Henry Clay Trumbull (June 8, 1830 – December 8, 1903) was an American clergyman and author. He became a world-famous editor, author, and pioneer of the
Sunday School Movement.
Early life
Henry Clay Trumbull was born on June 8, 1830, at
Stonington,
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
, and educated at
Williston Northampton School
Williston Northampton School (simply referred to as Williston) is a private, co-educational, day and boarding college-preparatory school in Easthampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1841.
History
Williston Seminary wa ...
.
Poor health kept him from formal education past the age of fourteen. He was eventually awarded honorary degrees from
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
,
Lafayette College
Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...
and the
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
.
Early career
In 1851, at the age of 21, Trumbull had a religious conversion experience and found employment as a clerk in
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
with the
Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad
The New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE) was a railroad connecting southern New York State with Hartford, Connecticut; Providence, Rhode Island; and Boston, Massachusetts. It operated under that name from 1873 to 1893. Prior to 1873 it was ...
.
In 1852, Trumbull joined the
Congregationalist church and, while continuing to work for the railroad, became the superintendent of a mission Sunday-school under the Connecticut State Sunday School Association.
In 1854, he married Alice Cogswell Gallaudet, the daughter of
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (December 10, 1787 – September 10, 1851) was an American educator. Along with Laurent Clerc and Mason Cogswell, he co-founded the first permanent institution for the education of the deaf in North America, and he becam ...
, the founder of the
American School for the Deaf
The American School for the Deaf (ASD), originally ''The American Asylum, At Hartford, For The Education And Instruction Of The Deaf'', is the oldest permanent school for the deaf in the United States, and the first school for children with disa ...
. Alice was named in honor of
Alice Cogswell
Alice Cogswell (August 31, 1805 – December 30, 1830) was the inspiration to Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet for the creation of the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut.
Cogswell and Gallaudet
At the age of two, Cogswell became il ...
, the daughter of
Dr. Mason Cogswell and first deaf pupil of the American School for the Deaf.
Gallaudet University
Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first sc ...
, which specializes in the education of deaf persons, was founded by the elder Gallaudet's son,
Edward Miner Gallaudet
Edward Miner Gallaudet (February 5, 1837 – September 26, 1917), son of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Sophia Fowler Gallaudet, was the first president of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. (then known as the Columbia Institution for the ...
.
After trying a few different jobs, in 1858 Trumbull became the state Sunday-school missionary for Connecticut.
Military service
Trumbull was ordained a
Congregational
Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
minister in 1862 and, shortly after, served as
chaplain
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...
of the
10th Connecticut Infantry Regiment during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. Trumbull was captured at the battle of
Fort Wagner
Fort Wagner or Battery Wagner was a beachhead fortification on Morris Island, South Carolina, that covered the southern approach to Charleston Harbor. It was the site of two American Civil War battles in the campaign known as Operations Agai ...
near
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...
on July 19, 1863. He was held in several
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
prisons, as a prisoner of war. After being exchanged on November 24, 1863, he rejoined the 10th Connecticut and served with that regiment until it was mustered out of service in August 1865.
In 1869, he became a companion of the Massachusetts Commandery of the
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...
(MOLLUS) - a military society composed of officers who served in the Union armed forces during the Civil War. He was assigned MOLLUS insignia number 1001. In 1878 he transferred to the Pennsylvania Commandery where he served as Chaplain from 1878 to 1886 and as Junior Vice Commander from 1886 to 1887.
Trumbull was also active in the
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...
and a member of George G. Meade Post 1 of Philadelphia. He gave remarks welcoming former President and General
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
on December 18, 1879.
Later career
After his military service, Trumbull became New England secretary for the American Sunday-school Union. In 1875, he and his family moved to
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
where he became editor of the ''Sunday School Times''. He held this position until his death in 1903.
Upon moving to Philadelphia, he became a member of the
Walnut Street Presbyterian Church. Among his associates was evangelist
Dwight L. Moody
Dwight Lyman Moody (February 5, 1837 – December 26, 1899), also known as D. L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher connected with Keswickianism, who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massa ...
.
