Jonathan Dickinson (April 22, 1688 – October 7, 1747) was a

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

, later

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

, minister, a leader in the

Great Awakening The Great Awakening was a series of religious revivals in American Christian history. Historians and theologians identify three, or sometimes four, waves of increased religious enthusiasm between the early 18th century and the late 20th cent ...

of the 1730s and 1740s, and a co-founder and first president of the College of New Jersey, which later became

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

Biography

Born in Hatfield,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

on April 22, 1688, Dickinson studied theology at the Collegiate School of Connecticut, later known as

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

, graduating in 1706. In 1709, Dickinson was ordained minister of the Congregational church in Elizabethtown,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Dickinson became concerned about the attempts of the established

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

to suppress

dissenter A dissenter (from the Latin , 'to disagree') is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Dissent may include political opposition to decrees, ideas or doctrines and it may include opposition to those things or the fiat of ...

s in

. Seeing a need for more coordination among dissenting churches, in 1717 Dickinson persuaded his congregation to join the Presbytery of Philadelphia. He became an active and influential participant in the affairs of the Presbyterians, and was twice elected moderator of the

Synod of Philadelphia Synod of the Trinity is an upper judicatory of the Presbyterian Church headquartered in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. The synod oversees sixteen presbyteries covering all of Pennsylvania, most of West Virginia, and a portion of eastern Ohio. Histor ...

. As a former Congregationalist, Dickinson was part of the ''

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

'' faction of Presbyterians who opposed the strict doctrinal requirements favored by the '' Scots-Irish'' faction. Dickinson was a strong supporter of Presbyterianism, earning a reputation as a leading defender of

Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...

in America. His book ''Familiar Letters to a Gentleman, upon a Variety of Seasonable and Important Subjects in Religion'' was reprinted a number of times in America and elsewhere. The Great Awakening that started in the 1730s profoundly changed religion in the American colonies. The Presbyterians were divided into "New Sides" and "Old Sides", supporters and opponents, respectively, of the great revival meetings and the fervent preaching that accompanied them. Dickinson was a moderate "New Sider", supporting the revivals while opposing their more violent excess. His pulpit oratory was centered on "temperance and harmony" and "devoid of antagonizing divisions, but which at the same time was appealing and innovative". In 1738, Dickinson joined with other "New Siders" to form the Presbytery of New York. When the Presbytery of New Brunswick was expelled from the Synod of Philadelphia over its support for the more extreme "New Siders" in 1741, Dickinson and others tried to negotiate a reconciliation. In 1745 the Presbytery of New York withdrew from the Synod of Philadelphia and joined with the Presbytery of New Brunswick to form the Synod of New York. Dickinson was elected the first moderator of the new synod. In general, Dickinson "longed for an experimental and vital religion but not at the expense of social and religious order".

Founding of Princeton University

Dickinson had long been interested in starting a new college to serve the middle colonies. When he saw that the existing colleges in New England were hostile to the "New Siders", he returned to the project of establishing a college. Dickinson and three other pastors (Ebenezer Pemberton of the

Old South Church Old South Church (also known as New Old South Church or Third Church), is a historic United Church of Christ congregation in Boston, Massachusetts, first organized in 1669. Its present building at 645 Boylston Street was designed in the Gothic R ...

, grandfather of Ebenezer Pemberton (1746-1835), Aaron Burr Sr., and John Pierson) enlisted the support of three laymen (William Smith,

Peter Van Brugh Livingston Peter Van Brugh Livingston (bp. November 3, 1710 Albany, New York – December 28, 1792 Elizabethtown, Union County, New Jersey) was a Patriot during the American Revolution who was a wealthy merchant and who served as the 1st New York State Trea ...

, and William Peartree Smith). Led by Dickinson, this group of seven applied to Governor Lewis Morris for a charter. However, the governor rejected their application because he was an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

who opposed the Great Awakening. Following the death of Morris, they re-applied to Acting Governor John Hamilton, who granted a

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...

on October 22, 1746. The first trustees, including five

Log College The Log College, founded in 1727, was the first theological seminary serving Presbyterians in North America, and was located in what is now Warminster, Pennsylvania. It was founded by William Tennent and operated from 1727 until Tennent's death i ...

adherents enlisted by Dickinson and Pemberton, announced Dickinson's appointment as the first

President of Princeton University Princeton University, founded in 1746 as the College of New Jersey, is a private Ivy League research university located in Princeton, New Jersey. The university is led by a president, who is selected by the board of trustees by ballot. The p ...

in April 1747. Classes began the fourth week in May in the

parsonage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, pa ...

of Dickinson's church in Elizabethtown, with a student body of eight or ten members. Less than five months later, on October 7, 1747, Jonathan Dickinson died suddenly, due to complications related to

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

References

External links

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia article on Jonathan DickinsonJonathan Dickinson and the Subscription Controversy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickinson, Jonathan 1688 births 1747 deaths People from Hatfield, Massachusetts People from colonial Massachusetts American Presbyterian ministers 18th-century Presbyterian ministers University and college founders Presidents of Princeton University People from colonial New Jersey Yale College alumni Deaths from smallpox in the United States Infectious disease deaths in New Jersey 18th-century American Congregationalist ministers