carrying his burden of ill-health would have yielded long before; only
his immeasurable hopefulness and activity sustained him to the end.

Rev. James Powell, D.D., was born in Wales, December 25, 1842. At an
early age he came to this country, and partly by his own exertions and
partly by the help of friends whom he had won to himself by his genial
nature and evident indications of future usefulness, he obtained an
education, graduating from Dartmouth College in 1866, and from Andover
Theological Seminary in 1869. He was installed as pastor of the church
at Newburyport in November, 1869, his only pastorate, and remained there
till February, 1873. His health being impaired by his incessant labors
as pastor, he was persuaded by his friend, Rev. Mr. Pike, to aid in
introducing the Jubilee Singers to the English public, with the further
purpose of either remaining abroad to manage the affairs of the Singers
in Great Britain, or of returning and temporarily taking Mr. Pike's
place in Connecticut and New York, as District Secretary of the
Association. The latter alternative was finally decided upon, and Mr.
Powell assumed these duties in the latter part of the year 1873. A year
afterwards, on the resignation of Rev. Dr. Patton from our Chicago
office, Mr. Powell, who had shown remarkable gifts as a speaker, was at
once selected as District Secretary of our Western department. Here he
remained for nearly ten years, when some changes were required in our
district offices and he was called to New York as Assistant
Corresponding Secretary, and entrusted with the supervision of the
entire collecting field. The work he had done so acceptably and
efficiently at the West was followed by equally effective services in
his wider field at the East. In the three years of the recent burden of
debt upon the Association, the energies of Dr. Powell were called into
full play, and when, at our last Annual Meeting, we rejoiced in
deliverance from debt, it was felt that the gratifying result was due in