William Harris (academic)
Encyclopedia
William Harris an Episcopalian minister, was the sixth president of Columbia College
, serving from 1811 to 1829. In a compromise, John Mitchell Mason, a Presbyterian minister who was denied the presidency, became the university's first provost and chief operating officer.
William Harris was born at Springfield, Massachusetts, April 29, 1765. His mother was Sarah, a granddaughter of Wm. Pynchon, the founder of Springfield, and his father Daniel was a deacon in the Congregational Church. Harris graduated from Harvard College in 1786, and he began as a minister, but soon retired due to health issues. He turned to the study of medicine and during that time converted to the Episcopalian
Church. His health recovered and he rejoined the ministry.
After rectoring in Marblehead, Massachusetts
, he was made a deacon on October i6th, 1791, in Trinity Church, New York
, and advanced to the priesthood on the following Sunday in St. George's Chapel. On November 3 of that year he married Martha, the daughter of the Rev. Jonas
Clark, of Lexington, Massachusetts
. They had seven children.
Mr. Harris continued to officiate both as teacher and preacher until 1801, when he received a unanimous call to St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery to fill the vacancy caused by the death of the Rev. Mr. Callahan. On February 2, 1802 he was inducted as rector. In 1811 Mr. Harris was elected president of Columbia College and received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Harvard and Columbia. At the same time Dr. John M. Mason, the
prominent Presbyterian divine, who had been proposed for the presidency, was made provost, an office created for him and carrying with it some of the administrative duties. This lightening of the president's work enabled Dr. Harris to retain the rectorship of St. Mark's until 1816, when the resignation of Dr. Mason gave Harris all the duties of president.
Harris is remembered as a greatly revered and beloved president. Dr. Harris died at Columbia College, on October 18, 1829, and was buried in a vault at St. Mark's.
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, serving from 1811 to 1829. In a compromise, John Mitchell Mason, a Presbyterian minister who was denied the presidency, became the university's first provost and chief operating officer.
William Harris was born at Springfield, Massachusetts, April 29, 1765. His mother was Sarah, a granddaughter of Wm. Pynchon, the founder of Springfield, and his father Daniel was a deacon in the Congregational Church. Harris graduated from Harvard College in 1786, and he began as a minister, but soon retired due to health issues. He turned to the study of medicine and during that time converted to the Episcopalian
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
Church. His health recovered and he rejoined the ministry.
After rectoring in Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead, Massachusetts
Marblehead is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,808 at the 2010 census. It is home to the Marblehead Neck Wildlife Sanctuary and Devereux Beach...
, he was made a deacon on October i6th, 1791, in Trinity Church, New York
Trinity Church, New York
Trinity Church at 79 Broadway, Lower Manhattan, is a historic, active parish church in the Episcopal Diocese of New York...
, and advanced to the priesthood on the following Sunday in St. George's Chapel. On November 3 of that year he married Martha, the daughter of the Rev. Jonas
Clark, of Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...
. They had seven children.
Mr. Harris continued to officiate both as teacher and preacher until 1801, when he received a unanimous call to St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery to fill the vacancy caused by the death of the Rev. Mr. Callahan. On February 2, 1802 he was inducted as rector. In 1811 Mr. Harris was elected president of Columbia College and received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Harvard and Columbia. At the same time Dr. John M. Mason, the
prominent Presbyterian divine, who had been proposed for the presidency, was made provost, an office created for him and carrying with it some of the administrative duties. This lightening of the president's work enabled Dr. Harris to retain the rectorship of St. Mark's until 1816, when the resignation of Dr. Mason gave Harris all the duties of president.
Harris is remembered as a greatly revered and beloved president. Dr. Harris died at Columbia College, on October 18, 1829, and was buried in a vault at St. Mark's.