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REMARKS

It Jis JJuneral,

THE RET. ALBERT T. CHESTER, D. T).,

His Pormbr Pastoe,

aujTQjiY, ooTOBEii mfh, igei.

PUBLISHED FOR THE FAMILY.
.B. WHKSLEK A CO.'B STEAM PBHSSES.

mim ^md fitU.
3Sorn at OTeston, iWassacJusetts,
Seft&mbbb 26th, 1790.
29Cetr at aSuffalo, T^eto Yorit,
October 2Sth, 1861.

"Through night to light — through storm to calm."

RE MARK S.

I stand here, to-day, to fulfil the request of the dead,
as well as of the living.
The life prolonged beyond the threescore and ten
years which so few reach, has, at length, after all its
vicissitudes and trials, come to an end. The heart has
ceased to throb, the pulse to beat. The eye is closed in
darkness, the ear hears not in the silence. Thought,
passion, sense, all have fled. The spirit, leaving its earthly
dwelling to mingle with the dust, has gone, on unseen
wing, to God who gave it. Sweet memories, instead of
pleasant associations, are only left to us. Tears of sor
row and bitterness of grief are mingled with gratitude
for mercies amid afflictions.
This is death! The dark angel has been here before
us, and this is his work. It is not xmiisual. It is far too
frequent to be strange. Death, if not a welcome, is a
familiar guest in every household. He waits for no cere
mony. He is hindered by no remonstrance. He is deaf
to entreaties and tears. "We must open our houses and
let him in, though we know he is to carry away with
him our best beloved.

g iWemortal.

When a pet child is removed by death, we wonder,
amid our tears, at the strangeness of the dispensation.
We ask, why should such a life be begun if so soon
brought to an end ? It seems like mistake and failure,
until we learn that the babe, like a plant too tender for
these rough blasts, has been transplanted to a warmer
clime, to bud and blossom in the garden o'f the Lord.
We are enabled to say in the strength of faith, "The
Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be
the name of the Lord." It is an honor to be the parents
of an angel!
When the active, affectionate father is cut down in
the midst of his usefulness — the staff and support of
his household — whose life is so blended with other lives
that it would seem as if all must be extinguished if
this is put out ; or, when the loving wife, the anxious
mother, is called away from her husband and her chil
dren^ — all so dependent on her oversight and care that
they can see no ray of comfort if her busy hands are
stiffened in death ; when any one is taken from a scene
of great usefulness and efficiency — when the man of
business dies while his complicated plans are unfinished
and no one is able to carry them to completion; when
the captain dies upon the voyage, before the ship is
brought into port, or the general falls at the head of his
advancing army, losing the promised victory — we say,
how mysterious, liow unsearchable are the ways of Pro
vidence ! Surely He is a God that hideth Himself His
way is in the sea and His path in the great waters, and
His footsteps are not known.

fflfafus aSatTrt mfcj. 7
But when life has been long — when the object of
life has been attained ^ — when sufficient warnings have
been given and heeded — when every requisite prepara
tion has been made, and the aged and tired patriarch,
longing to end his wearisome journey, lays down his
staff and gladly welcomes the call that restores him to
youth and makes it perpetual — and that brings him to
the presence of the Eedeemer in whom he trusts, this
does not seem so strange. We cannot question the wis
dom or the goodness that has given such an end to such
a life, and we are ready to say, "This is as it should
be — so should all live and die."
We make two great mistakes in reasoning thus about
the death of the aged.
This is not the best way to live and die. If it were,
it would be general — for so would God order it. Look
at the innumerable host of infants swept away like blos
soms before the rising breeze. How many are cut oft'
in childhood! How many fall in the prime and pride
of life ! To how many casualties are the strong and the
active exposed amid their occupations! He who has
reached seventy years, can see, as he looks around him,
only here and there one who began life with him —
like the few straggling trees that remain in a clearing.
Is it not so, my aged friends? You must allow this
epithet when the weight of threescore and ten is upon
you. Are not most of your early companions gone ?
Where are your parents? Their graves are ancient.
Where are the brothers and sisters that sported with
you in the days of merry childhood? Though some

pCemortal.

