BAYLEY, JAMES ROOSEVELT

JAMES ROOSEVELT BAYLEY. - North American prelate, b. 23 Aug. 1814 at Rye (New York), d. 3 Oct. 1877 at Newark. Reared in Protestantism, he became rector of the church of St Peter in Harlem. In 1841 he resigned this post, came to Rome, where he embraced the Catholic faith, and was baptised in Apr. 1842. He attended the seminary of St Sulpice in Paris to study theology. On returning to his homeland, he was ordained priest in Mar. 1844 and became secretary to Bishop Hughes of New York. In 1853 he was appointed first bishop of Newark. He displayed great energy in organising the new diocese and, though lacking ample financial means, succeeded in founding various religious houses, a seminary and schools. In 1872 he was transferred to the archiepiscopal see of Baltimore. He wrote a history of the Catholic Church in New York (A brief sketch of the early history of the Catholic Church on the island of New York, 2nd ed., New York 1870).