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{{Short description|American prelate}}
{{Infobox Christian leader
{{Infobox Christian leader
| type = Archbishop
| type =
| honorific-prefix = The Most Reverend
| honorific_prefix = [[The Most Reverend]]
| name = George Thomas Montgomery
| name = George Thomas Montgomery
| honorific-suffix =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| title = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco|Coadjutor Archbishop of San Francisco]]
| title = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco|Coadjutor Archbishop of San Francisco]]
| image = RevGMontgomery.JPG
| image = RevGMontgomery.JPG
| image_size = 230px
| image_size = 230px
| alt =
| church = [[Catholic Church]]
| archdiocese = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco|San Francisco]]
| caption = George Thomas Montgomery, first American-born Bishop of Los Angeles
| church = [[Roman Catholic]]
| appointed = September 17, 1902
| archdiocese =
| term_end = January 10, 1907 (his death)
| other_post = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles|Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles]] (1896–1902)<br />[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles|Coadjutor Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles]] (1894–1896)
| province =
<!---------- Orders ---------->
| metropolis =
| diocese =
| ordination = December 20, 1879
| see =
| ordained_by = [[James Gibbons]]
| elected =
| consecration = April 8, 1894
| appointed =
| term = 1902-1907
| term_start = 1902
| quashed =
| term_end = 10 January 1907
| predecessor =
| opposed =
| successor =
| other_post = Titular Archbishop of Axomis
<!---------- Orders
The Orders section may be omitted in favour of Template:Ordination for those
clergy claiming Apostolic succession, such as Catholics, Orthodox and Anglicans. ---------->
| ordination = 20 December 1879
| ordained_by =
| consecration = 8 April 1894
| consecrated_by = [[Patrick William Riordan]]
| consecrated_by = [[Patrick William Riordan]]
| cardinal =
| created_cardinal_by =
| rank =
<!---------- Personal details ---------->
<!---------- Personal details ---------->
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1847|08|30}}
| birth_place = [[Daviess County, Kentucky|Daviess County]], [[Kentucky]], U.S.
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1847|12|30}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1907|01|10|1847|08|30}}
| birth_place = Saint Lawrence, [[Kentucky]], [[United States]]
| death_place = [[San Francisco]], [[California]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1907|01|10|1847|12|30}}
| death_place =
| buried = [[Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma|Holy Cross Cemetery]]
| nationality = American
| religion =
| residence =
| parents =
| spouse = <!-- or | partner = -->
| children =
| occupation =
| profession =
| previous_post = [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles|Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles]] <small>(1896-1902)</small><br>[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles|Coadjutor Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles]] <small>(1894-1896)</small>
| education =
| alma_mater =
| motto =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| coat_of_arms =
| coat_of_arms_alt =
<!---------- Sainthood ---------->
| feast_day =
| venerated =
| saint_title =
| beatified_date =
| beatified_place =
| beatified_by =
| canonized_date =
| canonized_place =
| canonized_by =
| attributes =
| patronage =
| shrine =
| suppressed_date =
<!---------- Other ---------->
| other =
}}
}}
'''George Thomas Montgomery''' (December 30, 1847 &ndash; January 10, 1907) was an American prelate of the [[Catholic Church]]. He was the first American-born [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles|Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles]] (1896–1902) and later served as [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco|Coadjutor Archbishop of San Francisco]] from 1902 until his death in 1907.
{{infobox bishopstyles |
name=George Thomas Montgomery |
dipstyle=[[The Most Reverend]] |
offstyle=[[Your Excellency]] |
relstyle=[[Monsignor]] |
deathstyle=none |}}
'''George Thomas Montgomery''' (December 30, 1847 &ndash; January 10, 1907) was the first [[United States|American]]-born Bishop of the Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles (now the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles]]), serving in that capacity from 1896-1902.


