Introducing the Century Club at Log College Press

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Among the nearly 2,000 authors found at Log College Press there are at least three centenarians (Arthur Judson Brown [1856-1963, 106]; William Rankin III [1810-1912, 102]; and George Summey [1853-1954, 101]), as well as at least three authors who were 99 years old when they entered into their eternal rest (Littleton Purnell Bowen, David Caldwell, and Maria Fearing). But the Log College Press Century Club which we are introducing today has to do with something a little different.

To be a member of this club, there must be at least 100 works by (and sometimes about) the author on their particular pages. At this point in time, there are 27 such individuals in the LCP Century Club, as follows:

There are some other prolific writers who we anticipate may join this club at some point in the future, such as Isabella Macdonald Alden, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Finley Milligan Foster, Robert Jefferson Breckinridge and Cleland Boyd McAfee, to name a few. As the Lord gives us strength and ability, we continue to add works by these and many other writers. We still have our work cut out for us, especially, for example, with respect to T.L. Cuyler, who penned over 4,000 separate published articles. Meanwhile, if viewed as a snapshot of our most prolific authors, the LCP Century Club invites readers to explore a representative cross-section of early American Presbyterianism. We hope you will take this opportunity to see what’s available among these prolific writers’ pages (as well as those not-so-prolific), and to enjoy a visit to the past, which we trust will be a blessing to you in the present.

New Resources at Log College Press - June 15, 2022

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If you are a member of the Dead Presbyterians Society at Log College Press, you may have noticed some interesting new material added to the site. If you are not yet a member, perhaps the list below will whet your appetite.

In the month of April 2022, we added 650+ new works as well as 23 new authors. In May 2022, we added 512 new works and 40 new authors. At present, on Log College Press, we have over 14,000 works by over 1,900 authors.

Often we list the most interesting material first at the Early Additions page to give our members a sneak preview. Some works there at present include:

  • Articles by John Murray on The Theology of the Westminster Standards and The Fourth Commandment According to the Westminster Standards;

  • Correspondence by Robert J. Breckinridge to President Abraham Lincoln;

  • William B. McGroarty’s 1940 study of the history of The Old Presbyterian Meeting House at Alexandria [Virginia], 1774-1874;

  • Louis Voss’ 1931 survey of Presbyterianism in New Orleans and Adjacent Points;

  • A fascinating 1860 article by William S. Plumer titled Mary Reynolds: A Case of Double Consciousness;

  • David Ramsay’s 1789 Dissertation on the Manners of Acquiring the Character and Privileges of a Citizen of the United States; and

  • In 1848, a London edition of Matthew Henry’s famous commentary of the Bible (which was completed by other hands after his death after Henry finished his comments on Romans) was published which includes notes from Charles Hodge on Romans and notes from John Forsyth on the exposition of James (written originally by Samuel Wright).

Also, of note among many titles at the Recent Additions page:

  • Charles Paschal Telesphore Chiniquy (1809-1899), Fifty Years in the Church of Rome (1886) — Chiniquy was a Canadian-born Roman Catholic priest-turned Presbyterian minister who wrote about the errors of his former ways and the dangers of Roman Catholicism;

  • Reviews by John Forsyth of various volumes of William B. Sprague’s Annals of the American Pulpit — Sprague’s Annals are widely considered to be his magnum opus and Forsyth’s reviews are a valuable introduction to this remarkable set of biographical sketches;

  • David Holmes Coyner (1807-1892), The Lost Trappers (1847, 1855) - Coyner, a Presbyterian minister, wrote this volume as a true narrative of the wanderings of trapper Ezekiel Williams, who, according to Coyner, led twenty trappers up the Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains in 1807. One year later, seventeen of the twenty had died, and the three survivors decided to separate. Two started for Santa Fe, getting lost in the Rockies until they met a Spanish caravan bound for California, while Williams journeyed home by canoe on the Arkansas and Missouri rivers, though he was taken captive for a time by Indians in Kansas. Dismissed as fiction by some, modern scholarship has confirmed the factual basis for Coyner’s account;

