USA > New York > New York City > The Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York : historical and biographical sketches of its first fifty years > Part 19
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Dr. Wilson was a born leader in the Church, and stood in the forefront of the temperance and other social reforms. His public spirit and Christian patriotism in peace and in war-time never lacked honest and active manifestation, even against the greatest popular prejudice and opposition. In theology he was a moderate Calvinist, like his father, and was prominently identified with the New School Presbyterians from the division to their reunion with the Old School in 1869. With many other eminent men of both Schools, he was opposed to the reunion ; but when it was happily
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accomplished, he gave it his best services to the end of his honored and blessed ministry. He hated strife, and was pre-eminently a peacemaker ; and it was doubtless and chiefly for these reasons that he chose his way through the ecclesiastical controversies of his time.
Dr. Wilson died on May 22, 1889. My own recollections of him are very pleasant. We came to New York about the same time, and during his connection with the Union Theo- logical Seminary, as one of its Professors, he and his family were members of my congregation. I soon learned to esteem and love him, as a man of rare modesty and solid excellence, and our friendship never grew cold. For a third of a century he was a Director of the Union Seminary. He took a lively interest in its welfare, and was not often absent from a meet- ing of the Board. He had the greatest admiration for his successor in the chair of Systematic Theology, Dr. Henry B. Smith, and always seemed to delight in expressing it. His last services as a member of the Board were in preparing a touching minute on the death of Dr. Fewsmith, and in giving the charge to the Rev. Dr. Vincent upon his inauguration as Baldwin Professor of Sacred Literature.
The death of Dr. Wilson rendered vacant the last of three seats in the Board of Directors which had been occupied for a third of a century by a remarkable triumvirate of Newark pastors, the first two of whom were Jonathan F. Stearns, elected in 1850, and Joseph Fewsmith, elected in 1852. All three were men of uncommon gifts; and by their very long and faithful service, their ripe experience, their tried wisdom and soundness of judgment, their catholic spirit and sweet human sympathies, as well as by their piety towards God and their likeness to Jesus Christ, they added weight to the character of the city in which they labored, and of the whole Church which was so favored as to number them among its ministers.
Who can begin to estimate the good influences which
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flowed, and will continue to flow, far and wide, from the lives of these three men ? They were three in varied graces and individuality of character and of work; but they were one, and of one heart and one mind, in striving together so long, side by side, for the faith and furtherance of the Gospel. What a beautiful friendship was theirs! How they loved and trusted each other during all those more than three and thirty years ! The very sight of them, as they used to take their places together so punctually at the meetings of the Board of Directors of Union Seminary, was a benediction.
MR. JAMES BROWN.
JAMES BROWN was born at Ballymena, Antrim County, Ire- land, February 4, 1791. In 1800 his father, Alexander Brown, came to the United States and settled in Baltimore. James was then at school in England, but later followed his father to this country. In 1811 the firm of Alexander Brown and Sons was established in Baltimore. In 1815 James joined his brother William, afterward Sir William Brown, who was at the head of a branch of the house in Liverpool. Three years later he returned and became a partner with his brother in the Philadelphia firm of John A. Brown & Co. In 1825 he came to New York, and the next year established here the firm of Brown Brothers & Co., since so well known and hon- ored the world over. In 1838, on the retirement from busi- ness of John A. Brown, he became the head of the house in this country. He died in New York on November 1, 1877, in the eighty-seventh year of his age. To his warm friendship for Dr. Adams the Seminary owes the gift of three hundred thousand dollars, with the condition that " the income should be applied only to the payment of professors' and teachers' salaries." "I have long felt," he wrote to Dr. Adams, " that the salaries of the professors are quite too small, and hence the views I take on that subject."
