Thomas Harvey Skinner papers, circa 1832 -- 2005

Creator:
Skinner, Thomas H (Thomas Harvey), 1791-1871
Abstract:
Thomas Harvey Skinner (1791-1871) was a Presbyterian minister, pastoral theologian, and founding faculty member and professor at Union Theological Seminary. The collection contains a commonplace book, as well as lecture notes, ministerial and personal correspondence, clippings, memorials, and biographical and family genealogical material.
Extent:
0.5 linear feet 0.5 linear feet; 1 box
Language:
English .
Scope and content:

This collection contains a commonplace book, including scholarly notes, sermon drafts, autobiographical passages, and an copious index; as well as lecture notes, ministerial and personal correspondence, clippings, memorials, and biographical and family genealogical material.

Biographical / historical:

Thomas Harvey Skinner (1791-1871) was born near Harvey's Neck, North Carolina on March 7, 1791. He was the son of Baptist parents (before their marriage his father had been an Episcopalian, his mother a Quaker), and was the seventh of thirteen children. He attended college at Princeton (then the College of New Jersey), where he graduated in 1809. Skinner originally made plans to study law in Edenton, North Carolina. Two significant life events coincided with Skinner's studies that marked a divergence from this path. He was moved to conversion by the sermon of a traveling preacher and from the death of his brother. He left his studies and was ordained in the Presbytery of Philadelphia on June 10, 1813. During his spiritual transformation, he studied with Henry Kollock of Savannah, Georgia, and John McDowell of Elizabethtown, New Jersey. He then served as co-pastor in Philadelphia from 1813 to 1816, then as pastor in the same congregation from 1816 through 1832. Following his initial years in the ministry, Skinner became a professor of Sacred Rhetoric at Andover Theological Seminary, a position he held briefly from 1833 to 1835. Skinner's tenure at Andover was truncated when he joined the faculty and founding faculty member of Union Theological Seminary. There, he taught Sacred Rhetoric (the first professor to hold this post), Pastoral Theology, and Church Government from 1836 to 1840. He was promoted to the Davenport professorship at Union, a position he held from 1848 to 1871. He was director of this same program beginning in 1857. According to obituary documentation and his descendants' testimony, Reverend Skinner married twice; first to Emily Montgomery, with whom he had four children, Maria, Thomas Harvey Jr., Caroline, and Martha Ann. Following her death, he married Frances Louisa Davenport of New Haven, Connecticut, with whom he also had four children: Helen, James, Frances and Mary. Skinner predeceased his wife upon his death in New York City on February 1, 1871. Many of Skinner's peers spoke highly of him at his memorial, including Dr. Henry B. Smith, Dr. Adams, Dr. George L. Prentiss, and Dr. John Cotton Smith. During his lifetime, Reverend Skinner earned honorary doctoral degrees from Williams College (1826) and a LL.D. from Maryville College in 1855. In addition to these accolades, Skinner was the author of Aids to Preaching and Hearing (1839), Religion of the Bible (1839), Hints to Christians (1841), Religious Liberty: A Discourse (1841), and Discussions in Theology (1868).

Access and use

Restrictions:

This collection is open for research.

The following boxes are located offsite: Box 1. Please note that requests for use of boxes held in offsite storage must be made three business days in advance.

Terms of access:

Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Information concerning copyright, fair use, and reproduction requests can be consulted at Columbia's Copyright Advisory Office.

Preferred citation:

Item description, UTS1: Thomas Harvey Skinner papers, circa 1832-2005, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.

Location of this collection:
Burke Home Page
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