List of Moderators of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America

Summary

The office of the Moderator of the General Assembly was the highest elected position in the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA). The Moderator was responsible for presiding over the meeting of the General Assembly, which was held annually between 1789 and 1956. After the meeting, which lasted for about a week, the Moderator served as an ambassador of the denomination throughout the remainder of the term. After completing the term, most former Moderators took on the role of a church statesman.

Prior to the Old School–New School Controversy edit

The chart below shows the Moderators and place of meetings from 1789 when the PCUSA was formed, until 1837, after which the denomination was divided into two factions by the Old School–New School Controversy until 1869.[1]

Number and Year Place of Meeting Moderator Online Minutes
Convened the 1st GA, 1789 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. John Witherspoon Minutes of the 1789 General Assembly
1st GA, 1789 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. John Rodgers Minutes of the 1789 General Assembly
2nd GA, 1790 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Robert Smith Minutes of the 1790 General Assembly
3rd GA, 1791 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. John Woodhull Minutes of the 1791 General Assembly
4th GA, 1792 Carlisle, Pennsylvania Rev. John King Minutes of the 1792 General Assembly
5th GA, 1793 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. James Latta Minutes of the 1793 General Assembly
6th GA, 1794 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Alexander McWhorter Minutes of the 1794 General Assembly
7th GA, 1795 Carlisle, Pennsylvania Rev. John McKnight Minutes of the 1795 General Assembly
8th GA, 1796 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Robert Davidson Minutes of the 1796 General Assembly
9th GA, 1797 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. William Mackay Tennent Minutes of the 1797 General Assembly
10th GA, 1798 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. John Blair Smith Minutes of the 1798 General Assembly
11th GA, 1799 Winchester, Virginia Rev. Samuel Stanhope Smith Minutes of the 1799 General Assembly
12th GA, 1800 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Joseph Clark Minutes of the 1800 General Assembly
13th GA, 1801 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Nathaniel Irwin Minutes of the 1801 General Assembly
14th GA, 1802 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Azel Roe Minutes of the 1802 General Assembly
15th GA, 1803 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. James Hall Minutes of the 1803 General Assembly
16th GA, 1804 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. James Francis Armstrong Minutes of the 1804 General Assembly
17th GA, 1805 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. James Richards Minutes of the 1805 General Assembly
18th GA, 1806 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Samuel Miller Minutes of the 1806 General Assembly
19th GA, 1807 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Archibald Alexander Minutes of the 1807 General Assembly
20th GA, 1808 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Philip Milledoler Minutes of the 1808 General Assembly
21st GA, 1809 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Drury Lacy Minutes of the 1809 General Assembly
22nd GA, 1810 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. John Brodhead Romeyn Minutes of the 1810 General Assembly
23rd GA, 1811 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Eliphalet Nott Minutes of the 1811 General Assembly
24th GA, 1812 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Andrew Flinn Minutes of the 1812 General Assembly
25th GA, 1813 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Samuel Blatchford Minutes of the 1813 General Assembly
26th GA, 1814 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. James Inglis Minutes of the 1814 General Assembly
27th GA, 1815 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. William Neill Minutes of the 1815 General Assembly
28th GA, 1816 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. James Blythe Minutes of the 1816 General Assembly
29th GA, 1817 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Jonas Coe Minutes of the 1817 General Assembly
30th GA, 1818 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Jacob Jones Janeway Minutes of the 1818 General Assembly
31st GA, 1819 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. John Holt Rice Minutes of the 1819 General Assembly
32nd GA, 1820 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. John McDowell Minutes of the 1820 General Assembly
33rd GA, 1821 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. William Hill Minutes of the 1821 General Assembly
34th GA, 1822 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Obadiah Jennings Minutes of the 1822 General Assembly
35th GA, 1823 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. John Chester Minutes of the 1823 General Assembly
36th GA, 1824 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Ashbel Green Minutes of the 1824 General Assembly
37th GA, 1825 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Stephen N. Rowan Minutes of the 1825 General Assembly
38th GA, 1826 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Thomas McAuley Minutes of the 1826 General Assembly
39th GA, 1827 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Francis Herron Minutes of the 1827 General Assembly
40th GA, 1828 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Ezra Stiles Ely Minutes of the 1828 General Assembly
41st GA, 1829 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Benjamin Holt Rice Minutes of the 1829 General Assembly
42nd GA, 1830 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Ezra Fisk Minutes of the 1830 General Assembly
43rd GA, 1831 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Nathan S.S. Beman Minutes of the 1831 General Assembly
44th GA, 1832 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. James Hoge Minutes of the 1832 General Assembly
45th GA, 1833 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. William Anderson McDowell Minutes of the 1833 General Assembly
46th GA, 1834 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Philip Lindsley Minutes of the 1834 General Assembly
47th GA, 1835 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Rev. William Wirt Phillips Minutes of the 1835 General Assembly
48th GA, 1836 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Rev. John Witherspoon Minutes of the 1836 General Assembly
49th GA, 1837 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. David Elliott Minutes of the 1837 General Assembly

