Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1898-06-17
OBITUARY..
MRS. EMILY AUGUSTA SEVERANCE.

/ Mrs. Emily Augusta Severan &c, whose
death occurred at the parsonage in Benning
ron Center May "a, 1898, was the daughter of
Nathaniel and Esther Spencer, and wife of
Rev. NJ. l.. Severance, pastor of the Old First
church, Bennington, VI.
Mrs. Severance was horn in Salisbury, VT,
March ~, 1885, She had three brothers, two
of whom served their country in the war of
the rebellion. She had no sisters save those
she found outside her family ana made such
by lifelong friendship. She early de
veloped love of learning and study was
always her delight. She felt that what was
worth doing at all was worth well doing, and
she put labor into every thing she touched.
At 10 she left home to begin her advanced
school.life, first at Middlebury, and later at
Brandon seminary, Vermont. She taught
some 10 the Intervening years, and graduated
with the class of '5S at Mt. Holyoke seminary,
Mass. At the age of Is she became a frequent
contributor of short poems and prose articles
to the local paper, writing under the "nom
de plume" of Lima Lee. These early poetic
illusions are not without interest even now
They show native poetic talent which she
never fully lost. But as her taste became
more severe she put them out of sight and
never referred to them as of any worth.
Moo esty was always predominant trait in
her character. Occasional articles from her
facie pen have found their way into print
during all the years of her maturer life Her
work in Mt. Holyoke seminary somewha At
| impaired her health, as she conn leted in two
years the course of study which was designed
for three. She spent the year after gradual
| ing at her home in Salisbury. Miss Spencer
/ became the wife of NJ L. Severance Aug. IL,
| 1859. The first year of her married life she
passed rs preceptress of Ticonderoga acad.
envy, y. " of which institution her husband
was principal. She began her work as Il
pastors wife in Sept, 1853, ut Boscawen, y.
II. Here began the development of that
larger life of usefulness which has made her
an efficient worker in the church of Christ
| for over third of a century.
| When MIR. Severance was elected principal
of Burr Il Burton seminary at Manchester,
| VT, in lsS2, Mrs. Severance became pre-
ceptress, and for six years they stood at the
head of the institution. and taught together
rs they had done at the commencement of
their married life. AS n teacher Mrs. Sever
ance had qualities rarely eXcelled. She
| sought to inspire her pupils to put conscience
into all their work. She taught them to be
satisfied with nothing that could be improved.
She had happy faculty of throwing addi
tiOnal light on whatever subject she was en-
deavoring to explain. what obscure
she would hold in the Roentgen rays, as 1t
were, till her pupils could catch the outline.
She loved knowledge, and she loved to i'm
part it to others Often She had private pu.
pills when not engaged in public teaching. 1t
was her life to be turning wandering, aimless
feet into paths of wisdom and virtue. 1t had
long Dten net uhy dream 10 Visit the GA
World and look on the works of the great
masters, and come in touch with the natural
surroundings where so much of human his
tory has been enacted. In 1855 this long
cherished hope was gratifed, and in company
with her husband she spent three months
abroad, visiting England, Scotland, Belgium,
Germany, Switzerland, Italy and France.
This trip has been in the subsequent years an
untold delight to her, as in thought she has
gone over the journey again and again.
In the latter part of June, 1889, Mrs. Sever
ance established her home in the parsonage
Mt Bennington Center, happy in the thought
that church and a people for her to love
and serve had fallen to her lot again. Into
this new field of labor she threw all the
energy of her soul. She loved the Old First
church, and she loved the people in the
midst of whom it was planted. She often
said she loved Bennington, its atmosphere
its drives, Its natural surrounding and had no
desire to move again. Even in this her wish
has been gratided, and on the 9th of May
she found resting place in the church yard
among the people she loved.
Mrs. Severance's intellectual powers and
intutions were of a high order No person
was quicker to interpret the tenderer emo
lions of human hearts, and none more quick
to respond. She was especially gifted in the
comprehension of literature. By readiest
intuition she got from her reading all that
the author had put into it. A well written
u
a great lover of true poetry. The choicest
, gems of all the great poets were stored in
her mind. At one time | think she could re
cite from memory at least one half of Millions
, Paradise Lost. The most beautiful hymns of
all the ages were treasured in her memory to
be called up at any time. In the twilight she
would sit down with her family and repeat
the choicest passages from Tennyson, Long
fellow, Whittier, Lowell and Others She ap
pretended the beautiful everywhere, whether
in nature, in literature, in art, or in character
Her own mind was singularly pure, and she
wanted to find only purity in others. There
was no sham about her. What she seemed
to be, she was in reality. She despised
: every thing in character that was not genuine
She abhorred wrong-doing and was ready to
visit it with righteous Indignation. How heI
heart bled at thought of the suffering and
= outrages in Armenia! To right the wrongs OF
starving Cuba she willing that her boy
should enlist in the army, and put his life IN
jeopardy in the cause of humanity She was
always willing TO rake sacrifice for the well
being of her fellow men. Mrs. Severance's
friendships were of a perennial kind. She
; built them on a rock foundation. They were
cemented with love and made to stand from
= youth till age. Something Christian and
a spiritual, with no mixture of cheap and
snowy tinsel, was wrought into them. Hel
friends lived in her thought from day to day
and from year TO year. Her Christian faitl
was simply colossal. She conceived OF
nothing as being too hard for the Lord
Nothing was too hard for her to undertake
that she felt the Lord wished her to do The
r great work of missions, both at home ano
t abroad, engaged her constant thought. Nc
sacrifice she could make was counted toe
great for the Lord. She took great delight in
organizing mission circles and in educating
- the people to the importance of this work i'm
: Christs kingdom. Her work in orwell dur
ing the twelve years that she dwelt in the
parsonage remains monument to hei
Christian zeal among that people.
But how shall we close this sketch OF life
that was so full of good works.
Mrs Severance had faults, for She wa,
human. But plane these down to theil
lowest level, grind out all the flaws that can
be detected by the most critical human eye