1 10 1 https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/12165/archive/files/b71dc28ff443c6809b2857556af07fe1.pdf?Expires=1780531200&Signature=ofFbgQvNlE7wnkB3hq2YMvfhNNIJxLl6MG08xJcVHp3nudoXR9WgvMylOVzX%7Enf5DFbrBn6JL-i8ufPDzEUi6rXCWPs23vyyXYedYKukue5BFh5bUoaQdgO04sHOTxnoGUX%7EIULZKVm-Qwu0Yp1nruKJdZc2vMYj5QVR76UmO3v48VrORx00L-l776zg-2KuUTuR7lw9TfMpuUz%7EGzuFlAPPNAD7otLDA5d5ruBD9bs5TsYjE10lZtFKCQ1UjpaXUspdJvG8jlFCPebRfn%7EwUKXWi0hT5jfqvOVXiOdoNEdI8Z7AFlC8n2p3AINnJf09e-5B7Lx-nNuZ78xLgig52g__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 4bbc0ea710fb7cee1d2a303eb0f11d11 PDF Text Text �John Martin Luther Babcock (1822-1894), Autobiography, w r i t t e n 1893, p r i n t e d posthumously, 1894 1822 1825 1843 1849 1852 1854 /1856 ^1857 IR'^R 1860 Bom i n Andover, Maine Removes with family t o Boston, MA. Seme s c h o o l i n g and independent study. Works a t v a r i o u s j o b s , i n c l u d i n g p r i n t i n g and as o f f i c e boy t o a lawyer. Has access t o a l i b r a r y , p r a c t i c e s oratory. Marries Martha Day Ayer of Plaistow, NH. Journeyman p r i n t e r . Attempted newspaper f a i l s . Wife d i e s , 1846. Health g i v e s way, s u f f e r s from melancholia. Marries Miriam C. Tewksbury of Wilmot, NH and moves to Wilmot. J o i n s Free W i l l B a p t i s t Church. Gives f i r s t sermon, 1850, and begins leading prayer meetings and o c c a s i o n a l s e r v i c e s . L i c e n s e d and preaches two y e a r s i n N. Wilmot Ordained i n Wilmot. C a l l e d t o S t r a f f o r d , VT. C a l l e d t o Farmington, NH Free W i l l B a p t i s t Church Z^^pointed " b u i l d i n g agent" of a new meeting house, "with f u l l power t o r a i s e t h e necessary funds, and t o proceed t o b u i l d the house with a l l p o s s i b l e d i s p a t c h " . B u i l d i n g dedicated, October. S u f f e r i n g mental exhaustion, Babcock r e s i g n s a t Farmington. Preaches a t Effingham, NH and W. Buxton ME over the next two y e a r s . Autobiography ends. Post-1860 Babcock s e r v e s U n i t a r i a n churches i n L a n c a s t e r , NH and Groton, MA. E d i t s a reform newspaper. The New Age (1875-1877). L e c t u r e s and w r i t e s i n support of temperance, workers' r i g h t s , women's s u f f r a g e and wcxnen's r i g h t s . R e c r u i t e d as a p o l i t i c a l speaker f o r l i b e r a l candidates. Writes novel. The Dawning, 1885. 1894 Dies i n h o t e l f i r e i n Boston. Buried w i t h second wife and daughter i n N. Wilmot, NH. ���AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF olm Martin Luther Babcoc TOGETHER WITH A Discourse delivered at the Funeral, and Addresses given at the Memorial Service. . Published for the F a m i l y . 1894. �CHAPTER IV. MINISTRY. The 1 '. " r e v i v a l " in w h i c h I was " c o n v e r t e d " was a sort of union affair, as it is termed ; that is. F r e e w i l l Baptists, T r i n i t a r i a n Congregationalists and Methodists were engaged in it. I t was intimated to me that I should be w a r m l y welcomed to churchmembership in either of these sects. w i l l Baptists, on two grounds. I elected to j o i n the F r e e - F i r s t , this denomination had at an early day in the abolition movement taken an anti-slavery position, and borne testimony against " t h e sum of all v i l l a i n i e s . " Such was \s voice as a denomination, though a large portion of its churchmembers i n New H a m p s h i r e at least, stilj^ remained firm i n their pro-slavery prejudices. I did not, it is true, k n o w this at the time ; but i presume if I had I should have chosen that sect all the same, because it was the only religious body (besides the Q u a k e r s ) that h a d at that day the decency to protest against putting women on the auction-block. Second; though I then k n e w very little about theology, I did know that there was such a thing as C a l v i n ism ; and i.n the fervor of my newborn zeal I loathed the monstrous dogma that God had doomed a " c e r t a i n but indefinite numb e r " of tlje human race (so says the creed) to an eternal h e l l , — and made, too, that characteristic and godlike decree before the "foundation of the w o r l d . " Now the F r e e w i l l Baptists were A r m i n i a n in their theology,— had rejected the " p r e d e s t i n a t i o n " and " e l e c t i o n " free." nonsense, and proclaimed that " s a l v a t i o n was I was therefore inclined to this sect by the force of my natural tastes and impulses. For some months after this my thoughts puzzled and struggled over the personal problem whether I should continue to cultivate ^ the soil ( a noble and honest occupation in itself), or whether I �3i • should attempt to do something else. I had not yet recovered from the shock of my first defeat, and still sorely distrusted my own abilities. A t the same time I had an intense yearning for some form of intellectual life, and feared that my brain would i , stagnate, as it evidently had i n the case of most of my neighbors, ^ in the simple but wearing toils of a farmer's existence. I n this state of doubt and perplexity, it happened, the next \ summer, that an opening was accidentally offered to me, and, with not more than an hour's notice, I jnounted the pulpit, and gave my first sermon,—an entirely extemporaneous effort, without any'previous preparation whatever. D f c o u r s e l went through, and talked the usual length of time without stumbling. did not settle my doubts. But the performance I still could not bring myself to believe that I was made for a preacher. I n this state of uncertainty I passed' several months of the succeeding winter in Boston. I set types in Mr. B u t t s ' office for the family subsistence, and used my evenings to renew some former associations, and to reawaken, if I could, my mental energies. ' ,rCi ' I returned to Wilmot in early spring, to meet the sorrow of laying away in the grave the dear form of the lovely babe, the first that was born to me in my second marriage,—little M a r y L o u i s a , aged fifteen months. H e r mother sleeps beside her now. O n the question that h a d been engaging my thoughts for months, my mind not many weeks after this came to a decision. I could not settle down to a farmer's life ; what, then, should I do ? I had a definite purpose,—I was bent on making myself of some use to the world. What c a l l i n g or occnpation could offer opportunities than that of the Ministry ? H e r e was a better profession that, by its very nature, could have no connection with selfishness or pride. I t could take no counsel of policy or expediency. I t is devoted to the noblest objects, a