Samuel Smith Harris Explained

Type:Bishop
Honorific-Prefix:The Right Reverend
Samuel Smith Harris
Honorific-Suffix:D.D., LL.D.
Bishop of Michigan
Church:Episcopal Church
Diocese:Michigan
Term:1879–1888
Elected:June 7, 1879
Predecessor:Samuel A. McCoskry
Successor:Thomas Frederick Davies Sr.
Ordination:June 30, 1869
Ordained By:Richard Hooker Wilmer
Consecration:September 17, 1879
Consecrated By:Richard Hooker Wilmer
Birth Date:14 September 1841
Birth Place:Autauga County, Alabama, U.S.
Death Place:London, England
Buried:Elmwood Cemetery, Detroit
Parents:Buckner Harris & Sarah McKeithen
Spouse:Mary Gindrat Pickett
Children:7
Alma Mater:University of Alabama
Nationality:American
Signature:Signature of Samuel Smith Harris (1841–1888).png

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.

Biography

Harris was born on September 14, 1841, in Autauga County, Alabama.[1] He graduated in law from the University of Alabama in 1859. Later he enlisted in the 3rd Regiment Alabama Infantry 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 of Alabama. He served in several churches in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Illinois. He graduated with a Doctor of Divinity in 1874 from the College of William & Mary and his LLD from the University of Alabama 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. He served as the first editor of The Living Church 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.[2]

Death

In 1888 he traveled to England to preach in Winchester Cathedral. Whilst there he suffered a stroke and died a few days later on August 21, 1888.[1] His funeral took place in Winchester Cathedral and presided by Edward White Benson Primate of All England and Archbishop of Canterbury. His body was brought back to Detroit and buried in Woodmere Cemetery in Detroit, however he was exhumed and transferred to Elmwood Cemetery in 1900.

Notes and References

  1. Book: The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans . V . Rossiter . Johnson . John Howard . Brown . American Biographical Society . Boston . . 1904 . 2022-04-08 . Internet Archive.
  2. Book: Herringshaw . Thomas William . Accurate and Succinct Biographies of Famous Men and Women in All Walks of Life . Chicago . American Publishers Association . 1902 .