Memoirs of the Rev. John McDowell, D.D., and the Rev. William A. McDowell, D.D

Front matter

.^Xi^ToT^SS^

Memoirs of the Rev. John McDowell, D.E and Ihe Rev. William A. McDowell, D.D.

MEMOIRS

CHAPTER I. From his Birth to his Settlement at Elizabethtown, . ... 1

CHAPTER n.

His Ministry at Elizabethtown, 13

CHAPTER ni.

His Ministry in Connection with the Central Church, Philadelphia, 109

CHAPTER IV.

From his Leaving the Central Church till his Death, , . 128

CHAPTER V.

Summary of the Extraordinary Results of his Ministry,

AND how they have BEEN ATTAINED, 165

CHAPTER VI.

Commemorative Letters, 189

IV CONTENTS. ^

MEMOIR OF THE REV. WILLIAM A. McDOWELL,

D. D.

CHAPTER I.

His Life, 263

Preface

The basis of this Memoir of Dr. John McDowell is an account of the leading events of his life, which I committed to paper, as he communicated it to me, in June, 1852, and which he reproduced substantially, in the form of a Semi-Centennary Discourse, at the close of 1854. The filling up of the outline is partly from my own recollections ; partly from information furnished by his friends, especially his daughter, Mrs. Rice ; partly from a diary covering the period of his theological education, and his first two years in the ministry ; but chiefly from a vast number of his letters, ranging from youth to old age, which, of themselves, supply the material for nearly a continuous history of his life. Of these letters I have made liberal use, as forming at once the

VI PREFACE.

most authentic account of his Labours, and the most striking portraiture of his character.

The letters of personal recollections from his friends are introduced without any reference to the fact that they necessarily include considerable repetition. But as each friend has described him in his own way, and as each has written out of the fulness of an affectionate remembrance, it is presumed that any uniformity necessarily incident to a description of the same subject, will be more than compensated by the fine genial tone and excellent taste, by which the letters are pervaded.

It was not originally intended to include in this volume more than the Memoir of Dr. John McDowell ; but, as I proceeded with that part of my work, I found that himself and his brother, Dr. William A. McDowell, had so much in common, and were so intertwined in affection, purpose, and life, that it seemed due to the memory of both, that each should be represented in the same volume. I ventured to make the suggestion to those more immediately concerned, and, as it met from both families a favourable re-

PREFACE. VU

sponse, I have carried out my idea as well as I could. As the time for writing the Memoir of the younger brother was necessarily limited, and the material within my reach was by no means ample, I have been able to go less into the details of his history than I could have wished ; but I trust I have succeeded in embodying the more important facts of his life, and the more distinctive lineaments of his beautiful character. If this volume shall be instrumental, even in a humble degree, of perpetuating the memory, and deepening the posthumous influence, of these two brothers by blood, brothers in Christ, and brothers in the ministry, whom the whole Church delights tcJ honour, I can ask no more..

M E M O I R

Rev. JOHN McDOWELL, D. D.

MEMOIR

Rev. JOH^ McDOWELL, D. D.

CHAPTER I. From his Birth to his Settlement at Elizabethtown

What I propose, in undertaking this Memoir, is to present the subject of it, as far as I can, just as he was, in respect to the leading acts and events of his life, and the more distinctive features of his character. If any, in reading what I am to write, expect to be amused or dazzled by eccentric or brilliant characteristics, I give them notice, here at the beginning, that they have taken up the wrong book ; whereas, on the other hand, if I do not trace the career of one of the most judicious, conscientious, laborious and successful ministers of the age, I shall have failed in the work to which I am about to address myself. 1

John McDowell was born in the town of Bedminster, Somerset County, N. J., on the 10th of September, 1*180. He was a son of Matthew and Elizabeth (Anderson) McDowell, both of whom were born in America, though the parents of each had emigrated hither from the North of Ireland. Their ancestors were originally from Scotland, and are believed to have been among the numerous Presbyterians who passed over to Ireland, sometime between the years 1660 and 1670, in order to escape the operation of the oppressive Act of Uniformity, in the reign of Charles the Second. His ancestry, as far back as he could trace them, were exemplary professors of the Christian faith.