n d must be controlled and guided by the highest moral considerations. I t could listen to nothing but the voice of absolute T r u t h , — c a r e for nothing but the eternal R i g h t A person of moderate abilities might do some service to his race in such a work as this. T h e die was c a s t , — I would be a minister. �T h e next question w a s , — M u s t I prepare myself by a course of study i n some theological school ? H o w did I learn to set types ? I learned without a master,—by m y own unaided practice. way to learn to set types is, clearly, to set types. to learn to preach is—to preach. The T h e n the way Of course, if there were techni- cal or scientific secrets to be learned, it would be necessary to go where they were revealed or taught. But how m u c h science must a man be master of before he could learn to say what he thinks. I am now twenty-eight years of a g e , — I will waste no time i n the schools. I w i l l make the needs, the prejudices, the passions of my fellow-men my school; if I cannot learn how to preach in such a school, I could not from a professor of d i v i n i t y . So I began. I gave sermons here a n d there, for awhile, as I had opportunity,—sometimes holding forth in a schoolhouse, and sometimes taking the place of a minister who was i l l . The F r e e w i l l Baptist churches were arranged in groups of neighboring bodies, periiaps twenty churches i n a group. These associations were called Quarterly Meetings, and met in religious convocation four times a year.' A t one of these, in J a n u a r y , I was formally licensed to preach the gospel. years I preached i n Wilmot. 1852, F o r the next two T h i s period of my life is rather bar- ren of interest or incident. I^ ' I '5 S'^ T h e r e was one episode that I w i l l recount, because it will tend to show how I had my eyes opened to the_actual state of religious character and quality in the people among whom my lot was now cast, and how some of the fond illusions with w h i c h I set out were too suddenly dissolved. E a r l y in the spring I wished to purchase a cow. I had no s k i l l in judging of an animal's qualities by external examination, an art i n which some old farmers are exceedingly expert. So I went to one of my deacons, a man who, for t h a t locality, dealt largely in cattle, and stated my want. fidence in his Christian integrity. A t this time I had full con- I had indeed heard some hints that he was not trustworthy in his business transactions; but he was so loud in his professions, a n d so zealous i n prayer-meeting. �33' that in my simplicity I h a d dismissed these innuendoes as u n worthy of belief. So when he told me that he had just the cow I wanted, that he would sell me below her value, I fully believed him. I t is true it was some slight shock to my confidence when he went on to expatiate on the very excellent qualities of his c o w ; but, putting the matter on the very lowest ground, I reflected that no m a n would, for the sake of a few dollars, gravely damage his reputation among his neighbors by a dishonest transaction. I paid h i m his price, which was as high as a first-class animal would command. A s it turned out, it was the meanest and most nearly worthless of any domestic a n i m a l ever reared. But I said noth- i n g ; I only thought that I might profit by the lesson in the future. Some others, who could not help knowing the facts, made talk about it, much to the deacon's discredit. some But I took my punishment l i k e a little m a n . I t did, however, have the effect of convincing me that the education of this people in the principles of Christian morality had been sadly neglected, and impressed me with the necessity and importance of giving these C h r i s t i a n s more " p r a c t i c a l " sermons. A n d i n this way my attention was turned to this line of instruction. M a n y months afterwards, when I had seen more evidences of the moral obtuseness of this people, I remember that I prepared my.self with a " strong " sermon on the urgency of the requirement that C h r i s t i a n s should be truthful and honest in their dally lives, if they would not bring dishonor on the gospel they professed. Now I most solemnly affirm that in this sermon I did not have the deacon in my m i n d . grievance I was not disposed to put a personal into a discourse; a n d , besides, some more recent cir- cumstances had driven the thought of the deacon's cheat out of my mind. I could not help noticing, however, that the deacon was very uneasy during the service ; and, as soon as it was over, one of his sons went out of the c h u r c h , and said, in the hearing of many, " T h e r e ! he said everything he could say without saying ' c o w ' right out." T h i s revealed to me how much this family had suffered i n their feelings about the " c o w trade," and it was encouraging �34 to know that t h e j were not insensible to the_lash. T h e r e is some hope of a man's moral renovation as long as a good degree of sensibility remains. I had got tlie best end of the " trade " after a l l . I n the course of two years I had made some advancement i n the art of preaching, and now felt some confidence I might j u s t l y ' attempt to be useful in a larger field. I n J a n u a r y , 1S54, I was at a session of the Quarterly Meeting, held at Wilmot, formally o r d a i n e d to the work of the ministr}', and now became a full-fledged clergyman. I soon received a " c a l l " to Strafford, V e r m o n t , and, after preaching there for one Sunday, I accepted the invitation, and removed to that town with m y family. H e r e I passed two pleasant years ; but nothing occurred worthy of special r e c o r d . slavery sentiment was m u c h more vigorous V e r m o n t than it was in N e w H a m p s h i r e . T h e anti- and wide-spread i n I n my church or audi- ence there was none of that besotted prejudice i n favor of slavery that I h a d found i n W i l m o t ; and there was no necessity for those anti-sla\ery sermons that h a d been a source of irritation to some of my hearers in my first m i n i s t r y . I n the elections of the autumn of that year the victory for anti-slavery was practically won i n Vermont. I t was here that I sought to prepare myself for future usefulness by m a k i n g an experiment. M y parish was extended a large t e r r i t o r y ; and, according to the custom of those I appointed meetings, on the evening of week-days, for over days, the benefit of the aged or infirm i n the outlying districts, who could not come four or five m i l e s to c h u r c h very often on Sunday. H i t h e r t o I had not been able to preach