The Sabbath Recorder November 15, 1888 page 5:
Elder Alexander Campbell.
Rev. Alexander Campbell died at his residence, in Wolcott, Wayne Co., N. Y., Oct. 31, 1888, in the eighty-eighth year of his age.
The deceased was born in Plainfield, Otsego Co., N. Y., May 15, 1801. He was the eldest of seven children, three sons and four daughters, of Jabez and Adah Brewer Campbell, of Scottish descent. When about six years of age, his parents moved to Jefferson county, N. Y. Here he was hopefully converted at a tender age, and in his fifteenth year joined the Presbyterian Church, his parents being of that faith and order. September 26, 1822, he was married to Clarinda McKee. At about twenty four years of age he united with the Seventh day Baptist denomination, in which connection he remained until his death. At the age of twenty-five he was ordained to the gospel ministry; to which profession his long and useful life has been devoted. His labors have been varied and abundant; as home missionary, as pastor; as evangelist and revival preacher; as a presiding officer in the Benevolent Board of the denomination to which he belonged; as the principal agent in the founding of DeRuyter Institute, DeRuyter, N. Y.; as an author; and as an able contributor to the religious press, and in many other ways. Thus his influence for good has long been felt, and that, too, far beyond his own denominational lines. He was a mand of catholic spirit; he loved everybody, and everybody seemed to love him. He was a preacher of remarkable unction and power, as tens of thousands will witness who have been under his ministry, thousands of whom have been hopefully converted, and great will be the company, we believe, of those who will rise up and call him blessed. He was a Holy Ghost preacher, and his labors were divinely blessed. In address, he was solemn and impressive, but he was far from austerity in spirit. He was loving and tender; he was kind and affectionate. He will be greatly missed; but one can miss him as those who knew him best, the members of his beloved and now bereaved family, to whom the sympathy of the denomination will be generously extended.
The deceased leaves a widow and four children, three sons and a daughter; viz: George A. Campbell, of Norfolk, Va., and Jesse M. Campbell, William P. Campbell, and Frankie C. , wife of Delos C. Whitford, of Wolcott, N. Y.
Of the brothers and sisters of the deceased, one sister survives, Mrs. Adeline Burdick, widow of Rev. Russel G. Burdick, of Utica, Wis., parents of Rev. George W. Burdick, and of Rev. Clayton A. Burdick. One of the sisters of the deceased, Mrs. Clarissa Burdick, widow of Mr. Willet S. Burdick, died just a week before her brother Alexander died; these the parents of Rev. Charles A. Burdick, and of Rev. Frank O. Burdick.
The funeral services of Elder Campbell were attended on First-day, Nov. 4th, at the Presbyterian church of Wolcott. The clergy of the place attended in a body. A large concourse of people viewed the remains. Rev. F. O. Burdick, of Scott, N. Y., a nephew of the deceased, was present. The subject of the discourse chosen for the occasion was: The Life of the Christian, and especially of the Christian minister, as that life appears in the prospect of death; based on the words of Paul to Timothy (2 Tim. 4: 6-8), “I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand,” etc. The body was buried in the cemetery grounds at Wolcott.
“Peaceful be thy silent slumber
Peaceful in the grave so low,
Thou no more wilt join our number,
Thou no more our songs shall know.
Yet, again, we hope to meet thee,
When the day of life is fled,
Then, in heaven, with joy to greet thee,
Where no farewell tear is shed.”
[author unknown]
______________________________________________________
Wolcott.
The death of Elder Alexander Campbell on the 31st ult. at his home in Wolcott, Wayne Co., N. Y., was the occasion of a visit to that place by the writer of this. Wolcott is a thriving village on the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad, and about twenty five miles west of Oswego, and forty or more east of Rochester. This is one of the places where our gospel tent meetings here held in 1882. There are three Sabbath keeping families here. Having a son and a son-in law in business in Wolcott, Elder Campbell moved to this place a few years since, bought him a pleasant home, and has here resided ever since. He too held many meetings in his own house, and preached the Word to those who came in to hear. Though isolated, Elder Campbell did not withdraw his interest in our denomination and work; nor did he by reason of age lose his interest in the living questions of the day. A short time before his death he contributed to the press a number of able and well written articles on the issues involved in the late political campaign. Elder Campbell was next to the oldest of our ministers, and was active and vigorous for one of his years. An aggravation of an old trouble (hernia) hastened his death. He was ill, but eight days, and suffered intensely during the time.
