William Dool Killen (16 April 1806 – 10 January 1902) was a minister of thePresbyterian Church in Ireland andchurch historian.
Born at Church Street,Ballymena,County Antrim, on 16 April 1806, he was third of four sons and nine children of John Killen (1768–1828), a grocer and seedsman in Ballymena, by his wife Martha, daughter of Jesse Dool, a farmer inDuneane. His paternal grandfather, a farmer atCarnmoney, married Blanche Brice, a descendant ofEdward Brice; a brother, James Miller Killen (1815–1879) was a minister inComber,County Down. Thomas Young Killen Moderator, in 1882, of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland[1] was his father's great-nephew.[2]
After attending local primary schools, Killen went around 1816 to Ballymena Academy, and in November 1821 entered the collegiate department of theRoyal Academical Institution, Belfast, underJames Thomson. He was in 1827 licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Ballymena, and on 11 November 1829 ordained minister atRaphoe,County Donegal.[2]
In July 1841 Killen was appointed, by theGeneral Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, its professor of church history, ecclesiastical government, and pastoral theology, in succession toJames Seaton Reid. He concentrated on history. WhenAssembly's College, Belfast was set up in 1853, he became one of the professors there. In 1869 he was appointed president of the college, in succession toHenry Cooke, and undertook to fundraise for professorial endowments and new buildings.[2]
In 1889 Killen resigned his chair but continued as president. He died on 10 January 1902, and was buried inBalmoral Cemetery, Belfast, where a monument marked his resting place. He received the degrees of D.D. (1845) and of LL.D. (1901) from the University of Glasgow. His portrait, painted by Richard Hooke, hung in the Gamble Library of the Assembly's College.[2]
Killen wrote extensively on history. His major works were:[2]
He edited, with introductions and notes:[2]
Killen took part in a bitter controversy concerning the relative merits ofprelacy andpresbyterianism, which was provoked by four sermons preached in 1837 inSt Columb's Cathedral, Derry, byArchibald Boyd. Killen and three other Presbyterian ministers replied in four sermons preached in Derry and published in 1839 with the title:Presbyterianism Defended.... A reply from Boyd and counter-replies from the four ministers ensued. One of these,The Plea of Presbytery (1840), which reached a third edition, earned for its authors a vote of thanks from the Synod of Ulster.[2]
Killen married in 1830 Anne (d. 1886), third daughter of Thomas Young of Ballymena, by whom he had three sons and five daughters.[2]
Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1912). "Killen, William Dool".Dictionary of National Biography (2nd supplement). Vol. 2. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
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| Preceded by | Professor of Church History of thePresbyterian Church in Ireland 1841-89 | Succeeded by James Heron |
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| Preceded by | President ofAssembly's College, Belfast 1869-1902 | Succeeded by Matthew Leitch |
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