Samuel Provoost
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Samuel Provoost (March 11, 1742 – September 6, 1815) was an American Clergyman. He was the first
Chaplain of the United States Senate The chaplain of the United States Senate opens each session of the United States Senate with a prayer, and provides and coordinates religious programs and pastoral care support for senators, their staffs, and their families. The chaplain is appoi ...
and the first
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 New York The Episcopal Diocese of New York is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing three New York City boroughs and seven New York state counties.
, as well as the third Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, USA. He was consecrated as bishop of New York in 1787 with Bishop William White. He was the first Episcopal Bishop of Dutch and Huguenot ancestry.


Early life

Samuel Provoost was born in New York City, New York to John Provoost and Eva Rutgers on 26 February 1742. He was baptized on 28 February 1742 (The Roosevelt Genealogy, 1649–1902). He was a descendant of William Provoost, who was of a Huguenot family (some of the early settlers in Quebec). His paternal grandmother was Mary (née Spratt) Alexander (1693–1760). Provoost was educated at King's College, now known as Columbia University, graduating in 1758. In 1761 he arrived in England and continued his studies at
Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...
. Samuel was fluent in
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
,
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
, and while he was at the College he learned French and
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
gaining the distinction as a linguist. Samuel Provoost also matriculated at the University of
Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...
, July 28, 1764.


Career

In February 1766, Provoost was ordained a deacon at the
Chapel Royal The Chapel Royal is an establishment in the Royal Household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the British Royal Family. Historically it was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also applie ...
of
St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Altho ...
in Westminster and a priest in March 1766. In September 1766, he sailed to New York with his wife and in December he became an assistant rector of Trinity Church. Provoost's dry preaching style, along his support for American independence, offended some church members and in 1769 a motion was made in the
vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...
to dispense with his services. The vestry subsequently resolved "That Mr. Provoost be continued, and paid by what can be raised by subscription only," but funds weren't forthcoming and in 1771 Provoost resigned and settled in Dutchess County near his friends
Walter Livingston Walter Livingston (November 27, 1740 – May 14, 1797) was an American merchant, lawyer and politician. Early life He was a son of Robert Livingston (1708–1790), 3rd Lord of Livingston Manor, and Maria Thong Livingston (1711–1765), a grand ...
and
Robert R. Livingston Robert Robert Livingston (November 27, 1746 (Old Style November 16) – February 26, 1813) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat from New York, as well as a Founding Father of the United States. He was known as "The Chancellor", afte ...
. During his 13 years there he preached occasionally in neighboring churches, and joined his neighbors in their pursuit of the British after the burning of the town of Esopus, but he declined offers to serve as a delegate to the Provincial Congress and as chaplain of the New York Constitutional Convention of 1777, as well as the rectorship of churches in Charleston,
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
, and
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. In 1783, after the end of the American Revolutionary War, the outspoken Tory rector of Trinity Church, Charles Inglis (the future first Anglican Bishop in Canada), left for England and was replaced by assistant rector Benjamin Moore, who had stayed at Trinity through the British occupation. Returning Patriots objected and in 1784 installed Provoost as rector of Trinity, with Moore agreeing to stay on as assistant rector. In 1785, he was named chaplain of the
Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...
. The
Episcopal Church of the United States The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop o ...
broke away from the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
and held its first General Convention in 1785. In 1786 Provoost was elected first Bishop of New York at the Diocesan Convention. A short while later, he was honored with the degree of Doctor of Divinity from 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 universitie ...
. In 1787, Provoost was consecrated with Dr. William White at Lambeth Place by Dr. John Moore. Provoost was elected Chaplain to the Senate in 1789. Due to health issues, he resigned the rectorship of Trinity in 1800. The following year, Provoost sought to relinquish his episcopal office, but 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.
declined his resignation, instead appointing Moore as Adjutant Bishop. Provoost effectively retired, but remained Bishop until his death in 1815.


Personal life

On June 8, 1766, he married Maria Bousfield (d. 1799) who was the daughter of Thomas Bousfield, a rich Irish banker and the sister of Benjamin Bousfield,"Samuel Provoost; American Clergyman"

"Encyclopædia Britannica"
a Sheriff of Cork City. Their children were: * Maria Provoost (1770–1837), who married
Cadwallader D. Colden Cadwallader David Colden (April 4, 1769 – February 7, 1834) was an American politician who served as the 54th Mayor of New York City and a U.S. Representative from New York. Early life Colden was born at Turtle Playground (Queens), Spring Hil ...
(1769–1834) in 1793. * Benjamin Bousfield Provoost (1776–1841), who married Nellie French (d. 1863) in 1803, and had 8 children. * John Provoost (d. 1800), who died young. * Susanna Elizabeth Provoost, who married George Rapalje (1771–1885) in 1798. and later Dr. Julian Xavier Charbet (1792–1859). His wife died in August 1799. Bishop Provoost died in 1815 due to a stroke.


Consecrators

* John Moore, 88th
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
* William Markham, 77th
Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...
* Charles Moss,
Bishop of Bath and Wells The Bishop of Bath and Wells heads the Church of England Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the overwhelmingly greater part of the (ceremonial) county of Somerset and a small area of Do ...
Samuel Provoost was the thirdThe Living Church Annual, 1944, pgs. 376-377 bishop consecrated for the
Episcopal Church of the United States The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop o ...
.


See also

*
List of presiding bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America This is a list of the Presiding bishop#Episcopal Church in the United States, Presiding Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Initially the position of Presiding Bishop rotated geographically. After 1795 the Presiding Bishop was th ...
*
List of Episcopal bishops of the United States The following is a list of bishops who currently lead dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States and its territories. Also included in the list are suffragan bishops, provisional bishops, coadjutor bishops, and assistant bishops ...
* Historical list of the Episcopal bishops of the United States


References

;Notes ;Sources * W. S. Perry, ''The History of the American Episcopal Church, 1587-1883'' (Boston, 1885) * ''The Centennial History of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New York, 1785-1885'', edited by J. G. Wilson, (New York, 1886)


External links


Historical Documents about Provoost
from
Project Canterbury Project Canterbury (sometimes abbreviated as PC) is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999 with a grant from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, and is ho ...

U.S. Senate ChaplainsSamuel Provoost records at Trinity Wall Street Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Provoost, Samuel 1742 births 1815 deaths American people of Dutch descent American people of Scottish descent Religious leaders from New York City Chaplains of the United States Senate Episcopal bishops of New York Presiding Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America 18th-century Anglican bishops in the United States British North American Anglicans Huguenot participants in the American Revolution Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Leiden University alumni Burials at Trinity Church Cemetery People of the Province of New York Columbia College (New York) alumni 19th-century American Episcopalians 18th-century American clergy