George Duffield (July 4, 1794 - June 26, 1868) was a leading nineteenth-century

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minister who bore the same name as his father and grandfather. His evolution from unconventional doctrinal leanings to more orthodox and standard ones typified the moderation on both sides which led to reunion with the Old School Presbyterians in 1870. Duffield's grandfather, George Duffield II, had been Chaplain of the Continental Congress. Born July 4, 1794, in

Strasburg, Pennsylvania Strasburg is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It developed as a linear village stretching about along the Great Conestoga Road, later known as the Strasburg Road.Susan M. Zacher, NRHP Nomination Form Strasburg/ref> The population ...

, to a second George Duffield and his wife Faithful Slaymaker (a younger sister of Amos Slaymaker). He was the father of

William Ward Duffield William Ward Duffield (November 19, 1823 – June 22, 1907) was an executive in the coal industry, a railroad construction engineer, and an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. After the war he was appointed Superintendent o ...

, Henry M. Duffield, and George Duffield V. Duffield graduated from the

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in 1811. He studied theology in

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under the preceptorship of John M. Mason and was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Philadelphia in 1815. He soon settled in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he ministered nineteen years. There he wrote and published a book entitled "Regeneration" which caused some of the controversy leading to the

Old School-New School Controversy Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

that split the church in 1837. Duffield was called as minister to Fifth Presbyterian Church in

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, Pennsylvania, where he stayed two years. Then, after passing one year in the ministry at Broadway Tabernacle Church in New York City, as co-pastor with Jacob Helffenstein and successor to Charles Finney, he accepted a call to the First Presbyterian Church in

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, Michigan, then called the "Protestant" church. There he grew disenchanted with the revivalist techniques of Finney and began to oppose his ministry. In 1847 he led the Detroit Presbytery to adopt a statement which censured Finney, entitled "A Warning Against Error." In 1848, Finney published his 47 page response, "A Reply to Dr. Duffield's Warning Against Error." Duffield also was a leading Presbyterian premillennialist, and in 1842 authored, ''Dissertations on the prophecies relative to the second coming of Jesus Christ''. He was appointed to the

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on which he served ten years. His influence extended over the whole state of Michigan and made use of the press as well as the pulpit. He was learned in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, and German as well as English. He was a master of the sciences and had an unfailing memory. Duffield died as he had wished, "in the harness," two days after addressing the 1868 International Convention of the

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, where he paused suddenly, in the midst of his address, and fell with a cry of distress into the arms of those standing near him. His death was mourned throughout

Bibliography

* Presbyterian Reunion: A Memorial Volume (1837–1871), DeWitt C. Lent & Company, 1870. * Hambrick-Stowe, Charles E., Charles G. Finney and the Spirit of American Evangelicalism, 1996. * Duffield, George, Regeneration, 1832.

References

External links

FamilySearch: 1VGK-N02 (George Duffield)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duffield, George 1794 births 1868 deaths People from Strasburg, Pennsylvania Presbyterian Church in the United States of America ministers University of Pennsylvania alumni Regents of the University of Michigan 19th-century American clergy