==Early life and education==
==Biography==
Montgomery was born on December 30, 1847, on a farm in [[Daviess County, Kentucky|Daviess County]], [[Kentucky]], near [[Owensboro, Kentucky|Owensboro]].<ref name=genealogy>{{cite book|last=Montgomery|first=David B.|date=1903|title=A Genealogical History of the Montgomerys and Their Descendants|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2E06AAAAMAAJ|location=Owensivlle, Indiana|publisher=J. P. Cox|page=361|isbn=9780598802651 }}</ref> He was one of nine children of Pius Michael and Harriet Elizabeth (née Warren) Montgomery; his uncle was [[Zachariah Montgomery]] and his cousin, Zachariah's son, was [[John Joseph Montgomery]].<ref name=bio>{{cite book|date=1904|title=The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans|volume=II|location=Boston|publisher=The Biographical Society}}</ref> His mother died of [[typhoid fever]] when he was 10 years old and he was raised by an aunt, Margaret Montgomery Head.<ref name=weber>{{cite book|last=Weber|first=Francis J.|date=1966|title=George Thomas Montgomery: California Churchman|publisher=Westernlore Press}}</ref>
Bishop Montgomery was born in Saint Lawrence, [[Kentucky]]. He was ordained a [[priest]] in December 1879 and became a [[bishop]] in January 1894. He assisted his predecessor (Bishop [[Francisco Mora y Borrell]]) as [[coadjutor]] of what was then referred to as the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles|Diocese of Monterey-Los Angeles]], and became the [[Ordinary (officer)|ordinary]] of the diocese when Mora retired in May 1896. During his term Bishop Montgomery faced significant bigotry, but he proved to be both a capable church and civic leader. Among other contributions, he demanded that government recognize the right of parents to send their children to schools of their choice. [[Bishop Montgomery High School]] in [[Torrance, California]] is named in his honor. Bishop Montgomery was a relative of [[Zachariah Montgomery]] and aviation pioneer [[John J. Montgomery]], who both also lived in California.


Montgomery worked in farming until 1867, when he entered Cecilian College, an all-male boarding school near [[Elizabethtown, Kentucky|Elizabethtown]].<ref name=genealogy/> After deciding to enter the priesthood, he was sponsored by his uncle Zachariah, who had moved to [[California]], as a student for the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco|Archdiocese of San Francisco]].<ref name=weber/> He attended [[St. Charles College (Maryland)|St. Charles College]] in [[Ellicott City, Maryland|Ellicott City]], [[Maryland]], from 1871 to 1875 and completed his studies at [[St. Mary's Seminary and University|St. Mary's Seminary]] in [[Baltimore]].<ref name=bio/>
In September 1902 Bishop Montgomery was named coadjutor to Archbishop [[Patrick William Riordan]] of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco|San Francisco]]. He led the archdiocese in caring for the victims of the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake]]. Archbishop Riordan had departed San Francisco on Easter Monday before April 18, 1906, leaving Montgomery in charge of the Archdiocese. During the fire Bishop Montgomery and Monsignor Charles A. Ramm put out the fire in the bell tower of St. Mary's Cathedral at Van Ness Avenue and O' Farrell Street. The fire was stopped at Van Ness Avenue. Bishop Montgomery died unexpectedly the following January. He is buried at [[Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma|Holy Cross Cemetery]] in [[Colma, California]].

==Priesthood==
While in Baltimore, Montgomery was ordained a priest on December 20, 1879, by Archbishop [[James Gibbons]].<ref name=hierarchy>{{cite web|title=Archbishop George Thomas Montgomery|website=[[Catholic-Hierarchy.org]]|url=https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmongt.html}}</ref> After arriving in San Francisco, he was appointed secretary to Archbishop [[Joseph Sadoc Alemany]]. When [[Patrick William Riordan]] succeeded Alemany in 1884, he retained Montgomery as secretary and also named him [[Chancellor (ecclesiastical)|chancellor]] of the archdiocese.<ref name=gaffey>{{cite book|last1=Gaffey|first1=James P.|title=Citizen of No Mean City: Archbishop Patrick W. Riordan of San Francisco (1841-1914)|date=1976|location=Wilmington, Delaware|publisher=Consortium Books}}</ref>

In San Francisco, Montgomery became known as "one of the foremost [[Temperance movement in the United States|temperance]] advocates that California has ever known,"<ref name=words>{{cite news|date=January 11, 1907|title=LAST WORDS OF ARCHBISHOP IN PRAYER|work=[[San Francisco Examiner]]}}</ref> and described alcohol as "not only debauching our young men and women, not only affecting the individual as an individual, but as a citizen&mdash;a factor of society."<ref name=league>{{cite news|date=September 27, 1886|title=THE LEAGUE OF THE CROSS|work=[[San Francisco Examiner]]}}</ref> In 1886, he established a local chapter of the [[League of the Cross]], which encouraged young men to abstain from alcohol until they turned 21.<ref name=league/> By 1894, the San Francisco league grew to a membership of 4,000.<ref name=elect>{{cite news|date=January 14, 1894|title=IS BISHOP-ELECT|work=[[The San Francisco Call]]}}</ref>

