The office of the Moderator of the General Assembly was the highest elected position in the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA). The Moderator was responsible for presiding over the meeting of the General Assembly, which was held annually between 1789 and 1956. After the meeting, which lasted for about a week, the Moderator served as an ambassador of the denomination throughout the remainder of the term. After completing the term, most former Moderators took on the role of a church statesman.
Prior to the Old School–New School Controversy
The chart below shows the Moderators and place of meetings from 1789 when the PCUSA was formed, until 1837, after which the denomination was divided into two factions by the Old School–New School Controversy until 1869.[1]
Number and Year | Place of Meeting | Moderator | Online Minutes |
---|---|---|---|
Convened the 1st GA, 1789 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. John Witherspoon | Minutes of the 1789 General Assembly |
1st GA, 1789 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. John Rodgers | Minutes of the 1789 General Assembly |
2nd GA, 1790 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Robert Smith | Minutes of the 1790 General Assembly |
3rd GA, 1791 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. John Woodhull | Minutes of the 1791 General Assembly |
4th GA, 1792 | Carlisle, Pennsylvania | Rev. John King | Minutes of the 1792 General Assembly |
5th GA, 1793 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. James Latta | Minutes of the 1793 General Assembly |
6th GA, 1794 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Alexander McWhorter | Minutes of the 1794 General Assembly |
7th GA, 1795 | Carlisle, Pennsylvania | Rev. John McKnight | Minutes of the 1795 General Assembly |
8th GA, 1796 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Robert Davidson | Minutes of the 1796 General Assembly |
9th GA, 1797 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. William Mackay Tennent | Minutes of the 1797 General Assembly |
10th GA, 1798 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. John Blair Smith | Minutes of the 1798 General Assembly |
11th GA, 1799 | Winchester, Virginia | Rev. Samuel Stanhope Smith | Minutes of the 1799 General Assembly |
12th GA, 1800 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Joseph Clark | Minutes of the 1800 General Assembly |
13th GA, 1801 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Nathaniel Irwin | Minutes of the 1801 General Assembly |
14th GA, 1802 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Azel Roe | Minutes of the 1802 General Assembly |
15th GA, 1803 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. James Hall | Minutes of the 1803 General Assembly |
16th GA, 1804 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. James Francis Armstrong | Minutes of the 1804 General Assembly |
17th GA, 1805 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. James Richards | Minutes of the 1805 General Assembly |
18th GA, 1806 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Samuel Miller | Minutes of the 1806 General Assembly |
19th GA, 1807 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Archibald Alexander | Minutes of the 1807 General Assembly |
20th GA, 1808 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Philip Milledoler | Minutes of the 1808 General Assembly |
21st GA, 1809 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Drury Lacy | Minutes of the 1809 General Assembly |
22nd GA, 1810 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. John Brodhead Romeyn | Minutes of the 1810 General Assembly |
23rd GA, 1811 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Eliphalet Nott | Minutes of the 1811 General Assembly |
24th GA, 1812 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Andrew Flinn | Minutes of the 1812 General Assembly |
25th GA, 1813 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Samuel Blatchford | Minutes of the 1813 General Assembly |
26th GA, 1814 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. James Inglis | Minutes of the 1814 General Assembly |
27th GA, 1815 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. William Neill | Minutes of the 1815 General Assembly |
28th GA, 1816 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. James Blythe | Minutes of the 1816 General Assembly |
29th GA, 1817 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Jonas Coe | Minutes of the 1817 General Assembly |
30th GA, 1818 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Jacob Jones Janeway | Minutes of the 1818 General Assembly |
31st GA, 1819 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. John Holt Rice | Minutes of the 1819 General Assembly |
32nd GA, 1820 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. John McDowell | Minutes of the 1820 General Assembly |
33rd GA, 1821 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. William Hill | Minutes of the 1821 General Assembly |
34th GA, 1822 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Obadiah Jennings | Minutes of the 1822 General Assembly |
35th GA, 1823 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. John Chester | Minutes of the 1823 General Assembly |
36th GA, 1824 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Ashbel Green | Minutes of the 1824 General Assembly |
37th GA, 1825 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Stephen N. Rowan | Minutes of the 1825 General Assembly |
38th GA, 1826 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Thomas McAuley | Minutes of the 1826 General Assembly |
39th GA, 1827 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Francis Herron | Minutes of the 1827 General Assembly |
40th GA, 1828 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Ezra Stiles Ely | Minutes of the 1828 General Assembly |
41st GA, 1829 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Benjamin Holt Rice | Minutes of the 1829 General Assembly |
42nd GA, 1830 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Ezra Fisk | Minutes of the 1830 General Assembly |
43rd GA, 1831 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Nathan S.S. Beman | Minutes of the 1831 General Assembly |
44th GA, 1832 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. James Hoge | Minutes of the 1832 General Assembly |
45th GA, 1833 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. William Anderson McDowell | Minutes of the 1833 General Assembly |
46th GA, 1834 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. Philip Lindsley | Minutes of the 1834 General Assembly |
47th GA, 1835 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Rev. William Wirt Phillips | Minutes of the 1835 General Assembly |
48th GA, 1836 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Rev. John Witherspoon | Minutes of the 1836 General Assembly |
49th GA, 1837 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Rev. David Elliott | Minutes of the 1837 General Assembly |
Old School
The chart below shows the Moderators, and the place of meetings, of the Old School branch from 1838 until 1869, after which the two branches reunited into one denomination.
