John Philip Newman
Encyclopedia
John Philip Newman was an American
Bishop
of the Methodist Episcopal Church
, elected in 1888.
. His father was of German
descent, his mother of French
. John was converted to the Christian
faith at the age of sixteen and became a member of the M.E. Church. He married Miss Angeline Ensign, the daughter of the Rev. Datus Ensign, who was one of the early Methodist ministers in Northern New York
.
at Cazenovia, New York
, where he pursued college preparatory and theological studies, intending to enter Wesleyan University
. But acting on the advice of friends, he did not proceed to college, but instead entered the Methodist ministry.
Annual Conference
of the M.E. Church. During his first year his salary was only one hundred dollars. At the end of the year, after paying all of his expenses, he had five dollars remaining. Each succeeding year, with a single exception, he saved some part of his salary, however small it might be. He also pastored at Hamilton, New York
.
In 1855 he was transferred to the Troy
Annual Conference. In 1857-58 Rev. Newman was stationed in Albany, New York
, where his preaching first attracted attention outside his own denomination. In 1858 he was transferred to the New York
Annual Conference and stationed in New York City.
. After an extensive tour on the Continent he visited the East, and for a year made a thorough study of Bible
lands: Egypt
, Arabia, and Palestine
. As a result of his research he wrote a book on the Holy Land
, entitled "From Dan to Beersheba."
Upon his return from his travels, Rev. Newman was again stationed in New York City, remaining for two years. In 1864 he was sent by Bishop Ames
to establish the M.E. Church in Louisiana
, Texas
, and Mississippi
. The M.E. Church (the northern branch) had ceased to exist in these states after the great ecclesiastical secession of 1844; the Methodists in that region instead organized as the Methodist Episcopal Church, South
. Rev. Newman began his mission in New Orleans, where he soon built a church worth fifty thousand dollars. He founded a seminary
and an orphan asylum, as well, each with ample buildings and endowments. Indeed, out of the mission Rev. Newman then organized grew four Annual Conferences of the M.E. Church.
as Pastor of the Metropolitan M.E. Church, which he helped organize. He retired from this pulpit in the Spring of 1872. However, it was a general wish that he should return to it as soon as it was admissible, and he accordingly resumed his pastorate in the Spring of 1875.
In the meantime, Dr. Newman was Chaplain of the United States Senate
, twice by unanimous vote, first assuming this position 8 March 1869, serving until 1874.
One biographer wrote this of Rev. Newman:
as Inspector
of United States
Consulates in Asia
, serving 1874-76. In discharge of the duties of this position, Dr. Newman crossed the Pacific Ocean
, traveling extensively in China
, Japan
, and other oriental countries with which the U.S.A. had diplomatic relations. He prosecuted his investigations with great industry and conscientious faithfulness. His habits of observation and ability to describe what he saw pre-eminently fitted him for the duties he was required to perform.
Dr. Newman's report to the United States Department of State
covered more than two hundred pages, containing observations and suggestions of great value to the Government. His expenses amounted to only two thousand, three hundred dollars, covering his service for one and one-half years.
During various investigations, which were rife in 1876, Dr. Newman was summoned before a Congressional Committee, in answer to whose interrogations he gave much important information relating to the U.S. Diplomatic Service. Indeed, the Committee was surprised at the value of services, which had instead been represented in some of the newspapers as a mere "pleasure tour." Upon his return, Dr. Newman used his extensive notes in the preparation of a work entitled, "Thrones and Palaces of Babylon and Nineveh."
in New York, serving two years.
Upon his resignation from the Madison Ave. church, Rev. Newman visited California. He was then called upon to minister to President Ulysses S. Grant
in his final illness. Dr. Newman then was appointed a third time to the Metropolitan Church in Washington, serving a final two years.
In 1885 he delivered a discourse at the funeral of President Grant. In 1887 he delivered another discourse at the funeral of General John A. Logan
. Indeed, Dr. Newman was known as one of the most eloquent pulpit orators of his Church, and was known throughout the Nation as a popular lecturer.
Bishop Newman died 5 July 1899 in Saratoga Springs, New York
.
with the D.D. degree. He received the LL.D. degree from Grant Memorial University in 1881. Otterbein College also honored him with the LL.D. in 1881.