==Episcopal career==
===Los Angeles===
On January 26, 1894, Montgomery was appointed [[coadjutor bishop]] with the right of succession to [[Francisco Mora y Borrell]], the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles|Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles]].<ref name=hierarchy/> He was also given the honorary title of [[titular bishop]] of [[Thmuis]]. He received his episcopal consecration on the following April 8 from Archbishop Riordan, with Bishops [[Jean-Baptiste Brondel]] and [[Lawrence Scanlan]] serving as co-consecrators.<ref name=hierarchy/>

Montgomery assisted Mora with the management of diocesan affairs until the latter's resignation, becoming the first American-born Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles on May 6, 1896.<ref name=hierarchy/> In response to the growing influence of the anti-Catholic [[American Protective Association]] in Los Angeles, he organized a branch of the [[Catholic Truth Society]] in 1896.<ref name=bishops>{{cite web|url=http://www.thequeenofangels.com/foundation/the-archbishops-of-los-angeles/|title=The Archbishops and Founding Archbishops of Los Angeles|website=Queen of Angels Foundation}}</ref><ref name=society>{{cite news|date=May 23, 1896|title=THE CATHOLIC TRUTH SOCIETY|work=[[Angelus (magazine)|The Catholic Tidings]]}}</ref>

When it came to more secular issues, Montgomery believed, "If ever the respective rights and duties of labor and capital are to be even properly defined, it must be upon the principles which religion lays down."<ref name=weber/> In 1899, he was invited to attend a public address by the [[Socialism|socialist]] political leader [[Eugene V. Debs]].<ref name=debs>{{cite news|date=November 6, 1899|title=MANY HEAR EUGENE V. DEBS|work=[[Los Angeles Express (newspaper)|Los Angeles Express]]}}</ref> During the address, Debs pointed to an American flag over his head and said, "These very stars and stripes, our emblem of liberty, are manufactured in a sweatshop"; when it was Montgomery's turn to speak, the bishop declared, "If that flag was made in a sweatshop, it floats over the freest country on the face of the earth."<ref name=career>{{cite news|date=January 11, 1907|title=Remarkable Career of Archbishop Montgomery|work=The Evening Mail|location=Stockton, California}}</ref>

===San Francisco===
On September 17, 1902, Montgomery was appointed coadjutor archbishop of San Francisco, with the right of succession to his former superior Archbishop Riordan, as well as titular archbishop of [[Axum]].<ref name=hierarchy/>

At the time of the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake]], Riordan was away on travel and it was Montgomery who led the Archdiocese's immediate response to the disaster and helped extinguish a fire at [[Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption (San Francisco)|St. Mary's Cathedral]].<ref name=gaffey/> A few days later, he wrote to his successor in Los Angeles, [[Thomas James Conaty]], to say "I do not know how I have lived through [it]" and to praise the “good humor, the common interest, and forgetfulness of self that are everywhere."<ref name=gaffey/>

Despite a history of poor health, Montgomery died unexpectedly from complications with [[appendicitis]] and [[diabetes]] on January 10, 1907.<ref name=career/> He is buried at [[Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma|Holy Cross Cemetery]] in [[Colma, California]].


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


==External links==
* [http://www.archdiocese.la/about/heritage/bishops.html Bishop Montgomery biography on the Archdiocese of LA website]
* [http://www.bmhs-la.org/about/traditions/george.html Bishop Montgomery biography on the BMHS website]

==Episcopal succession==
{{s-start}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
{{s-rel|ca}}
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before=[[Francisco Mora y Borrell]] |
before=[[Francisco Mora y Borrell]] |
after=[[Thomas James Conaty]] |
after=[[Thomas James Conaty]] |
years=1896&ndash;1902 |}}
years=1896–1902 |}}
{{s-end}}
{{s-end}}


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{{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles}}
{{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->

| NAME = Montgomery, George
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Catholic bishop
| DATE OF BIRTH = December 30, 1847
| PLACE OF BIRTH = Saint Lawrence, [[Kentucky]], [[United States]]
| DATE OF DEATH = January 10, 1907
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, George}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, George}}
[[Category:1847 births]]
[[Category:1847 births]]
[[Category:1907 deaths]]
[[Category:1907 deaths]]
[[Category:American Roman Catholic bishops]]
[[Category:20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles]]
[[Category:American religious leaders]]
[[Category:19th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco]]
[[Category:1906 San Francisco earthquake survivors]]
[[Category:1906 San Francisco earthquake survivors]]
[[Category:People from Anderson County, Kentucky]]
[[Category:People from Anderson County, Kentucky]]
[[Category:Catholics from California]]

