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Bank of Wisdom, Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
A Biographical Appreciation of
ROBERT G. INGERSOLL
by Herman E. Kittredge
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INGERSOLL
A
BIOGRAPHICAL APPRECIATION
by
HERMAN E. KITTREDGE
1911
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CHAPTER 1.
FROM EIGHTEEN THIRTY-THREE TO
EIGHTEEN FORTY.
England has her Stratford, Scotland has her Alloway, and
America, too, has her Dresden. For there, on August 11, 1833, was
born the greatest and noblest of the Western World; an immense
personality, -- unique, lovable, sublime; the peerless orator of
all time, and as true a poet as Nature ever held in tender clasp
upon her loving breast, and, in words coined for the chosen few,
told of the joys and sorrows, hopes, dreams, and fears of universal
life; a patriot whose golden words and deathless deeds were worthy
of the Great Republic; a philanthropist, real and genuine; a
philosopher whose central theme was human love, -- who placed "the
holy hearth of home" higher than the altar of any god; an
iconoclast, a builder -- a reformer, perfectly poised, absolutely
honest, and as fearless as truth itself -- the most aggressive and
formidable foe of superstition -- the most valiant champion of
reason -- Robert G. Ingersoll.
Dresden, Torrey Township, Yates County, N.Y., lies a tranquil
village on the western shore of Seneca Lake. Passing over its
history, which would take us back to the stirring days of redskin
and Tory, -- to "old, unhappy far-off things, and battles long
ago," -- we may note that it is a hamlet typical of the hundreds
which have gradually arisen from the modest wants and necessities
of rural New York and New England.
In this handful of buildings with a classic name, there is
little to recall the splendor of the Saxon city. No palace "of rare
and nameless marble" tells of imperial grandeur; and in no church
or gallery has any master left his wealth of art. Its finest street
would never remind one of the Schloss or the Prager; and through
its midst no Elbe flows dreamful of the sea. Indeed, there is
nothing, either within or around, which would lead one oblivious of
its name to associate the Dresden of the American lake with the
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INGERSOLL, A BIOGRAPHICAL APPRECIATION
Dresden of the German river, nor to suspect that it was entitled to
a special place in the memory of mankind -- nothing in its
embellishments, its environment, its quiet atmosphere, to suggest
the origin of him whose unheralded coming was destined to transform
a humble hamlet into a shrine for many millions of the human race.
As at Stratford there is nothing outward to indicate the source of
that "intellectual ocean whose waves touched all the shores of
thought"; as at Alloway no muse or goddess stands ready to tell why
the world will forever keep green with its tears "the banks and
braes o' bonnie Duon"; as in the "woods of Kentucky" no century --
storied rock reveals the secret of him who broke the shackles of a
race and preserved the sublime unity of a nation: so at Dresden, --
that veriest misnomer, -- there is naught to account for him who
possessed at once the language of Shakespeare, the tenderness of
Burns, the justice and wisdom of Lincoln -- the genius, the
goodness, the heroism, to strike the mental manacles from millions
of his fellows and create an epoch in intellectual progress.
2.
Ingersoll himself has said, that "great men have been
belittled by biography." He might have added, that great
biographies have been belittled by genealogy. Why? Because, in the
present state of knowledge, the utmost possibility of genealogy,
namely, the establishment of heredity, is irrelevant in biography,
the story of a life. Primarily, biography deals with the what and
the how. The why, that is, the inherent causes of the phenomena
produced, -- the secret of genius, -- belongs in the province of
natural science, -- of anatomy, physiology, and histology, -- of
pathology, physiological chemistry, and psychology.
By proving that a man resembled his mother, what do we
accomplish? We prove that she resembled him. We merely add to the
evidence for heredity. If we are to demonstrate the real origin, --
the ultimate cause, -- of his genius, we must next show why she was
as she was. It will not do to say that he was metaphysical because
she was Scotch, nor that he was witty because she was Irish. Maybe
the Scotch are sometimes witty. So the question still is, Why was
she metaphysical? or Why was she witty? And until we are able to
answer such questions, our dealings with genealogy cannot rise in
importance and dignity above mere curiosity.
