Charles Minnigerode Beckwith

Summary

Charles Minnigerode Beckwith (June 2, 1851 – April 18, 1928) was fourth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama from 1902 till 1928.

The Right Reverend

Charles Minnigerode Beckwith
Bishop of Alabama
Beckwith in 1913
ChurchEpiscopal Church
DioceseAlabama
ElectedOctober 8, 1902
In office1902–1928
PredecessorRobert Woodward Barnwell
SuccessorWilliam G. McDowell
Orders
Ordination1881
by John W. Beckwith
ConsecrationDecember 17, 1902
by Thomas Underwood Dudley
Personal details
Born(1851-06-02)June 2, 1851
DiedApril 18, 1928(1928-04-18) (aged 76)
Montgomery, Alabama, United States
BuriedGreenwood Cemetery (Montgomery, Alabama)
NationalityAmerican
DenominationAnglican
ParentsThomas Stanley Beckwith & Agnes Ruffin
SpouseSusan Rainsford Fairbanks (m. 1884-1885)
Lucy Cocke (m. 1888-1891)
Mary Belle Cameron (m. 1897-1928)
Children2

Early life and education edit

Beckwith was born on June 2, 1851, in Petersburg, Virginia, son of Thomas Stanley Beckwith and Agnes Ruffin. He was educated at the University of Georgia from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1873. He was also a member of Phi Delta Theta. After graduation, he served as assistant professor of mathematics at the University of the South between 1874 and 1876 and later served as master of Sewanee Grammar School at the University of the South from 1876 till 1879. In 1879, he enrolled at the Berkeley Divinity School in Middletown, Connecticut and graduated in 1881. He earned a Doctor of Divinity from Sewanee: The University of the South in 1902 and a Doctor of Sacred Theology from Berkeley in 1903. [1]

Ordained ministry edit

He was ordained to the diaconate and priesthood in 1881 by his uncle, Bishop John W. Beckwith of Georgia. He served as rector of St. Luke's Church in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1884 to 1886. While rector he was elected Assistant Bishop of Texas but declined the appointment. Later, in 1886, he became rector of Christ Church in Houston, Texas, and in 1892 became rector of Trinity Church in Galveston, Texas, where he remained until 1902.[2]

Bishop edit

Beckwith was elected Bishop of Alabama on October 8, 1902, during a special council which took place in St John's Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He was then consecrated in St Paul's Church in Selma, Alabama on December 17, 1902, by Bishop Thomas Underwood Dudley of Kentucky. [3] He died in office on April 18, 1928, in Montgomery, Alabama.

References edit

  1. ^ Herzog, Johann Jakob. The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge: Embracing Biblical, Historical, Doctrinal, and Practical Theology and Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Biography from the Earliest Times to the Present Day, Volume 2 (1908). Inventory of the Church Archives of Alabama, Volume 1, p. 23. Funk and Wagnalls Company.
  2. ^ "The Right Reverend Charles Minnigerode Beckwith D.D.". The Scroll of Phi Delta Theta. 28: 14. 1903.
  3. ^ Alabama Historical Records Survey (1939). Inventory of the Church Archives of Alabama, Volume 1, p. 18. Alabama Historical records survey.

Works edit

  • ‘’The Trinity Course of Church Instruction’’ (New York, 1898)
  • ‘’The Teacher's Companion to the Trinity Course’’ (New York, 1901)
  • ‘’What Is the Matter with the Church?’’ (Montgomery: Paragon Press, 1926)

External links edit