James DeWolf Perry (October 3, 1871 – March 20, 1947) was an American Episcopal clergyman and prelate. He was the 7th

Bishop of Rhode Island The Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the state of Rhode Island. It is one of seven New England dioceses that make up Province 1. The former Episcopal seat of th ...

(1911–1946) and the 18th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (1930–1937).

Biography

The third of five children, Perry was born in the Germantown neighborhood of

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 ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

, to the Rev. James DeWolf Perry II and Elizabeth Russell Tyson. 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 Calvary Church in Germantown; he was also a descendant of Captain Christopher Raymond Perry, (who was the father of Commodores

Oliver Hazard Perry Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was an American naval commander, born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. The best-known and most prominent member of the Perry family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace A ...

and Matthew C. Perry), and Senators William Bradford and James De Wolf, and was great great grandson of Lieutenant

Benjamin Bourne Benjamin Bourne (September 9, 1755September 17, 1808) was a United States representative from Rhode Island, a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island and a United States Circuit Judge of t ...

who served in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolu ...

After graduating from Germantown Academy in 1887, he matriculated at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. In 1895 he earned 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 theol ...

from the

Episcopal Theological School Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

. Perry was ordained a deacon by Bishop William Lawrence on June 9, 1895, and a priest on February 18, 1896. He then served as a curate at Christ Church in Springfield,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

until 1897, when he was named rector of Christ Church in Fitchburg. During the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cl ...

, he was chaplain of the

6th Massachusetts Infantry 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

from 1898 to 1904. In 1904 he became rector of St. Paul's Church in

New Haven 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 134,023 ...

. In 1908 he married Edith Dean Weir (daughter of

John Ferguson Weir John Ferguson Weir (1841–1926) was an American painter, sculptor, writer, and educator. He was a son of painter Robert Walter Weir, long-time professor of drawing at the Military Academy at West Point. His younger brother, J. Alden Weir, also ...

). She was an author and painter of miniatures. They had three children: James DeWolf, John Weir, and Beatrice Weir. On September 21, 1910, Perry was elected the 7th

at age 39 and was consecrated on January 6, 1911, by Bishops Daniel Sylvester Tuttle, Leigh R. Brewer, and William Lawrence. Perry was admitted as a member of the Rhode Island

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

in 1915 and became president of the Society in 1921. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, he served as chief of

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

chaplains in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

from 1918 to 1919. On March 26, 1930, Perry was elected the 18th Presiding Bishop by the

House of Bishops The House of Bishops is the third House in a General Synod of some Anglican churches and the second house in the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

. He was the last Presiding Bishop to retain his diocesan jurisdiction while serving in the national post. In August 1930, he was chosen to deliver the farewell sermon at the

Lambeth Conference The Lambeth Conference is a decennial assembly of bishops of the Anglican Communion convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The first such conference took place at Lambeth in 1867. As the Anglican Communion is an international association ...

and invited to lay the cornerstone of St. Andrew's Cathedral in Aberdeen. Especially interested in foreign

missions Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion * Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

, he once spent five months visiting mission stations in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, China, Japan, and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

. The French government awarded him the Legion of Honor in 1934. In a rare instance, he participated directly in politics in 1937 when he accepted an appointment to the Republican Party's Committee on Program, which was charged with drafting "a declaration of principles to redefine the party's stand on political and economic issues."''New York Times''
"Republicans Name Glenn Frank Head of Policy Group," Dec. 17, 1937
accessed December 10, 2009 He retired as Presiding Bishop in 1937, and as Bishop of Rhode Island in 1946. Perry died at the age of 75 from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

Summerville, South Carolina Summerville is a town in the U.S. state of South Carolina situated mostly in Dorchester County, with small portions in Berkeley and Charleston counties. It is part of the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, James De Wolf 1871 births 1947 deaths Presiding Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America 20th-century Anglican bishops in the United States Clergy from Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania alumni Harvard University alumni Germantown Academy alumni James De Wolf DeWolf family Episcopal bishops of Rhode Island Episcopal Divinity School alumni

Biography

See also

References