McGill, Alexander T. (Alexander Taggart), 1807-1889

Alexander Taggart McGill was born at Canonsburg, PA on February 24, 1807. He graduated from Jefferson College at Canonsburg and then entered the Associate Presbyterian Seminary. He had to suspend his studies because of his health. He then taught at the Baldwin Academy in Milledgeville, GA and enter the bar in that state in 1830. He also was appointed as Surveyor of the Cherokee Land Reservation by the state legislature. He returned to Canonsburg in 1831 and was ordained in the ministry in 1835 by the Associate Presbyterian Synod at Carlisle, PA, becoming a minister to four small congregations. He left the Associate Synod in 1838 and joined the Old School Presbytery of Carlisle. He was a Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Church Government at the Western Theological Seminary (now the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary) in Allegheny from 1842 to 1852 and 1853 to 1854. In between he taught at the Columbia Seminary in South Carolina. In 1854 he became the Professor of Pastoral Theology at the Princeton Seminary in New Jersey and remained there until 1883. He became Moderator of the General Assembly (Old Style) in 1848 and became Stated Clerk from 1850 to 1870. He received honorary degrees from Marshall College and the College of New Jersey. McGill authored many books and pamphlets, including several that dicussed the Church's position on slavery. He married Eleanor A. McCulloch of Lewistown, PA on May 18, 1837 and had three sons and three daughters. Eleanor died on March 6, 1873. He married Catherine Bache Hodge of Princeton nine years later. She died on July 3, 1884. He died in Princeton on January 13, 1889.

From the guide to the Alexander Taggart McGill Papers, 1836-1870, (Ohio University)

Presbyterian clergyman, educator, theologian, and author; Moderator of the General Assembly (1848).

From the description of Papers, 1830-1880. (Presbyterian Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 47984153

Clergyman, educator and author.

Born in Canonsburg, Pa., in 1807. He graduated from Jefferson College, Pa., in 1826 and studied law in Georgia from 1826-30. He served the Presbyterian church in Pennsylvania and taught ecclesiastical history and church government at Western Theological seminary. He was offered the presidency of Ohio University several times, but despite repeated urgings of faculty and trustees, turned it down. He was a frequent contributor to reviews and often published his sermons and speeches.

From the description of Alexander Taggart McGill papers, 1843-1848. (Ohio University). WorldCat record id: 27235099

Alexander Taggart McGill was born at Canonsburg, Pa., on February 24, 1807, the son of John and Mary Taggart McGill. After graduating from Jefferson College, then at Canonsburg, Alexander entered the Associate Presbyterian (Seceder) Seminary in Canonsburg, but for reasons of health, was forced to suspend his studies. Venturing south, McGill taught school at the Baldwin Academy in Milledgeville, Ga., and later studied law, gaining admittance to the Georgia bar in 1830. He was also appointed by the state legislature Surveyor of the Cherokee Land Reservation. In 1831, he returned to Canonsburg to resume his preparation for the ministry, and in 1835 was ordained by the Associate Presbyterian Synod at Carlisle, Pa., and installed as pastor of four small congregations.

The decade of the 1830s was a period of crisis in Presbyterian loyalties, and in 1838, McGill left the Associate Synod, transferring his membership to the Old School Presbytery of Carlisle. From 1842 to 1852, and 1853-1854, he was Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Church Government at Western Theological Seminary (now Pittsburgh Theological Seminary) in Allegheny, and for one year, 1852-53, he taught at Columbia Seminary in South Carolina. In 1854, the General Assembly (Old School) appointed him Professor of Pastoral Theology at Princeton Seminary, N.J., a chair he held until his retirement in 1883. He was author of many books and pamphlets, including several discussing the position of the Presbyterian Church with respect to slavery.

McGill became Moderator of the General Assembly (Old Style) in 1848, and was Stated Clerk from 1850 to 1870. His honorary degrees included a D.D. from Marshall College (1842) and an L.L.D. from the College of New Jersey (1868). He was married on May 18, 1837, to Eleanor A. McCulloch of Lewistown, Pa., and was father of three sons and three daughters. Nine years after Eleanor McGill died on March 6, 1873, McGill remarried to Catherine Bache Hodge of Princeton, who died on July 3, 1884. McGill died in Princeton on January 13, 1889.

From the guide to the Alexander Taggart McGill papers, McGill, Alexander Taggart, 1833-1851, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)