without considerable preparation. * But, to be fitted for emergencies, I wanted to be to preach off-hand. able So I adopted the plan of going out to these evening meetings, and g i v i n g a " p r e a c h " without the slightest preparation. I wanted to get the ability and habit of " thinking on my feet." I f I have ever had any facility in purely extempo- raneous speaking, it is due to such efforts as these, more than to any natural gift. I n my original power of speech I was not fluent. �35 T h e r e is, indeed, such a tiling as extemporaneous speech, the main part of which has been thoroughly thought out beforehand. W h a t I desired was to be able to think as I went along. Besides the fact that I was one year in StrafTord elected to have charge of the public schools, there is nothing in particular to set down i n my life there. T h e r e was no " leligious revi\l " in the town while I remained there. M y next ministry was in the town of Farmington, in New H a m p s h i r e , where I removed i n the summer of 1856. A village had been built up here by a thriving shoe industry, and a small F r e e w i l l Baptist church h a d been organized. I not only had a " c a l l " to go there, but had been urged by the brethren who managed affairs at the headquarters of the denomination in Dover to accept it. T h e substance of this advice was, that the village was growing, and, by the hard work of an earnest and able man a flourishing church might be built up there. T h e first point was to get a church built there, for the F r e e w i l l Baptists had no fit place of worship. A n old and decayed meeting- house, built in the old times before a village was thought of, was all that the church had to meet in ; and as this gloomy house was three-fourths of a mile away from the village it was impossible to gather an audience within its w a l l s on Sunday,—ah audience large enough to give any hope of the future. One of our leading m.inisters had been my immediate ecessor. pred- H e had devoted his ministr}'of two years to the special object of building a new meeting-house in the village ; and had given up the work in despair. I went there under these conditions, i soon saw that for some months at least a new meeting-house was not to be thought of, much less openly advocated. I n fact some members of the church " e n c o u r a g e d " me from the first by saying that the F r e e will doctrine had no chance i n that community, and a new house of worship could never be built there. I thought I would consic;;r the matter for myself, and said nothing. B u t what forced the postponement of any meeting-house enter- �36 prise was the fact that the entire community was terribly stirred up and excited over politics. mont cainpaign of W e were in the midst of the F r e - 1856. I have witnessed and passed through fifteen presidential elections, and the campaign of 1856 surpasses any of them, or all of them, for its purely moral effectiveness and grandeur. T h e cam- paign of 1840 was fully as glowing in its e.xcitement; but it was a merely thoughtless craze, a n d nobody kne.v what the hullabalo was all about. '* W i l l go for O l d T i p , therefore, Without a why or wherefore " was a quite accurate description of the spirit of that canvass. T h e election of 1S60, when L i n c o l n was elected, was very quiet and inanimate indeed, for the contest had been practically decided four years earlier, and it was seen to be a foregone conclusion from the beginning of the canvass. B u t i n 1856 the political conditions were entirely unlike any which di.^iinguished a campaign before or since,—at least in my remembrance. T h e anti-slavery sentiment that had been slowly gaining in force and volume as a political movement since 1840 now appeared in the field with a strength a n d vigor that threatened or promised to sweep the country. T h e outrages which the border ruffians," the tools of the slave power, were infliciing on the free settlers of K a n s a s , and the horrible atrocities of midnight raids on the homes of peaceable emigrants, borne on every Western breeze, aroused the pity and indignation of the N o r t h . W h e n these emigrants at length arose to oppose the invader, and John Brown's war-cry at Ossawatomie was heard throughout the land, the excitement blazed with intensity of heat. B u t the impulse which set the multitudes in polidcal array was a purely moral impulse. No question of dol- lars and cents entered into the conflict; no man's pocket was appealed to. I t was only the claims of R i g h t against Wrong, of Freedom against Slavery. I t was into the whirl of such a political tempest that I was cast j p the sumiiier of 1856 in F a r m i n g t o n , Of course the people h a d �37 no ear for the abstract dogmas of religion. E v e r y t h i n g was inter- preted with reference to the political situation. I f the preacher happened casually to say that no man should be the " s l a v e of his passions," the phrase was caught up and discussed as to its bearing on the affairs of " b l e e d i n g K a n s a s . " I n my constitutional cau- tion I delayed m a k i n g a public avowal of my convictions till I could gain some insight into the state of the public mind, and the nature of the prevailing sentiment. and how to strike. I wanted to know just where I never felt more deeply impre. .,ed with the importance of m a k i n g a right use of my abilities and my opportunities. So I preached as if unconscious c a l m l y the general doctrines of religion, of the storm raging around me. I contented myself with the increase i n the number of my small audience, from Sunday to S u n d a y , — a n increase which usually marks a new preacher's advent, and w h i c h it depends on his own abilities to hold. So matters went on for weeks. A t the beginning of October I felt I must no longer delay. was time I should fire a shot. effect. It M y preaching was having no visible I could not content myself to be " Dropping buckets into empty wells, A n d growing old in drawing nothing u p . " But I had been treasuring up such a volume of " wrath against the day of w r a t h " that I w a s impelled to say more than I then thought I could properly say as a part of a religious service. So one Sunday I quietly gave notice that on the following T h u r s d a y evening I would state my views on the political situation. I went down to the old meeting-house on that evening in a mental state the very calmness of which surprised me. I found about twice the number of my usual audience, but the general aspect was very quiet. 