Pre-Eminent American Presbyterians of the 18th and 19th Centuries: A List

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The question is sometimes asked, “Who are the important or significant early American Presbyterians to know historically?” Another question that is often posed to Log College Press is ”Where should someone unfamiliar with this time period start?” These are difficult question to answer because the period of which we are speaking — primarily the 18th and 19th centuries — was so diverse and there are so many representative authors. But in an attempt to respond helpfully, as well as to introduce readers of Log College Press to some of the pre-eminent authors on our site, we have developed a list - or actually a set of lists. Lists are both subject to scrutiny and often have a subjective element, and this one can certainly be modified or adjusted as needed. But lists provide a starting point for discussion. Consider the following as our contribution in response to some excellent questions that challenge with their simplicity.

17th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

• Francis Makemie (1658-1708) - Although Makemie was not the first Presbyterian minister to serve in the American colonies, because of his pioneering labors along the Eastern Seaboard, particularly in the establishment of the first Presbytery in America, he is often credited as “the Father of American Presbyterianism.”

18th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

• David Brainerd (1718-1747) - A pioneer Presbyterian missionary who died young, his diary was reprinted by Jonathan Edwards and remains a spiritual classic.

• Samuel Davies (1723-1761) - Davies accomplished much in a short life, contributing significantly to the Great Awakening as a pioneer minister in Virginia and as President of the College of New Jersey (Princeton).

• Jonathan Dickinson (1688-1747) - Dickinson was the first President of the College of New Jersey and an important voice in American colonial Presbyterianism.

• John Mitchell Mason (1770-1829) - Mason was a leading figure in the Associate Reformed Church.

• David Rice (1733-1816) - An early Presbyterian opponent of slavery, “Father Rice” helped to build the Presbyterian Church in Virginia and Kentucky.

• John Rodgers (1727-1811) - An early colleague of Samuel Davies, Rodgers went on to play a very influential role in the establishment of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.

• Archibald Stobo (c. 1670-1741) - Stobo helped to found the first Presbytery in the New World (Panama) and the first Presbytery in the Southern United States (South Carolina).

• Gilbert Tennent (1703-1764) - The son of the founder of the original Log College, Gilbert Tennent was also known as the “Son of Thunder.” A New-Side adherent, he was involved in both the 1741 split of the Presbyterian church and the 1758 reunion.

• William Tennent, Sr. (1673-1746) - The Founder of the original Log College seminary was a major force in the early American Presbyterian Church who left a legacy of well-educated ministers and many academies and schools which trace their roots to his labors.

• John Thomson (1690-1753) - The architect of the Adopting Act of 1729, which influenced the course of the American Presbyterian Church tremendously, Thomson was an Old Side minister who served different pastorates throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

• John Knox Witherspoon (1723-1794) - President of the College of New Jersey, Witherspoon was also the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence, and he signed the Articles of Confederation as well.

19th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

• John Bailey Adger (1810-1899) - Adger served the church as a widely-respected and influential pastor, missionary, seminary professor and author.

• Archibald Alexander (1772-1851) - Pastor, author and first professor of the Princeton Theological Seminary, Alexander was a major force in American Presbyterianism in the first half of the 19th century. He also served as President of Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia for 9 years.

• James Waddel Alexander, Sr. (1804-1859) - Son of Archibald Alexander, J.W. was, like his father, an eminent pastor, professor and author.

• Daniel Baker (1791-1857) - The founder of Austin College was a pioneer missionary and noted preacher who did much to bring Presbyterianism to the Western United States.

• Robert Lewis Dabney (1820-1898) - A leading voice of Southern Presbyterianism, Dabney was a noted preacher, seminary professor, author and architect. His 5 volumes of Discussions remain in print today.

• John Lafayette Girardeau (1825-1898) - A pastor with a heart for ministering to former slaves, as well as author and seminary professor, Girardeau became one of America’s greatest theologians.

