Charles Frederick Ernest Minnigerode (born Karl Friedrich Ernst Minnigerode, August 6, 1814 in

Arnsberg Arnsberg (; wep, Arensperg) is a town in the Hochsauerland county, in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the location of the Regierungsbezirk Arnsberg administration and one of the three local administration offices of the Ho ...

- October 13, 1894 in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

) was a German-born American professor and clergyman who is credited with introducing the

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern G ...

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

. He was professor of Latin and Greek at the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William ...

from 1842 to 1848. A

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

, Minnigerode became an Episcopalian. In 1845, he submitted himself as a candidate for the priesthood. The following year Bishop John Johns ordained him to a Bruton Parish deaconate. He became an Episcopal priest in 1847. In the summer of 1846 the President of William and Mary, Thomas R. Dew, died. The board of visitors attempted to reorganize the college, causing a great deal of faculty discontent. As a result most of the faculty, including the newly appointed president, resigned. The board then decided to start from scratch, and in 1848 asked for the rest of the faculty's resignations. After resigning from William and Mary, Minnigerode accepted the pastorate of Merchant's Hope Church in Prince George County where he remained until 1853, when he went to the Freemason Episcopal Church in Norfolk, the largest congregation in the Diocese of Virginia. In 1856, he was appointed rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

where he served until 1889. During his wartime ministry at St. Paul's (which was called "the Cathedral of the Confederacy") Minnigerode baptized Jefferson Davis and officiated the funeral of J.E.B. Stuart.

References

1814 births 1894 deaths American Episcopal clergy American classical scholars College of William & Mary faculty People from Arnsberg German emigrants to the United States 19th-century American clergy Converts to Anglicanism from Lutheranism {{US-Christian-clergy-stub