Francis Vinton was an American soldier and Protestant Episcopal clergyman.
Background
Francis Vinton was born on August 29, 1809, in Providence, Rhode Island. He was the son of David Vinton, a goldsmith and merchant, and Mary (Atwell) Vinton.
His first paternal ancestor in America was probably John Vinton who in 1648, was a resident of Lynn, Massachusetts.
Education
Two of Francis' brothers, John Rogers and David Hammond, had graduated from the United States Military Academy, and in his seventeenth year, July 1, 1826, Francis entered that institution.
In 1830, he graduated, ranking fourth in a class of forty-two, and was commissioned second lieutenant, 3rd Artillery.
Career
From 1830 to 1832, Vinton served in garrison at Fort Independence, Massachusetts, and while there began to study law at Harvard. He was on topographical and engineering duty from July 17, 1832, to September 1833, when he was sent to Fort Constitution, North Hampshire. While here, January 1834, he was admitted to the bar. In 1836, he saw active service in the Creek Nation. He was on recruiting duty, when, August 31, 1836, he resigned from the army with the intention of following his brother, Alexander Hamilton Vinton, into the ministry.
After studying at the General Theological Seminary, New York, he was ordained to the diaconate by Bishop A. V. Griswold at St. John's Church, Providence, September 30, 1838; the following March he was advanced to the priesthood. For a time he had under his care his nephew, Francis Laurens Vinton. His first parish was at Wakefield, Rhode Island, where he built a church with funds collected largely in Providence and New York. He then went to St. Stephen's, Providence, where again he built a church. At Easter, 1841, he became rector of Trinity Church, Newport, Rhode Island. Called to Emmanuel Church, Brooklyn, in 1844, he began a pastorate of eleven years, during which he rose to prominence in his denomination.
Facing discouraging conditions in his parish, by unwearied labors and the influence of his own character and spirit he built up a strong church, which was merged with Grace Church and established in a new edifice on Brooklyn Heights. In 1846, he was called to All Saints, New York, and in 1847 he was asked to become associate rector of Trinity Church, New Haven, Connecticut, with the right of succession; on June 3, 1848, he was elected bishop of Indiana; but all these positions he declined. In the memorable contests over the bishopric of New York in 1852 and 1854, Vinton both times came within a few votes of election as provisional bishop. Becoming assistant minister of Trinity Parish, New York, in 1855, he was assigned to Saint Paul's Chapel, and four years later transferred to Trinity Church, where the eloquence of his preaching attracted large congregations.
In 1869, he became the first professor of ecclesiastical polity and canon law in the General Theological Seminary, which position he held until his death.
Achievements
Personality
Vinton's fluency of utterance, his exceptional command of language, and his grace of manner brought him an enviable reputation as a public speaker; he was also a clear thinker and a logical debater, conspicuous in the councils of the Church. An ardent evangelical, he carried on his ministry with fervor and enthusiasm. An extreme low churchman, in the beginning, he made in practice, if not in dogma, a considerable advance toward the high church position. His military and legal training were an aid to him.
He had a high estimate of authority, was well disciplined, prompt, and direct, with, however, a tendency to peremptoriness which sometimes offended. His preparation for the bar was an excellent background for his work in canon law. A number of his sermons and addresses were printed, but his chief publication was A Manual Commentary of the General Canon Law and the Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States (1870). After ten months of failing health, he died at his home in Brooklyn.
Connections
On October 8, 1838, Vinton married Maria Bowen, daughter of John Whipple of Providence; she died in childbirth on June 6, 1840, and on November 3 of the following year he married Elizabeth Mason, daughter of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, by whom he had seven children.