312
��UNP7ERSALISM IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
��UNIVERSALIS!* IN NEW HAMPSHIRE.
��BY REV. LEMUEL WILLIS.
��Doubtless the first promulgation of the doctrine of the final restoration of all men to holiness and happiness, in New Hampshire, was by that saintly and dis- tinguished preacher of the Gospel, Rev. John Murray, in 1774, in Portsmouth. Multitudes flocked to hear his message, which was presented with such eloquence and power that many were persuaded of the truth of his testimony ; and the re- sult of this visit was the formation of a society, composed of some of the best people of the town, a characteristic strik- ingly manifested in that organization ever since.
Mr. Murray says of this first visit to Portsmouth : " I was received with most flattering marks of kindness. The pul- pit of the separate minister, Mr. Drown, then recently deceased, was thrown open to me. My adherents were truly respect- able, and I was urged to take up my res- idence among them. The meeting-house of Mr. Drown being too small, I was in- vited into the pulpit of Dr. Langdon, where I preached, two clergymen occu- pying seats therein."
An interesting centennial was celebra- ted by this people in December, 1874, having reference to the first preaching of Mr. Murray in Portsmouth and the estab- lishment of the society a hundred years before. On that occasion an eloquent historical address was delivered by Dr. A. J. Patterson of Boston Highlands, a former pastor of the society. Most ap- propriately has he said : " The Universal- ists of Portsmouth may congratulate themselves that their fathers were large- hearted, liberal minded men. There was no town of its size in America, where there was more generous culture, or a larger number of truly eminent men." Mr. Murray tells us that his ' Congrega- tions were large,' and that his ' adher- ents were truly respectable.' He might
��have said that they embraced a consider- able portion of the wealth, talent, cul- ture and social influence of the town. Sewall, the poet, and Sheafe, the United States Senator, Walden, Libbey, Blais- dell, Melcher, thp brothers Simes, and many others prominent in the annals of that time, early associated themselves with the liberal movement."
Mr. Murray occasionally visited this place, coming from Gloucester or Boston, where he was settled. The gifted Par- ker was raised up among this people, and was their pastor till 1793, when the elo- quent Richards became their minister, remaining till 1808. This society has been favored with a succession of able, talented, and devout min sters, such as Hosea Ballou, Sebastian Streeter, Ed- ward Turner, and several others.
In Western New Hampshire, near the close of the last century, the doctrine of Universalism was preached by the truly eloquent Elhanan Winchester, who was a convert from the Calvinist Baptists, and gathered a church of that faith and or- der, previously to his conversion to Uni- versalism, the largest that had ever then been gathered in Philadelphia, the place of his pastorate. Soon after his conver- sion he became a self-constituted mission- ary, and traveled and preached in most of the States. He came to New Hamp- shire in 1794 — three years before his death, at Hartford, Conn. His labors in the ministry were mostly confined to the County of Cheshire, though occasionally he went iuto Vermont. He was a man of extraordinary talent as a public speaker. He was learned, with a prodigious mem- ory, a powerful voice and an easy utter- ance. And as he went from place to place to deliver his message, the church- es (which were all opened to him), were too small to accommodate the multitudes that thronged to hear him. Clergymen,
�� �
