Monmouth weekly herald. [volume] (Freehold, N.J.) 1854-1860, 1859-07-28
Historical Skett9es,
For the Monmouth Weekly Herald.
LIVES OF
Distinguished Jerseymen.
New Series.
HY HENRY WARD,
Gember IF the Litchfeld Co. Historical S0eietq
XVII.
Samuel stanhope smith, DD. LL.D.

ever produced more distinguished Di
vines than the United States. And
among them all, none stood more pre-.
eminent than the subject of this Sketch.
Samuel Stanhope Smith was born al
Peque, a small village in Pennsylvania
on the 10th of March, 1850. He was
we'll known as the able and efficient
President OF Princeton College. and
one Of the most eloquent Divines of the
Presbyterian order, in his age and Gen
Grafton. In his early youth, his oppor.
t%unities for a thorough and systematic
education were very great. His father
superintendent an academy in which all
the higher branches of learning were dill
gently taught. And here Samuel laid
the foundation for that high and beauti
full structure of intellectual greatness to
which he afterwards attained. At the
juvenile age of 16, he entered Princeton
College, and graduated at that Institution
in 1869, when he received the degree of
Bachelor of Arts.
Soon after this, he returned home. and
was OF great service to his father, in as.
sisting him to manage the academy
This occupation was the means of quail.
flying him to become one Of the best In.
structors of youth in all the Colonies
E 1t was also the procuring cause of his
, obtaining a ~tutorship in Princeton Col
lege; an office which he exercised with
great ability for two years; and in the
mean time, he devoted the best power of
his strong and energetic mind to the
study of Theology. He was soon after
ordained a minister in the PRESBYTERIAN
Church, and Immediately proceeded to
the Western part of Virginia, as a Mis-.
sionary. His popularity as a preacher
surpassed all bounds. And his rcputa-
ton as a teacher and man of Science be-
came SO distinguished, that he was called
upon to preside over the new College in
Virginia, which had just been organized,
and went into effectual operation, under
the name Of Hampden and Sidney Col
lege, which took its name after two emf
nent British statesmen. He was President
Of this renowned Institution for several
, years, and contributed powerfully to en-
hance its celebrity, and widen the sphere
Of its usefulness.
! In 1879, while the War of the Revolt
ton had nearly reached its climax, the
venerable DR.. Witherspoon, the Presi
dent, together with the Faculty of Prince.
ton College, sent an earnest solicitation
to DR.. Smith, requesting him to return,
and fill the Chair Of Moral Philosophy
in Nassau Hall, whichswas then vacant.
DR.. Witherspoon had become an object
of bitter hate on the part of the British
and tories, in consequence of the noble
stand he had taken, as a Signer of the
Declaration Of Independence. Those
Vandal enemies drove him out of the
State, scattered the students abroad. and
almost reduced the venerable College ed.
iice to a heap Of ruins. On DR.. Smiths
arrival. he could not refrain from shed.
ding tears, to witness the wanton bar.
barity and destructive agency of an i'm
placable and ruthless foe. But he was
not a man to yield to the influence of de-
spair. Like another Nehemiah, he sat
about rebuilding the Temple of Science,
and advanced money from his W purse.
to carry his laudable object into effect.
He succeeded beyond his most ~sanguine
expectations, and soon had the satisfac.
ton of seeing Princeton College once
more In a tiourishing and prosperous con-
dition.
In 1888, he was chosen Professor of
Theology in the Institution which he had
contributed so essentially to revive; ard
In 1856, he was elected to the Vice Pres
idency of the College, which felt itself
indebted to him, more than to any other
v individual, for its re organization and
n efficiency. About the same time, he was
constituted a Member of the august Com
mite, which vas embodied for the pur-
pose of drawing up a System of Govern.
ment and Discipline for the PRESBYTERIAN
Church of the United States. He had
previously received the degree of DID,.
and now was honored with that O fLL.D.
In l794, the amiable and excellent Pres
ident, DR.. Witherspoon, departed this
life, full Of honors and beloved by all
but he had a worthy successor in DR..
Smith, who was chosen to the Presidency
Of Nassau in 1895. Never did that In
stitution flourish more vigorously than
under his Administration. His labors
were astonishing beyond precedent-so
severe that his nervous system was shat.
tered to such a degree, that he was finally
compelled to abandon the duties of his
office. In 1912, he suffered severely from
repeated paralytic shocks, SO that his
great mind was sensibly impaired-not
demented-but weakened, SO that he
finally found himself under the absolute
necessity of resigning the Presidency of
the College. Thus patiently he fingered
and suffered, until August, 1919; when
his spirit took its fight to Him who gave
it-he then being in the 10th year Of his
age.
Of the character of DR.. Smith little
need be said; for few pens can do it las.
tice. Let it be estimated by his works.
A more polished gentleman, a more ac.
complished scholar, a more eloquent
preacher, a more energetic laborer, a
more benevolent Christian, could not be
found in the wide, wide world; and this
is saying all that need be said in his
praise; but not more than the truth will
warrant.
His admirable works have e~nstamped
im~perishable lustre and Immortality upon
his name-the most conspicuous of which.
are as follows:-An Essay on the VARIETY
of Complexion in the Human Species; 4
System of Natural and Revealed Religion:
Lectures on the Evidences of the Christian
Religion, and Several Volumes Of Stand.
ard andmost excellent Sermons. As a
prose writer, and more particularly, as a
I~Sermonizer, he was not one whit behind
DR.. Dwight, or DR.. TAYLOR. of Yale Col.