Why is it, that, while a vast majority of mankind merely
vegetate, -- manifest only so much mental power as is requisite to
provide for the gratification of their physical appetites, -- there
occurs, once in a few hundred years, such a combination of the
elements as to produce a Shakespeare, a Burns, a Lincoln, or an
Ingersoll? We do not know; and if we could demonstrate that the
ancestors of such men are invariably great, we should still be in
darkness. In the undiscovered vaults of being, nature has locked
the secret of genius, and into the Styx of human ignorance has she
cast the key.
Beyond the fact that the brain is the exclusive organ of mind,
we can scarcely go with certain step. Of the exact origin of
thought, or even of consciousness, we have no knowledge. All that
we positively know, can be told in few words. We know that the
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INGERSOLL, A BIOGRAPHICAL APPRECIATION
brain of the average adult male (Caucasian) weighs about forty-nine
and one-half ounces; that, usually, a brain weighing from twenty-
three to thirty-four ounces belongs to a very inferior person; that
a brain weighing less than twenty-three ounces belongs to an idiot;
and that, usually, a brain weighing sixty-five ounces or more
belongs either to a very wise man or to a fool. Perhaps we may be
somewhat more definite and say, that, between the two extremes of
normality (thirty-four ounces and sixty-five ounces), the
manifestations of a brain depend upon its form, the number and the
depth of its convolutions and sulci, and, probably above all, upon
its chemical composition. But the physicochemical constitution that
is essential to any particular form or degree of genius, or,
indeed, to mediocrity, is unknown.
There is cause to believe, that an exact knowledge of the
latter will some day be acquired and if reduced to intelligible
terms. Then, may genealogy reasonably occupy a conspicuous place in
biography. Meantime, it seems that, in telling the story of a life,
we should concern ourselves chiefly with what the subject did, and
how he did it.
Ingersoll himself clearly recognized the present futility of
attempting to account for genius with a tedious list of ancestral
names. Without denying that genius is the necessary and inevitable
fruit of the ancestral tree, he saw that the fruit was, to say the
least, no more mysterious than the tree itself; and he felt the
uselessness of trying" to account for one mystery by another." This
explains his indifference to genealogy when he said, that he knew
as much of his ancestors as they did of him; and it is in harmony
with the following extracts from his lecture on Shakespeare: --
"It has been said that a man of genius should select his
ancestors with great care -- and yet there does not seem to be as
much in heredity as most people think. The children of the great
are often small. Pygmies are born in palaces, while over the
children of genius is the roof of straw. Most of the great are like
mountains, with the valley of ancestors on one side and the
depression of poverty on the other."
We account for this man as we do for the highest mountain, the
greatest river, the most perfect gem. We can only say: He was."
3.
But while the several reasons indicated in these quotations
and the paragraph preceding them must be accepted as the basis of
his belief in the futility of endeavoring, in the traditional way,
to discover the secret of genius in general, and of that of
Shakespeare in particular, they afford no explanation of his lack
of interest in a personal biography, nor of his decided aversion to
autobiography. We must look further for an explanation of the
regrettable fact, that, after one of the most eventful and
important lives of the nineteenth century was "rounded with a
sleep," the world was not vouchsafed the privilege of perusing,
with the additional pleasure born of the assurance of perfect
intimacy, candor, and authenticity, the most instructive and
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INGERSOLL, A BIOGRAPHICAL APPRECIATION
inspiring of stories. But such explanation is by no means hard to
find. Indeed, it is instantly apparent to all who are familiar with
the personality of Ingersoll. It stands out, with a clearness that
almost transcends modesty itself, in that inherent modesty of true
greatness which was his, and in a serene, abiding content to be
known through his works alone. We need no stronger proof of this
than is contained in his invariable oral reply, "No biography," to
writers, who frequently besout him for personal data, and in a
private letter answering a communication in which the present
author had inclosed, for authorization, the manuscript of an
article of a biographical and complimentary nature. Aside from the
contents of the letter itself, from which I quote, its date, August
19, 1898, clearly indicates how great was its writer's indifference
to biography and contemporary praise; the author's communication,
written in the early spring, evidently not having awakened
sufficient interest to prevent its being mislaid for some three
months: --
"Do not trouble yourself about this business. It will all come
out right at last. Of course, I am greatly obliged to you. At the
same time, I know how far I fall short."
