John Freeman Young (October 30, 1820 – November 15, 1885), author of the most commonly sung English-language translation of the Christmas carol

Silent Night "Silent Night" (german: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht", links=no, italic=no) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an ...

, became the second bishop of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in 1867.

Early life and education

Young was born on October 30, 1820, in

Pittston, Maine Pittston is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,875 at the 2020 census. The town was named after the family of John Pitt, who were early settlers. Pittston is included in the Augusta, Maine micropolitan New En ...

, the son of John Young and Emma Freeman. He was educated at the

Maine Wesleyan Seminary Kents Hill School (also known as Kents Hill or KHS) is a co-educational, independent college-preparatory school for boarding and day students. Kents Hill is located in Kents Hill, Maine, 12 miles west of the state capital of Augusta, Maine, August ...

and later studied at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settler ...

, but dropped out after his freshman year. After joining the Episcopal Church, he studied at the

Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally called the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, located at 3737 Seminary Road in Alexandria, Virginia is the largest and second oldest accredited Episcopal seminary in the Unit ...

, from where he graduated in 1845. In 1865 he was awarded a

Doctor of Sacred Theology The Doctor of Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Doctor, abbreviated STD), also sometimes known as Professor of Sacred Theology (, abbreviated STP), is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Catholic Church, ...

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 ...

. Young was first married to Harriett R. Ogden of New York City and then to Mary Stuart Stockton of Florida, daughter of William Tennent Stockton.

Ordained ministry

Young was ordained deacon on April 20, 1845, and was appointed to St John's Church in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

. On January 11, 1846, he was ordained a priest at St John's Church in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...

, and then became the rector of St John's Church in

. In December 1847, he moved to

Brazoria County, Texas Brazoria County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the county was 372,031. The county seat is Angleton. Brazoria County is included in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land metropolitan statis ...

, where he served as a missionary, while in November 1850 he moved to

Livingston, Mississippi Livingston is an unincorporated community located in Madison County, Mississippi, United States. Once a thriving commercial center, Livingston was nearly deserted by the Civil War. Recent commercial and residential development has revived the los ...

. Between 1852 and 1860, he served as rector of

Assumption Parish, Louisiana Assumption Parish (french: Paroisse de l'Assomption, es, Parroquia de la Asunción) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 23,421. Its parish seat is Napoleonville. Assumption Parish was ...

Napoleonville, Louisiana Napoleonville is a village and the parish seat of Assumption Parish, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 660 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Pierre Part Micropolitan Statistical Area. The village is best known as the loca ...

. In 1860 he became assistant rector of 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 ...

. He was the secretary for the Russo-Greek Committee of the General Convention and was an ecumenical envoy to the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

Bishop

In 1867, Young was elected as the second Bishop of Florida and was consecrated on July 25, 1867, in Trinity Church, by the 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 ...

. He retained the post till his death in 1885. In later years, while still serving as an active Bishop, he also lectured in Liturgics and Ecclesiastical Music at

The University of the South The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by 28 southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, and its School of Theology is an official seminary of ...

Silent Night

Young is well known for his translation of the famous German Christmas carol

into English in 1859. His English translation is the most frequently sung English text today. It was translated from three of

Joseph Mohr Josephus Franciscus Mohr, sometimes spelled Josef (11 December 1792 – 4 December 1848) was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest and writer, who wrote the words to the Christmas carol "Silent Night." Early life and education Mohr was born in S ...

original six verses and first published in a 16-page pamphlet titled Carols For Christmas Tide. The pamphlet also included other carols, like Earth Today Rejoices, Good Christian Men Rejoice, Here Is Joy For Every Age, Earthly Friends Will Change And Falter, Royal Day That Chasest Gloom, and

Good King Wenceslas "Good King Wenceslas" is a Christmas carol that tells a story of a Bohemian king who goes on a journey, braving harsh winter weather, to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen (December 26, the Second Day of Christmas). During the ...

References

*Crushman, Joseph. "A Goodly Heritage", Florida: University of Florida Press.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, John Freeman 1820 births 1885 deaths 19th-century American Episcopalians American Episcopal priests People from Pittston, Maine Converts to Anglicanism from Methodism Virginia Theological Seminary alumni Episcopal bishops of Florida 19th-century American clergy