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Albert Barnes
Overview
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) was a prominent Presbyterian minister, theologian, and biblical commentator, best known for Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, a multivolume commentary series that became one of the most widely used popular Bible commentaries of the 19th century. He was a Hamilton College alumnus (Class of 1820) who went on to become a nationally significant figure in American Protestantism. His long career included a celebrated heresy trial in 1835 arising from his liberal theological views.
Relevance to Research
Barnes appears in the Hamilton Life corpus across the 1915–1932 period as a distinguished 19th-century alumnus cited in retrospective accounts of notable Hamiltonians. The March 20, 1929 Hamilton Life article “Hamiltonians of Old School Have Made Enviable Records” (by Jefferson F. Meagher, ‘30) explicitly lists Albert Barnes, ‘20, among the clergymen alumni who appear in the International Encyclopedia, alongside other notable Hamilton clergy including Melancthon W. Stryker and Arthur T. Pierson. The November 22, 1932 Hamilton Life similarly includes Barnes in a historical overview of distinguished Hamilton alumni, noting he “was at one time ranked at the head of the pulpit orators and writers of America.”
Notes
Role: Presbyterian minister, biblical commentator, Hamilton alumnus Key events: - Born December 1, 1798, Rome, New York - Hamilton College, Class of 1820 - Ordained Presbyterian minister; long pastorate at First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia (1830–1867) - Published Notes on the New Testament beginning 1832; later extended to Old Testament — one of the most widely circulated Bible commentaries in America - Tried for heresy by the Presbyterian General Assembly in 1835; acquitted after considerable controversy - Died December 24, 1870, Philadelphia - Corpus appearances in Hamilton Life 1915–1932 are entirely retrospective, citing him as a distinguished 19th-century alumnus listed in the International Encyclopedia among Hamilton’s most eminent clergy