And an examination of his posthumous " Fragments" shows that
he had already written (ten years previously) the following lines:
--
"I have never given to any one a sketch of my life. According
to my idea a life should not be written until it has been lived."
4.
As perhaps a majority of geniuses belonging to families of
more than two children were either the oldest or the youngest of
those families, it may or may not be interesting to note that
Robert G. Ingersoll was the youngest of five, -- two sisters and
three brothers; but it certainly is interesting, and amusing as
well, that fate, with wonted irony, should decree that his father
was to be an orthodox preacher, and that a part of his own name was
to be borrowed from another preacher, -- Rev. Beriah Green.
Rev. John Ingersoll, upon whom destiny bestowed by far the
greater of these honors, -- the greatest that was ever bestowed
upon a clergyman, -- was born at Pittsford, Rutland County, Vt., on
July 5, 1792, his parents being Ebenezer and Margaret (Whitcomb)
Ingersoll, both of English descent. He graduated from Middlebury
College (then and still non-denominational), Middlebury, Vt., with
the degree of bachelor of arts, in 1821. On September 25th of that
year, at Ogdensburg, N.Y., he married Miss Mary Livingston. Having
studied theology with Rev. Josiah Hopkins, D.D., New Haven, Vt., he
was ordained a Congregational preacher, in 1823, and was pastor of
the Congregational Church at Pittsford from that year until 1826.
In addition to the education and culture ordinarily implied by
the regular collegiate and the private theological studies above
indicated, Rev. John Ingersoll possessed superior native
endowments, and was most proficient in Hebrew, and in the Greek and
the Latin classics. Moreover, he was an extensive reader, -- withal
a man of wide and profound learning.
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INGERSOLL, A BIOGRAPHICAL APPRECIATION
However, that he was, in the beginning of his ministerial
career, as absolutely orthodox, in spite of all his learning, as
Jonathan Edwards, for example, had been in spite of his, is
certain. That he was intellectually hospitable in his later years
is equally certain. "He was grand enough," writes Robert, "to say
to me, that I had the same right to my opinion that he had to his.
He was great enough to tell me to read the Bible for myself, to be
honest with myself, and if after reading it I concluded it was not
the word of God, that it was my duty to say so." (v 148) We have
another statement by Robert, that, for many years, he and his
father were wont to discuss with each other the questions in which
both were so profoundly interested, and that, "long before" the
father's death, the latter utterly gave up," as unworthy of a place
in the mind of an intelligent man, the infamous dogma of eternal
fire; that he regarded with abhorrence many passages in the Old
Testament; that he believed man, in another world, would have the
eternal opportunity of doing right, and that the pity of God would
last as long as the suffering of man." (v 149). Even more
significant is the fact that, on his death-bed, the father
requested Robert to read to him, not the Hebrew nor the Christian
Scriptures, but pagan Plato on immortality.
It has been widely stated, and perhaps as widely believed,
that Rev. Mr. Ingersoll was harsh and tyrannical, particularly in
his domestic relations, and that it was this circumstance which
caused his gifted son to rebel against the faith. On this point, I
quote, as far as pertinent, a letter from Robert to a friend: --
"The story that the inkindness of my father drove me into
infidelity is simply an orthodox lie. The bigots, unable to meet my
arguments. are endeavoring to dig open the grave and calumniate the
dead. This they are willing to do in defence of their infamous
dogmas. * * * My father was a kind and living man. He loved his
children tenderly and intensely. There was no sacrifice he would
not and did not gladly make for them. He had one misfortune, and
that was his religion. He believed the Bible, and in the shadow of
that frightful book he passed his life. He believed in the truth of
its horrors, and for years, thinking of the fate of the human race,
his eyes were filled with tears. * * * My father was infinitely
better than * * * the religion he preached. And those stories about
his unkindness are maliciously untrue. * * *"
And elsewhere:
"He was a good, a brave and honest man. I loved him living,
and I love him dead. I never said to him an unkind word, and in my
heart there never was of him an unkind thought."
