Memoir of Everton Judson

Preface

The materials for the following Memoir were mostly collected by the author in the summers of 1849 and 1850, during the brief intervals of leisure then enjoyed by him. But the pressure of his official labors has prevented him from arranging them in a proper form for publication before the present year. To the numerous friends of Mr. Judson who have contributed, partly by epistolary correspondence, but principally by personal interviews, to complete the portraiture, he tenders his sincere thanks; and he ventures to hope that his statements of facts will be found to be, by their aid, in all important particulars; accurate. Few understand the amount of labor necessary to exclude errors from even a brief narrative ; and some of these, in respect to minor points, may have found their way into the fol-

6 PREFACE.

lowing pages. But the author is firm in the belief that the Memoir will be found to be, in the whole, what he has aimed to make it, historic, and not ideal: and he now commits it to the public with the hope and prayer that it may contribute to perpetuate not the memory alone, but (which is the chief thing) the usefulness of his much lamented friend.

Chapter I

Mr. Jtidsoii's youth and conversion. — His parentage — his paternal and maternal grand-fathers — his parents — anecdote of his mother in New York Evangelist — traits of his youthful character — his conversion and activity in religious meetings — teaches a school in Sherman, Ct. — notice of his school by one who attended it 19

Chapter II

His preparation for the ministry, including his collegiate and theological course. — Turns his thoughts to the work of the ministry — his doubts respecting his qualifications for that office — hurried and imperfect preparation for College — character and standing in College — extreme diffidence and retiring habits in College, and in the Theological Seminary — religious activity in both — efforts for the colored population of New Haven — holds religious meetings in the vicinity of New Haven — notice ofoneofth«se 28

Chapter III

His licensure and Sabbath School agency. — Receives licensure at the close of his second year in theology — general interest at this time in behalf of the West— offers his services in connec-

O CONTENTS.

tion with Mr. Barber to the Amerinan Sunday School Union — letter to his father in reference to this step — the two friends repair to Philadelphia to receive their commission and outfit — Southern Ohio assigned as their field of labor — their first plan of operation — Mr. Judson's account of his first reception in Ohio — they adopt a new plan of labor — its efficiency and successful results — Mr. Judson is laid aside by sickness — returns to Woodbury in feeble health — depression of spirits — remarkable incident connected with this 38

Chapter IV

His location in Milan, with an account of his labors in Berlin. — Offers himself to the American Home Missionary Society — is assigned to Marion County, Ohio — providential events that guided him to Milan — influences that repelled him from Marion county — correspondence with Mr. Barber on the subject — sickness in Milan — decides to remain in Milan — preaches every third Sabbath in Berlin.

Notice of the Congregational Church in that place — success of his labors in Berlin — his account of the Sabbath school there — erection of a new house of worship — his liberality on this occasion — discontinues his labors in Berlin — solicitude for the Church in that place 49

Chapter V

His labors in Milan till the Fall of 1831, with a notice of the part he bore in protracted meetings. — Notice of the Congregational Church in Milan — its organization at Spears' Corners — form of government changed to Presbyterian in 1S25 — changed back to Congregational in 1S30— Mr Judson's first discourse in Milan — ardor with which he commenced his work — abundance of his labors — fresh attack of the ague — revival in 1830 and 1831— extracts from his reports in the Home Missionary.

Notice of his labors in protracted meetings — change of his views in regard to " new measures " — engages with Mr. Conger in protracted meetings— extent of his labors — discontinues them — reasons of this discontinuance — how he fell into the habit of preaching unwritten sermons 62

CONTENTS. 9

Chapter VI

Continuation of his labors in Milan till the close of the year 1836. — Plans the Huron Institute — letter to Mr. Barber on this subject — the Institute located at Milan — superintends the erection of the edifice — Mr. Barber removes to Milan — his congregation commence worshiping in the Institute — revival of 1S33 — notice of this in Matheson and Reed's Visit to the American Churches — Mr. Judson's marriage — plan for a new house of worship — part Mr. Judson bore in this enterprise, with remarks on the same — the congregation remove to the basement of the Church — protracted meeting — results — remarks on these results — effect on Mr. Judson's views. 75

Chapter VII

From the beginning of 1837 to the close of his public labors in December 1847. — Dedication of the new Church — Mr. Judson returns to written sermons — gives increased attention to reading — enlarges the range of his pulpit themes — is installed as pastor of the Congregational Church in Milan — previous views on the subject of installation — effect of these various changes on his pulpit ministrations — introduces Bible classes — his careful preparation for these — courses of sermons — extent of his labors during this period — seasons of special religious interest — in 1839 and 40 — in 1846 — his own account of the progress of his Church.

