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FOURTH EDITION.
FOURTH EDITION.
NEW YORK: C. S. FRANCIS AND CO., 252 BROADWAY. BOSTON: BENJAMIN H. GREENE, 124 WASHINGTON ST. 1854. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853, by MRS. ELIZA M. BADGER, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Western District of New York. DAMRELL & MOORE, Printers , 16 Devonshire Street, Boston....
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PREFACE
PREFACE
The present volume is the Memoir of a man and a minister whose character was strikingly individual, whose services to Religion in its more liberal and unsectarian form were large and successful; and in the denomination to which he belonged, no man was more generally known, and none, we believe, ever acted a more prominent and effective part. The writer of this has endeavored to set forth the life and sentiments of Mr. Badger, to a large extent in his own language. Much of his journal must be new
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BIRTH AND ANCESTRY.
BIRTH AND ANCESTRY.
In so young a world as America, it has been held unsuitable for persons to spend much time in the tracing of pedigree, or to found important claims on family descent; nor can it accord less with the common sense of mankind than with the republican genius of the world, to say, that every genuine claim to human esteem is founded in character. In this is rooted every quality that can, of right, command the reverence of man. But, as character is not exactly isolated and independent of ancestral foun
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CHILDHOOD.
CHILDHOOD.
The town of Gilmanton, which is only forty-five miles from Portsmouth, sixteen from Concord, and eighty from Boston, is, to a great extent, of rocky and hilly surface, having within its limits a chain of eminences that vary in height from three hundred to one thousand feet, called the Suncook Range, which commences at the northern extremity, near the Lake, and extending in a south-easterly direction through the town, divides the head-springs of the Suncook and the Soucook rivers. These fruitful
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YOUTH AND EDUCATION.
YOUTH AND EDUCATION.
About this time, 1801, Major Peaslee Badger contemplated a change in his plans of life, the execution of which removed the subject of this memoir far away from the lovely waters and the romantic hills of his native town in New Hampshire. It also removed him from the various advantages of the better social influence and culture which belong to an older form of society; but it also rewarded him with the freedom, hardihood, and self-reliance of forest life. Anxious to make farmers of his sons, Majo
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CONVERSION.
CONVERSION.
"Repent ye therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out."— St. Peter. To every work there is a crisis which openly exhibits success or failure. To every growth there are certain perceptible changes by which we note the progress from incipiency to the mature state. There is a symbolical new birth in nature when the rose-tree blooms, when leafless wintry trees are green with foliage and white with blossoms. Summer is a regeneration in the state of the earth, and it is none the les
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CALL TO AND ENTRANCE UPON THE MINISTRY.
CALL TO AND ENTRANCE UPON THE MINISTRY.
"But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee."—Acts 26: 16. With these words of a high mission Mr. Badger's journal opens, and how well does it accord with the idea of divine agency in placing moral lights in the world, and with what to him was a common thought, the unequalled greatness of the minister's station. More tha
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PUBLIC LABORS IN THE PROVINCE.
PUBLIC LABORS IN THE PROVINCE.
"From this time, I continued to improve my gift in public speaking, in this and other neighborhoods of the town. Feeling much friendship and care for the brethren in Ascott, I spent as much time as my business would allow among them, which was to my instruction and comfort, as there were in that place many faithful and experienced Christians. As I had some leisure, and found it duty to visit the neighboring towns, I thought it would be proper to have something to show, upon my introduction to st
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TOUR TO NEW ENGLAND, AND PUBLIC LABORS.
TOUR TO NEW ENGLAND, AND PUBLIC LABORS.
With good recommendations, and with the fruits of a not very ordinary experience for one so young, he starts for his native land. What sect does the young preacher hail from? From no sect. He hails from the church of experienced believers, whose test is religion, not theology. Love to God and peace with men are the cardinals of his platform, and such was the persuasion of his eye and presence, that his credentials are very seldom disputed. Nothing in the form of sectarianism hedges up his way or
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ORDINATION AND PUBLIC LABORS.
ORDINATION AND PUBLIC LABORS.