When the telegram came from friends concerning Elder Campbell’s death and inviting me to preach his funeral sermon, I could but respond that I would come. It was in one of Elder Campbell’s revival meetings in my father’s church at Waterford, Conn., that I was hopefully converted. It was this servant of the Lord that led me into the baptismal waters; thus he was a spiritual father to me, and he has ever manifested a deep interest in me and in my work. I have loved him dearly, and been deeply interested in his ministrations. I remembered, too, our gospel-tent work days in Wolcott when Elder Campbell was present and aided; and then, too, I witnessed the faith and divine obedience of the Sabbath keepers there, and their isolated condition called for consideration and sympathy.
Elder Campbell will be remembered by many most lovingly as a faithful minister of the Word. As we witness the departure of these venerable servants of God-and how few of his generation remain- we may well ask, Upon whom are their mantels to fall? Elder Campbell leaves a widow and four children, three of whom are living in Wolcott. Sister Campbell is in feeble health, and will greatly miss her companion with whom she has shared the cares and responsibilities of life, often accompanying him on his missionary tours. She will be kindly and tenderly remembered by our little Zion. L. C. Rogers
Alfred Centre, November, 1888.
"The Sabbath Recorder", Vol 46, No 24, p 374, June 12, 1890.
By Miss Martha B. Saunders
I have been requested to write a brief notice of the lives of the four clergymen who have been pastor of this church, but who are not living at the present time. The first is Alexander Campbell, who was born May 15, 1801, in Plainfield, Otsego county, N. Y. He was of Scotch descent, and his parents were Presbyterians; and when he was about six years old they moved from the farm on which he was born to Henderson, Jefferson county, N. Y., where he was converted. But it was not until his fifteenth year that he made a public profession of faith, and united with the Presbyterian Church at North Adams, N. Y.
Mr. Campbell was a Baptist in belief, and it was only after repeated efforts of the pastor and others to obtain his consent to be sprinkled, and united with the Presbyterian Church. In his seventeenth year he began to feel the necessity of a better education, and he studied hard; but being in advance of the district schools he had to use whatever means he could command in this work.
At the age of twenty, with several others, he was converted under Elder Russell Wells to the Sabbath views, and at twenty-four he was baptized and united with the Seventh-day Baptist Church at Adams, N. Y. At twenty-five he was ordained and received a call from the church at Truxton, Cortland county, N. Y. After this he labored as a missionary in Western New York, Western Pennsylvania, and Western Virginia.
After he completed his missionary tour in 1833 he received a call to preach at DeRuyter, N. Y., and a request to solicit funds for a church and a school. He obtained both, and it was through his untiring efforts that the DeRuyter Institute was established. In 1841 he began his pastorate in this church, which at that time consisted of only fifty members. When the head of a family, now belonging to this church, was asked to join it, he refused, saying, "The church cannot survive over two or three years at the longest, and the members will then be glad to go back to the mother church."
Mr. Campbell was pastor here six years, and then returned to DeRuyter, and preached for the Truxton Church, where he began his ministry, at the same time preaching for the Lincklaen Church, a short distance from there. He had other pastorates afterwards, but he considered his strength to consist in evangelical work, and there was scarcely any length of time during his ministerial life when he was not engaged in some revival effort.
He was an earnest, devoted Christian, very spiritually minded, simple and loving as a child, yet commanding and dignified in appearance. At the age of eighty he is described as preaching "with a holy earnestness in his actions and words that drew the attention of everyone. He spoke with great simplicity that pleased and then convinced. He showed such tenderness and sympathy that he touched every listener."
He died at the advanced age of eighty-seven, in Wolcott, N. Y., in the early part of the winter of 1888.
transcribed by Jon Saunders
Elder Alexander Campbell.