His parents dedicated him to God in the ordinance of Baptism, in the Presbyterian church of Lamington, of which they were exemplary members : and they were careful to redeem the baptismal pledge by training him up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. He was especially taught to regard the Sabbath with the utmost reverence ; and, after the public services of the day, the parents were accustomed regularly to catechise their children, hear them repeat texts of Scripture and give an account of the sermons which they had heard, and by their own faithful and seasonable instructions, to endeavour to impress Divine truth.

upon their minds and hearts. Under this careful Christian nurture, and especially through the unremitting efforts of his excellent mother, he had the whole of the Assembly's Catechism lodged in his memory, at the age of five years, and before he had learned to read.

When he had reached the age of eleven, he became deeply concerned in respect to his immortal interests, and the great question, — "What he should do to be saved, pressed upon him with overwhelming urgency. At length, after a somewhat protracted season of anxiety and distress, he was enabled, as he believed, to accept of an offered salvation, and thus to find rest to his soul ; though his mind seems, for years afterwards, to have been often subject to doubt and perplexity, on account of the languor of his religious affsctions, and the frequent failure of his good resolutions.

From the time that he first indulged the hope that he had become the subject of renewing grace, he felt a strong desire 'to devote himself to the ministry of the Gospel. But the practicability of this seemed at least doubtful ; for there was no classical school in the neighbourhood, and his father was unwilling to incur the expense of sending him away from home. Accordingly, he continued to work upon his father's farm for the four following years ; but, at the age of fifteen, a classical school having been established by the Rev. William Boyd, within two miles of his father's residence, he was allowed to become a member of it. Here he continued diligently engaged in his studies for about three years, (though his studies were considerably interrupted by labours on the farm), when he was fitted to enter College at an advanced standing. The school closed shortly after he left it ; and he was always accustomed to recognize in the period of its establishment and its continuance, a signal token of the Divine favour, having an important bearing upon his whole future life.

In the fall of 1^99, he entered the Junior class in Princeton College, then under the Presidency of the Rev. Dr. Samuel Stanhope Smith, who was regarded as one of the brightest lights of the Presbyterian Church. At this period, most of our colleges were, in a greater or less degree, in sympathy with the Infidelity of Revolutionary France ; and so deeply did the College of New Jersey share in this calamity that the majority of the students were avowed infidels, and open scoffers at all religion, while the number of those who made any pretensions to piety was exceedingly small. But, notwithstanding he had not yet made a public profession of his faith, he seems to have encountered successfully the manifold temptations to which he was subjected, and held fast his integrity as a Christian throughout his whole college course. He graduated with honour in September, 1801.

After his graduation, he engaged as a teacher, in Sussex county, for six months ; though, as he had the children of two families only under his care, he was able, at the same time, to prosecute his own studies. He commenced the study of Theology under the direction of the Rev. H. W. Hunt, of Newton, N. J. ; but, in the spring of 1802, he went to study under Dr. Woodhull at Freehold, who was, at that time, well known as a teacher of Theology. He had his home in Dr. Woodhull's family, and came into the most intimate relations with him, which continued as long as they both lived.

