USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > Lives of the eminent dead and biographical notices of prominent living citizens of Montgomery County, Pa. > Part 38
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After providing a preliminary training in the elementary branches, his parents resolved to give him, as their only child at that time, »the advantages of a high school education. The old Franklin Col- lege had been suspended for many years. But about 1827 or 1828 " a number of gentlemen, feeling the need of a classical school for "the locality, organized and founded Lancaster Academy. The sub- .ject of this sketch was one of fifteen or sixteen (including Rev. Dr. F. A. Muhlenberg, now a professor in the University of Pennsyl- " vania) with whom as pupils the academy was opened under James .P. Wilson, then a young man of Philadelphia, son of Rev. Dr. Wil- son, of the Presbyterian church at Seventh and Walnut streets, in that city. Wilson remained in charge of the academy, however, only a short time, and during the three years in which our subject was a pupil in it was succeeded first by a Mr. Harvey Birch and then by a Mr. Patterson. During this period of Dr. B.'s pupilage, parental solicitude added christian nurture to scholastic training, with a loving fidelity to which he ever refers with grateful remem- brance.
On the 2d of January, 1832, he was taken by his father from Lan- caster to the high school of the Reformed church, which had then been recently opened in York, Pennsylvania, and which stood in immediate connection with the theological seminary of the church, also located there. The school was under the management of Rev. Dr. F. A. Rauch, of christian memory, as Principal. In several important respects, as Dr. B. has always insisted, this man was the first real teacher whose tuition he had ever enjoyed. Others had assigned lessons and exacted recitations; Dr. Rauch taught his pupils
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how to study, and instilled into their minds a love of knowledge.
At the early age of fifteen years his mind was already turned to- ward the gospel ministry as the proper work of his life, subject, however, to further consideration and final decision. According to the prescribed course of academical study he had in due time prepared enough in Latin, Greek, and mathematics, to admit him into the Sophomore class at college. But the high school had no such division of the curriculum, and in accommodation to the ex- isting arrangements his place was otherwise assigned. It was not the intention that he should take a full collegiate course, but after the expiration of two years should enter the theological seminary, if convictions still led that way. Accordingly, at the end of two years, he was admitted to the theological seminary, in which Dr. Mayer was then Professor of Theology-a professor of Biblical Literature being associated with him. But in the autumn of 1835 the institutions were removed to Mercersburg, the high school be- ing first transferred and raised to a college. Then he was induced to take a full college course, meanwhile suspending theological stu- dies. He graduated in 1837, and afterward spent a year in con- pleting the theological course under such aid and direction as Dr. Rauch could furnish him, the theological seminary not yet having been removed from York. During the last two years of his course he was employed as tutor in the preparatory department of the col- lege.
In October, 1838, the Synod of Lancaster licensed him to preach the gospel, and in the latter part of November, in compliance with a call, he settled in Lewistown, on the Juniata, the charge being composed of the town congregation, another in the east end of the Kiselierquillas valley, and a third preaching point eight miles east of Lewistown. Here he was ordained on the 27th of December, 1838. For the Reformed church it was a difficult and discouraging mission, ground which had run down through neglect, but a good school for a young minister. He remained there twenty months, and during part of the time (the summer of 1839) supplied the Wa- ter street charge, preaching there once in four weeks. His salary at Lewistown was to have been from four to five hundred dollars a year. But this was far in excess of what they had ever paid, and time soon proved that two hundred and twenty-five dollars taxed the few members to the extent of their ability. Says Dr. B., "I preached three or four times every Sunday in English and in some sort of German, with which, however, the people professed to be
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well satisfied. To aid in my support I obtained the academy (clas- sical school) of the place, which had run down to three pupils, and by special efforts gathered ten, thus adding two hundred dollars to my income and five and a half days a week teaching to my other work."
