Robert Pearsall Smith
Encyclopedia
Robert Pearsall Smith was a lay leader in the Holiness movement
in the United States and the Higher Life movement
in Great Britain. His book Holiness Through Faith (1870) is one of the foundational works of the Holiness movement. He was also a businessman in the Philadelphia area, publishing maps and managing a glass factory.
, in Pennsylvania
and New Jersey
, he was a descendant of John Smith, who started one of the first insurance companies in Philadelphia and was one of the founders of the Philadelphia Hospital. He was also a descendant of James Logan
, secretary of William Penn
and the founder of the first lending library in America, the Loganian Library.
During the 1840s, Robert's father was the librarian of the Philadelphia Library Company, which now had oversight of their ancestral library, the Loganian. The library employed the prestigious architect and surveyor James Charles Sidney who also produced maps that Robert published, many of now being valuable historical artifacts.
In 1851, Smith married Hannah Tatum Whitall
, a woman who also descended from a line of prominent Quakers in the region. The Smiths settled in Germantown, Pennsylvania
. From 1864 to 1868, they lived in Millville, New Jersey
where Robert managed Hannah's father's business, the Whitall, Tatum & Company
glass factories.
They were much influenced by Methodist revivalists and adopted the doctrine in Wesleyan theology of sanctification
. They were also influenced by William E. Boardman, who wrote The Higher Christian Life (1859) who apparently groomed Robert and Hannah Smith to join the Holiness movement as speakers.
and Ira D. Sankey
drew huge crowds in London. In 1873, Robert and Hannah also crossed the Atlantic to speak at various places in England, including Oxford, teaching on the subjects of the "higher life" and "holiness". The following year, after preaching in front of royalty and taking breakfast with Gladstone
they travelled to Germany
and Switzerland
, where they preached in several major cities.
In 1875, they returned to England and conducted meetings in Brighton
where scandal arose over a private spiritual initiation which took place between Smith and a female American writer who alleged contact of a sexual nature. Although admitting that he "had put his arm around her", he insisted that his actions would not "have been more pure to my own daughter". However, at the evangelical tribunal that followed, Smith pledged "to abstain at once from public work". Although the details of the allegations were never released, one member stating he feared the effect on public morality, Smith never recovered and having "lost his faith, withdrew from public gaze and spent most of the rest of his life as an invalid" .
In 1888, the Smith family moved to England when their daughter Mary
married an Irish barrister, Frank Costelloe; she later married Bernard Berenson
. Their daughter Alys Pearsall Smith
met and married the philosopher Bertrand Russell
. Their son, Logan Pearsall Smith
, became an essayist and critic.
Holiness movement
The holiness movement refers to a set of beliefs and practices emerging from the Methodist Christian church in the mid 19th century. The movement is distinguished by its emphasis on John Wesley's doctrine of "Christian perfection" - the belief that it is possible to live free of voluntary sin - and...
in the United States and the Higher Life movement
Higher Life movement
The Higher Life movement was a movement devoted to Christian holiness in England. Its name comes from a book by William Boardman, entitled The Higher Christian Life, which was published in 1858...
in Great Britain. His book Holiness Through Faith (1870) is one of the foundational works of the Holiness movement. He was also a businessman in the Philadelphia area, publishing maps and managing a glass factory.
Early Life
Robert Pearsall Smith was the son of John Jay Smith and Rachel Pearsall. Descended was from long line of influential QuakersReligious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
, in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, he was a descendant of John Smith, who started one of the first insurance companies in Philadelphia and was one of the founders of the Philadelphia Hospital. He was also a descendant of James Logan
James Logan (statesman)
James Logan , a statesman and scholar, was born in Lurgan, County Armagh, Ireland of Scottish descent and Quaker parentage. In 1689, the Logan family moved to Bristol, England where, in 1693, James replaced his father as schoolmaster...
, secretary of William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
and the founder of the first lending library in America, the Loganian Library.
During the 1840s, Robert's father was the librarian of the Philadelphia Library Company, which now had oversight of their ancestral library, the Loganian. The library employed the prestigious architect and surveyor James Charles Sidney who also produced maps that Robert published, many of now being valuable historical artifacts.
