David D. Demarest (July 30, 1819 – June 21, 1898) was an American author and theologian from

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New Brunswick Theological Seminary New Brunswick Theological Seminary is a seminary of the Reformed Church in America (RCA), a mainline Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States that follows the theological tradition and Christian practice of John Calvin. It was fo ...

, starting in 1865.

Education and early life

Demarest was born in

Oradell, New Jersey Oradell is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 8,244, an increase of 266 (+3.3%) from the 2010 census count of 7,978, which in turn reflected a decline ...

, on July 30, 1819, of

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

and

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

background. His father, Daniel P. Demarest, died in 1822, when David was only three. He was then raised by his mother, Leah Bogert Demarest, and grandfather, Peter P. Demarest. He is a descendant of David des Marest, an early French settler in

Bergen County Bergen County is the List of counties in New Jersey, most populous County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Rutgers College Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College and was aff ...

(now Rutgers University) in 1837, received a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

(A.M.) from the

New Brunswick Theological Seminary New Brunswick Theological Seminary is a seminary of the Reformed Church in America (RCA), a mainline Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States that follows the theological tradition and Christian practice of John Calvin. It was fo ...

in 1840, and a Doctor of Divinity degree (D.D.) from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1857. He was awarded a

honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

(LL.D.) from Rutgers in 1892.

Ministry

After graduation from the seminary, Demarest served at several

Reformed Church of America The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is a mainline Reformed Protestant denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 82,865 members. From its beginning in 1628 until 1819, it was the North American branch of the Dutch Reformed Ch ...

congregations:

Catskill, New York Catskill is a town in the southeastern section of Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 11,298 at the 2020 census, the largest town in the county. The western part of the town is in the Catskill Park. The town contains a v ...

; Flatbush, Ulster County, New York; New Brunswick, New Jersey; and

Hudson, New York Hudson is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in and the county seat of Columbia County, New York, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, it had a population of 5,894. On the east side of the Hudson River, f ...

. He started at the Reformed Church of Catskill, filling in for the Rev. James Romeyn for six months. Next, he was pastor of the Flatbush Reformed Church of Saugerties, serving from 1841 to 1843. He was the first pastor of the Second Reformed Church of New Brunswick, starting in 1843 and serving until 1852. He was president of the General Synod of the Reformed Church in America for the 1858–1859 term. In 1865, a fourth professor position, the Professorship of Pastoral Theology and Sacred Rhetoric, was established at the

. Demarest was the first elected to that professorship and was inaugurated on September 19, 1865, at the

First Reformed Church of New Brunswick The First Reformed Church, historically known as the Dutch Reformed Church, is located in New Brunswick, New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey on 160 Neilson Street. It is adjacent to the First Reformed Church Cemetery in the churchyard. The educ ...

. He served for thirty-three years.

Works

* * * * *

Personal life

Demarest married Catharine Louisa Nevius on August 19, 1846. They had seven children. Among their children, James S. N. Demarest would become pastor of the Reformed Church of Catskill, and later pastor of the Flatbush Reformed Church from 1876 to 1881. Another son,

William Henry Steele Demarest William Henry Steele Demarest (May 12, 1863 – June 23, 1956) was an American Dutch Reformed minister and the eleventh President of Rutgers College (now Rutgers University) serving from 1906 to 1924. Biography Demarest was born on May 12, ...

, would become pastor of the Catskill church from 1897 to 1901 and president of Rutgers College from 1906 to 1924. David D. Demarest died on June 21, 1898, at his home in New Brunswick and is buried at the Elmwood Cemetery. On November 17, 1898, a memorial was held at the New Brunswick Historical Club, where he had been president from 1870 until his death.

References

External links