On the 11th of April, 1839, he was married to Marion Elizabeth Huston, of Mercersburg. In July, 1840, a call from the Waynes- boro church, Franklin county, Pennsylvania, just vacated by Rev. G. W. Glessner, D. D., was extended and accepted. The change of field was very cheering. The charge then consisted of four or- ganized congregations, Waynesboro and Salem in Pennsylvania, and Cavetown and Leitersburg in Maryland. Here he remained until April, 1845, when a call as English pastor of the Easton con- gregation, as successor to Rev. B. C. Wolff, D. D., was accepted. He removed to that place, and was associated with Rev. Thomas Pomp, who was the German pastor. Waynesboro was left with many regrets, but a cordial welcome at Easton made amends for the change. In August, 1852, against Dr. B.'s earnest entreaty, a call was extended by the Race Street Reformed Church, Philadelphia. The consistory in Easton having unanimously and strongly opposed it, the invitation was declined. Two years later the call to Phila- delphia was renewed, and under special pressure reluctantly (as far as personal preferences were concerned) accepted. The Race street congregation was reduced to about one hundred communicants, and much discouraged. But against many difficulties the Lord pros- pered the work, and the congregation quietly and gradually grew. A second flock (Church of the Apostles) had been organized shortly before Dr. B.'s settlement, and though by great effort it was kept alive for three or four years, was unable to maintain itself and dis- banded. In 1860 Christ Church, Green street, was founded. Race Street was not yet strong enough to justify sending off a branch, but the wants of the church in the northwestern part of the city de- manded it. About three years later another interest was started, also under the auspices of the Race street church, in the vicinity of Fourth street and Girard avenue, which afterward grew into Trinity Reformed Church, now at Seventh and Oxford streets. Still an- other enterprise was commenced, now St. John's Church, in West Philadelphia. In the light of these facts, the ministerial work of Dr. B. in Philadelphia was in a high degree successful.
Through his varied experience and natural endowments, Dr. B. has accomplished in his ministerial services an amount of work
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which few men would have undertaken and which fewer still could have carried to a successful issue. As a pulpit orator he possesses great power, and has acquired to perfection the art (or inherited the gift) of enchaining the attention of an audience. Of a graceful form and dignified bearing, with a voice full, rotund, and well modulated, and with a diction at once pure and elegant, he wields all the advantages of a ready and fluent extempore speaker. His style tends to the diffuse, his manner is somewhat impassioned, and his imagery brilliant and captivating-essential qualities in a public speaker. Possessing these advantages, it is quite natural that he should be unusually successful in the active duties of the ministry and enjoy a reputation far beyond the limits of his own denomina- tion.
In addition to his pastoral work, Dr. B. occupies a prominent position as a writer on theological topics and as a defender of the historical faith of the Reformed Church. About the year 1852 the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by Marshall College. His first literary attempt of note was a series of articles in the Mercersburg Review, 1853, on "Dr. Nevin and His Antagonists." The main object of these articles was: first, a vindication of the Re- formed church against the charge of endorsing the errors of which Dr. Nevin was accused; second, that upon Dr. Nevin's own em- phatic repudiation of those errors and a susceptible interpretration of his language, he did not hold them; and third, to bind, as it were, Dr. N. by regard for the confidence of the church and per- sonal friends to an earnest and faithful maintenance of doctrinal in- tegrity. Since the above date, or during the last twenty-five years, Dr. B. has attained honorable distinction as a controversialist, and in addition to occasional published sermons and addresses has per- formed literary work as follows : In 1857 appeared his "Five Years in Race Street," with a full statistical and general appendix relating to the origin and condition of the Reformed church. In 1860 he edited and in large part retranslated "Kurtz's Hand-Book of Church History," now extensively used as a text-book in the theological seminaries of many denominations. "Infant Baptism and Salva- tion" appeared in 1861. In this year also Dr. B. began to edit a translation of "Herzog's Encyclopedia," himself preparing one- half of the translations, and carried it through nearly six volumes of the original. But the German original having far exceeded the limits proposed for it, the publishers were not prepared to complete the work, and it was suspended. It is regretted that in view of the
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absence of any precisely similar work in English, this admirable undertaking was not carried to completion. In 1866 appeared the " Revised Liturgy," a history and criticism of the ritualistic move- ment in the Reformed church. "Reformed, not Ritualistic," a. reply to Dr. Nevin's "Vindication," was published in 1867, and by its vigorous and well nigh exhaustive treatment of the subject, at once designated its author as the natural champion of the Re- formed faith in its historical sense. In 1868 "The Reformed Church Monthly," a popular religious and theological journal, was founded and continued for nine years, during which Dr. B. served as editor and furnished more than three-fourths of the articles.
