St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1901-05-15
A nEnORIAL SERVICE.


Notable Tributes from Local Pastors to
the Life and Influence of the late Mrs.
Horace Fairbanks.
The memorial service in the North
church last Sunday afternoon was one
of the most impressive ever held in St.
Johnsbury and largely attended by the
friends of the one in whose memory the
service was held. The pulpit was taste
fully decorated with palms and lilies and
the entire service was one which must
leave lasting impression on young and
old. During the service the choir rem
dered Gounod's anthem, Come unto
Him" and Bridges anthem, "He Giveth
His Beloved Sleep" The orgauist gave
as prelude LeMaigre's "Andante Re-
ligioso" and an Improvisation as post
lude. The opening exercises were con-
Quoted by the pastor of the North church
and the prayer was offered by Rev. DR..
Edward T. Fairbanks. Brief addresses
were given by DIR. Fairbanks and Rev.
Mr.. Chapman, both of which are here
given.
Rev. DR.. Fairbanks spoke as follows:
1t is the coronation of goodness that
brings us together this afternoon, good.
ness flowing from the heart Of God
though the heart and lite of his child.
This life, so fruitful in good, did not hap
pen to be. Behind it were the shaping
influences of home training and family
traditions.
There was company of men and wom-
en-, sturdy and devout-minded Scotch
Irish who, to escape religious intolerance.
came to New England, and in 1719
founded the town in New Hampshire
which, in memory of their old home,
they named Londonderry. Among
those OF the next generation, we'll known
tor dignity OF character was Nathaniel
Hemphill, man of superior worth and
influence. He was struck suddenly with
mortal disease, in the prime of life. His
eighteen children were hastily summoned
and knelt at the bedside. Then he
prayed: 10 Lord, look down in mercy
on this little squadron now before thee.
Take them into thy fatherly protection.
May they remember thee in the DAYS of
their youth. o Lord, | can-nothing--"
The prayer begun on earth was flushed
IN heaven. This was Nov 10, 1896.
Many time have | heard this little
incident from the lips of our good friend.
Like all the Christian traditions of her
familyit had for her an unfailing interest.
and with good reason, for the fifteenth
in that little squadron" of eighteen
was the beloved Persis, her gentle, ear
nest'souled mother. The inheritance of
godly character that was handed down
to the granddaughter she cherished as
sacred possession, always having a fond
and honest pride in her ancestry because
OF the plain, old-fashioned, solid virtues
and generosities which, according to her
estimate, constitute the true nobility.
To her last day, also the strenuousness
OF spirit characteristic of the earlier gem
erations. was repeating itself in her sol-
tary hours with the words:
"Oh, watch, and fight, and pray,
The battle meier give DER;
Renew it boldly every day.
And help divine implore."
The mother of the eighteen fatherless
children, Agnes Park Hemphlll, rose from
the blow that had fallen on her. with
sturdy resouteness and unwavering faith
in God. On her alone now came the en-
tire support of that squadron. There
were ten daughters. For them ten spin
ming wheels were installed in the big
kitchen and kept busily whirling with
the flax which the boys were raising on
the fields. Three months OF the year they
spun, then beached the webs OF cloth
and made them ready for market. At
O'Clock OF the morning, on horseback
and alone, the mother started off with
the webs for the nearest market, Salem,
Mass, forty miles away. She took a
day to go, day to SELL a day to return,
having in her saddle bags three months
family necessaries and eighteen memen-
toes for the eighteen children. Simple
things, maybe, but useful and specially
adapted to each one. Note this crcum-
stance of adaptation; we have seen it
plenty of times in our dav. With all the
crowding industries OF that family nest
there was continuous hospitality. Every
minister coming to town was lodged
there, the sick and poor were generously
remembered, till one day the mother
spun skein, said, II think it is the
last" and passed away full of years and
good works and love for all.
When, something like a hundred years
ago, her daughter Persis came to the
ancestral farm of the Taylors to preside
over home of her own, she brought not
only the spinning wheel, the hum of
which l seem even now to hear from the
head of the kitchen stairs, but also the
thrifty hand and generous heart of
Agnes, her mother. For more than three
score years that pleasant farmhouse,
owered with peach and apple orchards
and bright with flowers, was the home
OF plain living and high thinking, of fru-
gality and piety, of lovely family life
and hospitable cheer. Many a time did
Persis Taylor rise, like the woman we
read OF in the book OF Proverbs, while it
was yet night, not always to give meat
to her household or a portion to her
maidens, but to go to some neighboring
sick room or provide for charities farther
away. Nine children grew up around her
On each one OF them were the inea
ments of her face and the clear stamp
OF her character, as well as the solid
force and good sense of the father; all of
which were strikingly combined in the
eldest son, the stalwart DR.. Taylor of
Andover. Six were daughters, OF whom
four lived and died in this place. The
first to come was Almira, as preceptress
| Of the VOuno To6iaS' Gav,,,noru oh