The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1898-03-16
In MemOriam,

The Woman's Christian Temperance
Union held a memorial service for tho late
Frances 4. Willard, in the parlors OF the
Baptist church last Wednesday afternoon.
A fine easel picture Of Miss Willard draped
with white and clusters OF white carnations
tied with broad white ribbon, resting upon
base of ground pine. occupied a promi-
nent place Rev. W. A. Dawson read
Scripture lesson, and Rev. Andrew Gillies
offered prayer. Mrs. Minnie Marsh sang
1.-THE Holy City" Personal Reminiscenses
were given by Rev. j. Edward Wright.
He had listened to her in st. Louis, Phila-
delphia, also in 1893 he became somewhat
acquainted with her work in London.
Among other things Mr.. Wright said;
"Miss Willard was born leader as well as
a teacher. And such leader What
combination OF strength and gentleness, OF
energy and delicacy, of resolution and tact.
She was never impatient, never irritable,
never careless, never respondent, never
uncharitable. She died literally in harness,
ceasing to work for humanity only when
she ceased to breathe, and not even then,
as all of us who share in her faith in i'm.
mortality most confidently believe. We
would like to speak of her as an orator; OF
her fluent, lucid, enrapturing addresses,
never hystercal never rhspsodical, yet
filed with a mysterious spiritual charm
that defies analysis. We would like to
speak of her as a personal FRIEND devoid OF
egotism and pretence, sympathetic abound
ing in pleasantly, and as inspiring as the
atmosphere OF AIplDe n6lRnUb, we WOulu
like to speak OF her as politician-and she
was one one in the better sense clear to the
tips OF her fingers-a politician who gained
her ends not by tricks and guile. but by
honesty, unselfishness, far-sightedness and
tact; hut 1t Is useless to try to do justice to
all the shining facets OF her genius. She
was wonderful woman and under other
skies and other stars would have gone down
in history as one of the greatest queens OF
earth. And will she not go down as such
even as it was? A queen not by right OF
birth, but by right of intellectual conquest;
regnant not through the pomp and power
OF arms, but through her richly lowered
mind and heart, not over subjects OF one
land but OF many. The world is richer for
her having lived; the world is poorer for
her having died"
Rev. w. A. Dawson said in part; miss
Willard was one OF the most remarkable
women OF her time; her name was known
the word over She was born in Church
vile, N. Y, September %, 1889 Her moth
er was born in Danville and her father in
Wheelock. They were settled at Church
Vile eleven years, when they moved to
Oberlin, O., making the journey by car
riage. In her early teens Miss Willard be-
came devoted student OF Emerson and
took as her motto these lines
81 pray the prayer of Plato old
oh make me beautiful Within
And may mine eyes the good behold,
In everything save sim"
At the age of seventeen years Miss Will
lard entered Milwaukee College. She grad
uated in 1859 from the Northwestern Col
lege at Evanston ILL.,, and began to teach.
She taught in the public schools of Evans
ton and Kankakee, in Pittsburg Female
College, in the Northwestern University at
Evanston. In 1862 she lost her sister,
Mary, whose life she has beautifully des-
cribed in her book entitled Nineteen beau
tiful years" In 1867 she visited Europe
and the Holy Land. In 1873 she became
intensely interested in the temperance
crusade in Ohio, and in 1874 she resigned
her position as dean and professor and
Joined the crusaders. With the exception
of May A. Livermore her friends forsook
her. She refused flattering offers to teach
and accepted the presidency of the Chicago
Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
The worst her enemies could say OF her was
that she was ambitious, but il she was, it
was in pure and unselfish way.
Miss Willard has been the head and pri-
vate factor in the great and expanding
temperance work. 1t was poorly develop
ed when she took charge OF it. She evolved
the department system, which has proved
SO success ful. In 1881 she made tour Of the
United States and Canada, travelling over
$1,000 miles and speaking in.every city OF
over 10, 600 population AS a result of this in
1883 there was a Woman's Christian Tenn
perance Union organization in every state
and territory in the Union and by her en-
deavors a national organization was formed.
In 1888 she planned Worlds union and
began sending temperance missionaries into
every part OF the world. In 1886 such union
was formed at Minneapolis. Miss Willard
declined the presidency but was elected to
that flee in 1888,
She was voluminous writer. In addi-
ton to her work on the Union Signal and
other papers she wrote about a dozen
books. She was engaged in philanthropic
work with Lady Henry Somerset in estab-
fishing refugees and homes for unfortunate
women. She gave as motto for the Wo-
mans Temperance Union For God and
Home and Native Land" Above all she
was a christian worker. In early life she
learned the lesson that if one desires to
succeed they must pay the price-self denial
and hard work. She died February IS last
at Hotel Empire in New York. Her great
and grand work was accomplished because
she recognized what God could do, and
that there was good in everything but sin.
Mrs. o. II. Richardson read the poem
Life and True Insight of Life" written
twenty years ago by Miss Willard.
The following resolutions were adopted;
With feelings OF great sadness at what
seems our irreparable loss, in the passing
away OF our national leader, Miss Frances
e. Willard, we wish to record our express.
ed aDDreCiatiOn and love for her han