were sr

spared to join you in the maturity of life, amid
duties and pleasures, yet few of these are now with you.
Look back and bring to mind those that have fallen.
Who that has been spared for seventy years will not find
in the grave -yard the names of by far the greater part
of his friends?
It is not unnatural to die young — in life's bright
morning — or to meet the call of the destroyer in the
noon-tide of human existence. The death of the aged is
most strange! Since few live so long and die so late,
it is the more a wonder that any do. How few out of
a thousand travelers in this earthly journey complete
their day ! How seldom one walks on until the evening,
and then quietly reposes because the night has come !
The other mistake is, to suppose that it is less a trial
to give up our friends because years have gathered
heavily upon them. We miss from the chimney-corner
the grandfather or grandmother whose days of useful
ness, and even of comfort, have long since departed, as
we cannot miss a younger person. The pangs of pai-t-
ing are multiplied by the long years of love. And
though the outer world, from which the aged have been
removed, may have forgotten them and cannot miss them,
in other hearts there may be all the more bitter grief
because the world has none. Ah! Death can strike
nowhere without rending living hearts.
In the circumstances that surround us, to-day, there
is much to alleviate the bitterness of the trial that has
come upon this household. And yet it is none the less
a trial! The close and tender associations of wedded

eifaUis JSarret a&tcji. 9
life, existing for nearly half a century, are instantly
brought to an end, and the widow must finish her jour
ney alone. The kind and affectionate father, upon whose
judgment so much reliance has been placed, whose pres
ence has ever been welcomed as that of a faithful guar
dian, can no more speak in words of counsel or of love.
The circle of little ones who have greeted him as grand
father feels the desolation of his absence. A large
church, counting him as one of its pillars, depending
greatly upon him for its existence and for its ability to
do service in the cause of Christ, is in mourning.
Upon many institutions of philanthropy and Christian
benevolence there hangs a pall, because their patron has
been taken away. Many, whose private griefs he has
discovered, and to whose wants he has administered
with a secrecy and a delicacy that gave the stamp of
true benevolence to the deed, are shedding bitter tears
to-day, as they pray God to raise up for them another
helper. The aged not missed, not mourned, when they
die! Ah! this is real mourning — this is the bitterest
grief. If it have not so much of passion,' of sentiment,
it has more of appreciation, more of reality.
We will not mock your grief, widowed one. The
partner of your youth — nay, of your life, has been
called away. No heavier affliction could come upon
you. This pleasant house will be desolate when even
his poor remains are carried away and you return here
alone. God help you then !
We will not attempt, children, mourners, to weaken
your sense of loss. It is for a father, who has been

10 JWemortal.

loving and faithful, who has sought, by precept and
example, ever to do you good, that you mourn. He has
left you, and the bitterness of your grief must be in pro
portion to the amount of your loss. This is your great
trial. You have looked forward to it as an impending
evil. It has come and it is overwhelming! You feel
that now you are orphans, fatherless. It is a most severe
affliction. Yet how much of alleviation is found in the
circumstances attending this bereavement. Bless God, ye
mourners, that he whom you loved has been spared to
you so long ; in this you have been favored above most
of your kind. Be thankful that he was allowed to spend
his last days at home, giving you the melancholy satis
faction of administering to his wants in his sickness and
on his dying bed. Be thankful that he was permitted
to finish his earthly business, to arrange all his affairs,
and not to depart hence until his work was done. Be
thankful that, notwithstanding the severe stroke that
came upon his physical frame, the balance of his mind
was preserved, and that he knew and loved you to the
last. Be thankful for the example he has given you in
his sickness and death — an example of patience and
quiet submission to the will of God. And, above all,
be thankful for the pleasing evidence he has left behind
him that he made the Lord Jesus Christ his friend and
that he has gone to meet Him in glory. We cling to
slight evidence when this is all. It would be cruel not
to encourage mourners to comfort themselves with single
words of faith and trust, if there be no more. But it
is so much better when such expressions are confident