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On the death of Mr. Brown the following minute was placed upon the records of the Faculty : -
The Faculty of Union Theological Seminary have been deeply touched by the departure from this life of their aged and honored friend, Mr. James Brown ; and they desire to put on record an ex- pression of their feelings in view of this event. As an eminent citizen, as a merchant whose name was known and highly esteemed throughout the commercial world, as a Christian man and philan- thropist, and as a munificent patron of Union Seminary, the death of Mr. Brown will receive due notice, and his virtues be fully commemorated elsewhere. But he stood in peculiar relations to the Faculty of this institution. He was more than their personal friend, he was their benefactor and the benefactor of their suc- cessors in the years to come. With a wisdom and foresight only equalled by his generosity, he lifted all our chairs out of their straitened and uncertain financial condition and planted them upon the solid ground of a liberal, secure, and permanent endowment. He thus freed us, and those who shall hereafter take our places, from exposure to the worrying cares and discomforts which, un- happily, are too often the portion of professors in our higher in- stitutions of learning. In paying, therefore, a special tribute to the memory of this excellent and noble man, we are paying a debt of gratitude, as well as of esteem and affection. We shall not cease to remember him and his great service to this Seminary. Nor shall we cease to remember with pleasure those closing Sabbath hours, when, under his own roof, we one after another joined with him and his household in Christian worship. What a beautiful picture he presented of serene, happy, God-fearing old age, as in the midst of his children and children's children he sat thus, awaiting the coming of his Lord ! What an unspeakable benediction was death to him, and in dying what a lasting benediction he has left behind to those who mourn his loss! We tender them our sym- pathy in their bereavement, but still more do we congratulate them upon all the precious and hallowed memories that still bind them to the departed, and through him to a better country.
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GOVERNOR MORGAN.
EDWIN DENISON MORGAN was a descendant of James Mor- gan, who emigrated from Wales to Boston in 1636, and in 1650 removed to Pequot, now New London, Conn. Edwin was born at Washington, Mass., on February 8, 1811. In 1828 he began his mercantile career with a clerkship in Hart- ford. In 1836 he established himself in New York, and in a few years won a position among its leading merchants. He took much interest in politics, and from 1849 to 1853 was
a State senator. In 1859 he was elected Governor of New York, and filled the office with the same prudence and ability that distinguished him as a man of business. During the Civil War some 220,000 men were raised, equipped, and sent by him into the field. From 1863 to 1869 he represented New York in the Senate of the United States. The Secre- taryship of the Treasury was offered him by President Lin- coln, and also by President Arthur. He died on February 14, 1883, in the seventy-third year of his age.
Governor Morgan's first gift to the Union Seminary was one hundred thousand dollars for the Library ; he then gave another hundred thousand dollars toward the land on which the present buildings stand ; and in his will he left the institution two hundred thousand dollars more. Dr. Hitchcock speaks of his religious character as of the most sincere and solid type, adding: "Towards the end of his busy life he waked up to the great privilege of Christian beneficence, keenly regretting that he had lost so much time, and so many opportunities of ser- vice." On this point, as also upon several striking features of his strong character, the following letter from Mr. Cady, the distinguished architect, throws a clear light.
ALPINE, N. J., July 11, 1889.
MY DEAR DR. PRENTISS, -
In sending you some account of my impressions of Governor Morgan, let me say that they were gained during the last two years
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of his life, when my relations were quite intimate with him in devis- ing and carrying out the scheme for " Morgan Hall," his noble gift to Williams College.
As this was the first enterprise of the kind in which he had been engaged, and I a new acquaintance, - introduced to him by Presi- dent Carter, - he proceeded at first with much caution, weighing carefully each practical detail, and considering its bearing upon the welfare of the College. He took pains, notwithstanding his extensive personal business, to satisfy himself as to the value and probable results of various schemes and modifications, and let nothing pass him without closest scrutiny. Later, when his confi- dence was gained, he exercised the same care in mastering matters of detail, but with the difference that he now gave greater weight to professional opinions and advice, and spoke very fully of his aims and desires. One could not come thus in contact with him without being strongly impressed with the force and real greatness of the man. An interview was a tonic, - as invigorating as the mountain breeze, - and I never left him without feeling greatly stimulated by it.
