Samuel Smith Harris (September 14, 1841 – August 21, 1888) was the second Bishop of Michigan in the

Episcopal Church in the United States of America The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop o ...

Biography

Harris was born on September 14, 1841, in

Autauga County, Alabama Autauga County is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census the population was 58,805. Its county seat is Prattville. Autauga County is part of the Montgomery metropolitan area. History ...

. He graduated in law from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

in 1859. Later he enlisted in the

3rd Regiment Alabama Infantry The 3rd Alabama Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. The 3rd Alabama consisted mainly of men from the Alabama counties of Autauga, Coosa, Lowndes, Macon, Mobile and M ...

in 1861. On December 19, the same year, Harris married Mary Gindrat Pickett with whom he had seven children. After the war he left for New York to practice supreme law. He also commenced his studies in theology after which he was ordained deacon on February 10, 1869, and then priest on June 30, 1869, on both occasions by Bishop

Richard Hooker Wilmer Richard Hooker Wilmer (March 15, 1816 – June 14, 1900) was the second Bishop of Alabama in the Episcopal Church. Richard Wilmer was the only bishop to be consecrated by the Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America (PECCSA). Early ...

of Alabama. He served in several churches in

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

. He graduated with a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...

in 1874 from the

College of William & 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 II ...

and his LLD from the

in 1879.

Episcopacy

In 1879 Harris was elected Bishop of Michigan. He was consecrated on September 17, 1879, in St Paul's Cathedral in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. He served as the first editor of ''

The Living Church ''The Living Church'' is a magazine based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, providing commentary and news on the Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion. In continuous publication since 1878, it has generally been identified with the Anglo-Cathol ...

'' with John Fulton, and wrote several books, including ''The Dignity of Man'', ''Christianity and Civil Society'', ''Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality'', and ''Shelton'', a novel.

Death

In 1888 he traveled to England to preach in

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". '' National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winche ...

. Whilst there he suffered a stroke and died a few days later on August 21, 1888. His funeral took place in Winchester Cathedral and presided by

Edward White Benson Edward White Benson (14 July 1829 – 11 October 1896) was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1883 until his death. Before this, he was the first Bishop of Truro, serving from 1877 to 1883, and began construction of Truro Cathedral. He was previous ...

Primate of All England and Archbishop of Canterbury. His body was brought back to Detroit and buried in

Woodmere Cemetery Woodmere Cemetery is at West Fort Street and Woodmere Avenue in Detroit, Michigan, in the neighborhood of Springwells Village in what was originally the township of Springwells. Woodmere Cemetery is operated by the Midwest Memorial Group. Histor ...

, however he was exhumed and transferred to Elmwood Cemetery in 1900.

References

External links

* 1841 births 1888 deaths People from Autauga County, Alabama Clergy from Detroit 19th-century American Episcopalians Episcopal bishops of Michigan 19th-century American clergy Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (Detroit) {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub