Henry John Whitehouse (August 19, 1803 – August 10, 1874) was the second
Episcopal bishop of Illinois
The Episcopal Diocese of Chicago is the official organization of the Episcopal Church in Chicago and Northern Illinois, US. The diocese is headed by Bishop Paula Clark, who is the first woman and first African-American to lead the diocese. ...
.
Early life
Whitehouse was born in New York City, the son of James Whitehouse (1767–1854) and Eliza Higgs Norman (1775–1835).
[Batterson, 167] Whitehouse was described as a "thorough aristocrat by birth and training and accustomed to every luxury."
He graduated from
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in 1821, 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 1824.
[Batterson, 168] Whitehouse was ordained deacon in 1824, and was ordained priest in 1827.
[
]
Career
After his ordination as priest, he became rector of Christ Church in Reading, Pennsylvania.[ Two years later, he moved to become rector of St. Luke's Church in ]Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...
, during which time he married his wife.[ He remained there for fifteen years before moving to New York in 1844 to become rector of St. Thomas Church.
]
Bishop of Illinois
Whitehouse was elected coadjutor Bishop of Illinois in 1851.[ He was the 55th bishop in the ECUSA, and was consecrated by Bishops ]Thomas Church Brownell
Thomas Church Brownell (October 19, 1779 – January 13, 1865) was founder of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church from 1852 to 1865.
Biography
Brownell was born in Westport, Massachusetts ...
, Alfred Lee, and Manton Eastburn.[ Upon the death of Bishop ]Philander Chase
Philander Chase (December 14, 1775 – September 20, 1852) was an Episcopal Church bishop, educator, and pioneer of the United States western frontier, especially in Ohio and Illinois.
Early life and family
Born in Cornish, New Hampshire to ...
, Whitehouse became bishop, but refused to take up his seat for nine years, until his salary demands were met.[Guelzo, 79] The diocesan convention in 1860 charged him with dereliction of duty and generally condemned him.[ During the ]American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
, Whitehouse displayed decidedly pro-Southern sympathies, further alienating his Illinois flock.
Whitehouse identified with high church
The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...
Anglicanism, and in 1868 he wrote of the real presence
The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the Christian doctrine that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist, not merely symbolically or metaphorically, but in a true, real and substantial way.
There are a number of Christian denomin ...
of Christ in the Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
.[Guelzo, 81] Several of his clergy, led by Charles Edward Cheney, denounced the Anglo-Catholic
Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches.
The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglica ...
idea, accusing Whitehouse of "''unprotestantizing'' this Protestant Episcopal Church, corrupting her doctrine, debasing her worship, and over-turning her long-established rites, ceremonies, and usages."[ Whitehouse had his revenge when, on hearing of Cheney's unauthorized omissions of certain liturgical phrases, he attempted to have Cheney deposed,][Guelzo, 82] and by 1871, he was successful in having Cheney suspended from the ministry.[Guelzo, 85] Cheney later became one of the original clergymen of 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 ...
.
While in England in 1867, Whitehouse delivered the opening sermon before the first Pan-Anglican conference at Lambeth Palace, by invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury. He was among the first American bishops to advocate for a cathedral system in the Episcopal Church.
Personal life
On August 8, 1835, Whitehouse married Evelina Harriet Bruen (1806-1864). Together, they were the parents of five sons and one daughter. They gave middle names to some of their children, specifically Meredyth, Cope, and FitzHugh, which were surnames of women who had married into the Whitehouse family prior to 1800. Their children were:
* Henry Bruen Whitehouse (1838–1889), an attorney
* Edward Norman Whitehouse (1839–1904), a career Naval officer whose duties included the office of Paymaster
A paymaster is someone appointed by a group of buyers, sellers, investors or lenders to receive, hold, and dispense funds, commissions, fees, salaries (remuneration) or other trade, loan, or sales proceeds within the private sector or public secto ...
* Frederic Cope Whitehouse (1842–1911), also an attorney, but he engaged so ardently in his avocations of archaeology and Egyptology that his obituary in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' referred to him as “the well-known Egyptologist.” He did not marry.
* William FitzHugh Whitehouse (1846–1909), yet another attorney who married Frances Sheldon (1852–1944), the niece of William B. Ogden
William Butler Ogden (June 15, 1805 – August 3, 1877) was an American politician and railroad executive who served as the first Mayor of Chicago. He was referred to as "the Astor of Chicago." He was, at one time, the city's richest citizen.
...
, the First Mayor of Chicago.
* Louisa Bruen Whitehouse (1847–1919), who married Edwin Bernon Sheldon (1849–1923), brother of Frances Sheldon, the wife of William FitzHugh Whitehouse (see above).
* Francis Meredyth Whitehouse (1848–1938), the architect who married Mary Armour (1868–1958).
Henry John Whitehouse died in Chicago on August 10, 1874. He is buried in the Whitehouse family plot in Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several blo ...
, Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
.
Descendants
Through his son William, he was the grandfather of diplomat Sheldon Whitehouse
Sheldon Whitehouse (born October 20, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Rhode Island since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Attorney from 1993 to 1998 ...
(1883–1965), who was married to Mary Crocker Alexander (1895–1986) in 1920, great-grandson was Ambassador Charles S. Whitehouse
Charles Sheldon Whitehouse (November 5, 1921 – June 25, 2001) was an American career diplomat. He was United States Ambassador to Laos and the United States Ambassador to Thailand.
Early life
Whitehouse was born November 5, 1921, in Paris, Fr ...
(1921–2001). His great-great-grandson, Sheldon Whitehouse
Sheldon Whitehouse (born October 20, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Rhode Island since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Attorney from 1993 to 1998 ...
(born 1955), is a U.S. Senator from Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...
.
Legacy
In 1934, his son Francis, along with other members of the family, donated a "missionary window" at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in memory of his father. The windows, designed by Wilbur Herbert Burnham, were dedicated by Bishop William T. Manning
William Thomas Manning (May 12, 1866 – November 18, 1949) was a U.S. Episcopal bishop of New York City (1921–1946). He led a major $10 million campaign to raise funds for additional construction on the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and di ...
.
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
Photograph of Henry John Whitehouse
dated mid-1860s at the National Portrait Gallery, London
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitehouse, Henry John
1803 births
1874 deaths
Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery
Religious leaders from New York City
19th-century Anglican bishops in the United States
Anglo-Catholic bishops
American Anglo-Catholics
Episcopal bishops of Chicago
Whitehouse family