Cyrus Augustus Bartol

Cyrus Augustus Bartol (April 30, 1813 – December 16, 1900) was a Unitarian pastor, author, and hymnist.

Cyrus Augustus Bartol
Born(1813-04-30)April 30, 1813
Freeport, Maine
DiedDecember 16, 1900(1900-12-16) (aged 87)
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
Resting placeForest Hills Cemetery
NationalityAmerican
EducationBowdoin College (1832)
Harvard Divinity School (1835)
Harvard College (1859)
Occupation(s)Unitarian pastor, author, hymnist
Years active1837–1889
SpouseElizabeth Howard

Biography
Cyrus Bartol and Henry Bellows

Bartol was born in Freeport, Maine on April 30, 1813.[1] He was brought up in the Calvinist tradition by his parents, George Bartol and Anna Given.[2][3] However, he was greatly influenced by a Unitarian minister named Ichabod Nichols who he described as "the spiritual guide of my youth."[2] He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1832 and Harvard Divinity School in 1835. He was ordained in 1837, and received a Doctorate of divinity from Harvard College in 1859.[3][4] He preached a short time in Cincinnati, Ohio before returning to Boston.[5]

Bartol preached at West Church in Boston for over fifty years, half of which was spent as assistant and co-pastor to the Rev. Charles Lowell, father of the famous James Russell Lowell, and the other half as lead pastor of the church.[5][6][3] Bartol married Elizabeth Howard, granddaughter of Simeon Howard, who had served as minister of West Church during the American Revolution, and had a daughter with her who they also named Elizabeth.[2] In addition to a number of books and sermons, he was published in various periodicals including the Christian Examiner, the North American Review, and the Unitarian Review.[7] He also published a number of hymns.[8]

Bartol was interested in Transcendentalism and was influential in the movement in Boston.[9][10] However, he was described as remaining "staunchly independent of sectarian creed and label" and although he was involved with Unitarian, Transcendentalist, and free religious movements, he was "never totally of [them.]"[11] Other clergyman, authors, and philosophers such as Henry W. Bellows, Frederic H. Hedge, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Robert Collyer, Margaret Fuller, and George Ripley frequented his home.[5][12] He was a close friend of the Alcott family, and spoke at Louisa May Alcott's funeral.[13] He was also cited as the "most intimate ministerial friend" of Rev. Horace Bushnell.[14] The New York Tribune called Bartol "probably the most successful minister in Boston" in 1868.[2]

Bartol retired as pastor of the West Church on the 30th of September, 1889. He was to be its last pastor, as the building was sold in 1894 to be used as a branch of the public library.[15] He then moved to Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts and became a successful real estate investor in the area.[16][17]

Bartol died in Boston on December 16, 1900, at the age of 87.[6] His funeral was well attended by friends and former members of his congregation, including Julia Ward Howe and Booker T. Washington. He was called by one writer "the last of the Transcendentalists."[18]

Publications (partial list)

Books

Sermons and addresses

Forwards

References
  1. Shook, John R. (2012). The dictionary of early American philosophers. New York: Continuum. ISBN 978-0-19-979774-5. OCLC 830843976.
  2. The American renaissance in New England (Third series ed.). Detroit: Gale Group. 2001. p. 28.
  3. Cyrus Augustus Bartol 1813–1900. hymntime.com.
  4. Eliot, Samuel Atkins. (1910). Heralds of a liberal faith. Boston : American Unitarian Association. pp. 17-18.
  5. Edwards, Robert Lansing (1992). Of singular genius, of singular grace : a biography of Horace Bushnell. Cleveland, Ohio: Pilgrim Press. p. 157. ISBN 0829809376.
  6. "Death List of a Day: Dr. Cyrus Augustus Bartol". The New York Times. Boston. December 18, 1900. p. 9. Retrieved January 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Eliot, Samuel Atkins. (1910). Heralds of a liberal faith. Boston : American Unitarian Association. pp. 21-22.
  8. C. A. Bartol - Texts. hymnary.org.
  9. Hutchison, William R. (1963). To Heaven in A Swing: The Transcendentalism of Cyrus Bartol. Harvard Theological Review, 56(4), 275-295. doi:10.1017/S0017816000018873
  10. Heath, William G. "Cyrus Bartol's Transcendental Capitalism." Studies in the American Renaissance, 1979, pp. 399–408. JSTOR, Accessed July 31, 2021.
  11. The American renaissance in New England (Third series ed.). Detroit: Gale Group. 2001. p. 27.
  12. Eliot, Samuel Atkins. (1910). Heralds of a liberal faith. Boston : American Unitarian Association. p. 20.
  13. Abbot, Willis J. (1913). Notable women in history. Philadelphia, Pa., The John C. Winston co. p. 366.
  14. Edwards, Robert Lansing (1992). Of singular genius, of singular grace : a biography of Horace Bushnell. Cleveland, Ohio: Pilgrim Press. pp. 100, 157. ISBN 0829809376.
  15. The American renaissance in New England (Third series ed.). Detroit: Gale Group. 2001. p. 31.
  16. "Gilded Age of Manchester-by-the-Sea". manchesterhistoricalmuseum.org. Manchester Historical Museum. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
  17. The American renaissance in New England (Third series ed.). Detroit: Gale Group. 2001. pp. 31–32.
  18. The American renaissance in New England (Third series ed.). Detroit: Gale Group. 2001. p. 32.
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