Evening star., 1907-08-24

his life. the spot he loved most Of all the
earth. and his burial place. His family
have lived here for generations His an
cestor, John Moody, came in 1873 from Old
Hadley, after the Deerfield massacre. with
the first settlers of Northfield. and his
grandfather, Isaiah Moody, built the old
homestead and cultivated as farm what
Is now the campus Of the seminary. Isaiah 8
eldest son, Edwin. was br.ckmaker and
stone mason. His brickyard is a part of
the grounds and he laid the foundations Of
almost every house and church you can
see from the towers Of the auditorium.
Edwin Moody had seven sons and two
daughters. Dwight l.. Moody, his sixth
child and fifth son, was born In 1887, and
would have been seventy years old if he had
lived until last February. He worked on
the farm and attended the district school
and the Mortified Academy until 1854,
When he was seventeen years old he went
to Boston and got Job in a shoe store.
Although he had been brought up in a
strict Christian home he had never Joined
any church until he had been year In
Boston, when he united with the Mount
Vernon Congregational Church and took an
active part in Sunday school and mission
work.
Feeling that he would have a better
chance for advancement In the west, he
went to Chicago in 1856. when he was nine
teen years old, obtained a situation as col
letor for Wiswalrs shoe factory, and after
ward became drummer and went on the
road selling boots and shoes for c. NJ Hen
derson & Co. He united with Plymouth
Congregational Church, was teacher In
the Sunday school ard organized a class OF
street waits in the mission. He gave this
class particular attention and 1t grew IN
numbers and importance until It developed
into the Chicago Avenue Church, better
known as Moodys Church. Mr.. Moody
showed genius Tor biblical instruction In
his earliest undertakings, and had the hap
py faculty of communicating his enthusiasm
to others.
Mr.. Moody's Summer Retreat.
During his evangelical work, which be-
gan Immediately after the Chicago fire, Mr..
Moody used to spend his summers with his
widowed mother at the old homestead in
Mortified. His son, Mr.. w. r. Moody,
now in charge Of the work here, says:
1.-The cackling Of geese once saved ancient
Rome, and the Northfield schools originated
i'll the scratching Of few old hens. If 1t
had not been for little incident OF that
kind the work here would probably never
my father was here" continued Mr. Moody.
lone Of the neighbors complained that
Widow Moodys hens were scratching up
his garden. They had crawled through the
fence that divided the two properties. Mr.
Moody could not ask his mother to give up
her poultry, and he did not want her TO be
the defendant in a suit for trespass, so
he asked the complainant II he Wouio seI
did not care to do SO, unless the whole
place went with 1t.
How much do you want for your placer
INQUIRED Mr.. Moody in his impulsive way
.'Thirty-five hundred dollars" was the
equally prompt answer.
'I'n take It," said Moody, and the trade
was closed within few days.
AS soon as he took possession Mr.. Moody
remodeled the old farmhouse, and made IT
more comfortable. He repaired the barns
and the fences and improved the twelve
acres that surrounded them. until he made
1t a very comfortable home, and Thereafter
until his death in 1899, spent the summer
months in the house resting, studying ana
devotiAg himself to his children, from
whom he was separated during the rest OF
the year by his evangelical work. He en-
loved the society Of his mother and two
brothers, Mr.. George Moody, the eldest OF
the family, who had been a second father
to him, and Mr. Samuel Moody the young,
est. who was an invalid. for whom he had
the deepest affection: It,.
-'Those were the happiest days of his
life. and In this stimulating atmosphere
surrounded by his family, occurred the re-
markable development that may be traced
in his work during the late seventies ana
early eighties"