Brock, William, D.D., was born Feb. 14, 1807, at Honiton, in Devonshire, England. On_ his father’s side he was descended from certain Dutch refugees of the same name who had settled in the neighborhood some time in the sixteenth century.

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Brock, William, D.D., was born Feb. 14, 1807, at Honiton, in Devonshire, England. On_ his father’s side he was descended from certain Dutch refugees of the same name who had settled in the neighborhood some time in the sixteenth century. William Brock was only four years old when his father died. As the only free scholar in the en- dowed grammar school of the town he had a rough schooling, and but for the native vigor of body and mind the hardships of this early period of his life would have crushed him.» He was apprenticed at the age of thirteen to a watchmaker at Sidmouth, and served an apprenticeship of seven years. He obtained a situation in Hertford, and during a two years’ residence there he professed Christ in bap- tism, and began to exhort sinners to repent and believe the gospel. He was admitted a member of the Baptist church at Highgate, London, of which his kinsman, the Rev. Mr. Lewis, was pastor, on Jan. 10, 1830, and in the following month, having given satisfactory proofs of a divine call to become a preacher of the Word, he was recommended to the committee of Stepney College as a student for the ministry. His energy and diligence in study were conspicuous, but his oratorical powers were so evident and exceptional that his services were too frequently in request to permit of his giving undivided attention to his studies. Before the sec- ond year of his college course was ended he had received more than one invitation to the pastorate, and in the course of the third year the pressure from two different churches became so strong that the college authorities finally agreed to release him from the remainder of the four years’ course of study. He had by this time been led to accept the invitation of the church meeting in St. Mary’s chapel, in the old city of Norwich. Dr. Brock began his ministry in Norwich, May 10, 1833. The congregation were soon increased by the attraction of the pulpit. The young pastor of twenty-five years of age threw his whole soul into his work and gave full proof of his ministry. Enlargements of the edifice took place again and again. But. in 1848 his friend, Sir, Morton Peto, proposed that Mr. Brock should become the minister of, the new church to be gathered in the edifice he was then building in London, to be called Bloomsbury chapel. After long and-anxious deliberation the Norwich church received their pastor’s resignation, and in December he commenced his London ministry. It was a great venture, but it was a great success from the first.. The munificent liberality of the builder of the edifice and the courageous ability of the minister were well matched. A. crowded con- gregation was immediately gathered ; conversions and accessions from various quarters continually augmented the membership ; and the whole neigh- borhood felt the influence of the new church, which poured forth help for all manner of benevolent and educational work. Bloomsbury chapel became the centre of a Christian evangelization and _philan- thropy the like of which could not then be easily found in London. But notwithstanding the cost of these home enterprises, foreign missions and all good works received effective support. During the twenty-five years of Dr. Brock’s ministry at Bloomsbury, as previously in Norwich, he took a prominent part in the religious movements of the time, and contributed*to establish some of the modes of evangelism now common, such as special services in theatres and public halls. In denomi- national work he was a trusted counselor and leader. When the London Baptist Association was reorganized, in 1866, he was unanimously chosen president; and in 1869 he was cordially invited to the chair of the Baptist Union of England and Wales., His services to the Missionary Society were exceedingly valuable, and he ever held himself ready to obey its call. He was one of the founders of the Society for augmenting Pastors’ Incomes, promoting it himself with zealous liberality, and in the recent movement towards a compacter or- ganization of the denomination his influence was very effective. His literary labors were consider- able for a man so full of public work. His biog- raphy of Gen. Sir Henry Havelock had a very ex- tensive sale, and some of his occasional sermons and lectures on denominational and general topics have a permanent interest and value. He received the degree of D.D. from Harvard University, and although he was reluctant to assume it, his friends and the public carried the point against him. Finding his strength failing, he resigned his charge in 1872, and thenceforward gave himself to the service of the churches. With commendable liber- ality the church at Bloomsbury made provision for his remaining days, but they were destined to be few. His death occurred somewhat suddenly on Nov. 18, 1875.