Sylvester Horton Rosecrans

Sylvester Horton Rosecrans (February 5, 1827 – October 21, 1878) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Columbus in Ohio from 1868 until his death in 1878. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in Ohio from 1862 to 1868.

Biography

Early life

Sylvester Rosecrans was born on February 5, 1827, in Homer, Ohio, to Crandell and Jemima (née Hopkins) Rosecrans, the youngest of four sons. Crandell's family came from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, then moved to Kingston Township, Ohio. Jane was the granddaughter of Stephen Hopkins, the Colonial Governor of Rhode Island, and grandniece of Esek Hopkins, the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Sylvester Rosecrans' brother was General William Rosecrans of the Union Army, who fought in the American Civil War.

Raised in a Methodist family, Rosecrans spent his childhood in Licking County, Ohio, in the town of Homer. Crandall worked both as a farmer and as an engineer. After graduating from St. John's in 1846 with high honors, Rosecrans decided to enter the priesthood. Archbishop John Purcell sent him to Rome to study at the Pontifical Urbaniana University, where he earned his Doctor of Theology degree.

After touring through Italy, France, England, and Ireland, Rosecrans returned to Cincinnati. His first assignment was as pastor of St. Thomas' Parish in Cincinnati. Rosecrans journeyed throughout the diocese by stagecoach, wagon, and steamboat. The Vatican excused him from participating in the First Vatican Council (1869–1870) in Rome in order to tend to his new diocese. St. Joseph's Academy (1875) St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum (1875) Sacred Heart Convent