Old School edit

The chart below shows the Moderators, and the place of meetings, of the Old School branch from 1838 until 1869, after which the two branches reunited into one denomination.

Number and Year Place of Meeting Moderator Online Minutes
50th GA, 1838 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. William Swan Plumer Minutes of the 1838 General Assembly
51st GA, 1839 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Joshua Lacy Wilson Minutes of the 1839 General Assembly
52nd GA, 1840 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. William Morrison Engles Minutes of the 1840 General Assembly
53rd GA, 1841 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Robert Jefferson Breckinridge Minutes of the 1841 General Assembly
54th GA, 1842 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. John Todd Edgar Minutes of the 1842 General Assembly
55th GA, 1843 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Gardiner Spring Minutes of the 1843 General Assembly
56th GA, 1844 Louisville, Kentucky Rev. George Junkin Minutes of the 1844 General Assembly
57th GA, 1845 Cincinnati, Ohio Rev. John Michael Krebs Minutes of the 1845 General Assembly
58th GA, 1846 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Charles Hodge Minutes of the 1846 General Assembly
59th GA, 1847 Richmond, Virginia Rev. James Henley Thornwell Minutes of the 1847 General Assembly
60th GA, 1848 Baltimore, Maryland Rev. Alexander T. McGill Minutes not available online
61st GA, 1849 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Rev. Nicholas Murray Minutes not available online
62nd GA, 1850 Cincinnati, Ohio Rev. Aaron W. Leland Minutes of the 1850 General Assembly
63rd GA, 1851 St. Louis, Missouri Rev. Edward P. Humphrey Minutes of the 1851 General Assembly
64th GA, 1852 Charleston, South Carolina Rev. John Chase Lord Minutes of the 1852 General Assembly
65th GA, 1853 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. John Clarke Young Minutes of the 1853 General Assembly
66th GA, 1854 Buffalo, New York Rev. Henry Augustus Boardman Minutes of the 1854 General Assembly
67th GA, 1855 Nashville, Tennessee Rev. Nathan Lewis Rice Minutes of the 1855 General Assembly
68th GA, 1856 New York, New York Rev. Francis McFarland Minutes of the 1856 General Assembly
69th GA, 1857 Lexington, Kentucky Rev. Cortlandt Van Rensselaer Minutes of the 1857 General Assembly
70th GA, 1858 New Orleans, Louisiana Rev. William Anderson Scott Minutes of the 1858 General Assembly
71st GA, 1859 Indianapolis, Indiana Rev. William L. Breckinridge Minutes of the 1859 General Assembly
72nd GA, 1860 Rochester, New York Rev. John William Yeomans Minutes of the 1860 General Assembly
73rd GA, 1861 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. John Chester Backus Minutes of the 1861 General Assembly
74th GA, 1862 Columbus, Ohio Rev. Charles Clinton Beatty Minutes of the 1862 General Assembly
75th GA, 1863 Peoria, Illinois Rev. John Hunter Morrison Minutes of the 1863 General Assembly
76th GA, 1864 Newark, New Jersey Rev.James Wood Minutes of the 1864 General Assembly
77th GA, 1865 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Rev. John Cameron Lowrie Minutes of the 1865 General Assembly
78th GA, 1866 St. Louis, Missouri Rev. Robert L. Stanton Minutes of the 1866 General Assembly
79th GA, 1867 Cincinnati, Ohio Rev. Phineas Densmore Gurley Minutes of the 1867 General Assembly
80th GA, 1868 Albany, New York Rev. George W. Musgrave Minutes of the 1868 General Assembly
81st GA, 1869 New York, New York Rev. M. W. Jocobus Minutes of the 1869 General Assembly

