Frederick Herbert Sill (1874 – July 17, 1952) was an American Episcopalian priest and educator. He was the founder of

Kent School Kent School is a private college-preparatory day and boarding school in Kent, Connecticut. Founded in 1906, it is affiliated with the Episcopal Church. It educates around 520 boys and girls in grades 9–12. Kent was one of the first schools ...

, a private boarding school in

Kent, Connecticut Kent is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. Located alongside the border with New York (state), New York, the town's population was 3,019 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwe ...

Biography

Sill was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to Jane and Thomas Henry Sill, who was the vicar of St. Chrysostom's Chapel on West 39th Street in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. He graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1894 and from

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating ...

in 1898, the same year he was ordained. From 1898 to 1900, Sill served as a curate at Mount Calvary Church in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. In 1900, he became a monk of the

Order of the Holy Cross The Order of the Holy Cross is an international Anglican monastic order that follows the Rule of St. Benedict. History The order was founded in 1884 by the Rev. James Huntington, an Episcopal priest, in New York City. The order moved to Ma ...

and founded the

on the

Housatonic River The Housatonic River ( ) is a river, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United ...

in 1906. He promoted the philosophy of self-help and stewardship by asking students, many of whom scions of prominent families, to participating in housework or help with farming to raise produce for the school. It was also the first secondary school in the country to charge tuition on a sliding scale. Under his leadership, Kent was transformed into one of America's foremost boy's schools. Sill was the coxswain of the Columbia varsity crew of 1895 that won the first

Intercollegiate Rowing Association The Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) governs College rowing (United States), intercollegiate rowing between Varsity team, varsity men's heavyweight, men's lightweight, and women's lightweight rowing programs across the United States, whil ...

regatta at

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ) is a city within the Poughkeepsie (town), New York, Town of Poughkeepsie, New York (state), New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie i ...

, and he coached the crew team of Kent School, leading it to victory in regattas across

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

. On June 5, 1941, Sill retired from his post as headmaster after a paralytic stroke. He was affectionally called "Pater" by students of the school. Sill died on July 17, 1952, at his home in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sill, Frederick 1874 births 1952 deaths American Christian monks Founders of American schools and colleges Heads of American boarding schools Columbia Lions rowers General Theological Seminary alumni Clergy from New York City