Centenarians at Log College Press

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Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come (Ps. 71:18).

The testimony of a long life lived to the glory of God is a powerful one. At Log College Press, there are at least three who lived beyond the century mark.

  • Arthur Judson Brown (1856-1963, 106) - This “missionary statesman,” a pioneer of the ecumenical and missionary movements, was ordained in 1883 and died 80 years later. He was born in the same year as Woodrow Wilson, was a friend of Herbert Hoover, and he died in the same year as John F. Kennedy. Brown left a profound mark on the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, and indeed, throughout the world.

  • William Rankin III (1810-1912, 102) - Rankin served as a ruling elder and (for 37 years) as treasurer of the PCUSA Board of Foreign Missions. At the time of his death, he was the oldest college graduate in the United States.

  • George Summey (1853-1954, 101) - A “Christian Statesman,” editor of The Presbyterian Quarterly, and church historian (whose research and labors led to A History of the Presbyterian Church in Louisiana [1961], to whom the work was dedicated by the author, Penrose St. Amant), Summey’s legacy was far-reaching in the Presbyterian world.

We may also take note of Robert Bluford, Jr., Presbyterian minister, “Virginian of the Year” for 2011, and author of Living on the Borders of Eternity: The Story of Samuel Davies and the Struggle for Religious Toleration in Colonial Virginia (2004) and The Battle of Totopotomoy Creek: Polegreen Church and the Prelude to Cold Harbor (2014), who has done so much to promote the heritage of the Historic Polegreen Church, where Davies ministered. He turned 103 years old a few days ago.

Another worthy of mention is Ralph Waldo McBurney (1902-2009), RPCNA ruling elder, beekeeper, award-winning track and field athlete and author of My First 100 Years!: A Look Back From the Finish Line (2004), who should not be forgotten. He lived to the age of 106. He wrote in his autobiography: “It is easy to earn gold medals when one has no competition in one's age group!” He, like Eric Liddell, would never race on the Lord’s Day.

Also worthy of note is Walter Alexander Soboleff (1908–2011), the first Native Alaskan to become a Presbyterian minster. He was a Tlingit scholar who did much to promote the rights of indigenous people in Alaska. He died at the age of 102.

Undoubtedly, there are many more who could be named here, but these names must suffice for the present.

Considering the length of days of such as who have lived beyond a full century of life on this mortal earth, a portion of Archibald Alexander’s Prayer For One Who Feels That He Is Approaching the Borders of Another World (see Aging in Grace: Letters to Those in the Autumn of Life, p. 35) comes to mind:

O most merciful God cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength declineth. Now, when I am old and grey-headed, forsake me not; but let thy grace be sufficient for me; and enable me to bring forth fruit, even in old age. May my hoary head be found in the ways of righteousness! Preserve my mind from dotage and imbecility, and my body from protracted disease and excruciating pain. Deliver me from despondency and discouragement, in my declining years, and enable me to bear affliction with patience, fortitude, and perfect submission to thy holy will. Lift upon me perpetually the light of thy reconciled countenance, and cause me to rejoice in thy salvation, and in the hope of thy glory. May the peace that passeth all understanding be constantly diffused through my soul, so that my mind may remain calm through all the storms and vicissitudes of life.

Davidson College Ties

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Davidson College historical marker

As the son of a professor who graduated from and taught at Davidson College, in Davidson, North Carolina, and whose mother lives in Davidson, this writer may hopefully be excused for looking for connections to Davidson at Log College Press. There are many to be found.

Chambers Building, Davidson College

Davidson College, named for Brigadier General William Lee Davidson (1746-1781), who served and died in the American War of Independence, was founded in 1837 under the auspices of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

It’s college seal was designed by Peter Stuart Ney, who is believed by some to have been Napoleon's Marshall Peter Ney. That is a story shrouded in mystery to this day.

Davidson College Seal

Presidents and Faculty

  • Robert Hall Morrison (1798-1889) - Morrison served as the first President of Davidson College. He was also a father-in-law of Stonewall Jackson.

  • Drury Lacy, Jr. (1802-1804) - Lacy was the third President of Davidson College.

  • John Lycan Kirkpatrick (1813-1885) - Kirkpatrick was the fourth President of Davidson College.