The churches and communities in which he had given proofs of his ministry, began to call for the ordination of Mr. Badger. Before me this moment is the call of the church in Gilmanton, dated Dec. 4, 1814, which reads as follows: "This certifies that Joseph Badger has been preaching several months past in this and adjacent towns with much success, and in this place souls have been converted to God. He has the approbation of the church in this place, as a Christian and a Preacher of the Gospel, an
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PUBLIC LABORS, MARRIAGE, TRAVELS.—1816.
PUBLIC LABORS, MARRIAGE, TRAVELS.—1816.
Renewing his zeal in the reflections of the opening year, Mr. Badger continued to be active in the field according to his ability, intellectual, moral, and physical. He acted up to his faith. He was no idle dreamer, but was a lover and an inspirer of lively times. The variety in him naturally called up variety in his outward life. People everywhere are agreed in preferring the man who throws himself into the circle of human action and living interests, honoring always the courageous actor whose
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LABORS AND SETTLEMENT IN WESTERN NEW YORK.
LABORS AND SETTLEMENT IN WESTERN NEW YORK.
The opening of the New Year, 1817, as is customary on such occasions, was attended with festivities and social amusements among the young people. And the following incident will readily illustrate the peculiar power which Mr. Badger could wield over the young, as likewise the efficiency of the Gospel as preached by him. On the first day of January he spoke to a large assembly in Pittsford, from the following very significant passage in Ezekiel 36: 26. "A new heart also will I give you." The youn
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THOUGHTS AND INCIDENTS OF 1819 AND 1820.
THOUGHTS AND INCIDENTS OF 1819 AND 1820.
Mr. Badger is now in the twenty-seventh year of his age and the seventh of his ministry, and occupies a position that affords him more leisure for reflection than the activities of his itinerant life had yielded him. Among the subjects that he accepted for the action of his own thought was Universalism, whose pillars and foundations he seemed to have thoroughly examined, as set forth in the systems of that day. His mind was led to this by the circumstance that his father, for whom his letters an
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WRITINGS, MARRIAGE, TRAVELS.
WRITINGS, MARRIAGE, TRAVELS.
A discourse on the Atonement, written the early part of 1821, vindicates the paternity of God, in the equal generosity of his provisions for the salvation of all men who will obey the truth. It is indeed a strong vindication, one that sifts the premises of Calvinism most thoroughly; and though changes that have since been wrought in the public mind render the present value of such arguments and discussions far less than their worth at the period of their formation, they are still valuable as evi
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CORRESPONDENCE—VISITS AT ANGELICA WITH D. D. HOW, THE MURDERER—HIS SERMON AT THE GALLOWS.
CORRESPONDENCE—VISITS AT ANGELICA WITH D. D. HOW, THE MURDERER—HIS SERMON AT THE GALLOWS.
From the extensive correspondence of Mr. Badger, little at present can be introduced, as the interest of his published journal and things relating to his personal life and public labor have the paramount claim. Yet the freedom in which a large variety of minds addressed him evinces that he was beloved confidingly, as well as respected and admired. As an example of the free expression of one class of correspondents, we may take the following lines, dated near 1824, from the pen of a gentleman of
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JOURNEY TO THE SOUTH.—PUBLISHED JOURNAL.
JOURNEY TO THE SOUTH.—PUBLISHED JOURNAL.
The summer of this year, Mr. Badger seriously contemplated a voyage to England, chiefly for the purpose of promoting a union between a denomination called the "General Baptists," and the "Christian Connection" of this country, as that denomination had already heard of, and expressed an interest in, their transatlantic brethren of the New World; but other and urgent duties directed his energies in a different channel. By the Western Conference he was appointed to preside at six general meetings i
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MINISTRY AT BOSTON.
MINISTRY AT BOSTON.
It is evident from what has already been developed in the character and public life of Joseph Badger, that his sympathies were extensive, that the cause which he always avowed to be dearer than life was everywhere a sacred unit, its wants being near, though located in a distant region. Some men root so firmly in particular locality, that no considerations ever draw them to meet the emergencies of a distant post. Though strong in certain local attachments, though firmly persuaded of the value and
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FOUR MONTHS' LABOR IN THE COUNTIES OF ONONDAGA AND CAYUGA, NEW YORK, IN 1828 AND 1829, WITH OTHER PARTS OF HIS PUBLIC LIFE, EXTENDING TO MAY, 1832.