1 besran by stating the general grounds on which c h a f e l slavery was shown to be a monstrous wrong, and the giant sin of permitting it to e x i s t anywhere, as well as the absurd disgrace of continuing the iniquitous s3-stem in a land formally dedicated, as ours was, to liberty. A l l this I might properly have declared in a sermon on Sunday. B u t then I went on to apply thq �38 principles I had laid down to the existing position of political parties. T h e Democratic party, w h i c h had for forty years stood as the abject tool of the S l a v e power, h a d in the present campaign taken a position in defence of s l a v e r y . I t was true they had attempted to mask their batteries ; but in spite of a l l attempted disguises, the fact was evident that the success of that party would be regarded, South and North, as a triumph of slavery, and a blow at the hope of freedom. I n the conflict then raging in K a n s a s , the Democrats were manifestly a i d i n g the effort to fasten the evil of slavery on those virgin prairies, and i f the election went in their favor that infamous effort might possibly succeed. T h e R e p u b l i c a n party, with its watchwords of " F r e e S o i l , F r e e M e n , and F r e m o n t , " were in political array against slavery, and their triumph would at least check its extension. T h e i r platform, I said, it is true, does not come up to my ideal. T h e y said, " N o extension of s l a v e r y ; " but my platform w a s , " N o slavery a n y w h e r e . " However, as the party that was l o o k i n g towards liberty, and proposed to strike at least a partial blow for freedom, it was immeasurably to be preferred to the other party. A n d I said it was inconceivable to me how a faithful C h r i s t i a n could support a party that had raised the black flag of slavery. I spoke one hour a n d thirty minutes, and the meeting closed quietly. I went home that night with the impression that my effort had not caused the sensation, or produced the effect, that I anticipated. IJut I s a n k to sleep with the comfortable consciousness that I had done what was right, and the consequences might take care of themselves. five gentlemen came to my house. They were prominent citizens as w e l l as leading R e p u b l i c a n s . T h e next forenoon They came to say that they had j u s t le.irned that I had given a masterly lecture the previous evening ; that they were sorry they h a d not heard it, but the fact was they had not k n o w n it was to be given. ( T h e fact was, I suspect, that my denomination was so small and so despised in that c o m m u - i t y that it was not recognized as an appreciable forcp. T h e y d j d not see that any gopd pould come �39 out of the " N a z a r e t h " of a F r e e w i l l church ; and so my notice had been treated as of no account.) Now, from what had been told of the lecture, the whole village was anxious to hear i t ; and would I do them the favor to repeat it, on any evening I might name, at the large hall in the village which was used as the R e p u b l i can headquarters. I told them, politely, that I could not do that, because I had spoken as a minister and not as a politician ; and, speaking i n my own c h u r c h I was free to say just what I thought; that if I should speak under Republican auspices I might say some things they would not indorse,-and I did not wish that the party should be responsible for my utterances. T h e committee tempted to controvert both of my positions ; they argued persuaded at some length ; but I did not yield. atand I told them, finally, that if they desired it I would repeat my speech, on any evening they might choose, in my own church. After demurring to the place, on the ground that it was a pity to take the people a mile away from their homes when a much better place could be had at their ov/n doors, they finally thanked me for my willingness to repeat it anywhere, and an evening of the next week was fixed upon. T h e next morning posters were up everywhere, announcing the meeting. Now I began to see that my first meeting had not fallen fiat. A new b r a n d was thrown into the political flame, and the excitement seethed with added fury. What were we coming to if minis- ters must go into politics like t h a t ! religion woul4 be destroyed. W h y , the very foundations of I n such an excitement passions seize men of w h i c h they are afterwards ashamed. So violent may men become under such conditions that there were even hints of personal violence to myself,— though this I did not hear of till afterwards. B u t it was supposed that there was so much danger, that a large number of Republicans went early to the church, and surrounded the pulpit, to protect me from assault. I went to the meeting as calmly as I went to the first, without anticipating what I saw. I have never known a church or h a l l to be more densely packed. E v e r y inch of sitting or standing room �40 was fully occupied, and the c r o w d surged up the pulpit stairs, so it was with some inconvenience that I gained my place. Besides this, every window was open, and crowds were standing at t h e m , and there were hundreds who could not get so near. I began my speech, and went through with the general line of remark that I h a d tised on the first e v e n i n g ; then I prepared to close. W h e n t h i s w a s perceived, the cry went up a l l over the house, " G o on ! go on ! " I was now thoroughly warmed up. All the pent-up thought that }:ad been gathering force for weeks was now let loose, a n d facts and illustrations found utterance as fast as I could speak t h e m . A n d I w a s not permitted to stop till I h a d talked for more than three hours. T h o s e who never m a k e speeches do not know how much help the extemporaneous orator receives from the enthusiasm of an aroused and largely sympathetic audience. evening as if some I t seemed to be that invisible power were near me, thoughts and i n s p i r i n g me with irresistible force. experiences on other occasions afterwards. suggesting I had similar I do not believe that such an afflatus is caused by any occult or spiritual influence. It is simply the effect of that sympathy, that magnetism (for want of another name), w i t h w h i c h one m i n d acts or reacts on another, and i s only a revelation of that " t o u c h of N a t u r e " that " m a k e s the whole world k i n . " Such is the account of my first political speech. • I t is amusing after all these years to think of the ferment into which that village w a s t h r o w n by this speech. I t was the one topic of discussion in the shops and the stores. I t is one of the superstitions that a clergyman is to be treated at least