Abraham Lincoln, A Memorial Discourse
By Thomas Mears Eddy
It is the day of adversity. Great grief throws its shadow over the heart and home. There is such a sorrow as this land never knew before; agony like never before wrung the heart of the nation. In mansions and cottages alike, the people bow themselves.
We have been through the Red Sea of war, and across the weary, desert marches of griefs and bereavements, but heretofore we have felt that our leader was with us and believed that surely as Moses was led by the pillar of cloud and of fire, so did God lead him.
But now that leader is not. Slain, slain by the hand of the assassin, murdered beside his wife! The costliest blood has been shed, the clearest eye is closed, the strongest arm is nerveless—the Chief Magistrate is no more. “The mighty man cries bitterly; the day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.”
It is no mere official mourning that hangs its sad drapery everywhere. It is not alone that a President of the Republic is, for the first time, assassinated. No; there is a tender grief that characterizes the bereavement of a loved friend, which shows there was something in this man which grappled him to men’s hearts as with hooks of steel.
But mourning the death of the Chief Magistrate, allows us to review the elements of his career as a ruler, which have so endeared him to loyal hearts.
If I were to sketch the model statesman, I would say he must have mental breadth and clearness, incorruptible integrity, strength of will, tireless patience, humanity, preserved from demoralizing weakness by conscientious reverence for law, ardent love of country, and, regulating all, a commanding sense of responsibility to God, the Judge of all. These, though wrapped in seeming rustic garb, were found in Abraham Lincoln. He had mental breadth and clearness.
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Thomas Mears Eddy
Thomas Mears Eddy (September 7, 1823 – October 7, 1874) was an American clergyman and author.
Early life
Eddy was born in Hamilton County, Ohio, on September 7, 1823. He was the third child, in a family of eight, born to Martha (née Thomas) Eddy (1800–1894) and the Rev. Augustus Eddy (1798–1870). He was educated at a classical school in Greensboro, Indiana.
Career
From 1842 to 1853, was a Methodist circuit preacher in that State, becoming an Agent of the American Bible Society in the latter years, and Presiding Elder of the Indianapolis district until 1856, when he was appointed editor of The Northwestern Christian Advocate in Chicago, retiring from that position in 1868.
Later, he held pastorates in Baltimore and Washington and was chosen as the Corresponding Secretaries of the Missionary Society by the General Conference of 1872. Eddy was a copious writer for the press and besides occasional sermons, published two volumes of reminiscences and personal sketches of prominent Illinoisans in the War of the Rebellion under the title of Patriotism of Illinois (1865). He died in New York City.
Personal life
In 1845, Eddy was married to Anna White (1823–1904). Together, they were the parents of:
Augustus Newlands Eddy (1846–1921), married Abby Louisa Spencer, a daughter of Franklin Fayette Spencer, founder of Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co.
Olive Meta Eddy (1848–1915), who married Otto Harley Hasselman.
Mary Elizabeth “Lida” Eddy (1851–1921), who married Lewis Cass Tallmadge.
Thomas Raymond Ames Eddy (b. 1856)
Eddy died on October 7, 1874, in New York City. His funeral was held at St. Paul’s Church and was conducted by Bishop Janes and the Rev. Dr. Schaff. He was buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago.
Family and descendants
In 1875, just a year after his death, his sister Elizabeth J. Somers founded the Mount Vernon Seminary and College in Washington, D.C., named after the Mount Vernon Place Methodist Church, which Eddy helped found. Through his son Augustus, he was a grandfather of Catherine Eddy Beveridge (the wife of U.S. Senator from Indiana Albert J. Beveridge), and diplomat Spencer F. Eddy, who served as U.S. Minister to Argentina and Romania. Through his daughter Mary, he was the grandfather of Massachusetts Institute of Technology-trained architect Thomas Eddy Tallmadge, best known for his Prairie School works.
Thomas Mears Eddy