Bishop Newman died in Saratoga, New York
, on 5 July 1899. He was buried in Mechanicville, New York
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
, elected in 1888.
Birth and family
He was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. His father was of German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
descent, his mother of French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
. John was converted to the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
faith at the age of sixteen and became a member of the M.E. Church. He married Miss Angeline Ensign, the daughter of the Rev. Datus Ensign, who was one of the early Methodist ministers in Northern New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Education
John entered the SeminaryCazenovia Seminary
Cazenovia Seminary was an academic seminary of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was located in Cazenovia, New York, U.S.A.. It was founded in 1825, at the instigation of George Peck and several other prominent clergymen in the area...
at Cazenovia, New York
Cazenovia, New York
Cazenovia is a town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 6,481 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Theophilus Cazenove, an agent of the Holland Land Company.The Town of Cazenovia has a village also named Cazenovia...
, where he pursued college preparatory and theological studies, intending to enter Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. According to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Wesleyan is the only Baccalaureate College in the nation that emphasizes undergraduate instruction in the arts and...
. But acting on the advice of friends, he did not proceed to college, but instead entered the Methodist ministry.
Ordained ministry
John entered upon pastoral work in 1848 as a member of the OneidaOneida, New York
Oneida is a city in Madison County located west of Oneida Castle and east of Canastota, New York, United States. The population was 10,987 at the 2000 census. The city, like both Oneida County and the nearby silver and china maker, takes its name from the Oneida tribe...
Annual Conference
Annual Conference
An Annual Conference in the United Methodist Church is a regional body that governs much of the life of the "Connectional Church." Annual conferences are composed primarily of the clergy members and a lay member or members from each charge . Each conference is a geographical division...
of the M.E. Church. During his first year his salary was only one hundred dollars. At the end of the year, after paying all of his expenses, he had five dollars remaining. Each succeeding year, with a single exception, he saved some part of his salary, however small it might be. He also pastored at Hamilton, New York
Hamilton (village), New York
The Village of Hamilton is a village located within the town of Hamilton in Madison County, New York, USA.-Geography and climate:The village, located at , lies in the Chenango Valley, just south of the headwaters of the Chenango River. The village is approximately southeast of Syracuse and ...
.
In 1855 he was transferred to the Troy
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...
Annual Conference. In 1857-58 Rev. Newman was stationed in Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, where his preaching first attracted attention outside his own denomination. In 1858 he was transferred to the New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Annual Conference and stationed in New York City.
Travels and missions
In the spring of 1860 he sailed for EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. After an extensive tour on the Continent he visited the East, and for a year made a thorough study of Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
lands: Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Arabia, and Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. As a result of his research he wrote a book on the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
, entitled "From Dan to Beersheba."
Upon his return from his travels, Rev. Newman was again stationed in New York City, remaining for two years. In 1864 he was sent by Bishop Ames
Edward Raymond Ames
Edward Raymond Ames was an American Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1852.-Birth and family:...
to establish the M.E. Church in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. The M.E. Church (the northern branch) had ceased to exist in these states after the great ecclesiastical secession of 1844; the Methodists in that region instead organized as the Methodist Episcopal Church, South
Methodist Episcopal Church, South
The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, or Methodist Episcopal Church South, was the so-called "Southern Methodist Church" resulting from the split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church which had been brewing over several years until it came out into the open at a conference...
. Rev. Newman began his mission in New Orleans, where he soon built a church worth fifty thousand dollars. He founded a seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
and an orphan asylum, as well, each with ample buildings and endowments. Indeed, out of the mission Rev. Newman then organized grew four Annual Conferences of the M.E. Church.
Washington, D.C.
In 1869 Rev. Newman was appointed to WashingtonWashington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
as Pastor of the Metropolitan M.E. Church, which he helped organize. He retired from this pulpit in the Spring of 1872. However, it was a general wish that he should return to it as soon as it was admissible, and he accordingly resumed his pastorate in the Spring of 1875.
In the meantime, Dr. Newman was Chaplain of the United States Senate
Chaplain of the United States Senate
The Chaplain of the United States Senate opens each session of the United States Senate with a prayer, and provides and coordinates religious programs and pastoral care support for Senators, their staffs, and their families. The Chaplain is appointed by a majority vote of the members of the Senate...
