Background
Francis Alison was born in 1705 in the parish of Leck, county of Donegal, Ireland. He the son of weaver Robert Alison.
(Title: An Address to the Rev. Dr. Alison, the Rev. Mr. Ew...)
Title: An Address to the Rev. Dr. Alison, the Rev. Mr. Ewing, and others, trustees of the Corporation for the Relief of Presbyterian Ministers, their Widows and Children : being a vindication of the Quakers from the aspersions of the said trustees in their letter published in the London chronicle, no. 1223 ... Author: Lover of truth. Publisher: Gale, Sabin Americana Description: Based on Joseph Sabin's famed bibliography, Bibliotheca Americana, Sabin Americana, 1500--1926 contains a collection of books, pamphlets, serials and other works about the Americas, from the time of their discovery to the early 1900s. Sabin Americana is rich in original accounts of discovery and exploration, pioneering and westward expansion, the U.S. Civil War and other military actions, Native Americans, slavery and abolition, religious history and more. Sabin Americana offers an up-close perspective on life in the western hemisphere, encompassing the arrival of the Europeans on the shores of North America in the late 15th century to the first decades of the 20th century. Covering a span of over 400 years in North, Central and South America as well as the Caribbean, this collection highlights the society, politics, religious beliefs, culture, contemporary opinions and momentous events of the time. It provides access to documents from an assortment of genres, sermons, political tracts, newspapers, books, pamphlets, maps, legislation, literature and more. Now for the first time, these high-quality digital scans of original works are available via print-on-demand, making them readily accessible to libraries, students, independent scholars, and readers of all ages. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ SourceLibrary: Huntington Library DocumentID: SABCP00907100 CollectionID: CTRG10326650-B PublicationDate: 17650101 SourceBibCitation: Selected Americana from Sabin's Dictionary of books relating to America Notes: With a half-title. Collation: iii, 47 p. ; 19 cm. (8vo)
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(The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration a...)
The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars. The Age of Enlightenment profoundly enriched religious and philosophical understanding and continues to influence present-day thinking. Works collected here include masterpieces by David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, as well as religious sermons and moral debates on the issues of the day, such as the slave trade. The Age of Reason saw conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism transformed into one between faith and logic -- a debate that continues in the twenty-first century. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library W028864 Each sermon has separate title page; the register is continuous. Preface to the first sermon signed: M. Bookseller's advertisement, p. 55 at end. Philadelphia : Printed by W. Dunlap, at the newest-printing-office, MDCCLVIII. 1758. ix,2,12-53,1,xi,2,14-54,4p. ; 8°
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Francis Alison was born in 1705 in the parish of Leck, county of Donegal, Ireland. He the son of weaver Robert Alison.
Alison preparared under the Bishop of Raphoe Alison to entered the University of Glasgow.
During his life, Alison received degrees from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1756, and Yale, in 1775. In 1758, he was awarded the Doctor of Divinity from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, the first such award given to an American.
Alison came to America in 1735, settling first in Talbot County, Maryland, then at New London, Chester County, Pennsylvania. In Maryland, Alison was tutor in the home of Samuel Dickinson. At New London, having been licensed to preach, he was inducted into the local church May 25, 1737, and continued there till called to Philadelphia. Educational facilities were meager; "there was not a College, nor even a good Grammar School in four provinces, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Jersey, and New York. " To remedy the lack, he opened a school (1743), which was officially recognized and subsidized by the Synod of Philadelphia (1744). Such noted men as Charles Thomson, Thomas McKean, and George Read were educated at Alison's school, and, when removed to Newark, Delaware, it became the foundation of Delaware College.
The fame of the master spread abroad and, at the sudden death of the rector of the new academy in Philadelphia, he was referred to as "a gentleman of good learning" who might be secured for the place. Though, at first, "diffident" about undertaking the Latin School, he finally accepted the post at £200 per annum. In 1754 he and Doctor Smith proposed the "advantage" of being allowed to confer degrees on properly qualified students. A clause granting this privilege was drawn up at the trustees' suggestion and subsequently approved.
On March 7, 1755, Alison was chosen vice-provost of the "new institution"--the college--and his name, with that of Doctor Smith, inserted in the draft of the new charter. That he knew several fields, is suggested by the fact that (1756) it was agreed that he should teach, besides classics, "Logic, Metaphysicks and Geography" and "other arts and sciences. " While vice-provost of the College he continued to serve as assistant pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia.
In 1758, May 24 and 25, he preached two remarkable sermons on Peace and Union Recommended before the Synods of New York and Philadelphia; no other published work is extant. These sermons, An Address to the Reverend Doctor Alison (1765), An Address of Thanks to the Wardens of Christ Church and St. Peters (1764), and several letters give fleeting glimpses of a mind well informed and keenly active in the religious, educational and political affairs of the day.
In his later years, in spite of vexatious events and illness, he did not cease to labor in public and private. On July 20, 1775, he "entertained the Congress at church and meeting. Such a Fast was never before observed in this city; Sunday was never so strictly kept".
While ill, he continued teaching at his house, asking that wood be sent there till he was "sufficiently recovered to attend his duty in College. " Later he prayed the trustees to consider that "double the nominal sum" of his former salary was not adequate. His death occurred shortly after the hostile legislature had set aside the charter of the institution to which he had given the best of his life.
Alison is best known for his work in the church. His work led to the founding of the first Widows Fund in the church. He was known as the best Latin scholar in America. Alison also started a free school in New London, Pennsylvania. His philanthropic bent led him to found the Presbyterian Society for the Relief of Ministers and their Widows.
(The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration a...)
(Title: An Address to the Rev. Dr. Alison, the Rev. Mr. Ew...)
In the religious turmoil of the day Alison championed the "Old Side. "
In 1777 Alison signed, with others, a protest to the Council of Safety against the "interruptions [quartering of soldiers] which we have met with in the important Business of Education. "
Provost Ewing said that Alison "had an unusual fund of learning and knowledge" which fitted him for "the painful instruction of youth in the College. " His only weakness as a teacher was "proneness to anger. " Of his scholarship there was great praise. Ezra Stiles avowed he was "the greatest classical scholar in America, especially in Greek. " Franklin thought him "a Person of great Ingenuity and Learning. "
Alison married Hannah Armitage of New Castle, Delaware; of their children the most prominent was the physician, Doctor Francis Alison Jr.