fflfatus a8atn;et SJlfcf). 11

and abundant ! This was the case with him whose death
we mourn to-day. The profession of faith in the Lord
Jesus, made for many years, was seen, on the trial, to
be genuine. The Saviour was present in sickness and
death, to administer consolation and to give peace.
The only impatience manifest in his sickness and feeble
ness was to depart and be with Christ. He was asked
by his faithful wife, " Is your trust wholly in Christ ? "
He looked up, as if in surprise, and said, "Certainly —
certainly. I can trust in nothing else." So he died —
peacefully, quietly. Even the severe stroke that came
upon him, a few days since, was merciful ; it diminished
his sensibility to the pains of dissolution. Since he
was to die, we cannot see how more kindly and gently
he could have been removed.
" We see not ; know not ; all our way
Is night — with Thee alone is day;
From out the torrent's troubled drift,
Above the storm, our prayer we lift,
Thy will be done."
I do not design to speak of the private character of
the departed. The language suggested by gratitude and
affection might appear exaggerated. It would be against
his wish to have a word of eulogy uttered here. Nor is
it necessary in the presence of those who knew and
loved him best. He would say, as these mourners say,
"Speak to the living." My dear friends, do I need to
speak? Does not God speak with louder voice? And
what does He say? Are not these exhortations embod
ied in the call of His Providence? Behold the end of
earth ! Let life be protracted ; let it be most success-

Yl jWemortal.

ful ; let there be a large circle of loved ones who would
fondly detain you on earth, yet the end must come.
Nothing can stay the footsteps of the destroyer. Wealth
cannot bribe him ; love cannot delay him. There can
be no security against him but the requisite preparation
to meet him. Thus the solemn question comes from this
coffin, from yonder open grave, to all who hear — "Are
you prepared to die ? " May God give us all grace to
answer it truthfully and with practical effect!
Especially to those of his age — his compeers — does
the admonition come. You do not realize, my dear
friends, how near you are to the grave. Presume not
upon health and vigor unusual at your period of life,
but believe that your earthly journey is nearly ended,
and that now what you need to do is to prepare for
eternity. Set your house in order. You have no time to
lose. K you know not the love of Christ in blessed ex
perience, hasten to submit yourselves to the Eedeemer.
It is not too late to find pardon. The mercy of our God
is wonderful. Though your long life has been spent iu
rebellion and sin, yet the promise is to repentance and
faith. The cheering words are addressed to the aged, as
well as to the young, " Kepent of sin, believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." If you
have settled the question of eternity by accepting Christ
as your Saviour, is it not time, ye men and women of
threescore and ten, that you give your chief thoughts to
the necessary preparation for the better world? Why
longer allow these trifles to absorb you? You ought
now to make it your principal business to get ready for

eSafus asarret antcS. 13

Heaven. Yery soon we must stand by your coffin ! Let
us say, then, that we are sure you have gone into ever
lasting peace.
Ye who are absorbed in business, this sight is for
you. Even if you are successful in what you seek, see,
it cannot save you from the grave. Oh learn, amid all
your gains, that there is something better than earthly
possessions. Answer, to-day,, the searching questions of
the Saviour, "For what is a man profited, if he shall-
gain the whole world, and lose his own soid? or, what
shall a man give in exchange for his soul ? "
To the Church with which the deceased was in con
nection, this is a severe blow. But it is important and
useful to learn that our dependence must not be in man.
You are greatly indebted to him for whom you now
mourn as for a father. He has ever been your trae
friend. He was ever seeking the interests of the Church
and aiding largely, by his counsel and prayers, as well
as by his purse, in all its enterprises. You wUl cherish
his memory in grateful hearts ; his name must live as
long as your history. This day has a lesson for you.
When earthly helpers are taken away, turn ye to the
Lord for help. Put no dependence in man. Seek no
advancement which man can give. Let your prayer be
unto God. Beseech him to come to your relief. Hum
ble yourselves under His mighty hand in this affliction
and He shall raise you up and give you the abimdant
blessings of His grace.
One word more to these mourners. Now, my dear
friends, your trial comes. You must give up this body