, twice by unanimous vote, first assuming this position 8 March 1869, serving until 1874.
One biographer wrote this of Rev. Newman:
- "In pastoral work Dr. Newman is as useful and successful as in the pulpit. Since his return he has felt the necessity of, and has sought, a more complete consecration to Christ, and a fuller anointing of the Holy Ghost, and on this he relies for the success of his ministry."
Government service
In the Spring of 1873 Dr. Newman was appointed by President Ulysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
as Inspector
Inspector
Inspector is both a police rank and an administrative position, both used in a number of contexts. However, it is not an equivalent rank in each police force.- Australia :...
of United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Consulates in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, serving 1874-76. In discharge of the duties of this position, Dr. Newman crossed the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, traveling extensively in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and other oriental countries with which the U.S.A. had diplomatic relations. He prosecuted his investigations with great industry and conscientious faithfulness. His habits of observation and ability to describe what he saw pre-eminently fitted him for the duties he was required to perform.
Dr. Newman's report to the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
covered more than two hundred pages, containing observations and suggestions of great value to the Government. His expenses amounted to only two thousand, three hundred dollars, covering his service for one and one-half years.
During various investigations, which were rife in 1876, Dr. Newman was summoned before a Congressional Committee, in answer to whose interrogations he gave much important information relating to the U.S. Diplomatic Service. Indeed, the Committee was surprised at the value of services, which had instead been represented in some of the newspapers as a mere "pleasure tour." Upon his return, Dr. Newman used his extensive notes in the preparation of a work entitled, "Thrones and Palaces of Babylon and Nineveh."
Pastoral ministry resumed
Upon his return from overseas Government work, Rev. Newman returned to the pulpit of the Metropolitan Church, Washington, where he served an additional three years. He was then transferred to the Central Methodist Church in New York City, where he also served three years. In the winter of 1882 he accepted a unanimous invitation to become Pastor of the Madison Avenue Congregational ChurchCongregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
in New York, serving two years.
Upon his resignation from the Madison Ave. church, Rev. Newman visited California. He was then called upon to minister to President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
in his final illness. Dr. Newman then was appointed a third time to the Metropolitan Church in Washington, serving a final two years.
Service to the M.E. Church
Dr. Newman was thrice elected a delegate to the General Conference of his denomination. In 1876 he served as a commissioner to help adjust the relations of the M.E. and M.E., South Churches. In 1881 he was sent to England as a delegate to the Methodist ecumenical council.In 1885 he delivered a discourse at the funeral of President Grant. In 1887 he delivered another discourse at the funeral of General John A. Logan
John A. Logan
John Alexander Logan was an American soldier and political leader. He served in the Mexican-American War and was a general in the Union Army in the American Civil War. He served the state of Illinois as a state senator, congressman and senator and was an unsuccessful candidate for Vice President...
. Indeed, Dr. Newman was known as one of the most eloquent pulpit orators of his Church, and was known throughout the Nation as a popular lecturer.
Episcopal ministry
Bishop Newman was elected to the episcopacy at the 1888 General Conference of the M.E. Church. He was a delegate to the first and second Ecumenical Conferences.Bishop Newman died 5 July 1899 in Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs, New York
Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...
.
Honorary degrees
Rev. Newman was honored in 1863 by the University of RochesterUniversity of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
with the D.D. degree. He received the LL.D. degree from Grant Memorial University in 1881. Otterbein College also honored him with the LL.D. in 1881.
Bishop Newman died in Saratoga, New York
Saratoga, New York
Saratoga is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 5,141 at the 2000 census. It is also the commonly used, but not official, name for the neighboring and much more populous city, Saratoga Springs. The major village in the town of Saratoga is Schuylerville which is...
, on 5 July 1899. He was buried in Mechanicville, New York
Mechanicville, New York
Mechanicville is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population is 5,196 as of the 2010 census. It is the smallest city by area in the state. The name is derived from the occupations of early residents....
.
Selected writings
- From Dan to Beersheba, New York, 1864.
- Babylon and Nineveh, 1875.
- Christianity Triumphant, 1884.
- Evenings with the Prophets on the Lost Empires, 1887.
- America for Americans, Washington, 1887.