It was not till he had been at Freehold several months, and had been engaged in the study of Theology, more or less, for nearly a year, that he first made a public profession of religion — of the reason of this long delay, — a period of about eleven years from the time of his hopeful conversion, I find no intimation in any memoranda that he has left, beyond an incidental reference to the fact that the world had had an undue control over him. He was received to the communioa of Dr. Woodhull's cliurcli in September, 1802 ; and his recorded reflections on the occasion, though brief, sho"^'" that he received the ordinance with great humility, and was deeply impressed with a selise of the obligations which he then, for the first time, publicly recognized. Mr. McDowell continued his studies under the direction of Dr. Wood hull for about two years. He placed himself under the care of the Presbytery of New Brunswick within a few weeks after he became a communicant in the church ; and his examinations and trials were, from time to time, sustained, until the 25th of April, 1804, when, at a meeting of the Presbytery at Basking Ridge, he was licensed to preach the Gospel. The time of his sojourn with Dr. Woodhull seems to have passed very pleasantly as well as very profitably. He lived with him as a son with a father, not only receiving from him daily theological instruction, but gathering from his large experience and mature wisdom many maxims and principles of conduct, which had much influence on his subsequent life. While he was a most diligent student, he was very careful in the keeping of his own heart, and the culture of all the Christian graces, and especially of a habit of devotion. He availed himself of the opportunity of attending, and taking part in, the weekly religious meetings, known as " Societies," "within the limits of Dr. Woodhull's coDgregation ; and whenever the pulpit was rendered vacant, either by the Doctor's ill health or absence from home, he uniformly took his place, by reading a sermon to the people and offering at least one of the prayers. He does not seem to have allowed himself much time for relaxation, and yet he sometimes went a hunting, and on one occasion went with a party, in pursuit of a panther, as they supposed ; but if the creature had any other existence than in the imaginations of his hunters, he was shrewd enough to keep out of their way. In one or two instances, he joined in the innocent sports of the young people into whose company he was thrown ; but he seems, upon reflection to have regarded it as a matter of at least questionable propriety, especially in consideration of its being known that he was preparing for the ministry. Both in a religious and a social point of view, he commended himself strongly to the people among whom he lived, while he, in turn, contracted among them many strong and enduring friendships.

Mr. McDowell preached his first sermon at Kingston, in the neighbourhood of Princeton, in the pulpit of the Rev. David Comfort ; and was not a little encouraged by the favour with which his services were received. The Sabbath following he preached at Lamington, to the congregation among whom he had spent all his early years ; but, instead of being embarrassed from his near relation to them, he accounted it a high privilege that he was permitted to proclaim to them the unsearchable riches of Christ. Having preached, for several Sabbaths, in neighbouring congregations, by request of their Pastors, he spent a month, by appointment of Presbytery, preaching to vacant congregations and in destitute places, in the Northern part of New Jersey, and the adjoining parts of Northampton county. Pa.

The Presbyterian church of Elizabethtown, N. J., was now vacant, — their late Pastor, the Rev. Dr. Henry Kollock, one of the most eloquent preachers of his day, and afterwards brother-in-law to Mr. McDowell, having been called to occupy the place both of Pastor and of Professor at Princeton. After his removal in 1803, the congregation fell into a distracted state, in consequence of a visit from the Rev. David Austin, who had j^receded Dr. Kollock as their Pastor, and had closed his ministry there under very peculiar and adverse circumstances. From the time of his accession to the Pastorship of that church, in September, 1788, till about the close of 1795,' he was one of the most honoured and useful ministers in the whole region. About that time, he not only adopted the doctrine of Christ's personal appearance and reign on earth, which is accepted bymany at the present day, but went so far as to fix the very day, (the fourth Sabbath of May, 1796,) in which the glorious descent should be made. When the day came and passed without any unusual occurrence, his friends hoped that the disappointment would dissipate the delusion ; but, instead of that, he readily found reasons for his Lord's delaying his coming, and became more enthusiastic in his adherence to his favourite theory than ever. Not a small number, both in his own congregation and the surrounding country, adopted his views, and were waiting in full expectation of seeing the heavens open and the Son of Man descend. In this state of things, the Presbytery, by request of a majority of the congregation, interposed and dissolved the pastoral relation ; whereupon Mr. Austin returned to his native State,— Connecticut.

After the congregation became vacant by the removal of Dr. Kollock to Princeton, Mr. Austin returned to visit his former charge, and be(;ame engaged, in compliance with the expressed wish of a majority of the people, to preach for them three months. At the end of that time, a vigorous effort was made to continue his services; but it was decided, at a large congregational meeting, by a majority of one vote, not to renew the engagement. Those who wished to retain him, then withdrew in a body, and hired the Methodist church for Sabbath afternoons and evenings, and engaged Mr. Austin to preach for them six months.