New School edit

The chart below shows the Moderators, and the place of meetings, of the New School branch from 1838 until 1869, after which the two branches reunited into one denomination.[1]

Number and Year Place of Meeting Moderator Online Minutes
50th GA, 1838 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Samuel Fisher Minutes of the 1838 General Assembly
51st GA, 1839 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Baxter Dickinson Minutes of the 1839 General Assembly
52nd GA, 1840 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. William Wisner Minutes of the 1840 General Assembly
53rd GA, 1843 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Ansel Doan Eddy Minutes of the 1843 General Assembly
54th GA, 1846 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Samuel Hanson Cox Minutes of the 1846 General Assembly
55th GA, 1847 Cincinnati, Ohio Rev. Samuel Hanson Cox Minutes of the 1847 General Assembly
56th GA, 1849 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Philip Courtlandt Hay Minutes of the 1849 General Assembly
57th GA, 1850 Detroit, Michigan Rev. David H. Riddle Minutes of the 1850 General Assembly
58th GA, 1851 Utica, New York Rev. Albert Barnes Minutes of the 1851 General Assembly
59th GA, 1852 Washington, D.C. Rev. William Adams Minutes of the 1852 General Assembly
60th GA, 1853 Buffalo, New York Rev. Diarca Howe Allen Minutes of the 1853 General Assembly
61st GA, 1854 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Thomas H. Skinner Minutes of the 1854 General Assembly
62nd GA, 1855 St. Louis, Missouri Rev. William Carpenter Wisner Minutes of the 1855 General Assembly
63rd GA, 1856 New York, New York Rev. Laurens Perseus Hickok Minutes of the 1856 General Assembly
64th GA, 1857 Cleveland, Ohio Rev. Samuel W. Fisher Minutes of the 1857 General Assembly
65th GA, 1858 Chicago, Illinois Rev. Matthew L. P. Thompson Minutes of the 1858 General Assembly
66th GA, 1859 Wilmington, Delaware Rev. Robert Wilson Patterson Minutes of the 1859 General Assembly
67th GA, 1860 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Rev. Thornton Anthony Mills Minutes of the 1860 General Assembly
68th GA, 1861 Syracuse, New York Rev. Jonathan Bailey Condit Minutes of the 1861 General Assembly
69th GA, 1862 Cincinnati, Ohio Rev. George Duffield Minutes of the 1862 General Assembly
70th GA, 1863 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Rev. Henry B. Smith Minutes of the 1863 General Assembly
71st GA, 1864 Dayton, Ohio Rev. Thomas Brainerd Minutes of the 1864 General Assembly
72nd GA, 1865 Brooklyn, New York Rev. James Boylan Shaw Minutes of the 1865 General Assembly
73rd GA, 1866 St. Louis, Missouri Rev. Samuel Miles Hopkins Minutes of the 1866 General Assembly
74th GA, 1867 Rochester, New York Rev. Henry Addison Nelson Minutes of the 1867 General Assembly
75th GA, 1868 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Rev. Jonathan French Stearns Minutes of the 1868 General Assembly
76th GA, 1869 New York, New York Rev. Philemon Halsted Fowler Minutes of the 1869 General Assembly

Reunited Old and New Schools edit

The chart below shows the Moderators, and the place of meetings 1870 when the Old and New Schools had reunited until 1958 when the PCUSA merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA) to form the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.[1]

