Alexander MacWhorter (January 1, 1822 – June 28, 1880) was an American theologian and author.

Early life

MacWhorter, the third of his name, was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

on January 1, 1822. He was the only surviving child of Alexander C. MacWhorter and Frances C. G. (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Lawrence) MacWhorter. His paternal grandfather was fellow clergyman Alexander MacWhorter. He graduated from

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, ...

in 1842. He studied for three years in the Theological Department of Yale College, and was licensed to preach in 1844.

Career

After 1845 he continued to reside in

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, pursuing philosophical and theological studies, with the exception of a brief residence (1859–60) in

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

, N Y., as Professor of Metaphysics and English Literature in Troy University. MacWhorter received deacon's orders in the Protestant Episcopal Church, May 31, 1863, at the hands of Bishop Potter of New York. He published a volume entitled ''Yahveh Christ, or the Memonal Name'', besides several magazine articles on metaphysical and theological subjects. During the extreme heat in June, 1880, he had labored assiduously to finish an article for the ''

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'', and at the close of his labors was struck with

apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...

on Friday, the 24th.

Personal life

In 1847, MacWhorter was embroiled in a noted scandal of the day, the subject of Catharine Beecher's book ''Truth Stranger than Fiction'' (1850). MacWhorter had become friends with a fellow lodger at New Haven's Tontine Hotel, the older, unmarried author

Delia Bacon Delia Salter Bacon (February 2, 1811 – September 2, 1859) was an American writer of plays and short stories and Shakespeare scholar. She is best known for her work on the authorship of Shakespeare's plays, which she attributed to social reforme ...

, who would later be notable for her speculative writing about the Shakespeare authorship question. After a time, their relationship became the subject of gossip because, as per the current customs, two unmarried people spending a significant amount of time together would be expected to result in their marriage. When Bacon's brother, Rev.

Leonard Bacon Reverend Leonard Bacon (February 19, 1802 – December 24, 1881) was an American Congregational preacher and writer. He held the pulpit of the First Church New Haven and was later professor of church history and polity at Yale College. Biograph ...

, learned from MacWhorter that the latter had no intention of marrying her, he had MacWhorter brought up on charges that resulted in an ecclesiastical trial. A close 12-11 decision resulted in only a reprimand for MacWhorter. On September 7, 1857, he married Henrietta Whitney Blake (1825–1901), a daughter of Eli Whitney Blake of New Haven, who survived him without children. He died on Tuesday, June 28, 1880, at the age of 58.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:MacWhorter III, Alexander 1822 births 1880 deaths Yale Divinity School alumni Writers from Newark, New Jersey American male writers Troy University (New York) faculty Yale College alumni