John McMillan (missionary)
John McMillan | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 11, 1752 |
| Died | November 16, 1833 (aged 81) |
| Spouse | Catherine (Brown) McMillan |
| Church | Presbyterian |
John McMillan (1752–1833) was a prominent Presbyterian minister in Western Pennsylvania. He is one of the founders of Washington & Jefferson College
Biography
McMillan was born on November 11, 1752 in Fagg's Manor, Chester County, Pennsylvania.[1] His Scots-Irish parents arrived in Chester County from County Antrim, Ireland in 1742.[1] McMillan attended grammar aschool in Fagg's Manor and studied theology at Pequea Academy. He entered Princeton at 18 and graduated in 1772.[1] It was Princeton that he declared "that the divine law was not only holy and just but that it was also good and that conformity to it would make me happy."[1]
He was licensed to at age 22 in East Nottingham, Pennsylvania under the Presbytery of Newcastle.[1] He traveled west on foot in 1775, preaching along the way.[1] In 1776 he married Catherine Brown of Chester County. He founded Pigeon Creek Church, where he served for 19 years, Chartiers Church, where he served for 47 years and 8 years with Matthew Brown.[1]
Amid the Revolutionary War and attacks from local Indians, McMillan moved his wife and their first child to a cabin on Shanon Run, the east branch of Chartiers Creek in Washington County, Pennsylvania. McMillan began teaching Greek and Latin to students in his log cabin, eventually graduating several prominent frontier ministers, including James McGready, William Swann, Samuel Porter, and Thomas Marquis. The precise date of the beginning of instruction is unknown.
McMillan was described as large man, with a height of 6 foot and weighing 200 pounds in his middle age. His voice was described as strong and "swarthy".[1] He was a Federalist and opposed the Whiskey Rebellion. He nominated Albert Gallatin for congress.[1] Gallatin's successor, James Ross was a classical teacher at McMillan's log college.[1] McMillan served in the militia in Captain James Scott's Company of the Third Battalion of the Washington County Military.[1] He was ordered to duty on May 8 1782 and received "donation farm" in Mercer County from the government for his service.[1]
McMillan and Rev. Matthew Henderson collected money to build the Canonsburg Academy in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania and transferred his log cabin students there. He is also considered a founder of the Pittsburgh Academy (later University of Pittsburgh as well as the Pittsburgh Zenia Theological Seminary and the Western Theological Seminary.[1] All told, he educated over 100 ministers and preached 6,000 sermons.[1] James Carnahan, President of Princeton University, said that he had aided church and education "more than any other man of his generation."[1]
Works
- McMillan, D.D., John (June 1833). Rev. S.C. Jennings (ed.). "Sermon XVI: The Moral Law Established By Faith in the Law". The Presbyterian Preacher. II (3). Pittsburgh: D. and M. MacLean: 225–240.
- McMillan, D.D., John (June 1833). Rev. S.C. Jennings (ed.). "Sermon XXII: The Sinner's Inability Inexcusable, Yet Divine Influence Necessary". The Presbyterian Preacher. II (8). Pittsburgh: D. and M. MacLean: 305–316.
References
- Guthrie, Dwight Raymond (1926). John McMillan: The Apostle Of Presbyterianism In The West (PDF). University of Pittsburgh Press. OCLC 2191890.
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