As the Williams building progressed, his personal interest and pleasure in it constantly increased. One day, after speaking of his new-found enjoyment, he said: "I see now clearly that it has been the greatest mistake of my life that I have not engaged in this kind of thing before ; it is one of the greatest pleasures I have ever experienced. And what a host of opportunities I have lost ! If men of means could only realize what gratification is to ยท be derived in this way, worthy and deserving objects would be fairly besieged with clamorous donors." A number of times he expressed his deep regret at not having realized earlier in life the pleasure to be derived from judicious giving.
Whatever Governor Morgan undertook he carried out most thoroughly, and in the matter of Morgan Hall he set aside a sum sufficient for the completion and equipment of the building, and, realizing the uncertainty of life, added a clause to his will making the whole secure in event of his death. Further than this, fearing that unforeseen contingencies might arise requiring an additional sum to complete it, he added twenty thousand dollars for such emergencies.
The building was, however, completed substantially for the sum originally contemplated, and the Governor, greatly pleased, directed
16
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President Carter to use the additional sum for a fund to keep the building and grounds in order.
His interest in this work led him to consider seriously several other schemes of the kind, when he was suddenly called from earthly activities to enter into rest.
It should be mentioned, that, with his dignity. and strong in- tellectual force, he was a man of a sincerely affectionate dis- position. All who knew him intimately found that his death occasioned a deep sense of loss, -one that comes only where the affections have been touched, and heart has made its impression on heart.
Very sincerely yours,
J. CLEVELAND CADY.
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II.
PROFESSORS.
EDWARD ROBINSON was born in Southington, Conn., on April 10, 1794. He came of an old New England stock, and inherited some of the best Puritan qualities, both mental and moral. His father, the Rev. William Robinson, graduated at Yale College in the class of 1773, and in 1780 was settled as pastor of the Congregational Church in Southington, where he died, on August 15, 1825, at the age of seventy-one. In a biography of him, prepared by his son Edward and printed for private distribution in 1859, he is depicted as a man of the type of his eminent contemporaries, Drs. Dwight, Bellamy, and Smalley, - a man of uncommon intellectual vigor, solid- ity, and strength of character, as also of great business energy and public spirit. He was a very thrifty farmer, as well as an able preacher, carried on a grist-mill and saw-mill, and be- came the wealthiest man in Southington. Edward Robinson's mother, a pious, sensible, and excellent woman, was Elizabeth Norton, of Farmington. Being of a slender constitution and unable to do hard work on the farm, Edward was apprenticed, when sixteen years old, to a Mr. Whittlesey, of Southington.
But his passion for knowledge soon showed that business was not his calling, and in 1812 he entered Hamilton College, where his maternal uncle, Seth Norton, was a Professor. He ranked as the first scholar of his class through its whole course and in every department of study. Graduating in 1816, he entered the law office of James Strong at Hudson, N. Y., but soon after accepted a tutorship in Hamilton Col- lege, and for a year gave instruction in mathematics and Greek. In the autumn of 1818 he was married to Eliza
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Kirkland, daughter of the Rev. Samuel Kirkland, the mission- ary to the Oneida Indians, and sister of the celebrated John Thornton Kirkland, President of Harvard College. By her death in less than a year after their marriage, he was left in possession of a valuable farm, which she had inherited from her father. Here he continued to reside till the autumn. of 1821, when he went to Andover, Mass., in order to publish there an edition of eleven books of the Iliad. The work ap- peared in 1822.
At Andover he quickly came into intimate relations with Moses Stuart, by whose influence he was appointed, in the autumn of 1823, Instructor in Hebrew. Professor Stuart was then at the height of his remarkable career as a Biblical scholar; but Edward Robinson soon won for himself a name in the same department, which, if not as brilliant, was full of the largest promise. In 1826 he resigned his position at Andover, and went abroad for purposes of enlarged philo- logical study. He remained abroad four years, passing the time chiefly at Halle and Berlin, but visiting also France, Switzerland, Italy, and the northern countries of Europe. Not a few of the most illustrious scholars, theologians, and philos- ophers of Germany were then living, - some of them in the very zenith of their power and fame. With Tholuck and Gese- nius at Halle, and with Neander and Ritter at Berlin, not to mention others, Mr. Robinson became closely acquainted. His residence in Germany not only opened to him vast treasures of Biblical learning, and familiarized him with her language as well as her methods of study and her solid scholarship, but it led also to an event that shaped his whole future do- mestic life. On the 7th of August, 1828, he was married to Therese Albertine Louise, the youngest daughter of Staats- rath von Jacob, for many years Professor in the University of Halle. She had already attained literary distinction, and was destined to attain still greater, in both her native and adopted country. Mr. Robinson returned to the United States in 1830,
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and soon after was appointed Professor Extraordinary of Sa- cred Literature, and Librarian, in the Theological Seminary at Andover. In this position he remained three years, when, in consequence of the breaking down of his health, he resigned and took up his abode in Boston. During these three years in Andover he performed an amount of literary labor truly astonishing, more especially in founding and editing The Bib- lical Repository. Nearly one half of all the articles in the first four volumes of that invaluable work were written by his own hand. In an advertisement to the fourth volume, dated Boston, October 1, 1834, he writes : -
With the present volume the labors of the undersigned as editor of the Biblical Repository close. As its founder and conductor, he has now for four years devoted his best time and talents to the work, and has been cheered in his progress by the high approbation of eminent Christian scholars and divines in this and foreign lands. But this approbation has been won, and the work hitherto sus- tained, at an expense of time and labor for which nothing in the shape of adequate remuneration has been received by the editor, further than the consciousness of not having labored in vain. Under these circumstances, and bowed down with broken health, he feels it to be a duty which he owes to himself, to his family, and perhaps to the churches, to withdraw from the station which he has hitherto occupied as the conductor of a public journal.
In thus retiring from this more public station, it is by no means his intention to abandon the field of labor in which it has so long been the business and solace of his life to hold a humble place. But whether his days shall be prolonged for the completion of other works illustrative of the Bible, or whether his race of life be soon to close, he would ever say, THY WILL, O GOD, BE DONE !
Happily, nearly thirty more years of life were to be given him for the "completion of other works illustrative of the Bible," as well as for inestimable service in helping to organ- ize the Union Theological Seminary. In 1836 appeared his translation of Gesenius's Hebrew Lexicon. The same year his Greek and English Lexicon of the New Testament, one of his greatest contributions to Biblical science, was published.
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Almost simultaneously with its publication he was called to the chair of Biblical Literature in the Union Theological Seminary. His letter to the Board of Directors, announcing his acceptance of their call, is one of the most important documents connected with the early history of the institution. It is dated New York, January 20, 1837, and the larger part of it is here given : -
GENTLEMEN : Having been for some months in this city for the purpose of obtaining information as to the plan and prospects of the Seminary under your charge, and having received on every hand the most frank and full communications, I am now ready, after prayerful and careful consideration, to give an answer to the letter of your committee announcing that you had unanimously elected me to the office of Professor of Biblical Literature in the Seminary.
It has been to me a matter of high gratification to find that the Seminary, in its rise and future prospects, rests upon the sinews of Christian enterprise and piety in the city of New York; that it is the nursling of the churches in the city, and as such will, if de- serving, be borne in their arms, and cherished in their warm affec- tions. Thus founded and nurtured, if it be conducted in the same spirit, there can be no doubt, to a believing mind, that God will make it the instrument of great good, and crown it with abundant prosperity. The great principles of faith and practice on which the Seminary is founded have my full and cordial assent; and it has thus far been, as it will hereafter be, the desire and effort of my life to inculcate those principles, and extend their influence so far as God shall give me opportunity.
In aid of this great object, permit me here to offer a few sug- gestions in reference to the department to which you have called me, which are chiefly the result of personal experience, and may have, perhaps, a bearing upon the future influence and interests of the Seminary.
