George Richard Crooks

George Richard Crooks (February 3, 1822 Philadelphia – February 20, 1897) was a United States writer, educator, and Methodist minister.

George Richard Crooks
Born (1822-02-03)February 3, 1822
Died February 20, 1897(1897-02-20) (aged 75)
Madison, New Jersey
Education A. B. 1840 Dickinson College[1]
A. M. 1843 Dickinson College[1]
D. D. 1857 Dickinson College[2]
L.L.D. 1873 Dickinson College[2]
Spouse(s) Susan Frances Emory
Children 5[3][4]
Parent(s) George Richard Crooks, Sr.
Religion Methodist
Church Philadelphia Conference (1848–1857), New York East Conference (1857–1876)
Writings A First Book in Latin (1846)
The Life and Letters of Rev. Dr. John McClintock (1876)
The Life of Bishop Matthew Simpson of the Methodist Episcopal Church (1890)
The Story of the Christian Church (1897)
(with John F. Hurst) Library of Biblical and Theological Literature (2 vols) (1897, 1900)
Congregations served
 k.[1]
Offices held
 Editor of The Methodist (1860–1875)

Early career

George Crooks was born in Philadelphia, the son of George R. Crooks, Sr. and Mary M. Crooks.[5] He graduated from Dickinson College in 1840 at the age of 18, and, according to his yearbooks, his family was then residing in Adams, Illinois.[6][7] Following graduation he undertook missionary work as a circuit rider in Illinois.[8] He soon returned to Dickinson, and in the 1841-2 Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Dickinson College, Crooks is listed as "Tutor in Languages and Mathematics."[9]

George Crooks received his A. M. degree from Dickinson College in 1843.[1] He then accepted a position as principal of the Dickinson-College Grammar school,[1] and in his third year was listed as "Rev. George R. Crooks, A.M."[10] In 1846 he was promoted to Adjunct Professor of Latin and Greek.[11]

Family Life

Rev. George Crooks married Susan Frances Emory ("Fanny") of Baltimore on July 10, 1846.[1] She was a daughter of Bishop John Emory, and sister to Robert Emory, who was president of Dickinson College. George and Susan Crooks had at least seven children. Their firstborn was George William Crooks, born in 1847, who died in 1853. After the death from tuberculosis of Robert Emory at age 33, their next child was named Robert Emory Crooks. He died as a young child in 1857. Mary Crooks, the oldest daughter, was born in Pennsylvania in 1851, married an Englishman, William Perry, and resided at Chiselhurst, Kent. Fanny Elizabeth Crooks, also married an Englishman, Harry Withers Chubb. Daughters Katherine ("Kate") Morgan and Nellie Crooks lived at home for many years and were unmarried. Kate became an English professor at Milwaukee-Downer College after her father's death.

The Methodist Conference

After completing his master's degree at Dickinson, Rev. George Crooks joined the Philadelphia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1843.[1] He held thirteen positions as minister in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New York, and spent five years in the role of supernumerary minister (1870–1875).[1] His Church positions are shown below.

Churches in Pennsylvania and Delaware[1]

Date Church Date Church
1848 Pottstown 1851 Trinity, Philadelphia
1853 St. John's, Philadelphia 1855 St. Paul's, Wilmington

Churches in New York[1]

Date Church Date Church
1857 Seventeenth Street, New York 1859 Washington Ave., Brooklyn
1861 Sands Street, Brooklyn 1863 Seventeenth Street, New York
1866 Flushing, Long Island 1869 Mamaroneck
1876 North Tarrytown 1879 St. Paul's, Peekskill

Publications

In 1860 Crooks became editor of The Methodist, a publication described by a colleague as "the doughty unofficial rival of the official weekly – The Christian Advocate."[12] In conjunction with John McClintock, he prepared a series of "First Books" in Latin and Greek (1846–1847). In 1852 Crooks edited a republication of Butler's Analogy, for which he added an analysis, index, and biography.[13] He wrote Life and Letters of Rev. Dr. John McClintock (1876), and Sermons of Bishop Simpson (1885).

Works Co-authored or Co-Edited by Rev. George J. Crooks

Title Co-Author YearPublisher
A First Book in Latin McClintock 1846 Harper & Bros.
A First Book in Greek McClintock 1847 Harper & Bros.
A New Latin-English School Lexicon Schem 1858 Lippincott
Theological Encyclopedia and Methodology Hurst 1884–1894 Hunt & Eaton

Books Written or Edited by Rev. George J. Crooks

Title Date Publisher
Bishop Butler's Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed,
to the Constitution and Course of Nature 		1852 Harper & Bros.
Life and letters of the Rev. John M'Clintock 1876 Nelson & Phillips
Sermons by Bishop Matthew Simpson of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 1885 Harper & Bros.
Why Am I a Methodist. 1886 Eaton & Mains
The Life of Bishop Matthew Simpson of the Methodist Episcopal Church. 1890 Harper & Bros.
The Story of the Christian Church 1897 Eaton & Mains

Contributions to Church and Theology

In 1841 entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and became a missionary in Illinois. In 1848, having returned to the ministry, he was stationed successively at Philadelphia, Wilmington, New York City, and Brooklyn. Rev. George Crooks was appointed Professor of Historical Theology at Drew Theological Seminary from 1880 until his death.[12] According to a commemorative volume, he was seen as one of five professors "whose teaching and leadership shaped the early Drew Theological Seminary."[12]

Upon the death of Rev. Crooks, the Bible Society eulogized,

His rare linguistic attainments, his extensive knowledge of men, his profound interest in all wise efforts for the evangelization of the world, his reverent trust in the oracles of God and his uniform Christian courtesy combined to make him an influential and agreeable member of this Committee.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Drew Theological Seminary Alumni Record, 1869–1895. New York: Wilbur Ketcham. 1895. pp. 19–20.
  2. 1 2 "Honorary Degree Recipients". Archives and Special Collections. Dickinson College. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  3. ↑ "The Rev. Dr. George R. Crooks". New York Herald Tribune. February 22, 1897. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  4. ↑ "George William Crooks". Public Ledger image. July 12, 1853. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  5. ↑ "CROOKS". Philadelphia Inquirer. October 26, 1880. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  6. ↑ Catalogue of the officers and students of Dickinson College; Carlisle, Pa., 1837–38. Carlisle, PA: Dickinson College. 1837. p. 10.
  7. ↑ "Quincy, Adams, Illinois". Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Ancestry.com. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  8. ↑ Anderson, W. F. (May 1898). "George Richard Crooks". Methodist Review. 80: 344–358.
  9. ↑ Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Dickinson College. Carlisle, PA: Dickinson College. 1842-3. p. 6. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ↑ Dickinson College Register for the Academical Year 1845-6. Carlisle, PA: Dickinson College. 1845. p. 5.
  11. ↑ Dickinson College Register for the Academical Year 1846-7. Carlisle: Dickinson College. 1846.
  12. 1 2 3 Joy, James Richard [Ed.] (1942). The Teachers of Drew, 1867–942, A Commemorative Volume issued on the occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of Drew Theological Seminary. Madison, N.J: Drew University,.
  13. ↑ Butler, Joseph (Edited by G. R. Crooks) (1852). Bishop Butler's Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed, to the Constitution and Course of Nature. New York: Harper & Bros.
  14. ↑ "Rev George R Crooks DD LL D". Bible Society Record. 42: 43. Mar 18, 1897. Retrieved Mar 21, 2013.
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