# William Stevens Perry > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/William_Stevens_Perry > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/William_Stevens_Perry.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Stevens_Perry > Source revision: 1313571566 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American bishop}} {{Infobox Christian leader | type = Bishop | honorific-prefix = The Right Reverend | name = William Stevens Perry | title = [Bishop of Iowa](/source/Episcopal_Diocese_of_Iowa) | image = William Stevens Perry.jpg | alt = | caption = | church = [Episcopal Church](/source/Episcopal_Church_(United_States)) | archdiocese = | diocese = | see = [Iowa](/source/Episcopal_Diocese_of_Iowa) | elected = June 21, 1876 | term = 1876–1898 | predecessor = [Henry Washington Lee](/source/Henry_Washington_Lee) | successor = [Theodore Nevin Morrison](/source/Theodore_Nevin_Morrison) | ordination = April 7, 1858 | ordained_by = [Manton Eastburn](/source/Manton_Eastburn) | consecration = September 10, 1876 | consecrated_by = [William Bacon Stevens](/source/William_Bacon_Stevens) | rank = | birth_date = {{birth date|1832|1|22}} | birth_place = [Providence](/source/Providence%2C_Rhode_Island), [Rhode Island](/source/Rhode_Island), [United States](/source/United_States) | death_date = {{death date and age|1898|5|13|1832|1|22}} | death_place = [Dubuque](/source/Dubuque%2C_Iowa), [Iowa](/source/Iowa), [United States](/source/United_States) | buried = [Church of St. James the Less](/source/Church_of_St._James_the_Less%2C_Philadelphia) | parents = Stephen Perry & Katharine Whittemore Stevens | spouse = {{marriage|Sara Abbot Wood Smith|1862}} | children = | previous_post = | religion = [Anglican](/source/Anglicanism) | alma_mater = [Harvard College](/source/Harvard_College) | signature = Signature of Bishop William Stevens Perry.png }} '''William Stevens Perry''' (January 22, 1832 – May 13, 1898) was a 19th-century [bishop](/source/bishop) of the [Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America](/source/Protestant_Episcopal_Church_in_the_United_States_of_America) and an [educator](/source/education). He served as the second bishop of the [Diocese of Iowa](/source/Episcopal_Diocese_of_Iowa) from 1876 to 1898. ==Biography== ===Early life and ministry=== He was born at [Providence, Rhode Island](/source/Providence%2C_Rhode_Island), studied at [Brown University](/source/Brown_University), but took his degree from [Harvard](/source/Harvard_University) in 1854. He studied [theology](/source/theology) at [Virginia Theological Seminary](/source/Virginia_Theological_Seminary) before finishing his studies privately. He was ordained a deacon at Grace Church in [Newton, Massachusetts](/source/Newton%2C_Massachusetts), and a priest (1858) at [St. Paul's](/source/Cathedral_Church_of_St._Paul%2C_Boston), [Boston](/source/Boston%2C_Massachusetts), where he spent the first year of his ministry. His succeeding charges were in St. Luke's Church [Nashua, New Hampshire](/source/Nashua%2C_New_Hampshire), St. Stephen's Church [Portland, Maine](/source/Portland%2C_Maine), St. Michael's Church [Litchfield, Connecticut](/source/Litchfield%2C_Connecticut), and Trinity Church [Geneva, New York](/source/Geneva%2C_New_York).{{cite book|last=Horton|first=Loren N.|title=The Beautiful Heritage: A History of the Diocese of Iowa|year=2003|publisher=Diocese of Iowa|location=Des Moines|page=47}} He taught history at [Hobart College](/source/Hobart_and_William_Smith_Colleges) for several years and served the institution as president from April to September, 1876, when he was consecrated Bishop of Iowa. ===Bishop of Iowa=== He did much for the cause of education in his diocese—reopened Griswold College, founded [St. Katharine's Hall](/source/St._Katherine's_Historic_District) for girls, Kemper Hall for boys, and Lee Hall for training candidates for orders. Several other schools were founded throughout the diocese. Some of the schools were parish based while others were sponsored by the diocese. Bishop Perry reformed the vestries in the diocese, and reduced the number parishes by removing the ones that did not function on a regular basis, if at all. [Grace Cathedral](/source/Trinity_Episcopal_Cathedral_(Davenport%2C_Iowa)) had been completed by his predecessor, Bishop [Henry Washington Lee](/source/Henry_Washington_Lee), but it was up to Perry to establish the administration. He named the Very Rev. Willis H. Barris as [dean](/source/Dean_(Christianity)) and a [chapter](/source/Chapter_(religion)) based on the English model. He gave a report on the model at the Anglican Congress in [London](/source/London) while he attended the [Lambeth Conference](/source/Lambeth_Conference).