Such was the state of things when Mr. McDowell first went to Elizabethtown. He had received an invitation to visit the North Dutch church in Albany, then vacant by the removal of the Rev. Mr. Johnson ; and he wa8 actually travelling on horseback, on his way thither. The Sabbath before he set out on his journey, he preached at Bedminster, where some one told him, during the interval of public service, that he had learned, from one of the elders of the church at Elizabethtown, that he was expected to preach there on the succeeding Sabbath. Notwithstanding this information was positively false, it gave a complexion to the whole of his future life. He immediately resolved to take Elizabethtown on his way to Albany, and, if he were invited to preach, to remain there over the next Sabbath, and, if not invited, to proceed on his journey. When he reached Connecticut Farms, the Rev. Mr. Thompson gave him a letter of introduction to an elder in the Elizabethtown church ; but, on his arrival there,

(it was on the Fourth of July,) he found the elder to whom his letter was addressed, was not at home. The keeper of the inn at which he stopped directed him to another elder, (Mr. Chandler,) to whom he showed Mr. Thompson's note, and from whom he accepted an invitation to pass the night in his family. The next morning he attended a prayer meeting, after which he was invited to stay and preach on the Sabbath. He accepted the invitation, and preached, but nearly half the pews in the house were empty, their regular occupants having been drawn off to hear Mr. Austin, who was then preaching in the Methodist church. At the close of the afternoon service, the Session communicated to him their wish that he would relinquish his purpose of going immediately to Albany, and would remain and preach for them four more Sabbaths. With this invitation also he complied ; and, at the close of his engagement, a congregational meeting was held, and a unanimous call presented to him to become their Pastor. This was on the 29th of July, 1804. None of those who had withdrawn with Mr. Austin were present at the meeting.

After preaching another Sabbath, he left Elizabethtown, and, by appointment of Presbytery, spent several weeks, preaching in the Pines of Monmouth County.

In the beginning of October, he procured a dismission as a licentiate from the Presbytery of New Brunswick, and placed himself under the care of the Presbytery of New York. This Presbytery then embraced the city of New York and vicinity, and East Jersey, as far West as the Raritan River, and as far North as the Northern line of the State. The call having been accepted, the Presbytery fixed, as the time of his ordination and installation, the 26th of December following. Accordingly, on that day, the solemn service was performed. The Rev. Dr. Amzi Armstrong, Pastor of the church in Mendham, N. J., preached the sermon ; Dr. McWhorter, Senior Pastor of the church in Newark, presided, and gave the Charge ; and Dr. Griffin, Junior Pastor of the same church, delivered the Address to the People. On the evening of the same day that Mr. McDowell was ordained, Mr. Austin preached his Farewell Sermon to the portion of the congregation by whom he had been employed.

CHAPTER II. His Ministry at Elizabethtown

The circumstances in which Mr. McDowell commenced his ministry, though, in some respects, highlyauspicious, were, in others, fitted to awaken apprehension and anxiety. The congregation had a deservedly high reputation, not only from the many worthy and distinguished families which had helped to constitute it in successive generations, but also from its having had among its ministers several of the acknowledged Lights of the Church ; — men of even transatlantic fame ; but, at this period, the spirit of bitter strife was dominant among them, and nearly half the legitimate members had put themselves into an attitude of ecclesiastical revolt. Then again, notwithstanding Mr. McDowell had had the advantage of a thorough education, both classical and theological, he had not had the advantage of any experience in his "profession, nor had he, at the time of his ordination, a single sermon which the congregation had not already heard ; while yet the large amount of pastoral labour that devolved upon him, seemed to leave him with too little time to prepare two sermons for the Sabbath, and the distracted state of the people called for all the wisdom which conld have come in the train of the most mature experience. And to crown all, he was the immediate successor of a man who, for attractive manners, fine social and pastoral qualities, and powers of pulpit eloquence, had probably no superior in the Presbyterian Church. When he came, in after life, to review the several circumstances, which seemed to render his duty so arduous and his prospects so doubtful, he was almost ready tO' charge himself with presumption for having ventured upon so important and difficult a field. In the result, however, he found all the evidence he could desire that, in accepting this charge, he was led by a kind and gracious hand.