• Ashbel Green (1762-1848) - President of the College of New Jersey, Green authored lectures on the Westminster Shorter Catechism and was an influential voice within the Presbyterian Church in the first half of the 19th century.

• Francis James Grimké (1850-1937) - A former slave of French Huguenot descent, Grimké was a leading African-American Presbyterian during his lengthy ministry, mostly based in Washington, D.C.

• Archibald Alexander Hodge (1823-1886) - Son of Charles Hodge, A.A. Hodge was the author of a well-respected commentary on the Westminister Confession of Faith, and followed in his father’s footsteps as a leader at Princeton.

• Charles Hodge (1797-1878) - One of the most important leaders of the Presbyterian Church in the 19th century, Hodge authored a 3-volume Systematic Theology, served as principal of Princeton Theological Seminary, and wrote numerous articles as editor various theological journals.

• Moses Drury Hoge (1818-1899) - Hoge served as a minister of the Second Presbyterian Church of Richmond, Virginia for almost 54 years, during which time he was a widely-respected leader throughout the Presbyterian Church.

• Jacob Jones Janeway (1774-1858) - Janeway served the Second Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1799 to 1828, and also authored sermons, articles and other works for the advancement of missions, both foreign and domestic.

• Alexander McLeod (1774-1833) - McLeod was an important leader both in the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, influencing its institutional opposition to slavery, and within the broader Presbyterian Church, by means of his evangelistic efforts and concerns for the welfare of society.

• Samuel Miller (1769-1850) - The second professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, Miller was a prolific writer, and diligent minster of the gospel, who was widely recognized as a leader in 19th century American Presbyterianism. Many of his works remain in print today.

• Benjamin Morgan Palmer (1818-1902) - Palmer was a leader in the Southern Presbyterian Church because of his pastoral ministry, and his role as a seminary professor and author.

• Thomas Ephraim Peck (1822-1893) - Peck was an important Southern Presbyterian minister, author and seminary professor whose 3 volumes of Miscellanies remain in print today.

• William Swan Plumer (1802-1880) - Plumer was an Old School minister, seminary professor and prolific writer with a heart for teaching God’s Word to as many as possible, young and old.

• John Holt Rice (1777-1831) - Rice did much to preach the gospel and promote education in the South as a minister, seminary professor and editor.

• Stuart Robinson (1814-1881) - Robinson’s advocacy of the spiritual independence of the church during a time of civil conflict made him a controversial but respected figure in the Presbyterian Church.

• Thomas Smyth (1808-1873) - Minister, scholar, seminary professor, author - Smyth’s 10 volumes of Works reveal his prolific output and influential voice within the 19th century Presbyterian Church.

• William Buell Sprague (1795-1876) - A prolific preacher and author, Sprague is also known as the “Patriarch of American Collectors,” for his collection of autographs, including those of every signer of the Declaration of Independence, pamphlets and other materials. He authored the Annals of the American Pulpit, an important collection of biographical sketches.

• James Henley Thornwell (1812-1862) - Thornwell wrote and accomplished much in a short lifetime, helping to found The Southern Presbyterian Review, and representing the Southern Presbyterian perspective on matters of ecclesiology in debates with Charles Hodge.

• Cortlandt Van Rensselaer, Sr. (1808-1860) - Van Rensselaer served the church as a pastor, missionary, editor and as the first President of the Presbyterian Historical Society.

• Moses Waddel (1770-1840) - Founder of the “American Eton,” Waddel pioneered education in the South.

• Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (1851-1921) - An eminent Biblical scholar and seminary professor, Warfield was a prolific author. His Works were collected into 10 volumes.

• James Renwick Willson (1780-1853) - A leader in the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Willson was known as an opponent of slavery, and for his call to reform the United States Constitution.

• John Leighton Wilson (1809-1886) - Wilson was a pioneer Southern Presbyterian missionary to West Africa, and the first to bring a skeleton of a gorilla back to the United States.

