Sherrill, Henry Knox, 1890-1980

Henry Knox Sherrill was born in Brooklyn, New York on November 6, 1890. He was educated at Yale and Episcopal Theological School. He served as an Episcopal clergyman in Massachusetts from 1914-1930. He was elected Bishop of Massachusetts in 1930, serving until 1946. He was Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church from 1947-1958. He held the office of President of the National Council of Churches from 1950-1952, and of the World Council of Churches from 1954-1961. He died on May 11, 1980.

From the description of Sherrill family papers, 1859-2003 (inclusive). (Yale University). WorldCat record id: 702181236

From the description of Henry Knox Sherrill papers, 1776-1985 (inclusive). (Yale University). WorldCat record id: 122512893

John Boyd Bentley was born in Hampton, Virginia 9 February 1896. He attended the College of William and Mary and served in the U. S. Field Artillery in World War I. Bentley attended the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia He served as an Episcopal clergyman in Alaska and in Williamsburg. He then served as Suffragan Bishop and Bishop of Alaska. From 1947 to 1964, Bentley was Director of Overseas Missions of the Episcopal Church. He died 12 June 1989.

• 1896, February 9: Born, Hampton, Virginia,son of Charles Headley Bentleyand Susan Elizabeth (Cake) Bentley
• 1915: Entered College of William and Mary(attended 1915-1916 and 1920-1921 but did not graduate)
• 1917: Entered service in U.S. Field Artillery
• 1921, May 28: Married Elvira Wentworth Carr(died, 1983)
• 1921: Attended Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia
• 1921 - 1925 : Episcopal clergyman in Alaska
• 1926 - 1930 : Episcopal clergyman in Williamsburg, Virginia
• 1931: Ordained Bishop in Denver, Colorado
• 1931 - 1942 : Suffragan Bishop of Alaska
• 1942 - 1947 : Bishop in charge of Alaska
• 1947 - 1964 : Director of Overseas Missions of Episcopal Church
• 1964: Retired and moved to Hampton, Virginia
• 1964 - 1989 : Episcopal minister in Diocese of Southern Virginia
• 1989, June 12: Died, Hampton, Virginia.

From the guide to the John Boyd Bentley Papers, 1895-1987, (Special Collections, Earl Gregg Swem Library, College of William and Mary)