14 iWemorial,

to the insatiate grave. You liave loved and cherished
him in life ; you have watched over him and minis
tered to him in his sickness with tenderest care ; you
have taken leave of his departing spirit as it was borne
away from the earth — now, you must give up even this
body. When you come back to this dwelling it will be
desolate, because he is not here. Never again shall that
always -welcome step be heard on the floor ; never again
can you answer to his cheerful call ; never can you see
again this familiar form. He has gone and you are left
behind. But blessed are ye that ye "sorrow not even
as others, which have no hope." He has only gone a
little before you ; he will wait for you on the other
shore ! Live so as to secure the favor of the Saviour in
whom he trusted, and soon — for such scenes as this must
come to every one of you — soon, you shall be a re
united and rejoicing family ; re-united in bonds that
suspicion can never weaken nor death break, rejoicing
in the fullness of the bliss prepared for the saints and
secured to them forever by the love and sacrifice of
Christ. God wipe your tears, comfort your hearts and
strengthen your faith ! Amen !

Mixt ISixiUU f>f tU 'ixt^^.

The following articles appeared, at the time of Mr. Rich's death, in
the various newspapers of Buffalo to which they are credited. The first
and longest one was prepared by the Rev. Dr. Chestek, at the request
of the editors of the " Commercial Advertiser," and was published in that
paper of Saturday, October 26th :
Affection and respect demand more than a passing notice of facts in
the history of one who has left us forever. It is always difficult to pre
sent to the public view the impressions and convictions of our own
minds in respect to the character of a friend ; studied language seems
cold and heartless ; impulsive and exaggerated statements are counted
as idle eulogy. Yet, we cannot be satisfied without the attempt, what
ever may be the judgment of those who have had fewer opportunities
for forming independent opinions. Why should not love and gratitude
be allowed to conti-ol us when we are speaking of the dead ?
GrAins Bareet Rich, now lying in his cofan, was, in more than one
respect, a remarkable man. There are many self-made men, as this term
is used. It is not uncommon to see poor boys becoming rich men, and
the sons of those who are in the lowest ranks of society attaining, the
highest offices and the noblest dignities among us. It is more unusual
to see those upon whose lives such a change has passed retaining their
simplicity, their humility, their unassuming manners, and exhibiting, amid
the greatest plenty and the highest honor, the traits of character and the
habits of life that were employed in securing what has been sought. Mr.
Rich was remarkable in preserving, to such an extent, in the transition
from poverty to great wealth, so many commendable qualities. Though
constantly in positions in which he might, and many others would, de
mand deference to his opinions, and a compliance with his personal

