Delaney, Henry Beard

(Feb. 5, 1858-Apr. 14, 1928). Second African American bishop in the Episcopal Church. He was born a slave in St. Mary's, Georgia. Delaney was raised in Fernandina, Florida. He was a grown man when he entered St. Augustine's College at Raleigh, North Carolina, from which he graduated in 1885. Upon graduation he became a teacher at St. Augustine's. He was later vice-principal of St. Augustine's. On June 7, 1889, he was ordained deacon, and on May 2, 1892, he was ordained priest. From 1889 until 1904, Delaney was a member of the Commission for Work Among Colored People, assistant minister of St. Augustine's Chapel, Raleigh, and priest-in-charge of All Saints Mission, Warrenton, North Carolina. In 1908 he became Archdeacon of the Convocation for Work Among Colored People in the Diocese of North Carolina. On Nov. 21, 1918, Delaney was consecrated Suffragan Bishop for Colored Work in the Diocese of North Carolina. The African American Episcopalians in the dioceses of South Carolina and East Carolina were also under his jurisdiction, and these two dioceses participated in his support. Along with Bishop Edward T. Demby of Arkansas, the first African American Suffragan Episcopal bishop, Delaney was charged with the supervision of African American clergy and parishes within the racially segregated ecclesiastical system of the South. Delaney died at St. Augustine's College, Raleigh. See Delaney Sisters.