Henry Adams Neely (May 14, 1830 – October 31, 1899) was the second

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 ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

Early life and education

Neely was born on May 14, 1830, in

Fayetteville, New York Fayetteville is a village located in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the village had a population of 4,225. The village is named after the Marquis de Lafayette, a national hero of both France and the United S ...

, the son of Albert Neely and Phoebe Pearsall. He studied at Hobart College and graduated in 1849. He also worked as a tutor between 1850 and 1852, whilst he was studying for a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

. In 1866 he was awarded a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

from Hobart.

Ordained ministry

Neely was ordained deacon on December 19, 1852, in Geneva, New York, and a priest on June 18, 1854, in Trinity Church,

Utica, New York Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...

. He served as rector of Calvary Church in

. Between 1855 and 1862 he served as rector of Christ Church in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, and then moved on to become chaplain at Hobart College, where he remained till 1864. After that, he became assistant minister at Trinity Church in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, a post he held till 1867.

Episcopacy

Neely was elected Bishop of Maine in 1866 and was consecrated on January 25, 1867, in Trinity Church by Presiding Bishop

John Henry Hopkins John Henry Hopkins (January 30, 1792 – January 9, 1868) was the first bishop of Episcopal Diocese of Vermont and the eighth Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. He was also an artist (in both watercolor and ...

. Upon his arrival in Maine he served as rector of St Luke's parish. He was influential in establishing a cathedral and the church of St Luke was designated as the cathedral however a new church was to be built instead. Upon its completion St Luke's Cathedral was consecrated by Bishop Neely on October 18, 1877. He died in office on October 31, 1899.

Family

Neely married Mary Floyd Delafield in 1851 and together has two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neely, Henry Adams 1830 births 1899 deaths People from Fayetteville, New York 19th-century American Episcopalians Episcopal bishops of Maine 19th-century American clergy