Notice of his connection with Western Reserve College — elected a Trustee of the College in 1842 — declines a permanent agency for the College — reasons — takes a temporary agency — results. 91

CHAPTER VIII. Review of his public life. — General remarks. .... 103

Section 1. — Mr. Judson as a preacher. — Remarks on his two-fold change, from written to unwritten discourses, and from unwritten to written— the general question of the comparative advantages of written and unwritten sermons considered — simplicity and transparency of his style— its animated and graphic character— sarcasm— habit of introducing into his discourses the results of his reading — simplicity in the arrange-

10 CONTENTS.

ment of his sermons — dislike of expository discourses — variety of topics— extracts from his article in the Biblical Repository on this subject — peculiar habit of preparing sermons — disastrous result of this — length of his discourses — views in theology . . . . . . . . 104

Section 2. — Mr. Judson as a pastor.— His excellence in this respect connected with the steady growth of his Church — his whole-hearted devotion to the pastoral work — watchful care of his flock — intimate knowledge of his people — habit in respect to absentees from his Church — watchfulness in respect to strangers — visitations — his caution to pastors in this respect — ability to discern and forestall rising trouble — his sound judgment and fertility of resources — tact in approaching men of all classes — first point of contact with the irreligious — assiduity in visiting the sick — great success in improving afflictions — his views on this point — indirect way of encountering error — care in respect to the reading of his congregation — high sense of his rights as a pastor — treatment of intruders — paramount influence in his parish — care to consult the leading men of his congregation — seasons of depression — unhappy influence of these 132

Section 3 — Mr. Judson in ecclesiastical meetings. — His public spirit — great influence in ecclesiastical meetings — testimony on this point — his caution in respect to points which he wished to carry — impetuosity towards opponents — his relation to the Ministers' meeting — views of Church polity. .... 156

Section 4. — His efforts for the young. — His way of addressing the young— solicitude to interest them in religious services — efforts to bring young men into the Huron Institute with a view to their preparation for the ministry — his fatherly interest in such — it followed them through their whole course of study — testimony on this point — children of others received into his family— his mode of repelling undue familiarity — review of his labors for Western Reserve College 161

Section 5. — His position in regard to questions of reform. — His decided stand on the temperance question — sympathy for the colored population — joins the Huron County Anti-Slavery Society — leaves it when it takes a political aspect — his position in this respect — in questions of reform looks at realities — anecdote ISO

CONTENTS. 11

Chapter IX

His last sickness and death. — General view of his health — symptoms of apoplexy begin to appear — does not relax his laborsextra service in Cleveland — severe effort upon his return to Milan — the attaek of apoplexy — 6ets out on a journey to the Eastern States — sudden and entire change of symptoms — his letter from Green's Farms — proseeutes his journey without benefit — returns to Milan — his disease assumes its final form.

The closing scene — general view of his last hours — spirit with which he bore his sufferings — his own reflections on his ministry — composure in prospect of death — parting intercourse with his people — his dying messages — exhorts his ministerial brethren to increased earnestness — solieitude respecting a successor — his death 184

Chapter X

General estimate ef his character. — The elements ©f a strong character considered — Mr. Judson possessed these elements ; — 1. Great motive power — consequent impetuosity — 2. Tenacity of purpose — 3. High intellectual powers— their sphere was practical life — elements of his power in deliberative assemblies — capacity of gaining access to the minds of others — business talents.

Subordinate traits of character — great plainness of speech — generosity — social disposition — his views on social gatherings — jocularity and sarcasm.

General complexion of his piety — it was solid and practical in its eharaeter — his views respecting high- wrought exercises — he held the great doctrines of grace in a practical way — his adaptedness to the field of labor assigned to him by God's providence. 197

Introduction

The genuine feelings of the christian heart are expressed by the Apostle, when he says, " None of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord ; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord : whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's." It is the prayer of every true believer, that not his life only, but also his death may be " unto the Lord." If he hopes after death to be himself at rest with Christ, he also hopes to leave behind him in the world an influence which shall bring others to Christ. His brethren who remain yet for a season on earth, sympathizing with him in this the strongest desire of his heart, are anxious to use in the most effective way his past life and labors for advancing the kingdom of their common Lord. All religious biographies should have this for their end. To gratify the feelings of surviving friends is not a worthy motive for the expenditure of time and toil in their preparation. If they cannot be 2 made subservient to the interests of Christ's Church, they were better omitted.

