Thomas Frank Gailor (September 17, 1856 – October 3, 1935) was the third bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee The Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America that covers roughly Middle Tennessee. A single diocese spanned the entire state until 1982, when the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee w ...

in the Episcopal Church and served from 1898 to 1935.

Career

Gailor was enrolled in the preparatory department of, then graduated Bachelor of Arts from,

Racine College Racine College was an Episcopal preparatory school and college in Racine, Wisconsin, that operated between 1852 and 1933. Located south of the city along Lake Michigan, the campus has been maintained and is today known as the DeKoven Center ...

in Wisconsin. Bishop Charles Todd Quintard of Tennessee was an ardent supporter of Racine and its brilliant Rector, the Reverend James DeKoven (1831-1879). Racine was modeled on both the College of St. James's in Maryland (founded 1842) and St. Peter's College, Radley, UK (founded 1847). Both had reputations as outstanding schools. St. James's and Racine were inspired by the scholarly philosophy and practice of William Augustus Muhlenberg (1796-1877), founder of two model schools on Long Island in 1828 and 1836. Muhlenberg is considered by some as the father of the Church school movement in America, an energy which gave rise to some of the elite college preparatory schools in the United States. Gailor taught 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 ...

Sewanee, Tennessee Sewanee () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,535 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Tullahoma, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area. Sewanee is best known as the home of ...

and went on to serve as Vice-Chancellor (President) of the institution; then, after his election to the episcopate, served as the eighth Chancellor of the University (June 23, 1908, until his death). In 1916 Gailor was elected president of 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.

, and at the 1919

General Convention The General Convention is the primary governing and legislative body of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. With the exception of the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Constitution and Canons, it is the ultimate authority ...

he was elected president of the National Council of the Episcopal Church. He served in this position until 1925, when the Episcopal Church's first elected presiding bishop began his six-year term. In 1921 he received an honorary degree in Doctor of Laws from

Oglethorpe University Oglethorpe University is a private college in Brookhaven, Georgia. It was chartered in 1835 and named in honor of General James Edward Oglethorpe, founder of the Colony of Georgia. History Oglethorpe University was chartered in 1834 in Mid ...

. On June 25, 1924, he offered the

invocation An invocation (from the Latin verb ''invocare'' "to call on, invoke, to give") may take the form of: *Supplication, prayer or spell. *A form of possession. *Command or conjuration. *Self-identification with certain spirits. These forms are ...

at the opening of the second day of the

1924 Democratic National Convention The 1924 Democratic National Convention, held at the Madison Square Garden in New York City from June 24 to July 9, 1924, was the longest continuously running convention in United States political history. It took a record 103 ballots to nominate ...

. He died in Sewanee on October 3, 1935.

Family

In 1923, his daughter, Ellen Douglas Gailor, married Richard Folsom Cleveland, son of former President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

."Maryanne Rachel Fink is Bride" (listing bridegroom as great-grandson of President Cleveland and Bishop Gailor), ''New York Times'', June 22, 1980.

References

Sources

"Thomas Frank Gailor," ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''

Bibliographic directory
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 ...

* William Stevens Perry,
Thomas Frank Gailor
" ''The Episcopate in America'' (Christian Literature Company, 1895), p. 357. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gailor, Thomas F. Heads of universities and colleges in the United States 1856 births 1935 deaths People from Jackson, Mississippi People from Tennessee Racine College alumni Episcopal bishops of Tennessee

Career

Family

See also

References

Sources