St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1878-10-25
Rev. Moses B. Bradford.

About forty-fve years ago Rev. Moses
B. Bradford was installed the pastor of
the Congregational church in Grafton.
He was born in FrancestOwn, n. H.,
and graduated in one of the first classes
from Amherst college. He studied the
olOgy at AudOver, and soon after leav
ing the seminary, came to Grafton
where he remained twentyseven years,
and then removed to McIndOes Falls,
where he died early in the morning of
Sept. %, at the age of seventy-nine
years. For the last half dozen years he
has been much disabled from paralysis,
and it is more than that number of
years since he has been able to preach
or to perform any public duty. He was
best known to people of a former gene
ration, who will hear of his death with
great sadness. Mr.. Bradford belonged
to that number of Vermont clergymen
who are commonly designated as of the
old style, such as DIR. Merrill of Middle
bury, DR.. Bushnell of Cornwall, DR..
Walker of PittsfOrd, DR.. Aiken of Rut-
land, and in native ability he was the
peer of the best of these men. Nearly
all of them have "gone over to the ma
jOrity," and in recalling the impressions
made by Mr.. Bradford and others of
this class, we are constrained by not
merely affectiOnate and admiring rec
objections to "praise the dead that are
already dead more than the living that
are yet alive" Circumstances have so
changed that just such ministers as
these ale no longer possible in New
England. Their character and style
,xrnr f,,. in ,rf tha oh.,r ata Nf
their people. So many other things
now divide with the minister the con-
trolling influence upon communities
that the old fashioned passionate cannot
be revived. The position of oracle in
secular affairs as well as the authority
in spiritual things, Mr.. Bradford filed
during his long passionate in Grafton to
the fullest degree. He visited all the
common, schools, and made remarks to
the scholars. He knew if there was
any boy or girl who had talent and as
piratiOns, and interested himself in
their advancement. We once heard
him say that there was no result of his
work in Grafton which gave him more
satisfaction than the fact that he had
influenced so many of ''his" boys, as he
called them, to go to college. He was
familiar with all the interests of the
community, and watchful of them all.
But while he was constantly interesting
himself in all these matters, he never
forgot his great commission to preach.
1t was a favorite saying of his that
ministers are only men," but in the
strictly professional line of his duties he
believed that he was the AMBASSADOR of
Christ, and never failed to gain recog-
milton as such. The pulpit was his
throne. There were men of marked
character and of great intellectual abil-
ity in his church, but they all yielded to
him the pre- eminence. His preaching
was called dOctrinal, and sometimes
criticised on that account. But his doc
trinal preaching consisted in the pre-
sentation of the great facts of human
history and redemption in such way
as to make them bear as motives upon
human conduct. That introduction of
the sublime thoughts of God and Christ
and Immortality into the affairs of life
he regarded as in the highest degree
practical preaching. He was fond of