Thomas De Witt Talmage

Thomas De Witt Talmage
Talmage circa 1870
Born	(1832-01-07)January 7, 1832 Bound Brook, New Jersey, United States
Died	April 12, 1902(1902-04-12) (aged 70) Washington, D.C.
Cause of death	Brain inflammation
Resting place	Green-Wood Cemetery
Nationality	Dutch-American
Occupation	Preacher
Known for	Prominent Presbyterian preacher, clergyman and reformer during the mid-to late 19th century.
Spouse(s)	Mary R. Avery (m. 1856–61) Susan Whittemore (m. 1863–95) Eleanor Collier (m. 1898–1902)
Children	7 children
Parent(s)	David Talmage Catharine Van Neste
Relatives	John Van Nest Talmage, brother

Reverend Dr. Thomas De Witt Talmage (January 7, 1832 – April 12, 1902) was a preacher, clergyman and divine in the United States who held pastorates in the Reformed Church in America and Presbyterian Church. He was one of the most prominent religious leaders in the United States during the mid- to late-19th century, equaled as a pulpit orator perhaps only by Henry Ward Beecher. He also preached to crowds in England. During the 1860s and 70s, Talmage was a well-known reformer in New York City and was often involved in crusades against vice and crime.

During the last years of his life, Dr. Talmage ceased preaching and devoted himself to editing, writing, and lecturing. At different periods he was editor of the Christian at Work (1873–76), New York; the Advance (1877–79), Chicago; Frank Leslie's Sunday Magazine (1879–89), New York; and the Christian Herald (1890–1902), New York. Each week he was said to have preached to audiences of 8,000 people, and for many years his sermons were published regularly in more than 3,000 journals, through which he was said to reach 25,000,000 readers.

T. De Witt Talmage was born in what is now Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey and he was a member of the Reformed Church of Bound Brook (located on Main Street in South Bound Brook) and always had a close association to South Bound Brook. His ancestors included some of the earliest Dutch families who settled in New York. His father's ancestors came from Barton Stacy, England, and included founders of Southampton and East Hampton, New York.

Talmage earned an undergraduate degree at the University of the City of New York (now New York University.) Following his graduation in 1853, Talmage studied law for a time before deciding on entering the ministry. He studied theology at the Reformed Dutch Theological Seminary in New Brunswick, New Jersey.