
author
1769–1850
An early leader in American Presbyterianism, he helped shape Princeton Theological Seminary and wrote widely on church life, ministry, and public faith. His work linked pastoral care, education, and church history in the early United States.

by John Breckinridge, Samuel Miller
Born in Dover, Delaware, in 1769, Samuel Miller studied at the University of Pennsylvania and went on to become a Presbyterian minister and theologian. After serving for years as pastor of the Wall Street church in New York City, he was called to Princeton Theological Seminary, where he became one of its founding professors.
At Princeton, he taught ecclesiastical history and church government and became an important voice in nineteenth-century American Presbyterian life. He was known not only as a teacher but also as a prolific writer, producing books and sermons on subjects ranging from church order and public worship to clerical education and moral questions.
Miller died in 1850, but his influence continued through the seminary he helped build and through the many students and readers shaped by his work. He is still remembered as part of the early "Old Princeton" tradition, which joined serious scholarship with pastoral commitment.