"Much has already been said, and well said by Messrs. Hazein and Fay, in their obituary notices, and it would seem superfluous in me to reiterate the same things. It may be proper for me to observe, that, within a few past years many of our worthy brethren in the ministry, with whom I have battled in the Lord's war for more than a quarter of a century, have retired from the battle field with an honorable discharge. The name of Joseph Badger now becomes classified with those of Peavy, Bailey, Clough, Morrison, Shaw, Fernald, and more recently with our deeply lamented brother Barr.
"I knew all these men when young, and loved them as my own natural brothers. They were all pious, devoted ministers of the Gospel. They were persevering, faithful pioneers, and true to the spirit and doctrine of the Christian reformation. Men of the first class of natural talents, but of moderate literary accomplishments, they were emphatically a class of self-sacrificing men, public benefactors of our race. They commenced in the ministry when young, labored hard, fared hard, lived upon short pay, and survived to see their storm-beaten vessel under full sail before a refreshing breeze, and died in peace.
"Of all these good men it may seem invidious to make a distinction, but without intending the least detraction from the rest of them, I may be permitted to say, that, from some strong affinity of our nature, or some other cause I cannot now explain, Mr. Badger was always nearer and dearer to me than either of the rest of them. We loved like Jonathan and David. Our souls were knit together. We were raised in adjoining towns in New Hampshire, and he was but a few years my senior. His whole nature was cheerful, his address familiar and easy, and all his associations were frank, kind, and interesting. His natural turn was affable, and he enjoyed sociability with an uncommon relish.
"In preaching, his voice was not heavy, but clear, soft, and musical, and capable of being heard at a good distance. His sermons were methodical, his ideas clear, distinct, and comprehensive. He was familiar with the Scriptures, and evinced a sufficient knowledge of books and of literature, for all practical purposes. He had a well-disciplined mind, a retentive memory, and a happy faculty of communication. He was never at a loss for words to express his thoughts, nor did he confuse his hearers with a redundancy of them. His preaching was not loud, but soft, easy, and pleasant to the hearer, yet pathetic and commanding. His manner was never boisterous, but mild, quiet, and agreeable. He never lost his balance of temper in debate, but always bore himself through with much unaffected pleasantry and good humor. He was a ready writer, a close thinker, a fair debater, a good editor, an excellent preacher, and a strong man. He was strictly evangelical in doctrine, according to Dr. L. Beecher's definition of that term. To the honor of his name be it said, he never had the least sympathy with Campbellism, Millerism, Calvinism, or Universalism, but was a whole-hearted Christian individually, theologically, and denominationally.
"To be sure, Brother Badger had his foibles, imperfections, and mortal weaknesses as well as other men; but now, having gone from us, and his account sealed up to the great day, let the broad mantle of Christian charity cover these forever, as he can give no further explanations, make no defence, nor be benefited by our limited extenuations. Peace to his ashes!"
Rev. J. Ross, of Charleston, N. Y., says:
"My first acquaintance with Mr. Badger was, I think, in the fall of 1816. He then, in company with ministers Avery, Moulton, and J. L. Peavy, called at my father's house in Milton, Saratoga County, N. Y., and held a meeting. Mr. Peavy preached. This was a little over two years after my profession of religion, and the organization of the Christian church at Ballstown. There was then a church existing at Galway, ten or twelve miles distant, and brethren scattered throughout various towns in the vicinity. Jabez King and Philip Sandford, both young men, were nearly all the help we had in that vicinity. Mr. Badger and his associates called to hold a general meeting of all the brethren who could assemble at Galway, for the purpose of seeking out and commending to the work, such persons as gave evidence of having gifts profitable for the Gospel field. The meeting was held in Galway, in the first chapel ever erected by our people in the State of New York. A number of young and diffident brethren, who afterwards became ministers, were here taken by the hand, by those more experienced, and encouraged to improve their gifts, whilst the churches were taught their duty to them. The sympathy and union generated by that interview doubtless still live in several hearts. This was our first acquaintance; and the act of meeting for the encouragement of young men whose eye was on the ministry, I deem peculiarly characteristic of the subject of the memoir. No young man in the circle of his influence was permitted to hide a profitable gift in a napkin, or bury his talent in the earth. He knew how to draw out the most diffident, could make the most of them when drawn out, and none could inspire their minds with stronger fortitude. At our first conference at Hartwick, Otsego County, 1818, he was there the active, moving spirit of that body. And whatever of order and good arrangement we now have in our conferences and conventions, may be attributed, more than to any other cause, to the impetus given by him in those early times.
"There was little of Don Quixote or of Utopianism in his constitution. He judged accurately of the effect of causes. He was cool, calm, and self-possessed amidst exciting scenes that moved the multitude; and wherever his Gospel labors proved effective, society was built up and order was established. He was a close observer of men and things, took the gauge and dimensions of men quickly, and it was usually safe to take his estimate as the true one. He saw coming events in the shadows which preceded them. Seemingly inspired with the sentiment that the Gospel was the God-appointed lever designed to lift the world from its moral degradation, he showed but little sympathy for any humanly devised means of reformation. 'The Gospel! the Gospel! THE PURE GOSPEL!' was his cry for the cure of moral evil. A want of confidence in the many professedly reformatory measures and associations of the age was calculated to affect his popularity in many quarters, but he adhered unwaveringly to his motto, 'the Gospel.'
"His sermons had method peculiar to himself. They always had order and arrangement; but the coherence of the parts was not always apparent to the casual observer. His manner in the pulpit was often playful, exciting a smile from the light-hearted, and sometimes a sigh or a tear from the most devout, as he rowed out into the sea of public discourse. But the scene gradually changed as he advanced in his labors, as his design began to be revealed, and his subject was applied. The sigh and tear were oft exchanged for songs, and the playful smile for prayer and tears. He always closed well.
"As a writer 'he is known and read of all men.' His style is his own, plain, clear, ungarnished and straight-forward. For this difficult station of editor he had rare accomplishments; and the denomination have cause for lasting gratitude for the aid and encouragement rendered to inexperienced writers, and for the impetus he gave to this mode of teaching. A glimpse at those volumes of the Palladium, issued under his supervision, and then at the condition of the correspondents and contributors, or the original copy from which it was made, at once reveals the singular ability of the man. How a class of young writers clustered around him! A thousand blessings rest upon him here!