Rev. Alexander Campbell died at his residence, in Wolcott, Wayne Co., N. Y., Oct. 31, 1888, in the eighty-eighth year of his age.
The deceased was born in Plainfield, Otsego Co., N. Y., May 15, 1801. He was the eldest of seven children, three sons and four daughters, of Jabez and Adah Brewer Campbell, of Scottish descent. When about six years of age, his parents moved to Jefferson county, N. Y. Here he was hopefully converted at a tender age, and in his fifteenth year joined the Presbyterian Church, his parents being of that faith and order. September 26, 1822, he was married to Clarinda McKee. At about twenty four years of age he united with the Seventh day Baptist denomination, in which connection he remained until his death. At the age of twenty-five he was ordained to the gospel ministry; to which profession his long and useful life has been devoted. His labors have been varied and abundant; as home missionary, as pastor; as evangelist and revival preacher; as a presiding officer in the Benevolent Board of the denomination to which he belonged; as the principal agent in the founding of DeRuyter Institute, DeRuyter, N. Y.; as an author; and as an able contributor to the religious press, and in many other ways. Thus his influence for good has long been felt, and that, too, far beyond his own denominational lines. He was a mand of catholic spirit; he loved everybody, and everybody seemed to love him. He was a preacher of remarkable unction and power, as tens of thousands will witness who have been under his ministry, thousands of whom have been hopefully converted, and great will be the company, we believe, of those who will rise up and call him blessed. He was a Holy Ghost preacher, and his labors were divinely blessed. In address, he was solemn and impressive, but he was far from austerity in spirit. He was loving and tender; he was kind and affectionate. He will be greatly missed; but one can miss him as those who knew him best, the members of his beloved and now bereaved family, to whom the sympathy of the denomination will be generously extended.
The deceased leaves a widow and four children, three sons and a daughter; viz: George A. Campbell, of Norfolk, Va., and Jesse M. Campbell, William P. Campbell, and Frankie C. , wife of Delos C. Whitford, of Wolcott, N. Y.
Of the brothers and sisters of the deceased, one sister survives, Mrs. Adeline Burdick, widow of Rev. Russel G. Burdick, of Utica, Wis., parents of Rev. George W. Burdick, and of Rev. Clayton A. Burdick. One of the sisters of the deceased, Mrs. Clarissa Burdick, widow of Mr. Willet S. Burdick, died just a week before her brother Alexander died; these the parents of Rev. Charles A. Burdick, and of Rev. Frank O. Burdick.
The funeral services of Elder Campbell were attended on First-day, Nov. 4th, at the Presbyterian church of Wolcott. The clergy of the place attended in a body. A large concourse of people viewed the remains. Rev. F. O. Burdick, of Scott, N. Y., a nephew of the deceased, was present. The subject of the discourse chosen for the occasion was: The Life of the Christian, and especially of the Christian minister, as that life appears in the prospect of death; based on the words of Paul to Timothy (2 Tim. 4: 6-8), “I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand,” etc. The body was buried in the cemetery grounds at Wolcott.
“Peaceful be thy silent slumber
Peaceful in the grave so low,
Thou no more wilt join our number,
Thou no more our songs shall know.
Yet, again, we hope to meet thee,
When the day of life is fled,
Then, in heaven, with joy to greet thee,
Where no farewell tear is shed.”
[author unknown]
______________________________________________________
Wolcott.
The death of Elder Alexander Campbell on the 31st ult. at his home in Wolcott, Wayne Co., N. Y., was the occasion of a visit to that place by the writer of this. Wolcott is a thriving village on the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad, and about twenty five miles west of Oswego, and forty or more east of Rochester. This is one of the places where our gospel tent meetings here held in 1882. There are three Sabbath keeping families here. Having a son and a son-in law in business in Wolcott, Elder Campbell moved to this place a few years since, bought him a pleasant home, and has here resided ever since. He too held many meetings in his own house, and preached the Word to those who came in to hear. Though isolated, Elder Campbell did not withdraw his interest in our denomination and work; nor did he by reason of age lose his interest in the living questions of the day. A short time before his death he contributed to the press a number of able and well written articles on the issues involved in the late political campaign. Elder Campbell was next to the oldest of our ministers, and was active and vigorous for one of his years. An aggravation of an old trouble (hernia) hastened his death. He was ill, but eight days, and suffered intensely during the time.
