Benjamin Bosworth Smith (June 13, 1794 – May 31, 1884) was an American

Protestant Episcopal The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine Ecclesiastical provinces and dioces ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, and the Presiding Bishop of his Church beginning in 1868.

Early life

Smith was born at

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, R. I., and lost his father when he was 5 years old. Nonetheless, he graduated at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

in 1816.

Career

The following year he was ordained, beginning his ministry at Marblehead, Mass. He held several pastoral charges and was for a time editor of the ''Episcopal Recorder'' at

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. His last

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

ship, in Lexington, Ky., he held until 1837, though in 1832 he had become Bishop of the diocese. While he was presiding Bishop (from 1868), a separatist movement, which became the

Reformed Episcopal Church The Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) is an Anglican church of evangelical Episcopalian heritage. It was founded in 1873 in New York City by George David Cummins, a former bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church. The REC is a founding member of ...

, was organized under the leadership of Bishop Smith's own assistant bishop,

George David Cummins George David Cummins (December 11, 1822 – June 26, 1876) was an American Anglican Bishop and founder of the Reformed Episcopal Church. Life and career He was born in Delaware on December 11, 1822. Cummins graduated from Dickinson College, ...

. He published ''Saturday Evening'' (1876) and ''Apostolic Succession'' (1877). In the late 1860s, he helped establish schools and hire teachers to work with former slaves throughout the south.Simmons, William J., and Henry McNeal Turner. Men of Mark: Eminent, Progressive and Rising. GM Rewell & Company, 1887. p744-751 In 1874, Presiding Bishop Smith led the consecration of

James Theodore Holly James Theodore Augustus Holly (3 October 1829 in Washington, D.C. – 13 March 1911 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti) was the first African-American bishop in the Protestant Episcopal church, and spent most of his episcopal career as missionary bishop of ...

, the first African-American to be consecrated a bishop in the Protestant Episcopal church, and who became the missionary bishop for Haiti.

Architecture

Smith is not to be confused with

Benjamin Bosworth Smith (architect) Benjamin Bosworth Smith (June 13, 1794 – May 31, 1884) was an American Protestant Episcopal bishop, and the Presiding Bishop of his Church beginning in 1868. Early life Smith was born at Bristol, R. I., and lost his father when he was 5 years ...

(1863–1926), a related but different architect based in Montgomery, Alabama. Smith is listed as the architect of several buildings, including some listed on the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

: *

Church of the Advent, Episcopal The Church of the Advent, Episcopal in Cynthiana, Kentucky is a historic church at 122 N. Walnut Street. It was built in 1855 and added to the National Register in 1978. It was deemed "architecturally significant as a fine adaptation of the ...

(1855), 122 N. Walnut St.

Cynthiana, KY Cynthiana is a home rule-class city in Harrison County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 6,402 at the 2010 census. It is the seat of its county. History The settlement developed on both sides of the South Fork of the Licki ...

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

in style (Smith, Bishop Benjamin Bosworth) With * St. Paul's Episcopal Church (1859–60), 338 Center St.

Henderson, KY Henderson is a home rule-class city along the Ohio River and is the county seat of Henderson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 28,757 at the 2010 U.S. census. It is part of the Evansville Metropolitan Area, locally known as the ...

(Smith, Bishop Benjamin Bosworth) a "chaste" example of Gothic Revival style applied to churches * St. Philip's Episcopal Church (1860–61), Short and Chiles Sts.

Harrodsburg, KY Harrodsburg is a home rule-class city in Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 9,064 at the 2020 census. Although Harrodsburg was formally established by the House of Burgesses after Boonesbo ...

(Smith, Bishop Benjamin Bosworth) * Holy Trinity Episcopal Church (1864–68),

Georgetown, Kentucky Georgetown is a home rule-class city in Scott County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 37,086 at the 2020 census. It is the 6th-largest city by population in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the seat of its county. It was originall ...

(Smith, Bishop Benjamin Bosworth)

Memorials/legacies

Smith's home at 2833 Tremont Ave. in Highlands, Kentucky or Highlands, Louisville, or

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

was considered for landmarking but was approved for demolition in 2017. A Gothic-style small study with a peaked roof that Smith used at his Louisville home is preserved on the grounds of the

St. Francis in the Fields Episcopal Church ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

("near Prospect" in

?).

References

Sources

* This article incorporates text from a publication now in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

: Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). ''

New International Encyclopedia ''The New International Encyclopedia'' was an American encyclopedia first published in 1902 by Dodd, Mead and Company. It descended from the ''International Cyclopaedia'' (1884) and was updated in 1906, 1914 and 1926. History ''The New Intern ...

'' (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.

External links

Documents by and about B.B. Smith
from

Project Canterbury Project Canterbury (sometimes abbreviated as PC) is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999 with a grant from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, and is ho ...

The Life and Ministry of Benjamin Bosworth Smith, First Bishop of Kentucky: A Memorial Discourse delivered before the Fifty-sixth Annual Council of the Diocese of Kentucky, on the 24th Day of September, A.D., 1884, in Christ Church, Louisville
by Alfred Lee (1884) {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Benjamin Bosworth American religious writers Brown University alumni 1784 births 1884 deaths Presiding Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America People from Bristol, Rhode Island 19th-century Anglican bishops in the United States People from Marblehead, Massachusetts Episcopal bishops of Kentucky 18th-century Anglican theologians 19th-century Anglican theologians