Early 20th Century American Presbyterian Worthies

• John Gresham Machen (1881-1937) - A conservative minister and Princeton professor, Machen led a split from the increasingly liberal mainline Presbyterian Church to help form what became known as the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

• John McNaugher (1857-1847) - "Mister United Presbyterian," McNaugher served the United Presbyterian Church of North America as a pastor, professor of New Testament literature, seminary president and as a writer and teacher.

• Geerhardus Vos (1862-1949) - A Dutch-American minister and seminary professor, Vos is known as a pioneer of Biblical Theology, and as an eminent expositor of Scripture. He was a also a poet.

Other Early American Presbyterian Worthies to Know

• John Boyd (1679-1708) - Boyd was the first Presbyterian minister ordained in America (1706).

• David Stewart Caldwell, Sr. (1725-1824) - Caldwell is known for many contributions to church and society, but especially as the founder of the “Southern Log College,” near Greensboro, North Carolina.

• James Caldwell (1734-1781) - “The Fighting Parson” was a noted supporter of the colonists in the civil conflict with Great Britain.

• John Chavis (1763-1838) - Chavis was the first African-American Presbyterian to be ordained as a minister (in 1801).

• Alexander Craighead (1707-1766) - Craighead was the first Reformed Presbyterian minister in America, a member of Hanover Presbytery, and the Mecklenburg Declaration of Indpendence, although written after his death, may be his greatest legacy.

• John Cuthbertson (1718-1791) - Cuthbertson was a pioneer Reformed Presbyterian (Covenanter) missionary in America, and helped to found the first RP Presbytery in America, and the Associate Reformed Church as well. He estimated that during his missionary labors he rode over 70,000 miles on horseback.

• Theodore Ledyard Cuyler (1822-1909) - Pastor of the largest Presbyterian congregation in the United States in New York City, Cuyler was a leading minister and prolific writer, as well as a friend to many American Presidents.

• Henry Highland Garnet (1815-1882) - Garnet was the first African-American to address Congress (in 1865), and later served as a diplomat to Liberia, where he died, as well as a minister of the gospel.

• John Gloucester, Sr. (1776-1822) - An early African-American Presbyterian minister (ordained in 1811), he was a former slave who helped to found the First African Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

• William Graham (1745-1799) - As principal of Liberty Hall Academy in Lexington, Virginia, Graham trained Archibald Alexander and John Chavis, among others.

• Jacob Green (1722-1790) - Father of Ashbel Green, Jacob was a chaplain in the American War of Independence, and an early opponent of slavery.

• John McMillan (1752-1833) - “The Apostle of Presbyterianism to the West,” McMillan’s great legacy was the pioneering educational institutions which he founded.

• Samson Occom (1723-1792) - Occom was one of first Native American Presbyterian ministers whose writings were published in English.

• James W.C. Pennington (1807-1870) - The former “Fugitive Slave”-turned-Presbyterian minister and author became the first African-American to receive a doctorate of divinity at a European university.

• Thomas De Witt Talmage (1832-1902) - “The Spurgeon of America” was one of the most popular ministers in America during the last half of the 19th century with an estimated 30 million readers of his sermons in the newspapers, and elsewhere.

• Marcus Whitman (1802-1847) - Whitman was a pioneer ruling elder and medical missionary whose tragic death in Oregon inspired others to travel westward and continue to spread the gospel.

• Julia McNair Wright (1840-1903) - An important Presbyterian author, she wrote widely on various topics, but is known especially for her Christian biographies for young readers.

• Theodore Sedgwick Wright (1797-1847) - Wright was the first African-American to attend a theological seminary in the United States (Princeton). He was a leader in the Underground Railroad, as well as a well-respected minister of the gospel.

