The Rev. Franklyn Isaac Abraham Bennett was born on May 14, 1873 in New Orleans, Louisiana. When he was two years old, he moved to Charleston, South Carolina where he was educated in private schools beginning at the age of six. He graduated from Avery Academy in 1891 and left Charleston in 1892 to attend Howard University in Washington, D.C.. In 1895 he began his study of theology at King Hall, an Episcopal theological college connected with Howard University, graduating in 1897.
Ordained deacon on October 31, 1897, he was assigned to assist The Rev. John Henry Mingo Pollard, Rector of Saint Mark's Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, and to work at Saint Andrew's Mission and School in Charleston County. On November 30, 1898, Rev. Bennett was ordained into the priesthood at Saint Mary's Chapel in Columbia, South Carolina. In addition to his continuing work at Saint Andrew's Mission and School, he went on to serve as Priest-in-Charge of Calvary Episcopal Church in Charleston, Epiphany in Summerville, and Atonement in Walterboro. In the summer of 1899 he acted as archdeacon of South Carolina.
On December 28, 1899, Rev. Bennett returned to King Hall where he served as Warden until 1901 when he was asked by The Rt. Rev. Henry Yates Satterlee, first Bishop of the Diocese of Washington, to find a suitable place in Washington, D.C. to start a new mission. On February 2, 1901 he opened this new mission at 1303 H Street Northeast. Once the congregation outgrew this location, they moved to 11th and G Streets Northeast. The cornerstone of the new church building was laid in 1909 and the mission was given the name of Calvary Episcopal Church. Rev. Bennett served as Priest-in-Charge of this congregation for forty years.
From the description of Franklyn I.A. Bennet Family Papers; 1898-2001, 1900-1951. (Virginia Theological Seminary). WorldCat record id: 464252168
