Robert Smith (bishop)

Robert Smith (August 25, 1732 - October 28, 1801) was a prelate of the Episcopal Church who was the first Bishop of South Carolina between 1795 and 1801.[1]

The Right Reverend

Robert Smith

D.D.
Bishop of South Carolina
ChurchEpiscopal Church
DioceseSouth Carolina
ElectedFebruary 10, 1795
In office1795-1801
SuccessorTheodore Dehon
Orders
OrdinationDecember 21, 1756
by Matthias Mawson
ConsecrationSeptember 13, 1795
by William White
Personal details
Born(1732-08-25)August 25, 1732
Worstead, Norfolk, England
DiedOctober 28, 1801(1801-10-28) (aged 69)
Charleston, South Carolina, United States
BuriedSt. Philip's Episcopal Church (Charleston, South Carolina)
NationalityEnglish
DenominationAnglican
ParentsStephen Smith & Hannah Press
SpouseElizabeth Paget (m. 1758; d. 1771)
Sarah Shubrick (m. 1774; d. 1779)
Anna Maria Tilghman (m. 1782; d. 1792)

Early Life and Education

Smith was born on August 25, 1732 in Worstead, Norfolk, England to Stephen Smith and Hannah Press. He was educated at the Norwich Grammar School, before enrolling at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, from where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in 1753. He was awarded a Doctor of Divinity from the University of Pennsylvania in 1789.

Ordained Ministry

Smith was ordained deacon in the Church of England on March 7, 1756, and then priest on December 21, 1756, both by the Bishop of Ely Matthias Mawson. He then emigrated to the Province of South Carolina, where he became assistant minister of St Philip's Church in Charleston, South Carolina in 1757. In 1759 he became rector of the same church. He was also a supporter of the American Revolution. He fled from Charleston after in 1780 to the Province of Maryland after the former became occupied by the British. While there, he served as priest-in-charge of St Paul's Church in Brandywine, Maryland. In 1783, he returned to serve as rector of St Philip's Church in Charleston. [2]

Bishop

On February 10, 1795, Smith was unanimously elected the first Bishop of South Carolina and was consecrated on September 13, 1795, the sixth bishop in the American Episcopal succession.

Smith was one of the prominent South Carolinians to sign the charter of the College of Charleston in 1785.[3] Smith also served as the first president of the College between 1790 and 1797.[4][5] He maintained his residence at 6 Glebe Street, in Charleston's Harleston Village neighborhood, between the house's construction in 1770 and his death in 1801. This house was constructed on the glebe of St. Philip's Episcopal Church as the parsonage house. Additionally, it served as the location of some of the College's first classes.[6] The house is now a part of the College of Charleston, serving as its President's House, and is officially known as the Bishop Robert Smith House.[7]

Consecrators
  • Samuel Seabury, 1st bishop of the Episcopal Church, serving Connecticut, and 2nd Presiding Bishop.
  • Samuel Provoost, 3rd bishop of the Episcopal Church, first bishop of New York
  • James Madison, 4th bishop of the Episcopal Church, first bishop of Virginia
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See also
  • List of Bishop Succession in the Episcopal Church

Notes and references
  1. Listing for The American Revolution and Righteous Community: Selected Sermons of Bishop Robert Smith, edited by Charles Wilbanks
  2. Smith, Robert (2007). The American Revolution and Righteous Community: Selected Sermons of Bishop Robert Smith, p. 12. University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, SC. ISBN 1570036659.
  3. Board of Trustees of the College of Charleston: Overview
  4. Greene, Harlan. "A History of the College's Land - Locating the Land". Discovering Our Past: College of Charleston Histories. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
  5. College of Charleston Archives: Inventory of Historical Records, 1785-1970
  6. Guidebook of the Charleston Multimedia Project, Charleston County Public Library
  7. College of Charleston: Style Guide, by the College of Charleston's Division of Marketing and Communications
Episcopal Church (USA) titles 1st Bishop of South Carolina
1795–1801		 Succeeded by
Theodore Dehon
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