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| The Panolopist, June 1807 |
This obituary was found in The Panoplist, and
Missionary Magazine United, Volume 2, No. 2, pages 151 - 152, August 1809
"OBITUARY
Mrs. Catharine Emerson, late wife
of Mr. John Emerson of Hancock, N. H. was born A. D. 1743. She was the youngest daughter of Mr. Noah
Eaton of Reading, Massachusetts, and enjoyed the advantages of a religious
education. Under the faithful preaching
of the Rev. Mr. Hobby, her mind early became subject to religious impressions.
She
was admitted a member of the first church of Christ in Reading September 24,
1769.
Her
subsequent life evinced the sincerity of her profession: that she was a
christian, not in name only but in truth. That divine charity, which Paul describes as
the essence of true religion, was the principle that habitually governed her
conduct. Though possessed of superior
judgment and lively sensibilities, they were so far under the influence of
grace, which reigned in her soul, that even the profligate and profane were
constrained to acknowledge the excellency and power of true religion. The gentleness of her temper, the meekness of
her mind, the cheerful sobriety of her deportment, the correctness of her
sentiments, the piety of her conversation, her devout attendance on the
institutions of the gospel, and unwearied exertions to do good, proved her a
follower of Jesus Christ, and gain her the esteem and applause of every person,
who enjoyed her acquaintance.
In
the education of her children, she exhibited equal wisdom and assiduity.
Recognizing her covenant engagements, when she gave up her children in the
sacred ordinance of baptism, she was faithful to that covenant by
"training them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." She was a mother, who not only gave her
children the best counsel and examples, but carried them on her heart to the
throne of grace: and, in answer to her prayers and labors, the bessing of
Abraham descended upon them. Of nine
children, who were spared to adult age, eight of whom survive; she had the
satisfaction, several years before her death, to see five come forward and
publicly profess their faith in that divine Redeemer, whom she had long
embraced as her only portion.
In
no situation is a pious female more amiable, useful, or respectable, than in
rearing a numerous family in the principles of true religion, and guiding them
in the paths of virtue. Mrs. E. did not
deem it a service too arduous, or an office too low, to take the religious part
of her children's education into her own hands.
Too well she loved them; too much she regarded the welfare of their
souls, to neglect a concern of such infinite moment. While she possessed their love, respect and
obedience to an unusual degree, she was no less happy in keeping their
consciences awake to an abhorrence of sin in every form, and to regard to every
branch of religion, by affectionately instilling into their minds the most
important truths in a manner adapted to their capacities. A suitable proportion of every Sabbath day
was devoted to this object. That day she
taught her children by precept, and by the devout manner in which she spent it
herself, to reverence as a holy sabbath to the Lord. The manner in which she taught them the
Assembly's Catechism and explained the Scriptures, was peculiarly tender and
engaging, and the salutory effects produced, proved that the high estimation in
which she held the practice was judiciously placed. After closing the business of the day,
instead of permitting her children to go into vain or dissolute company, she
would often call them round her and spend the evening in conversing with them
on the great things of religion and particularly on the various dangers and
duties peculiar to their age. Noble exemption
from prevailing practice! In
administering correction, she pursued a practice worthy of imitation. She first retired into her closet to examine
the state of her mind, and then prefaced the punishment with some calm,
affectionate observations on the guilt of disobedience, especially as an
offence against God.
Mrs.
E. had, several times, been reduced to the brink of the grave, and more than
once had taken an affecting leave of her family and friends, in expectation of
a speedy departure. In that situation, a
situation which tries the hopes of men, she manifested the utmost calmness and
confidence in God, and patiently waited the expected summons. Her last
lingering illness she bore with christian fortitude and submission. That grace which sanctified her heart and
life, softened her dying pillow. In the
calm triumphs of faith, she yielded her spirit into the arms of that Savior whom
she had often recommended to others, and entered into her rest on the 21st of
December, 1808, in the 65 year of her age."
[The Panoplist was a religious
monthly magazine printed from 1805 - 1820 in Boston by Jedediah Morse, and
edited by Jeremiah Evarts. You can find
an archive of this magazine at the website for the Congregational Library in
Boston, at this link
http://www.congregationallibrary.org/resources/digital/panoplist with links to
the archived copies at Internet Archive and Google Book Search]
Katherine Eaton Emerson (1744 – 1809) is my 5th
great grandmother. It is difficult to
learn any personal information on my ancestresses before about 1900. They often don’t have obituaries, and if they
do they only mention them as wives and mothers.
