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

Early career Crooks was born in Philadelphia, the son of George R. Crooks Sr. and Mary M. Crooks. 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. Following graduation he undertook missionary work as a circuit rider in Illinois. 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."

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

Family life Rev. George Crooks married Susan Frances Emory ("Fanny") of Baltimore on July 10, 1846. 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 Chislehurst, 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. He held thirteen positions as minister in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New York, and spent five years in the role of supernumerary minister (1870–1875). His Church positions are shown below.

Churches in Pennsylvania and Delaware

Source:

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

Churches in New York

Source:

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." 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. He wrote Life and Letters of Rev. Dr. John McClintock (1876), and Sermons of Bishop Simpson (1885).

Works co-authored or co-edited by 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 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. According to a commemorative volume, he was seen as one of five professors "whose teaching and leadership shaped the early Drew Theological Seminary."

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.

References

Attribution

External links George Richard Crooks (1822–1897) at Encyclopedia Dickinsonia

General Commission on Archives and History of the United Methodist Church