Scarcely had Mr. McDow^ell assumed his pastoral charge before it became unmistakably manifest that he subscribed ex animo to the doctrine, — as popular as it is scriptural, — that " it is not good for man to be alone." From the very brief record he has left of the manner of spending his time at this period, it is evident that, sometime before his ordination, he was sensible of something like a magnetic power emanating from the dwelling of Mr. Shephard Kollock, a worthy and highly respectable citizen of the place ; and, upon closer examination, it appears no less evident that this power was concentrated in the attractions of his daughter Henrietta. After a while, we find a modest intimation that the parents have been consulted on the delicate subject, and are left to infer the i-esult of the interview from the fact that, almost immediately after, the day for the wedding was fixed upon. That the proposed connection was every way agreeable to the family of the young lady, may be inferred from the following letter, addressed to Mr. McDowell, by her brother, the Rev. Dr. Henry Kollock, shortly after the engagement took place.

Princeton, January 12, 1805.

My Dear Sir :

Anxious as I am for the happiness of my sister, it gives me no small pleasure to find that she will have an amiable and pious man for her friend and protector. My consent to her union is most cheerfully given, and my best wishes will ever attend you. The quarterly examination will be concluded before the day you have appointed, and I shall. Providence permitting, be with you. If it would be equally agreeable to my sister, I would rather be a spectator than perform the ceremony. I suffered so much in marrying Mary that I resolved never more to perform the ceremony for one of my sisters. If, however, Henrietta persists in her wishes, I shall gratify them, though, perhaps, to spare the feelings of both of us, it would be better to get one of our neighbouring brethren.

I shall not forget that your communication was made in confidence. No one but Mrs. K. has been made acquainted with the contents of your letter. Believe me to be, with affection and esteem,

H. KOLLOCK.

The time aj)pointed for the wedding was the 5th of February, 1805 ; and, accordingly, on that day, the marriage was duly solemnized by the bride's brother, Dr. Kollock. Their wedding tour was limited to a short trip to his native place ; whence, after spending two or three days in visiting his parents and other friends, he returned to Elizabethtown, to resume his work with the more alacrity from having thus gained the object of his affections, in whom he was destined to find an eiBcient helper to the end of his journey. On the 6th of April following, they took possession of the parsonage, with devout thanksgivings to God for the manifold blessings with which their lives were crowned.

On the 10th of June of this year, he left home, accompanied by the Rev. Mr. Thompson, of Connecticut Farms, to perform a short missionary tour in some of the more destitute parts of New Jersey. During the ten days that he was absent, he visited nearly as many towns, preaching, exhorting, and catechising, as he could find opportunity. In several places, the meetings which he conducted were marked by great solemnity, and attended by a manifest blessing. It is worthy of notice that, while his mind seems to have been

IT

intensely set upon the great object of liis mission, the awakening and conversion of sinners, and the spiritual growth and comfort of Christians, he still practised such rigid economy in respect to time that he devoted more or less of every day to study. Indeed, as his ministry was in its progress and at the end, so it was at its beginning, — a scene of earnest and vigorous labour, bearing directly upon the best interests not only of his own people, but of the church and the world at large.

At the very commencement of his ministry Mr. Mc- Dowell inaugurated a plan of systematic labour, including his various pastoral duties, and whatever pertained to his preparation for his public services, and, so far as was possible, the duties which grew out of his more general relations to the Church. In the progress of his ministry, this plan was of course m^odified by various changes of circumstances, and particularly by the widening and deepening of his own ecclesiastical influence ; but, so far as its general features were concerned, it always remained the same. His congregation covered a territory of at least five square miles; and though, at the time of his ordination, nearly half of them, if not actually seceders, sustained but a dubious relation to him as a Pastor, yet, as their leader became sick of his