• 1890 Nov 6: Born in Brooklyn, New York, son of Henry Williams and Maria (Prue) Knox Mills Sherrill
• 1906: Graduated from Polytechnic Preparatory School, Brooklyn
• 1906 - 1907 : Year spent at Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, Connecticut
• 1911: Graduated from Yale College
• 1914: Graduated from Episcopal Theologlcal School, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• 1914 Jun 7: Ordained to the deaconate
• 1914 - 1917 : Assistant minister, Trinity Church, Boston, Massachusetts
• 1917 - 1919 : Red Cross chaplain of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Base Hospital Six; service in France (transferred from status of Red Cross chaplain to Army chaplain, First Lieutenant,1918)
• 1919 - 1923 : Rector of Church of Our Saviour, Brookline, Massachusetts
• 1921: Married to Barbara Harris who became the mother of his children: Henry Williams, Edmund Knox, Franklin Goldthwaite, and Barbara Prue
• 1923: Received calls from St. James' Church, Chicago; St. Paul's Church, Rochester; Trinity Church, Boston
• 1923 - 1930 : Rector of Trinity Church, Boston
• 1928: Elected Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. Declined position.
• 1928: Became trustee of Massachusetts General Hospital. Was Chairman of the Board 1934-1946.
• 1929: Granted honorary D.D. by Yale University. Numerous honorary degrees followed in the years to come.
• 1930 May 8: Elected Bishop of Massachusetts
• 1930 Oct 14: Consecration as Bishop of Massachusetts
• 1932 Sep: Mother, Maria Knox Sherrill, died
• 1933 Mar: Brother, Franklin Goldthwaite Sherrill, died
• 1934: Elected a "successor" fellow of the Yale Corporation
• 1941: Published William Lawrence, Later Years of a Happy Life
• 1943: Vice-chairman of United States General Commission on Chaplains, later Chairman. Traveled to Aleutian Islands in September, 1943 to visit chaplains and men on duty there.
• 1945 Apr: Visited troops and chaplains in Europe on behalf of General Commission of Chaplains.
• 1945 Dec: Visited Germany as part of Federal Council of Churches delegation
• 1946: Elected Presiding Bishop of Episcopal Church
• 1946: Appointed by President Truman to the Committee on Civil Rights
• 1947 Jan 14: Installed as Presiding Bishop
• 1948: Lyman Beecher lecturer at Yale Divinity School; lectures published as The Church's Ministry in Our Time.
• 1948: Attended Lambeth Conference in England
• 1949: General Convention of Episcopal Church in San Francisco
• 1949: Operation for intestinal ailment
• 1950 - 1952 : President of newly formed National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
• 1952: General Convention of Episcopal Church in Boston
• 1953: Visited Japan, Korea, Okinawa, Philippines
• 1954: Anglican Conference, Minneapolis
• 1954: Elected as one of the Presidents of the World Council of Churches at the Second General Assembly, Evanston thereby member of Executive and Central Committees. Served as WCC President until 1961.
• 1955: General Convention of Episcopal Church in Honolulu. HKS made decision to shift location from Houston due to problems of racial segregation.
• 1955: Visited Australia
• 1956: Visited U.S.S.R. as part of National Council of Churches delegation
• 1958: Appeared on "Person to Person" television show with Edward R. Murrow
• 1958: Attended Lambeth Conference in England
• 1958: General Convention of Episcopal Church in Miami Beach. HKS's successor elected. Son, Edmund, elected as Bishop of Central Brazil.
• 1958 Nov: Retired as Presiding Bishop
• 1962: Published autobiography: Among Friends
• 1968: Operation for gall bladder
• 1980 May 11: Died

For more detailed information, see Sherrill's autobiography, Among Friends (Little, Brown and Company, Boston, 1962) and the obituaries and tributes contained in Series III, Box 36. List of Sherrill family members;

• 1922 Nov 14: Born in Boston, MA, son of Henry Knox Sherrill and Barbara Harris Sherrill
• 1941: Graduated from Milton Academy
• 1943 - 1946 : Served in U.S. Army
• 1947: Graduated from Yale College, class of 1945
• 1947 - 1948 : Attended Union Theological Seminary, NY
• 1950: Graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria, VA
• 1950: Ordained at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, Boston
• 1952 - 1952 : Parish ministry: Christ Church, Grosse Pointe, MI
• 1952 - 1965 : Parish ministry: Church of the Redeemer, Cincinnati, OH
• 1964 - 1969 : Executive Officer of Diocese of Southern Ohio
• 1969 - 2001 : Served with various non-profit and charitable organizations, including co-founder of Consultation Search, co-founder (1971) and chairman (1971-1991) of the Cheswick Center. Among the Cheswick Center projects he was involved with were the innovative Board Mentor Program, in conjunction with the Association of Governing Boards and Universities, and the Program for the Public Service Management of Religious Institutions at the General Theological Seminary, Berkeley, Calif. He also consulted with the Menniger Foundation, Topeka, Kansas, the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Cincinnati Medical School in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the Clorox Company. He served as president of the Good Samaritan Foundation in Wilmington, DE and on the boards of the Corporation of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston; the Center of Effective Philanthropy, Cambridge, Mass.; the Children’s Home, Cincinnati, Ohio; the Slingerland Institute, Seattle, Wash., and the Arizona branch of the International Dyslexia Society, among many others.
• 2001 Mar 21: Died in Peoria, AZ

From the guide to the Henry Knox Sherrill Papers, 1859-2003, (Yale University Divinity School Library)