The constitution properly requires every Professor to declare that he believes "the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and prac- tice." This is placing the Bible in its true position, as the only foundation of Christian theology. It follows as a necessary con- sequence, that the study of the Bible, as taught in the department
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of Biblical Literature, must lie at the foundation of all right theo- logical education. To understand the Bible, the student must know all about the Bible. It is not a mere smattering of Greek and Hebrew, not the mere ability to consult a text in the original Scriptures, that can qualify him to be a correct interpreter of the word of life. He must be thoroughly furnished for his work, if he be expected to do his work well. A bare enumeration of the par- ticulars that fall within the department of Biblical Literature will show that it covers a wider field than is generally supposed. To it properly belong full courses of instruction in the Hebrew, Greek, and Chaldee languages, and also, as auxiliaries, in the Syriac, Arabic, and other minor dialects, in Biblical Introduction, or the History of the Bible as a whole, and its various parts, its writers, its manuscripts, editions, versions, etc., in Biblical Criticism, or the history and condition of the text, in Biblical Hermeneutics, or the theory and principles of interpretation, in Biblical Exegesis, or the practical application of those principles to the study and inter- pretation of the sacred books, in Biblical Antiquities, and, further, a separate consideration of the version of the Seventy, as a chief source of illustration for both the Old and New Testaments.
I do not make this enumeration in order to magnify my own de- partment, - far from it, - but rather to lead your minds to see and inquire, " Who is sufficient for these things?" Certainly it does not lie within the power of any one man, whoever he may be, to do justice to all these important topics. But there must be in every great undertaking a day of small things, there must be months and even years of weakness, though yet of growth, and my object in these remarks will be accomplished if they serve to draw your attention to the importance of the general subject, and thus pre- pare the way for further action, whenever God in his providence shall seem to render it expedient.
In this connection, permit me to suggest whether it may not in due time be advisable to connect with the Seminary a popular class for Biblical instruction, intended particularly to prepare pious young men as teachers of Bible classes and in Sabbath schools. On the general subject of a Library, it is here only proper to re- mark, that a full apparatus of books in every department of the- ology is of course indispensable to the prosperity of the institution. In particular, the Library should also contain a complete series of the works of the Fathers, so called, in the best editions, and with
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proper apparatus, and also the best editions of every Greek and Roman writer, with the necessary aids for their elucidation. There is not a page of any Greek writer which does not in some way yield illustration to the sacred text, and the same is true also, in a modified sense, of all the Roman writers.
Another thing which has often struck me as of great importance in connection with an institution of this kind is the power of the press. At the present time there are in this country quite a num- ber of theological works, the manuals and text-books of our theo- logical seminaries, which have been and can be printed only at a single press in the whole land, and that connected with a sister seminary. The influence which that press has thus exerted, and must still exert, is obvious to all; and I am aware of no external aid more powerful than this to build up and extend both the theo- logical and literary reputation of a seminary. At a comparatively small expense founts of Greek and Oriental type may be procured, which can easily be so placed in connection with the institution, or under its control, as to accomplish great effects without further expense or hazard to the Seminary.
There remains a single point which is personal to myself. It is known to some of you that I am connected by family ties with Europe, and that it has been my purpose to visit that continent during the present year. This purpose my duty to my family com- pels me not to forego, while yet my visit thither might be rendered available to the Seminary in the purchase of books for the Library, and in the establishment of such correspondence and agencies as should greatly facilitate the procurement of them in future. At the same time, I have for years connected with the idea of this voyage the hope and intention of visiting Palestine, with reference to the preparation of a Biblical Geography, a work much needed in our theological seminaries. Nor can I doubt that such a visit would increase in a high degree my feeble qualifications as a teacher of the Bible.
He then says that, in order to carry out his purpose of visit- ing Europe, leave of absence " for a period not exceeding one academic year " would be requisite ; it being understood that a suitable person should be employed, at his charge, to perform the duties of the department during his absence, and that his time while in Europe should be at the disposal of the Board
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