William Buell Sprague’s (1795-1876) Annals of the American Pulpit (9 vols., 1858-1869) is one of the great classics of biographical church history. If you enjoy reading biographies of early American Presbyterians, Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists, Episcopalians, Congregationalists and more, you have just discovered a gold mine. Sprague was comprehensive in his scope, thorough in his research, judicious in his selections, and eloquent and edifying in his discourses. Solid Ground Christian Books has republished his volumes on the Baptists and Presbyterians. The whole set, now available online to read at Log College Press, is as follows:
Annals of the American Pulpit, Vol. 1 (Trinitarian Congregational)
Annals of the American Pulpit, Vol. 2 (Trinitarian Congregational)
Annals of the American Pulpit, Vol. 3 (Presbyterian)
Annals of the American Pulpit, Vol. 4 (Presbyterian)
Annals of the American Pulpit, Vol. 5 (Episcopalian)
Annals of the American Pulpit, Vol. 6 (Baptist)
Annals of the American Pulpit, Vol. 7 (Methodist)
Annals of the American Pulpit, Vol. 8 (Unitarian Congregational)
Annals of the American Pulpit, Vol. 9 (Lutherans, Reformed Dutch, Associate, Associate Reformed, Reformed Presbyterian)