This list, it is hoped, will help to introduce readers to important figures in early American Presbyterianism. While not definitive or all-encompassing (it was difficult to leave off certain names from the approximately 900 authors that we have on Log College Press alone), it highlights some people very much worth getting to know. Their contributions to the Presbyterian Church, America and the world endure, and their memory is cherished.

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A letter from Caledonia, and more by Archibald Stobo

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As one of three ministers from Scotland who helped to promote the spiritual interests of the settlers who founded the colony of Caledonia, or New Caledonia, on the Isthmus of Panama in the late 1690s, Archibald Stobo and his colleagues dispatched a letter to the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland dated February 2, 1700 giving an account of the colony shortly before it was abandoned the following month. It was primarily authored by the famous Covenanter minister Alexander Shields, signed by each minister of the newly-formed Presbytery of Caledonia, and reproduced in Francis Borland’s account of what is now known as the Darien Scheme, or Expedition. We have added this letter to Stobo’s page on Log College Press recently. Also included by Borland is an extract from Stobo’s letter to Borland which briefly gives an account of the famous storm that caused Stobo to be stranded in Charleston, South Carolina, where he took up his home and embraced a life in America, never to return to Scotland. Alexander Shields also never made it home to Scotland, having died of the “malignant fever” at Port Royal, Jamaica in 1700 [this writer once lived there, but Shields’ grave is unmarked]. So Borland’s memoir of the Darien expedition is a most important resource.

These first-hand accounts from Stobo and friends are valuable to students of both church history and world history. As we have noted before, Stobo was involved in both the founding of the Presbytery of Caledonia, in Panama, in 1699-1700, and the first presbytery in the Southern United States, Charles Towne Presbytery, or the Presbytery of James Island, in 1722-1723.

Also of note on his page is the affidavit that he and Reformed Baptist William Screven signed in 1705 in case involving the Anglican suppression of Protestant dissenters in 1704, a subject which Daniel Defoe wrote about.

We know of additional writings by Stobo and hope to add more in the future. Meanwhile, take time to read of Stobo’s experiences in Caledonia and Charleston. He is a pioneer Presbyterian that we are glad to highlight here at Log College Press.

An early 18th century joint statement on religious liberty by a Presbyterian and a Reformed Baptist

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The case of Edward Marston, an Anglican minister in Charleston, South Carolina was remarkable for its time, because at the time he delivered his controversial sermon on the Fifth Commandment (October 15, 1704) the colony of South Carolina was governed by the Anglican establishment — but it was some notable Dissenters who came to his defense. Marston argued in his sermon that ministers of the gospel were superior (not accountable) to civil authorities (in spiritual matters), while at the same time claiming that ministers were due monetary maintenance “by Divine Right.”

We (Ministers of the Gospel do not arrogate too much to our selves, nor take too much upon us, when we affirm, That we are superior to the People, and have an Authority over them in Things Spiritual, and appertaining to God.

These claims angered the legislature, which had recently passed the Establishment Act and the Preservation Act, intended to assert more government control over the pulpit, and, it was said, led to his public whipping.

Daniel Defoe, the noted novelist and Presbyterian Dissenter, published two tracts about the church and state conflicts that took place in in early colonial South Carolina, the second of which is titled The Case of Protestant Dissenters in Carolina, Shewing How a Law to Prevent Occasional Conformity There, Has Ended in the Total Subversion of the Constitution in Church and State (1706). Within this fascinating volume, Defoe included an 1704 affidavit by the Reformed Baptist minister William Screven (c. 1629-1713) and the Scottish-American Presbyterian minister Archibald Stobo (about whom we have written before here). These two ministers jointly affirmed that they had reviewed Marston’s sermon and agreed with him that he should be free from civil review of his sermon, and also that it was proper from him to receive government maintenance. Moreover, they noted that the quote about ministerial superiority was derived from the 1692 Exposition of the Ten Commandments by Bishop Ezekiel Hopkins, a clearly approved Anglican source.

