The Rt. Rev. Dr. Chauncey Bunce Brewster (September 5, 1848 – April 9, 1941) was the fifth Bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut The Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut (also known as The Episcopal Church in Connecticut) is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the entire state of Connecticut. It is one of the nine original dioceses ...

Early life and education

Brewster was born in

Windham, Connecticut Windham is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. It contains the former city of Willimantic as well as the boroughs of Windham Center, North Windham, and South Windham. Willimantic, an incorporated city since 1893, was consol ...

, to the Rev. Joseph Brewster and Sarah Jane Bunce. His father was

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 ...

of St Paul's Church in

Windham, New York Windham is a town in Greene County, New York, United States. The population was 1,703 at the 2010 census. The town was probably named for the town or county of Windham, Connecticut, as many of its earliest settlers came from that state as well a ...

, and later became rector of Christ Church in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

. His younger brother was Benjamin Brewster, later Bishop of Western Colorado. The family were descendants of the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...

'' passenger William Brewster. Brewster attended

Hopkins Grammar School Hopkins School is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational, day school for grades 7–12 located in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1660, Edward Hopkins, seven-time governor of the Connecticut Colony, bequeathed a portion of his estate to found s ...

before studying at

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

, where he was elected

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and was a member of the

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

society. He graduated from Yale in 1868 and attended

Berkeley Divinity School Berkeley Divinity School, founded in 1854, is a seminary of The Episcopal Church in New Haven, Connecticut. Along with Andover Newton Theological School and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Berkeley is one of the three "Partners on the Quad," ...

the following year, graduating from there in 1872. He was later awarded a Doctor of Divinity (DD) degree by

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

(1897), Yale (1898) and

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the col ...

(1903).

Career

Brewster was a tutor in Latin and Greek at Yale from 1870 to 1871 before being ordained deacon in 1872 and priest in 1873. He then served as curate of St Andrew's Church in Meriden, Connecticut (1872−1873), rector of Christ's Church in

Rye, New York Rye is a coastal suburb of New York City in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the Town of Rye, which has more land area than the city. The City of Rye, formerly the Village of Rye, was part of the Town until it r ...

(1873−1882), rector of Christ Church in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, Michigan (1882−1885), rector of Grace Church in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland (1885−1888) and rector of Grace Church in

Brooklyn Heights Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south, ...

, New York (1888−1897). Brewster was consecrated as a bishop on October 28, 1897, and was a coadjutor bishop before serving as diocesan bishop from 1899 to 1928. He was the author of ''The Key of Life'' (1894), ''Aspects of Revelation'' (1901), ''The Catholic Ideal of the Church'' (1905) and ''The Kingdom of God and American Life'' (1912). Brewster Hall at Berkeley Divinity School was named in his honor in 1940. He died the following year and is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut.

Family

Brewster married his first wife, Susan Huntington Whitney, daughter of Eli Whitney, in 1873 and had one son. Both his wife and his son died in May 1885, and in 1893 he married Alice Tucker Stephenson, with whom he had one daughter.

References

External links

Documents by and about Brewster
from Project Canterbury * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brewster, Chauncey Bunce 1848 births 1941 deaths Hopkins School alumni Yale College alumni Berkeley Divinity School alumni Episcopal Church in Connecticut Episcopal bishops of Connecticut Members of Skull and Bones