David Swing (August 23, 1830October 3, 1894) was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

teacher and

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

who was the most popular Chicago preacher of his time.

Early life

Swing was born to Alsatian immigrant parents in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. Citation: Joseph Fort Newton, ''David Swing, Poet-Preacher'' (Chicago, 1909). He spent most of his boyhood on a farm and earned his schooling. He graduated from

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the 10 ...

in 1852, where was

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...

fraternity brother of

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...

and classmate of

Whitelaw Reid Whitelaw Reid (October 27, 1837 – December 15, 1912) was an American politician and newspaper editor, as well as the author of ''Ohio in the War'', a popular work of history. After assisting Horace Greeley as editor of the ''New-York Tribu ...

. Swing studied theology at

Lane Seminary Lane Seminary, sometimes called Cincinnati Lane Seminary, and later renamed Lane Theological Seminary, was a Presbyterian theological college that operated from 1829 to 1932 in Walnut Hills, Cincinnati, Walnut Hills, Ohio, today a neighborhood ...

; and was principal of the preparatory school at Miami in 1853-1866.

Career

Grave of David Swing (1830–1894) at Rosehill Cemetery, Chicago

He became pastor in 1866 of the Westminster Presbyterian Church (after 1868 the Fourth Church) in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, which was destroyed in the fire of 1871; he then preached in

McVicker's Theatre McVicker's Theater (1857–1984) was a playhouse in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Built for actor James Hubert McVicker, the theater was the leading stage for comedic plays in Chicago's early years. It often hosted performances by Edwin Boot ...

until 1874, when a new building was completed. In April 1874, he was tried before the Presbytery of Chicago on charges of

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...

preferred by Dr Francis Landey Patton, who argued that Professor Swing preached that men were saved by works, that he held a "modal"

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

, that he did not believe in plenary inspiration, that he unduly countenanced

Unitarianism Unitarianism (from Latin ''unitas'' "unity, oneness", from ''unus'' "one") is a nontrinitarian branch of Christian theology. Most other branches of Christianity and the major Churches accept the doctrine of the Trinity which states that there i ...

, etc. The presbytery acquitted Dr. Swing, who resigned from the presbytery when he learned that the case was to be appealed to the synod. As an action was taken against the church, of which he had remained pastor, he resigned the pastorate, again leased McVicker's theatre (and after 1880 leased Central Music Hall, which was built for the purpose), and in 1875 founded the Central Church, to which many of his former parishioners followed him, and in which he built up a large Sunday school, and established a kindergarten, industrial schools, and other charities. He published ''Sermons'' (1874), including most of his "heretical" utterances, ''Truths for To-day'' (2 vols, 1874–1876), ''Motives of Life'' (1879), and ''Club Essays'' (1881). He died in Chicago on October 3, 1894, and was buried at

Rosehill Cemetery Rosehill Cemetery (founded 1859) is an American garden cemetery on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, and at , is the largest cemetery in the City of Chicago. According to legend, the name "Rosehill" resulted from a City Clerk's error – the ar ...

. A residence hall is named in Swing's honor at Miami University.

References

External links

*
''The world's edition of the great Presbyterian conflict: Patton vs. Swing.: Both sides of the question'', 1874Biographical Sketch
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swing, David 1830 births 1894 deaths Miami University alumni Miami University faculty Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ministers American sermon writers Educators from Cincinnati 19th-century American clergy American people of French descent Burials at Rosehill Cemetery

Early life

Career

See also

References

External links