The Portland daily press., 1897-09-24
MR.. KELLoGG's REMARKS.
Ir. kellogg said

In the faith and fellowship of the gospel
stand among you here today as an old
tree among he young grow TIL. When 1
was attending school at the old Portland
Academy with Henry Longfellow, Stephen
Longfellow,. Mary Deering and many
others who are now gone but whose
names are still green in our memories
the place where this church now stands
was a wilderness. This hill was covered
with virgin forest and the only build
ings upon it were the observatory and the
house of the keeper and pest house
where an old negro woman lived, To this
pest house were brought the sailors who
had small pox and when they died this
negro woman who weighed over 200
would dig the graves for them herself and
bury them.
When the St. Lawrence road was built
and the works of the Portland company
were located beneath this hill the trees on
the top of it began to disappear and the
place began to assume the appearance of
a village for few houses began to spring
up all over its surface and many poop 9
came here to live. In those days Portland
had big lumber export business and the
ships laden with lumber which was cut
in this vicinity would sail away to the
West Indies and there take on board for
return cargo new molasses which they
brought back to Portland and landed
Here on this hi II were many d1stilleries
where this new molasses was made into
rum.
The class Of young men who grew I'D in
those years, from 1925 to 1850 have never
been excelled in ability in the business
world or in the literary world by any
young men who have lived in this city
since.
Henry Longfellow was good example
: of the one class who won fame In the
world of letters and Capt. Jacob McLel-
Ian is good example of the man who
won fame as a business man. 1t was
about this time that the church society
which has built this handsome edifice
was formed. A class of people who were
contented in their own churches, who
were happy with their own pastors came
to the conclusion that they were not doing
all that they might do in the Masters
vineyard. They turned their attention to
this hill where they saw scattered pepu-
lation exposed to every specimen of
temptation and they determined to do
something for them. They put their
whole hearts into the work and the harder
they labored for this church the more
interested they became in it's welfare and
in the welfare of the Masters work AS
time went on these good people conse.
Grated a small room for the worship of
Gu6lT OUu. 3IOll UutU u1y W UulS III HAS
been a hard struggle for every member
of this society and the way has been full
of obstacles from beginning to the end.
1t was we'll understood fact that if any
person united with this church that per-
son was to labor in it's interests and hand
in hand they went forward and onward.
What they did for their neighbors cost
them something but they learned to love
the work and to love the church and the
cause for which they labored. 1t was the
element of self sacrifice which made. it
valuable to them. About this time /
came to Portland to supply the pulpit for
DIR. Carruthers who was going away on
vacation Tor two weeks. He was taken
sick and the two weeks heightened out
into two months. 1t was my fathers old
/ ulpit and | knew many of the people
who were at the time working for this
church on the hill Many of them were
my friends and my fathers friends.
There were Luther Dana, William Thomp-
son and Capt. Waite and score of others.
| became interested in the work that
these people were doing here and from
that day to this l have watched the
growth of this society and gloried in is
strength and in its labor. II was about
this time, too. that Henry Burgess came
down to Portland from Boston and be-
came united with this church and the
manner in which he became interested
so much to do with myself that never
forgot it. When l was preaching in Bos-
ton he was the bookkeeper for n paint
and oil firm and q member of the Park
street Sunday school l WAS preaching at
that church and 1 saw that the people
were sending out old men to gather the
young men into the Sunday school
told them that they would never do any
good in that way and asked them why
they did not send out young men to do
this work. They said they did not have
any young men to do it and said that
l would get some of them for the purpose.
l preached one sermon and the first Sun
day after that l walked fifteen young men
into that Sunday school with Henry Bur-
CESS at their head and the next Sunday
in came twenty and SO on until the
chapel would not hold them and finally
the building was crowded to its utmost
capacity and we had young men to work
for us.
1t was on this account that Henry Bur :
CESS became interested in church work
and when he came to Portland from Bos.
ton he came to me and I gave him let
ter to DR.. Carruthers. But after looking
about little for himself he to becam Q
interested in this church on the Hill and
cast his lot with those who were laboring
here and added another live coal to the
live Goals which were burning on the
altar of this society. For this church and
it's welfare Henry Burgess labored long
and faithfully. He was at it from early
in the morning until late at night and
the good that he did on this hill can never
be estimated He was my dearest friend
and we were like two souls in the same
body. Whenever / came here from Boston
I would oftener go to public house than
go to Capt. Jacks for 1 knew that if
went there Henry Burgess would come
around and hunt me out and have me
up here on this hill to preach a sermon
or talk to young mems society OF
young woman's club OF something Of that
kind and often would be too tired to
do either and SO j had to dodge him and
hide from his sight
"He is no longer herej" continued
Mr.. Kellogg with emotion while the tears
coursed down the cheeks of many of those
in the congregation who knew of whom
the aged pastor spoke. .But although
not here in the body he is here in the spirit
l know today he is rejoicing with u.s.
NOW if | can read the language of
faces there are young men in this church
today who have the same spirit for work
that Harry RurpnSs had and who chouJd