. Hooker sometimes made the impression, — upon those who did not well know him, — of being a man of intellect but not a man of heart. His Edwardean brow rising like our own Berkshire 4 Dome ’ toward heaven, and his disgust of any affectation of feeling, perhaps favored this impression. But this was a wrong conception of him. His heart was like a deep clear, quiet stream. There was no foam of sentimentality about him ; no easy disturbance of feeling, and yet he could feel deeply ; as the still river has in itself the sleeping thunder of Niagara. His love for his people appeared in his great desire to recover. He was young. He had many plans for his people’s good. He loved to preach the gospel. He longed to help men to a higher life. It was his strong desire for these fami- lies, that they should all be saved. It seemed to him that by God’s help, he could do this Church good. The place suited him, and so he pleaded with God to spare his life a little lon- ger, that he might minister to the souls of men. The last time I saw him was when he could not speak without great difficulty. He was saying how much he wished to live for his people’s sake, and exclaimed : 4 The kindness of this peo- ple is to me something astonishing. I cannot understand it ; I never knew such a poople !’ 44 These nearer friends do not need my words of consola- tion, for I am certain they feel that if he could face death so bravely, they, by the same help, can face life. The same Jesus who led him across the beautiful stream can lead them* And he will, for he loves the one for whom they mourn. Oh ! think how well our brother lived, how well he died. Remem- ber how cheerful he was in every dark hour. It was because 21 he watched in Gethsemane with Jesus. Oh ! what a bles- sing to have him settled so near us in heaven ! No more Gethsemanes for him ! But we read of the transfiguration of Christ, that 4 there appeared Moses and Elias talking with him.’ So we comfort our hearts that our dead brother is now in communion with the Redeemer ; that he no longer regrets death, but has found it to be an installation into a new and more glorious work.’ ” Continuing her account of the funeral, his sister writes : “ The second hymn was that beginning, 4 Servant of God, well done,’ etc. I was very thankful for the beautiful references to his father, absent in a western home, for whom all hearts seemed full of sympathy, and to Edward, who was spoken of as now the only son and brother, and in the same work with his brother gone, and far away,* deprived of the privi- lege of joining with the others of us at his grave. It was quite dark as we stood about his grave. But some felt that it was sweetly impressive and suitable, that his lying down in his last resting place should be at night time, when he would naturally have retired to sleep.” It is one of the excellencies of the Christian Ministry, that its members bear toward each other such strong affection and high esteem, “ for their work’s sake.” From among estimates of Mr. Hooker’s character, personal and professional, which have received expression, a few by his brethren may properly conclude this Memorial. The Rev. Frederick Alvord, who succeeds him in the pas- torate of the First Church in Nashua, N. H., writes of him: 44 f first met Mr. Hooker at Monson Academy, Massachu- setts, in 1850, as a student. We were at once friends. Our intercouse was uninterruptedly intimate and pleasant. For the friend I then found I shall never cease to be thankful. Among all the associates of my schooi days, I have not found one purer, truer, or more helpful. To be associated with him * Rev. Edward T. Hooker, Pastor of the First Congregational Church, New Orleans, La. 22 Was a perpetual benediction. The impression he made upon me, when I first saw him, I shall never forget. Most young men at that age, when leaving their homes for school, are ro- bust and ruddy, the pictures of health. He was slender in figure, thin, delicate, and from his appearance, seemed to have known little of out-door life or the athletic sports of boy- hood. Our instructor often expressed fears that he had un- dertaken what he could not accomplish. He, however under- stood his own constitution, and with rigid attention to diet, sleep and exercise, was able, with few interruptions, to con- tinue his studies, and took rank among the best scholars of his class. “ He brought with him the culture of a rare home, which gave him great advantages, for home culture always tells. He was faithful in every relation. “ Duty first,” was his motto. He was strictly conscientious. Principle controlled him ; rarely impulse. Though always cheerful, and having a keen relish for the humorous, he was superior to every- thing unbecoming him as a student. He was an active Chris- tian. His piety shone in his life and hallowed all his enjoy- ments and duties. At the close of the academic year we parted, going to different colleges, and not meeting except at long intervals. But I did not lose sight of him, nor lose the ardor of my first attachment. “ Of him as a professional man, I need say little ; for he is well known. He entered upon the work which he had kept in clear view through all the years of his preparatory studies. Few have loved the ministry more. He was in sympathy with all human interests. Asa thinker he was clear, exact* and logical ; his style rhetorical and polished, and his diction pure and flowing. “ He had no low ambitions. There were no indirections o f method about him, no half revelations of his real purpose. He carried his true self in his face, and in all he said and did. I may say, without exaggeration, that he was one of the noblest men whom it has been my privilege to know. And his early 23 death was to me a personal affliction, as well as a loss to the Church.” The Rev. Dr. William Irwin, of the Second Presbyterian Church in Troy, New York, writes of him: u In Princeton Theological Seminary he was one class before me, and but one year with me there. For that short time we were closely connected, in several ways ; I was sure to see him three times a day, at meals. He sat at the foot of one of the two tables of 4 The Allen Club.’ He was quiet but aiways genial and companionable. He talked little, and jested less ; but intense- ly enjoyed and heartily laughed at the jokes of a few who were in the habit of perpetrating them. He was usually grave and reserved, perhaps not without an occasional tinge of melancholy, and yet he readily responded to all friendly advances, and undemonstrative as he was, he was generally and greatly esteemed and beloved. He ranked very high in his class, for both industry and ability, stood second to none as a student, scholar and thinker, and commanded universal respect for the purity and solidity of his Christian charater. He was generally considered remarkable, even then, both in promise and performance as a preacher. His voice w^as rich and sweet, and unusually well managed and modulated. He had bestowed much care upon its training and with consider- able success, while he had not acquired the faults of an over- wrought and artificial elocution. His deep, mellow base showed to fine advantage in the 4 Hastings Society ’ or Semi- nary Choir, of which he was an active member. He was still more notable in a quartette for private practice and recreation to which he belonged . I never saw him more delighted than when, seated with others around my table, we had slowly and laboriously mastered the harmony and movement of some dif- ficult German ballad or glee. Of the six students who be- longed to that quartette, two only survive in life, of whom I am one. 44 You are greatly blessed, my dear Sir, in having had such a son, even though you have lost him. I am sure that your 24 sorrow must already have in it the beginning of that joy into which it shall one day be wholly turned.” Mr. Hooker while in the pastorship in Nashua being in re- lationship to the General Association of New Hampshire, his decease was made matter for notice in the Necrological Re- port, at the meeting of that body which occurred at Exeter, September 1874. Different ministers, in connexion with the the action upon that report, gave expression to their feelings, tenderly remembering him as a former member of the New Hampshire Ministry. The Rev. Dr. Davis of Amherst ex- pressed himself, in substance as follows : “ I had not the pleasure of knowing Mr. Hooker very in- timately. In the Hollis Association, he always contributed his part, whether reading himself or sitting in judgment on the writings of others, with a scholarly enthusiasm which was cheering to all present. He was evidently a master in the various studies of his profession, and his opinion was always valuable, and admirable for its felicitous expression. “ But the point specially in my mind is the singular purity and refinement of his nature. He had a rare courtesy in his manner ; a sweetness and dignity peculiarly fitting to the sacred office. Belonging to a ministerial race, descending from and bearing the names of Hooker and Edwards, he was 4 an Hebrew of the Hebrews,’ and as such represented the choicest qualities of the families from which he sprang. It may be a conceit of mine, but I cannot avoid the impression that ancestral influences had much to do in forming a character so in harmony with his sacred calling ; as if the great and good elements of so many generations of ministers had been re- fined and purified in their transmission to him. There was undeniably a beautiful harmony between the spirit and the deportment of the man and the duties of his office. He con- ciliated the esteem of all who knew him as a minister. It was so at Nashua ; and very noticeably so among the students at Hanover, while supplying the pulpit of Rev. Dr. Leeds, in his absence abroad. The death of such a man, in the midst 25 of his days, is an event to be deplored by all his brethren. Let us try to keep alive his memory, and strive to reproduce his superior excellence.” The President of Dartmouth College, the Rev. Dr. Asa D. Smith, writes of Mr. Hooker as follows : “Very fresh and fragrant Avith us all, in Hanover, is the memory of his ministrations in our pulpit. One of my strong- est impressions was of the originality and freshness of his sermons. They were not imitations or reproductions, but were cast in the mould of his own mind, and were marked by its peculiar hue and habitude. He would often interest us by the evolution of some great general truth or principle, from a single turn of scripture narration. His discourses were very vital in this regard. I recall, as an illustration of this remark, a sermon on Matt, xxiv : 2, “ And Jesus said unto them, see ye not all these things ? Verily T say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.” His subject was substantially, as 1 now re- call it : u The necessary, wise and benevolent passing away, under the divine economy of one structure after another, in the history of individual man, the Church and the world.” “ His discourses were evidently elaborate, both in thought and diction, and they were unusally uniform in excellence. He did not deal in monthly meteors but always gave us some- thing, clearly and steadily luminous. He shone as a fixed star in the Master’s right hand. As I remember he was less ex- tended and diffuse in the application of truth, than some men. His sermons were apt to be so shaped that they applied them- selves. Not alone to spiritual men was his preaching interest- ing, but to the congregation generally. “But he is not, for God hath taken him. It is a great loss to the Church of God on earth. I felt it, when I heard of his death. But we read, “ His servants shall serve him.” He is engaged, I doubt not, in service higher and better than earth can afford, and in which his glorified powers shall have eter- nal occupation and expansion. It is well with him. May it be well with us when we are called to follow him.” The Church and Society in Stockbridge had sometime ago placed on the right and left of their pulpit, marble tablets, inscribed in memory of John Sergeant, Johnathan Edwards, Stephen West and David D. Field, their earliest Pastors. They have added to the group, another, inscribed as follows : IN MEMORY OF ELIAS CORNELIUS HOOKER, A LINEAL DESCENDANT OF JONATHAN EDWARDS. Born in Bennington, Vermont, July 9, 1832. Graduated at William’s College, 1857. Installed Pastor of this Church June 16, 1870. Died at the Parsonage December 5, 1873. Wholly given to his work, he made the hearts of this peo- ple as one, in love to him and love to “ the Master.” “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. Their works do follow them.” f t