Samuel Crothers (October 22, 1783 – July 20, 1855) was a Presbyterian minister, writer, and outspoken antislavery advocate.

Biography

Born in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, Samuel Crothers was raised in Kentucky from 1787 until 1804. In 1804 he moved to

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to attend the Presbyterian theological seminary under the charge of Dr. John M. Mason. In 1809, following his seminary training, Crothers was licensed to preach. He soon accepted a call to serve as pastor of both the

Associate Reformed Church The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (ARPC), as it exists today, is the historical descendant of the Synod of the South, a Synod of the Associate Reformed Church. The original Associate Reformed Church resulted from a merger of the Associate ...

Chillicothe, Ohio Chillicothe ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Scioto River 45 miles (72 km) south of Columbus, Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio. It is the only city in Ross Count ...

, and the Hop Run Church just southeast of

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. This post lasted until 1813, when he devoted his time fully to the Hop Run Church. In 1818, Crothers joined the Presbyterian Church, returning to Greenfield 1820 to organize the Greenfield Presbyterian Church. Crothers is notable for having spent much of his lifetime writing and speaking against those who had made a biblical case for slavery, especially in his articles published in the ''

Quarterly Anti-slavery Magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

''. Crothers, a well-respected theologian and debater, debated the issue with theological giants of the era including

Charles Hodge Charles Hodge (December 27, 1797 – June 19, 1878) was a Reformed Presbyterian theologian and principal of Princeton Theological Seminary between 1851 and 1878. He was a leading exponent of the Princeton Theology, an orthodox Calvinist theol ...

. Noteworthy among Crothers' work are fifteen letters published in the Cincinnati Journal, an "Appeal to Patriots and Christians, in Behalf of Enslaved Africans." In addition, Crothers published several books, including ''The Gospel of the Jubilee'' and ''The Life of Abraham.''

Publications

* * *Samuel Crothers. "Slavery and the Biblical Repertory" in ''The Quarterly Anti-slavery Magazine''. Vol II, April, 1837, No.3. *Samuel Crothers. ''The Gospel of the Jubilee.'' IM Waters, 1837 * *

Bibliography

*Greenfield Ohio Historical Society. "Greenfield's Stand Against Slavery." Greenfield: Turner Publishing, 2000. *Robert Christy Galbraith. ''The History of the Chillicothe Presbytery: From its Organization in 1799 to 1889''. Harvard: H.W. Guthrie, Hugh Bell and Peter Platter,Committee on Publication, 1889 *J. W. Klise, A. E. Hough. ''The County of Highland: a History of Highland County, Ohio''. New York: Northwestern Historical Association, 1902. * *James Grant Wilson, John Fiske. ''Appleton's Cyclopædia of American Biography'', Volume 2. Princeton: D. Appleton and company,1887. {{DEFAULTSORT:Crothers, Samuel People from Franklin County, Pennsylvania 1783 births 1855 deaths American Presbyterian ministers Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church People from Greenfield, Ohio Presbyterian abolitionists Abolitionists from Pennsylvania Abolitionists from Ohio