Ultimately, the case of Edward Marston was decided by the British Parliament, which ruled that the aforementioned Acts were in violation of the religious freedom guaranteed under the South Carolina Constitution. Queen Anne then nullified those two Acts, which restored the earlier 1697 Act for Granting Liberty of Conscience. Thus it was that two ministers - a Reformed Baptist and a Presbyterian - with help from Daniel Defoe, came to the aid of the Anglican Edward Marston, for the benefit of South Carolina Dissenters. The affidavit by Screven and Stobo can be read here.

A Visit to the South Carolina Lowcountry

Charleston, South Carolina is a city famous, among other things, for its historic churches. A walking tour of the city, especially along Meeting Street, offers the opportunity to travel through time as it were and explore places of worship and graveyards that continue to testify to the faith of our forefathers.

This writer had such an opportunity recently and was privileged to visit such churches in Charleston and the surrounding vicinity. A trip to Elmwood Cemetery, Columbia, SC, was part of the experience as well, where John Lafayette Girardeau, James Henley Thornwell and George Andrew Blackburn were laid to rest between 100 and 150 years ago.

Having consulted several resources beforehand — Erskine Clarke, Our Southern Zion: A History of Calvinism in the South Carolina Low Country, 1690-1990; Charles E. Raynal, Johns Island Presbyterian Church: Its People and Its Community From Colonial Beginnings to the Twenty-First Century; George Howe, History of the Presbyterian Church in South Carolina; and Joanne Calhoun, The Circular Church: Three Centuries of Charleston History — I made my way first to the Johns Island Presbyterian Church (founded in 1710, its building dates to 1719 — three hundred years ago now). As with many of the churches I toured, the graveyard is an ever-present Memento mori. Next on the tour was the James Island Presbyterian Church (founded in 1706). Both of these churches were established by Archibald Stobo, a Presbyterian pioneer who also founded the first presbytery in the Western Hemisphere, as well as in the southern United States. He established other churches in the area which I do hope to visit on a future tour.

In Charleston proper, my walking tour began with a visit to the Unitarian Church, which began its existence in 1774 as the Archdale Street Meeting House, founded by Dissenters who branched off from what we know now as the Circular Congregational Church, originally a mixed Independent and Presbyterian Church, itself founded in 1685. William Tennent III (grandson of the founder of the original Log College) is buried on the grounds of the Unitarian Church, though he was no Unitarian. The fan vault ceiling is modeled after the one at King’s College Chapel, Cambridge.

Next, was the First Scots Presbyterian Church on Meeting Street (founded in 1731). It was another breakaway from the Circular Congregational Church, by a decidedly Presbyterian group. George Buist is buried in the church graveyard.

Further along Meeting Street is the Circular Congregational Church, a remarkable architectural and spiritual landmark, where I paid my respects at the graves of David Ramsay and Benjamin Morgan Palmer (1781-1847).

After this, I visited the Second Presbyterian Church of Charleston (founded in 1811), where I was given a tour of the sanctuary and the graveyard (Thomas Smyth and John Bailey Adger are laid to rest there).

Also on my tour I worshiped at the Independent Presbyterian Church of Savannah, Georgia (founded in 1755). At each stop along the way, I was reminded that the past is not dead, and American Presbyterians are not irrelevant. The old Presbyterian history of the South Carolina lowcountry is very much alive for those with eyes to see.

Archibald Stobo, Presbyterian Pioneer

The name of Francis Makemie is well-known to readers of this site as "the Father of American Presbyterianism," and the historical record shows that he was influential in establishing the first presbytery in America, the Presbytery of Philadelphia, in 1705-1706. 

The Hanover Presbytery, established in Virginia in 1755, is often thought by some to have been the first presbytery established in the Southern United States. However, an earlier presbytery was established in South Carolina, not connected to the northern branches of the American Presbyterian Church, in 1722-1723. Presbyteries consist of more than one man, but in this case, the man who was most influential in its founding, Archibald Stobo (d. 1741) is worthy of special mention here. 