with outward respect. I t had always previously been accorded to me. B u t for a few days even this seemed to be forgotten. M e n in their rage did not hesitate to say to me, " A s soon as election is over, you w i l l be d r i v e n from this t o w n . " sponded. " W h y not b e f o r e ? " I re- O f course I was not indifferent to this sort of t a l k . About half of m y usual audience on Sunday were D e m o c r a t s . B u t , through a l l the nervous s t r a i n and excited feeling to which I �41 was subjected, I was at peace with myself; and quite happy in a l l the turmoil, i n the consciousness that I was not an entirely useless stick in the world. But, the battle once begun, I had to keep it up for the few weeks that intervened before election. mons flamed with abolition. E v e r y Sunday my ser- A very prominent and able Demo- crat was brought to F a r m i n g t o n to speak, who made a direct attack on me as a " black-coated v i l l a i n . " H e referred to the efforts of the Democratic party early i n the century to establish religious ' toleration i n New H a m p s h i r e , and claimed that the F r e e w i l l Baptists were therefore under great obligations to that party, and that it was ingratitude i n them to t u r n against their best friends. I h a d to reply to him ; and among other things, call to m i n d the fact that the F r e e w i l l B a p t i s t Book Establishment at D o v e r h a d been year after year denied an act of incorporation by the Democratic legislature of New H a m p s h i r e because the " M o r n i n g S t a r , " the denominational organ, was an " abolition sheet." People thought his own guns were turned upon him. One incident w i l l show the bitterness of feeling that now possessed the more violent partisans. One evening I had an appoint- ment to preach in a neighboring town. ride out of the village i n the afternoon. Of course I was seen to O n my return the next morning, I was met at the entrance of the village by a friend who told me that a report was b u z z i n g about the shops that I had refused to shelter an escaping s l a v e , — w i t h the comment that it was now to be seen what all my abolition zeal amounted to. (This was my friend's report, not his own opinion.) I hurried home. I t turned out that rather late the evening be- fore my wife was called to the door by a knock, and saw a colored man standing there, who a s k e d if he could be kept for the night, as he was r u n n i n g away from slavery. She was alone in the hoi'.se, with three little children, and another expected very soon, and did not think she ought to have a stranger, black or white, stay a l l night. So she directed him to the house of a brother i n the c h u r c h , near by, who was a good anti-slavery m a n , — a n d the �44 succeed by any form of indirection or deceit. I t is true that this provision proved lo be the salvation of that society. makes the matter no better. P.ut this A dishonest man, clothed with such exclusive authority, might have swamped the church by saddling it with a heavy debt for a costly building, or ruined it by embezzling the funds. T h e end does not justify the means.] W h e n the articles were adopted, the first question was on the choice of a business or building agent. intention of t a k i n g that position. ing, nor experience in details. Now I had no thought or I had no knowledge of build- Besides the dpubt I had as to my ability in business would have driven the thought away if it had occurred to me. T h e r e were two or three carpenters in the society, and I supposed that the choice would naturally have fallen on one of them. B u t to my surprise they a l l declined the honor. T h e t r i "h was, they had none of them much if any faith that the enterprise would succeed, and they did not w i s h to be identified with failure. I n this state of the case, they began to declare, one after another, that I was the only man lo be chosen the building agent. A l l that h a d so far been done had been done by me, and there was no one else so w e l l qualified to carry it through. W e l l , after a long talk, I saw clearly that if I did not take up the burden the whole thing must fail, and I consented. I t brought upon me the most wearing, irritating, and thankless labor of my life. I at once went to w o r k with all the pushing energy I could command. O n e of the members had a saw-mill and lumber. In getting his subscription he had offered to supply all the timber for the frame ; a n d , with the understanding that he should do this, he had put against his name a sum sufficient, as he thought, to cover the estimated cost. up. After securing the.^ite^ I went to hurry h i m I t was still winter, an unfit time lo begin building operations. But I got h i m to promise that the timber for the frame should be on the ground at a c c : tain time. Some of the members advised me to let the whole job by contract, I took counsel of my instincts. I told thein that a coo- �45 tractor would probably either make or lose money ; I did not w a n t any man to lose a cent of money by us, and we could not aiTord to Jet one grow rich out of us,—so I should build by the day. I happily selected the right k i n d of a man to put i n the stone foundation and underpinning. H e did his work well, and at a reasonable cost. I took one of the carpenters with me, and went away ten miles to another saw-mill, and bought a pile of pine boards, some of it clear and some knotty, that I hoped would be enough of such material as we would need. I made a bargain for a large quantity of nails, of sizes, at a uniform price of $3.75 a hundred pounds; a price then very low,' but since then the cost of this material has been much reduced. M e a n t i m e , and before spring opened, I was unremitting in m y efforts to fill up my subscription. I had already e.