As early as the Synod of Norristown, in 1849, Dr. Bomberger was appointed one of a committee entrusted with the task of preparing a Reformed Liturgy on the basis of the various liturgies of the Re- formed churches, and especially of the old Palatinate Liturgy used by the early ministers of the Reformed church in this country. It. was not long, however, until a majority of the committee were of the opinion that the old Reformed Liturgy would not admit of such modifications as the wants of the times demanded .. Such an ex- pression seemed to imply that what was required was not merely a development of the old liturgies, but something different from the past, and to a great extent from the present life of the church. The committee nevertheless recommended a translation of the Palatinate Liturgy as the best result then attainable .. The opponents of an elaborate ritual approved of the project, though perhaps not of the motive, which did not yet clearly reveal the future antagonism, and of which in its deepest import the leaders themselves may not have- been conscious. But the Synod refused to enter upon this plan, and instructed the committee to proceed with the preparation of a liturgy. The Synod of Baltimore in 1852 provided that the work should proceed on the basis of the liturgical worship of the primi- tive church, while special reference should be made to the Palatinate and other Reformed liturgies of the sixteenth century. In 1857 a "Provisional Liturgy," submitted by the members of the commit- tee, was allowed, but received no formal sanction .. It was at once seen that there were in it two different systems of worship, the one containing a set of forms in the old Reformed style, and the other an altar liturgy with responses and elements of a Ritualistic* char- acter. Meanwhile Dr. J. W. Nevin was writing articles attracting
*The word " Ritualistic," as used in modern controversy in the Reformed church,. has often nearly the popular signification of " Romanistic" or " Papal."
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by their ability and contents widespread attention, and was mould- ing his theology in a form involving a departure from the old lit- urgy as well as the old theological tenets, while the literary and theo- logical institutions at Lancaster and Mercersburg were largely under the influence of his views.
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The diverse liturgical systems of the "Provisional Liturgy" hav- ing frustrated its purpose, and the desire for a liturgy cast in one mould having increased, the Synod of Easton in 1861 resolved upon a revision. The former committee having been entrusted with the task, was instructed to proceed "in a way that shall not be incon- sistent with established liturgical principles and usages, or with the devotional and doctrinal genius of the Reformed church." What these "established liturgical principles" were was not defined, but the presumption is that the Synod meant the old Reformed stand- point and usages, though the majority of the committee understood by them, in the language of Dr. Nevin, "the churchly, sacramental, and in a proper sense, priestly character." At all events, upon the reassembling of the committee, a prolonged controversy regarding the principles of revision having arisen, Dr. Bomberger emphatically opposed the views of Dr. Nevin and defended Reformed customs and traditions. The question of the liturgical tendencies was at length referred for decision to the Synod of Chambersburg in 1862. The majority report of the committee, prepared by Dr. Nevin, con- tained, first, a violent attack on free prayer; second, an emphatic condemnation of such directories of public worship as the old Pala- tinate Liturgy; and third, a strong vindication of an extremely re- sponsive order of ritualism. In the minority report Dr. Bomberger set forth four objections to that presented by the majority : First, as being a virtual evasion of the duty assigned to the committee by the Synod of Easton, and an actual frustration for the time being of the wishes of the church to have the Provisional Liturgy revised with- out delay; second, as not being a fair and impartial exhibition of the points at issue between the majority and the minority ; third, as an attempt to perform a service antagonistic to the purpose and de- sires of the Synod and the church by endeavoring to persuade them to repudiate the past culture of the church and to adopt one essentially at variance with her established principles and usages; fourth, be- cause it resists all modifications of the Provisional Liturgy, such as. the Synod ever reserved to itself the right of applying to any work the committee might present, and such as all church judicatories justly claim the prerogative of making in the case of any committee's
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report, while on the other hand it arrogantly requires that the Synod shall accept the work as done by the committee or not at all.