Number and Year Place of Meeting Moderator Online Minutes
82nd GA, 1870 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania J. Trumbull Backus Minutes of the 1870 General Assembly
83rd GA, 1871 Chicago, Illinois Zephaniah Moore Humphrey Minutes of the 1871 General Assembly
84th GA, 1872 Detroit, Michigan Samuel J. Niccolls Minutes of the 1872 General Assembly
85th GA, 1873 Baltimore, Maryland Howard Crosby Minutes of the 1873 General Assembly
86th GA, 1874 St. Louis, Missouri Samuel J. Wilson Minutes of the 1874 General Assembly
87th GA, 1875 Cleveland, Ohio Edward D. Morris Minutes of the 1875 General Assembly
88th GA, 1876 Brooklyn, New York Henry Jackson Van Dyke Minutes of the 1876 General Assembly
89th GA, 1877 Chicago, Illinois James Eells Minutes not available online
90th GA, 1878 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Francis Landey Patton Minutes of the 1878 General Assembly
91st GA, 1879 Saratoga, New York Henry Harris Jessup Minutes of the 1879 General Assembly
92nd GA, 1880 Madison, Wisconsin William M. Paxton Minutes of the 1880 General Assembly
93rd GA, 1881 Buffalo, New York Henry Darling Minutes of the 1881 General Assembly
94th GA, 1882 Springfield, Illinois Herrick Johnson Minutes of the 1882 General Assembly
95th GA, 1883 Saratoga, New York Edwin Francis Hatfield Minutes of the 1883 General Assembly
96th GA, 1884 Saratoga, New York George P. Hays Minutes of the 1884 General Assembly
97th GA, 1885 Cincinnati, Ohio Elijah R. Craven Minutes of the 1885 General Assembly
98th GA, 1886 Minneapolis, Minnesota David C. Marquis Minutes of the 1886 General Assembly
99th GA, 1887 Omaha, Nebraska Joseph T. Smith Minutes of the 1887 General Assembly
100th GA, 1888 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Charles L. Thompson Minutes of the 1888 General Assembly
101st GA, 1889 New York, New York William Chas. Roberts Minutes of the 1889 General Assembly
102nd GA, 1890 Saratoga, New York William Eves Moore Minutes of the 1890 General Assembly
103rd GA, 1891 Detroit, Michigan W. Henry Green Minutes of the 1891 General Assembly
104th GA, 1892 Portland, Oregon William C. Young Minutes of the 1892 General Assembly
105th GA, 1893 Washington, D.C. Willis Greer Craig Minutes not available online
106th GA, 1894 Saratoga, New York S.A. Mutchmore Minutes of the 1894 General Assembly
107th GA, 1895 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Robert Russell Booth Minutes of the 1895 General Assembly
108th GA, 1896 Saratoga, New York John Lindsay Withrow Minutes of the 1896 General Assembly
109th GA, 1897 Winona Lake, Indiana Sheldon Jackson Minutes of the 1897 General Assembly
110th GA, 1898 Winona Lake, Indiana Wallace Radcliffe Minutes of the 1898 General Assembly
111th GA, 1899 Minneapolis, Minnesota Robert F. Sample Minutes of the 1899 General Assembly
112th GA, 1900 St. Louis, Missouri Charles A. Dickey Minutes of the 1900 General Assembly
113th GA, 1901 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Henry Collin Minton Minutes of the 1901 General Assembly
114th GA, 1902 New York, New York Henry van Dyke Minutes of the 1902 General Assembly
115th GA, 1903 Los Angeles, California Robert F. Coyle Minutes of the 1903 General Assembly
116th GA, 1904 Buffalo, New York J. Addison Henry Minutes of the 1904 General Assembly
117th GA, 1905 Winona Lake, Indiana James D. Moffat Minutes of the 1905 General Assembly
118th GA, 1906 Des Moines, Iowa Hunter Corbett Minutes of the 1906 General Assembly
119th GA, 1907 Columbus, Ohio William H. Roberts Minutes of the 1907 General Assembly
120th GA, 1908 Kansas City, Missouri Baxter P. Fullerton Minutes of the 1908 General Assembly
121st GA, 1909 Denver, Colorado James M. Barkley Minutes of the 1909 General Assembly
122nd GA, 1910 Atlantic City, New Jersey Charles Little Minutes of the 1910 General Assembly
123rd GA, 1911 Atlantic City, New Jersey John F. Carson Minutes of the 1911 General Assembly
124th GA, 1912 Louisville, Kentucky Mark A. Matthews Minutes of the 1912 General Assembly
125th GA, 1913 Atlanta, Georgia John Timothy Stone Minutes of the 1913 General Assembly