\hausted a l l chance of r a i s i n g money among my church-members and their f r i e n d s ; and I must now try what could be done among outsiders. H e r e my success exceeded my expectations. ness to help me than I had counted upon. I found more readiT w o things aided me. Some men had an ambition to see the village built u p ; and they contributed in the belief that a new-church would add materially to the appearance of the village, as well as to the value of their property. " M a k e to yourselves friends of the mammon of un- righteousness." sonal nature. T h e second cat'se of success was of a more perS o n x of the villagers had already begun to look upon the projected meeting-house, as not so much the work of a church society, as my own individual enterprise. I I t appeared that had secured the sympathy of the Republicans, in the previous campaign, 10 such an extent that they were disposed to help me in the w o r k to which I was so warmly devoted. A s my well-wishers they urged others to come to my assistance when they had not the means to contribute themselves. A n active canvass was, to my surprise, spontaneously going on in my favor. cans I received valuable contributions. So from R e p u b l i - I even, then, ventured to 3sk Democrats for subscriptions ; and here, if I did not meet with �46 much success, I received no angry rebuff. O n e leading and wealthy D e m o c r a t did, indeed, give me a small subscription ; and surprised me, as he did so, by saying, " I have told our folks that I had more respect for you than I had for our minister ; for i n the campaign you hit us as hard as you c o u l d , and tried lo plaster it o v e r . " I am inclined here to pause, to note a reflection : I t is safer as well as in other ways better to do what you think is right, than to be guided by the suggestions of expediency. Some of my brethren, who professed to be opposed to slavery themselves, said to me i n the heat of the battle that I was ruining a l l chances of building a meeting-house by exasperating the pro-slavery people, a n d advised that I should at once tone myself down. T h i s advice h a d no other effect than to make me more outspoken. A t the same time, young as I was, I was not sure that I w a s not putting it out of m y own power ever to achieve the ultimate purpose I h a d at h e a r t ; but I d i d not permit this fear to cause me to waver i n my obedience to my convictions. B u t as it turned out, my course was, with one side, a great help to the meeting-house p r o j e c t ; and, with the other, it secured a good measure of personal respect. T h e t i m b e r for the frame of the house was delivered on the ground promptly according to promise. T h e brother, a carpenter, who had prepared the schedule of the timber, came to me one morning, and startled me by saying that he had hastily looked over the timber, and thought that it was not lit to put into a frame. I went with him to the spot, and he pointed out to me some large sticks, designed for heavy beams, that were " wany-edged " and otherwise u n f i t ; and he said the only thing to do was to condemn the whole lot, make the man who furnished it take it b a c k , and get a new frame at a good mill. A n d this was said i n apparent un- consciousness that such a procedure might ruin the whole enterprise, by involving me in a quarrel with the brother who had furnished the timber as his contribution ; by causing great delay and greatly i n c r e a s e d c o s t ; and by the nameless injury of paralyzing the faith of a l l who were interested i n the work. A n d this was the man I was at one time ignorant enough to believe would make �47 a good building agent; and who was by this time sorry that he had not taken the post when it was offered to him. W h a t an escape for us that he did not foresee that the project would go forward. Of course such senseless talk did not affect me for a moment. But I engaged h i m , at wages, to take the schedule and overhaul the t i m b e r ; to check off every defective stick, so that I might know if any of it would answer the purpose, and report as soon as possible. A b o u t two hours after dinner be came to say that if six new sticks for beams were procured, those s l i c k s whose places they would take might be used i n place of some shorter ones in the schedule, and a good frame might be made. his report. I was overjoyed at I at once drove to the mill, ten miles away, where I h a d bought the pile of pine boards, and laid down a memorandum of the six beams I wanted, and asked if they could be sawed and delivered in Farmington before the next Saturday. could be done, and it was done. I was told it A n d $60 were added oiitright to the cost of the building. I had an idea, when I began the work, that it would be wise for each depaitment to get if I could some man specially adapted to the work to be done. A carpenter may be a very good work- man in finishing a building, who would be almost worthless in framing it. I was again exceedingly lucky in hunting up tlie man who was one of the greatest geniuses in the way of framing a building ever known. H e lived twelve miles distant, on his own farm. T i e did nothing i n the trade except framing; and was i n great request for this w o r k . I drove to his house, and was happily able to engage him, at wages which would now seem low. I t was agreed that he should begin the next fabulously Monday,—the very next Monday after the day on which I h a d been sagely advised to condemn the timber. I n how many ways should I have been involved in difficulties if I had followed that advice ! T h e framing was begun at the appointed time, rapidly pushed to completion. T h e entire men force of the village, almost, came to the r a i s i n g ; and it was pronounced the best frame ever put up �48 in town. ' T h e master framer h a d not made a single m i s t a k e ; every measurement had been accurate, and every ten.-int fitted the right mortise. I must add that he had framed it without plans. I was determined to avoid, if I could, the expense of an architect. I gave to this superior man a l l the dimensions I had decided upon, and described to h i m the general character of the structure as I had designed i t ; _ w i t h this scanty data he went on and put up the substantial skeleton. H e finished his work, and took with him my respect and admiration when he left. I h a d a carpenter already engaged to superintend the work of boarding and delay. finishing, a n d the construction proceeded without I gave my own time entirely to the building. I was at^ a l l times about it, except when away procijring m a t e r i a l . h a n d to everything I could do. I put my I " s p l i t " nearly a l l the boards used into their necessary dimensions. I did this w o r k , in advance of its being called for, on all the boards required for pew construction. A s soon as any outside finish h a d been completed, I applied a coat of " p r i m i n g , " — t h i s being a more economical method than keeping z painter on hand for that purpose, as he could be employed only a few hours in a day. W h e n the shingles were to be put on, 1 was lucky again in finding the man specially fitted for such work. with great rapidity. H e did it well, and I have since seen three regular carpenters lay a less number of shingles i n a day than were faithfully put on in the same length of time by that one m a n . I never w o r k e d