In 1851, Smith married Hannah Tatum Whitall
Hannah Whitall Smith
Hannah Tatum Whitall Smith was a lay speaker and author in the Holiness movement in the United States and the Higher Life movement in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
, a woman who also descended from a line of prominent Quakers in the region. The Smiths settled in Germantown, Pennsylvania
Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Germantown is a neighborhood in the northwest section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, about 7–8 miles northwest from the center of the city...
. From 1864 to 1868, they lived in Millville, New Jersey
Millville, New Jersey
Millville is a city in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2000 United States Census, the city population was 26,847. Millville, Bridgeton and Vineland are the three principal New Jersey cities of the Vineland-Millville-Bridgeton Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area which...
where Robert managed Hannah's father's business, the Whitall, Tatum & Company
Whitall Tatum Company
The Whitall Tatum Company, or Whitall Tatum, was one of the first glass factories in America. Located in Millville, New Jersey, it operated from 1806 through 1938...
glass factories.
They were much influenced by Methodist revivalists and adopted the doctrine in Wesleyan theology of sanctification
Sanctification
Sanctity is an ancient concept widespread among religions, a property of a thing or person sacred or set apart within the religion, from totem poles through temple vessels to days of the week, to a human believer who achieves this state. Sanctification is the act or process of acquiring sanctity,...
. They were also influenced by William E. Boardman, who wrote The Higher Christian Life (1859) who apparently groomed Robert and Hannah Smith to join the Holiness movement as speakers.
Success and Scandal
In the 1870's, American evangelists such as Dwight L. MoodyDwight L. Moody
Dwight Lyman Moody , also known as D.L. Moody, was an American evangelist and publisher who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts , the Moody Bible Institute and Moody Publishers.-Early life:Dwight Moody was born in Northfield, Massachusetts to a large...
and Ira D. Sankey
Ira D. Sankey
Ira D. Sankey , known as The Sweet Singer of Methodism, was an American gospel singer and composer, associated with evangelist Dwight L...
drew huge crowds in London. In 1873, Robert and Hannah also crossed the Atlantic to speak at various places in England, including Oxford, teaching on the subjects of the "higher life" and "holiness". The following year, after preaching in front of royalty and taking breakfast with Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
they travelled to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, where they preached in several major cities.
In 1875, they returned to England and conducted meetings in Brighton
Brighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
where scandal arose over a private spiritual initiation which took place between Smith and a female American writer who alleged contact of a sexual nature. Although admitting that he "had put his arm around her", he insisted that his actions would not "have been more pure to my own daughter". However, at the evangelical tribunal that followed, Smith pledged "to abstain at once from public work". Although the details of the allegations were never released, one member stating he feared the effect on public morality, Smith never recovered and having "lost his faith, withdrew from public gaze and spent most of the rest of his life as an invalid" .
In 1888, the Smith family moved to England when their daughter Mary
Mary Berenson
Mary Berenson née Mary Smith, was an art historian, now thought to have had a large hand in some of the writings of her second husband, Bernard Berenson.Her father was Robert Pearsall Smith, her mother Hannah Whitall Smith...
married an Irish barrister, Frank Costelloe; she later married Bernard Berenson
Bernard Berenson
Bernard Berenson was an American art historian specializing in the Renaissance. He was a major figure in pioneering art attribution and therefore establishing the market for paintings by the "Old Masters".-Personal life:...
. Their daughter Alys Pearsall Smith
Alys Pearsall Smith
Alyssa Whitall Pearsall Smith was the first wife of Bertrand Russell.Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of Robert Pearsall Smith and Hannah Whitall Smith, prominent figures in the Holiness movement in America and the Higher Life movement in Great Britain...
met and married the philosopher Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
. Their son, Logan Pearsall Smith
Logan Pearsall Smith
Logan Pearsall Smith was an American-born essayist and critic.Smith was born in Millville, New Jersey the son of the prominent Quakers Robert Pearsall Smith and Hannah Whitall Smith. His father's family had become wealthy from its glass factories...
, became an essayist and critic.