126th GA, 1914 Chicago, Illinois Maitland Alexander Minutes of the 1914 General Assembly
127th GA, 1915 Rochester, New York J. Ross Stevenson Minutes of the 1915 General Assembly
128th GA, 1916 Atlantic City, New Jersey John Abner Marquis Minutes of the 1916 General Assembly
129th GA, 1917 Dallas, Texas J. Wilbur Chapman Minutes of the 1917 General Assembly
130th GA, 1918 Columbus, Ohio J. Frank Smith Minutes of the 1918 General Assembly
131st GA, 1919 St. Louis, Missouri Elder John Willis Baer Minutes of the 1919 General Assembly
132nd GA, 1920 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Samuel S. Palmer Minutes of the 1920 General Assembly
133rd GA, 1921 Winona Lake, Indiana Henry C. Swearingen Minutes of the 1921 General Assembly
134th GA, 1922 Des Moines, Iowa Calvin C. Hays Minutes of the 1922 General Assembly
135th GA, 1923 Indianapolis, Indiana Charles F. Wishart Minutes not available online
136th GA, 1924 Grand Rapids, Michigan Clarence Edward Macartney Minutes not available online
137th GA, 1925 Columbus, Ohio Charles R. Erdman Minutes not available online
138th GA, 1926 Baltimore, Maryland William Oxley Thompson Minutes not available online
139th GA, 1927 San Francisco, California Elder Robert Elliott Speer Minutes not available online
140th GA, 1928 Tulsa, Oklahoma Hugh Kelso Walker Minutes not available online
141st GA, 1929 St. Paul, Minnesota Cleland Boyd McAfee Minutes not available online
142nd GA, 1930 Cincinnati, Ohio Hugh Thomson Kerr Minutes not available online
143rd GA, 1931 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Lewis Seymour Mudge Minutes not available online
144th GA, 1932 Denver, Colorado Charles William Kerr Minutes not available online
145th GA, 1933 Columbus, Ohio John McDowell Minutes not available online
146th GA, 1934 Cleveland, Ohio William Chalmers Covert Minutes not available online
147th GA, 1935 Cincinnati, Ohio Joseph Anderson Vance Minutes not available online
148th GA, 1936 Syracuse, New York Henry Buck Master Minutes not available online
149th GA, 1937 Columbus, Ohio William Hiram Foulkes Minutes not available online
150th GA, 1938 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Charles Whitefield Welch Minutes not available online
151st GA, 1939 Cleveland, Ohio Elder Sam Higginbottom Minutes not available online
152nd GA, 1940 Rochester, New York William Lindsay Young Minutes not available online
153rd GA, 1941 St. Louis, Missouri Herbert Booth Smith Minutes not available online
154th GA, 1942 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Stuart Nye Hutchison Minutes not available online
155th GA, 1943 Detroit, Michigan Henry Sloane Coffin Minutes not available online
156th GA, 1944 Chicago, Illinois Roy Ewing Vale Minutes not available online
157th GA, 1945 Minneapolis, Minnesota William Blakeman Lampe Minutes not available online
158th GA, 1946 Atlantic City, New Jersey Frederick W. Evans Minutes not available online
159th GA, 1947 Grand Rapids, Michigan Elder Wilbur LaRoe, Jr. Minutes not available online
160th GA, 1948 Seattle, Washington Jese Hays Baird Minutes not available online
161st GA, 1949 Buffalo, New York Clifford E. Barbour Minutes not available online
162nd GA, 1950 Cincinnati, Ohio Hugh Ivans Evans Minutes not available online
163rd GA, 1951 Cincinnati, Ohio H. Ray Anderson Minutes not available online
164th GA, 1952 New York, New York Hermann Nelson Morse Minutes not available online
165th GA, 1953 Minneapolis, Minnesota John Alexander Mackay Minutes not available online
166th GA, 1954 Detroit, Michigan Ralph Waldo Lloyd Minutes not available online
167th GA, 1955 Los Angeles, California Paul S. Wright Minutes not available online
168th GA, 1956 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Elder David W. Proffitt Minutes not available online
169th GA, 1957 Omaha, Nebraska Harold R. Martin Minutes not available online
170th GA, 1958 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Harold R. Martin Minutes not available online

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Proceedings of the 218th (2008) General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), p. 1484