The header image was taken by the author and it shows the Briery Presbyterian Church which is located in Keysville, Virginia. Robert L. Dabney was the architect who designed the church and several early Presbyterians preached from its pulpit including Samuel Stanhope Smith, Drury Lacy, William Hill, Nash LeGrand, John Blair Smith, and William S. Plumer. In its early days the church was closely associated with Hampden-Sydney College. The first church building was construccted in 1760 and the one pictured was built about 1855.
Purpose of the Site
The purpose of Presbyterians of the Past is to provide articles, biographies, snippets of information, digital publications, extended writings, and some curiosities from church history to facilitate study of those who have gone before and their contributions to the Presbyterian and Reformed churches. It is hoped that these resources will raise the interest of students in school, college, and graduate studies along with their professors along with history buffs and genealogists, to follow up on issues of interest for their own research and writing.
Method
To be informed of newly posted articles click the “Join the Mailing List” button on the right side of each post page and fill in the form. There is also a “Contact the Author” box on the right side of each page.
Each new article on Presbyterians of the Past can be accessed by clicking on the home page header. With each new post the previous one will move into “Latest Posts” and eventually into the archive. A click of the “Archives” button on the toolbar at the top of the page will list all the previous posts. There is a magnifying glass image on the toolbar which provides access for full-text searching using key words. The “Categories” button provides a list of several topics any one of which includes relevant articles. For those interested in the work of Benjamin B. Warfield (1851-1921) of Princeton Theological Seminary, there is a button marked “B. B. Warfield” which provides a list of articles about him. Finally, the button titled “Moderators” accesses an archive of articles relevant to General Assembly moderators that includes biographies of several who wielded the gavel. The text at the beginning of the page provides a button “General Assembly Moderators” that accesses an introductory article about moderaters followed by a list of them in the PCUSA, PCCSA, and PCUS from 1789 to 1923.
Copyright and Use
The resources provided on Presbyterians of the Past are for educational purposes and readers are encouraged to use the materials to teach others about the history, lives, publications, subjects, and teaching of those who have gone before. The materials may be duplicated for teaching purposes, used in church newsletters and bulletins, handed out for Sunday school classes, and other educational purposes so long as the copies are distributed at no cost. Please give credit to the author, Barry Waugh, on each of your copies or digital postings. It would also be appreciated if you mentioned the Presbyterians of the Past website, but this is not required. Resources from Presbyterians of the Past are not to be used in any way that involves charging fees for their use nor are they to be included in materials for sale.
Author
Barry Waugh has the PhD in Historical and Theological Studies from Westminster Theological Seminary. He can be emailed using the contact form on this page.