Thomas De Witt Talmage (January 7, 1832April 12, 1902) was a

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

clergyman Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and

divine Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a singl ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

who held pastorates in the

Reformed Church in 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 ...

and

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

. He was one of the most prominent religious leaders in the United States during the mid- to late-19th century, equaled as a pulpit

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14 ...

perhaps only by Henry Ward Beecher. He also preached to crowds in England. During the 1860s and 70s, Talmage was a well-known reformer in New York City and was often involved in crusades against vice and crime. During the last years of his life, Dr. Talmage ceased preaching and devoted himself to editing, writing, and lecturing. At different periods he was editor of the '' Christian at Work'' (1873–76), New York; the '' Advance'' (1877–79), Chicago; '' Frank Leslie's Sunday Magazine'' (1879–89), New York; and the '' Christian Herald'' (1890–1902), New York. Each week he was said to have preached to audiences of 8,000 people, and for many years his sermons were published regularly in more than 3,000 journals, through which he was said to reach 25,000,000 readers.

Biography

Early life and education

T. De Witt Talmage was born in what is now Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey and he was a member of the Reformed Church of Bound Brook (located on Main Street in South Bound Brook) and always had a close association to South Bound Brook. His ancestors included some of the earliest Dutch families who settled in New York. His father's ancestors came from Barton Stacy, England, and included founders of

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and East Hampton, New York. Talmage earned an undergraduate degree at the University of the City of New York (now

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

). Following his graduation in 1853, Talmage studied law for a time before deciding on entering the ministry. He studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the Reformed Dutch Theological Seminary in

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. Four of his brothers also entered the ministry, all of them earning the title Doctor of Divinity. John Van Nest Talmage was a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, while his brothers James and Goyn Talmage became noted

s in their own right. The fifth brother Daniel Talmage was a successful

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

Pastoral career

Talmage began preaching in Belleville, New Jersey once he graduated in 1856. He spent two years at a pastorate in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

before moving in 1862 to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

to become the

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

for the Second Reformed Dutch Church. (In 1867 the denomination changed its name to the

.) It was here that Talmage began to establish a reputation as a gifted orator and preacher. He also served as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

for the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

."Sketch of Rev. Dr. Talmage"
, ''New York Times'', 13 Apr 1902, accessed 7 Jan 2010

Philadelphia and the Reformed Dutch Church

Under his guidance, the church grew from a minor congregation to one of the most powerful and influential institutions in the city. Talmage began attracting large crowds almost from the time of his arrival. Despite his being called a "pulpit clown" and "mountebank" for his sensational sermons, Talmage attracted a growing audience. The church could no longer seat everyone who attended. Larger and wealthier congregations began to recruit him and in 1869, Talmage accepted an offer from the Central Presbyterian Church in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Marriage and family

His first wife, Mary R. Avery, was from Brooklyn. They had two children together before she drowned in the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river in eastern Pennsylvania. It flows for U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map(). accessed April 1, 2011. from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, Pottsville ...

in Philadelphia on June 7, 1861. In May 1863, Talmage married Susan Whittemore of Greenpoint, New York, a neighborhood of Brooklyn. They had five children together. Upon Susan's death after 32 years of marriage, Talmage inherited most of her estate, estimated at $200,000. In January 1898, about three years after his wife died, Talmage married a third time, to 40-year-old Eleanor Collier of

Allegheny City, Pennsylvania Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by ...

. Collier was a wealthy young widow, having been married to the late Judge Charles W. Collier. She was 27 years younger than Talmage.

Brooklyn and the Central Presbyterian Church

Once settled in Brooklyn, Talmage continued his dramatic services with even greater success than before. An example of one of his colorful performances was reported by a newspaper of the era: Attending Talmage's sermons became one of the most popular religious experiences of the era. In 1870, the congregation built a

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

solely to accommodate the large crowds who attended his church services. The building was built over an old church structure then being used as a Sunday School. The demand for his sermons helped with the raising of funds, and construction was completed in only three months. Although the tabernacle had been built to seat large crowds, seating was free of charge and hundreds were turned away every Sunday. The original tabernacle was destroyed in a fire in December 1872, then regarded as one of the worst in Brooklyn's history. Talmage and his congregation met at the

Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a multi-arts center in Brooklyn, New York City. It hosts progressive and avant-garde performances, with theater, dance, music, opera, film programming across multiple nearby venues. BAM was chartered in 18 ...

until they built a newer and larger tabernacle in 1874. The building featured semicircular seating to provide an unobstructed view, accommodating 5,000 people. Talmage continued to preach with great success for several more years. When the second tabernacle was destroyed in a fire in 1889, the congregation became convinced there was "a fatality about the location." They built a third tabernacle at a new location at Clinton Avenue and Greene Avenue, rather than in Schermerhorn Street. After the third tabernacle was destroyed by a fire in 1894, a discouraged Talmage announced his decision to retire from holding a regular pastorate in favor of taking up an evangelist practice.

Later years

Talmage changed his mind to accept an offer to join the First Presbyterian Church in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He was the co-pastor with Dr. Byron Sunderland for three years and then pastor for one year. Although he continued to attract large crowds, they did not express the same enthusiasm as that of his Philadelphia or Brooklyn congregations. This may have been due to the more conservative attitudes of Washington residents. Increasingly interested in writing about religion, Talmage resigned on March 9, 1899. His writings, published in magazines and newspapers, were estimated to have reached millions of readers. His sermons were regularly printed in newspapers across the country. The performance aspect was lost in print, however. In addition, tastes were changing. Talmage's popularity began to wane after his resignation from the pastorate in 1899.

Death

In early 1902, Talmage vacationed in Mexico for six weeks to recover from

influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...

. By the time he returned to Washington, he had become seriously ill. His condition was not considered life-threatening until the first week of April. The immediate cause of his death on April 12 was

inflammation Inflammation (from ) is part of the biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. The five cardinal signs are heat, pain, redness, swelling, and loss of function (Latin ''calor'', '' ...

of the brain. Three days later, his body was brought to the Church of the Covenant, where a quiet funeral service was held. Those who assisted included Dr. Teunis S. Hamlin of the Church of the Covenant; Dr. Thomas Chalmers of the Eastern Presbyterian Church of Washington; St. Louis preacher and lifelong friend Dr. Samuel J. Nicols; and former classmates Dr. E.P. Terhune, Dr. Howard Suydam and Dr. James Demarest. His death received international attention, and condolence messages were sent to the family from England,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and other countries. Talmage was buried in the family plot at

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope, Brooklyn, South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, Win ...

in Brooklyn."Rev. Dr. Talmage's Funeral; It Will Take Place Tuesday from the Church of the Covenant, Washington"
, ''New York Times'', 14 Apr 1902

Works

*

'. Hunt and Eaton Publishing, H.S. Smith Publishing, C. F. Beezley And Co., 1896. *'' The Masque Torn Off''. Chicago: Fairbanks, Palmer & Co., 1883. *
Social Dynamite; or the Wickedness of Modern Society
'. 3rd ed. (1889) *Introduction to Rev. A. Stewart Walsh, D.D., ''Mary: The Queen of the House of David and Mother of Jesus.'' (1889)
''Night Scenes of City Life.''
(1891) Accessed January 2, 2013. *Talmage in the Holy Land. Chicago: Rhodes & McClure Publishing Co., 1890 * ''Pathway of Life''. Historical Publishing Company, 1894 *Crumbs Swept Up by T Dewitt Talmage published by William B. Evans & Co. 1870 *Old Wells Dug Out: Being a Third Series of Sermons, Harper & Brothers (US), 1874 *Sin: A Series of Popular Discourses. Chicago: Rhodes & McClure Publishing Co., 1897 *From Manger to Throne. Philadelphia: Historical Publishing Company, 1893

References

Attribution *

External links

* * * * , contains two speeches by Talmage.
''Talmage on Miracles'', recited by Len Spencer
'' Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project'', University of California, Santa Barbara Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Talmage, Thomas De Witt 1832 births 1902 deaths 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American non-fiction writers 19th-century American Presbyterian ministers American evangelicals American male non-fiction writers American people of Dutch descent American religious writers Anti-crime activists Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery People from Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey People from South Bound Brook, New Jersey Presbyterian writers Reformed Church in America ministers Union army chaplains