Excerpt on William Wilder from the Ministers of the PBA

William Wilder: b. Mar. 31 (or May 3?), 1819, Buckland, Mass.; d. Jan. 15, 1885, Brooklyn Centre, Minn.; converted at age 16 (Fetter) or 17 (Cathcart’s Baptist Encyclopedia), uniting with the local Presbyterian church; embracing Baptist views, he then united with the Baptist church in 1841; entered Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution, 1841, grad. A.B., 1846; m. Susan _________ (ca. 1820, England- ); called (July 1, 1847) and ord. pastor, Huntingdon Baptist, Waverly (near Baltimore), Md., Sept. 5, 1847-1850, while also preaching at Hampden (then two miles north of Baltimore), invited for one year as supply pastor, New Britain, Pa., 1850-Jan. 1851, elected pastor, New Britain, Pa., Jan. 1851-1854, pastor, Upland, Pa., 1854-July 1865, while helping to supply the new work at nearby Chester, Pa., fall 1854-1858, Olivet Baptist, Phila., July 1865-1868, First Baptist, Bridgeton, N.J., Jan. 1, 1869-July 30, 1871, First Avenue Baptist, Minneapolis, Minn., 1871-1872, First Baptist, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1872-1875, when he was compelled to resign because of a protracted sickness; financial secretary of the Iowa Baptist State Convention, 1876-1877, pastor, Hampton, Iowa, 1877-1881. “In 1881, he purchased a small tract of land and residence in Brooklyn Centre, eight miles from Minneapolis, where he dwelt until he died, meanwhile assisting pastors in special services and preaching for needy churches” (Fetter). Wilder was the author of A Historical Address, delivered at the Centennial Anniversary of the New Britain Baptist Church, November 28, 1854 (Phila., 1855), 19 pp., and The Spirit of Devotion the Special Necessity of the Times: Circular Letter to the Churches, read and adopted [by the Philadelphia Baptist Association] October 8, 1857 (Phila., 1858). “Mr. Wilder was a man of sterling worth, an earnest and God-fearing servant of Christ”—Palmer.