Rev. Samuel Clark Aiken

Is your surname Aiken?

Connect to 4,104 Aiken profiles on Geni

Rev. Samuel Clark Aiken's Geni Profile

Share your family tree and photos with the people you know and love

  • Build your family tree online
  • Share photos and videos
  • Smart Matching™ technology
  • Free!

Rev. Samuel Clark Aiken

Birthdate:
Birthplace: Windham County, Vermont, United States
Death: January 01, 1879 (88)
Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States
Place of Burial: 2254 East 9th Street, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, 44115, United States
Immediate Family:

Son of Nathaniel Aiken and Elizabeth Aiken
Husband of Henrietta Aiken and Delia Aiken
Father of Charles Grant Aiken; Henry Dwight Aiken; James Carnahan Aiken; Helen Catharine Aiken; Samuel C. Aiken and 1 other
Brother of Mary Gibson Aiken; Margaret Aiken; Calvin Aiken; Jesse Aiken; David Aiken and 3 others

Managed by: Philipp E. Kafka
Last Updated:

About Rev. Samuel Clark Aiken

Rev. Samuel Clark Aiken

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/93919605/samuel-clark-aiken
https://case.edu/ech/articles/a/aiken-samuel-clark
https://www.logcollegepress.com/samuel-clark-aiken-17901879

AIKEN, SAMUEL CLARK (21 September 1791-1 January 1879), the first resident pastor of Cleveland's FIRST PRESBYTERIAN (OLD STONE) CHURCH, was one of the most prominent clergymen in the city in the mid-19th century.

Born in Windham County, Vermont, the son of Nathaniel and Betsy (Clark) Aiken, he entered Middlebury College in 1813 and then studied for the ministry at the Andover Theological Seminary. Ordained as a Presbyterian pastor in Utica, New York in 1818, Aiken followed some of his flock to Cleveland in 1835, accepting their call to the pastorate of First Presbyterian which he guided until 1861 with his commanding presence and conservative outlook.

While Millerism, Mormonism, Universalism, skepticism, and the debate over slavery threatened the solidarity of many churches, Aiken's church, while debating these issues, with one exception did not divide over them.

Besides pastoring his church, Aiken was active in the affairs of Cleveland. He presided at the organizational meeting of the Cleveland YMCA (1854), and his addresses on topics such as theaters, public education, CRIME, and TEMPERANCE were important opinion pieces. A supporter of public improvements, Aiken spoke at the opening of the Erie Canal.

He also preached a well-publicized sermon to Governor Reuben Wood and other notables on the importance of railroad improvements in Ohio (1851). Aiken's denunciation of slavery before the 1857 Presbyterian General Assembly, meeting in Cleveland, helped the church on a national level decide that accommodation on slavery was no longer possible.

Aiken was married twice; his first wife, Deliah Day, whom he married in 1818, died in 1838. They had 7 children: Samuel Clark, Deliah, Henry, Helen, Henrietta, and 2 others who died in infancy. Aiken's second married was in 1839 to Deliah's sister, Henrietta Day. They had 2 children: Helen and Charles. He died at his home on Woodland Avenue and is buried in ERIE STREET CEMETERY.

Burials and Removals Erie Street Cemetery 1840-1918, published 1919

"Reverend Samuel Aiken came to Cleveland in 1835 was pastor or pastor emeritus of the Old Stone Church for 44 years. The Aiken family lived at 120 Prospect Street and later on Erie Street. His wife Deliah Aiken died in 1837 and he married secondly Miss Henriette Day and she died in 1867. Mr. Aiken died in 1879."
-----------------------------------
As of 1919, buried in the Rev. Dr. Samuel Clark Aiken plot (Section 2, Lot 16) were:

  • Baby Aikens - d. July 26, 1840
  • Baby Aikens 1mo. d. Dec. 8, 1844
  • Henrietta Aiken age 65 d. June 16, 1867
  • Samuel Aiken age 88 d. Jan 7, 1879
  • Deliah Aiken 9mo d. Mar. 19, 1838
  • Deliah Aiken age 37 d. June 1, 1837 (appears to have died in or around the birth of Deliah)
  • James Aiken age 27 d. Jan. 21, 1831
  • Henry Aiken age 2 d. Apr 27, 1825
  • Helen Aiken 9 mo d. Mar. 16, 1827
  • Henrietta Aiken age 1 d. July 9, 1827

Information courtesy of Find A Grave contributor Graves

view all 11

Rev. Samuel Clark Aiken's Timeline

1790
September 21, 1790
Windham County, Vermont, United States
1820
May 4, 1820
Utica, Oneida County, New York, United States
1824
1824
1825
1825
1834
1834
1837
1837
1838
1838
1879
January 1, 1879
Age 88
Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States