  • George Wilson McPhail (1815-1871) - McPhail was the fifth President of Davidson College. He is buried at the Davidson College Cemetery.

  • John Rennie Blake (1825-1900) - Prof. Blake served as faculty chairman of Davidson College who oversaw the college in the absence of a President from 1871 to 1877.

  • Andrew Dousa Hepburn (1830-1921) - Hepburn served as President of Miami University (Ohio) before becoming President of Davidson College.

  • William Joseph Martin, Sr. (1830-1896) - Col. Martin served as acting President of Davidson College from 1887 to 1888.

  • John Bunyan Shearer (1832-1919) - Shearer served as the eighth President of Davidson College.

  • Henry Louis Smith (1859-1951) - Smith served as the ninth President of Davidson College, although he was not an ordained minister, and later served as President of Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. A scientist, he is credited with pioneering the development of X-rays while at Davidson, as well as important efforts which hastened the end of World War I.

  • William Joseph Martin, Jr. (1868-1943) - The younger Martin served as the tenth President of Davidson College for 17 years.

  • Walter Lee Lingle (1868-1956) - A graduate of Davidson College, Lingle served as the college’s eleventh President.

  • John Rood Cunningham (1891-1980) - Cunningham served as the twelfth President of Davidson College.

  • Patrick Jones Sparrow (1802-1867) - Sparrow was a Presbyterian minister who served as Davidson’s first professor of ancient languages.

  • Daniel Harvey Hill (1821-1889) - Hill, a Confederate officer, served as Chair of the Mathematics Department at Davidson College. He is buried at the Davidson College Cemetery.

  • Cornelia Rebekah Shaw (1869-1937) - Shaw served as the first full-time librarian at Davidson College. This writer once worked at the E.H. Little Library at Davidson College under Mary D. Beaty, who was a respected historian, and author of Davidson: A History of the Town from 1835 until 1937 (1979); A History of the Davidson College Presbyterian Church (1987); A History of Davidson College (1988); and helped to translate Calvin’s Ecclesiastical Advice (1991).

Davidson College Presbyterian Church

Alumni and Other Connections

  • Calvin Knox Cumming (1854-1935) - Cumming was a Presbyterian missionary to Japan, who died in Davidson, North Carolina. His son, W.P. Cumming (1900-1989), was a famed professor of English, and expert on cartography, at Davidson College, who this writer interviewed in 1980.

  • Robert Lewis Dabney (1820-1898) - Dabney delivered the Davidson College Divinity Lectures for 1897, published as Christ Our Penal Substitute (1898).

  • George Howe (1802-1883) - Howe delivered an oration on The Value and Influence of Literary Pursuits at Davidson College in 1846.

  • Stonewall Jackson (1824-1863) - Stonewall Jackson, the famed Confederate general, served as a deacon in the Presbyterian Church in Lexington, Virginia. He was the son-in-law of Robert Hall Morrison, first President of Davidson College (see above).

  • Benjamin Rice Lacy, Jr. (1886-1981) - Lacy is the grandson of Drury Lacy, Jr., who served as President of Davidson College (see above). He studied at Davidson and was a star quarterback for the football team. He went on to become President of Union Seminary in Richmond, Virginia.

  • Alexander Jeffrey McKelway (1866-1918) - McKelway received an honorary D.D. degree from Davidson College in 1900. Three generations later, this writer studied piano in the McKelway household.

  • Julius W. Melton (1933-2017) - Melton, a family friend of the writer, worked at Davidson College, and wrote the valuable study on Presbyterian Worship in America: Changing Patterns Since 1787 (1967, 2001), which we have highlighted previously here.

  • Wilson Plumer Mills (1883-1959) - Mills graduated from Davidson College with a B.A. in 1903, and after long missionary service in the Far East, received an honorary D.D. degree from Davidson in 1951.

  • Walter William Moore (1857-1926) - Moore graduated from Davidson College with an A.B. in 1878. He went on to become the first President of Union Seminary in Richmond, Virginia.

  • LeRoy Tate Newland (1885-1969) - Newland graduated from Davidson College with a B.A. in 1908.

