Billings, Silas a Presbyterian minister, was born at Somers, Tolland Co., Conn., Aug. 10, 1804. He graduated from Yale College in 1829, when he entered the Princeton Theological Seminary and graduated in 1833. His first field of labor was in Prince George County, Va., near Petersburg, where he remained but a short time and removed to the valley of Virginia, where for nine years he had charge of the churches of Woodstock, Strasburg, and Cedar Creek. He afterwards lived and labored successively at Morgantown, West Va., and also at Brooklyn, N. Y. After leaving thiis charge he went to West Bloomfield, N. J., and returned to Virginia, where he took charge of the church at Duffields. After 1869 he resided in Winchester, in charge of a seminary for young ladies. He was a great sufferer for many years, but his energetic spirit overcame all obstacles, and for a long time he was a successful pastor and popular preacher. He died in Winchester, Va., Jan. 8, 1881. See (N.Y.) Observer, Jan. 20, 1881. (W. P. S.)
The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature was edited by John McClintock and James Strong. It contains nearly 50,000 articles pertaining to Biblical and other religious literature, people, creeds, etc. It is a fantastic research tool for broad Christian study.
John McClintock was born October 27, 1814 in Philadelphia to Irish immigrants, John and Martha McClintock. He began as a clerk in his father's store, and then became a bookkeeper in the Methodist Book Concern in New York. Here he converted to Methodism and considered joining the ministry. McClintock entered the University of Pennsylvania in 1832 and graduated with high honors three years later. Subsequently, he was awarded a doctorate of divinity degree from the same institution in 1848.WikipediaRead More