Archive:20th Century Biographical Dictionary, Volume 5
Archives > Archive:Extracts > 20th Century Biographical Dictionary, Volume 5
The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. 10 vols. Rossiter Johnson, ed., Boston: The Biographical Society, 1904. [A corrected edition of The Cyclopedia of American Biography (1897-1903) and Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States (1900-1903).] (Republished by Gale Research Company, Book Tower, Detroit, 1968) Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 68-19657. Vol V: Habb--Izard
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HOWE, Mark Antony De Wolfe, first bishop of Central Pennsylvania and 99th in succession in the American episcopate, was born in Bristol, R.I., April 5, 1808; only child of John and Louisa (Smith) Howe; grandson of Capt. Perley and Abigail D'Wolf Howe and of Stephen and Ruth (Bosworth) Smith; great grandson of the Rev. Perley Howe; of Mark Antony and Abigail (Potter) D'Wolf, and of Samuel and Eliza (Drown) Smith; and a descendant of James Howe, who came in 1637 to Roxbury, and in 1638 settled in Ipswich, Mass., and of Richard Smith, who settled in Bristol, R.I., in 1680 and was clerk of the town. Bishop Howe's grandfather, Capt. Perley Howe, an ardent patriot in the American Revolution, was impoverished by investing in Continental money and spent his last days as a seacher in Hartford and Weathersfield, Conn. His father, John Howe, was born at Killingly, Conn., July 5, 1783, was graduated at Brown in 1805; admitted to the bar in 1808, practised law in Bristol, Conn., 1808-41; was a state representative for several years; collector of customs, 1841-45; farmer, 1845-53; died at the home of his son, Bishop Howe, in Philadelphia, Pa., March 14, 1864. Mark Antony De Wolfe Howe was a pupil of the village school; attended the villageacademywhich was taught by two divinity students of Bishop Griswold, one of them the Rev. Stephen H. Tyng; and received his final preparation for college at Phillips academy, Andover, Mass., and under private tuition at South Kingston and Taunton. He college in 1824 and in 1826 changed to Brown, where he was graduated, A.B., 1828; A.M., 1831. He was usher in the Adams school, Boston, 1828, and head master of the Hawes school, South Boston, 1829-30. He was confirmed in St. Matthew's church, South Boston, by Bishop Griswold in 1830; was a student of theology under the Rev. Mr. Bristed in Bristol, 1830-31, and tutor in Brown university, 1831-32. He was ordained deacon in January, 1832, and priest in February, 1833, by Bishop Griswold. He was assistant and rector of St. Matthew's church, South Boston, Mass., 1832-33; rector of St. James's parish, Roxbury, 1833-34; of Christ church, Cambridge, 1834-35; and of St. James's church, Roxbury, 1836-46. He served as associate editor of the Christian Witness, Boston, 1834-45; declined a call to St. Paul's church, Louisville, Ky., 1845; and was rector of St. Luke's church, Philadelphia. Pa., 1846-71. He was a candidate for election for bishop coadjutor to Bishop Potter of Pennsylvania in 1862 and a deadlock in the contest between him and Dr. Stevens was decided by lot in favor of the latter. In 1865 he was elected missionary bishop of Nevada, which diocese included Utah, New Mexico and Arizona, but declined the office. In November, 1871, he was elected bishop of the newly erected diocese of Central Pennsylvania and was consecrated in St. Luke's church, Philadelphia, Dec. 28, 1871, by his uncle, Bishop Smith, of Kentucky, assisted by Bishops McHvaine, Lee, Potter, Clark, Bedell, Kerfoot and Morris. In 1884 he was given a coadjutor in the person of Bishop Rulison. He was a deputy to the general convention, 1850-71; secretary of the house of clerical and lay deputies, 1850-52; trustee of Brown university, 1872-90; a fellow of Brown [p.383] university, 1890-93; a member of the Pan-Anglican conference, London, 1878; a founder of the Episcopal hospital, Philadelphia, and corporate trustee of the Philadelphia Divinity school. He celebrated the fifteenth anniversary of his ordination at Christ cathedral, Reading, Pa., Jan. 15, 1882. He received from Brown the degree of D.D. in 1849 and from the University of Pennsylvania that of LL.D. in 1876. He was married, Oct. 16, 1833, to Julia Bowen Amory, who died in February, 1841, leaving two daughters, Louisa and Mary. He was twice married: first, June 17, 1843, to Elizabeth Smith Marshall, of Bristol, R.I.; and secondly, June 9, 1857, to Eliza Whitney, who survived him, as did seven sons and one daughter. His daughter Mary was married in October, 1861, to the Rev. William Hobart Hare, afterward Bishop of South Dakota. His son, the Rev. Reginald Heber (q.v.), was in 1900 rector of the Church of Our Saviour, Longwood, Brookline, Mass., and Frank Perley (A.B., Brown, 1872; E. M., Lehigh, 1878) and Arthur Whitney (A.B., Brown, 1880) became manufacturers of iron and steel in Philadelphia, Pa. Bishop Howe's published works include: Review of the Report of the Boston Public Schools (1845); Introductory Essays to Butler's Bishop Heber's Poems (1857); Loyalty in the American Republic (1803); Memoirs of the Life and Services of Bishop Alonzo Potter (1871); Charge to Clergy, &c. (1886). He died at Bristol, R.I., July 31, 1895.
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