Baxter Perry Smith

PROFESSOR EBENEZER ADAMS.—PROFESSOR ZEPHANIAH S. MOORE.—PROFESSOR CHARLES B. HADDOCK.

Professor Ebenezer Adams succeeded Professor Hubbard. From a reliable source we have received, in substance, the following statements:

"Ebenezer Adams, the son of Ephraim and Rebecca (Locke) Adams, was born at New Ipswich, N. H., October 2, 1765. His father was a farmer in moderate circumstances, and having a large family of children, nineteen in all, he could not give them many educational advantages, but they shared in such as were commonly enjoyed in those days. The subject of this sketch, however, earnestly desired something more; he had set his heart upon obtaining a higher education, and ultimately succeeded in doing so. After becoming nearly or quite of age, he commenced preparation for Dartmouth College, which he entered in 1787, graduating with honor in 1791, and in the following year he became preceptor of Leicester Academy, where he remained fourteen years, laboring faithfully and very successfully in the instruction of those under his care. While there he married, in 1795, Miss Alice Frink, of Rutland, Mass., who died early, leaving five young children. In 1806 he removed to Portland, where he engaged as teacher in the academy, and it was while residing there that he came under the pastoral care of Rev. Dr. Payson, and in a time of general revival he was deeply interested in religious truth and became a subject of renewing grace. He publicly professed his faith in Christ and united with Dr. Payson's church. While there he formed a second marriage with Miss Beulah Minot, of Concord, Mass., who became the mother of his two youngest children, and the subsequent year he taught in Phillips Academy, Exeter, but he did not long remain there.

"In 1809, he was called to Dartmouth College, where for one year he was Professor of Languages, and was then transferred to the professorship of Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, and Astronomy, which he held until the appointment of a successor, in 1833. As a teacher he was faithful, patient, laborious, earnestly desiring the best good of his pupils, whose affection he often succeeded in gaining, their esteem always. Possessed of much intellectual force, of sound and varied attainments in learning, which he had the happy faculty of imparting to others clearly and distinctly, he was thus eminently fitted for the position of instructor, so many years occupied by him. He was truly devoted to the interests of the college, and ever ready to make efforts and sacrifices for it, and in those dark days, when its fate hung in suspense, he was deeply anxious, and had no small share in aiding and sustaining it through the struggle. During President Brown's illness, and after his death, for more than two years in all, he filled the office of president in addition to his own, thus having a great increase of care and responsibility, and the same thing occurred on other occasions, when the college was temporarily without a head. He did not enjoy the situation, for while he truly delighted in teaching, he found the enforcement of discipline very irksome; still he was faithful and energetic in it when it became his duty.

"He was interested in every good cause, philanthropic and religious, especially in the Bible Society, of which he was for many years the presiding officer in New Hampshire; in the Colonization Society, which he then thought the only possible agency for removing the curse of Slavery; in Foreign Missions and in Temperance, of which he was an earnest and able advocate. In this connection it should be mentioned that he was Trustee and Treasurer of Kimball Union Academy, at Meriden, almost from its first commencement until nearly the close of his life, and in the success end prosperity of that institution he always felt a deep interest, and labored to promote its welfare.

"After his resignation in 1833, he devoted much of his leisure to objects of public interest, to the affairs of the town and village, in which several important trusts were committed to him, and of the church, in which for years he had worthily filled the office of deacon. In these he was actively and usefully employed, even to the last, and thus, in the unfailing resource of reading and study which he enjoyed, in the society of attached friends, and of the dear family circle, those closing years of his life passed away cheerfully, happily, leaving blessed memories behind them. He was quite active in his habits and usually of firm and vigorous health. It almost seemed as if he had been stricken down in his full strength, so sudden and short was his last illness. A heart-disease, of which he had suffered some symptoms a few months before, attacked him with great violence, and after ten days of intense suffering and distress, during which he manifested a true submission to God's will, and a calm reliance in Christ, his atoning Saviour, he 'fell asleep in Jesus,' August 15, 1841.

"The college, the church, the village, mourned his departure, but nowhere was it so deeply felt as in the home which had so long been blest with his presence and affection. For in all family relations he was most truly kind and affectionate, in social life, genial and friendly, especially, even to the last, delighting in little children, and in the society of the young, generous and public-spirited, of spotless integrity in business affairs, faithful, earnest and skillful as a teacher, in all his ways a sincere and humble follower of the Lord Jesus."

