author
George Lewis Prentiss
1816–1903
A 19th-century Presbyterian minister and writer, he is remembered for thoughtful religious books, public addresses, and for shaping church life in New York. He also preserved the voice of his wife, Elizabeth Prentiss, by editing her widely read life and letters.
1 Audiobook
The Life and Letters of Elizabeth Prentiss
by George Lewis Prentiss
About the author
Born in Gorham, Maine, in 1816, George Lewis Prentiss graduated from Bowdoin College in 1835 and later studied theology in Germany at Halle and Berlin. He became a Presbyterian pastor, serving first in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and then at Mercer Street Presbyterian Church in New York.
After ill health interrupted his work, he returned to New York and helped gather the congregation that became the Church of the Covenant, where he served as pastor during the 1860s and early 1870s. He later joined Union Theological Seminary as a professor of pastoral theology, church polity, and mission work.
Prentiss was also a productive author. His books include A Memoir of S. S. Prentiss, The Life and Letters of Elizabeth Prentiss, and historical writing on Union Theological Seminary and the Church of the Covenant. He died in 1903, leaving behind a career that joined preaching, teaching, biography, and church history.