{{sfn|Horton|2003|page=50}} In the 1884 Diocesan Convention, Bishop Perry proposed goals that embraced the [Social Gospel](/source/Social_Gospel) Movement that was popular at the time.{{sfn|Horton|2003|page=56}} As a result, three hospitals were founded during his episcopate: Cottage Hospital in [Des Moines](/source/Des_Moines), [St. Luke's Hospital](/source/St._Luke's_Hospital_(Cedar_Rapids%2C_Iowa)) in [Cedar Rapids](/source/Cedar_Rapids%2C_Iowa) and [St. Luke's Hospital](/source/St._Luke's_Hospital_(Davenport%2C_Iowa)) in [Davenport](/source/Davenport%2C_Iowa). A Home for the Friendless, supported by J.M. Griffith, was begun in [Dubuque](/source/Dubuque%2C_Iowa) and a [Home for the Friendless](/source/Clarissa_Cook_Home_for_the_Friendless) was also begun in Davenport by Clarissa C. Cook. In 1862 he became the Assistant Secretary of the General Convention and became Secretary in 1868. He attended the Third Lambeth Conference in 1888 and the Fourth in 1897. He was a hereditary member of the Rhode Island [Society of the Cincinnati](/source/Society_of_the_Cincinnati), a founding member of The [Sons of the Revolution](/source/Sons_of_the_Revolution) in Iowa, and also a member of the Massachusetts Commandery of the [Naval Order of the United States](/source/Naval_Order_of_the_United_States). He was also a member of the Masonic Brotherhood ===Later life and death=== Bishop Perry was in poor health during the latter part of his life and took several trips to [Europe](/source/Europe) to recuperate. While he was on visitation to Northeast Iowa, Bishop Perry suffered a paralytic [stroke](/source/stroke) on May 12, 1898, and died the following day. His funeral was held in [St. John's Church](/source/St._John's_Episcopal_Church_(Dubuque%2C_Iowa)) in Dubuque and he was buried in the churchyard of the [Church of St. James the Less](/source/Church_of_St._James_the_Less%2C_Philadelphia) in [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania](/source/Philadelphia%2C_Pennsylvania).{{sfn|Horton|2003|page=61}} ==Honors== Perry received several honorary degrees. In 1869 he received a [Doctor of Sacred Theology](/source/Doctor_of_Sacred_Theology) from [Trinity College](/source/Trinity_College%2C_Dublin) in [Dublin](/source/Dublin), and the [College of William and Mary](/source/College_of_William_and_Mary) awarded him a [Doctor of Laws](/source/Legum_Doctor) in 1876. He was elected a member of the [American Antiquarian Society](/source/American_Antiquarian_Society) in 1882.[http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlistp American Antiquarian Society Members Directory] [Oxford University](/source/Oxford_University) awarded him a [Doctor of Divinity](/source/Doctor_of_Divinity) in 1888 when he was in [England](/source/England) for the Lambeth Conference.{{sfn|Horton|2003|pages=47–48}} He was made an Honorary Chaplain of the [Venerable Order of St John](/source/Venerable_Order_of_St_John) in England on 9 May 1898.{{London Gazette|issue=26965|pages=2888–2889|date=10 May 1898}} ==Writings== Among his writings are: *''Documentary History of the [Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America](/source/Episcopal_Church_in_the_United_States_of_America)'' (1863–1864), with [Dr. F. L. Hawks](/source/Francis_L._Hawks) *''Historical Collections of the American Colonial Church'' (five volumes, 1871–1878) *''Historical Notes and Documents Illustrating the Organization of the Protestant Episcopal Church in America'' (1874) *''Historical Sketch of the Protestant Episcopal Church. 1784–1884'' (1884) ==Literature== *William Stevens Perry, ''Episcopate in America'' (1895), sketch and [bibliography](/source/bibliography) ==References== {{Reflist}} *{{NIE}} ==External links== {{Portal|Biography}} *[http://anglicanhistory.org/usa/wsperry/ Documents by and about William Stevens Perry] from [Project Canterbury](/source/Project_Canterbury) *{{Find a Grave|58774412}} {{Episcopal Diocese of Iowa|state=collapsed}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, William Stevens}} Category:1832 births Category:1898 deaths Category:American educators Category:American religious writers Category:Brown University alumni Category:Burials at the Church of St. James the Less Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Historians of the American Revolution Category:Historians of the Thirteen Colonies Category:People from Davenport, Iowa Category:Clergy from Providence, Rhode Island Category:Episcopal bishops of Iowa Category:19th-century Anglican bishops in the United States Category:General Society of Colonial Wars --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [William Stevens Perry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Stevens_Perry) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Stevens_Perry?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.