13 May 1905 A.D. Rev. Francis Blanchard Hodge Passes—7th Child of Prof. Charles Hodge of Princeton
13 May
1905 A.D. Rev. Francis Blanchard Hodge Passes—7th
Child of Prof. Charles Hodge of Princeton
Archivist. “May 13:
Francis Blanchard Hodge.” This Day in Presbyterian History. 13 May
2014. http://www.thisday.pcahistory.org/2014/05/may-13/ .
Accessed 13 May 2014.
May 13: Francis Blanchard Hodge
In Following the Lord, He Followed His Brothers
Francis
Blanchard Hodge was the seventh child of Dr. Charles Hodge and his wife Sarah,
and was born on October 24, 1838, the year after the schism of the Old and New
School Presbyterians and a year before his father published the first volume of
his Constitutional History of the
Presbyterian Church in America. Frank, as he was called by family
members, was named in memory of a favorite nephew of Dr. Hodge’s mother—Francis
Blanchard, the son of Samuel Blanchard, of Wenham, Massachusetts. Among life’s
tragedies, Francis suffered the death of his mother Sarah when he was just
eleven years old. His father remarried when Francis was fourteen.
As
might be expected, Francis was educated at Princeton, graduating at the
college, and later at the theological seminary. His studies were hindered,
however, by an inflammation of the eyes, the result of an accident. Not
deterred, much of his learning was acquired by oral instruction, and in spite
of the setback, he advanced rapidly. Francis had a fine voice and style of
presentation, and was accorded the honor of being Junior Orator, and in turn
appointed to deliver the Whig Hall anniversary Oration. Upon his graduation
from Seminary, he first married, taking Mary, daughter of Professor Stephen
Alexander, of Nassau Hall, as his bride in June of 1863. Then he answered a
call to serve as the pastor of a congregation in Oxford, Pennsylvania, a
position previously occupied by his brother Wistar Hodge. Francis was ordained
and installed in this pulpit on January 5, 1864, and his father brought the charge
to his newly ordained son. A copy of this charge is preserved among the papers
of Dr. Charles Hodge [cf. Box 21, file 32, in the Department of Special Collections at the
Princeton Theological Seminary.
Of
this first pastorate, his uncle wrote, “Here his intelligence, great amiability
and devotion to his parishioners, united with considerable eloquence of voice
and manner, obtained for him much popularity and influence. His congregation
was augmented in size, and, although chiefly composed of farmers, they were
induced to pull down their old building, and to erect a handsome brick
structure as a substitute.”
Meanwhile,
Archibald Alexander Hodge, eldest of the Hodge children, had married and sought
an appointment to India as a missionary. After about three years on that field,
his wife’s health was failing and her physician said it was impossible for her
to remain in India. Returning to the States, Alexander and his family moved
back to the home of Dr. Charles Hodge. Archibald soon accepted a call to a
small church in Cecil county, Maryland, near the Pennsylvania border, but here
his support was meager and he had to teach to augment his income. Some time
later a second call took him to Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he became the
pastor of a more prosperous church, serving that church from 1855-1861.
When
the Civil War broke out, A.A. Hodge surrendered the Fredericksburg pulpit and
managed to take his family and travel through West Virginia and Maryland into
Pennsylvania, and finally to the home of Charles Hodge in New Jersey. Without
much delay, he soon received an appointment to pastor the Presbyterian Church
in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and afterwards, when a vacancy occurred in the Western
Theological Seminary at Allegheny, by the resignation of the Rev. William S.
Plumer, Alexander was made professor of theology in that institution. He
remained in that post until 1877, when he was called to Princeton, to serve as
his father’s associate.
When
A.A. Hodge left the church at Wilkes-Barre, Pa., the church next called the
Rev. Samuel Dod, who served the church for four years, leaving late in 1868.
Upon his departure, the church now turned to the Rev. Francis Blanchard Hodge
with “a call so urgent, and pressed with so much importunity, that, after much
hesitation, and with many regrets, he left his friends at Oxford, and settled
at Wilkes-Barre.”
There
in Wilkes-Barre he found new and admiring friends who were devoted to his
ministry, his preaching, and his support. And there he remained as faithful
pastor for the next thirty-five years, one of the longest pastorates in the
history of that church. Under his leadership, the congregation grew
significantly. Two-thirds of the annual church budget was allocated to
benevolences. And a new modern building was constructed in the late 1880′s, and
dedicated in 1894, free of any debt. Perhaps as an indication of how much he
was devoted to the work of being a pastor, it does not appear that he authored
any works for publication.
The
Rev. Francis Blanchard Hodge, D.D. died in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania on May 13, 1905. Representing
the Presbytery, Dr. McLeod, Dr. Brooks, and Dr. Logan followed the remains to
Princeton, accompanied by a large delegation from the Wilkes-Barre Church. The
pall-bearers were members of his Church who were also students at Princeton.
With services conducted by Dr. Francis Landey Patton, president of the
Seminary, the mortal remains of Rev. Francis B. Hodge were laid to rest in the
Princeton Cemetery.
Words to Live By:
“I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.” (2 John 4, KJV)
“I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.” (2 John 4, KJV)
What
a joy, what a great blessing it is to see our children walking in the faith,
growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. We have a
commandment to walk in the truth of the Gospel. Let us so live, and serve as an
example to our children, trusting the Lord for their salvation.
Sources:
·
The New
York Observer, June 8, 1905, p. 758.
·
Stoddard,
Dwight J., Prominent Men: Scranton and Vicinity,
Wilkes-Barre and Vicinity,…
Scranton, PA: The Tribune Publishing Co., 1906.
·
Memoranda of Family History, dictated by Hugh L. Hodge, M.D., LL.D., upon the
earnest solicitation of his daughter, Harriet Woolsey Hodge. pp. 116-117.
Image: Stoddard,
Dwight J., Prominent Men: Scranton and Vicinity,
Wilkes-Barre and Vicinity,…
Scranton, PA: The Tribune Publishing Co., 1906, p. 202.
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