The Presbyterian of the South Archive

The Presbyterian of the South was formed through the union of three newspapers: Richmond's Central Presbyterian; Milledgeville, Georgia's Southern Presbyterian; and the South-Western Presbyterian of New Orleans. The first issue of Presbyterian of the South was published in Atlanta on January 6, 1909. In 1911, when it moved to Richmond, the paper had an impressive circulation of 15,000. A yearly subscription cost two dollars.

Appearing on Wednesdays, the Presbyterian of the South generally ran about 35 pages in length. It included editorials, special sections for women and children, daily Bible readings, and church news from around the South. The paper solicited donations for the Presbyterian Church and encouraged missionary work. While it did run advertisements for general products, ads primarily focused on Christian literature, military schools, and Christian schools and universities.

Although the Presbyterian of the South was launched in Atlanta, its publishing company, the Presbyterian Co., Inc., maintained offices in both Atlanta and Richmond. The managing editor was Reverend Dr. Thornton Samuel Wilson of Richmond. He was assisted by Thomas E. Converse, originally of the Southern Presbyterian, James P. Smith and Edwin Brown McCluer of the Central Presbyterian, and George Summey of the South-Western Presbyterian.

The Presbyterian of the South underwent a fair amount of editorial turnover throughout its run.

The first editor, Dr. Wilson, was ordained in 1881, and ministered for 54 years. According to his 1935 obituary in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Dr. Wilson edited Presbyterian of the South for ten years, though after 1915 he was no longer listed as managing editor in the publisher's block. The editorial on the first page of the June 16, 1915 issue indicated that Reverend Dr. Robert P. Kerr of Baltimore had succeeded Wilson and McCluer as editor. In March 1916, Reverend Dr. William S. Campbell of Richmond and Reverend Dr. Archibald Alexander Little of Atlanta took over as editors.

On August 19, 1931, the Presbyterian of the South merged with the Presbyterian Standard of Charlotte, North Carolina, to form the Presbyterian of the South and the Presbyterian Standard. The latter was published in Richmond under that title until 1944 when its name was changed to Presbyterian Outlook.