*9 enterprise and finally abandoned it, they were all willing to come back, and range themselves under the old banner. The united congregation was, even at that time, one of the largest within the bounds of the Presbyterian Church ; and the duties which devolved upon its Pastor were neither few nor small ; but happily they had got a Pastor who shrank from no labour, no sacrifice, no self-denial, necessary to the performance of them. Besides preaching regularly in the church twice on the Sabbath, he attended a meeting in the lecture-room, or some other place, in the evening. On Wednesday evening, he statedly attended a large Bible class somewhere in the town. Thursday afternoon he spent in visiting the families, and catechising the children, in one of the country neighbourhoods belonging to the congregation ; and in the evening he preached in the same neighbourhood. On Friday evening, he uniformly preached in the lecture-room. In addition to these duties, besides visiting the sick, and afflicted, and inquiring, he, at stated periods, made a strictly religious visit, accompanied by an elder, to every family in his congregation. This, in connection with his diversified engagements of a more public nature, constituted his ordinary routine of duty during the whole period of his ministry at Elizabethtown.-

Within a few months after his settlement, he was applied to, to baptize a child whose parents were not in the communion of the church. After a careful examination of the subject, he had arrived at the conclusion that a public profession of religion on the part of the parents was the only scriptural condition on which their children could be admitted to Baptism. In accordance with this conviction he felt constrained to decline the request ; though his doing so involved an infringement of the long established order of the church. The opposition to his theory he met with great firmness, and yet with great prudence ; and, though the church ultimately adopted his views, and heartily concurred in his practice, the following extract of a letter from Dr. Kollock, dated "Savannah, February 26, 1807," shows that this revolution in public sentiment was not easily or hastily effected.

" I am very sorry to learn, hj a letter from Dr. Rodgers, that there was likely to be great difficulty in your congregation on the .question concerning Baptism. Write to me particulars on this subject I wish we could think alike on this point ; and I cannot but think that if we and our Sessions were more faithful in performing our duty towards baptized persons, there would be much less dispute who have a right to the ordinance. Old Dr. Mather has a remark that deserves the attention of all clergymen : ' It is,' says he, ' a zealous and diligent attendance to discipline, according to the rules of Christ, and not contracting tlic covenant, that will keep churches pure. There are two ways practised by man in order to keep churches pure — the one human, the other Divine. The human way is to straiten the grace of the Lord's covenant— the Divine way is faithfully to attend to discipline. Now it will be found, in the issue, that the Divine way only is that which will attain the end.' By adopting this ' Divine way ' baptism, the happiest effects would be produced, and the Church would act in consistence with her real character of mother of the children whom she receives into her bosom. This idea, — that the Church becomes the mother of baptized children, is, I think, indubitable ; and, if so, from the faith and engagements of the Church, children have a right to this ordinance. I wish you would weigh this consideration — it appears to me of no small consequence in this controversy. Without taking this ground, it will be difficult to defend the validity of the baptisms of the greater part of Christians.

If having faith in the parents is a necessary prerequisite to the baptism of children, then those children are not baptized whose parents were not endowed with saving faith at the time of the administration of this rite — and thus, at one stroke, you unbaptize the majority of Christendom. Our Catechism also certainly was intended to speak a language very different from your practice. We are there told that the children of all who are members of the visible Church are to be baptized— now who are the members of the visible Church ? Are they only those who are in communion ? We are taught differently by the Scotch Directory, which is certainly the best Commentary on the Catechism as far as it will apply : ' Children, by baptism,' it asserts, ' are received into the bosom of the visible Church.' It necessarily follows, from this remark, that the composers of the Scotch Directory, a number of whom were members of the Westminster Assembly, did not, by the visible Church, mean the communicants alone. Besides, you suppose baptism to be a coufirmatory seal to infants — of ■what? Not that they shall actually enjoy the blessings of the covenant, — for it is aiBxed to many who never do enjoy them, and God's seal is never delusive. It must then be a confirmation of the willingness of God to bestow these blessings upon these infants. Are we authorized to deny this confirmatory token to those on whom the Scriptures declare God is willing to confer these blessings ?