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19th Century Presbyterian Church History

A selection of books and periodicals primarily focused on topics related to the Presbyterian Church in the southern United States during the nineteenth century. Special attention is given to resources discussing the issue of race.

The Southern Presbyterian Review

​Davidson College Archives & Special Collections holds all 36 volumes of the Southern Presbyterian Review. Published out of various cities in the southern United States between 1847 and 1885, the Review contains articles written by several Presbyterian theologians - some with connections to Davidson and Mecklenburg County.

Many of these articles comment on the scriptural justifications for slavery, abolition, temperance, and the differing social roles of men and women. Other articles describe mission work with freedmen and international populations. A small selection of those articles is featured below:

Southern Presbyterian Review, Volume 1, 1847 - 1848

Number 4: "Suggestions of the Religious Instruction of the Negroes," by Charles Colcock Jones, D. D.

      "A Grammar of the Mpongwe Language," by the Missionaries of the A. B. C. F. M.

      "The Glory of Woman," by the Rev. Charles Colcock Jones, D. D.

Southern Presbyterian Review, Volume 5, 1851 - 1852

Number 1: "Fugitive Slave Law: A Sermon," by Ichabod S. Spencer, D. D.

Number 3: "Report on Slavery," page 380

                                 "Hints on Female Education," by Elias Marks, M. D.

Number 4: "The Unity of the Human Race," page 572

Southern Presbyterian Review, Volume 8, 1855

              Number 3: "A South Side View of Slavery: or Three Months at the South."

              Number 4: "Adams’ South Side View of Slavery, or Three Months at the South," Second Edition. 

        "A letter of Inquiry to Ministers of the Gospel of all denominations, on Slavery" 

        "Our Slaves should have the Bible."

Southern Presbyterian Review, Volume 12, 1860
              Number 2: "The Religious Instruction of Our Colored Population," by E. T. Baird, D. D.

              Number 3: "The Revival of the Slave Trade," by Rev. J. L. Wilson, D. D.

              Number 4: "The Raid of John Brown and the Progress of Abolition," by Rev. George Howe, D. D.

Southern Presbyterian Review, Volume 18, 1868
              Number 2: "The Future of the Freedmen," page 268
Southern Presbyterian Review, Volume 36, 1885
              Number 1: "The Southern Presbyterian Church and the Freedmen," by the Rev. R. C. Reed, page 83

Number 2: "Religious Education of the Colored People of the South," by Col. J. T. L. Preston, page 305

Number 4: "Our Church and Her Work Amongst the Negroes," by the Rev. D. C. Rankin, page 742

The Missionary and The Foreign Missionary

The Missionary: Edited by the Secretary of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States

Volume 16, 1883:

  • No. 5, 6 (published out of Virginia) 

Volume 15, 1882: 

  • No. 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 12 (published out of Virginia) 

Volume 14, 1881:

  • No. 1, 2, 5, 6 (published out of Baltimore)

Volume 13, 1880: 

  • No. 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12 (published out of Baltimore) 

Volume 12, 1879: 

  • No. 1, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 (published out of Baltimore) 

The Missionary

The Missionary, Volume 42, December 1909, ed. Rev. Henry Williams 

The Missionary, Volume 34, January, March, May 1901, ed. Rev. D.C. Rankin

  • The Missionary: Japan Edition, Volume 34, June 1901, ed. Rev. D.C. Rankin 

The Missionary, Volume 33, February, June 1900, ed. Rev. D.C. Rankin 

The Missionary, Volume 32, April, October, November 1899, ed. Rev. D.C. Rankin

First Edition Under the Revised Title,The Foreign Missionary

The Foreign Missionary: Containing Particular Accounts of the Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church and Selected Articles from the Missionary Publications of other Protestant Churches, November 1860 (published out of New York)

Various Periodicals and Serials

The Sabbath Outlook, Volume 10

  • February 1892, ed. A.H. Lewis, D.D.
  • April 1892, ed. A.H. Lewis, D.D. 

Woman’s Work for Woman and Our Mission Field

  • Volume 2, No. 12, December 1887, published by the Women’s Foreign Missionary Societies of the Presbyterian Church 

 Home, the School, and the Church; or the Presbyterian Education Repository 

  • ​Volume 9, 1859, ed. C. Van Rensselaer 

  • Volume 3, 1853, ed. C. Van Rensselaer 

 Annual Report to the Executive Committee of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the United States... 

  • ...for the Year Ending April 1, 1877, Baltimore 
  • ...for the Year Ending April 1, 1875, Columbia 
  • ...for the Year Ending April 1, 1874, Charleston 
  • ...for the Year Ending April 1, 1872, Columbia 
  • ...for the Year Ending April 1, 1870, Columbia
  • ...for the Years Ending April 1, 1866, 1867, 1868, Columbia 

 The Light on the Session Quarterly: International Sunday School Lessons for the Third Quarter, 1882 

 The Earnest Worker in the Sabbath School and the Family

  • ​Volume 12, no. 8, August 1883 
  • Volume 11, no. 12, 4, 3, 2, 1882
  • Volume 8, no. 6, 3, 1879 
  • Volume 7, no. 13, 7, 1878 (October, April)

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Mailing Address: Davidson College - E.H. Little Library, 209 Ridge Road, Box 5000, Davidson, NC 28035