Mrs. Eddy Mentioned Them June 8, 1957 Issue

Rev. Abraham Burnham, 1775–1852

[Mentioned in the Message to The Mother Church for 1901, p. 32]

Abraham Burnham worked on his father's farm in Dunbarton, New Hampshire, until he was twenty-seven. Then he entered the junior class at Dartmouth College. As a boy of fourteen he had decided that he wanted a liberal education, and as soon as he finished reading one book, he sold it to obtain the money to buy another. At a still younger age, he had memorized many passages from the Bible and many of Watt's psalms and hymns.

In less than three years after graduting with honor from Dartmouth, Burnham was in charge of the academy in Bradford, Massachusetts. While serving here, he determined to leave teaching and enter the ministry. After four or five months of private study he was licensed to preach at Topsfield, Massachusetts. He also preached in Salem. In 1890 he was ordained pastor of the Congregational Church and Society in Pembroke, New Hampshire, and here he remained for forty years.

When he took over this church, there were about fifty members coming from Pembroke, Concord, Bow, Dunbarton, Chester, and Allenstown. Under his direction the church prospered and grew in strength and unity. His theological views were those generally held in New England and were based upon the doctrines of the Reformation. He supported his doctrines by quotations from the Scriptures, and he pointed out how these doctrines could be made practical in the performing of one's duties. The character and work of Jesus the Mediator was one of his favorite topics. He was zealous in making both foreign and home missionary work known to his parishioners. In 1850 Dartmouth conferred an honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity upon him.

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Rev. Abraham Burnham, 1775–1852

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