  • J.W. Rosebro (1847-1912) - Rosebro studied at both Davidson College and Princeton. He also served as President of Fredericksburg College (Virginia); director of Union Seminary, Richmond; and as a professor at Southwestern Presbyterian University in Clarksville, Tennessee. He was the son-in-law of B.M. Smith.

  • Jethro Rumple (1827-1906) - Rumple graduated from Davidson College in 1850 and “in 1887 he edited the First Semi-Centenary Celebration of Davidson College, Addresses, Historical and Commemorative, Delivered at the Annual Commencement, Wednesday, June 13, 1887, which includes a forty-six page address by Rumple on the history of the college” (Barry Waugh, Presbyterians of the Past).

  • Omar ibn Said (1770-1864) - Ibn Said’s Arabic translation of the Bible is currently held at the Davidson College Library Rare Book Room.

  • Charles Alphonso Smith (1864-1924) - Smith studied at Davidson College, earning his A.M. degree in 1887. He was a brother of Henry Louis Smith (see above) and Egbert Watson Smith (see below).

  • Egbert Watson Smith (1862-1944) - Smith graduated as valedictorian of Davidson’s class of 1882. He was a brother of Henry Louis Smith and Charles Alphonso Smith (see above).

  • Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) - Wilson attended Davidson for the 1873-1874 school year before transferring to Princeton (he later served as President of Princeton). He was a a Presbyterian ruling elder, and later served as President of the United States.

  • B.B. Warfield (1851-1921) - Warfield received an LL.D. degree from Davidson College in 1892.

Davidson College Cemetery

There are likely many more ties to Davidson College at Log College Press. Davidson’s place in American Presbyterian church history should not go unnoticed. Many individuals have traveled through Davidson, and Davidson has left its mark on many. Its library alone is a treasure, and its cemetery honors many who have ended their mortal journey there. Small though the town and college is, Davidson is a waystation to take note of for students of history. May this brief introduction inspire further study and appreciation.

Log College Press Audio Resources

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It is well known that J.G. Machen delivered radio addresses, utilizing a medium that was new at the time, to advance the gospel. In recent years, much of this material has been reproduced as audiobooks or in print/digital format: The Person of Jesus: Radio Addresses on the Deity of the Savior (2017); Who Is Jesus?: Radio Addresses on the Deity of the Savior (2017); What Is Predestination?: Radio Addresses on the Election of God's People (2017); Is the Bible Inspired?: Radio Addresses on the Origin of Scripture (2017); and Things Unseen: A Systematic Introduction to the Christian Faith and Reformed Theology (2020).

There are others on Log College Press whose voices may be heard today. Below we have assembled a few links for those who enjoy hearing as well as reading voices from the past. Certainly, there are more, but the resources below will be of interest to some.

As mentioned, more such audio resources are certainly available out there, and we hope to keep expanding on this material to let our readers and hearers know where to find them. It is one thing to read, and another to hear, voices from the past. Take a listen to these recordings, and enjoy!

The Presbyterian scientist and educator who hastened the end of World War I

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Henry Louis Smith (1859-1951) was the son of Rev. Jacob Henry Smith (1820-1897), as well as the brother of Rev. Egbert Watson Smith (1862-1944) and Charles Alphonso Smith (1864-1924), a noted educator. Henry was also a Presbyterian ruling elder, and a scientist. He served at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina as a professor of natural science (physics and astronomy), where he pioneered the development of x-rays, before becoming the institution’s ninth president in 1901. From 1912 to 1930, Henry served as president of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. Nicknamed “Project” for his many creative ideas, one in particular perhaps saved many lives.

In 1918, the National Security League offered a reward for the best method of distributing Allied propaganda over Germany to reach the people directly with the message that the World War was being waged by Allies not for conquest but for freedom. Dr. Henry L. Smith’s studies of gas-filled balloons and wind currents lead him to propose that such a message could be attached by string to many colored paper and rubber balloons filled with coal gas and hydrogen which, when released at the right time and place, would travel behind enemy lines to achieve the desired objective. Millions of such balloons were released into the air — with attached leaflets containing President Woodrow Wilson’s speeches, news from America and statements about the causes of the conflict from the American perspective — and did in fact reach their goal, as it was reported that when German soldiers surrendered, eight out of ten carried those messages with them. The President later credited Dr. Smith with substantially shortening the war. Dr. Smith told others later with a smile that he used the reward money to purchase his first car, not as a college student, but as a college president.

