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Joseph Smith (Presbyterian minister, born 1736)

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Joseph Smith
Born1736
Cecil County, Maryland
Died1792
EducationCollege of New Jersey (now Princeton University)
SpouseEsther (Cummin) Smith
RelativesJoseph Smith Grandson
ChurchPresbyterian

Joseph Smith (1736–1792) was a prominent Presbyterian minister in Western Pennsylvania. He is one of the founders of Washington & Jefferson College.

Biography

Early life

Smith was born in Cecil County, Maryland, not far from the modern location of the Conowingo Dam.[1] He graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1764 at the relatively mature age of 28.[1] He was "tall, blond, slender, and had piercing eyes" and was "emotional to a degree we do not usually associate with Englishmen."[1]

Career

He was first licensed to preach by New Castle Presbytery and accepted a call in Brandywine, Pennsylvania.[1] He and his family moved west to Cross Creek in what is now Washington County, Pennsylvania.[1] There, he built a home and a log school called "The Study," where he taught.[1]

Smith was known as a "firery and eloquent speaker" and held days-long revivals on the high plateau at Upper Buffalo.[1] He loved reading religious materials in the original language: The Old Testament in Hebrew, the New Testament in Greek, Edward Leigh's Critica Sacra, and Pool's Synopsis.[1] It was said that he kept a cloak at the foot of his bed for use when he would spontaneously rise to pray in his bitterly cold room in the middle of the night.[1]

References

  • Smith, D.D., Rev. Joseph (1858). William Buell Sprague (ed.). Annals of the American Pulpit. Vol. III. R. Carter and Brothers.
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Coleman, Helen Turnbull Waite (1956). Banners in the Wilderness: The Early Years of Washington and Jefferson College. University of Pittsburgh Press. pp. 4–7. OCLC 2191890. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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