Samuel Gavitt Babcock (October 8, 1851 – June 20, 1942) was an American bishop in the Episcopal Church, serving as Suffragan Bishop of Massachusetts between 1913 and 1938.

Early life and education

Babcock was born on October 8, 1851, in Newport, Rhode Island, the son of Stanton Babcock and Sarah J. White. He was educated at the public schools of Newport, Rhode Island and Salem, Massachusetts, before attending Harvard University to study at the Episcopal Theological School, from where he graduated in 1891 with 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 ...

. 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 ...

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

in 1915.

Ordained ministry

Babcock was ordained deacon on January 13, 1877, and priest on September 28, 1891, by Bishop

Thomas M. Clark Thomas March Clark (July 4, 1812 – September 7, 1903) was an American Episcopal prelate who served as Bishop of Rhode Island between 1854–1903 and Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church between 1899 and 1903. Biography Thomas March Clark ...

of Rhode Island. During his diaconate he was active in local missionary work and served as assistant at Christ Church in Westerly, Rhode Island. After ordination to the priesthood, he served as curate of

Grace Church Grace Church may refer to: Canada * Grace Church on-the-Hill, Toronto China * Grace Church, Guanghan Poland * Grace Church, Teschen or Jesus Church, a Lutheran basilica in Teschen, Poland United Kingdom United States * Grace Cathedral (disam ...

in Providence, Rhode Island between 1891 and 1892, rector of Christ Church in Hyde Park, Massachusetts between 1892 and 1903, Archdeacon of New Bedford between 1899 and 1903, and then Archdeacon of Massachusetts from 1903 to 1913.

Bishop

Bobcock was elected

suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

of Massachusetts in 1913, and was consecrated on June 17, 1913, by the Bishop of Massachusetts William Lawrence. He retained the post till his retirement in 1938. He was the first Suffragan Bishop of Massachusetts and one of the first in the Episcopal Church. He died on June 20, 1942. His funeral was held in St Paul's Cathedra, Boston, where Bishop Henry Knox Sherrill was celebrant.

References

1851 births 1942 deaths 19th-century American Episcopalians 20th-century American Episcopalians Episcopal bishops of Massachusetts {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub