| 词条 | Draft:Samuel Whelpley |
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Samuel Whelpley (1766 -July 14, 1817) was an American preacher and religious writer. Born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts to Samuel and Hannah Whelpley, from Wilton, Fairfield County, Connecticut, Whelpley's parents were subsistence farmers.[1] Both the parents were Baptists, belonging to a small Church which worshipped in two private houses, one of which was a little South of the dividing line between Stockbridge and Lenox, and the other North of it. In this Church the father was a deacon. He died November 29, 1809, aged eighty. The inscription on his monument is—"Dignified in manners, and rich in the resources of his own mind, he lived usefully and died in peace." The family were uncommonly fond of reading, particularly of reading history. This was remarkably true of Samuel, and from very early life. In his boyhood and youth he was large for one of his age; was fond of sport, and averse to labour; was rash and reckless from the strength of his feelings, but chargeable with no vice; was awkward and ungainly in his appearance; but when he got hold of a book, he devoured it with the utmost avidity. He gave decisive evidence then of possessing a vigorous and discriminating mind. What he read he understood and remembered. His advantages for acquiring knowledge were small, except what arose from the intelligence of his father's family, and he became intelligent himself, mainly by the force of his mental powers,—by reading and reflection. He embraced the denominational sentiments of his parents, and though he studied Theology under Dr. Stephen West, and greatly valued his instructions, and venerated his character, (as is evident from a sketch of Dr. West given in the celebrated work of which Mr. Whelpley was the author, styled the "Triangle,") he nevertheless became a Baptist preacher. He was ordained Pastor of the Church of which his father was deacon, or with a view of preaching to it, June 21, 1792. Elder John Lcland preached the ordination Sermon, and the service was performed in the open air. After preaching for some time to this church, he went to West Stockbridge, where a Baptist Church was formed in 1792, and a church edifice erected in 1794. He laboured there several years, and at the same time was engaged in instructing youth. While he was at West Stockbridge, the people at Green River, N. Y., erected a church edifice without particular reference to any denomination; and having learned that Mr. Whelpley was more than ordinarily free from a spirit of sectarism. and having heard much of his reputation as a popular preacher, they determined to make an effort to engage his services. The effort was successful, and he supplied this singularly constituted congregation for some time, with great acceptance. • MSS. from Roy. David D. Field, D. D., Rev. Timothy Woodbridgc, D. D., and Hon. About 1798, he removed from Green River to Morristown, N. J., where he took charge of an Academy. This removal was understood to have been effected through the influence of the Rev. (afterwards Dr.) James Richards, who was at that time Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Morristown. During his residence here, he often supplied Dr. Richards' pulpit, as well as other pulpits in the neighbourhood, and was regarded as a preacher of very decided talent. As an instructor, also, he gained a high reputation. In 1806, Mr. Whelpley, having changed his views on the subject of Baptism resolved to transfer his ecclesiastical relations to the Presbyterian Church. Accordingly, on the 24th of April, of that year, he made application by letter to be received as a member of the Presbytery of New York. The Presbytery agreed to receive him on condition of his adopting the Confession of Faith and Form of Government of the Presbyterian Church, and answering satisfactorily the usual questions put to ministers under similar circumstances. On the 8th of October following, Mr. Whelpley appeared, and having complied with the several requisitions, was recognised as a member of the Presbytery. In October, 1809, the Synod of New York and New Jersey divided the Presbytery of New York, and by that act, Mr. Whelpley was set off to the Presbytery of Jersey. In July, 1814, having been dismissed by his own request from the Presbytery of Jersey, with a view to being received by the Presbytery of New York, he was thus received, and continued in this connection till his death. In the early part of 1809, he removed from Morristown to Newark, and opened a school there,—about the same time that his friend Dr. Richards took charge of the First Presbyterian Church. Here, too, he had a high standing as a teacher, and his occasional services in the pulpit also were greatly prized. In the latter part of 1809, a hemorrhage at the lungs, with some other alarming symptoms, suggested to Mr. Whelpley the importance of betaking himself for a time to a more Southern climate. Accordingly, having provided a suitable person to take charge of his school, he went to Savannah, taking with him his son,—Philip Mclancthon, and leaving the rest of his family at Newark. His health improved so far that he was enabled to take charge of a small school, by means of which the expenses of his residence and those of his son at Savannah, were nearly met. He received great kindness from Dr. Kollock, and other distinguished residents of the place, but his feeble health, his embarrassed circumstances, and a protracted separation from his family, rendered his sojourn there more like a period of exile than an agreeable visit. He returned to his family and his school at Newark, sometime in the year 1811, with his disease still preying upon him, though its force had seemed to be somewhat abated. In 1814, Mr. Whelpley left Newark and went to live in New York, where, for a short time, he taught a very popular boys' school. His son, Melancthon, having in due time been licensed to preach, and become the Pastor of the Wall Street Church,—the father relinquished his school, and resided, during the short period of his life that remained, in his son's family. It was at this period (1816 and 1817) that he wrote the "Triangle"—a work that appeared in a series of numbers, designed to prove the superiority of what was commonly called the New England Theology to the stricter form of Calvinism. All acknowledged that it was a work of no inconsiderable power; but it met the severest condemnation on the one hand, while it was received with the highest praise on the other. Mr. Whelpley's health, which had long been extremely frail, at length sunk so low that he was no longer capable of any active exertion. He languished for some time in a state of great debility, and died while the Presbytery to which he belonged was in session, July 14, 1817, in the fifty-first