Stephen Burdick, the fifth of eight children born to Enos P. and Fannie Peckham Burdick, was born at Preston, N. Y., March 13, 1827.
When he was twelve years old, the family came to Alfred, settling in Lamphere Valley. He united with the Second Alfred Church in 1847, being baptized by the pastor, Elder James H. Cochran. He graduated at Alfred Academy in 1856, and entered the theological class at Oberlin, in Ohio, the following autumn. He was taken sick and was forced to leave, but attended Rochester Theological Seminary a few months. June 21, 1857, he was ordained to the ministry at Alfred, and two days later was married to Miss Hannah E. Stillman, daughter of Maxson and Lydia Chapman Stillman. She died the following February, at Rockville, R. I., where they went immediately after their marriage, to enter on his first pastorate. June 2, 1859, he was married to Susan Maxson, daughter of George and Phebe Wells Maxson. Together they went happily through life's partnership until it was broken by her death, after nearly forty years. They had four children, three of whom
survive, Dr. George Burdick of Andover, Dr. Alfred S. Burdick of Chicago, and Merle M. Burdick of Peoria, Ill. Elder Burdick's first pastorate, at Rockville, R. I., commenced July 10, 1857. Since then he has been almost continuously in the ministerial harness, until his retirement from the pastorate of the Andover church, two years ago. From Rockville he went to Leonardsville, N.Y., about 1860, and was there three and a half years. Giving up preaching for a brief time. on account of his health, he went to his father-in-law's farm for about a year, then went to De Ruyter as pastor. During 1866-7 he was Principal of De Ruyter Institute. After leaving De Ruyter, for a brief time he did home missionary work in Minnesota, organizing one of the churches there. He then returned to Leonardsville, N. Y., for his second pastorate, in which he remained more than fourteen years, or, all told, about eighteen years as pastor of the Leonardsville church. From there he went to West Hallock, Ill., in 1887, where he remained pastor for ten years. He then accepted a call to Andover, also supplying Wellsville and Scio, for a time. He closed his ministerial work about two years ago, to devote his time to some historical writing, which he had planned. While at Leonardsville, he became identified with the work of the Tract Society, and during most of his second pastorate was its treasurer. After the death of Elder N. V. Hull, he served for a brief time as editor of the Sabbath Recorder.
The past two years have been very happily spent by him in the homes of his married sons, and with his sisters. He has enjoyed excellent health, loving companionship and the literary work to which he has given himself with real zest. Last Wednesday he had a severe attack of neuralgia of the heart, from which he seemed to recover, and passed that night into a quiet sleep, the waking from which was in the eternal morning. Services were held in the First Alfred church, Sabbath afternoon, December 23, 1905. Dr. Gamble read appropriate scripture selections. Elder B. F. Rogers offered prayer. Pastor L. C. Randolph preached the sermon using as his text II Tim. 4: 7, 8 and II Tim. 2: 1-3, pointing out the strong characteristics of the fight which had been fought, the course which had been finished, the faith which had been kept and appealing to those who receive the trust from Mr. Burdick's hands to be faithful to it. He found the key note of Elder Burdick's life in reverence, - reverence for his own body as the temple of the Holy Ghost, for the moral laws of the universe, for the Bible, for God and for his own mission. President Davis followed the sermon by words of appreciation. He also read tribute to Mr. Burdick's memory, adopted by the Seventh-day Baptist Education Society. L. C. R.
