MEMOIR OF HON. MARSHALL P. WILDER. 37 



kinds in connection with the parish. The central part of the 

 house was reserved for the funeral party and for the representa- 

 tives of the numerous organizations with which Mr. Wilder had 

 been connected. Besides the Committee appointed by the Massa- 

 chusetts Horticultural Society to attend the funeral other members 

 were present, and the New England Historic Genealogical Society, 

 the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company, the Hamilton 

 National Bank, the Home Savings Bank, the Ancient and Honor- 

 able Artillery Company, the Massachusetts Institute of Technol- 

 ogy, and the Masonic fraternity were represented. Almost every 

 individual in the large assembly had known and loved him as a 

 friend. 



A private service was held at his residence, and at the close the 

 casket was borne to the hearse b}' four men who had been in his 

 employment for many years. At the church the exercises consisted 

 of singing of some of his favorite hymns, reading of the Scriptures, 

 prayer, and an appropriate and appreciative address by Rev. 

 Edward N. Packard, pastor of the church. Besides the points 

 which we have mentioned in this sketch, he spoke of Mr. Wilder's 

 strong religious bent, inherited from a godly ancestry, and of his 

 constant and generous support of the Gospel and of all good 

 works to which the church lent her hand. In his horticultural 

 pursuits he sought Nature and listened and watched for the foot- 

 steps of the benevolent Deity^ walking still in the garden in the 

 cool of the day. 



The interment was in Mr. Wilder's lot at Forest Hills Ceme- 

 tery, where his last two wives and several of his children had 

 been buried. 



The life of Mr. Wilder is a striking instance of what an indi- 

 vidual may accomplish by industry, indomitable perseverance, and 

 the concentration of his intellectual powers upon one great object. 

 With him, it was that of raising the standard of terraculture to a 

 higher rank among the great pursuits of a nation. No ordinary tal- 

 lent, no turn of mere good fortune, could ever have placed him in the 

 high position he attained as a public benefactor. But back of all his 

 mental endowments he had a strong constitution and sound phy- 

 sical health, the foundation of which was doubtless laid while work- 

 ing on the New Hampshire farm. Without these he never could 

 have performed such labors as he did. 



Among his qualifications for usefulness his executive tact was 



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