APPENDIX 3: SEMINARIES AND THEIR STUDENTS

Two basic models of seminary management prevailed in the Old School: synodical control and General Assembly control. Princeton (New Jersey, 1812), Western (Allegheny, Pennsylvania, 1827), and Danville (Kentucky, 1853) seminaries were under the General Assembly, while Union (Hampden-Sydney, Virginia, 1823), Columbia (South Carolina, 1829), and Hanover (Indiana, 1830–later moved to New Albany, Indiana), were organized by synods and remained under synodical control. New School seminaries, such as Union Theological Seminary in New York and Lane Seminary in Cincinnati, were independent institutions operated by self-perpetuating boards. The only Old School seminary to follow this model (Cincinnati Theological Seminary, under the leadership of Nathan Lewis Rice and James Hoge) lasted for only three years, 1850-53, and was considered by its supporters as a temporary expedient.

I am in the process of compiling a database of all Old School ministers and congregations. While the database is still incomplete, I have identified 4,724 Old School ministers for the years 1837-1869. While students often attended more than one seminary, figure A3.1 reveals that 40% of all Old School ministers began their formal theological training at Princeton. A total of 47% (2,245) of Old School ministers studied at Princeton.

Figure A3.1 Seminaries Where Old School Ministers began their theological studies

Princeton 1910

Western 766

Union 287

Columbia 278

New Albany 146

Danville 123

Other Presbyterian 156

New School 121

Other Seminaries 172

Private 313

Unknown 462

Since I have been able to look through the student rosters of many non-Old School seminaries, it is likely that almost all of the 462 “unknown” students studied privately. But by 1840, almost all students spent at least some time in seminary. Of the 864 men who entered the Old School ministry in the 1840s, only 80 (9.3%) had not attended seminary at all.

Seminary attendance also reveals the prominence of Princeton throughout most of the Old School period, as Figure A3.2 demonstrates.

Figure A3.2. Annual Old School Seminary Attendance, 1836-1870

------Northwestern----- --------Southern--------

PTS WTS NATS CinTS DTS CTS UTS PTS/others South NW

1836 136 38 12 18 28 ^136/96 46 50

1837 142 37 15 17 31 ^142/100 48 52

1838 135 42 20 19 19 ^135/100 38 62

1839 98 42 30 30 19 98/121 49 72

1840 115 31 10* 24 24 ^115/89 48 41

1841 110 20 14* 20 25 ^110/79 45 34

1842 120 17 23 16 30 ^120/86 46 40

1843 115 30 30 24 35 115/119 59 60

1844 119 54 31 28 32 119/145 60 85

1845 140 50 24* 23 26 ^140/123 49 74

1846 149 56 18* 19 21 ^149/114 40 74

1847 165 48 18* 25 18 ^165/109 43 66

1848 147 48 22* 23 15 ^147/108 38 70

1849 150 51 25* 27 16 ^150/119 43 76

1850 136 46 19 27 13 ^136/115 40 65

1851 150 52 23 5 33 12 ^150/125 45 80

1852 133 50 22 14 31 12 ^133/129 43 86

1853 120 52 14 11 37 11 120/125 48 77

1854 107 54 17 24 34 23 107/152 81 71

1855 109 52 19 37 32 28 109/168 97 71

1856 101 79 16 45 38 23 101/201 106 95

1857 110 81 13 36 38 25 110/193 99 94

1858 132 95 0 40 45 21 132/201 106 95

1859 185 129 NWTS 47 43 18 185/233 108 129

1860 180 140 13 53 62 36 180/304 151 153

1861 162 165 11 42 67 39 162/324 148 176

1862 170 158 11 11 58 22 170/260 91 169

1863 181 134 12 8 29 4 181/187 41 146

1864 186 114 14? 14 7 3 ^186/152 24 128

1865 173 91 23 15 5 1 ^173/135 21 114

1866 162 84 34? 6 5 24 ^162/153 35 118

1867 135 73 38 0 14 17 135/152 31 111

1868 115 73 23 0 23 24 115/143 47 96

1869 105 74 30 12 26 26 105/168 64 104

1870 118 75 35 10 32 35 118/187 77 110

Sources: annual seminary reports to General Assembly, supplemented by seminary catalogs

*estimate due to lack of official report

^14 of the 17 years between 1836-1852, and again from 1864-1866, PTS had more students than all other Old School seminaries combined. In 1861 WTS was briefly the largest Old School seminary.