Henry Slicer (March 27, 1801 – April 23, 1874) was an American

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

minister who served as

Chaplain of the Senate The chaplain of the United States Senate opens each session of the United States Senate with a prayer, and provides and coordinates religious programs and pastoral care support for senators, their staffs, and their families. The chaplain is appoi ...

for three separate terms.

Early years

Henry Slicer was born on March 27, 1801, in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

, the son of Andrew Slicer and Elizabeth Selby. During his youth he worked for a time as a painter of furniture while he studied for the ministry. He was licensed to preach in December 1821, by the Methodist church.

Ministry

Slicer served pastorates at the Harford circuit (1821) and then the Redstone circuit (1823), west of the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range ( ) — also spelled Alleghany or Allegany, less formally the Alleghenies — is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada. Historically it represented a significant barr ...

. Then he was assigned to the Ebenezer Station in Washington, D.C., at the Naval Yard (1824). In 1837 he was elected to serve as

, a post to which he would again be elected in 1847 and 1853. The unfortunate duel on February 24, 1838, at the

Bladensburg dueling grounds Bladensburg Dueling Grounds is a small spit of land, a fraction of its original size, along Dueling Creek, formerly in the town of Bladensburg, Maryland, and now within the town of Colmar Manor, just to the northeast of Washington, D.C., Uni ...

, between two Congressmen, Jonathan Cilley and William J. Graves, resulting in Cilley’s death, brought forth a sermon by Slicer that greatly influenced Congressional legislation banning dueling in the District of Columbia. He served at Georgetown and went to

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census ...

, in 1846. Following his third term as Senate Chaplain he served in Baltimore and in

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in, and the county seat of, Frederick County, Maryland, United States. Frederick's population was 78,171 people as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Maryland, second-largest ...

. Slicer served as chaplain of the Seaman’s Chapel (1862–1870) in Baltimore. In 1870, he was appointed presiding elder of the Baltimore district. He died on April 23, 1874.

Personal life

On April 3, 1827, in Baltimore, Slicer married Elizabeth (“Eliza”) C. Roberts. They had two daughters: Julia (b. 1836) and Sarah (b. 1847). Their three sons were George, Henry and Thomas Slicer.History of Frederick County, Maryland, Volume 1, by Thomas John Chew Williams, Folger McKinsey, p. 1069]

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slicer, Henry 1801 births 1874 deaths Chaplains of the United States Senate American Methodist clergy 19th-century Methodists 19th-century American clergy