  • David Joshua Beale, Sr. (1835-1900), Through the Johnstown Flood (1890) - This is a remarkable account of a major 19th century natural disaster by an eyewitness who lived through it;

  • Alexander McLeod, The Constitution, Character, and Duties, of the Gospel Ministry: A Sermon Preached at the Ordination of the Rev. Gilbert McMaster, in the First Presbyterian Church, Duanesburgh (1808) - This sermon by one noted Reformed Presbyterian minister at the ordination of another represents an important ecclesiological statement on the gospel ministry;

  • Eulogies on President George Washington by William Linn, David Ramsay and Samuel Stanhope Smith;

  • John Todd, An Humble Attempt Towards the Improvement of Psalmody: The Propriety, Necessity and Use, of Evangelical Psalms, in Christian Worship. Delivered at a Meeting of the Presbytery of Hanover in Virginia, October 6th, 1762 (1763) — This sermon on song in worship preached during the colonial era is a fascinating read;

  • William Edward Schenck, The Faith of Christ's Ministers: An Example For His People: A Discourse Commemorative of Benjamin Holt Rice, D.D., Preached in the First Presbyterian Church, Princeton, New Jersey, on Sabbath Morning, July 20, 1856 (1856);

  • Many works by Theodore L. Cuyler, J. Addison Alexander, James McCosh, Thomas De Witt Talmage, Henry Van Dyke, Jr., and numerous novels by Isabella Macdonald Alden, a prolific Presbyterian author, known best by her pen name, “Pansy,” written for young people primarily;

Also, take note of some works recently added to our Compilations page, such as:

  • The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America Containing the Confession of Faith, the Catechisms, the Government and Discipline, and the Directory For the Worship of God (1789);

  • A Narrative of the Revival of Religion, in the County of Oneida [New York], Particularly in the Bounds of the Presbytery of Oneida, in the Year 1826 (1826);

  • The Testimony of the United Presbyterian Church of North America (1858);

  • Overture on Reunion: The Reports of the Joint Committee of the Two General Assemblies of 1866-7, and of the Special Committee of the (N. S.) General Assembly of 1868 (1868)

  • The Confessional Statement of the United Presbyterian Church of North America (1926) — This document dramatically changed the worship and government of the UPCNA; and

  • Many psalters published by UPCNA and the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA).

There is much more that is new to explore on these and other pages at Log College Press, and of course all that is new is old, so if you appreciate old treasures, please dive in and enjoy. We are always growing, and dusting off antique volumes for your reading pleasure.

Some Pastors' Wives who were Prolific Writers

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The Child’s Story Bible [by Catherine Vos] was such a success that it sold more copies than all Geerhardus’s books combined. — Danny E. Olinger, Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian, p. 273

When we think of the most prolific or best-selling writers on Log College Press, names like B.B. Warfield, Archibald Alexander and Samuel Miller may come to mind. But some of the most prolific writers were often pastors’ wives, and, in some cases, as writers, out-sold their husbands. It is worth taking notes of some of their names and stories.

  • Isabella Macdonald Alden — The wife of Rev. Gustavus Rosenberg Alden, Mrs. Alden was the author of over 200 books, most written under the pen name “Pansy” (a childhood nickname), and contributed as a journalist and editor as well. Her literary fame was world-wide and she received much fan mail, responding to each letter individually. Rev. Francis E. Clark once said, “Probably no writer of stories for young people has been so popular or had so wide an audience as Mrs. G. R. Alden, whose pen-name, ‘Pansy,’ is known wherever English books are read.”

  • Charlotte Forten Grimké — Both before and after her 1878 marriage to Rev. Francis James Grimké, Charlotte was a poet, diarist and author of articles and essays. Her contribution to African-American literature is still greatly appreciated today.

