James McChord

McChord was born in Baltimore on March 29, 1785.[2] When he was five, he moved with his family to Lexington, Kentucky, where he then attended Lexington Academy. He stayed in Lexington for college, as he attended Transylvania University. He graduated in 1805[2] and then began to study law under Henry Clay,[3] but soon changed course and began studying for the ministry. McChord relocated to New York City to attend the Associate Reformed Theological Seminary,[2] where he studied under John M. Mason.[4] He was noted as having been a "favorite pupil" of Mason's,[4] and he graduated with a Doctor of Divinity degree[5] as valedictorian of the class of 1809.[2]

Upon his graduation from seminary in 1809, McChord became licensed to preach. He moved back to Kentucky the following month, and he was ordained in 1811.[2] He began preaching sermons in 1813, in the home of the minister Dr. T. S. Bell, though this practice eventually ceased because it was against the laws of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church.[6] Originally resolving to leave Lexington as a result, his congregation rallied to keep this from happening.[6] McChord was invited to give a sermon to the Kentucky General Assembly on January 12, 1815, which was entitled "National Safety".[4] On July 30, 1815, McChord dedicated a new church, the Market Street Church, with himself as pastor and with a congregation of fifteen.[6] The name changed to the Market Street Presbyterian Church in 1818 when McChord resigned from the Associate Reformed Presbytery in favor of the West Lexington Presbytery.[6] McChord served as pastor of the church full-time until 1819.[6]

In addition to the ministry, McChord was also heavily involved in education. In 1813, he joined the faculty at his alma mater, Transylvania University, as a part-time professor of astronomy, and he was elected to the school's Board of Trustees the following year.[2] He left Transylvania in 1819 to accept a position as principal of the Bourbon Academy in Paris, Kentucky.[7] On March 4, 1820, he was elected by the Board of Trustees to serve as the first president of Centre College,[2] which had been founded in Danville, Kentucky, in January 1819.[8] During this same board meeting, McChord was elected professor of mathematics, which carried an annual salary of US$1,200 (equivalent to $25,126 in 2022).[9]

Before he was able to formally assume the presidency, McChord died suddenly on May 26, 1820.[1] He was buried in a vault in front of the pulpit of his church in Lexington.[2] In 1823, the church changed its name to McChord Presbyterian Church (also referred to as McChord's Presbyterian Church)[10] in his honor, but the name was changed again in 1828 to Second Presbyterian Church (a name it still retains), as some felt it was improper to name a church after an individual.[6] His grave remained at the church until 1924, when he was interred in Lexington Cemetery.[6]

During his lifetime, McChord published two volumes of sermons, and was considered a very popular and skilled preacher.[11]

Samuel Finley was appointed president pro tempore in 1822, filling the vacancy created by McChord's death, and Jeremiah Chamberlain was elected president on a permanent basis in December of that year.[9]

• Media related to James McChord at Wikimedia Commons
• James McChord at Find a Grave