Dr. Smith’s scientific studies in this matter served the interests of diplomacy, and although not well-known today, deserve to be remembered as a contribution to world peace. His brother Egbert wrote in 1915 of the world-wide obligation that Christians have to promote the interests of the gospel.

The Bible declares over and over again that we are put in trust with the gospel for the world. The unsearchable riches of Christ we do not hold as a piece of private property, but as a trust fund for the benefit of all nations. The Bible calls us not owners, but trustees, stewards, of the grace of God. To neglect a task is one thing, to betray a trust is a far darker thing, whose punishment is that of the unfaithful steward whom his lord put out of the stewardship.

We don’t always know what sort of mark we will leave on the world, but we do well to remember the words of Samuel Davies, who wrote,

Whatever, I say, be your Place, permit me, my dear Youth, to inculcate upon you this important instruction, IMBIBE AND CHERISH A PUBLIC SPIRIT. Serve your Generation. Live not for yourselves, but the Publick. Be the Servants of the Church; the servants of your Country; the Servants of all. Extend the Arms of your Benevolence to embrace your Friends, your Neighbors, your Country, your Nation, the whole Race of mankind, even your Enemies. Let it be the vigorous unremitted Effort of your whole Life, to leave the World wiser and better than you found it at your Entrance.

Presbyterian Presidential Correspondence

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Did you ever write a letter to the White House? At Log College Press, we are developing a growing body of correspondence between American Presbyterian ministers and U.S. Presidents.

  • John Ewing, Ashbel Green and William Marshall to George Washington - These were among the signers of a 1797 joint letter of appreciation to Washington.

  • Samuel Miller to George Washington - We have letters from Miller to Washington from 1793 and 1795. Miller would later preach a 1799 sermon on the occasion of Washington’s death (not yet available at LCP).

  • Samuel Miller to Thomas Jefferson - We have seven letters from Miller to Jefferson from 1800 to 1808. Miller was once an enthusiastic supporter of Jefferson, but the two men experienced a breach in their relationship when Jefferson declined Miller’s request to recommend a national day of fasting and prayer. More can be read about this in Mark A. Beliles, The Selected Religious Letters and Papers of Thomas Jefferson (2014).

  • Samuel Miller to James Madison - We have two letters from Miller to Madison dated 1822 and 1835.

  • William McWhir to George Washington - McWhir was for ten years principal of an academy at Alexandria, Virginia, of which George Washington was a trustee, and whose step­children he taught. Two letters from McWhir to Washington are available to read here.

  • William Linn to Thomas Jefferson - William Linn, along with John Mitchell Mason, was deeply concerned about the prospect of Jefferson becoming President during the election of 1800. We have one 1798 letter from Linn to Jefferson.

  • Hugh Henry Brackenridge to Thomas Jefferson - Brackenridge was a Presbyterian jurist, novelist and scholar who corresponded with Jefferson. Two letters of his are included here from 1801 and 1813.

  • Ezra Stiles Ely to Andrew Jackson - Ely was an admirer and a confidant of the Presbyterian Jackson, and advised him during the Peggy Eaton affair. We have four letter from Ely to Jackson from 1825 to 1830.

  • Phineas Densmore Gurley to Abraham Lincoln - Gurley was pastor of the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC, where Lincoln regularly attended (but was not a member). We have twelve letters from Gurley to Lincoln from 1861 to 1865. Gurley would later attend Lincoln’s deathbed and preach his funeral sermon.

  • Stuart Robinson to Abraham Lincoln - Robinson wrote to Lincoln twice in 1864 and 1865 concerning the suppression of his newspaper during wartime.

  • William Jennings Bryan, Sr. to Woodrow Wilson - Bryan served as Secretary of State under Wilson; both men were ordained Presbyterian ruling elders. We have his 1915 letter of resignation to Wilson.

We hope to continue to build on this material which provides a fascinating insight to our understanding of early American Presbyterian church-state relationships, not only in principle but in practice.