When the telegram came from friends concerning Elder Campbell’s death and inviting me to preach his funeral sermon, I could but respond that I would come. It was in one of Elder Campbell’s revival meetings in my father’s church at Waterford, Conn., that I was hopefully converted. It was this servant of the Lord that led me into the baptismal waters; thus he was a spiritual father to me, and he has ever manifested a deep interest in me and in my work. I have loved him dearly, and been deeply interested in his ministrations. I remembered, too, our gospel-tent work days in Wolcott when Elder Campbell was present and aided; and then, too, I witnessed the faith and divine obedience of the Sabbath keepers there, and their isolated condition called for consideration and sympathy.
Elder Campbell will be remembered by many most lovingly as a faithful minister of the Word. As we witness the departure of these venerable servants of God-and how few of his generation remain- we may well ask, Upon whom are their mantels to fall? Elder Campbell leaves a widow and four children, three of whom are living in Wolcott. Sister Campbell is in feeble health, and will greatly miss her companion with whom she has shared the cares and responsibilities of life, often accompanying him on his missionary tours. She will be kindly and tenderly remembered by our little Zion. L. C. Rogers
Alfred Centre, November, 1888.
"The Sabbath Recorder", Vol 46, No 24, p 374, June 12, 1890.
By Miss Martha B. Saunders
I have been requested to write a brief notice of the lives of the four clergymen who have been pastor of this church, but who are not living at the present time. The first is Alexander Campbell, who was born May 15, 1801, in Plainfield, Otsego county, N. Y. He was of Scotch descent, and his parents were Presbyterians; and when he was about six years old they moved from the farm on which he was born to Henderson, Jefferson county, N. Y., where he was converted. But it was not until his fifteenth year that he made a public profession of faith, and united with the Presbyterian Church at North Adams, N. Y.
Mr. Campbell was a Baptist in belief, and it was only after repeated efforts of the pastor and others to obtain his consent to be sprinkled, and united with the Presbyterian Church. In his seventeenth year he began to feel the necessity of a better education, and he studied hard; but being in advance of the district schools he had to use whatever means he could command in this work.
At the age of twenty, with several others, he was converted under Elder Russell Wells to the Sabbath views, and at twenty-four he was baptized and united with the Seventh-day Baptist Church at Adams, N. Y. At twenty-five he was ordained and received a call from the church at Truxton, Cortland county, N. Y. After this he labored as a missionary in Western New York, Western Pennsylvania, and Western Virginia.
After he completed his missionary tour in 1833 he received a call to preach at DeRuyter, N. Y., and a request to solicit funds for a church and a school. He obtained both, and it was through his untiring efforts that the DeRuyter Institute was established. In 1841 he began his pastorate in this church, which at that time consisted of only fifty members. When the head of a family, now belonging to this church, was asked to join it, he refused, saying, "The church cannot survive over two or three years at the longest, and the members will then be glad to go back to the mother church."
Mr. Campbell was pastor here six years, and then returned to DeRuyter, and preached for the Truxton Church, where he began his ministry, at the same time preaching for the Lincklaen Church, a short distance from there. He had other pastorates afterwards, but he considered his strength to consist in evangelical work, and there was scarcely any length of time during his ministerial life when he was not engaged in some revival effort.
He was an earnest, devoted Christian, very spiritually minded, simple and loving as a child, yet commanding and dignified in appearance. At the age of eighty he is described as preaching "with a holy earnestness in his actions and words that drew the attention of everyone. He spoke with great simplicity that pleased and then convinced. He showed such tenderness and sympathy that he touched every listener."
He died at the advanced age of eighty-seven, in Wolcott, N. Y., in the early part of the winter of 1888.
transcribed by Jon Saunders
The Sabbath Recorder November 15, 1888 page 5:
Elder Alexander Campbell.
Rev. Alexander Campbell died at his residence, in Wolcott, Wayne Co., N. Y., Oct. 31, 1888, in the eighty-eighth year of his age.
The deceased was born in Plainfield, Otsego Co., N. Y., May 15, 1801. He was the eldest of seven children, three sons and four daughters, of Jabez and Adah Brewer Campbell, of Scottish descent. When about six years of age, his parents moved to Jefferson county, N. Y. Here he was hopefully converted at a tender age, and in his fifteenth year joined the Presbyterian Church, his parents being of that faith and order. September 26, 1822, he was married to Clarinda McKee. At about twenty four years of age he united with the Seventh day Baptist denomination, in which connection he remained until his death. At the age of twenty-five he was ordained to the gospel ministry; to which profession his long and useful life has been devoted. His labors have been varied and abundant; as home missionary, as pastor; as evangelist and revival preacher; as a presiding officer in the Benevolent Board of the denomination to which he belonged; as the principal agent in the founding of DeRuyter Institute, DeRuyter, N. Y.; as an author; and as an able contributor to the religious press, and in many other ways. Thus his influence for good has long been felt, and that, too, far beyond his own denominational lines. He was a mand of catholic spirit; he loved everybody, and everybody seemed to love him. He was a preacher of remarkable unction and power, as tens of thousands will witness who have been under his ministry, thousands of whom have been hopefully converted, and great will be the company, we believe, of those who will rise up and call him blessed. He was a Holy Ghost preacher, and his labors were divinely blessed. In address, he was solemn and impressive, but he was far from austerity in spirit. He was loving and tender; he was kind and affectionate. He will be greatly missed; but one can miss him as those who knew him best, the members of his beloved and now bereaved family, to whom the sympathy of the denomination will be generously extended.
The deceased leaves a widow and four children, three sons and a daughter; viz: George A. Campbell, of Norfolk, Va., and Jesse M. Campbell, William P. Campbell, and Frankie C. , wife of Delos C. Whitford, of Wolcott, N. Y.
Of the brothers and sisters of the deceased, one sister survives, Mrs. Adeline Burdick, widow of Rev. Russel G. Burdick, of Utica, Wis., parents of Rev. George W. Burdick, and of Rev. Clayton A. Burdick. One of the sisters of the deceased, Mrs. Clarissa Burdick, widow of Mr. Willet S. Burdick, died just a week before her brother Alexander died; these the parents of Rev. Charles A. Burdick, and of Rev. Frank O. Burdick.
The funeral services of Elder Campbell were attended on First-day, Nov. 4th, at the Presbyterian church of Wolcott. The clergy of the place attended in a body. A large concourse of people viewed the remains. Rev. F. O. Burdick, of Scott, N. Y., a nephew of the deceased, was present. The subject of the discourse chosen for the occasion was: The Life of the Christian, and especially of the Christian minister, as that life appears in the prospect of death; based on the words of Paul to Timothy (2 Tim. 4: 6-8), “I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand,” etc. The body was buried in the cemetery grounds at Wolcott.
“Peaceful be thy silent slumber
Peaceful in the grave so low,
Thou no more wilt join our number,
Thou no more our songs shall know.
Yet, again, we hope to meet thee,
When the day of life is fled,
Then, in heaven, with joy to greet thee,
Where no farewell tear is shed.”
[author unknown]
______________________________________________________
Wolcott.
The death of Elder Alexander Campbell on the 31st ult. at his home in Wolcott, Wayne Co., N. Y., was the occasion of a visit to that place by the writer of this. Wolcott is a thriving village on the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad, and about twenty five miles west of Oswego, and forty or more east of Rochester. This is one of the places where our gospel tent meetings here held in 1882. There are three Sabbath keeping families here. Having a son and a son-in law in business in Wolcott, Elder Campbell moved to this place a few years since, bought him a pleasant home, and has here resided ever since. He too held many meetings in his own house, and preached the Word to those who came in to hear. Though isolated, Elder Campbell did not withdraw his interest in our denomination and work; nor did he by reason of age lose his interest in the living questions of the day. A short time before his death he contributed to the press a number of able and well written articles on the issues involved in the late political campaign. Elder Campbell was next to the oldest of our ministers, and was active and vigorous for one of his years. An aggravation of an old trouble (hernia) hastened his death. He was ill, but eight days, and suffered intensely during the time.