But, that they may accomplish this high end, it is necessary that they be strictly conformed to truth. The biography must present not an ideal of the man, but, as far as possible, the very man himself, as he lived and moved about in society. Thus much may, indeed, be conceded, that his faults should be touched with a friendly hand, and dwelt upon only so far as the exhibition of them shall be necessary to a correct understanding of his history with the lessons of instruction which it contains. But they should not be denied or concealed ; nor should his virtues, on the other hand, be exaggerated, so as to produce a false picture of his character. For it is reality, not fiction, that moves the human mind to emulation. The exhibition in actual life of the christian graces, though they be in comparatively feeble measure and alloyed with many imperfections, has far more power than any high-wrought portraitures of ideal excellence ; which, indeed, precisely because they are the products of imagination instead of history, are regarded as above the range of human attainments, and, consequently, though they may elicit much admiration as works of art, excite to imitation only in a feeble degree. Consider for a moment how the life of Christ, as given by the four Evangelists, would be shorn of its mighty power over the human heart, could we even but suspect it of being ideal, and not strictly historic. Or, to take an example from a man like ourselves, consider how the Apostle Paul's influence over the churches, as a christian man, would be, for all practical purposes, annihilated, were the record of his life and labors and sufferings believed to be a romance instead of a reality. In character and morals it is by what we know to exist as a part of history, rather than by what some genius can conceive to exist, that our spirits are stirred within us to emulation.

It follows that no man is worthy of having his biography written, who has not strength enough of character to be described as he is. If, in order to make out an interesting and attractive memoir, it be necessary to falsify and exaggerate the facts of his history and character, then let his memory rest with his ashes in quiet oblivion. The cause of truth needs no such helps. A truly strong character, when faithfully exhibited with its real excellencies and defects, always produces a salutary impression upon the reader's mind. So are the ancient worthies presented to us in the Holy Scriptures for our instruction.

From what has been said, the reader will naturally infer that the author considers the person whose biography he now presents to the public, as having been a man worthy to be described as he was, without the embellishments of fiction. In this inference he will be entirely correct. Mr. Judson, with some faults which — such was his native openness of spirit — he took no pains to hide behind a smooth exterior, possessed rare excellencies and great force of character. Not to anticipate the proof of this, which will be found in the following memoir, it is sufficient here to refer to what he accomplished, and to the influence which he exerted. The Church in Milan, he found in a feeble and broken condition ; he left it, after nineteen years of ministerial labor, one of the strongest and most flourishing churches on the Western Reserve : during the whole of this period, characterized, as all know, by strong excitement, and abounding in causes of alienation and division, he ever maintained a paramount sway over the minds of his people, young and old ; and succeeded in either keeping out of his parish or counteracting those influences which, in so many other churches, led to disunion and separation : nor was his a waning power ; on the contrary, it steadily grew with the growth of the community in which he lived, and the congregation to which he ministered ; and when he fell, smitten by the hand of disease, he fell in his full strength, in the very zenith of his influence. He was the father of the Huron Institute, and, while he was able to superintend its affairs, he gave to it a remarkable degree of efficiency and success : especially was he successful in gaining the confidence of the young, and directing them into paths of piety and usefulness ; and it is conceded that no pastor in Northern Ohio was the means of putting so many young men into the ministry. His counsel was ever highly prized and abundantly sought by all, even by those who did not sympathize with him in his religious views: in the ecclesiastical and ministerial bodies with which he was connected, as well as in the Board of Trustees of the Western Reserve College, he ever maintained a high place, and showed himself a most efficient and useful member. A man who could, in troublous times, gain and hold such influence, and accomplish such results, must have possessed no ordinary force of character. It is from the persuasion that the exhibition of this character in a brief memoir will furnish salutary lessons of instruction, that the author has been induced to undertake the work.

That all will be satisfied with the manner of its execution, is more than he dares to hope. To Mr. Judson's ardent friends, who were admitted to intimate converse with him — and it was in such intimate converse that his excellencies peculiarly manifested themselves — the following pages may perhaps appear tame and spiritless ; because it is impossible adequately to describe upon paper a character like his. Others, again, who saw him only at a distance, where certainly he did not appear to the best advantage, or who found themselves brought into collision with him in respect to those principles and measures in which he differed from them — a thing which could not but often happen in the case of one occupying his position and living in his times — may think that his character is overdrawn. But the author commits 2* this memoir to the public, with the firm belief that it contains a just, though it may be in some respects inadequate, view of the man ; and, as such, his prayer to God is that it may be blessed as the means of propagating more extensively after his death that good influence which was so eminent in his life.

