Nathaniel Bowen

Nathaniel Bowen (June 29, 1779 – August 25, 1839) was the third bishop of South Carolina in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

The Right Reverend Nathaniel Bowen D.D.
Bishop of South Carolina
Church	Episcopal Church
Diocese	South Carolina
Elected	February 18, 1818
In office	1818–1839
Predecessor	Theodore Dehon
Successor	Christopher Edwards Gadsden
Orders
Ordination	October 1802 by Edward Bass
Consecration	October 8, 1818 by William White
Personal details
Born	June 29, 1779 Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died	August 25, 1839 (aged 60) Charleston, South Carolina, United States
Buried	St. Michael's Churchyard
Nationality	American
Denomination	Anglican
Parents	Penuel Bowen
Spouse	Margaret Watson Blake (m. 1805)
Children	6

Biography

Nathaniel Bowen was born in Boston, son of the Rev. Penuel Bowen. The family moved to South Carolina when Nathaniel was young and his father died soon after. Nathaniel was raised by the Rev. Robert Smith, who became first bishop of South Carolina. Bowen was married in 1805 to Margaret Blake and they had 10 children, only four of whom survived him.

Bowen graduated from the College of Charleston in 1794; was ordained deacon on June 3, 1800 and priest in October 1802. He served as rector of St. John's Church, Providence, Rhode Island, St. Michael's Church, Charleston, South Carolina and Grace Church, New York City. In 1814 he received a doctor of divinity from the University of Pennsylvania. He was consecrated bishop of South Carolina on October 8, 1818, serving until his death in Charleston on August 25, 1839.

Consecrators

• The Most Reverend William White, 4th presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church
• The Right Reverend John Henry Hobart, 3rd bishop of New York
• The Right Reverend James Kemp, 2nd bishop of Maryland

Nathaniel Bowen was the 17th bishop consecrated for the Episcopal Church.

See also

• List of Bishop Succession in the Episcopal Church
• St. Stephen's Episcopal Church (Charleston, South Carolina), where Nathaniel Bowen presided over the ceremony for the laying of the cornerstone.

References

• The Episcopal Church Annual. Morehouse Publishing: New York, NY (2005).
• Annals of the American Pulpit, William Buell Sprague (Robert Carter & Bros., Cambridge, Mass., 1859), pp. 471–77

External links

• Web site of the Episcopal Church
• Web site of the Diocese of South Carolina