In 1881 he travelled to Egypt and Palestine to visit Biblical sites. While in Egypt he discovered what he believed to be
Kadesh Barnea
Kadesh or Qadesh or Cades (in classical Hebrew he, קָדֵשׁ, from the root "holy") is a place-name that occurs several times in the Hebrew Bible, describing a site or sites located south of, or at the southern border of, Canaan and the Kin ...
, which was the location of the camp of the children of Israel prior to their entry into the promised land. He was accompanied on this trip by Reverend
Allen M. Dulles, the father of Secretary of State
John Foster Dulles
John Foster Dulles (, ; February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) was an American diplomat, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. He served as United States Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959 and was briefly ...
and CIA Director
Allen Dulles
Allen Welsh Dulles (, ; April 7, 1893 – January 29, 1969) was the first civilian Director of Central Intelligence (DCI), and its longest-serving director to date. As head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the early Cold War, he ov ...
.
In 1884, he was a elected as a member of the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
.
Trumbull was the
Lyman Beecher
Lyman Beecher (October 12, 1775 – January 10, 1863) was a Presbyterian minister, and the father of 13 children, many of whom became noted figures, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Ward Beecher, Charles Beecher, Edward Beecher, Isabella Bee ...
Lecturer at
Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...
in 1888. He was also the author of 38 books.
Trumbull was known for his commitment to "personal evangelism" which entailed telling friends and acquaintances about spiritual salvation through Christ's
vicarious atonement
Substitutionary atonement, also called vicarious atonement, is a central concept within Christian theology which asserts that Jesus died "for us", as propagated by the Western classic and objective paradigms of atonement in Christianity, which r ...
. In this way, he was an early practitioner of modern-day
Evangelical Christianity
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
.
Trumbull died at his home at 4103 Walnut Street in Philadelphia on December 8, 1903, after suffering a stroke.
[New York Times. December 9, 1903.]
Family
Trumbull was married to Alice Gallaudet (1833-1891), daughter of
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (December 10, 1787 – September 10, 1851) was an American educator. Along with Laurent Clerc and Mason Cogswell, he co-founded the first permanent institution for the education of the deaf in North America, and he becam ...
. One of his brothers was
James Hammond Trumbull
James Hammond Trumbull (December 20, 1821 – August 5, 1897) was an American historian, philologist, bibliographer, and politician. A scholar of American Indian languages, he served as the first Connecticut State Librarian in 1854 and as Secr ...
, and one of his sisters was
Annie Trumbull Slosson.
Published works
*''The Knightly Soldier'' (1865)
*''
Kadesh-Barnea
Kadesh or Qadesh or Cades (in classical Hebrew he, קָדֵשׁ, from the root "holy") is a place-name that occurs several times in the Hebrew Bible, describing a site or sites located south of, or at the southern border of, Canaan and the Kin ...
'' (1883)
*''Principles and Practices'' (1889)
*''Hints on Child Training'' (1890)
*''A Lie Never Justifiable, A Study in Ethics'' (1893)
*''Studies in Oriental Social Life'' (1894)
*''The threshold covenant or the beginning of religious rites'' (1896)
*''War Memories of an Army Chaplain'' (1898)
*''Individual Work for Individuals'' (1901)
*''Old-Time Student Volunteers'' (1902)
*''Personal Prayer'', posthumously presented (1915)
*''Prayer, Its Nature and Scope (1896)
*''The Blood Covenant''
*''The Salt Covenant''
* Trumball, Henry Clay (1891). Friendship: The Master-Passion or The Nature and History of Friendship, and Its Place as a Force in the World, first printing of new edition (2005), Solid Ground Christian Books, Birmingham, AL USA, Introductory Essay by Maurice Roberts
*''Duty-Knowing and Duty-Doing'' (1889) John D. Wattles, Publisher
Notes
References
*
*The Life Story of Henry Clay Trumbull. Philip E. Howard. Philadelphia. The Sunday School Times Company. 1904.
External links
*
*
Henry Clay Trumbull: the Pioneer Personal Worker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trumbull, Henry Clay
American non-fiction writers
Union Army chaplains
American Congregationalists
People from Stonington, Connecticut
1830 births
1903 deaths
Williston Northampton School alumni
Members of the American Philosophical Society
19th-century American clergy