Chapter I

MR. JUDSON's YOUTH, AND CONVERSION.

Everton Judson, the subject of the following memoir, was the son of Asa and Sarah Judson, and was born in Woodbury, Connecticut, December 8, 1799. He was descended on both sides from pious ancestors. His paternal grandfather, Benjamin Judson, is represented to have been an eminently devoted Christian. His maternal grandfather, Mathew Minor, held the office of deacon in the Congregational Church of Woodbury for the space of forty-three years, and died at the advanced age of eighty-three. He was a Christian of the old Puritan stamp, regular and strict in his observance of the Sabbath day, and spending much of his time in prayer and the perusal of the Scriptures.

His practice was to read his Bible through once a year, taking for his daily portion three chapters, and on Sabbath days five. He took a deep interest in his youthful grandson Everton ; and having been permitted, at a family meeting in Woodbury, to hear him preach, expressed a lively satisfaction, that he had entered the ministry. His example seems to have left its impress on Mr. Judson's mind ; and it deserves to be mentioned, in connection with the high value which the latter ever attached to God's covenant with believing parents, that a constant expression of the aged deacon in his prayers was, " May we and our posterity be the blessed of the Lord forever."

Asa Judson, the father of Everton, was a man of quick feeling, ardent in his friendships, and impulsive in his character. He had a jocose turn, and was very communicative. He was extremely fond of children, and always had a word ready for every boy or girl whom he met. He had no sarcasm. This trait, which was sometimes unpleasantly conspicuous, the son inherited from his mother. In the family of Mr. Judson, religion was made a topic of familiar conversation, and both the parents took pains to instruct their children in its doctrines and duties. The Assembly's Catechism they taught as a matter of course. On Sabbath afternoons, moreover, Mr. Judson was in the habit of gathering his children around him, and conversing with them respecting the sermons which they had heard. Both parents had the most unwavering faith in God's covenant with believers and their children.

The mother, Mrs. Sarah Judson, is uniformly described as having been a woman of great worth, sterling integrity, and decision of character. One speaks of her as " a very substantial woman ;" another, as " a stable woman, firm as the hills ;" another still, as " a very judicious, consistent Christian." She was very frank and plain of speech. Mr. Judson always affirmed that it was from his mother that he inherited his plainness of speech. She was very decided in her way, which, in consequence of the clearness of her judgment, was generally right ; but, whatever were her decisions, she was not easily moved from them. She had no jocoseness, but, if she wished to say a severe thing, she knew how to make it felt. Her piety took its color from these natural traits of character. It was not of the sentimental or fitful kind, but steady and substantial. She was eminently a woman of faith and prayer. She died May 5, 1820, while the subject of this memoir was yet unconverted. In her death faith triumphed. She was composed and enjoyed the exercise of her reason to the last; conversing calmly with her friends, and all whom she saw, particularly with her children, whom she solemnly committed to the care of God. Many years afterwards, Mr. Judson inserted in the New York Evangelist an interesting article entitled "My Mother" which strikingly illustrates the deep impress that her example and instructions left upon his youthful mind. It is here given, with the omission of only some concluding sentences addressed to the young who might peruse it.

" My mother has been for many years among the glorified in heaven. Her look, her manner, her tones of voice, are all embalmed in my memory. The most distinct impression of these ever made, and the one which is still the most vivid in my eye, was implanted when I was quite a small boy. I cannot readily tell how old I was — perhaps six or seven. The circumstances are fresh in my recollection as if they had occurred yesterday. It was a cool evening in autumn — the fire burned very briskly on the old kitchen hearth. My mother sat in the corner of the fire-place at the right, and just upon her left hand I had seated myself upon the large stone hearth in front of the fire with my hammer, amusing myself in bending a piece of wire for carrying on my childish sports. I was exceedingly animated at my work. After watching me for some time, she dropped her knitting in her lap, and, in a mellow subdued tone, such as mothers only can use, she said, c My son, I wish I could see you as much engaged in serving Jesus Christ as you are at your play.' She said not another word, but it went directly to my heart. I turned around, and slily wiped a tear from my eye, and resumed my task. My wicked heart had even then pride enough to prompt a wish to conceal my tears, yet the arrow remained in my bosom, and, though many a long year passed away before I began in reality to serve Jesus Christ, the scene upon the kitchen hearth was never driven from my mind. In all the fo]]y of childhood, and wildness of youth, it returned at intervals to haunt my soul. It was just about one full year after my mother had gone home to glory, that I first gave myself to the hand of Jesus. O, I would have given all this world, had it been mine, could I at that moment have taken the wings of a dove and flown away, where I could mingle, for an hour, with her happy spirit, that I might recall to her recollection the scene passed on the old kitchen hearth. I seldom think of her except in connection with that scene. The fixedness of her large blue eyes, her look, her mellow and subduing tones, her very gesture as she dropped her knitting upon her lap, are all present to my eye. It is no picture of the imagination. After the lapse of more than a quarter of a century, I love to drop a tear as I think of that hour."

