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Charles Finney
Charles Grandison Finney (1792–1875). Born on August 29, 1792, in Warren, Connecticut, Charles Finney was an American Presbyterian minister and a leading figure in the Second Great Awakening. Raised in a non-religious family, he studied law in Adams, New York, until a dramatic conversion in 1821, when he experienced a vision of Christ, abandoning law for ministry. Largely self-taught in theology, he was licensed by the Presbyterian Church in 1824 and began preaching in western New York, sparking revivals with his direct, emotional sermons and “new measures” like the anxious bench. His campaigns in cities like Rochester (1830–1831) led to thousands of conversions, influencing social reforms like abolitionism. In 1835, he joined Oberlin College as a theology professor, later serving as its president (1851–1866), promoting Christian perfectionism and co-educational, anti-slavery values. Finney authored Lectures on Revivals of Religion (1835) and Systematic Theology (1846), shaping evangelicalism. Married three times—Lydia Andrews (1824, died 1847), Elizabeth Atkinson (1848, died 1863), and Rebecca Rayl (1865)—he had six children. He died on August 16, 1875, in Oberlin, Ohio, saying, “The moral law of God is the only standard of holiness.”
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In his letter to Julia Finney, Charles Finney expresses his love and concern for his daughter, sharing updates about his travels and the ongoing work of the Lord in London. He encourages Julia to continue her studies and to maintain her relationship with God amidst the blessings she experiences. Finney also inquires about her well-being and the progress she is making in music and other activities, emphasizing the importance of living a life close to God. His heartfelt message reflects a father's love and a spiritual guide's desire for his children to grow in faith and character.
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Julia Finney
To Julia Finney 5 December 1850 [Ms in Finney Papers, Supplement #33. Julia Finney often underlined the date on each of the letters she received from her father, and she also underlined the names of some of the people or places, or made other marks or comments in the margin.] Tabernacle House. Finsbury London 5. Dec.1850 My Dear Daughter Julia. I have had so much to do & so many letters to write since I came to England, that I have of necessity left the correspondence with our daughters pretty much to your mother. For some time past I have been saying I too must write to Julia & Ange. To night your dear Mother is not well & is lying down & I take my pen before meeting to write you a line. Your Ma has told you about our pleasant excursion to France, of our return to Houghton. From thence to Worcester. On Saturday last we came again to the great metropolis & are now occupying [page 2] the same rooms in which we spent the summer. I have prea ched but 3 sermons since my return. The work of the Lord still goes on powerfully in this city & is extending to different parts of the city. Your mother has been very well until within a few days she is complaining some. And how are you getting along now. I suppose you are happy to see Helen Dolson & the children & that you see them as often as you can consistently with going on with your studies. We hope you & Ange will now press on in study as fast as you can consistently with health. We hear very favorably from you from your Uncle & Aunt & from Helen &c. This gives us great joy. We had a letter from [page 3] Charles a few days since. He is well but as you may well suppose very lonely. He lives in the house alone & none of his relatives are at O. He says the President's House & ours being vacant makes the Vilage look lonely, & that the people are very an xious for my return. We have not heard from Norton since in the summer & feel as if it was a long time. We hear from Hobart & Jemmy with great regularity, once in two weeks. Julia. My Dear child I suppose you have seen a great many new things since we left you & so have we many more than we can tell you on paper. If we ever meet we can tell you many curious things. And how do you get along with [page 4] music? & which of you makes the most progress? And what is more important which of you is the best girl? Which of you grows most rapidly & which can walk, & run, & swim the longest, the most gracefully, & the fastest? I suppose you take a good deal of exercise in the open air. Have you ever been to Mr. Tappans. To Mr. Barneys. to Mr Whipples. to Dr. Brown or to Samuel Cochran's. I suppose you would hardly have known little Willie. And do you live near to God? I hope you will not un gratefully neglect the savior when he is surrounding you with so many blessings. Will you not write to me & answer these questions & write whatever else you think of. Your Dear ma Unites in much love to you C. G.Finney
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Charles Grandison Finney (1792–1875). Born on August 29, 1792, in Warren, Connecticut, Charles Finney was an American Presbyterian minister and a leading figure in the Second Great Awakening. Raised in a non-religious family, he studied law in Adams, New York, until a dramatic conversion in 1821, when he experienced a vision of Christ, abandoning law for ministry. Largely self-taught in theology, he was licensed by the Presbyterian Church in 1824 and began preaching in western New York, sparking revivals with his direct, emotional sermons and “new measures” like the anxious bench. His campaigns in cities like Rochester (1830–1831) led to thousands of conversions, influencing social reforms like abolitionism. In 1835, he joined Oberlin College as a theology professor, later serving as its president (1851–1866), promoting Christian perfectionism and co-educational, anti-slavery values. Finney authored Lectures on Revivals of Religion (1835) and Systematic Theology (1846), shaping evangelicalism. Married three times—Lydia Andrews (1824, died 1847), Elizabeth Atkinson (1848, died 1863), and Rebecca Rayl (1865)—he had six children. He died on August 16, 1875, in Oberlin, Ohio, saying, “The moral law of God is the only standard of holiness.”