CLASS OF 1856

Rev. John Leverett Merrill died at the Boothby Hospital, Boston, January 30, after a painful illness of about a week. The son of Abel Kimball and Mary (Leverett) Merrill, he was born in Haverhill, N. H., May 29, 1833, and prepared for college at Haverhill Academy. He was the eldest of three brothers who graduated from Dartmouth and entered the Congregational ministry, the others being Benjamin '58, now deceased, and Charles H. '67, now of St. Johnsbury, Vt. He was a member of Psi Upsilon and Phi Beta Kappa. After graduation, he entered Princeton Theological Seminar}', and remained there for the three years' course. In 1860 he became pastor of the New Harmony Presbyterian church at Chanceford, Pa., and remained until 1865. After serving for some months as principal of the high school at Lancaster, Pa., he became in April, 1866. pastor of the Congregational church of Acworth, N. H., remaining until 1870. He was then pastor at Marlboro, N H., to 1887, at Rindge, N. H., 1887-91, and at Newbury, Vt., from 1891 to 1901. Retiring then from the active work of the pastorate, he had made his home since 1903 with his only son. Rev. Charles C. Merrill '94, first at Winchendon. and latterly at Reading, Mass. He preached occasionally during his retirement, his last appearance in the pulpit having been, at North Reading, January 5. His record is well summed up in a notice in The Congregationalist: "Mr. Merrill was the inheritor of the best traditions of New England. All who knew him remember his noble character, gentle spirit, and faithful devotion with love and high respect. He saw the good in others, passed the evil by, preached the essentials of the gospel, and readily overcame difficulties. He won the hearts and commanded the confidence of those who have little .or no sympathy with the church." Mr. Merrill was married September 11, 1860, to Mary Louise, daughter of John Andrew and Nancy (Clarkson) Murphy of Chanceford, Pa., who died in 1906. Their only son is mentioned above; their two daughters are no longer living, one having died in infancy.

Secretary, Isaac Bridgman, 64 High St., Northampton, Mass.