Samuel Parker (August 17, 1744 – December 6, 1804) was an American Episcopal Bishop. He 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 ...

of the

Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts is one of the nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. History Massachusetts was founded by Puritans who did not accept such aspects of the Church of England as bish ...

Education and Ordination

Parker was born in

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsmou ...

, the son of William Parker, a lawyer and judge during 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 Revolut ...

. He graduated from

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 higher le ...

in 1764, and taught for several years. After being offered a job as assistant rector of

Trinity Church, Boston Trinity Church in the City of Boston, located in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. The congregation, currently standing at approximately 4,000 households, was founded in 17 ...

, Parker was ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

on February 24, 1774 and priest three days later on February 27, in London. He began as assistant rector at Trinity in November 1774, becoming rector in 1779. After the Revolution, he helped build churches with the

Society for the Propagation of the Gospel United Society Partners in the Gospel (USPG) is a United Kingdom-based charitable organization (registered charity no. 234518). It was first incorporated under Royal Charter in 1701 as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Part ...

. In 1803, Parker was unanimously elected second bishop of Massachusetts. He was consecrated September 14, 1804, in

Trinity Church, New York Trinity Church is a historic parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York, at the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Known for its history, location, architecture and e ...

, but developed

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intensit ...

and never served in the post. He died in Boston on December 6, 1804.

Consecrators

* William White, 1st bishop of

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, ...

and 1st and 4th Presiding Bishop *

Thomas John Claggett Thomas John Claggett (October 2, 1743 – August 2, 1816) was the first bishop of the newly formed American Episcopal Church, U.S.A. (also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.) to be consecrated on American soil and the first bi ...

, 1st bishop of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Abraham Jarvis Abraham Jarvis (May 5, 1739 – May 3, 1813) was the second American Episcopal bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut and eighth in succession of bishops in the Episcopal Church. He was a high churchman and a loyalist to the crown. ...

, 2nd bishop of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

Parker was the tenth bishop consecrated in the Episcopal Church.

Publications

* ''Annual Election Sermon before the Legislature of Massachusetts'' (1793) * ''Sermon for the Benefit of the

Boston Female Asylum The Boston Female Asylum (1800–1910) was an orphanage in Boston, Massachusetts, "for the care of indigent girls."U.S. Bureau of the Census. Benevolent institutions, 1904; p.78 Its mission was to "receive ... protect ... and instruct ... female orp ...

'' (1803)

Family life

Parker's sons included Suffolk County district attorney Samuel Dunn Parker, acting

Mayor of Boston The mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston has a mayor–council government. Boston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan (as are all municipal elections in Boston), and elect a mayor to a four- ...

William Parker, businessman John Rowe Parker, and educator

Richard Green Parker Richard Green Parker (December 25, 1798 – September 25, 1869) was a United States educator and a history and textbook writer. Biography Born in Boston, he was the son of Episcopal clergyman Samuel Parker, who was appointed bishop of Massachuse ...

Education and Ordination

Consecrators

Publications

Family life

References

Further reading