This is a very early example of a rare personal obituary of a
woman. In reading through this several
times, I still don’t learn a lot of personal information about Katherine. It is very laudatory and wordy, but basically
it states that she was a very pious woman who raised five children to accept
Christ. Considering that it was published
in a religious magazine, this is more than I can hope to find on her life. It doesn’t state who wrote the obituary, but
then again, most obituaries are anonymous. It doesn’t state that three of her
sons became Congregational ministers.
Her husband, John Emerson, died the same year, on 14
November 1809. Perhaps he was the
author? He came from a long line of
ministers and deacons, and his great grandfather was the Reverend Joseph Emerson
of Concord, Massachusetts, who married Elizabeth Bulkely, the daughter of the
famous Reverend Edward Bulkely one of the first ministers in Concord.
Katherine and John had eleven children, as stated in
the obituary. Their son Noah (1775 –
1777) died young, as well as a daughter Phebe (1780 – 1795). Among the surviving children were two
daughters and seven sons. Three of the sons became ministers:
1. Reuben
Emerson (1771 – 1860) graduated Dartmouth College in 1798 and was ordained in
Westminster, Vermont. He was pastor of the Congregational Church of South
Reading, now Wakefield, Massachusetts from 1804 until his death in 1860.
2. Brown
Emerson (1778 – 1872) graduated Dartmouth College in 1802, and received a DD
from Dartmouth in 1835. He was ordained
on 14 April 1805 as assistant minister to the Old South Church in Salem,
Massachusetts where he stayed until his death 67 years later.
3. Noah
Emerson (1787 – 1860) graduated from
Middlebury College, studied at the Andover Theological Seminary from 1814 –
1817 and was a missionary in Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts and Georgia. He was the Pastor of the Congregational
Church in Baldwin Maine in 1825 and stayed there for 25 years.
Among the other sons, the eldest, John Emerson (1765
– 1835) became a wealthy farmer in Reading Vermont. He died when a barn fell on him during a
hurricane, and he left one thousand dollars for the Vermont Missionary Society. Hiram (1767 – 1849) became a mason; Jacob (1773
– 1839) became a farmer in Keene, Ohio; and then there was Romanus (1782 –
1852).
What about Romanus?
Well, out of a family of deacons and ministers, there were several who
studied for the ministry and didn’t quite make it. His cousin Ralph Waldo Emerson was a minister
briefly before having a revelation and a change of heart to become a
philosopher and author. Romanus studied
for the ministry, too, but according to several compiled genealogies he had a
speech impediment which made preaching impossible so he tried teaching. I guess this was impossible, too, so he came
to South Boston and watched his farm become the center of a large, growing
city. Those compiled genealogies didn’t
mention one other important thing about Romanus.
Sometime after his mother’s death he became a
progressive, and must have followed in his cousin RWE’s footsteps in
questioning the status quo. Only one
book mentions “He was especially peculiar in his views of religion. Toward the end of his life he renounced all
religious opinions whatever, deliberatively holding to his speculative belief.”
[History
of South Boston (It’s Past and Present) and Prospects for the Future with
Sketches of Prominent Men by John J. Toomey and Edward P. B. Rankin,
Boston, Massachusetts: 1901, pages 224 – 225]
Romanus Emerson, Katherine’s 9th child,
was a self-proclaimed infidel. He was the head of a large society of Boston
infidels, otherwise known as atheists.
In Puritan Boston between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, this
was a very peculiar thing to be, as well causing legal problems. Since this is a blog post about Katherine’s
obituary, I won’t go into details here, but I’ll post links below to stories
about Romanus Emerson you can read later.
Suffice it to say, I’m glad Katherine pre-deceased
her son, because if she knew she would be rolling over in her grave.
And so would the author of the obituary!
-------------------------------
Here are some links to blog posts about Romanus
Emerson, the infidel:
The “Odd” Romanus Emerson
Romanus Emerson died an Infidel, 1852
Romanus Emerson, buried in a Christian Cemetery,
whether he liked it or not!
Romanus Emerson, In His Own Words
Romanus Emerson- Part 5- A few words from the
Infidels
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The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/12/amanuensis-monday-obituary-of-katherine.html
Copyright © 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
