William Henry Elder

William Henry Elder (March 22, 1819 – October 31, 1904) was an American Catholic prelate who served as bishop of Natchez in Mississippi from 1857 to 1880 and as archbishop of Cincinnati in Ohio from 1883 until he died in 1904.

Biography Early life and education

William Elder was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 22, 1819. His father, Basil Elder, was a descendant of William Elder, a Catholic immigrant from England to the Province of Maryland in colonial times. His grandfather was Thomas Elder, the husband of Elizabeth Spalding, making William a first-cousin-removed of Catherine Spalding, co-founder of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. His mother was Elisabeth Miles (née Snowden) Elder.

Priesthood Elder was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Rome on March 29, 1846, by Cardinal Giovanni Brunelli. During the war, Elder celebrated mass for wounded soldiers and displaced civilians, including both Confederate troops and formerly enslaved people in Natchez. He also assigned priests as chaplains in the Confederate States Army and Sisters of Mercy to care for the wounded. He blessed a group of Confederate volunteers from Natchez.

In July 1863, the Union Army reestablished control of Natchez. On June 18, 1864, Colonel B.G. Farrar, the Union Army commander at Natchez and a former schoolmate of Elder's at Mount St. Mary's, ordered the clergy in Natchez to include prayers for US President Abraham Lincoln in their services. Farrar characterized the order as a "public recognition of allegiance under which they live, and to which they are indebted for protection..."

Elder refused, arguing that the directive infringed upon the "Liberty of the Church to discharge her divine functions, without interference from other persons".

In 1878, a yellow fever epidemic broke out in Natchez. Elder contracted the disease while ministering to the sick. He survived the illness but lost six diocesan priests to the epidemic. He instituted the office of chancellor and insisted on annual financial reports from clergy and parishes to reduce the archdiocesan debt.

Death and legacy Elder died in Cincinnati on October 31, 1904, from influenza. Elder High School, a Cincinnati parochial school, was named for Elder.