However, it is admitted that, with all his excellent
qualities, Rev. Mr. Ingersoll, like so many other parents of his
generation, was unduly exacting; that he adhered too literally to
the biblical injunction concerning rod and child. There is good
evidence that this attitude, doubtless always unjustifiable, was
particularly so in the case of Robert. That the youngster in whom
maturity found a sense of humor and a command of wit and raillery
which would have obliged the Reverend Ingersoll himself to laugh at
the Mosaic cosmology (even while he proclaimed its divinity!), was
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INGERSOLL, A BIOGRAPHICAL APPRECIATION
aglow with life, and given to fun and pranks, there is no doubt.
But there certainly was nothing wanton or perverse in Robert
Ingersoll the boy. There were the same good heart and the same
great candor with which Robert Ingersoll the man appealed, as by
irresistible magic, to the goodness and the candor in others. To
his playmates, the boy was known as "Honest Bob"; and the fitness
of the epithet his father at length came to recognize. Some of the
ever-dutiful (numerous enough in every age and community!) were
wont to inform the clergyman of the doings and sayings of his
iconoclastic son. Confronted with charges,Robert would enter a
demurrer; but the clergyman's faith in his informants was
sufficiently strong, for a time at least, to bring the proverbial
rod into immediate requisition. Afterwards, he would discover that
Robert had told the truth, just as many another clergyman has since
discovered. The effect of these chastisement was anything but good.
With most boys, it might, perhaps, have been at least indifferent.
But the mere thought that an own parent could inflict him with
physical suffering, whether or not, in common parlance, he
"deserved" it, was itself a greater punishment than should have
been imposed upon the uncommonly sensitive and affectionate nature
of Robert Ingersoll. Nevertheless, the clergyman's parental love
(no doubt reciprocated by the rest of his children also) was, as
already shown, returned in generous measure by Robert; and when, on
Sunday May 1, 1859, at Peoria, Rev. Mr. Ingersoll breathed last, at
the home of another son, it was in the arms of the future's "Great
Agnostic."
Robert G. Ingersoll's mother, Mary Livingston Ingersoll, was
burn at Lisbon, St. Lawrence County, N.Y., on November 9, 1799. Her
parents were Judge Robert Livingston and Agnes Oceanica (Adams)
Livingston. The former was of the noted colonial family from which
Livingston Manor, Livingston County, etc., derived their names. To
this family belonged Philip Livingston, who was one of the signers
of the Declaration, and Robert R. Livingston, who was one of the
committee of five appointed to draft that document, and who, as
chancellor of the State of New York, administered the oath to
Washington as the first president of the United States.
If Robert G. Ingersoll resembled any of his ancestors, either
direct or collateral, it was Edward Livingston, the jurist,
statesman, and philanthropist. At any rate, it is interesting to
note, at this late day, the opinion of one who was competent to
pass judgment on such a matter, and who had observed both
Livingston and Ingersoll. John Church Hamilton, the biographer and
historian (a son of Alexander Hamilton), once came upon the
platform, at the conclusion of a lecture by Ingersoll, and, in the
course of the ensuing conversation, assured the latter of the
resemblance just mentioned. At this the orator was by no meat's
displeased, since the ancestor referred to was one (and the only
Livingston) for whom he entertained high admiration. He was always
inclined to believe that it was from her mother, Agnes Oceanica
(Adams) Livingston, that his own mother chiefly derived her noble
qualities.
Be the latter as it may, we are bound to record here, if we
attach anything like normal credence to the many statements
concerning her character and attributes, that Mary Livingston
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INGERSOLL, A BIOGRAPHICAL APPRECIATION
Ingersoll was one of the greatest and most charming of women. For
it is said that her intellect was exalted, that her sympathies were
wide and profound, that her love of liberty was intense. Of the
latter, there is ample evidence in the fact that, shortly before
the birth of Robert, she prepared and circulated, in the state of
New York, a petition to the Federal Congress, praying that slavery
in the District of Columbia be abolished. It is claimed that this
petition was the first of its kind to be prepared in America by a
woman.
We are therefore inclined, after all, to think that fate was
not, as we supposed, the sole arbiter in the decision that the
middle name of the epoch-making babe should begin with "G"; for
Rev. Beriah Green was an "uncompromising abolitionist." But whether
our supposition was correct or not, we do know that fate soon
proved to be as inexorably cruel in this case as she had been
ironical in it, or in any other; for Mary Livingston Ingersoll, at
Cazenovia, Madison County, N. Y., on December 2, 1835, -- scarcely
more than two years after the decision mentioned, -- passed into
the great shadow, not with the proud memories which might have been
hers, but with only a mother's dream of her marvelous child. --
"Nearly forty-eight years ago, under the snow, in the little
town of Cazenovia, my mother was buried. I was but two years old.
