Francis Huger Rutledge


Francis Huger Rutledge was the first Episcopal bishop of Florida.

Early life

Rutledge was born in Charleston, South Carolina, the son of Hugh Rutledge and Mary Rutledge. He graduated from Yale University in 1820, and from the General Theological Seminary in 1823. Rutledge was ordained deacon on May 9, 1823 by the Bishop of South Carolina Nathaniel Bowen, and began officiating at Christ Church the same year. He was ordained priest in St Paul's Church, Radcliffe, South Carolina, on November 20, 1825, by Bishop Bowen. He then moved to become rector of Grace Church, Sullivan's Island, in 1827. In 1845, he moved to Tallahassee, Florida and became rector of St. John's Church.

Bishop of Florida

Rutledge was elected Bishop of the new diocese of Florida in 1851. He was the 53rd bishop in the ECUSA, and was consecrated by Bishops Christopher E. Gadsden, Stephen Elliott, and Nicholas Hamner Cobbs. When the American Civil War started, Rutledge was an advocate for secession, even agreeing to pay $500 to the state treasury as soon as the secession ordinance had passed. He died in 1866 and is buried in his native South Carolina.

Family

He was a nephew of South Carolina statesmen John and Edward Rutledge.