16 USemorial.

¦wishes, on account of his large share of pecuniary aid, and when with
out dissent such reference would have been cheerfully accorded, he would
not allow it. In the community in which he was numbered, he was
willing to be counted one, even though he might give more to sustain
the organization, civil or religious, than any other ten. He was simple
and unostentatious in all his life, and he was trae to this until the last,
leaving behind him written directions that his funeral should be conducted
without parade or ostentatious display. In his house and equipage,
and all his surroundings, he always sought the proper mean between
parsimony and extravagance— his life in this regard was a model of
excellence. Mr. Rich was a shrewd, careful, sagacious business -man ; his un
usual success proves the trath of this statement. It may be necessary
for favoring circumstances to combine to insure worldly prosperity; say-
gacity and industry may fail ; but without some permanent and promi
nent traits of business capacity, there never can be long-continued suc
cess. Mr. R. was exact in his dealings with others, insisting rigidly
upon the falflUing of contracts at the time and in the manner agreed
upon, often, doubtless, to the inconvenience of the dilatory and the care
less, but he demanded no more of others than he was ready to return.
He was a man of the most undoubted honesty, of the sfa-ictest integrity —
his word and his bond were one. If some have been disturbed because
he was so strict, none can charge him with wrong or injustice in any
of his dealings.
And those who are best acquainted with his life, knew that there
were other reasons for his strictness in securing all that he could claim
as his own, than merely to increase his large estate. We knew him
for a large and generous giver, and that in the best manner — not im
pulsively, not to answer importunity, but systematically, intelligentiy and
in accordance with principle. His charities, within the last ten years,
have been very numerous. The Auburn Theological Seminary, the Or
phan Asylum, the Hospital and the Young Men's Association, of this
city, have been recipients of large amounts, while his private gifts have
been constant and in the aggregate larger still. There are many mourn
ers whose only relation to the departed was their own need, who shed
bitter tears at his loss, as they remember with what assiduity he sought
them out, with what interest he listened to their tales of distress, and
with what long-continued patience he has assisted them in their want.
The Church of which he was a founder and a most liberal supporter is
a witness to his large-hearted benevolence. In its consto-uotion, and in
its support while struggling for a standing among the churches of the

ffiatus aSarwt mfcj). 17

city, he has not withheld his means for its temporal prosperity ; it is far
more indebted to him than to any of its members. He was remarkable
in this, that in all expenses, ordinary or extraordinary, unlike most
rich men, he was willing to pay his share, according to the estimate of
his brethren, and this cheerfully, not as a heavy burden laid upon him.
In addition to this, he was the largest contributor to every cause appeal
ing to Christian sympathy and assistance.
Mr. Rich has been a member of the Presbyterian Church for many
years, — a sincere believer in its doctrines, — a hearty lover of its simple
forms and ordinances, — a regular attendant- upon its worship, and a lib
eral supporter of all its institutions. He was, as has been remarked, one
of the founders of the Nortji Church, — one of the forty-two members
dismissed from the First Church, in 1847, to form the new organization,
and he has ever been watchful over its spiritual interests. Every pre
cious revival of religion with which that church has been favored has
been a season of the highest joy to his soul. His faith in the merits of
his Redeemer was unshaken. He was enabled to view the approach of
death with composure, and even to long for the final summons to take
his departure. He set his house in order, so that his end was peace.
He' fell asleep like one whom his mother oomforteth, and now, we trust,
has passed into the presence of Him by whose blood he has been
redeemed.

From the Butlalo Commercial Advertiser, Oetober 25tli.
Death ojp Gaius B. Rich. — We are pained to announce that Gail's
B. Rich, one of our oldest and most honored citizens, died early this
morning, at his residence, corner of Main and Barker streets, aged seven
ty-one years. He had been ill for a long period, and his death was,
therefore, not unexpected.
Mr. Rich was a native of Worcester county, Mass., where he was
born in the spring of the year 1790. When yet a lad, he removed with
his father to St. Lawrence county, N. Y.,' and assisted in clearing and
getting under cultivation a new farm. Within a year or two afterwards
he threw himself upon his own resources and began life by entering the
store of a Mr. Bkown, in Rome, Oneida county. Having won his
employer's regard and confidence by strict attention to his duties, he was
detailed by the latter, in the year 1811, to open a branch establishment
in Rochester. He was then twenty-one years of age, and entered upon

18 iWteiiiorial.

this enterprise with a business alacrity and energy that soon placed it
upon a sure footing.
He relinquished his connection with Mr. Brown in 1813, and removed
to the village of Attica, where he opened a country store on his own
responsibility, and did a prosperous business from the first. Shortly after
this removal he married his wife — Aphia Salisbury, of Western, Oneida
county — with whom he had first become acquainted while in Rome. He
subsequenfly established the Bank of Attica, and, coming to Bufiulo in
1842, reestablished the Bank here, where it has ever since retained its
original tifle. His failing health induced him to resign, about the year
1852, the Presidency of the institution, which he had held since its origin,
and he has subsequently been one of the resident Directors, without
taking any active part in the management.
We have thus given a brief and imperfect sketch of the merely mer
cantile career of one whose death will be mourned by the hundreds who
have met him in a social and religious, as well as business intercourse.
Another hand, to whom the taslc will be a " labor of love," wiU pen the
record of his life to - morrow.
Note. — Mr. Rich built the first fr^me house and put up the first
flouring mill in the City of Rochester.