I remember her as she looked in death. That sweet, cold face has
kept my heart warm through all the changing years."
5.
After the death of the wife and mother, the life of Rev. Mr.
Ingersoll and family was destined to run, as indeed it had already
run, -- even before the birth of Robert, -- a shifting and
precarious course. For, orthodox though this clergyman was,
especially in his earlier days, -- heartily though he favored
mental slavery, -- he was as strongly opposed to physical slavery
as were even his wife and Rev. Beriah Green; and as he had "the
courage of his convictions," he was continually at odds with the
pro-slavery element of the church. Furthermore, he was, by native
aptitude and acquired reputation, an evangelist. Under those
conditions, it was of course inevitable that his "calls" should be
many and near between.
In endeavoring to trace the resulting career, one is only too
often reminded of the statement of Robert, that 'history, for the
most part, is a detailed account of things that never occurred.'
And one is finally forced to ask: If so little can be positively
ascertained about a Christian clergyman who lived and labored
extensively during the middle decades of the nineteenth century,
and who, moreover, was the father of one of the most widely known
men of that century, how much of the history of individuals and
events antedating by hundreds and thousands of years the invention
of printing, was made by the historians themselves? How much of it
consists, indeed, of "a detailed account of things that never
occurred"? But in the case of Rev. Mr. Ingersoll, there is very
meager "account" of any sort. This, however, is easily explained.
The Congregational denomination, of which he was a minister, had
fewer organizations than the Presbyterian (particularly in rural
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INGERSOLL, A BIOGRAPHICAL APPRECIATION
communities); and, consequently, he was often obliged to accept
"calls," more or less temporary, from Presbyterian churches. The
services incident to suck calls, being performed by one who had not
been regularly "received" into the presbyters concerned, were not
recorded by the latter, nor in the minutes of the annual general
assemblies. If the local churches, or societies, themselves kept
any written records, such records have been, in many cases,
destroyed by fire, mislaid, or otherwise rendered unavailable. The
same is true of the Congregational church. or societies, that he
served, whether permanent as pastor, or temporarily as evangelist.
Despite these difficulties, however, we shall be able, by means of
the following outline, prepared after diligent research and
extensive correspondence, realize how shifting and precarious, as
already hinted, was his career and, consequently, the childhood of
him who, while perpetuating the name, was so totally to eclipse the
abilities, of the father.
From some unknown date in 1831, until the spring of 1833, Rev.
Mr. Ingersoll was pastor of a Congregational church at Hanover,
then in the town of Marshall, now in the town of Deansboro, Oneida
County, N.Y. There, in a house (and room) still pointed out, was
born, on December 12, 1833, his second son, Ebenezer Clark ("Ebon"
or "Clark," as he was familiarly called), who became a Republican
representative in Congress, from Illinois, in 1864, succeeding Owen
Lovejoy, deceased, and being thrice reelected.
From Hanover Rev. Mr. Ingersoll removed to Pompey, in Onondaga
County. Remaining only a month or so, he was called to what is now
Dresden, Torrey Township, Yates County, where, on August 11th, as
already stated, Robert first saw the light. The village was then
known as West Dresden. There the father was pastor of the
Presbyterian Church; also of the Presbyterian Church at Bellona,
both West Dresden and Bellona then being in the same town, Benton.
After a stay of scarcely six months, or about three months
subsequent to Robert's birth, the clergyman again obeyed the
familiar summons. Whence it came cannot be positively stated; but
on the 2d of the following April (1834), he was installed as
associate pastor of the Second Free (Presbyterian) Church, New York
City.
Rev. Charles G. Finney had been the regular pastor since
September 28th (or October 5), 1832, but at the time of Rev. Mr.
