John Price Durbin

John Price Durbin (1800–1876) was a Methodist clergyman who served as Chaplain of the Senate and president of Dickinson College.[1]

John Price Durbin

Early years

Durbin was born on October 10, 1800 in Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky, to Elizabeth "Betsy" Nunn and Hozier (or Hosier) Durbin;[2] he was the oldest of their five sons. While he was still young, his father died and he went to work for a cabinetmaker. He continued in this trade until his religious conversion at age 18. Durbin studied Latin, Greek and English grammar, with tutors.[3]

Ministry

Licensed to preach by the Methodist church, Durbin went to Ohio in 1819 in order to begin his ministry. His first church was in Hamilton, Ohio (1821), he entered classes at Miami University while serving there. After another relocation, Durbin continued his college education at Cincinnati College, from which he earned a bachelor's degree and a Master of Arts degree (1825). He then was appointed professor of languages at Augusta College in Kentucky.[4][5] He then served as professor of natural science at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut.[6]

In 1831, Durbin was elected Chaplain of the Senate.[7] Thereafter, he was editor of the "Christian Advocate" (1832).[8] In 1833, Dickinson College became part of the Baltimore Conference of the Methodist Church; Durbin was called to be the new president, serving until 1844.[9][10][11]

Following retirement from the college, Durbin served Union Methodist Church in Philadelphia.[12] In 1850 he became secretary of The Missionary Society, serving until 1872, when ill health led to his retirement. His several tours of Europe and the Middle East led to well received books which he authored.[13]

John Price Durbin died in New York, New York on October 18, 1876;[14] he was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery,[15] Philadelphia.[16]

Personal life

Durbin married Frances Budd Cook of Philadelphia on September 6, 1827, in Pennsylvania. His children with Frances Cook were: Lucretia, Augusta, Margaret, Alexander Cook, John Price and William.[17] Following Frances' death he married a second time, her sister, Margaret Cook, in 1839. [18]

References
  1. The Life of John Price Durbin, by John Alexander Roche, Randolph Sinks Foster
  2. The Life of John Price Durbin, by John Alexander Roche, Randolph Sinks Foster, p. 4
  3. The Methodist Review, Volume 69, p. 329
  4. Dickinson College: The History of One Hundred and Fifty Years, 1783-1933, by James Henry Morgan, p. 248
  5. Dickinson College: A History, by Charles Coleman Sellers, p. 204
  6. The Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume 2, by John Howard Brown, p. 557
  7. The Life of John Price Durbin, by John Alexander Roche, Randolph Sinks Foster, p. 59
  8. The Life of John Price Durbin, by John Alexander Roche, Randolph Sinks Foster, p. 88
  9. The Methodist Review, Volume 69, pp. 330–333
  10. Dickinson College: The History of One Hundred and Fifty Years, 1783-1933, by James Henry Morgan, p. 248
  11. Inaugural Address, Delivered In Carlisle, September 10, 1834, by John Price Durbin
  12. The Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume 2, by John Howard Brown, p. 557
  13. The Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume 2, by John Howard Brown, p. 557
  14. The Methodist Review, Volume 69, p. 353
  15. The Methodists By James E. Kirby, Russell E. Richey, Kenneth E. Rowe, p. 292
  16. The Life of John Price Durbin, by John Alexander Roche, Randolph Sinks Foster.
  17. Biographical Catalogue of the Matriculates of the College, by University of Pennsylvania, p. 184
  18. 1850 and 1870 censuses; Will of Margaret C. Durbin: New York Wills, Vol 0228-0229, 1874-1875
Religious titles
Preceded by
Henry Van Dyke Johns		 27th US Senate Chaplain
December 19, 1831 – December 11, 1832		 Succeeded by
Charles Constantine Pise
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