Henry Winter Syle (November 9, 1846 – January 6, 1890) was the first deaf person to be ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church in the United States.[1][2]

Henry Winter Syle
BornNovember 9, 1846
Shanghai
DiedJanuary 6, 1890
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Venerated inAnglican Communion
FeastAugust 27

Henry Winter Syle was born in Shanghai, China; Syle was a student and parishioner of Thomas Gallaudet. He was deaf from an early age. He attended Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, St. John's College in Cambridge, England,[3] and Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Syle was encouraged to become a priest by Gallaudet. Ordained on October 14, 1883, he became the first deaf clergyman in the United States.[1] He established a congregation for the deaf in 1888.[2]

Syle struggled with poor health his whole life. He died of pneumonia on Jan. 6, 1890, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[4][2]

He is commemorated along with his teacher, Thomas Gallaudet on August 27 on the Episcopal calendar of saints.[5]

He died on January 6, 1890, and was interred at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Leslie, Frank; Deems, Charles Force; Thomas De Witt Talmage (25 January 1886). Talmage, Thomas De Witt (ed.). Frank Leslie's Sunday Magazine (PDF). New York, NY: Frank Leslie's Publishing House. p. 434. ISBN 978-1246600933. Retrieved 1 December 2015. The first deaf mute clergyman in the United States was the Rev Henry WL Syle who was ordained deacon by Bishop Stevens of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in October 1876 and advanced to the priesthood in 1883
  2. ^ a b c "Henry Winter Syle". Gallaudet University. Gallaudet University. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Syle, Henry Winter (SL867HW)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  4. ^ "Sixth Biographical Record of the Class of 1869". Google Books. Yale University. 1895. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  5. ^ "Thomas Gallaudet with Henry Winter Syle". The Episcopal Church. The Episcopal Church. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  6. ^ "Henry W. Syle". remembermyjourney.com. webCemeteries. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
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