Sebeus Main Burdick, a member and elder of the Seventh-day Baptist Church at Nortonville, Kansas, died at Nortonville, May 28, 1890, in the 82d year of his age. He was born in Lincklaen, Chenango county, New York, Aug. 3, 1808. In his boyhood, in a religious revival which commenced in the district school of his neighborhood, he became the subject of saving grace, and was baptized by Eld. Wm. B. Maxson and received into the membership of the Scott Church, of which Eld. W. B. Maxson was at that time the pastor. He subsequently transferred his membership to the DeRuyter, N. Y., Church. In 1832, when the Lincklaen Church was organized, he became one of its constituent members, and was chosen as one of its deacons. Soon after this he was licensed to preach the Word, and invited to lead the church in gospel labor and public worship.
In 1834 he was, by request of the Lincklaen Church, ordained to the work of the gospel ministry, by the General Conference holding its annual session at DeRuyter, N. Y.
His early pastorate with the Lincklaen Church seems to have been signally blessed, for at the next Conference the church reported a gracious revival and the addition of forty members. He united himself with others in the itinerant system of missionary labor, a kind of circuit riding by several ministers which prevailed in Central New York in the early history of the Seventh-day Central Association. This system embraced in its fields of labor the churches of Scott, DeRuyter, First Verona, Second Verona, Lincklaen, Otselis, and Preston. Eld. Burdick was a successful evangelist and had frequent calls to engage in special revival work both among Seventh-day Baptists and other denominations. He accepted the call of the First Church of Brookfield, N. Y., and began his pastorate with that church in July, 1838, continuing in that relation until February, 1840, a period of about a year and a half. About the time of the close of his pastorate at Brookfield he accepted the invitation of Bro. J. R. Butts to visit the place of his home in Michigan for missionary labor, and labored there for a season in the effort to build up the kingdom of Christ. Returning to Lincklaen, he resumed his relations with the Lincklaen Church, which continued until 1846, after which time he traveled through various States, lecturing on scientific subjects and preaching the gospel as he had opportunity. In 1858 he moved with his family to West Hallock, Ill., and in October of that same year, united himself with the Southhampton Seventh-day Baptist Church. He retained his membership with this church, preaching occasionally as opportunities were open to him, until April, 1888, when having moved to Nortonville, Kansas, he transferred his membership to the Seventh-day Baptist Church of that place, where, with most of his surviving kindred about him, full of years, in the hope of a glorious immortality, he entered into his rest. He was a man of fine natural endowments, possessing a good command of language; he was ready and impressive in his manner of public address.
By his mother he was a nephew of Eld. Matthew Stillman, of Hopkinton, R. I. He married Cornelia Stillman, of Lincklaen, June 22, 1826, with whom he lived 57 years. She passed on before him, having died at West Hallock, Ill., June 29, 1883. Of the children born to them, three sons and one daughter died in infancy, one son in early childhood, two sons and one daughter in middle life, while three sons and one daughter survive him. Of the children who survive him all are now residents of Kansas except Dea. Niles S. Burdick, of West Hallock, Illinois.