His associate, Professor Stowe, says:

"Professor Adams was one of the stoutest of that noble band of men who upheld Dartmouth College in the great crisis through which it passed, and thus established, not only the principles on which that venerable and most useful institution maintained its existence, but gave the foundation for permanency to all other educational institutions in our country, for it was the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, in the Dartmouth College case, that became the magna charta of all our colleges.

"Sailors speak of 'men who in a storm can ascend to the mast-head, and hold on with their eyelids' while they use both hands to adjust the rigging. Such were the men who saved Dartmouth College during that great conflict.

"A little girl once said that if God really did make the whole universe in six days, she should like to know what he stood on while he was making it.

"Such a question has often occurred to me in thinking of that period in the history of Dartmouth College. What had the champions of the college to stand on? But they did stand, and did their work completely, and for all time.

"Professor Adams had just the qualities for such an emergency. His was the sturdy self-reliance, the unshrinking courage, the indomitable perseverance, and the unwavering faith in God, which holds what it has and carries what it holds. His was not the coward's courage, which consists in the denying of the danger, but the courage of the brave man, which sees the danger and faces it."

A pupil says:

"Professor Adams was 'a manly man,' well-proportioned, broad-shouldered, with a commanding presence and amiable countenance. He was bold, earnest, energetic, persevering; artless, and honest as the day. He said exactly what he meant. His mental vision was clear, strong, and accurate. Imagination was never active; oratory was not his forte. Demonstrative evidence suited him best. In his religious character he was conscientious, devout, and reverent, never excited nor sentimental."

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In "Sprague's Annals of the American Pulpit" we find this account of Prof. Zephaniah Swift Moore. "He was the son of Judah and Mary (Swift) Moore, and was born at Palmer, Mass., November 20, 1770. His parents were in the middle walks of life, and were much esteemed for their integrity and piety. When he was seven or eight years old, he removed with his father's family to Wilmington, Vt., where he worked upon a farm till he was about eighteen. From his early childhood he evinced great inquisitiveness of mind, and an uncommon thirst for knowledge; in consequence of which, his parents consented to aid him in acquiring a collegiate education. Having prosecuted his preparatory studies at an academy in Bennington, Vt., he entered Dartmouth College, when he was in his nineteenth year. He graduated in 1793, and delivered on the occasion a philosophical oration on the 'causes and general phenomena of earthquakes,' which was received with marked approbation.

"On leaving college, he took charge of an academy at Londonderry, N. H., where he gained the reputation of an able and faithful teacher. Having occupied this post for a year, he repaired to Somers, Conn., and commenced the study of Theology under the direction of the Rev. Dr. Charles Backus; and, having gone through the usual course of preparation for the ministry, was licensed to preach by a committee of the Association of Tolland County, February 3, 1796. After preaching to good acceptance in various places, and receiving several invitations to a permanent settlement in the ministry, he finally accepted a call from the Congregational church and congregation in Leicester, Mass. Here his labors proved alike acceptable and useful. Very considerable additions were made to the church, and the spirit and power of religion became increasingly visible under his ministrations. During a part of the time that he resided at Leicester, he joined to his duties as a minister those of principal of the Leicester Academy; and here, also, he acquitted himself with much honor.

"In October, 1811, he accepted the chair of professor of Languages in Dartmouth College. Here he was greatly respected as a man, a teacher, and a preacher; and if his attainments in his department were not of the very highest order, they were at least such as to secure both his respectability and usefulness.

"In 1815, he was elected to the presidency of Williams College, then vacant by the resignation of Dr. Fitch. He accepted the appointment, and was regularly inducted into office at the annual Commencement in September of that year. Shortly after his removal to Williamstown, Dartmouth College, which he had just left, conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. He adorned this new station, as he had done those which he had previously occupied. His connection with the college was attended by some circumstances of peculiar embarrassment, in consequence of an effort on the part of the Trustees to remove the college to Northampton or some other town in Hampshire County. The measure failed in consequence of the refusal of the Legislature to sanction it. Dr. Moore, however, decidedly favored it from the beginning, but in a manner that reflected not in the least upon his Christian integrity and honor.

