Erasmus Darwin McMaster, D.D. (February 4, 1806 – December 10, 1866) was a nineteenth-century American Presbyterian pastor, academic and theologian who served as president of
Hanover College and
Miami University. Along with
Henry Ward Beecher, McMaster was one of the most vocal Presbyterian anti-slavery advocates in Indiana.
Biography
Early life
Erasmus D. McMaster was born on February 4, 1806, in
Mercer, Pennsylvania, to Gilbert and Jane (Brown) McMaster. His father was a
Reformed Presbyterian
The Reformed Presbyterian Global Alliance is a communion of Presbyterians originating in Scotland in 1690 when its members refused to conform to the establishment of the Church of Scotland. The Reformed Presbyterian churches collectively have ap ...
minister who immigrated from Ireland in 1791. Young McMaster graduated in 1827 from
Union College.
Career
He was licensed by the Northern Reformed Presbytery in 1829 and preached for one year for congregations with no ministers. After joining the
Presbyterian Church (USA)
The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...
in 1830, he was ordained by its Albany Presbytery in 1831 and installed as the pastor of a congregation in
Ballston, New York
Ballston is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 11,831 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from an early settler, Eliphalet Ball, a Presbyterian minister who located there from Westchester County, New York ...
, from 1831, which he served until 1838, when he became the third president of
Hanover College.
[Glasgow, W. Melanchthon. ''A History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America''. Baltimore: Hill and Harvey, 1888, 614.] He presided over the short-lived move of the college to
Madison, Indiana, where it was briefly renamed Madison University in 1845. Hanover quickly moved back to
Hanover, Indiana, and McMaster left to become the third president of Miami University in
Ohio. His Miami presidency lasted from 1845 until 1849 and in 1850 he became a professor of theology at the Theological Seminary in
New Albany, Indiana
New Albany is a city in Floyd County, Indiana, United States, situated along the Ohio River, opposite Louisville, Kentucky. The population was 37,841 as of the 2020 census. The city is the county seat of Floyd County. It is bounded by I-265 t ...
. He was appointed professor of theology at Theological Seminary of the Northwest (now
McCormick Theological Seminary) in
Chicago, Illinois, in June 1866 and died there in December of that year.
Death
He died on December 10, 1866,
from an attack of pneumonia.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McMaster, Erasmus D.
1806 births
1866 deaths
Presidents of Miami University
American Presbyterians
Hanover College
McCormick Theological Seminary
Reformed Presbyterian Church (denominational group)
Deaths from pneumonia in Illinois
Union College (New York) alumni
American abolitionists
Presbyterian abolitionists