Caleb Rochford Stetson
Caleb Rochford Stetson | |
|---|---|
 Stetson in 1900 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 16, 1871 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | June 15, 1932 (aged 61) Manhattan, New York City, U.S. |
| Buried | Trinity Church Cemetery and Mausoleum, Hamilton Heights, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. |
| Spouse | Helen Richards (m. 1914–1932; his death) |
| Education | Harvard University |
Reverend Caleb Rochford Stetson (April 16, 1871 – June 15, 1932) was an American Anglican minister who served as the eleventh rector of Trinity Church in New York City from 1921 until his death eleven years later.
Early life
[edit]Stetson was born in 1871 in Boston, Massachusetts, to George Rochford Stetson and Helen Sybil Avery.[1] He was their second child, born four years after Susan, who went on to marry Admiral Frank F. Fletcher.[1]
Stetson graduated from Harvard University in 1894, before studying medicine at John Hopkins School of Medicine. He also attended the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia, for a year, then the General Theological Seminary in New York City. He graduated in 1898.[1]
Career
[edit]
Stetson was ordained a deacon in 1898 and became a priest the following year. For the next seven years, he was in charge of the Cathedral Mission Chapel of the Good Shepherd in Washington, D.C.[1]
He became vicar of Trinity Church in Manhattan, New York City, in 1907. He served for four years. He then worked for a decade as rector of St. Mark's Church in Washington, D.C. He became the eleventh rector of Trinity in 1921, succeeding Bishop William Thomas Manning,[2] whom he had previously worked under.[1]
A staunch opponent of divorce,[3] Stetson wrote about The Indissolubility of the Marriage Bond in church publications.[1]
He was a president of the New York Churchmen's Association, a trustee of Columbia University, of the General Theological Seminary, Sailors' Snug Harbor, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Leak and Watts Orphan Asylum, the Protestant Episcopal City Mission Society, the American Church Building Fund, the Episcopal Publication Society, St. Stephen's College and the Society for Promoting Religion and Learning.[1]
Personal life
[edit]Stetson married his cousin, Helen Richards, daughter of Boston's Henry C. Richards and Helen L. Stetson, in 1914.[1][4]
He was bestowed with an honorary degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology from Columbia University, the General Seminary, Hobart College and the University of the South. He was given an honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity by St. Stephen's College.[1]
Death
[edit]
Stetson died at Manhattan's St. Luke's Hospital in 1932, aged 61, of heart disease.[1] His funeral, officiated by Bishop Manning, was held at Trinity Church on June 18.[5] His body was held in a receiving vault in Trinity Church Cemetery and Mausoleum in Hamilton Heights, Manhattan.[1] It was believed to have initially been only a temporary resting place, with a possible reinterment at Mount Auburn Cemetery in his native Massachusetts.[5]
He was succeeded as rector of Trinity Church by Frederic Sydney Fleming.[6]
Stetson's widow died in 1935, aged 60, from pneumonia. She had been living at 50 East 10th Street in Manhattan.[4] She was buried beside her husband.[7] In her will, she bequeathed $26,000 to religious, charitable and educational facilities. She also arranged for 40% of her residuary estate to be donated to the General Theological Seminary for a scholarship fund in memory of her husband.[8]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "DR. C. R. STETSON OF TRINITY DEAD; Rector of Noted Parish Here Succumbs to Heart Attack While Reading in Hospital. TWELFTH TO SERVE CHURCH oWas Bitter Opponent of Divorceuu Anglo-Catholic and Leader in the General Episcopal Conventions". The New York Times. 1932-06-16. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-02.
- ↑ Rectors – Trinity Church official website
- ↑ "Church Marriages" – The Catholic Telegraph, August 4, 1927
- 1 2 "MRS. CALEB R' _STETSON',; I I Widow of the Rector of Trinity{ I Protestant Episcopal Church, I". The New York Times. 1935-11-23. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-02.
- 1 2 "HUNDREDS MOURN AT STETSON'S BIER; Clergy and Nuns Keep Vigil at All Saints' Chapel of Trinity Throughout the Day. MANNING LAUDS HIS WORK Steadfastness of Service Praised by Bishop -- Many to Attend Funeral Service Tomorrow". The New York Times. 1932-06-17. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-02.
- ↑ TIME (1932-11-28). "Religion: Trinity Rector". TIME. Retrieved 2026-09-02.
- ↑ "FUNERAL AT TRINITY FOR MRS. C. R. $TET$ON Z; 300 Persons Pay Tribute to the l Widow of Rector -- Many Clergymen Present". The New York Times. 1935-11-26. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-02.
- ↑ "STETSON WILL AIDS CHURCH CHARITIES; Widow of Trinity Rector Also Left Eventual Share to the General Seminary". The New York Times. 1935-12-05. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-02.