  • Elizabeth Payson Prentiss — Mrs. Prentiss, author of Stepping Heavenward, was the wife of Rev. George Lewis Prentiss, author of her biography. Elizabeth wrote dozens of books, as well as poetry and hymns. Stepping Heavenward sold over 200,000 copies in the 19th century, and since a 1992 reprint was issued, at least another 100,000 copies have been sold.

  • Harriet Beecher Stowe — The wife of Rev. Calvin Ellis Stowe, Harriet is best known as the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. But she also wrote around 30 novels, plus articles and letters. She was a celebrity to many, infamous to others, but her writings were an important factor in the momentous events of 1861. Uncle Tom’s Cabin sold over 2 million copies worldwide by 1857 (5 years after its publication) and to date it has been translated into 70 languages.

  • Mary Virginia Hawes Terhune — Mrs. Terhune, wife of Rev. Edward Payson Terhune, was known by her pen name, Marion Harland. She was the author of many novels, short stories, cookbooks, books on etiquette and more. She gave birth to six children, three of whom survived into adulthood - all three became successful writers as well. Her autobiography contains many fascinating insights into the Presbyterian circles in which she participated in Virginia, such as her remarks on the anti-slavery convictions of Mrs. Anne Rice, wife of Rev. John Holt Rice.

Other prolific female Presbyterian writers, married (whose spouses were not ministers) or unmarried, include:

  • Pearl Sydenstricker Buck — Mrs. Buck, daughter of a missionary, Rev. Absalom Sydenstricker, and the wife of agricultural missionary John Lossing Buck (until they divorced) and Richard J. Walsh, is well-known for her liberal convictions and for her role in the upheaval that led to Rev. J. Gresham Machen’s departure from the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America. Her 1931 novel The Good Earth won her a Pulitzer Prize, and in 1938 she won the Nobel Prize for Literature in recognition of her writings on China.

  • Martha Farquaharson Finley — The author of the Elsie Dinsmore series and many more novels, Ms. Finley was a descendant of Samuel Finley and of Scottish Covenanters. Of the Elsie Dinsmore series, it has been said that it was “‘The most popular and longest running girl’s series of the 19th century,’ with the first volume selling nearly 300,000 copies in its first decade, going on to ‘sell more than 5 million copies in the 20th century.’”

  • Grace Livingston Hill — Niece of Isabella M. Alden, and daughter of Rev. Charles Montgomery Livingston and Mrs. Marcia B. Macdonald Livingston, she was a popular writer of over 100 books on her own, but also compiled the Pansies for Thoughts of her aunt, and they collaborated on other works as well.

  • Julia Lake Skinner Kellersberger — The wife of medical missionary Eugene Roland Kellersberger, both served the Presbyterian mission to the Belgian Congo. Mrs. Kellersberger wrote many books based on her experience, including a noted biography of Althea Maria Brown Edmiston.

  • Margaret Junkin Preston — Known as the “Poet Laureate of the Confederacy,” Mrs. Preston was the wife of Major John Thomas Lewis Preston, a professor of Latin at the Virginia Military Institute; the daughter of Rev. George Junkin; and the brother-in-law of Stonewall Jackson. Her literary productions were many, and she was a beloved poet of the South.

  • Julia McNair Wright — A very popular writer of books for children, including historical novels and introductions to science, and more, Mrs. Wright (wife of mathematician William James Wright), was a remarkable author, whose works were translated into many languages. Her The Complete Home: An Encyclopedia of Domestic Life and Affairs, Embracing all the Interests of the Household sold over 100,000 copies.

These brief notices show that there are a number of popular women Presbyterian writers from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Their bibliographies are lengthy, their legacies in some cases enduring to the present day, and their impact has been culturally significant. The work of adding all of their published writings is ongoing and in some cases far from complete at the present. We hope to make much more progress with each of these writers. The corpus of their literary productions is a real treasure.