When the telegram came from friends concerning Elder Campbell’s death and inviting me to preach his funeral sermon, I could but respond that I would come. It was in one of Elder Campbell’s revival meetings in my father’s church at Waterford, Conn., that I was hopefully converted. It was this servant of the Lord that led me into the baptismal waters; thus he was a spiritual father to me, and he has ever manifested a deep interest in me and in my work. I have loved him dearly, and been deeply interested in his ministrations. I remembered, too, our gospel-tent work days in Wolcott when Elder Campbell was present and aided; and then, too, I witnessed the faith and divine obedience of the Sabbath keepers there, and their isolated condition called for consideration and sympathy.
Elder Campbell will be remembered by many most lovingly as a faithful minister of the Word. As we witness the departure of these venerable servants of God-and how few of his generation remain- we may well ask, Upon whom are their mantels to fall? Elder Campbell leaves a widow and four children, three of whom are living in Wolcott. Sister Campbell is in feeble health, and will greatly miss her companion with whom she has shared the cares and responsibilities of life, often accompanying him on his missionary tours. She will be kindly and tenderly remembered by our little Zion. L. C. Rogers
Alfred Centre, November, 1888.
"The Sabbath Recorder", Vol 46, No 24, p 374, June 12, 1890.
By Miss Martha B. Saunders
I have been requested to write a brief notice of the lives of the four clergymen who have been pastor of this church, but who are not living at the present time. The first is Alexander Campbell, who was born May 15, 1801, in Plainfield, Otsego county, N. Y. He was of Scotch descent, and his parents were Presbyterians; and when he was about six years old they moved from the farm on which he was born to Henderson, Jefferson county, N. Y., where he was converted. But it was not until his fifteenth year that he made a public profession of faith, and united with the Presbyterian Church at North Adams, N. Y.
Mr. Campbell was a Baptist in belief, and it was only after repeated efforts of the pastor and others to obtain his consent to be sprinkled, and united with the Presbyterian Church. In his seventeenth year he began to feel the necessity of a better education, and he studied hard; but being in advance of the district schools he had to use whatever means he could command in this work.
At the age of twenty, with several others, he was converted under Elder Russell Wells to the Sabbath views, and at twenty-four he was baptized and united with the Seventh-day Baptist Church at Adams, N. Y. At twenty-five he was ordained and received a call from the church at Truxton, Cortland county, N. Y. After this he labored as a missionary in Western New York, Western Pennsylvania, and Western Virginia.
After he completed his missionary tour in 1833 he received a call to preach at DeRuyter, N. Y., and a request to solicit funds for a church and a school. He obtained both, and it was through his untiring efforts that the DeRuyter Institute was established. In 1841 he began his pastorate in this church, which at that time consisted of only fifty members. When the head of a family, now belonging to this church, was asked to join it, he refused, saying, "The church cannot survive over two or three years at the longest, and the members will then be glad to go back to the mother church."
Mr. Campbell was pastor here six years, and then returned to DeRuyter, and preached for the Truxton Church, where he began his ministry, at the same time preaching for the Lincklaen Church, a short distance from there. He had other pastorates afterwards, but he considered his strength to consist in evangelical work, and there was scarcely any length of time during his ministerial life when he was not engaged in some revival effort.
He was an earnest, devoted Christian, very spiritually minded, simple and loving as a child, yet commanding and dignified in appearance. At the age of eighty he is described as preaching "with a holy earnestness in his actions and words that drew the attention of everyone. He spoke with great simplicity that pleased and then convinced. He showed such tenderness and sympathy that he touched every listener."
He died at the advanced age of eighty-seven, in Wolcott, N. Y., in the early part of the winter of 1888.
transcribed by Jon Saunders
Elder Alexander Campbell.