"In the spring of 1821, the collegiate institution at Amherst, Mass., having been founded, he was invited to become its President, and was inaugurated as such in September following. The institution, then in its infancy, and contending with a powerful public opinion, and even with the Legislature itself, for its very existence, put in requisition all his energies; and the ultimate success of the enterprise was no doubt to be referred, in no small degree, to his discreet, earnest, and untiring efforts. In addition to his appropriate duties as president and as chairman of the Board of Trustees, he heard the recitations of the Senior class, and part of the recitations of the Sophomore class, besides taking occasional agencies with a view to increase the funds of the institution. His constitution, naturally strong, was over-taxed by the efforts which he felt himself called to make, and had begun perceptibly to yield, before the last violent attack of disease which terminated his life.

"On Wednesday, the 25th of June, 1823, he was seized with a bilious colic, which reached a fatal termination on the Monday following. During the brief period of his illness, the greatest anxiety prevailed in the college, and unceasing prayer was offered in his behalf. His own mind was perfectly tranquil, and he anticipated the closing scene and passed through it without a word or look that told of apprehension. In the very moment of breathing out his spirit, he uttered in a whisper,—'God is my hope, my shield, my exceeding great reward.' The funeral solemnities were attended on the Wednesday following, and an appropriate sermon was delivered on the occasion by the Rev. Dr. Snell, of North Brookfield.

"Dr. Moore lived to celebrate the first anniversary of the institution, and to see more than eighty of its students professedly religious, and preparing for extensive usefulness among their fellow men.

"Shortly after his settlement at Leicester, he was married to Phebe, daughter of Thomas Drury, of Ward, now Auburn, Mass., who survived him. They had no children.

"Dr. Moore published an Oration at Worcester on the 5th of July, 1802; Massachusetts Election Sermon, 1818; an Address to the public in respect to Amherst College, 1823; a Sermon at the ordination of Dorus Clark, Blandford, 1823."

FROM THE REV. EMERSON DAVIS, D.D.

"Westfield, Mass., November 16, 1849.

"Dear Sir: You have requested me to give you my impressions and recollections of President Moore. They are all exceedingly pleasant, and yet I must say he was a man of such equanimity of temper and uniformity of life, that I am unable to single out one act or saying of his that produced a deeper impression than others.

"My first introduction to him was in the spring of 1818, when I was ushered into his study with a letter of recommendation for admission to Williams College. It was to me a fearful moment, but the cordial manner in which I was received, and his kind inquiries after his friend who had furnished me with a letter, made me at once easy in his presence. I found that he had the heart of a man, and through an acquaintance of several years, to the time of his death, he manifested the same kindness and cordiality that he did the first time I saw him.

"He was a man of medium stature, rather corpulent, his complexion sallow, the top of his head nearly bald, there being a slight sprinkling of hair between the forehead and crown. His voice, though not loud, was clear and pleasant, and in animated conversation and in the pulpit pitched upon the tenor key.

"He was dignified in his appearance, serious in his aspect, instructive and agreeable in his conversation, kind and benevolent in his feelings, modest and unassuming in his manners, deliberate and cautious in coming to a conclusion, but firm and determined when his position was taken. If a student had at any time spoken against him, he would have been regarded as a rebel against law and order. In managing cases of discipline, he was calm and entirely self-possessed.

In preaching, he had very little action; and yet there was an impressiveness in his manner that fixed the attention of his hearers. In the more animated parts of his discourse, his utterance became more rapid, and the sound of his voice shrill and tremulous, showing that he felt deeply the force of the sentiments he uttered. In his religious views, I know not that he differed from the great mass of the orthodox clergy of New England, of his day.

"Such are my recollections of President Moore.

"Yours truly,
"Emerson Davis."

The following tribute to one of Dartmouth's most eminent and honored teachers is from a "Discourse" by Professor (now President) Brown.

"Charles Bricket Haddock was born in that part of Salisbury, N. H., which is now Franklin, June 20, 1796. His mother was Abigail Webster, an older sister of Ezekiel and Daniel Webster. She had two children, Charles and William. She was a person of uncommon excellence and loveliness, a favorite with her brothers, who always spoke of her with great affection. She was a religious woman, and on her death-bed manifested great solicitude for her sons, especially dedicating the oldest, Charles, to the Christian ministry. This expression of feeling was almost the only recollection which Mr. Haddock had of his mother.

