Pioneer preacher Charles W. Sperry and his wife, Rachel Ann, were both from Vermont, came from a Millerite background, and became Sabbathkeepers in 1851-1852. Soon after this, Charles, earlier a schoolteacher, began an intensive preaching ministry, mostly in Vermont and New York. In 1853 he was “ordained to the work of the gospel ministry” together with J. N. Andrews and A. S. Hutchins, in one of the earliest ordination services of the Sabbatarian movement. His ministry lasted only nine years until his untimely death in 1861, at age 41. 1EGWLM 892.1
“I saw that Charles and Rachel Ann both were beloved of God. I saw that Charles was a precious, chosen vessel,” Ellen White wrote in 1856. She later consoled Rachel at the loss of her husband with the words “He fell like a soldier; he died at his post.” Nevertheless, Ellen White was impressed that Charles Sperry's death was a premature one, that “had he worked with reference to health he might have lived to have labored until the present time.” 1EGWLM 892.2
See: Obituary: “Charles W. Sperry,” Review, Oct. 1, 1861, p. 143; obituary: “Rachel Ann Sperry,” Review, Nov. 24, 1863, p. 207; H. B. Peirce, History of Calhoun County, Michigan, vol. 2, pp. 1167, 1168; search term “Sperry” in Words of the Pioneers; “Eastern Tour,” Review, Nov. 15, 1853, p. 148; Ellen G. White, Lt 11, 1856 (Apr.); Lt 8, 1861 (Sept. 26); Ms 3, 1868 (June 12). 1EGWLM 892.3