harder, except at a period later in life, than I did that summer. I gave my whole time and thought during the week to the building. W h e n Saturday night came, after 1 had paid off the w o r k m e n , and written up my accounts, it was twelve o'clock ; and I sank to slumber a thoroughly man. usually exhausted I arose on Sunday m o r n i n g entirely listless and inert, with no preparation whatever for preaching. A t the appointed hour I went, with tired step, nearly a mile to the old shell where we then h e l d our meetings, and mumbled over some form of words, in the place of preaching, and let it go at t h a t I t must have been from �49 habit or from sympathy that people came to my meeting that summer. F o r , as I now remember it, a more lifeless and dis- j o i n t e d style of talk was never sounded from the pulpit. T h e fact was that I had set my heart on the completion of that meetinghouse ; my whole soul was bound up in it,—and 1 could think of nothing else. I am now inclined to think that in a l l that time the thought that the purpose of the gospel was to save souls never occurred to me, only, finish the church, if the heavens fall ! E a r l y i n September, of that eventful year, the panic of struck the country, and " d r i e d up realms to deserts." weeks tfie meeting-house would have been finished; seemed that my enterprise would be paralyzed. 1857 I n a few but now it F o r the conven- ience of the subscribers, I had been collecting their subscriptions in i n s t a l l m e n t s ; but, in the conditions brought on by the panic, m a n y could not pay me a farthing. But I would not despair. I went to the churches of l i k e faith in neighboring towns, a n d beg: ged for the Farmington meeting-house. I raised money out of town, i n small sums, on my personal credit. I pressed through a l l difficulties, and saw the end at length. T h e edifice was dedicated early in October,— all paid for, but I was without a penny. A t the final casting up of the items of cost, the sum total amounted to $2.50 less than the estimated cost, $3,000. I have no disposition to boast of this achievement. I had trouble enough and annoyance enough as I labored i n it to take the conceit all out of me. But it is worth putting down that a church edifice was built, by one entirely inexperienced i n such a n undertaking, and built by days' work, within the am.ount it was estimated to cost. I t is proper to say, that among the people of the tow;., more, perhaps, than by the few members of the church and society for whom it was built, it was recognized as a work to be placed to my personal credit. I could hardly go out on the street without meet- ing a man who would say, " W e l l , E l d e r , you've done what no other man c o u l d . " T h i s was repeated till I was tired of hearing i t . Of course I appreciated the kindness of feeling w h i c h prompted the �50 expression ; but I l^new it was overdrawn. A n } ' man, with the same devotion to the object, and the same determination in prosecuting it, could have accomplished as much. I easily accounted for the l u k e w a r m n e s s of gratitude my own " peculiar " people, and it did not disappoint me. among E a r l y in the progress of the work, serious disafEection began to manifest itself. Some, when they saw that success was probable, felt mortified that they did not ha\ charge of the work. A n d when they at- tempted to interfere w i t h my methods, they were disgusted to find that the articles adopted by the society ga^e me full authority. In this respect, as already indicated, I do not hold myself entirely blameless. B u t they had only themselves to thank that one of themselves was not chosen b u i l d i n g agent. I certainly used all my powers of persuasion to get some member of the society to accept the trust. B u t I do not care to discuss the details of any disagreements that arose. I t would only be dabbling in the baser caprices of h u m a n nature. T h i r t y - s i x years have passed since t h e n ; and whatever feelings might then have disturbed me have long since subsided and disappeared. serious debate with myself. I w i l l only add that one night I had a T h e r e had been developments that day which convinced me that those for whose benefit I was undert a k i n g a work of great hardship would be constantly throwing obstacles in my w a y ; that wliere I h a d aright to expect co-opera- tion I should find only opposition ; that I bitterly felt that I had better drop the whole thing, and quietly go away. I walked the floor far into the night while wrestling with this question. I A t last thought that the work I proposed to do might be a benefit to a future generation of Christians, however those then on the stnge might see fit to act. inspire me now. fate. I do not think that such hopefulness would But then it proved decisive, a n d I accepted my I imagine that the real truth was, that where it was " b r a v e to combat " I could not " l e a r n to fly." I must not omit to say that three or four of the church-members were faithful to me throughout, and gave me manful help. �51 A s was to be expected, when we began our incetin£S in the new building the audience largely increased. tion to sermonizing. ov.n conceptioHS. I now gave atten- But I soon found I could not come u p to my No complaint on this score was heard for months ; but I was painfully conscious of my own shortcomings. T h e fact was, that after the terrible s t r a i n that had taxed my nervous energy for six months, there came the inevitable reaction, and my powers v.ould not rally. I suppose my personal manner during the week revealed my mental condition ; for an old and retired p h y s i c i a n , meeting me one day, told me I was not looking well, and advised me to take opium as a tonic. that. Of course I did not do B u t I had considerable of " that tired f e e l i n g " all through the. winter. I am scarcely conscious of more mental feebleness now in m y old age than I was at that time. T h e next spring I exchanged pulpits with another minister, and at his request, who was then seeking another settlement. H e was a man not of any special depth of thought, but he had a polished and charming manner, and made an immense impression. Then those who h a d been nursing their disafTection towards me since the agitated times of the building, broke out into a loud outcry that he was the man whom the L o r d designed to fill that pulpit. I pre- sume that if I had made a fight, with the moral support of the public of that village, I could have beaten them. But though I would confront any opposition in defence of my convictions, I had no taste for a personal contest, and abandoned the field. I revisited Farmington three years ago, and found the church apparently prosperous, and the c h u r c h edifice much enlarged. I estimated that they had spent in improvements three times as much as the original cost. So, for good or evil, my work did not fail. I n v i t e d to speak in the c hurc h, I said such things as to liov.' men should try to live, whether C h r i s t i a n s or not, that the minister was shocked, and had to attempt a reply. Personally, I was cor- dially and k i n d l y received, and enjoyed my visit. �CHAPTER V. MINISTRY—CONTINUED. W h e n I closed my work at F a r m i n g t o n , in the spring of I was offered a pulpit at Effingham, N e w H a m p s h i r e . 