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Charles Frederick Ernest Minnegerod was a William & Mary professor of Latin and Greek and rector of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia during the American Civil War. Under his tenure at the church, it included parishioners such as Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis, the latter whom of which he baptized.
Minnegerod was born August 6, 1814 in Ahrensburg, Westphalia, now the Federal Republic of Germany. He attended the University of Giessen in 1832 where he studied law. He was influenced by the shifting revolutionary ideals circulating in the region at the time, and was arrested for his political activities in 1834. He was released under house arrest to his family. After he served his sentence, he immigrated to the United States of America in 1839 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Minnigerod became professor of Latin and Greek at the College of William & Mary in 1842 and served on the Board of Visitors 1871-1893. He joined the Episcopal Church in 1843 after his marriage to Mary Carter and became a priest of the church in 1847. He accepted the position of rector at Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond in 1856. During his tenure in the position, he provided religious counsel to Confederate leaders in Richmond throughout the American Civil War. He provided the blessing for the inauguruation of Jefferson Davis in 1862 and conducted multiple burials of Confederate leadership, including J.E.B. Stuart.
After the war, Minnigerod served communion to Jefferson Davis during his imprisonment and delivered the memorial address after Davis' death at Saint Paul's in 1889. Minnigerod retired from his position to Alexandria, Virginia in 1889 and died October 13, 1894.
Charles Minnigerod mammoth plate portrait, Special Collections Research Center, William & Mary Libraries.
A hand-colored mammoth plate portrait of Charles Minnigerod, 1814-1894, rector of Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia during the American Civil War. The image was photographed by the Anderson Art Palace, operated by photographer David H. Anderson, 1827-1905. The photograph is undated, but was taken during the operation of the Anderson Art Palace in Richmond, Virginia, 1865-1879.
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