Henry Styles Getz

Rev. Henry Styles Getz, Clergyman, was born in Reading, Pennsylvania, April 6th, 1826. His mother was the daughter of a soldier of the Revolution; his father, George Getz, was an officer in the navy of the United States during the War of 1812, and also a prominent citizen of Reading, Pennsylvania, who established the first English newspaper ever printed in Berks county, and which is still published. He is the brother of the Hon. J. Lawrence Getz, who for six years represented the district of Berks in Congress. He received a thorough academic education at the well-known schools under the direction of the Moravian Society at Litiz, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. Upon starting in life he at first engaged in the book business, and for a short time was connected with the publishing trade in Philadelphia. But commercial life was not suited to his tastes or nature, and in 1856 he became a candidate for Holy Orders in the Protestant Episcopal Church. Following the prescribed routine he was ordained to the Diaconate by Bishop A. Potter, in 1857, and to the Priesthood by Bishop Samuel Bowman, in 1858. He was assigned to and had charge successively of the parishes of Christ Church, Media, Delaware county, Pennsylvania; of St. Peter's Church, Smyrna, Delaware; of the united parishes of the Church of Faith, Mahanoy City, and St. Peter's Church, Hazleton. At present he is the Rector of Trinity Memorial Church, Warren, Pennsylvania (Division of Pittsburgh). He is now Dean of the Warren Deanery, one of the Clerical Deputies from the Diocese to the General Convention, and is also Editor of the Diocesan Missionary paper, Our Diocese. He was married, December 27th, 1852, to Caroline, daughter of Thomas Desilver, a prominent bookseller of Philadelphia.

Source: The Biographical Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania of the Nineteenth Century. Philadelphia: Galaxy Publishing Co., 1874, pp. 582.

Contributed by: Nancy.