Rev. Alexander Campbell died at his residence, in Wolcott, Wayne Co., N. Y., Oct. 31, 1888, in the eighty-eighth year of his age.
The deceased was born in Plainfield, Otsego Co., N. Y., May 15, 1801. He was the eldest of seven children, three sons and four daughters, of Jabez and Adah Brewer Campbell, of Scottish descent. When about six years of age, his parents moved to Jefferson county, N. Y. Here he was hopefully converted at a tender age, and in his fifteenth year joined the Presbyterian Church, his parents being of that faith and order. September 26, 1822, he was married to Clarinda McKee. At about twenty four years of age he united with the Seventh day Baptist denomination, in which connection he remained until his death. At the age of twenty-five he was ordained to the gospel ministry; to which profession his long and useful life has been devoted. His labors have been varied and abundant; as home missionary, as pastor; as evangelist and revival preacher; as a presiding officer in the Benevolent Board of the denomination to which he belonged; as the principal agent in the founding of DeRuyter Institute, DeRuyter, N. Y.; as an author; and as an able contributor to the religious press, and in many other ways. Thus his influence for good has long been felt, and that, too, far beyond his own denominational lines. He was a mand of catholic spirit; he loved everybody, and everybody seemed to love him. He was a preacher of remarkable unction and power, as tens of thousands will witness who have been under his ministry, thousands of whom have been hopefully converted, and great will be the company, we believe, of those who will rise up and call him blessed. He was a Holy Ghost preacher, and his labors were divinely blessed. In address, he was solemn and impressive, but he was far from austerity in spirit. He was loving and tender; he was kind and affectionate. He will be greatly missed; but one can miss him as those who knew him best, the members of his beloved and now bereaved family, to whom the sympathy of the denomination will be generously extended.
The deceased leaves a widow and four children, three sons and a daughter; viz: George A. Campbell, of Norfolk, Va., and Jesse M. Campbell, William P. Campbell, and Frankie C. , wife of Delos C. Whitford, of Wolcott, N. Y.
Of the brothers and sisters of the deceased, one sister survives, Mrs. Adeline Burdick, widow of Rev. Russel G. Burdick, of Utica, Wis., parents of Rev. George W. Burdick, and of Rev. Clayton A. Burdick. One of the sisters of the deceased, Mrs. Clarissa Burdick, widow of Mr. Willet S. Burdick, died just a week before her brother Alexander died; these the parents of Rev. Charles A. Burdick, and of Rev. Frank O. Burdick.
The funeral services of Elder Campbell were attended on First-day, Nov. 4th, at the Presbyterian church of Wolcott. The clergy of the place attended in a body. A large concourse of people viewed the remains. Rev. F. O. Burdick, of Scott, N. Y., a nephew of the deceased, was present. The subject of the discourse chosen for the occasion was: The Life of the Christian, and especially of the Christian minister, as that life appears in the prospect of death; based on the words of Paul to Timothy (2 Tim. 4: 6-8), “I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand,” etc. The body was buried in the cemetery grounds at Wolcott.
“Peaceful be thy silent slumber
Peaceful in the grave so low,
Thou no more wilt join our number,
Thou no more our songs shall know.
Yet, again, we hope to meet thee,
When the day of life is fled,
Then, in heaven, with joy to greet thee,
Where no farewell tear is shed.”
[author unknown]
______________________________________________________
Wolcott.
The death of Elder Alexander Campbell on the 31st ult. at his home in Wolcott, Wayne Co., N. Y., was the occasion of a visit to that place by the writer of this. Wolcott is a thriving village on the Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railroad, and about twenty five miles west of Oswego, and forty or more east of Rochester. This is one of the places where our gospel tent meetings here held in 1882. There are three Sabbath keeping families here. Having a son and a son-in law in business in Wolcott, Elder Campbell moved to this place a few years since, bought him a pleasant home, and has here resided ever since. He too held many meetings in his own house, and preached the Word to those who came in to hear. Though isolated, Elder Campbell did not withdraw his interest in our denomination and work; nor did he by reason of age lose his interest in the living questions of the day. A short time before his death he contributed to the press a number of able and well written articles on the issues involved in the late political campaign. Elder Campbell was next to the oldest of our ministers, and was active and vigorous for one of his years. An aggravation of an old trouble (hernia) hastened his death. He was ill, but eight days, and suffered intensely during the time.