He was born in Scotland in the 1670's, and graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1697. As it happened, a plan for a Scottish colony in Panama at the Isthmus of Darien was developing, and ministers were needed for the colony, which was known as Caledonia. The first wave of ministers and settlers arrived there in 1698. Stobo, along with Alexander Shields and Francis Borland, was part of the second re-supply expedition, which arrived in 1699. While serving there, "Three of these ministers, Alexander Shields, Francis Boreland and Archibald Stobo, instituted the Presbytery of Caledonia, the first presbytery in the New World" (Jacob Harris Patton, A Popular History of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, p. 89). "The first Presbytery organized on this continent was 'The Presbytery of Caledonia.'" (Benjamin L. Agnew, "When Was the First Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America Organized?").

He came with his family, and the expectation was that the second group of ministers would stay for a full year. However, Stobo's wife encouraged him to return home early, and so he was granted leave, and began the return voyage home on the ship, Rising Sun, in September, 1700. Stobo and his family and a few others disembarked after Stobo was requested to preach in town. That very night a hurricane of incredible intensity hit Charleston and sank the Rising Sun with over one hundred souls on board, none of whom survived. The story of that dramatic event is told in much more detail by George Howe, History of the Presbyterian Church in South Carolina, Vol. 1, pp. 141-142; and Howe, The Early Presbyterian Immigration Into South Carolina, pp. 36-37. In time, Stobo made the decision to remain in South Carolina and forgo returning to Scotland altogether. He became the pastor of the church in Charleston that was "called at various times the Presbyterian, Independent, White Meeting [on account of the color of the building], and Circular Church [on account of the building's shape and design]...the 'Mixed Presbyterian and Independent Church'" (Daniel W. Hollis & Carl Julien, Look to the Rock: One Hundred Ante-bellum Presbyterian Churches of the South, p. 4). (This church today is known as the Circular Congregational Church. In Strobo's day, the congregation consisted of a mix of Presbyterians, Congregationalists and French Huguenots of Presbyterian conviction.) 

"After serving this church for four years, he turned his attention to Protestant Dissenters in the countryside who were particularly strong in the region that stretched southwest of the Stono River to the Combahee. For the next thirty-seven years he was a tireless pastor among these people, establishing churches at Wilton Bluff at Adam's Run on the lower Edisto River, at Pon Pon further upriver, at James Island, and northwest of Charlestown, at Cainhoy among the New Englanders who settled there" (Erskine Clarke, Our Southern Zion, p. 43).

Stobo was "a man of decided character, and an uncompromising Presbyterian" (Ernest Trice Thompson, Presbyterians in the South, Vol. 1, p. 32). In 1706, he and 46 members of his congregation signed a covenant binding them to be "a Presbyterian congregation for ever in church discipline, doctrine and government, as set down in the Old Testament. That christnings, marriages and burials shall be among themselves, that their ministers shall come from Scotland, such as he, Mr. Stobo can comply with, that upon Sabbath days they shan't go to other places but the meeting or must meet among themselves rather than by gadding abroad for strengthening others vice and giving offence to one another" (Letter of Le Jau to Mr. Stubbs, dated April 15, 1707, cited in Charles Augustus Briggs, American Presbyterianism: Its Origin and Early History, p. lxvii). It was in 1722-1723 that the efforts of Stobo to unite the various local Presbyterian churches, many of which he planted, bore special fruit with the founding a presbytery (sometimes referred to as the Charles Towne Presbytery, at other times as the Presbytery of James Island). This was the first presbytery established in the Southern United States. 

Thus, Stobo participated in the founding of the first presbytery in the New World (the Presbytery of Caledonia, in Panama, in 1699-1700; and the first presbytery in the Southern United States (Charles Towne Presbytery, or the Presbytery of James Island, in 1722-1723), and is a Presbyterian worthy to be remembered.