To those who knew Mr. Judson personally it is unnecessary to say that in him were blended the natural traits of character of both his parents, as they have been above described ; and that the whole of his public and private life exhibited the fruits of their early pious training.

Mr. Judson was the eldest of six children, of whom the youngest alone, Mrs. Lorena Abbott, survives.

In his youth he is described as having been prompt, decided, unyielding in his opinions, jocose, and sarcastic. His moral character and conduct were always unexceptionable. He was quick to learn, and rather fond of reading, though not remarkable in these respects. To the age of twenty-one, when he first became personally interested in religion, he labored on his father's farm, and few notices of this period remain.

In the spring that followed the death of Mr. Judson's mother — the spring of 1821 — an extensive revival of religion took place in Woodbury. His attention was now aroused, and he commenced attending the evening meetings. He was not a man to do any thing which he undertook at halves. With his characteristic decision he went to all the meetings however remote from his father's residence. On one of these occasions he heard a sermon from the words, " How long halt ye between two opinions ? If the Lord be God, follow him : but if Baal, then follow him." The preacher exhorted his hearers to go home and write down, each one for himself, his decision for God or for Baal. To a man of his temperament this proposition could not but come with peculiar force. He determined to comply with the suggestion, and, upon going home, wrote down his decision for the Lord. From that time his convictions of sin were deep, and he had no peace till he found it in believing. As soon as he had himself chosen Christ for his Master, he became very active in his labors to bring others to the knowledge of the same

Saviour. He frequently spoke in the religious meetings. There was at this time too much of that sharpness and asperity which also characterized his early ministry, and some blamed him as being too forward. But what he said came from an earnest heart, and it never failed to produce an impression upon the hearers.

Before his conversion Mr. Judson grieved for his mother's death, and felt that he could not be reconciled to it. But after that event there was in this respect a marked change in his feelings. "Now," said he, "I can see the hand of God in her death." He doubtless felt that it had been made, under God, a means of bringing him to repentance. He connected himself with the Church in Woodbury in January 1822, along with thirteen others.

After his conversion he was very useful in forming the habits of the younger children of the family. In the temperance cause he was very decided and thorough-going. So early as 1821 y in the very dawn of the temperance reformation, and before the formation of any temperance organization, he told his brothers that he should positively refuse to go into the field with them, if they carried to their work ardent spirits. This is the more noticeable because his father never came into the principles of total abstinence.

In the winter of 1821—2, Mr. Judson, having then but recently made a profession of his faith in Christ, was employed to teach a school in Sher-

a man, Ct. One who was a member of the school has furnished the following statement concerning him.

"It was a large school, and many of the scholars were well advanced. I was not at that time a professor of religion, but his earnest, sincere efforts for the spiritual good of his pupils made a deep impression on my mind. In this respect he went farther than such labors had ever been carried before. His religious feelings manifested themselves in his earnest, affectionate prayers for the conversion of his pupils. On Saturday afternoons, in connection with the Catechism, his exhortations were very solemn and earnest. On one occasion he requested all who felt an interest in the prayer which he was about to offer to kneel. But one pupil complied with the request, yet the impression was deep. The language of his prayers was so peculiar, so earnest and importunate, that it was a common topic of conversation among the boys. These prayers were often accompanied with many tears.*

"In teaching, he was careful to mix in with his instructions interesting anecdotes. Every lesson in geography he made interesting in this way. His instruction was of a high order, calculated to leave a stirring impression on the mind. He spent but one winter there. I have ever looked back to it as the most interesting winter of my life. He