Anson Phelps Stokes (philanthropist)
Encyclopedia
Anson Phelps Stokes was an American educator, clergyman, author
, philanthropist
and civil rights activist.
Stokes was one of three men of the same name; his father was multimillionaire banker Anson Phelps Stokes
, and his son was the Bishop Anson Phelps Stokes, III
, an Episcopal bishop.
He was born in New Brighton
on Staten Island
, New York to Anson and Helen Louisa Phelps Stokes, and attended Yale University
, graduating in 1896 with a bachelor's degree. At Yale he was inducted into Skull and Bones
. He then traveled, mostly in East Asia. In 1897, he entered the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Massachusetts
to prepare for the priesthood, and received his bachelor of divinity degree in 1900, although it wasn't until 1925 that he formally became a priest.
In 1899, Stokes took the post of secretary of Yale University, second in command to the college president, and he also served as assistant rector of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in New Haven, Connecticut from 1900 to1918. Stokes was a favorite to replace Arthur T. Hadley as president of Yale in 1921, and was said to have had the support of a majority of the board, but a vociferous minority insisted that an outsider was needed at the helm of the university, and Stokes was passed over.
Stokes married Carol G. Mitchell, and the two had three children, including Anson Phelps Stokes, III (1905-1986), and Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes II, both born in New Haven, Connecticut. Anson Phelps Stokes, III was ordained as an Episcopal priest in 1933.
From 1924 to 1939, Stokes was resident canon at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. During this time, he became involved in many social, cultural, and ecclesiastical causes, and guided the philanthropy of the Phelps Stokes Fund
(established in 1911) to improve the lives of African and American blacks. In 1936, he published a short biography of Booker T. Washington
, which was an expanded version of a sketch he had written for the Dictionary of American Biography
.
Stokes saw all of his work as "fellowship in the gospel" (Philemon 1:5).
He died after a lengthy illness in his Lenox, Massachusetts
home.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
and civil rights activist.
Stokes was one of three men of the same name; his father was multimillionaire banker Anson Phelps Stokes
Anson Phelps Stokes
For other men with the same name, see Anson Phelps Stokes Anson Phelps Stokes was a merchant, banker, publicist, philanthropist, and became a multimillionaire. Born in New York City, he was the son of James Boulter and Caroline Stokes; brother of William Earl Dodge Stokes and Olivia Eggleston...
, and his son was the Bishop Anson Phelps Stokes, III
Anson Phelps Stokes (clergyman)
Anson Phelps Stokes III was the eleventh bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts in Boston, Massachusetts from 1956 to 1970. He was the son of Anson Phelps Stokes and grandson of Anson Phelps Stokes of Phelps Dodge.An alumnus of St...
, an Episcopal bishop.
He was born in New Brighton
New Brighton, Staten Island
New Brighton, formerly an independent village, is today a neighborhood located on the North Shore of Staten Island in New York City, USA. The neighborhood comprises an older industrial and residential harbor front area along the Kill Van Kull west of St. George.The village of New Brighton was...
on Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, New York to Anson and Helen Louisa Phelps Stokes, and attended Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, graduating in 1896 with a bachelor's degree. At Yale he was inducted into Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones
Skull and Bones is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. It is a traditional peer society to Scroll and Key and Wolf's Head, as the three senior class 'landed societies' at Yale....
. He then traveled, mostly in East Asia. In 1897, he entered the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
to prepare for the priesthood, and received his bachelor of divinity degree in 1900, although it wasn't until 1925 that he formally became a priest.
In 1899, Stokes took the post of secretary of Yale University, second in command to the college president, and he also served as assistant rector of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in New Haven, Connecticut from 1900 to1918. Stokes was a favorite to replace Arthur T. Hadley as president of Yale in 1921, and was said to have had the support of a majority of the board, but a vociferous minority insisted that an outsider was needed at the helm of the university, and Stokes was passed over.
Stokes married Carol G. Mitchell, and the two had three children, including Anson Phelps Stokes, III (1905-1986), and Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes II, both born in New Haven, Connecticut. Anson Phelps Stokes, III was ordained as an Episcopal priest in 1933.
From 1924 to 1939, Stokes was resident canon at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. During this time, he became involved in many social, cultural, and ecclesiastical causes, and guided the philanthropy of the Phelps Stokes Fund
Phelps Stokes
Established in 1911 as the Trustees of Phelps Stokes Fund by an act of the New York State legislature and known for much of its history as the Phelps-Stokes Fund, Phelps Stokes connects emerging leaders and organizations in Africa and the Americas with resources to help them advance social and...
(established in 1911) to improve the lives of African and American blacks. In 1936, he published a short biography of Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
, which was an expanded version of a sketch he had written for the Dictionary of American Biography
Dictionary of American Biography
The Dictionary of American Biography was published in New York City by Charles Scribner's Sons under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies. The first edition was published in 20 volumes from 1928 to 1936. These 20 volumes contained 15,000 biographies...
.
Stokes saw all of his work as "fellowship in the gospel" (Philemon 1:5).
He died after a lengthy illness in his Lenox, Massachusetts
Lenox, Massachusetts
Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. Set in Western Massachusetts, it is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,077 at the 2000 census. Where the town has a border with Stockbridge is the site of Tanglewood, summer...
home.
Works
Stokes wrote these works:- Memorials of Eminent Yale Men, 2 vols. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1914.
- Tuskegee Institute — The First Fifty Years, 1931.
- Art and the Color Line: An Appeal made May 31, 1939 to the President General and Other Officers of the Daughters of the American Revolution to Modify the Rules so as to Permit Distinguished Negro Artists such as Marian Anderson to be Heard in Constitution Hall, Washington, 1939.
- "Introduction" to Encyclopedia of the Negro; preparatory volume with reference lists and reports, by W. E. B. Du Bois and Guy B. Johnson, prepared with the cooperation of E. Irene Diggs, Agnes C. L. Donohugh, Guion Johnson, et al. New York: The Phelps-Stokes Fund, Inc., 1946.
- Contributor, Negro Status and Race Relations in the United States, 1911-1946; the Thirty-Five Year Report of the Phelps-Stokes Fund, New York: Phelps-Stokes Fund, 1948.
- Church and State in the United States, three volumes, 1950.