Robert Smith (bishop)
The Right Reverend Robert Smith D.D. | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of South Carolina | |
| Church | Episcopal Church |
| Diocese | South Carolina |
| Elected | February 10, 1795 |
| In office | 1795-1801 |
| Successor | Theodore Dehon |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | December 21, 1756 by Matthias Mawson |
| Consecration | September 13, 1795 by William White |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 25, 1732 |
| Died | October 28, 1801 (aged 69) Charleston, South Carolina, United States |
| Buried | St. Philip's Episcopal Church (Charleston, South Carolina) |
| Nationality | English |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Parents | Stephen Smith & Hannah Press |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Paget (m. 1758; d. 1771) Sarah Shubrick (m. 1774; d. 1779) Anna Maria Tilghman (m. 1782; d. 1792) |
Robert Smith (August 25, 1732 - October 28, 1801) was a prelate of the Episcopal Church who was the first Bishop of South Carolina between 1795 and 1801.[1]
Early Life and Education
Smith was born on August 25, 1732 in Worstead, Norfolk, England to Stephen Smith and Hannah Press. He was educated at the Norwich Grammar School, before enrolling at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, from where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in 1753. He was awarded a Doctor of Divinity from the University of Pennsylvania in 1789.
Ordained Ministry
Smith was ordained deacon in the Church of England on March 7, 1756, and then priest on December 21, 1756, both by the Bishop of Ely Matthias Mawson. He then emigrated to the Province of South Carolina, where he became assistant minister of St Philip's Church in Charleston, South Carolina in 1757. In 1759 he became rector of the same church. He was also a supporter of the American Revolution. He fled from Charleston after in 1780 to the Province of Maryland after the former became occupied by the British. While there, he served as priest-in-charge of St Paul's Church in Brandywine, Maryland. In 1783, he returned to serve as rector of St Philip's Church in Charleston. [2]
Bishop
On February 10, 1795, Smith was unanimously elected the first Bishop of South Carolina and was consecrated on September 13, 1795, the sixth bishop in the American Episcopal succession.
Smith was one of the prominent South Carolinians to sign the charter of the College of Charleston in 1785.[3] Smith also served as the first president of the College between 1790 and 1797.[4][5] He maintained his residence at 6 Glebe Street, in Charleston's Harleston Village neighborhood, between the house's construction in 1770 and his death in 1801. This house was constructed on the glebe of St. Philip's Episcopal Church as the parsonage house. Additionally, it served as the location of some of the College's first classes.[6] The house is now a part of the College of Charleston, serving as its President's House, and is officially known as the Bishop Robert Smith House.[7]
Consecrators
- Samuel Seabury, 1st bishop of the Episcopal Church, serving Connecticut, and 2nd Presiding Bishop.
- Samuel Provoost, 3rd bishop of the Episcopal Church, first bishop of New York
- James Madison, 4th bishop of the Episcopal Church, first bishop of Virginia
See also
Notes and references
- ^ Listing for The American Revolution and Righteous Community: Selected Sermons of Bishop Robert Smith, edited by Charles Wilbanks
- ^ Smith, Robert (2007). The American Revolution and Righteous Community: Selected Sermons of Bishop Robert Smith, p. 12. University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, SC. ISBN 1570036659.
- ^ Board of Trustees of the College of Charleston: Overview
- ^ Greene, Harlan. "A History of the College's Land - Locating the Land". Discovering Our Past: College of Charleston Histories. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
- ^ College of Charleston Archives: Inventory of Historical Records, 1785-1970
- ^ Guidebook of the Charleston Multimedia Project, Charleston County Public Library
- ^ College of Charleston: Style Guide, by the College of Charleston's Division of Marketing and Communications
External links
- Web site of the Diocese of South Carolina
- Episcopal Church in the United States of America
- College of Charleston
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- 1732 births
- 1801 deaths
- Clergy from Charleston, South Carolina
- Episcopal bishops of South Carolina
- History of Christianity in the United States
- Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
- 18th-century Anglican bishops
- 18th-century American Episcopalians
- British North American Anglicans
- Presidents of the College of Charleston