Nevertheless the majority of the committee, no longer consider- ing themselves bound by the earlier rules of the Synod, pursued their work in full accordance with their own liturgical views and without regard to the sentiments of the minority, and finally sub- mitted the whole work to the Synod of York in October, 1866, and a few weeks later to the General Synod of Dayton. The latter body by a small majority allowed the use of this "Revised Liturgy," thereby sanctioning, at least indirectly, forms of worship and doctrine which by many were deemed unevangelical and Romanizing. In Dr. Bom- berger's tract, "The Revised Liturgy," the seriousness of the situ- ation is delineated. He averred that he had not been and was not then opposed to a liturgy in the proper sense, though he was un- willing that extreme measures should be employed to attain the de- sired end. In his judgment two-thirds of the clergy and most of the congregations had not accepted the ritualistic principles, but resisted the encroachments. They had not dreamed of such changes as were proposed, while the extremes would produce a reaction of the old affections of the church. Referring to the fact that the re- vised liturgy had not yet been formally adopted, he hoped that after its ritualistic principle had been fully developed, and its con- sequences revealed, even its friends would not press it upon the congregations. He proposed as a remedy to modify the Provisional Liturgy, which contained all needful material, and to allow an altar service in an evangelical sense, the confession of sin, the Lord's Supper, baptism, Apostle's creed, a few simple responses, and pray- ers for the leading festivals. But all phrases of doubtful import or contrary to pure doctrine should be changed. This done, many who had been unfavorable to modern liturgical changes would yield, while the friends of extremes would only concede what was justly required for the peace of the church.
Notwithstanding these evidently just and temperate declarations, the extreme liturgical party were in no mood to grant any conces- sions, but on the contrary seemed determined to inflict upon the church extreme ritualistic practices. Dr. Nevin in his tract, "Vin- dication of Revised Liturgy," violently assailed the position of Dr. Bomberger and sought to fasten the stigma of schismatics upon the adherents of Reformed doctrine in its purity. This called forth Dr. Bomberger's " Reformed, not Ritualistic," in which the whole mat- fer in dispute was succinctly stated and an elaborate defence of Re-
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formed doctrine and custom presented. For the calm and dignified manner in which the nature and extent of the innovations were dis- cussed, and for the wealth of historical and doctrinal matter brought to light, Dr. Bomberger merits the lasting gratitude of the Reformed church.
From this time forward Dr. Bomberger applied himself with ad- ditional zeal to the defence of what he regarded Reformed usage and doctrine. The antagonism between the two parties seemed irreconcilable, and had grown to such an extent that in the eastern part of the church the periodicals, which had fallen into the hands of the ritualists, were practically closed to all writers of anti-ritual- istic views. Under these circumstances "The Reformed Church Monthly," with Dr. Bomberger as editor and principal writer, was established in January, 1868, and was supported as the theological exponent of the evangelical wing of the church. This periodical clearly had a mission to perform, and rendered incalculable service to the Reformed church by its exposure of the aim and tendency of the new theology. Every phase of the new doctrine and worship was examined in the light of history and of revealed truth, and was subjected to a rigid analysis and searching criticism. Under the facile pen and remorseless logic of Dr. Bomberger, the church be- came thoroughly acquainted with the real nature of the conflict and ascertained the utterly impracticable character of the new liturgy and the more than doubtful tenor of the new theological specula- tions.
Early in 1869 Dr. Bomberger was called to the Presidency of Ursinus College, located at Freeland (Collegeville), Montgomery county, an institution founded by members and friends of the Re- formed church. At this institution, which imparts instruction on the basis of christianity and with chief regard to religious ends, he has found ample opportunity for a wide field of usefulness and for rendering his influence as a scholar and educator widely and per- manently felt. Believing that the higher branches of education in particular should be pursued in full harmony with evangelical Pro- testant principles, he has been heartily supported by the friends of education in general and by the evangelical or anti-ritualistic (sometimes inaccurately called Low Church) portion of the Re- formed church. Under his Presidency of Ursinus College, as also of Ursinus Theological Seminary, not a few young men have come under his educational influence, while a reasonable number of these have entered the ministry. In addition to his duties as President,
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JAMES WINNARD, ESQ.
and Professor of Ethics and Intellectual Science, he has served since- his connection with the college as pastor of St. Luke's Reformed: Church, at Trappe, Montgomery county.
