Scott, James (1), Dd

Scott, James (1), D.D., a (Dutch) Reformed minister, was born Sept. 27,1809, at Glasgow, Scotland, in the house in which Mary Queen of Scots took refuge after the battle of Laugside. His father, who was educated for the ministry, but never preached on account of ill-health, died when James was four years old. At fifteen he united with the Church of Lochwinnoch, and, although struggling with very limited means, he prosecuted his studies at the University of Glasgow for three years, and afterwards at the college in Belfast, Ireland, for two years. Having married in Ireland, he removed to the United States in 1832, studied theology under care of the New York Presbyter), and was licensed by them in 1834. His first settlement was in the Presbyterian Church, German Valley, N. J., for eight years. In 1843 he accepted the call of the First Reformed Church, Newark, N. J., with which his remaining ministry was spent. Few men have achieved such thorough pastoral success as he did in this Church, which was greatly reduced and broken down when he took it, and grew during his fifteen years of service to be next to the largest Church in its entire denomination, numbering over six hundred communicants, and flourishing outwardly and spiritually. A large debt was removed, and three new and healthy churches grew out of it within this period. Dr. Scott's mind was synthetic rather than analytical. He was highly imaginative, a great lover of nature and art, literary in his tastes, and excelled in descriptive writing and in illustrative and pictorial address. His style teemed with figures. Rhetorical in manner and vivid in coloring, with a large, robust frame, a clear, strong voice, a full, canny Scotch face lighted up with benevolent smiles, and an attractive delivery, his preaching always drew large, popular audiences. But he was not content merely with this; his sermons were instructive, expository, free of theological technicalities, earnest, full of cheering Gospel truth, pathetic, faithful, and finely adapted to times, seasons, and occasions. His range of topics was unusually wide, embracing, among ordinary themes, full courses of pulpit lectures on Church history, prophecy, the religious condition of Europe, the Pentateuch, Ruth, Psalms, Canticles, harmony of the Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, Revelation, and an unfinished course on Esther. As a pastor he was almost unrivalled. He knew everybody among his people and all about them. Young people and children were his particular delight and care. Among the sick and poor and wretched his attentions were untiring. Beyond his own congregation he was so thoroughly well known and identified with every good public interest in Newark that he was justly called at his funeral the curate of the city. He devoted himself with zeal to the organization of the admirable Newark Library Association, to various educational movements, such as the public schools of Newark, the endowment of Rutgers College, and the preparation of a series of school- books. In all evangelical mission work, like that among the Germans, Sunday-schools, and the poor, he was a leading spirit. His disposition was remarkably cheerful, storey, unsuspecting, frank, generous, self-conscious, and pleasantly egotistical at times, upright, bold, and faithful. He wrote much for newspapers, conducted a constant foreign correspondence with eminent men, and delivered literary lectures and addresses, and was always eminent for public spirit. The poet Robert Pollok was his bosom friend. He prepared an excellent life of this favorite author of The Course of Time, which was published by the Carters, New York, and has had a large circulation. He also wrote much in verse, and left a posthumous manuscript poem, with directions for its publication. But his crowning distinction was his thoroughly devoted Christian ministerial life. It was radiant with the results of faithful service. His death was sudden. He rose from his bed and was going to his bath on a Saturday morning, when he was seized with the fatal disease of which he had entertained frequent apprehensions. Immediately he said, "This is paralysis — -this is death. I am not afraid to die; I am ready." His last message, just before he became unconscious, was, "Give my love to all my people. Tell them they were in my dying thoughts, and that when dying I sent my blessing to my young people." In his own words respecting his friend Pol-Ink, "There was no death-struggle, no agony, no convulsion. His soul went out of the body all noiseless and fast, like Peter from the prison when the angel took off the fetters, opened the gate, and delivered him." He died May 10, 1858. In addition to the above notice, see Life, Letters, and Literary Remains of Robert Pollok (N.Y. 12mo). Dr. Scott published An Essay on the Course of Time : — The Guardian Angel (N. Y. 12m o), a poem in three books: — he also had a share in the series of school-books produced by a literary association and entitled The American System of Education: — the article Malachi in the annual known as The Saviour, Prophets, and Apostles; and wrote many papers in British and American periodicals. See Wilson, Presb. Hist. Almanac, 1860, p. 204; Lond. Critic, 1859; Allibone, Dict. of Brit. and Amer. Authors, s.v. (W. J. R. T.)