When the telegram came from friends concerning Elder Campbell’s death and inviting me to preach his funeral sermon, I could but respond that I would come. It was in one of Elder Campbell’s revival meetings in my father’s church at Waterford, Conn., that I was hopefully converted. It was this servant of the Lord that led me into the baptismal waters; thus he was a spiritual father to me, and he has ever manifested a deep interest in me and in my work. I have loved him dearly, and been deeply interested in his ministrations. I remembered, too, our gospel-tent work days in Wolcott when Elder Campbell was present and aided; and then, too, I witnessed the faith and divine obedience of the Sabbath keepers there, and their isolated condition called for consideration and sympathy.
Elder Campbell will be remembered by many most lovingly as a faithful minister of the Word. As we witness the departure of these venerable servants of God-and how few of his generation remain- we may well ask, Upon whom are their mantels to fall? Elder Campbell leaves a widow and four children, three of whom are living in Wolcott. Sister Campbell is in feeble health, and will greatly miss her companion with whom she has shared the cares and responsibilities of life, often accompanying him on his missionary tours. She will be kindly and tenderly remembered by our little Zion. L. C. Rogers
Alfred Centre, November, 1888.
"The Sabbath Recorder", Vol 46, No 24, p 374, June 12, 1890.
By Miss Martha B. Saunders
I have been requested to write a brief notice of the lives of the four clergymen who have been pastor of this church, but who are not living at the present time. The first is Alexander Campbell, who was born May 15, 1801, in Plainfield, Otsego county, N. Y. He was of Scotch descent, and his parents were Presbyterians; and when he was about six years old they moved from the farm on which he was born to Henderson, Jefferson county, N. Y., where he was converted. But it was not until his fifteenth year that he made a public profession of faith, and united with the Presbyterian Church at North Adams, N. Y.
Mr. Campbell was a Baptist in belief, and it was only after repeated efforts of the pastor and others to obtain his consent to be sprinkled, and united with the Presbyterian Church. In his seventeenth year he began to feel the necessity of a better education, and he studied hard; but being in advance of the district schools he had to use whatever means he could command in this work.
At the age of twenty, with several others, he was converted under Elder Russell Wells to the Sabbath views, and at twenty-four he was baptized and united with the Seventh-day Baptist Church at Adams, N. Y. At twenty-five he was ordained and received a call from the church at Truxton, Cortland county, N. Y. After this he labored as a missionary in Western New York, Western Pennsylvania, and Western Virginia.
After he completed his missionary tour in 1833 he received a call to preach at DeRuyter, N. Y., and a request to solicit funds for a church and a school. He obtained both, and it was through his untiring efforts that the DeRuyter Institute was established. In 1841 he began his pastorate in this church, which at that time consisted of only fifty members. When the head of a family, now belonging to this church, was asked to join it, he refused, saying, "The church cannot survive over two or three years at the longest, and the members will then be glad to go back to the mother church."
Mr. Campbell was pastor here six years, and then returned to DeRuyter, and preached for the Truxton Church, where he began his ministry, at the same time preaching for the Lincklaen Church, a short distance from there. He had other pastorates afterwards, but he considered his strength to consist in evangelical work, and there was scarcely any length of time during his ministerial life when he was not engaged in some revival effort.
He was an earnest, devoted Christian, very spiritually minded, simple and loving as a child, yet commanding and dignified in appearance. At the age of eighty he is described as preaching "with a holy earnestness in his actions and words that drew the attention of everyone. He spoke with great simplicity that pleased and then convinced. He showed such tenderness and sympathy that he touched every listener."
He died at the advanced age of eighty-seven, in Wolcott, N. Y., in the early part of the winter of 1888.
transcribed by Jon Saunders
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87 yrs.
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