The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Finley, Samuel

FINLEY, Samuel, an American Presbyterian clergyman, born in Armagh, Ireland, in 1715, died in Philadelphia, July 17, 1766. He arrived in America in 1734, studied theology, and was licensed to preach in 1740. The first part of his ministry was occupied with itinerant labors in promoting a revival of religion. In 1744 he was settled at Nottingham, Md., where he remained seven years, and carried on in addition to his ministerial labors an academy which acquired a high reputation. On the death of President Davies of the college of New Jersey, he was chosen his successor, and removed to Princeton in 1761. The college flourished while under his care.