Notes Concerning the Author.
Thomas Cary Johnson (1859 – 1936) was a Southern Presbyterian minister and biographer of Robert L. Dabney and Benjamin M. Palmer, among his other works.
Abstract
This book of 636 pages can be considered both a biography and a history of Southern Presbyterianism before, during and after the War Between the States. Here you have both a biography and significant Dabney letters.
Robert Lewis Dabney (1820 – 1898) was a Southern Presbyterian pastor, and Confederate Army chaplain. He was also chief of staff and biographer to Stonewall Jackson, that book remaining in print today. Dabney and James Henley Thornwell were two of Southern Presbyterianism’s most influential scholars. Both were Calvinists and social conservatives.
Dabney studied at Hampden-Sydney College, then obtain his M. A. degree in 1842 at the University of Virginia. He then graduated from Union Theological Seminary in 1846. From 1853 to 1859 he was professor of ecclesiastical history and polity and from 1859 to 1869 adjunct professor of systematic theology in Union Theological Seminary, where he later became full professor of systematics. In 1883, he was appointed professor of mental and moral philosophy in the University of Texas.
By 1894 failing health compelled him to retire from active life. He passed away in 1898. His remains were returned to Hampden-Sydney College where he was buried.
Availability of this Book
Although published in 1903 a paper reprint was produced in 2010. We suggest Amazon.com. A digital book can be downloaded at the following address:
http://archive.org/details/lifelettersofrobert00john
HRW