George Hendric Houghton (February 1, 1820 – November 17, 1897) was an American Protestant Episcopal

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

man.

Biography

He was born in

Deerfield, Massachusetts Deerfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Settled near the Connecticut River in the 17th century during the colonial era, the population was 5,090 as of the 2020 census. Deerfield is part of the Springfield, Massachu ...

and graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

in 1842 and from the

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating Seminary in the Anglican Communi ...

in 1845. In 1848 he organized, and until his death was rector of, the

Church of the Transfiguration The Church of the Transfiguration ( he, כנסיית ההשתנות) is a Franciscan church located on Mount Tabor in Israel. It is traditionally believed to be the site where the Transfiguration of Jesus took place, an event in the Gospels in w ...

, better known as the "Little Church around the Corner," in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The story which explains the origin of this name is that actor George Holland having died, his friends requested one of the cities

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

s to conduct the funeral services. The latter refused but advised them to try the "little church around the corner." Houghton was distinguished for his activity in benevolent work and his skill in teaching

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. For the latter, he was granted an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree by Columbia College in 1859. He died at the rectory adjoining the church on November 17, 1897. He was succeeded by his nephew, George Clarke Houghton.

References

External links

Documents by Houghton
from Project Canterbury
The Little Church around the Corner
1820 births 1897 deaths 19th-century American Episcopalians American Episcopal theologians New York University alumni People from Deerfield, Massachusetts Religious leaders from New York City 19th-century American clergy {{US-Christian-clergy-stub