William H. DeLancey

William Heathcote DeLancey (October 8, 1797 – April 5, 1865) was a bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America and the sixth Provost of the University of Pennsylvania. DeLancey was known as a High Churchman, and served as the first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York. He was elected a Trustee of the University of Pennsylvania and then as the ninth provost (chief academic officer and highest professional position) of the university (1828 to 1834). Family and education DeLancey was born at Mamaroneck, New York into a celebrated New York family descended from Caleb Heathcote. He was the son of John Peter DeLancey, a Revolutionary War soldier, and his wife, Elizabeth Floyd. His sister married James Fenimore Cooper. DeLancey graduated from Yale College in 1817 and later studied divinity with Bishop John Henry Hobart of New York. He served in several positions in New York before being ordained to the ministry in 1822. He married Frances Munro, daughter of Peter Jay Munro, in 1820. They had five sons and three daughters. Their eldest son, Edward Floyd DeLancey, was president of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. Ministry After his ordination, DeLancey took a position in Philadelphia as general assistant to William White (Bishop of Pennsylvania). He held various clerical offices in Philadelphia and, in 1826, was elected a Trustee of the University of Pennsylvania. Delancey was elected provost of the university in 1828, continuing in that office until 1834. The next three years showed a distinct improvement in the number of students and in other areas.