Charles Minnigerode Beckwith
Charles Minnigerode Beckwith (June 2, 1851 – April 18, 1928) was fourth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama from 1902 till 1928.
The Right Reverend Charles Minnigerode Beckwith D.D., S.T.D. | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Alabama | |
 | |
| Church | Episcopal Church |
| Diocese | Alabama |
| Elected | October 8, 1902 |
| In office | 1902-1928 |
| Predecessor | Robert Woodward Barnwell |
| Successor | William G. McDowell |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 1881 by John W. Beckwith |
| Consecration | December 17, 1902 by Thomas Underwood Dudley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 2, 1851 Petersburg, Virginia, United States |
| Died | April 18, 1928 (aged 76) Montgomery, Alabama, United States |
| Buried | Greenwood Cemetery (Montgomery, Alabama) |
| Nationality | American |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Parents | Thomas Stanley Beckwith & Agnes Ruffin |
| Spouse | Susan Rainsford Fairbanks (m. 1884-1885) Lucy Cocke (m. 1888-1891) Mary Belle Cameron (m. 1897-1928) |
| Children | 2 |
Early life and Education
Beckwith was born on June 2, 1851 in Petersburg, Virginia, son of Thomas Stanley Beckwith and Agnes Ruffin. He was educated at the University of Georgia from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1873. He was also a member of Phi Delta Theta. After graduation, he served as assistant professor of mathematics at the University of the South between 1874 and 1876 and later served as master of Sewanee Grammar School at the University of the South from 1876 till 1879. In 1879, he enrolled at the Berkeley Divinity School in Middletown, Connecticut and graduated in 1881. He earned a Doctor of Divinity from Sewanee: The University of the South in 1902 and a Doctor of Sacred Theology from Berkeley in 1903. [1]
Ordained Ministry
He was ordained to the diaconate and priest in 1881 by his uncle Bishop John W. Beckwith of Georgia. He served as rector of St Luke's Church in Atlanta, Georgia from 1881 till 1886. While rector of this church he was elected Assistant Bishop of Texas, but declined the appointment. Later, in 1886, he became rector of Christ Church in Houston, Texas, and in 1892 became rector of Trinity Church in Galveston, Texas, where he remained till 1902.[2]
Bishop
Beckwith was elected Bishop of Alabama on October 8, 1902 during a special council which took place in St John's Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He was then consecrated in St Paul's Church in Selma, Alabama on December 17, 1902 by Bishop Thomas Underwood Dudley of Kentucky. [3] He died in office on April 18, 1928 in Montgomery, Alabama.
References
- Herzog, Johann Jakob. The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge: Embracing Biblical, Historical, Doctrinal, and Practical Theology and Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Biography from the Earliest Times to the Present Day, Volume 2 (1908). Inventory of the Church Archives of Alabama, Volume 1, p. 23. Funk and Wagnalls Company.
- The Right Reverend Charles Minnigerode Beckwith D.D. The Scroll of Phi Delta Theta. 28. 1903. p. 14.
- Alabama Historical Records Survey (1939). Inventory of the Church Archives of Alabama, Volume 1, p. 18. Alabama Historical records survey.
Bibliography
- ‘’The Trinity Course of Church Instruction’’ (New York, 1898)
- ‘’The Teacher's Companion to the Trinity Course’’ (New York, 1901).
- ‘’What Is the Matter with the Church?’’ (Montgomery: Paragon Press, 1926)