Dabney, Robert Lewis, 1820-1898

Robert Lewis Dabney (1820-1898) was a Presbyterian theologian and educator in Virginia and Texas. He earned his degree in theology from Union Theological Seminary at Hampden-Sydney in 1846, and in 1853 was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity. He served as both the chair of ecclesiastical history and polity (1853-1859) and the chair of systematic and polemic theology (1859-1883) at Union Theological Seminary. During the Civil War, Dabney served as both a Confederate Army chaplain and the chief-of-staff for Stonewall Jackson. In 1883 he accepted the chair of mental and moral philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. In 1884 he founded the Austin School of Theology, a predecessor of the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, with R. K. Smoot, a Presbyterian pastor.

Source: Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "Dabney, Robert Lewis," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/DD/fda1.html (accessed February 8, 2008).

From the guide to the Robert Lewis Dabney correspondence 1996-009., 1889-1894, (Austin Seminary Archives, Stitt Library, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.)

Robert Lewis Dabney (1820-1898) was a Southern Presbyterian theologian and educator. He was born in Virginia in 1820 and studied theology at Union Theological Seminary. He was ordained in 1847 and served several churches in Virginia before becoming a professor at Union Theological Seminary. In 1883, he moved to Austin, Texas to serve as a professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy at the University of Texas. He was a cofounder of the Austin School of Theology, now Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and was a professor there from 1884-1895.

In addition to his work regarding theology, Dabney briefly served as a chaplain to the Stonewall Brigade due to his marriage to Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s wife’s first cousin. He authored an early biography on Jackson and lectured frequently about the Civil War and the Confederacy until his death in 1898.

From the guide to the Robert Lewis Dabney publications collection 2011-003., 1852-1892, (Austin Seminary Archives, Stitt Library, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.)