Ingersoll's installation, the former was on a voyage to the
Mediterranean, for his health. This church, which was organized on
Tuesday February 14, 1832, with forty-one members, mostly colonists
from the First Free (Presbyterian) Church, had, as its first place
of worship, Broadway Hall, just above Canal Street. It soon leased
and fitted up, for its exclusive use, at a subscribed outlay of
about $10,000, the Chatham Street Theater, which, on April 23,
1832, was dedicated as Chatham Street Chspel ("Chstham Chapel"). It
wss there that Robert G. Ingersoll was baptized, by his father,
probably in 1834. Six years later this Sccond Free (Presbyterian)
Church had evolved into the present Broadway Tabernacle
(Congregational) Church. Rev. Mr. Finney returned from abroad and
resumed his duties late in October, or early in November, 1834; but
Rev. Mr. Ingersoll continued as associate pastor, or co-pastor,
until February 4, 1835, when he resigned.
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INGERSOLL, A BIOGRAPHICAL APPRECIATION
To what place he removed cannot be positively stated; but he
probably went directly to Cazenovia in Madison County, where, in
the year last mentioned, he was pastor of the Congregational Free
Church, and where, on December 2d of the same year, as we have
already seen, the wife and mother died.
It is interesting that the church at Cazenovia, which was
organized about two years previously, by revolting members of the
Presbyterian church, stood especially for a free pew, and for a
free platform to any one who desired to speak on moral questions.
It advocated temperance and the abolition of slavery.
From Cazenovia, in February, 1836, Rev. Mr. Ingersoll was
again called to Oneida County, this time on special evangelistic
service with the Congregational church at Hampton (now
Westmoreland). While a revival was in progress, the regular pastor
withdrew, Rev. Mr. Ingersoll remaining as "stated supply," from
March, 1836, until March, 1838.
In the following year, he was preaching to the Preshyterians
of Belleville, in Jefferson County.
Be had moved again by 1840, being a resident of Oberlin, O. Be
does not seem to have been regulady connected with any church, but
to have preached occasionally in Oberlin and adjacent places.
From Obedin he removed, in 1841, to Ashtabula, succeeding Rev.
Robert H. Conklin as pastur of the Presbyterian Church, and
supplying the pulpit at Saybrook. The house which he occupied in
Ashtabula is still pointed out, at No. 242 Main Street, as one of
the landmarks of the city, it having been for sixty-three years in
the possession of Mr. John P. Robertson and family. Mr. Robertson
was one of the trustees of the church, took part, as such, in
engaging Rev. Mr. Ingersoll, and taught the Sunday-school class,
Robert Ingersoll being among the pupils.
After a residence of about one yesr in Ashtabula, Rev. Mr.
Ingersoll removed to North Madison, to become pastor of what is now
the First Congregational Church, which was founded in 1819, and
which was called the "Bell Church," because it was the first in the
township of Madison to possess a bell. Having served "two years or
more," at a salary of two hundred dollars a year, he transferred
his pulpit elsewhere, probably to Illinois.
In 1851 he went to Greenville, in Bond County, as pastor
("stated supply") of the Congregational Church, remaining about a
year.
From Greenville he removed to Marion, Williamson County,
where, during 1853 aud '54, he was pastor ("stated supply") of the
Presbyterian Church, preaching also at Mouut Vernon and Benton.
In 1855, four years before his death, he was residing at
Belleville, St. Clair County, "without charge."
During his ministerial career, he preached also in Wisconsin,
Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky, and possibly at some other points
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INGERSOLL, A BIOGRAPHICAL APPRECIATION
in Vermont, New York, Ohio, and Illinois; but the itinerary thus
far given is sufficient for the purpose indicated in the beginning
of this section.
6.
Not the least interesting fact concerning the father of Robert
G. Ingersoll was his facial resemblance to one who, in most things,
was doubtless his exact opposite. Call to the mind's eye a
characteristic portrait of Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, extinguish
the spark of humor with the "sinfulness" of joy, weight down the
curves with "foreordination," and you have a close likeness of Rev.
John Ingersoll. That the latter, however, would have consented to
be seen through the features of another, no matter how
distinguished, is quite unthinkable. Indeed, carefully weighing the
preceding personal history and the testimony of relatives, friends,
hosts, and converts who came into close relations with him, we are
able to synthesize a very distinct individuality. That he was an
individuality -- that you would have had to count him as a separate
and sovereign unit in taking a census of the universe -- there is
no doubt. He was always himself -- dignified, reticent, austere.