Dr. Bomberger has been twice married. By his first wife he has- four daughters and one son, as follows: Mary, married to Dr. B. N. Bethel, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Clara, the wife of Dr. J. E. Brecht, of Carrollton, Illinois; Marion, married to Rev. Henry T. Spangler, of Columbiana, Ohio; Elizabeth, wife of Rev. Fran- cis C. Yost, of Thornville, Ohio; and John Huston Bomberger, A. B., student of theology in Ursinus College.
In 1863, Dr. B., having been widowed some time, married Miss: Julia Aymer Wight, of Philadelphia, by whom there have been born three sons, Augustus W., Henry A., and Walter.
JAMES WINNARD, Eso.
Here shall the Press the people's right maintain, Unawed by influence and unbribed by gain ; Here patriot Truth her glorious precepts draw, Pledged to Religion, Liberty, and Law .- Judge Story.
Perhaps no man ever lived in Montgomery county who wielded at more decided influence in moulding our people into the doctrines: of Jefferson and the earnest Republicans who founded our govern- ment, than he whose name stands at the head of this sketch. He- belonged to that sterling Republican stock of our early history, the- Irish Protestants. He was born in Ireland, and probably belonged. to the Irish schoolmaster class who thronged our country late im the last century. He came to Norristown and purchased the Reg- ister, and began its publication about the Ist of September, 1802, it having been started in 1800 by a man named Wilson. Mr. Win- nard was a man of high moral character, and in full sympathy with: Jefferson, Madison, and others, and opposed to the views of the Federalists, who distrusted the people and favored "strong govern- ment." At the commencement of the present century Montgom- ery county was represented in Congress by the Muhlenbergs and by Frederick Conrad, who were all earnest Federalists. Very soon, however, under the efficient labors of James Winnard, Nathaniel B. Boileau, Jonathan Roberts, and others, the county became strongly-
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JAMES WINNARD, ESQ.
Democratic. During the progress of the famous struggle between the French and English for supremacy in Europe, Mr. Winnard's paper was always favorable to the French and strongly opposed to the English. When our second war with Great Britain broke out, party spirit ran still higher and higher.
A perusal of the old files of the Register and the Herald will give the reader a very clear idea of the political issues of the time, which did not so much grow out of the administrative policy of those in power as the principles that underlie our American system of gov- ernment. Republicans, or Democrats (nearly interchangeable terms then), were for home development by State action, while their op- ponents favored foreign commerce and British notions generally. "The former were always on the lookout for English aggression, and the latter for French spoliation. Unfortunately there was much ground for the complaint of both.
James Winnard printed a paper whose principles were sharply de- fined, and he and his contributors generally had the best of the ar- gument. He continued to publish the paper till near the time of his death, which occurred April 13th, 1837, having sold it some years previously to Powell and Patterson, who had learned their trade in the office.
His first wife, whose maiden name was Rachel Griffith, died July, 1820, in her forty-sixth year, and his second wife, whose name had 'been Hannah Schrack, died in 1857, in her seventy-seventh year, thus surviving him twenty years.
Mr. Winnard, though twice married, had no children by either "wife. His remains and those of his two wives are interred in the cemetery of the First Presbyterian Church, Norristown, of which Mr. W. was a worthy member.
Mr. W. lived to the age of sixty-seven, and at the time he re- tired had acquired considerable means, which he invested in a house that he built for himself on a few acres of land situated at the corner formed by the avenue that now passes from Main street to Watts' mill, in the First ward. Here he died, and here his widow resided some time afterwards.
It is worthy of remark of both the political journals printed in Norristown during the first quarter of the present century that while they gave far less attention to churches and religious doings among the people, yet their religious tone was much higher than the jour- malism of the present day .. The partisan violence and bitterness, ihowever, were quite as great.
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