New School
The chart below shows the Moderators, and the place of meetings, of the New School branch from 1838 until 1869, after which the two branches reunited into one denomination.[1]
Reunited Old and New Schools
The chart below shows the Moderators, and the place of meetings 1870 when the Old and New Schools had reunited until 1958 when the PCUSA merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North America (UPCNA) to form the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.[1]
Number and Year | Place of Meeting | Moderator | Online Minutes |
---|---|---|---|
82nd GA, 1870 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | J. Trumbull Backus | Minutes of the 1870 General Assembly |
83rd GA, 1871 | Chicago, Illinois | Zephaniah Moore Humphrey | Minutes of the 1871 General Assembly |
84th GA, 1872 | Detroit, Michigan | Samuel J. Niccolls | Minutes of the 1872 General Assembly |
85th GA, 1873 | Baltimore, Maryland | Howard Crosby | Minutes of the 1873 General Assembly |
86th GA, 1874 | St. Louis, Missouri | Samuel J. Wilson | Minutes of the 1874 General Assembly |
87th GA, 1875 | Cleveland, Ohio | Edward D. Morris | Minutes of the 1875 General Assembly |
88th GA, 1876 | Brooklyn, New York | Henry Jackson Van Dyke | Minutes of the 1876 General Assembly |
89th GA, 1877 | Chicago, Illinois | James Eells | Minutes not available online |
90th GA, 1878 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Francis Landey Patton | Minutes of the 1878 General Assembly |
91st GA, 1879 | Saratoga, New York | Henry Harris Jessup | Minutes of the 1879 General Assembly |
92nd GA, 1880 | Madison, Wisconsin | William M. Paxton | Minutes of the 1880 General Assembly |
93rd GA, 1881 | Buffalo, New York | Henry Darling | Minutes of the 1881 General Assembly |
94th GA, 1882 | Springfield, Illinois | Herrick Johnson | Minutes of the 1882 General Assembly |
95th GA, 1883 | Saratoga, New York | Edwin Francis Hatfield | Minutes of the 1883 General Assembly |
96th GA, 1884 | Saratoga, New York | George P. Hays | Minutes of the 1884 General Assembly |
97th GA, 1885 | Cincinnati, Ohio | Elijah R. Craven | Minutes of the 1885 General Assembly |
98th GA, 1886 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | David C. Marquis | Minutes of the 1886 General Assembly |
99th GA, 1887 | Omaha, Nebraska | Joseph T. Smith | Minutes of the 1887 General Assembly |
100th GA, 1888 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Charles L. Thompson | Minutes of the 1888 General Assembly |
101st GA, 1889 | New York, New York | William Chas. Roberts | Minutes of the 1889 General Assembly |
102nd GA, 1890 | Saratoga, New York | William Eves Moore | Minutes of the 1890 General Assembly |
103rd GA, 1891 | Detroit, Michigan | W. Henry Green | Minutes of the 1891 General Assembly |
104th GA, 1892 | Portland, Oregon | William C. Young | Minutes of the 1892 General Assembly |
105th GA, 1893 | Washington, D.C. | Willis Greer Craig | Minutes not available online |
106th GA, 1894 | Saratoga, New York | S.A. Mutchmore | Minutes of the 1894 General Assembly |
107th GA, 1895 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Robert Russell Booth | Minutes of the 1895 General Assembly |
108th GA, 1896 | Saratoga, New York | John Lindsay Withrow | Minutes of the 1896 General Assembly |
109th GA, 1897 | Winona Lake, Indiana | Sheldon Jackson | Minutes of the 1897 General Assembly |
110th GA, 1898 | Winona Lake, Indiana | Wallace Radcliffe | Minutes of the 1898 General Assembly |
111th GA, 1899 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Robert F. Sample | Minutes of the 1899 General Assembly |
112th GA, 1900 | St. Louis, Missouri | Charles A. Dickey | Minutes of the 1900 General Assembly |
113th GA, 1901 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Henry Collin Minton | Minutes of the 1901 General Assembly |
114th GA, 1902 | New York, New York | Henry van Dyke | Minutes of the 1902 General Assembly |
115th GA, 1903 | Los Angeles, California | Robert F. Coyle | Minutes of the 1903 General Assembly |
116th GA, 1904 | Buffalo, New York | J. Addison Henry | Minutes of the 1904 General Assembly |
117th GA, 1905 | Winona Lake, Indiana | James D. Moffat | Minutes of the 1905 General Assembly |
118th GA, 1906 | Des Moines, Iowa | Hunter Corbett | Minutes of the 1906 General Assembly |
119th GA, 1907 | Columbus, Ohio | William H. Roberts | Minutes of the 1907 General Assembly |
120th GA, 1908 | Kansas City, Missouri | Baxter P. Fullerton | Minutes of the 1908 General Assembly |
121st GA, 1909 | Denver, Colorado | James M. Barkley | Minutes of the 1909 General Assembly |
122nd GA, 1910 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | Charles Little | Minutes of the 1910 General Assembly |
