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A Female Preacher in Williamsburg

About This Item

  • Title: A Female Preacher in Williamsburg
  • Date: August 27, 1858
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: per.01181
  • Source: Brooklyn Daily Times, August 27, 1858: 2. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a microfilm scan of the original issue. Microfilm of original issue held at Pennsylvania State University Libraries. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the journalism, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Editorial note: This piece is unsigned, as was the case for most of Whitman's journalism. However, this editorial is part of a series of texts that deal with a coherent theme that has been identified by the Whitman Archive journalism team as likely authored by Whitman. This decision is based on a combination of historical and (auto)biographical accounts, similarity to contemporary Whitman writings, a history of scholarly attribution, extant clippings retained by Whitman, computational stylometric analysis, and, in some cases, manuscript evidence in Whitman’s hand.
  • Contributors to digital file: Kaylen Michaelis Thara Michaelis Brandi Faulkner Stefan Schöberlein Karie Cobb
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "A Female Preacher in Williamsburg." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 17 July 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: per.01181.xml (TEI)
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A FEMALE PREACHER IN WILLIAMSBURG.—

Some little controversy is going on in the papers of the Universalist denomination, in regard to the theological lawfulness of female preaching. A part of the denomination, supported by the Christian Ambassador, one of the organs of the body, have ordained, or rather fellowshipped as a minister, a Mrs. Lydia A. Jenkins1, who is described as possessing considerable pulpit qualifications; but the Trumpet, another organ of the denomination, dissents from this action, not believing that Christianity recognises women as apostles, or as pastors of religious societies. Meanwhile the lady in question continues to preach, and has accepted an engagement to fill the pulpit of the Universalist Church in this district, on the corner of Fourth and South 3rd streets, every Sunday morning and evening in September. No doubt the novelty of female pulpit oratory here will enable her to draw crowded houses.

Notes:

1. Lydia Ann Moulton Jenkins (1824/25–1874) was a Universalist advocate and part of a traveling ministry team in the 1850s. [back]

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