Page:The rising son, or, The antecedents and advancement of the colored race (IA risingsonthe00browrich).pdf/474

 life was not unlike the common lot of the bondmen of the Middle States. He was by trade a blacksmith, which increased his value to his owner. He had no opportunities for learning, and was ignorant of letters when he made his escape to the north. Through intense application to books, he gained, as far as it was possible, what slavery had deprived him of in his younger days. But he always felt the early blight upon his soul.

Dr. Pennington had not been free long ere he turned his attention to theology, and became an efficient preacher in the Presbyterian denomination. He was several years settled over a church at Hartford, Connecticut. He has been in Europe three times, his second visit being the most important, as he remained there three or four years, preaching and lecturing, during which time he attended the Peace Congresses held at Paris, Brussels, and London. While in Germany, the degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon him by the University of Heidelberg. On his return to the United States, he received a call, and was settled as pastor over Shiloh Church, New York City.

The doctor was a good student, a ripe scholar, and deeply versed in theology. While at Paris, in 1849, we, with the American and English delegates to the Peace Congress, attended divine service at the Protestant Church, where Dr. Pennington had been invited to preach. His sermon, on that occasion, was an elegant production, made a marked impression on his hearers, and created upon the minds of all a more elevated idea of the negro. In past years, he has labored zealously and successfully for the education, and moral, social, and religious elevation of his race. The doctor