In our last issue we
announced the death of the Rev. Martin W. Livingstone, an old and justly
esteemed resident of Simcoe, and a devout and zealous Christian Minister.
We now give a brief record of his long and useful life, and of his
services in the cause of his Lord and Master Jesus Christ and in whom he
faithfully served, loved well, and in whom, as his Saviour [sic],
he had a full and an abiding faith.
He was born at
Kilsyth, Scotland, on the 30th Dec., 1808, and at his death on Monday, the
21st. inst., was in his 79th year. He was chiefly educated at Glasgow
University which he entered in Nov., 1826. After leaving the University he
studied divinity under Dr. Thompson, of Divinity Hall, Paisley. He was
licensed to preach in July, 1835, by the Synod of the United Presbyterian
Church.
His first charge was
the Mill Hill Church, Musselburgh, Scotland, upon which he entered on the
26th April, 1837. It is over fifty-one years since he first became a
preacher, and had he lived till the 26th of next month, he would have
celebrated his jubilee year since he was a regularly ordained minister,
which, if it had been the will of his Divine Master, he would have been
pleased to have been permitted to do.
He was pastor of the
Mill Hill Church for upwards of 16 years, and after his connection with it
was severed, he came to Canada with his family, where he arrived in
August, 1854.
In May, 1857, he was
inducted to the church of the congregation which worshipped in St. Andrews
Church, Simcoe, and in which he ministered with much acceptance until he
resigned it in Feb., 1876, as well as his charge at Lynedoch, to which he
had been called shortly after his first settlement in Simcoe.
His resignation from
these charges was in the interests of his Master's cause, and to further
the union of the Simcoe and Lynedoch congregations with the congregations
of the Canada Presbyterian Church in Simcoe and Silverhill.
Since that time he
has had no regular charge, but was ever ready to give his services where
they were needed, and was regular in his attendance at the Hamilton
Presbytery, of which he was the Father.
He was remarkable for
the faithfulness with which he discharged his ministerial duties, and the
fidelity with which he kept all his appointments.
Although the Churches in
Simcoe and Lynedoch were twelve miles apart, and he had to travel from the
former place to the latter after the morning service in Simcoe, it is said
that for ten years he never once failed to keep his appointments, and that
only four times in eighteen years did he fail to occupy his pulpit in
Lynedoch -- two of these failures being caused by the deaths of a daughter
and of a son-in-law; a third because floods had made the roads dangerous
and almost impassable; and the fourth because fear for the health of his
wife, who was riding with him in an open buggy, compelled him to turn back
rather than expose her to the severe storm by which they were overtaken.
Firm and unyielding
in his advocacy of what he believed to be right, intolerant of what he conceived
to be wrong,--courteous and respectful to all, but sycophantic for
cringing to none, dignified in his bearing, with a deep veneration for his
scared office; of good scholarly attainments and an earnest and logical
preacher, he was a worthy type of that noble character, a good old Scotch
minister. Pleased to have lived, yet ready to die, he placed himself
unreservedly in the hands of the Master whom he had faithfully served, to
the best of his ability for over fifty years, and in whom he had perfect
trust, saying, by his every act and word, "Thy will be done."
Conscious up almost
to the last moment of life, surrounded by his family, he passed
calmly and peacefully away, and in his death a good man has gone
from among us.
On Thursday afternoon
all that was mortal of him was cosigned to the tomb, and the large number
of all classes and denomination who followed his remains to the grave,
bore testimony to the universal respect that was accorded him.
The chief mourners
were his four sons, the eldest of whom is His Honor the county
judge,
three sons-in-law and a number of grandsons.
The funeral services
at the house and at the grave were performed by the Rev. Mr. Croll,
assisted by several other clergymen, of whom there were present the
resident clergymen of the town, the Rev. Messrs. Croll, Gremley, Parker and
Hooker, and from the neighborhood and a distance, the Revs. Messrs. Davis,
Slaght, McGregor, Wells, Thynne, Hamilton, Quinn, and the Rev. Dr. Laing,
D.D., the secretary of the Hamilton Presbytery.
