Benjamin Moore (bishop)
President of Columbia University | |
---|---|
In office 1801–1810 | |
Preceded by | Charles Henry Wharton |
Succeeded by | William Harris |
Acting President of King's College | |
In office 1775–1784 | |
Preceded by | Myles Cooper (president) |
Succeeded by | George Clinton (acting) |
Personal details | |
Born | Newtown, New York | October 5, 1748
Died | February 27, 1816 Greenwich Village, New York | (aged 67)
Spouse |
Charity Clarke
(after 1779) |
Children | Clement Clarke Moore |
Parent(s) | Samuel Moore Sarah Fish Moore |
Alma mater | King's College |
Signature | |
Benjamin Moore (October 5, 1748 – February 27, 1816) was the second Episcopal bishop of New York and the fifth President of Columbia University. He is remembered for having given Holy Communion to Alexander Hamilton on his deathbed, and for being the father of Clement Clarke Moore, the reputed author of the 1823 Christmas poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas."
Early life
Moore was born in
He attended King's College (now
Career
Not long after returning to America, in 1775, Moore was made assistant rector at
Trinity rector Charles Inglis was an outspoken Tory who welcomed the subsequent British occupation of New York. Moore continued to work at his side but stayed publicly neutral on the political questions surrounding the American Revolutionary War. After the British defeat Inglis left for England, and Moore was elected Trinity's rector in 1783. Returning Patriot church members, among them Declaration of Independence co-author Robert R. Livingston and soon-to-be New York Mayor James Duane, objected to the choice, and in early 1784 Moore agreed to step aside in favor of Samuel Provoost, the only Anglican priest in New York who had openly supported the Revolution.[6]
The
Concurrently with his church work Moore served from 1784 to 1787 as professor of rhetoric and logic at Columbia College,
Bishop of New York
Moore was elected coadjutor bishop of New York in 1801 to assist Provoost, who wished to retire.[4] The diocese of New York covered the entire state and the population was rapidly increasing upstate, with many migrants from New England. This area had been opened up for settlement and development as agricultural lands after the war due to the cession by the Iroquois League, allies of the British, of nearly five million acres of land.
Moore was the
In 1811, Moore had a stroke. He resigned as Columbia's president, and asked for the election of an additional coadjutor bishop to assist him. John Henry Hobart was elected to the post that year.[1] In 1815, Bishop Provoost died, and Moore succeeded him to become the second full bishop of New York.
Last communion for Hamilton
On July 11, 1804, Moore was summoned to the deathbed of
Personal life
In 1779, Moore married Charity Clarke, daughter of English officer Major Thomas Clarke, who had stayed in the colony after his service in the
The Moores had one child together, Clement Clarke Moore (1779–1863), who is credited and is most widely known as the author of the Christmas poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas." They inherited the Chelsea estate and passed it on to their son, who developed it into the neighborhood of Chelsea, Manhattan.[12]
On February 27, 1816, Moore died in Greenwich Village, New York. He was buried at Trinity Church. North Moore Street, Manhattan is named in his honor.[13]
Notes
- ^ a b c d Moore, 99; Brown, 531
- ^ a b Perry, 21
- ^ Collections of the New-York Historical Society for the Year 1870. New York: New-York Historical Society. 1870. p. 214.
- ^ a b c Batterson, 66
- ^ "Benjamin Moore | Columbia University Libraries". library.columbia.edu. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
- ^ Episcopal Church (1911). Archives of the General Convention. Privately printed.
- ^ Pine, John B. (June 1900). "Benjamin Moore, S.T.D." Columbia University Quarterly. II (3): 259. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
- ^ Batterson, 67
- ^ Pine, John B. (June 1900). "Benjamin Moore, S.T.D." Columbia University Quarterly. II (3): 259–261. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
- ^ Fleming, Thomas. Duel- Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr and the Future of America, New York: Basic Books, 1999, pp.328-9
- ISBN 978-0-316-61251-7.
- Harper & Brothers. pp. 167–9.
- ^ "Nosy Neighbor: Is There a Moore Street?". Tribeca Citizen. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
References
- Batterson, Hermon Griswold (1878). A Sketch-book of the American Episcopate. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippencott & Co. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
- Brown, John Howard, ed. (1903). Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States. Vol. 5. Boston: Federal Book Company of Boston. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
- Moore, James W., ed. (1903). Rev. John Moore of Newtown, Long Island, and some of his descendants. Easton, Pa.: Chemical Publishing Co. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
- Perry, William Stevens (1895). The Episcopate in America. New York: The Christian Literature Company. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
- Pine, John B (June 1900). "Benjamin Moore, S.T.D." Columbia University Quarterly. II (3): 258–266. Retrieved December 9, 2022.