Rev. John E. Palmer, who lived to the great age of ninety years, was a native of Portsmouth, N. H. He was by trade a printer, and became a convert to the doctrines of the "Christian Baptists," under the ministrations of the noted Elias Smith. He began to preach in the fellowship of that sect, and was ordained in 1809. The earlier years of his ministry were spent in Warren, N. H., and Danville, Vt. It was while living in the latter place that he outgrew his early belief in endless punishment, and came to an undoubting faith that God will have all men to be saved. He was suddenly arrested by a circumstance which called his attention to a comparison of his own faith with that of the "more excellent way" in which afterwards his footsteps were directed. A very respectable young man, who had never been converted, while on a fishing excursion, was drowned. It was a deeply afflictive blow to the surviving family and friends. Mr. Palmer knew that he should be called upon to preach the funeral sermon. He was greatly distressed. What could he do? The apostles, he saw, had a faith which enabled them to comfort those who were "in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith they themselves were comforted of God." Had he that faith? He says: "I slept not a wink that night. I walked the house, I read my Bible, I prayed for light; and I never preached the doctrine of endless woe again."
In 1819 Mr. Palmer was called to the charge of the Universalist Society in Barre, Vt., where he labored for eighteen years, scattering the seed of truth over a wide region, for he was an indefatigable missionary all through his life. On leaving Barre, he lived two years in Waitsfield, Vt., and then gave himself to missionary work in Northern Vermont and New Hampshire. One who was well acquainted with his ministry writes of him:—
"We can vouch for the devout, evangelical spirit of his services, the logic of his sermons, the perspicuity of his style, his fluency of speech, the impressiveness of his delivery. He spoke always extemporaneously, but his discourses were always coherent, sound, and clear. There was an evident sincerity and earnestness in the man that attracted the hearer's attention, and there was a natural tremulousness in his voice that gave a peculiar pathos to his discourses. There were in his words a certain indefinable grace and force which are the gift of God, and not communicable by art or learning. He was a man of deep religious feeling. Though he had decided opinions, yet he was the soul of candor and forbearance in his treatment of 'those of the contrary part.' He was a faithful and true witness."
Rev. William W. Wilson was of Stoddard, N. H., born in 1819. An accident, by which he lost one of his hands at the age of thirteen, turned his attention to books and study. He was educated in the Orthodox faith, as it is called, but was awakened to a special interest in the subject of religion by listening to the preaching of Rev. J. V. Wilson (not a relative) in his native town. Acquiring an academic education, and becoming a believer in Christian Universalism, he began to preach at the age of twenty-two. He was ordained in 1842 at Laconia, N. H., preaching in that town about two years. He was afterwards two years in Centre Harbor, four years in West Haverhill, Mass., five years in Dover, Me., and in Southbridge, Mass., eight years. In 1867 he went to Chatham, Mass., but was compelled by ill-health to resign his charge. In 1870 he removed to Oxford, Mass., but after two years was again compelled to rest. In 1873 he was stricken with a partial paralysis, and from that time, though not entirely helpless, was unable to go on with his ministerial work. However, he never ceased to take a deep interest in the welfare of his parish and of the denomination. He was a great sufferer during the last days of his life, but was constantly hopeful in the light of his holy faith. He departed this life June 19, 1874. He was quite well known to our clergymen in New England, and beloved and honored for his many virtues and for his faithful ministry. He was a Christian reformer, was genial and utterly sincere in all his work, and leaves a fragrant and blessed memory.
Rev. William R. Chamberlin, born in Brookfield, N. H., Nov. 2, 1816, was a man of marked ability, and a very acceptable preacher. In early manhood he was a successful school-teacher. He was ordained as a preacher in Dighton, Mass., in 1847, and was induced to go to Abington, Va., and engage in missionary work in that State. For two years he preached in the Virginia backwoods,—in its highways and byways, in school-houses, mills, and log cabins,—enduring great hardship, encountering many dangers, risking his life from violence, and depending for support solely on Divine Providence. In the autumn of 1849 he went to Cincinnati, O., and for twelve years was employed as a book-keeper. But though engaged during the week in secular pursuits, his activity in behalf of his faith did not in the least decline. He connected himself with the Second Universalist Church in that city, and for three years was superintendent of its Sunday school. Subsequently he became superintendent of the school at the First Church, and held the position for seven years. It was in this capacity that he was eminently useful and happy. His influence over children was unbounded; they were irresistibly drawn to him. He had a most fertile imagination, and was ever ready with stories such as children love to hear. He laughed and wept by turns, and with these emotions the school was always in close sympathy. He had all the gifts of an improvisatore of the olden time.
Uneasy in his work out of the ministry, in 1867 he laid aside his accountant's pen, and entered it again. He was settled successively at Mendota, Ill.; Vinton, Council Bluffs, and Dubuque, Iowa; and at Clinton, N. Y., at which last place he closed his earthly life. His work in Clinton was very successful. He attached his people to him by his amiable disposition, his unselfish spirit, and devotion to his work. His sermons were always compact and often highly polished. Intellectual and cultivated people always admired and enjoyed them.
When in 1873 he went on a kind of missionary tour to England and Scotland, wherever he preached, his sermons were highly spoken of, and it is known that they impressed on those who heard them a high idea of American Universalism.
For the last three or four years of his life he was a great sufferer from an incurable disease, but he worked steadily on until nearly the end. His last service was held in his own house, in March, 1876, when he arose from his sick-bed and gave the right hand of fellowship to twenty-one persons, baptizing seven, and consecrating the babe of a friend. The announcement of his physician that his end was near he hailed with joy, and thus entered into the heavenly rest.
[46] See Harper's Monthly Mag. for October, 1874.