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William Bacon Stevens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Right Reverend

William Bacon Stevens

D.D., LL.D.
Bishop of Pennsylvania
ChurchEpiscopal Church
DiocesePennsylvania
In office1865–1887
PredecessorAlonzo Potter
SuccessorOzi William Whitaker
Previous post(s)Assistant Bishop of Pennsylvania (1862-1865)
Orders
OrdinationJanuary 7, 1844
by Stephen Elliott
ConsecrationJanuary 2, 1862
by John Henry Hopkins
Personal details
Born(1815-07-13)July 13, 1815
DiedJune 11, 1887(1887-06-11) (aged 71)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
BuriedChurch of St. James the Less
NationalityAmerican
DenominationAnglican
ParentsWilliam Stevens & Rebecca Bacon
SpouseAlethea Coppee Stevens
Anna Maria Conyngham
SignatureWilliam Bacon Stevens's signature

William Bacon Stevens (July 13, 1815 – June 11, 1887) was the fourth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania.

Early life and education

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William Bacon Stevens was born in Bath, Maine on July 13, 1815.[1] He was educated at Phillips Academy, Andover and later studied medicine at Dartmouth College and the Medical College of South Carolina.

Career

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After practicing medicine in Savannah, Georgia, for five years, he served as state historian of Georgia and at that time he began to study for the priesthood of the Episcopal Church.[2]

He was ordained deacon on February 28, 1843, and later to the priesthood on January 7, 1844. He briefly served as professor of moral philosophy at the University of Georgia prior to being called as the rector of St. Andrew's Church of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1848. He received the Doctor of Divinity degree from the University of Pennsylvania and was later elected assistant bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania.

He was elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society in 1854.[3]

He was consecrated on January 2, 1862, at St. Andrew's Church. Upon the death of Alonzo Potter in 1865, he became Bishop of Pennsylvania.[1] He served in that office and as bishop of the American Episcopal churches in Europe until his death.[2]

Death

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He died in Philadelphia, on June 11, 1887, at age 71.[1][2]

Works

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Jordan, John Woolf (1911). Colonial Families of Philadelphia. Vol. I. New York, Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 781–783. Retrieved April 13, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ a b c Wilson, James Grant; Fiske, John, eds. (1888). "Stevens, William Bacon". Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography. Vol. V. New York: D. Appleton and Company. pp. 679–680. Retrieved April 13, 2023 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
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Episcopal Church (USA) titles
Preceded by 4th Bishop of Pennsylvania
coadjutor, 1862-1865

1865-1887
Succeeded by