123rd GA, 1911 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | John F. Carson | Minutes of the 1911 General Assembly |
124th GA, 1912 | Louisville, Kentucky | Mark A. Matthews | Minutes of the 1912 General Assembly |
125th GA, 1913 | Atlanta, Georgia | John Timothy Stone | Minutes of the 1913 General Assembly |
126th GA, 1914 | Chicago, Illinois | Maitland Alexander | Minutes of the 1914 General Assembly |
127th GA, 1915 | Rochester, New York | J. Ross Stevenson | Minutes of the 1915 General Assembly |
128th GA, 1916 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | John Abner Marquis | Minutes of the 1916 General Assembly |
129th GA, 1917 | Dallas, Texas | J. Wilbur Chapman | Minutes of the 1917 General Assembly |
130th GA, 1918 | Columbus, Ohio | J. Frank Smith | Minutes of the 1918 General Assembly |
131st GA, 1919 | St. Louis, Missouri | Elder John Willis Baer | Minutes of the 1919 General Assembly |
132nd GA, 1920 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Samuel S. Palmer | Minutes of the 1920 General Assembly |
133rd GA, 1921 | Winona Lake, Indiana | Henry C. Swearingen | Minutes of the 1921 General Assembly |
134th GA, 1922 | Des Moines, Iowa | Calvin C. Hays | Minutes of the 1922 General Assembly |
135th GA, 1923 | Indianapolis, Indiana | Charles F. Wishart | Minutes not available online |
136th GA, 1924 | Grand Rapids, Michigan | Clarence Edward Macartney | Minutes not available online |
137th GA, 1925 | Columbus, Ohio | Charles R. Erdman | Minutes not available online |
138th GA, 1926 | Baltimore, Maryland | William Oxley Thompson | Minutes not available online |
139th GA, 1927 | San Francisco, California | Elder Robert Elliott Speer | Minutes not available online |
140th GA, 1928 | Tulsa, Oklahoma | Hugh Kelso Walker | Minutes not available online |
141st GA, 1929 | St. Paul, Minnesota | Cleland Boyd McAfee | Minutes not available online |
142nd GA, 1930 | Cincinnati, Ohio | Hugh Thomson Kerr | Minutes not available online |
143rd GA, 1931 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Lewis Seymour Mudge | Minutes not available online |
144th GA, 1932 | Denver, Colorado | Charles William Kerr | Minutes not available online |
145th GA, 1933 | Columbus, Ohio | John McDowell | Minutes not available online |
146th GA, 1934 | Cleveland, Ohio | William Chalmers Covert | Minutes not available online |
147th GA, 1935 | Cincinnati, Ohio | Joseph Anderson Vance | Minutes not available online |
148th GA, 1936 | Syracuse, New York | Henry Buck Master | Minutes not available online |
149th GA, 1937 | Columbus, Ohio | William Hiram Foulkes | Minutes not available online |
150th GA, 1938 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Charles Whitefield Welch | Minutes not available online |
151st GA, 1939 | Cleveland, Ohio | Elder Sam Higginbottom | Minutes not available online |
152nd GA, 1940 | Rochester, New York | William Lindsay Young | Minutes not available online |
153rd GA, 1941 | St. Louis, Missouri | Herbert Booth Smith | Minutes not available online |
154th GA, 1942 | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Stuart Nye Hutchison | Minutes not available online |
155th GA, 1943 | Detroit, Michigan | Henry Sloane Coffin | Minutes not available online |
156th GA, 1944 | Chicago, Illinois | Roy Ewing Vale | Minutes not available online |
157th GA, 1945 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | William Blakeman Lampe | Minutes not available online |
158th GA, 1946 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | Frederick W. Evans | Minutes not available online |
159th GA, 1947 | Grand Rapids, Michigan | Elder Wilbur LaRoe, Jr. | Minutes not available online |
160th GA, 1948 | Seattle, Washington | Jese Hays Baird | Minutes not available online |
161st GA, 1949 | Buffalo, New York | Clifford E. Barbour | Minutes not available online |
162nd GA, 1950 | Cincinnati, Ohio | Hugh Ivans Evans | Minutes not available online |
163rd GA, 1951 | Cincinnati, Ohio | H. Ray Anderson | Minutes not available online |
164th GA, 1952 | New York, New York | Hermann Nelson Morse | Minutes not available online |
165th GA, 1953 | Minneapolis, Minnesota | John Alexander Mackay | Minutes not available online |
166th GA, 1954 | Detroit, Michigan | Ralph Waldo Lloyd | Minutes not available online |
167th GA, 1955 | Los Angeles, California | Paul S. Wright | Minutes not available online |
168th GA, 1956 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Elder David W. Proffitt | Minutes not available online |
169th GA, 1957 | Omaha, Nebraska | Harold R. Martin | Minutes not available online |
170th GA, 1958 | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Harold R. Martin | Minutes not available online |