Samuel Provoost

Samuel Provoost (March 11, 1742 - September 6, 1815) was an American Clergyman. He was the first Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, as well as the third (possibly the second) Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, USA. He was consecrated as bishop of New York in 1787 with Bishop William White.[1] He was the first Episcopal Bishop of Dutch and Huguenot ancestry.

The Most Reverend Samuel Provoost D.D.
3rd Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
Samuel Provoost
Church	Episcopal Church
In office	1792-1795
Predecessor	Samuel Seabury
Successor	William White
Other posts	Bishop of New York (1787-1815)
Orders
Ordination	March 25, 1766 by Edmund Keene
Consecration	February 4, 1787 by John Moore
Personal details
Born	March 11, 1742 New York City, Province of New York, Kingdom of Great Britain
Died	September 6, 1815(1815-09-06) (aged 73) New York City, New York, United States
Buried	Trinity Church Cemetery
Nationality	American
Denomination	Anglican
Parents	John Provoost & Eva Rutgers
Spouse	Maria Bousfield ( m. 1766)
Signature

Early life

Samuel Provoost was born in New York City, New York to John Provoost and Eva Rutgers in 26 February 1742. He was baptized in 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).

Samuel was educated at King's College, which is now known as Columbia University. Provoost graduated from King's College in 1758. In 1761 he arrived in England and continued his studies at Peterhouse, Cambridge.[2][3] Samuel was fluent in Hebrew, Greek and Latin, and while he was at the College he learned French and Italian gaining the distinction as a linguist.[4] Samuel Provoost also matriculated at the University of Leiden, July 28, 1764.[5][6]

Career

In February 1766, Provoost was ordained a deacon at the Chapel Royal of St James's Palace in Westminster and a priest in March 1766. In September 1766, Provoost sailed to New York with his wife and in December he became an assistant minister of Trinity parish, a post he retained until 1774 when he withdrew. He declined to serve as delegate to the Continental Congress, though his patriotic impulses led him to join his neighbors in their pursuit of the British after the burning of the town of Esopus. He did not resume the active ministry until the close of the war.[7]

In 1784, he became rector of Trinity Church, New York and, in 1785, chaplain of the Continental Congress. Provoost was elected first Bishop of New York at the Diocesan Convention in 1786.[8] A short while later, he was honored with the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the University of Pennsylvania. 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 declined his resignation, instead appointing an Assistant Bishop. Provoost retired in 1801.[1][9]

Personal life

On June 8, 1766, he married Maria Bousfield (d. 1799)[9] who was the daughter of Thomas Bousfield, a rich Irish banker and the sister of Benjamin Bousfield,[1] a Sheriff of Cork City. Their children were:[10][11]

• Maria Provoost (1770–1837), who married Cadwallader D. Colden (1769–1834)[10] in 1793.[12][13]
• Benjamin Bousfield Provoost (1776–1841), who married Nellie French (d. 1863) in 1803,[12] and had 8 children.[10]
• John Provoost (d. 1800), who died young.[10]
• Susanna Elizabeth Provoost, who married George Rapalje (1771–1885) in 1798. and later Dr. Julian Xavier Charbet (1792–1859).[10][12][14]

His wife died in August 1799.[9] Bishop Provoost died in 1815 due to a stroke.[1]

Consecrators

• John Moore, 88th Archbishop of Canterbury
• William Markham, 77th Archbishop of York
• Charles Moss, Bishop of Bath and Wells

Samuel Provoost was the fourth bishop consecrated for the Episcopal Church of the United States.

See also

• List of presiding bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
• List of Episcopal bishops of the United States
• Historical list of the Episcopal bishops of the United States

References

Notes

1. "Samuel Provoost; American Clergyman" "Encyclopædia Britannica"
2. "(PRVT761S)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
3. Sprague, William B., "Rt Rev. Samuel Provoost" "Project Canterbury" 2008
4. "Provost (or Provoost), Samuel (PRVT761S)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
5. Album Studiosorum Academiae Lugduno Batavae MDLXXV-MDCCCLXXV, kol. 1082.
6. Index to English speaking students who have graduated at Leyden university / by Edward Peacock, F.S.A. - London : For the Index society, by Longmans, Green & co. 1883, p. 80, 1082.
7. Wilson, James G., "A Sketch of the First Bishop of New York" "Project Canterbury" 2008
8. Chorley, E. C., "Samuel Provoost: First Bishop of New York" "Project Canterbury" 2010
9. Ryder, George T. (August 21, 1886). "The First Bishop of New York". The Churchman. Churchman Company: 201–202. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
10. Greene, Richard Henry; Stiles, Henry Reed; Dwight, Melatiah Everett; Morrison, George Austin; Mott, Hopper Striker; Totten, John Reynolds; Pitman, Harold Minot; Ditmas, Charles Andrew; Forest, Louis Effingham De; Maynard, Arthur S.; Mann, Conklin (1880). The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
11. Valentine's Manual of Old New York. Valentine's manual, Incorporated. 1916. p. 228. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
12. Whittelsey, Charles Barney (1902). The Roosevelt Genealogy, 1649-1902. Press of J.B. Burr & Company. p. 33. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
13. Adams, Louisa Catherine (2014). A Traveled First Lady. Harvard University Press. p. 305. ISBN 9780674369276. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
14. Fisher, James (2015). Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Beginnings. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9780810878334. Retrieved 21 June 2017.

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
• U.S. Senate Chaplains
• Samuel Provoost records at Trinity Wall Street Archives

Episcopal Church (USA) titles
Preceded by (none)	1st Bishop of New York 1787–1815	Succeeded by Benjamin Moore
Preceded by Samuel Seabury	3rd Presiding Bishop September 13, 1792 – September 8, 1795	Succeeded by William White
Preceded by (none)	1st US Senate Chaplain April 25, 1789 – December 9, 1790	Succeeded by William White