Samuel Philips

Born near Hagerstown, Maryland, on June 14, 1823, Samuel Philips studied at Hagerstown Academy, entered Marshall College in 1844, and graduated in 1847. He then trained at the theological seminary in Mercersburg and was ordained in 1848, beginning a ministry that took him through congregations in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and later Baltimore and Philadelphia.

Philips wrote as well as preached. An obituary record from Franklin and Marshall College says he contributed to the Reformed Church Messenger and published Gethsemane and the Cross (1851), The Christian Home (1859), and The Voice of Blood (1864). The Christian Home became his best-known book, presenting home life as a serious moral calling and offering advice on marriage, child-rearing, education, and discipline.

The same source notes that he served in the Civil War, first as sergeant major and later as first lieutenant in the 160th Pennsylvania Volunteers. In 1871 he left the Reformed Church for the Presbyterian Church and continued serving congregations until illness ended his active work. He died in Germantown, Philadelphia, on September 1, 1892.