1858, I t was a small and secluded place, and the meeting was supported jointly by orthodox and F r e e w i l l people. I chose to accept this place be- cause of m y jaded m_ental condition, and the work would be light. I could preach there easily, and at the same time have some chance to rest, and some hope to recuperate. of my ministry there. T h e r e is nothing to be said T h e people were easily satisfied ; and, more wonderful still, there was no fighting between the two sects who were joined in one meeting. I preached one sermon there w h i c h was so much admired that it was put in print,—the first of my sermons to have the honor of being embalmed in type. people heard him gladly." poor production. I t had for a text, " A n d the common I look it over now, and find it a very I f I should make a sermon now it would not be at all like that. T h e r e was one trifling circumstance that occurred at Effingham, that had some slight bearing on the question that had already begun to trouble me, " D o e s preaching do any good ? " I would give a sermon that people would praise, but I could not perceive that it had any effect on life or character. I t did not seem that it was expected to quicken k i n d l i e r feeling or awaken nobler purpose. I f it only incieased the audience and built up the church, that was enough. One afternoon I called on a family in the parish. " the lady of the house " at home. I found only- I had been there but a few minutes when she s a i d , — " plder, I knew who y o u were hitting last S u n d a y . " �53 Now I did not dream that I was hitting any one in particular. But I asked,— " W h o was I hitting ? " " I don't know how you found it out," she rejoined. " But you described exactly the quarrel that M r s . Jones and me have been carrying o n . " ( N o w Jones was not the other woman's name ; but I have been careful to give no names in these recollections.) " I assure you, m a d a m , " I s a i d , " that I never heard the slightest hint of any misunderstanding between you and M r s . Jones. But now that you have mentioned it, you may tell me about it, if you w i s h . " T h e n she gave me the details, which I have forgotten. She said it h a d long been a trouble on her m.ind, and she wished the could " make u p . " Now it had seemed to me that the other woman was the most placable and gentle of the two, a n d I thought it worth while to try and end the feud. So I gave her some " instructions " as to her duty in the matter, and a d v i s e d her to make the first advances towards an understanding. T h e next afternoon I took occasion to call upon Mrs. Jones. I made some general observations on the happiness of a com- munity where the people l i v e d i n sympathy and at peace with each other ; and then went on to say that as there seemed to be a general state of good feeling in the neighborhood at the time, it would be delightful, if any were at variance, they should take advantage of the opportunity to compose their differences. Upon which she s a i d , — " I guess you have been told that M r s . Brown (name fictitious) and I do not speak to each other." I said I was not ignorant of i t ; but I thought the matter could easily be arranged, and felt sure that if M r s . Brown came to talk it over, she ( M r s . J o n e s ) would meet her more than half way. " I have always been r e a d y to do that," she rejoined, with a pleasant smile. • � https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/12165/archive/files/2b9f15596eb5f402447f00f9a84fd5df.jpg?Expires=1780531200&Signature=KXWpem4SHAqWORqprp8WpE9ZRX52Ig40vc35pYy8mnwq1c4pP5IV%7EXTN4y8pu9gNYczr1JdD-WbqeFcYzCtLFz5rr16Y98hVYuYf03hOuJdDl7V6n4oE4oxap8ZqWPelgUgT9-EK4TU3fQDaCFuZzZlVdovZeVCkprSe6jiq5uduJ4V001VAtSgdsUd%7ECrdm4e%7EZEVfGX7NYdceI3%7E0gJduXFd-IaCJTBUJKE4cFbQRPP5UAelzjXPbUX5wFRNt3%7EJvIV14yCBMlXdcguS-6%7EPa-CXU7MlrQtAr60CsIAyvQUE0XNlqflALG-piYEOjRVAtDmcQxq3W3iRxppFoixw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM 05ab318bf93460061c141a776e96e39b Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Documents, Papers, & Articles Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Bio Reverend John Martin Luther Babcock Free Will Baptist Church Description An account of the resource Photocopied autobiographical information for Reverend John Luther Babcock. Rev. Babcock was with the Free Will Baptist Church in Farmington from 1856-1858. Tasked with the being the building agent for the new meeting house in 1857. The new building was dedicated in October of that year. Known for writing and speaking as an abolitionist, supporting women's suffrage, and supporting workers rights and women's rights. Biographical information is also present after 1860 in the packet. A letter from Fred Ogmundson to Tami LaRock at the Goodwin Library explaining what the autobiographical packet is and hopes for use. Son of James Babcock and Hannah Rice Husband of Meriam C. Tewksbury and Martha D. Ayer Father of Mary Eva Babcock; Mary Louisa Babcock; Milton Howard Babcock; Lilla Ann Babcock; Alice Maria Babcock and 2 others Brother of Hannah Elizabeth Babcock; Sarah Ann Babcock; William Gilbert Babcock; James Sidney Babcock; Ellen Emerson Babcock and 2 others Size: 8.5" x 11" FHS-Kyle Leach Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1894, 1822-1894; 1856-1858, 2009 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Letter: Ogmundson Autobiography: John Martin Luther Babcock Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Letter: Ogmundson Autobiography: Clark W. Bryan Co. (1894) Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Autobiography of John Martin Luther Babcock: Together with a discourse delivered at the funeral and addresses given at the memorial service https://www.geni.com/people/John-Babcock/6000000001915576472 autobiography Babcock Free Will Baptist Church Goodwin Library LaRock library religion spirituality