Installed 1824 Term ended 1831 | Education Union College Name Thomas Brownell | |
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Consecration by William White (bishop of Pennsylvania) Born October 19, 1779
Westport, Massachusetts ( 1779-10-19 ) Died January 13, 1865, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Similar People Evan Dobelle, Samuel Eliot, Richard H Hersh | ||
Successor Nathaniel Sheldon Wheaton | ||
Thomas Church Brownell (October 19, 1779 – January 13, 1865) was founder of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church from 1852 until his death.
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Biography
Brownell was born in Westport, Massachusetts on Oct. 19, 1779. He was a descendant on his mother's side from Colonel Benjamin Church, an early settler in Little Compton, Rhode Island and the father of American ranging. He studied at Union College, Schenectady, New York, receiving his degree in 1804.
He was ordained to the diaconate and priesthood by Bishop John Henry Hobart. He was consecrated Bishop of Connecticut in New Haven on October 27, 1819. Brownell's extensive writings include diocesan charges, liturgical material, scriptural commentaries and other works. He founded Washington College (now known as Trinity College), Hartford as a faith-based college and served as its first president for nearly a decade.
Brownell served as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church from 1852 until his death, succeeding Philander Chase.
Brownell was buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery, next to Samuel and Elizabeth Colt. Brownell had presided over their wedding in 1856.
Statue
Brownell’s son-in-law Gordon Burnham commissioned artist Chauncey Ives to design a larger-than-life bronze statue of Brownell to be placed at Brownell's grave in Cedar Hill Cemetery. It was cast in 1869 by the foundry of Ferdinand von Miller of Munich. Burnham decided to donate the statue to Trinity College instead. The statue was first erected November 11, 1869, overlooking Bushnell Park, at the original site of the college. It was moved in 1878 to the main quadrangle of the new Trinity Campus.