People, -- young people in particular, -- "looked up" to "Doctor"
Ingersoll. He was regarded as a learned man. Exceedingly pious and
devout, even for a clergyman, he spent an unusual amount of time in
prayer, and insisted on keeping the Sabbath in the strictest
orthodox way. He was very abstemious, following, at least for many
years, the diet of the Grahamites, and always strongly condemming
the use of liquor and tobacco.
He was a zealous and outspoken abolitionist. His experiences
in New York City, iu 1834, when abolition-leaders and clergymen of
anti-slavery sentiment were subjected to mob-violence, did not
dampen his ardor nor bridle his tongue. He would never allow
anything derogatory of the negro to be uttered in his presence.
He was a man with strong convictions, and he spoke them
fearlessly, whether as friend, as citizen, or as pastor.
As a preacher, he was earnest, eloquent, impressive. Many whom
he converted remained so until they heard his son; then they paid
substantially the following tribute to the powers of both: "Your
father gave me religion, and now you have taken it away." Surviving
members of Rev. Mr. Ingersoll's congregations recall his
"restlessness" in the pulpit, or rather, perhaps, around it; for
often, in hermeneutic fervor, he would leave the pulpit, stepping
down in front and pacing alternstely to the right and the left, and
sometimes even walking dowu an aisle. Now and then he would
suddenly pause and "look right at you."
At Hanover (Deansboro), N.Y. he established the reputation of
"an eloquent and masterful preacher, with great personal magnetism,
-- stirring his audience to the depths." One of his converts once
said: "When I went to hear 'Priest Ingersoll' [as he was there
called], I could scarcely take time to eat my dinner. I knew my
soul was in jeopardy, and, fearing lest I lose one moment, I ran
all the way back. He made salvation seem so plain, so easy, I
Bank of Wisdom
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
10
INGERSOLL, A BIOGRAPHICAL APPRECIATION
wanted to take it to my heart without delay." He is also said to
have possessed great physical endurance, sometimes preaching from
morning until nearly sunset, with only a brief intermission.
The records of the Congregational Church at Westmoreland,
N.Y., fortunately afford what probably may be safely accepted as a
view of his average ministerial work and environment. After setting
forth that he came to the church as an evangelist, and that while
his meetings were in progress the regular pastor withdrew, the
records coutinue: --
"The meetings were in no way interrupted, Mr. Ingersoll
assuming entire control; and on the 26th of the same month
(February) there were added to the church, on profession of faith,
about thirty members. About the same time, now new and considerably
modified articles of faith were adopted. Mr. Ingersoll continued to
accupy the pulpit as stated supply. He was an able and attractive
preacher, his audence never tiring on account of long sermons, to
which he was not a little liable. His forte was doubtless as an
evangelist. Few men can read character with the accuracy that he
did. * * * It was during his ministry that the church was called
upon to meet the widespread craze of perfectionism, which it did
sffectually. This was the theory that Christ was in its subjects in
such a way that they could not sin, which constituted a fundamental
principle in Oneida communism, where it was permitted thoroughly
and nauseatingly to expend itself. During the time Mr. Ingersoll
was with the church, the subject of slavery was seriously agitated,
resulting in its condemnation, without any per se proviso."
There is equally interesting evidence that, as a clergyman,
Rev. Mr. Ingersoll, in at least one respect, was far ahead of his
time -- that, even in the early forties, he was an occasional
exemplar of what is now termed "muscular Christianity." While
residing at Nonh Madison, Ohio, knowledge of his earlier feats as
a wrestler became curreut. A mile or so from the place lived a
notorious wresder weighing about two hundred and twenty five
pounds. One day, by a mischievous prearrangement of the village
boys, the two men met, and, after some talk, engaged in a wrestling
bout. The clergyman was victorious! The saints were scandalized;
they demanded an apology from their pastor. On the following Sanday
he complied, in substantially these words: "Dear friends, I was
tempted to wrestle this man, which was not becoming in a minister;
but I threw him in less than a minute." This closed the incident.
The physical prowess of Rev. Mr. Ingersoll was doubtless
reflected in the heroic presence of his youngest sun.
**** ****
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