CONTENTS. - - - Edu- Re- CHAPTER I. His Ancestry Early Life- Personal Traits - CHAPTER V. Interval between his Conversion and Public Labors PAGE. 17 .31 . 63 CHAPTER VI. Commencement of his Public Labors-Publishes CHAPTER VIII. Doors open for him to lecture-Is countenanced - - CHAPTER IX. He visits Massachusetts-Invitation to Lowell- CHAPTER X. - Publication of the "Signs of the Times " Visits to .97 CHAPTER XI. Lectures in Boston (4th, 5th, and 6th courses) - Benson, Vt. His Illness-Incident at Sandy Hill-At CHAPTER XIII. Synopsis of his Views-Address to Believers in CHAPTER XV. His Treatment of Opponents - Specimens of his - CHAPTER XVI. His Sickness Visit to Massachusetts -- Fanat- - - - CHAPTER XVII. Emotions in View of the Advent - Home of Mr. - - - Men -- - - &c. - 163 . 170 185 206 . 227 239 254 269 293 . 300 325 340 &c. 358 CHAPTER XXV. His last Sickness - Death-- Funeral-Letter of 376 CHAPTER XXVI. Extracts from his Published Writings. The MEMOIRS OF WILLIAM MILLER. CHAPTER I. ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE. ABOUT a mile west from the centre of Pittsfield village, one of the most pleasant in western Massachusetts, there is a noble and fertile swell of land, which rises from the west bank of Pontousooc river- the western branch of the head-waters of the Housatonic and is of sufficient extent to constitute several large farms. The summit of this fine elevation embraces what is familiarly known in the neighborhood as "the Miller farm." It takes its name from a family by the name of Miller, who came from the vicinity of Connecticut river, in or near Springfield, Massachusetts, about a hundred years ago.* *We take the following extract from a manuscript copy of a letter addressed to one of the Miller family, in Georgeville, Lower Canada, dated September 27, 1830. It was written by William Miller, in answer to a request for information on his family history; and is a curious but characteristic production : "My grandfather, William Miller, married a respectable girl, by the name of Hannah Leonard, in West Springfield; and moved into Pittsfield, then called Ponthoosoc, about 1747, and there had three sons and one daughter. One son died young; the daughter about middle age, after being married, and having a son and daughter, by Nathaniel Spring, named William and Hannah. The other two sons, named Elihu and William, married and had large families, many of whom are yet alive. I sprung from the youngest brother, William." Family tradition uniformly connects this branch of the Miller family with. Obadiah and Thomas Miller, of a previous generation, undoubtedly the persons of these names who are mentioned in the history of Springfield and Westfield, two hundred years since. The surrounding country, as seen from the Miller farm, furnishes one of the most interesting prospects afforded by the natural scenery of New England. On the north, Saddle Mountain, the highest elevation of land in the state, towers far above all the other barriers of the valley; and while its "Gray Lock" will ever cause it to be regarded as the venerable and natural guardian of the adjacent portion of the world, it is pointed out as the site of Fort Massachusetts, so memorable for the scenes connected with its history during the French and Indian wars. The Washington Mountains form the strong background of the view on the east; the Hancock Mountains, a section of the Green Mountain range, of which Saddle Mountain is the climax, bound the view on the west; and some isolated mountainous elevations, through which the branches of the Housatonic river and railroad pass, are the prominent items in the prospect to the south. On this commanding spot, the family of early adventurers erected their primitive dwelling; and, although their history is unknown to the world, the strong features of their character, as preserved in the memory of their descendants, were, the most daring contempt of danger, great love of independence, great capability of endurance, and whole-souled patriotism. The head of this family was the grandfather of William Miller, whose life these pages record. The name of the grandfather was William; his son, who was born and resided here, was named William; and here also was born the one who has just passed away, and whose world-wide fame demands that his history should now be written. This William Miller was born February 15th, A. D. 1782. He was the eldest of sixteen children, five of whom were sons and eleven were daughters. The lot of ground on which the ancient dwelling stood is designated, on the new map of Pittsfield, by the name of "Dr. J. Leland Miller." The building itself is no more. The remains of the cellar are still visible; and the ruins are marked by an ancient gooseberry bush, a hardy specimen of the wild thorn, and an elm of the age, perhaps, of twenty years. The period immediately preceding his birth was the most critical of any period in the history of our country; and was, probably, the most distinguished by its perils, the sublimity of its events, the noble development of character it furnished, and its commanding interpositions of Providence, of any period since the departure of Israel from the land of Egypt. If the English colonies were the only ones that were capable of bettering their condition, and that of the world, by asserting and obtaining their liberty, the colonies of our country, now the United States, furnish the only instance of successful rebellion against the power of the English throne. What effect the events of this period had on the fortune, the character, and the history of the subject of this memoir, we may be unable fully to determine; but it will be readily seen, that the most fondly cherished memorials of his family, as of his country, could not fail of making a deep impression on his mind, at an early age. That the embarrassed condition of his early life was the direct result of the great sacrifices made by his progenitors, in the struggles and sufferings which they nobly shared with their contemporaries, is equally evident. William's father, Captain William Miller, was in the army of the Revolution. At the time of the evacuation of New York by order of Washington, on the invasion of that city by Lord Howe, in August, 1776, he was confined, sick with fever, in the hospital. By rallying all his strength, and the assistance he obtained from his fellow-soldiers, he succeeded in leaving the city with the continental troops. The effort, however, proved almost fatal. When his companions, in the retiring movement, sought shelter in a barn, during a storm, he was left helpless under the drippings from its roof, until his sad condition moved the compassion of a fellow-soldier, in better health than himself, to come to his relief. This true soldier entered the barn; he crowded together those who filled the already crowded floor, and thus made room for his almost dying comrade, Miller; and then |