From tlie ButTalo Christian Advocate.
Death of Gaius B. Rich. — To the readers of the "Advocate," the
name of Gaius B. Rich has not been unfamiliar. As a business man
of strid; integrity, as a Christian of systematic and earnest devotion, as
a public benefactor of large - hearted, generous and intelligent impulses,
he has had few superiors. In this vicinity where he was so well known
he has been greatly beloved, and occupied one of the chief places in
public confidence and esteem. His memory is blessed among those who
survive him. With the many who have known well, and who have been
the recipients of his generous kindness, we drop the tear of painful
regret at his loss. His death is a real bereavement to the city.
We learn that only the week before he died, the Buffalo General
Hospital was the recipient, at his hands, of the handsome sum of two
thousand dollars — a gift most opportunely and worthily bestowed.
Among the small favors which characterized his life, was the annual gift
of the subscription price of this paper to a large number of worthy
families,

ffifaius aSarret met). 19

Mr. Rich died on the morning of Friday, the 25th instant, and from
the effects of a stroke of paralysis, which came upon him about three
weeks since. His funeral was attended from his residence by a very-
large and worthy audience, the services being conducted by Rev. Dr.
Chester, his friend and former pastor.

From tlie Buffalo Express, October 26th.

Death of Gaius B. Rich. — The community was pained yesterday by
the announcement, not unexpected, that Mr. Gaius B. Rich had departed
this life, at his residence in this city. Mr. Rich was a, native of Wor
cester county, Massachusetts, whence, at an early age, he removed to
St Lawrence county, in this State, with his father, where he led the usual
active life of a farmer boy. After a little, he became the clerk of a
Mr. Brown, in Rome, Oneida county, whose confidence he secured,
and who, at the age of twenty-one years, placed him in charge of a
branch store ill Rochester. In 1813, relinquishing his connection with
Mr. Brown, he removed to Attica, where, after engaging in mercantile
business, he established the Bank of Attica. In 1842 he removed the
Bank to Buffalo, where it has since remained under the original name.
In 1852, Mr. Rich practically retired from business. During much of
the subsequent time, he has been in feeble health, and his remaining
energies have been turned to the prosperity of the Church of which he
was a member, and to preparation for the closing of his life.
Mr. Rich was 71 years of age at the time of his death, and leaves
behind him a large circle of relatives and friends to mourn his depar
ture.

From the Buffalo Courier, October 26th.

Death of Gaius B. Rich, Esq. — In another column will be found
the announcement of this sad event. Mr. Rich, as is well known, has
been an invalid for a long time. Death brought him lasting relief yes
terday morning. His aflfiicted family, a wide circle of friends to whom
he has long been endeared, and the public charities which have so often
felt his helping hand, will long keep his memory green in our midst.
A biographical notice of the deceased, we understand, is now being pre
pared by one well qualified for the task, which may appear hereafter.

20 mmotial.

From the Buffalo Courier, October 28th.

The Late Gaius B. Rich.— The funeral of the late Gaius B. Rich,
Esq., took place yesterday afternoon. His remains were followed to
•their last resting place by a multitude of citizens eager to pay this
parting tribute of respect to an estimable man. In this connection we
take pleasure in copying extracts from an article on the life and charac
ter of the deceased, conbibuted to the "Commercial" by Rev. Dr.
Chester, of whose Church (the North Presbyterian) Mr. Rich was for
many years a comrannicant.

y