"The place of his birth was retired, but full of rural beauty; the rushing Merrimac-making sweet music of a summer evening, the broad intervals basking in the summer sun, the granite mountains 'dumbly keeping watch all round,' from whose summits, looking almost to the White Hills on one side, and almost to the sea on the other, you would behold a landscape picturesque and lovely beyond the power of description. The quiet scenes of his youth, the simple pleasures, and the common amusements of village life, varied with few excitements, could not have been without their effect upon the mind of a sensitive boy. To what age he was left to these alone, I do not know.

"He fitted for college mainly at the academy in Salisbury, and entered in 1812. Nature had done more for him than his instructors, and he very soon took the position, which he ever maintained, as intellectual leader in a class, which, though small, numbered among its members several young men of distinguished ability. In that little community he was at once the best scholar and the most popular man. 'In looks,' writes one of his class-mates,[41] 'Haddock was decidedly the most striking man in the class. He was tall and well-proportioned. He had an intellectual cast of features, a well-chiseled profile,—and altogether you might pronounce him a man intended for a scholar, and destined, if he lived, to make his mark in the world. I, who entered college a mere boy, singled him out the first day. He was always an industrious student. He never failed of a recitation, so far as I can remember, and he never failed to be prepared for it.'

"Adding thus to the distinction of attainment and scholarship so much beauty of person, so much modesty, gentleness, and propriety of demeanor, it was natural that he should be regarded as a model young man, nor was there wanting that profounder moral element, without which no character can be complete.

"The year 1815 was memorable in the religious history of the college. The period immediately preceding had been marked by unusual religious depression. In some classes only one person, and but a few in any of them, made profession of a serious religious purpose. Of this small number, there were some, however, whose feelings were deep, and whose lives were exemplary. To them,—not more, perhaps, than eight or ten in all,—was due, under the Divine favor, the moral regeneration of the college. First among those who, in that 'Great awakening,' avowed his purpose of a new life, was Mr. Haddock, then in the summer of his Junior year. The avowal was open, unreserved, and decisive, and, it is almost unnecessary to add, produced a strong sensation. From that time no one in college exerted a more positive influence in favor of personal religion, and not a few traced their own most serious thoughts to his example and to his faithfulness.

"This change in his feelings naturally determined his course in life, and immediately after taking his first degree he entered the seminary at Andover as a student in Theology. Here he pursued the profound and difficult studies of his profession with a more than ordinary breadth of scholarship, mingling classical and literary studies with those of theology, but entering with zeal and a chastened enthusiasm into all the duties and requirements of the place.

"He remained at Andover about two years, when, on account of a threatened pulmonary complaint, he made a journey to the South, going as far as Savannah, and spending the winter in various parts of the Southern States. Having performed a considerable part of the tour on horseback, he returned, in 1819, invigorated in health, and with a mind enlarged and liberalized by what were then quite unusual opportunities of observation and society, and was at once appointed to the newly established chair of Rhetoric, at the early age of twenty-three years. The college had but just gained the victory in its desperate struggle for existence. It was poor, but hopeful, and it moved forward with a policy of enlargement, determined to keep pace with all advancing learning and culture.

"Before that time, the duties of the new department had been distributed among all the college officers, and necessarily must have lacked something in fullness and method. No other New England college, except Harvard and Yale, then possessed such an officer, and the first appointment to the post in New Haven bears date but two years earlier."

"As an instructor, Professor Haddock was one of the best I ever knew. I never knew a better. It is with unfeigned gratitude that I remember my obligations to him, and I know I speak for thousands. As a critic, he was discriminating and quietly suggestive, guided by a taste that was nearly immaculate. His scholarship was unobtrusive, and his manner without ostentation. He made no pretense of knowledge, but it was always sufficient, always fresh, always sound. The range of his thought was broad. His mind was versatile and active. You could hardly find a subject with which he was not somewhat familiar, or in which he would not readily become interested. His opinions were never fantastic, nor exaggerated, nor disproportioned. He was not, perhaps, so exacting nor so stimulating a teacher as some, but he was careful, clear, distinct, and encouraging. He saw the difficulty in the mind of the pupil, if there was one, adapted himself with admirable facility to his wants, and by a lucid statement, a test question, or a distinct suggestion, would often free a subject from its obscurity, so that the way would all be in clear sunlight. He felt that, in education, the best results are not produced violently, but by influences quiet and protracted, gradually, but potently, moulding the affections and the life, 'finely touching the spirit to fine issues.'"