FOUR MONTHS' LABOR IN THE COUNTIES OF ONONDAGA AND CAYUGA, NEW YORK, IN 1828 AND 1829, WITH OTHER PARTS OF HIS PUBLIC LIFE, EXTENDING TO MAY, 1832.
December, 1828, Mr. Badger accepted a field of labor, for about four months, in the counties of Onondaga and Cayuga, New York. His peculiar abilities were needed to revive and strengthen the churches, whose wants at that time were greater than could be supplied by the ministers who lived in that section. In the town of Brutus (since called Sennett), in Camillus and other towns of that region, he had preached frequently in former years. In the former town, Elijah Shaw had been very successful in
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EDITORIAL LIFE.
EDITORIAL LIFE.
Believing in the power of the press as one of the strongest agents which, for weal or for wo, is ever brought to bear on the thoughts, consciences, and outward destinies of men, Mr. Badger and his associates resolved on the employment of this agency for the up-building of faith, for the free investigation of Christian theology, and for the furtherance of wider views of Christian brotherhood than had ever obtained under the reign of stern, sectarian dogma. The "Gospel Luminary," started at West B
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GENERAL VIEWS.
GENERAL VIEWS.
On Education. —The first time I had the pleasure of a personal acquaintance with Mr. Badger, was in January, 1835, at Canton, N. Y.; and among the several topics on which he conversed during the few days we were together, was the subject of education. He then said:— "Every human being should be educated. All young men who are seeking to be useful in public life should be educated. But there are certain evils to be avoided in the means we pursue. Every human being, to improve in a natural way, re
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MINISTRY, PUBLISHED WRITINGS AND IMPORTANT EVENTS, FROM MAY, 1839, TO MARCH, 1848.
MINISTRY, PUBLISHED WRITINGS AND IMPORTANT EVENTS, FROM MAY, 1839, TO MARCH, 1848.
On leaving the Palladium office, in 1839, Mr. Badger repaired to his residence at Honeoye Falls, Monroe County, New York, where his friends built for themselves a new and commodious chapel, the best in the town; it was dedicated by Mr. Badger in 1840. He was unanimously chosen pastor of this society. He was now in the centre of his former field of labors, a field he had occupied nearly twenty years. His congregations were large, equal at that time, it was stated, to the other four congregations
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RETIRED LIFE—READING—TRAVELS—DEPARTURE—1848 TO 1852.
RETIRED LIFE—READING—TRAVELS—DEPARTURE—1848 TO 1852.
The mind of Mr. Badger was in reality less impaired than his ability to manifest it. In company, perhaps most persons judge of mind almost wholly from its vocal manifestations. Hence a diversity of opinion and report that went abroad concerning his imbecility. My last interviews with him were in the winter and summer of 1850. I was joyfully surprised to perceive the error of the report that had gone abroad concerning his mental weakness. Honestly, there was then more in his brain than ever exist
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OUTLINES OF CHARACTER.
OUTLINES OF CHARACTER.
Character, as distinguished from reputation, is what we are intrinsically in moral and mental worth. Our reputations are only the various verdict of society concerning us. Our characters are our fixed value for time and eternity. They are our worth also in word and in deed, for these are mighty or weak through the spiritual power that lies back of them, from which they receive their kindling force and inspiration. Character substantially is the end of life, the purpose of nature, Providence, rev
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ADDRESSES, SERMONS, REMINISCENCES, VIEWS OF CONTEMPORARIES.
ADDRESSES, SERMONS, REMINISCENCES, VIEWS OF CONTEMPORARIES.
Elsewhere allusion has been made to the extreme difficulty, to the impossibility even, that accompanies an effort to imbody a speaker like Mr. Badger, entire, in written words. Yet it is due to the readers of his Biography that some definite attention be called to this part of his ministerial accomplishments. There was nothing of the trumpet-blast in his oratory. It was liquid. It flowed as a current from a fountain, and, like a current, at times was brisk and playful in movement. Simplicity, ea
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REFLECTIONS.
REFLECTIONS.
As the value of men historically stands in close connection with the ideas they represent, and with the movements in which they take part, it is relevant to the present subject that we glance at the character of the reformation in which Mr. Badger was the leading actor, and in whose principles he lived and preached more than a third of a century. We read the worth of a man in the value of the cause he aids. Mankind evidently are saved, not by magic, but by principles. The moral benefactor, there
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