Van Horne, David
Brief Biography:
The Reverend David Van Horne was born at Amsterdam, New York in 1837. He graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York in 1864, and later from the Theological Seminary of the Reformed Church at New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1867. Mr. Van Horne served as the pastor of the First (Race Street) Reformed Church in Philadelphia from 1879 to 1888. In 1888, he became president and professor of systematic theology at the Heidelberg Theological Seminary. The Heidelberg Seminary merged with the Ursinus School of Theology to form the Central Theological Seminary at Dayton, Ohio in 1907. Van Horne became the first president of this school. He served as president until 1912. In 1916, he resigned his professorship and returned to Amsterdam, New York where he lived until his death on April 12, 1930.
Van Horne dedicated his life to his church. He served as president of the General Synod of the Reformed Church from 1878 to 1881, and acted as president of the Board of Foreign Missions from 1878 to 1888. This was the period of time in which he traveled to the Holy Land. He also served as editor of the Reformed Church Messenger, a periodical which represented the Eastern Synod . He contributed a number of articles to the Messenger and other publications. In addition, Van Horne wrote seven books, all of which dealt with the Reformed Church and other aspects of Christianity.

Brief Itinerary:
Originally, Van Horne was to have traveled as part of a larger group, but rumors of plague along the Black Sea caused several of the tour participants to cancel their trips, and Van Horne wound up traveling initially with two other clergymen. This resulted in an abundance of supplies and mounts, and created opportunities for "..little excursions aside from the main lines of travel..’".
Van Horne’s group followed a route taken by many travelers of that time, landing at Jaffa. They then traveled to Jerusalem, spent some days exploring the sites of the City and its environs, then proceeded to the Dead Sea, followed the Jordan River north, through Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee. During this time, Van Horne apparently kept a diary or journal of his experiences, which he later developed into his book, Tent and Saddle Life in the Holy Land. He made no mention in the book of where he embarked from to reach Jaffa. He also referred to his destination after the Sea of Galilee only in passing. In addition, he made no specific reference to year of his journey, although it occurred in the early 1880's.

Brief History of the Text:
Van Horne’s intent, in publishing Tent and Saddle Life, was to "shed light on the teachings of Scriptures, and thus, as by work on a grand mosaic, the picture of the land is to be gradually completed." Secondly, he sought to include the more colorful aspects of his trip in order to stimulate the interest of young readers. His book also included sixty-four illustrations to spark an interest in young children. In light of the book's short publishing history, it is questionable whether or not Tent and Saddle Life in the Holy Land proved very inspiring to young people.
The book was published by the American Sunday School Union (ASSU) of Philadelphia in 1885, with a second edition released in 1886. The ASSU was founded in 1824, to provide works for religious education. The self-expressed intention of the ASSU was to "spread the knowledge of the Heavenly Truth" and to develop an interest in reading that would; lead the young to "more instructive volumes". Religious instruction was considered by the ASSU to be of paramount importance and was often heavy-handed. The Christian doctrine expounded in these works stressed obedience to God,to the Scriptures,to parents and to the One True Christian Faith.


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