The Most Reverend Samuel Provoost
3rd Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
Samuel Provoost
Church	Episcopal Church
In office	1792–1795
Predecessor	Samuel Seabury
Successor	William White
Other post	Bishop of New York(1787-1815)
Orders
Ordination	March 25, 1766 by Edmund Keene
Consecration	February 4, 1787 by John Moore
Personal details
Born	March 11, 1742 New York City,Province of New York,Kingdom of Great Britain
Died	September 6, 1815(1815-09-06) (aged 73) New York City,New York,United States
Buried	Trinity Church Cemetery
Nationality	American
Denomination	Anglican
Parents	John Provoost and Eva Rutgers
Spouse	Maria Bousfield ​ (m. 1766)​
Alma mater	King's College, New York
Signature

Samuel Provoost (March 11, 1742 – September 6, 1815) was an American clergyman. He was the firstchaplain of the United States Senate and the firstbishop of theEpiscopal Diocese of New York, as well as the third^[1]Presiding Bishop of theEpiscopal Church, USA. He was consecrated as bishop of New York in 1787 with BishopWilliam White.^[2] He was the first Episcopal bishop ofDutch andHuguenot ancestry.

Samuel Provoost was born in New York City, New York to John Provoost and Eva Rutgers on 26 February 1742. He was baptized on 28 February 1742 (The Roosevelt Genealogy, 1649–1902). He was a direct descendant ofDavid Provoost from Amsterdam. His paternal grandmother wasMary (née Spratt) Alexander (1693–1760).

Provoost was educated atKing's College, now known as Columbia University, graduating in 1758, and promoted toMaster of Arts in 1761.^[3]

That same year, he sailed to Europe. He eventually continued his studies atPeterhouse, Cambridge,^[4][5] from which he graduated with a second BA in 1766.^[6] Samuel was fluent inHebrew,Greek andLatin, and while he was at Cambridge he learnedFrench andItalian gaining the distinction as a linguist.^[7]

During this time, he also matriculated at the University ofLeiden, on July 28, 1764.^[8][9]

In February 1766, Provoost was ordained a deacon at theChapel Royal ofSt James's Palace in Westminster and a priest in March 1766. In September 1766, he sailed to New York with his wife and in December he became an assistant rector ofTrinity Church. Provoost's dry preaching style, along with his support for American independence, offended some church members and in 1769 a motion was made in thevestry to dispense with his services. The vestry subsequently resolved "That Mr. Provoost be continued, and paid by what can be raised by subscription only," but funds weren't forthcoming and in 1771 Provoost resigned and settled in Dutchess County near his friendsWalter Livingston andRobert R. Livingston.^[10]

During his 13 years there he preached occasionally in neighboring churches, and joined his neighbors in their pursuit of the British after the burning of the town ofEsopus, but he declined offers to serve as a delegate to the Provincial Congress and as chaplain of the New York Constitutional Convention of 1777, as well as the rectorship of churches inCharleston,South Carolina, andBoston.^[11]

In 1783, after the end of the American Revolutionary War, the outspoken Tory rector of Trinity Church,Charles Inglis (the future first Anglican Bishop in Canada), left for England and was replaced by assistant rectorBenjamin Moore, who had stayed at Trinity through the British occupation. ReturningPatriots objected and in 1784 installed Provoost as rector of Trinity, with Moore agreeing to stay on as assistant rector.^[12] In 1785, he was named chaplain of theContinental Congress.^[11]

TheEpiscopal Church of the United States broke away from theChurch of England and held its first General Convention in 1785. In 1786 Provoost was elected first Bishop of New York at theDiocesan Convention.^[13] A short while later, he was honored with the degree of Doctor of Divinity from theUniversity of Pennsylvania.^[14] In 1787, Provoost was consecrated with Dr. William White at Lambeth Place by Dr. John Moore. Provoost was electedChaplain to the Senate in 1789. Due to health issues, he resigned the rectorship of Trinity in 1800. The following year, Provoost sought to relinquish his episcopal office, but theHouse of Bishops declined his resignation, instead appointing Moore as Adjutant Bishop. Provoost effectively retired, but remained Bishop until his death in 1815.^[2][15]

On June 8, 1766, he married Maria Bousfield (d. 1799)^[15] who was the daughter of Thomas Bousfield, a rich Irish banker and the sister of Benjamin Bousfield,^[2] aSheriff of Cork City. Their children were:^[16][17]

• Maria Provoost (1770–1837), who marriedCadwallader D. Colden (1769–1834)^[16] in 1793.^[18][19]
• Benjamin Bousfield Provoost (1776–1841), who married Nellie French (d. 1863) in 1803,^[18] and had 8 children.^[16]
• John Provoost (d. 1800), who died young.^[16]
• Susanna Elizabeth Provoost, who married George Rapalje (1771–1885) in 1798. and later Dr. Julian Xavier Charbet (1792–1859).^[16][18][20]

His wife died in August 1799.^[15] Bishop Provoost died in 1815 due to a stroke.^[2]

• John Moore, 88thArchbishop of Canterbury
• William Markham, 77thArchbishop of York
• Charles Moss,Bishop of Bath and Wells

Samuel Provoost was thethird[21] bishop consecrated for theEpiscopal Church of the United States.

• List of presiding bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
• List of Episcopal bishops of the United States
• Historical list of the Episcopal bishops of the United States

Notes

Sources

• W. S. Perry,The History of the American Episcopal Church, 1587-1883 (Boston, 1885)
• The Centennial History of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New York, 1785-1885, edited byJ. G. Wilson, (New York, 1886)

• Historical Documents about Provoost fromProject Canterbury
• U.S. Senate Chaplains
• Samuel Provoost records at Trinity Wall Street ArchivesArchived 2016-04-28 at theWayback Machine

• 1742 births
• 1815 deaths
• American people of Dutch descent
• American people of Scottish descent
• Religious leaders from New York City
• Chaplains of the United States Senate
• Episcopal bishops of New York
• Presiding Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
• 18th-century Anglican bishops in the United States
• Huguenot participants in the American Revolution
• Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge
• Leiden University alumni
• Burials at Trinity Church Cemetery
• People from the Province of New York
• Columbia College, Columbia University alumni
• 19th-century American Episcopalians
• 18th-century American Episcopal priests
• 18th-century American bishops

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