"In 1846, Professor Haddock published a volume of 'Addresses and Miscellaneous Writings,' gathered from reviews, and from his speeches before the New Hampshire Legislature, and on various public occasions. These are marked by the peculiar completeness and finish which characterized all his productions. There is in them no superfluous word, no affectation, no straining after effect, but much that is wise and everything that is tasteful. Yet, interesting as they are, I hardly feel as if they give an adequate expression of his rich and varied abilities. His more recent writings,—notes of foreign travels, lectures, and discourses,—he had begun to prepare for the press, when he was so suddenly taken from us, and I am glad to hope that some of them may yet see the light.

"For many years Professor Haddock acted as secretary of the New Hampshire Education Society. In discharge of the duties of this office, sometimes little more than a sinecure, he made it an object to bring before the society, in his annual reports, subjects of permanent interest. In looking them over, I perceive such topics as these: 'Objections to Charitable Education,' 'The Standard of Education for the Pulpit,' 'The Influence of Educated Mind,' 'Personal Qualifications for the Pulpit,' 'Manual Labor Institutions,' 'The Clergy the Natural Advisers of Young Men,' 'Personal Piety in Candidates for the Christian Ministry,' 'Wisdom in Clergymen,' 'The Eloquence of the Pulpit as affected by Ministerial Character.' These addresses, somewhat brief, never impassioned, are full of excellent suggestions, both to the laity and the clergy. They abound in practical wisdom, and any one may read them with profit.

"In all his writings his style was unambitious, unaffected, chaste, pure, and transparent as crystal. It was true to his subject and himself. If not fervid and vehement, it was because of his moderation and self-restraint; if not pungent and dogmatic, it was marked by sustained earnestness and finished beauty. If he had not predominantly that power which is called by the older rhetoricians amplification, he eminently had another, as rarely met with in perfection, the power of exact, unincumbered, logical statement. There was sometimes in him a reticence as admirable as it was unique. You wondered why he did not say more, and yet if he had, it would only have injured the effect. The word exactly fitted the sentiment. The idea was insphered in the expression. There was no excess or extravagance in anything he did or said. His thoughts glided softly and sweetly from his pen, as a rivulet from a silver fountain.

"I have sometimes thought that Professor Haddock's intellectual powers were nowhere displayed to more advantage than in the mingled grave and gay, learned and mirthful intercourse of social life. The very tones of his voice, sympathetic and attractive, the absence of dogmatism, or superciliousness, or self-assertion,—the mingled deference and independence, the clear and sustained thought, the ready insight, the quick apprehension of proprieties, the intelligent, dexterous, but never caustic reply, the sure appreciation of the feelings of others, and the power of making them, even the lowliest, feel that what they said was listened to with interest,—the sense of the droll and ludicrous, the responsive laughter, not boisterous, but hearty, bringing tears into the eyes,—all gave a peculiar charm to this form of intercourse. It was a ministry of beneficence, diffusing kindness, intelligence, and gentleness, enlivening many a dull hour, filling many a vacant mind, and inspiring many a worthy purpose.

"'Great openness and candor, good sense, the reading of a scholar, the originality of a man who sometimes thought for himself, aspirations after excellence much higher than those of many others,—all these traits came out in his familiar talks, in which he rather unbent than exerted himself; at the same time he was as gentle and attentive a listener as a man could wish, a truly sociable being, with whom you could talk all day, and then all night, and never feel weary.'[42]

"In 1850, he received from Mr. Fillmore the appointment of ChargÉ d'Affaires at the court of Portugal, and in the spring of 1851 sailed for Lisbon, by way of England. I have the best means of knowing that, while at Lisbon, his intercourse and influence with the Court, and with the representatives of all the great powers, was most acceptable and most salutary. His residence in Portugal was in many ways delightful. The delicious climate, the cultivated and refined society of the diplomatic circle, temporary rest from labor, and change of scene and occupations, were all sources of pleasure. Yet here he was touched by one of his deepest sorrows, for at Lisbon, November, 1851, 'by the side of Philip Doddridge, in the English cemetery,' he buried his youngest son, a beautiful boy of eleven years.

"He returned from Portugal early in 1856, after an absence of nearly four years; and, having previously terminated his connection with the college, spent the remainder of his life at West Lebanon."

Prof. N. S. Folsom says:

"Professor Haddock was the 'orator suavi loquenti ore,' and he was much more than this. Both by precept and example he raised the standard of speaking and writing among the students, and stimulated them to the pursuit of a manly eloquence. There also prevailed a very general conviction of his sincerity and moral earnestness, and of his interest in our successful career in life. The themes he gave led us to discriminate both intellectually and morally, and if he thought the theme worthily treated, a kind note in the margin of the sheet was sure to tell us so. The spirit in which he met the class was that of the closing paragraph in his Phi Beta Kappa Oration of 1825: 'Young men of my country, God has given you a noble theatre, and called you into life at the most interesting of all times. Forget not that you are descendants of men who solemnly dedicated themselves and their posterity through all coming time to the cause of free and enlightened reason—unrestricted divine reason—the portion inscribed on our hearts of the universal law, 'whose seat is the bosom of God, her voice the harmony of the world.' Occasionally he preached in the Hanover village church, where the students attended. He never had so much as a scrap of any notes before him; and this was his habit also at White River, where he steadily officiated. I need not add that the students always were greatly delighted when they had the privilege to hear him. Every discourse was as complete as though it had been carefully written and committed to memory; but evidently his was no memoriter preaching. One sermon I particularly remember, delivered early in March, 1826, from the words, 'If this counsel or this work be of men it will come to nought, but if it be of God ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found fighting against God.' (Acts v. 38, 39.) No discourse I had ever heard in my whole life before surpassed this in eloquence and weight of sentiment; none even from Dr. Tyler was more magnetic, more persuasive to right action on the part of an already awakened conscience, or put the soul more directly in an attitude in which it would be naturally drawn towards what is true and best. My recollection of the feeling of the students toward him is, that he was, on the whole, not inferior in popularity with them to any other member of the Faculty. There is no man I could name so absolutely faultless, as he seemed to us young men of that period. I am not sure that his prestige and charm were not increased by the faultlessness of his dress, and by the manifestations of the becoming in personal appearance,—a well-known trait of his great kinsman, Daniel Webster, whom he not distantly resembled also in features, port, and step, and in distinct, measured utterance. Not that he in the least consciously imitated him, but there was the natural growth into the likeness of the object of his admiration; and there was, as in Mr. Webster, absolutely no affectation, nor sign of overmuch thought about raiment, nor vestige of anything like conscious, personal display."

A later pupil says:

"As a teacher Professor Haddock was remarkable for his dignity and refinement. His presence among young men was always sufficient to maintain perfect order and decorum. The true gentleman beamed forth from every feature and spoke in every tone of his voice. With apparent ease, he chained the attention of the most thoughtless to the most abstruse and uninviting topics. The deep things of Logic and Psychology he handled so adroitly, and presented so tastefully, as to give them a charm, indeed, a fascination.

"In the recitation room his words were few, but his statements were so clear and so elegantly expressed, that what the student had been able to learn only partially or obscurely from the book was now fully comprehended and securely treasured by the memory. The students were never willingly absent, for it was always a delight to listen to his instructions, and a failure to be present was counted an irreparable loss, inasmuch as the teacher always seemed greater than the text-book.

"It is hardly necessary to say that the influence of such a man was an important factor in the last two years of our college life. His noble bearing, his handsome face, his impressive manner, his uniform kindness and courtesy, and, especially, his manifest appreciation of young men who were struggling against heavy obstacles in their course of study, will never be forgotten by those who were so fortunate as to be under his tuition. Nor can it be doubted that the power of his refined intellect and taste has been felt in many places where his name has never been heard."

Professor Haddock married, first, Susan Saunders, daughter of Richard Lang, of Hanover; second, Mrs. Caroline (Kimball) Young, daughter of Richard Kimball, of Lebanon, N. H. He died at West Lebanon, N. H., January 15, 1861.