year of his age. Dr. Spring visited him on his death-bed, but found him unable to hold conversation. To a question which the Doctor put to him, he replied in a way that indicated that his mind was at peace, and then added—"My dear brother, let that be the last question,"—owing, as was supposed, to a difficulty of speaking. Mr. Whelpley's publications are a Compend of Ancient and Modern History; a Sermon on the Immortality of the Soul, delivered at Newark, 1804; Thoughts on the state of departed Souls: a Sermon delivered at Morristown, 1807 ; a Sermon entitled "The destruction of wicked nations;" Letters on Capital Punishment and War, addressed to Governor Strong; an Oration delivered at Morristown on the Fourth of July, 1809; [he was too unwell at the time to deliver it, and it was pronounced in a most graceful and attractive manner by his son, Philip Melancthon, who was then but sixteen years of age;] the Triangle in five Numbers, 1817. Mr. Whelpley was married sometime before he left Stockbridge to Nancy Race of West Stockbridge. They had at least three children, two of whom entered the ministry. The elder, Philip Melancthon, is the subject of a distinct notice in this work. The younger, Samuel W., was settled at PlatUburg, N. Y., and afterwards at East Windsor, Conn., and at a still later period, taught a school in Providence, R. I. He died not far from the year 1850. He published an Address before the Peace Society of Hartford County, 1830. FROM THE HON. THEODORE FRELINGIIUYSEN, LL. D. New Brunswick, March 22, 1851. My dear Sir: I have duly received your letter of inquiry concerning the elder Mr. Whelpley, and I regret that my materials for a reply are so scanty as to promise little aid to your proposed sketch of him. I knew him first, from hearing him preach occasionally at Basking Ridge, when I was there as a boy it school, from 1800 to 1802. Then I had a general acquaintance with him after he came to live at Newark,—the place of my own residence, though I saw less of him from the fact that my professional labours at that time called cne much away from home. My impressions concerning him are rather general; but such as they arc, I cheerfully communicate them to you. I know in general that Mr. Whelpley was highly respected in our community, as a teacher, a minister of the Gospel, and a Christian gentleman. His school, while he was at Newark, was in high repute, and I believe there were few more competent or thorough teachers in his day. His health being delicate, he was subject to a nervous affection, that reached to his general temperament, and often cast a cloud over his natural cheerfulness. THEODORE FRELINGHTJYSEN. FROM THE HON. LEWIS CONDICT, MEMBER OF CONGRESS. Morristown, N. J., September 11,1848 It was through the influence of Dr. Richards, our Pastor, that he came to this place, and when the Doctor went to Newark, he quickly rejoined him there. I believe they always continued in the most close and intimate relations' In person, Mr. Whelpley was tall and slender,—considerably more than six feet, and remarkably erect. His countenance was highly intelligent,—grave and thoughtful, but not repulsive; his features were strong and well defined; his visage thin; his face and head remarkably long; his forehead high, though not unusually broad; and his whole exterior gave you the impression of a man of commanding intellect. His manners were not copied from the dancing master or the dandy; but were those of a New England gentleman of the Old School; though, owing to the circumstances of his education, without any extraordinary degree of refinement. Mr. Whelpley was unquestionably a man of marked genius. He had an uncommonly inventive mind, and a highly prolific imagination. His imagination, however, was under a rigid control, and he had always a purpose to answer when he suffered it to come into exercise. His preaching was rich in well digested evangelical thought, arranged with logical precision and skill, but it was as far as possible from possessing, or aiming at, any of the more showy qualities. His manner was deeply impressive, and seemed to show the workings of a spirit that was at home amidst the great realities which formed the themes of his discourses. His published Sermons,—one especially on the "state of departed souls," show with what simplicity and beauty as well as awful solemnity, he was capable of presenting Divine truth. Tho publication by which he is best known,—the Triangle, evinces greater power probably than had generally been ascribed to him, before it appeared. As it was of a strongly controversial character, it was not to be expected that it should meet with universal favour. It is valuable at this day, not merely as a rare specimen of vigorous, glowing composition, but as marking a particular stage in tho controversy between the Old and New School in the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Whelpley was a most diligent student—few men studied and read as much, and slept as little, as he. I often visited him, but I rarely found him without a book in hand, and if at the tea-table, his book was sure to be at his elbow. He was particularly fond of History, and a great proficient in it, as is shown by his volume on Ancient History,—a work which enjoyed much popularity, and was extensively used in its day. He occasionally amused himself by writing poetry; and among his poetical effusions is an ode occasioned by the death of General Washington, which was sung in our church, after a commemorative Discourse by Dr. Richards. He had deservedly a very high reputation as a teacher; though his health was always delicate, and his habits of severe application, both in his school and in his study, doubtless contributed to increase his infirmities. His school was, in a pecuniary sense, highly productive; and a man fond of money, would have accumulated something from the profits of it. But money seemed to have no attraction for him, any further than as a means of supplying the immediate necessities of his family. Mr. Whelpley, during his residence here, was known more as a teacher than a preacher; though he often preached for Dr. Richards, and also supplied the pulpit of the Baptist Congregation. But it was after his removal to Newark that he acquired his greatest popularity as a preacher. Then his high intellectual powers, as exhibited in the pulpit, seem to have been fully estimated, and while he was always listened to by large and attentive audiences, the most cultivated and respectable class were his greatest admirers. With sincere respect and esteem, I am your friend and obedient servant, LEWIS CONDICT. References1. ^William Buell Sprague, Annals of the American Pulpit: Presbyterian (1859), p. 380-84. {{fmbox|type=editnotice |image= |text= This open draft remains in progress. }} |
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