William Crane Gray

Infobox Person
name = William Crane Gray, Missionary Bishop of Southern Florida


caption =
birth_date = September 6, 1835
birth_place = Lambertville, Hunterdon County, New Jersey
dead=dead
death_date = 1919|death_place = Nashville. Davidson County, Tennessee

William Crane Gray was the first bishop of the Episcopal Church's Missionary Jurisdiction of Southern Florida, which had been split off from the Episcopal Diocese of Florida in October 1892.. [Cushman, Joseph D., Jr., "A Goodly Heritage: The Episcopal Church in Florida, 1821-1892", Gainesville: University of Florida Press (1965) pp. 199-200.]

Childhood and education

William Crane Gray was born in Lambertville, New Jersey, on September 6, 1835, the son of Joseph Gray and Hannah Price Gray. When he was ten he and his parents moved to Tennessee. In 1859 he graduated from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio and he then went to seminary at Bexley Hall, which was then located in Gambier. [Cushman, Joseph D., Jr., "A Goodly Heritage: The Episcopal Church in Florida, 1821-1892", Gainesville: University of Florida Press (1965) pp. 199-200.]

Ministry

William Crane Gray was ordained to the diaconate in 1859 and to the priesthood in 1860. He served as chaplain of a Tennessee regiment during the Civil War. After the war, he served parishes in Bolivar and Nashville. He had been rector of the Church of the Advent in Nashville for 20 years when he was elected bishop. His consecration was held there. [Cushman, Joseph D., Jr., "A Goodly Heritage: The Episcopal Church in Florida, 1821-1892", Gainesville: University of Florida Press (1965) pp. 199-200.]

Family

William Crane Gray's first wife was Margaret Locke Trent, whom he married on May 20, 1863. His second wife was Fannie Campbell Bowers, whom he married August 2, 1877. Their son, Campbell Gray born January 6, 1879, later became Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana . ["Who's Who in America 1903" Chicago: A.N. Marquis Company, p.592.]

Episcopacy

Later life

William Crane Gray retired as Missionary Bishop of Southern Florida in 1913 and went to live with his son in Nashville, where he died in 1919. [ [http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20070107&Category=COLUMNISTS0404&ArtNo=701070366&Ref=AR Bishop Gray Defended Seminole Interests | TheLedger.com ] ]

Note on the Missionary Jurisdiction of Southern Florida

The Missionary Jurisdiction of Southern Florida in 1922 became the Diocese of South Florida.. [Cushman, Joseph D., Jr., "A Goodly Heritage: The Episcopal Church in Florida, 1821-1892", Gainesville: University of Florida Press (1965) p.ix.] In 1969, the Diocese of South Florida was split into three dioceses as follows: the Diocese of Central Florida, the Diocese of Southeast Florida and the Diocese of Southwest Florida.

ources

* Cushman, Joseph D., Jr., "A Goodly Heritage: The Episcopal Church in Florida, 1821-1892", Gainesville: University of Florida Press (1965) pp. 199-200.]
* "Who's Who in America, 1903", Chicago: A.N. Marquis Company, p.592.

ee also

* All Saints Episcopal Church (Jensen Beach, Florida) Tells of the Bishop's missionary efforts.
* Campbell Gray, II Bishop of Northern Indiana, son of William Crane Gray
* Francis Campbell Gray VI Bishop of Northern Indiana and Assistant Bishop of Virginia, grandson of Campbell Gray
* Succession of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States

References

External links

* [http://www.adventnashville.org/ Church of the Advent Nashville]
* [http://www.mydelraybeach.com/Delray/City+at+a+Glance/Early+History.htm Delray Beach Timeline tells of two parishes being opened by Bishop Gray in 1904 & 1911]
* [http://www.geocities.com/yosemite/rapids/8428/hikeplans/eau_gallie/planeaugallie.html Bishop Consecrates St. John's Eau Gallie (Melbourne)]
* [http://jaxhistory.com/journal7.html Jacksonville Hisorical Society Article on Liberty Ships - shows picture of christening of Liberty Ship "William Crane Gray"]
* [http://www.stjameshoptpa.com/page3.html Ordinations by Bishop Gray at St. James in Tampa]