McCLANAHAN
936
McCLINTOCK
fragrant in the Church as a model preacher of the Gos- pel. See Life and Remains of Letters. Lectures, and Po- ems of the Ree. Robert Murray McCheyne, by Kev. An- drew'A. Honar (New York, 1857). (H. A. B.)
McClanahan, Alexaxdkr W., a Presbyterian minister, was born near West Union, Adams County, Ohio, Nov. 28, 1821; graduated with honor at Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, in 1844; studied theology in the theological seminary at Oxford; was licensed in 1847 by the Chilicothe Presbytery; and in 1848 or- dained. His first and only charge was at Decatur, Ohio. He died Oct. 29, 18G2. Mr. McClanahan was noted for his kindness of heart and spirit of self-sacritice ; he had a massive intellect, capable of broad and comprehen- sive views, and, when aroused to high mental activity, he wrote and spoke with rare power. See Wilson, Presh. Hist. A Imanac, 18G3, p. 3o9. (J. L. S.)
McClaskey, John, an eminent Methodist Episco- pal minister, was born in Derry County, Ireland, Jan. 2, 1756. His parents, who were members of the Estab- lished Church of England, in 1772 emigrated to New Jersey ; here John was converted in 1782, and, feeling that he was called of God to preach the Gospel, took the necessary steps to enter the ministry, and in 1786 became a member of Conference as an itinerant ; in 1792 was appointed presiding elder on Philadelphia Dis- trict; in 1793-94, to Baltimore; in 1795, to Philadelphia; in 1796-98, presiding elder on New Jersev District ; in 1799-1801, to New York City; in 1802, to Philadelphia; in 1812-13, presiding elder on Chesapeake District, and died at Chestertown, Md., Sept. 2, 1814. Mr. McClas- key was a man of deep and earnest piety; versed in the Scriptures ; and thousands of souls were converted through his efforts during a long and useful ministry. — Conference Minutes, i, 257 ; Sprague, A nnals of the A mer- ican Pulpit, vii, 125.
McClelland, Alexander, D.D., a noted (Dutch) Reformed minister and educator, was born at Schenec- tady, N. Y., in 1796 ; graduated at Union College in 1809 ; studied theology with Rev. John Anderson, D.D., in AVestern Pennsylvania, and afterwards with Rev. John M. Mason, D. D. ; was licensed by the Associate Re- formed Presbytery, New York, in 1815; and, when nine- teen years only, was elected pastor of Rutgers Street Presbyterian Church, New York, as successor of Dr. Mille- doler. Here he remained seven years, and established his great reputation as a pulpit orator among the fore- most men of his day. In 1822 he became professor of rhetoric, logic, and metaphysics in Dickinson College, Pa. ; removed in 1829 to New Brunswick, N. J., as pro- fessor of languages in Rutgers College ; and in 1832 was ekited professor of Oriental literature and Biblical criticism in the Theological Seminary of the Reformed Church. He continued, however, to give instruction in rhetoric and belles-lettres in the college for several years. He resigned his place in the theological semi- nary in 1857; and, after a tour in Europe, returned to New Brimswick, where he lived in retirement until his decease in 1864. His published works consist of a few occasional sermons and pamphlets, and a volume on the Canon ami Intei-pretation of Scripture (New York, 1860, pp. 329, 12mo). Dr. McClelland was in almost every re- spect a man sui generis. He was original in thought, in style of expression, in oratory, and in the professor's c'aair. He was humorous and witty, keen and strong, roljust in mind, tliorough in scholarship, impatient of ilulness and idleness, and exacting to the last degree as a teacher. Inspiring his pupils with his own entlui- siasm, he taught them to study and to think accurate- ly for themselves. He gave very short lessons in He- bre\v and in Greek ; but the grammar and dictionary were always in use, and he required critical accuracy in recitations. His written lectures on the Epistles to the Romans and Hebrews, and his oral criticisms on Isaiah and the Psalms; his condensed Hebrew Grammar, and his lectures on the Canon and interpretation of Script-
ure, were admirable specimens of his skill as an in- structor. His rare pulpit eloquence M'as quite equalled at times by outbursts of his genius and power in the professorial chair. Naturally impulsive and irritable, he was often sarcastic and se /ere ; and these tendencies were aggravated by protracted and distressing disease. Yet his best students overlooked all this in their ad- miration of his ability as a teacher. In the pulpit he was clear and forcible, brilliant and impassioned, versa- tile and learned, simple and profound, electric, and fre- quently eccentric. Among his published sermons are a few of his memorable discourses; but some that were perhaps even more characteristic of his remarkable ora- tory were left out of the collection. No printed page can reproduce the effects of his mellifluous voice, his significant gestures, and the earnestness of his impas- sioned power. His peculiarities of temperament and manner interfered considerably with his general useful- ness, and his independence of thought sometimes led him into questionable statements of truth ; and in 1834 he was arraigned before the General Synod for heresy, on the subject of spiritual renovation ; but, having made satisfactory explanations, he retained his profess- orship and ecclesiastical status. His latter years were spent in retirement among his books, and in the quiet pursuit of favorite studies, until he was disabled by a long and incurable disease ; and then, with simple trust in Jesus, entered into rest. Quite detailed sketches of Dr. McClelland's life and works, from the pen of Dr. Chalmers, of New York City, were published in the Christian Intelligencer (New Yorlc, 1872, Oct., Nov.). (W. J. R. T.)