[[Category:Catholics from Kentucky]]

{{US-RC-bishop-stub}}

Latest revision as of 06:39, 14 February 2024

The Most Reverend

George Thomas Montgomery
Coadjutor Archbishop of San Francisco
ChurchCatholic Church
ArchdioceseSan Francisco
AppointedSeptember 17, 1902
Term endedJanuary 10, 1907 (his death)
Other post(s)Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles (1896–1902)
Coadjutor Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles (1894–1896)
Orders
OrdinationDecember 20, 1879
by James Gibbons
ConsecrationApril 8, 1894
by Patrick William Riordan
Personal details
Born(1847-08-30)August 30, 1847
Daviess County, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedJanuary 10, 1907(1907-01-10) (aged 59)
San Francisco, California, U.S.

George Thomas Montgomery (December 30, 1847 – January 10, 1907) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the first American-born Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles (1896–1902) and later served as Coadjutor Archbishop of San Francisco from 1902 until his death in 1907.

Early life and education[edit]

Montgomery was born on December 30, 1847, on a farm in Daviess County, Kentucky, near Owensboro.[1] He was one of nine children of Pius Michael and Harriet Elizabeth (née Warren) Montgomery; his uncle was Zachariah Montgomery and his cousin, Zachariah's son, was John Joseph Montgomery.[2] His mother died of typhoid fever when he was 10 years old and he was raised by an aunt, Margaret Montgomery Head.[3]

Montgomery worked in farming until 1867, when he entered Cecilian College, an all-male boarding school near Elizabethtown.[1] After deciding to enter the priesthood, he was sponsored by his uncle Zachariah, who had moved to California, as a student for the Archdiocese of San Francisco.[3] He attended St. Charles College in Ellicott City, Maryland, from 1871 to 1875 and completed his studies at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore.[2]

Priesthood[edit]

While in Baltimore, Montgomery was ordained a priest on December 20, 1879, by Archbishop James Gibbons.[4] After arriving in San Francisco, he was appointed secretary to Archbishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany. When Patrick William Riordan succeeded Alemany in 1884, he retained Montgomery as secretary and also named him chancellor of the archdiocese.[5]

In San Francisco, Montgomery became known as "one of the foremost temperance advocates that California has ever known,"[6] and described alcohol as "not only debauching our young men and women, not only affecting the individual as an individual, but as a citizen—a factor of society."[7] In 1886, he established a local chapter of the League of the Cross, which encouraged young men to abstain from alcohol until they turned 21.[7] By 1894, the San Francisco league grew to a membership of 4,000.[8]

Episcopal career[edit]

Los Angeles[edit]

On January 26, 1894, Montgomery was appointed coadjutor bishop with the right of succession to Francisco Mora y Borrell, the Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles.[4] He was also given the honorary title of titular bishop of Thmuis. He received his episcopal consecration on the following April 8 from Archbishop Riordan, with Bishops Jean-Baptiste Brondel and Lawrence Scanlan serving as co-consecrators.[4]

Montgomery assisted Mora with the management of diocesan affairs until the latter's resignation, becoming the first American-born Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles on May 6, 1896.[4] In response to the growing influence of the anti-Catholic American Protective Association in Los Angeles, he organized a branch of the Catholic Truth Society in 1896.[9][10]

When it came to more secular issues, Montgomery believed, "If ever the respective rights and duties of labor and capital are to be even properly defined, it must be upon the principles which religion lays down."[3] In 1899, he was invited to attend a public address by the socialist political leader Eugene V. Debs.[11] During the address, Debs pointed to an American flag over his head and said, "These very stars and stripes, our emblem of liberty, are manufactured in a sweatshop"; when it was Montgomery's turn to speak, the bishop declared, "If that flag was made in a sweatshop, it floats over the freest country on the face of the earth."[12]

San Francisco[edit]

On September 17, 1902, Montgomery was appointed coadjutor archbishop of San Francisco, with the right of succession to his former superior Archbishop Riordan, as well as titular archbishop of Axum.[4]

At the time of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Riordan was away on travel and it was Montgomery who led the Archdiocese's immediate response to the disaster and helped extinguish a fire at St. Mary's Cathedral.[5] A few days later, he wrote to his successor in Los Angeles, Thomas James Conaty, to say "I do not know how I have lived through [it]" and to praise the “good humor, the common interest, and forgetfulness of self that are everywhere."[5]

Despite a history of poor health, Montgomery died unexpectedly from complications with appendicitis and diabetes on January 10, 1907.[12] He is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Montgomery, David B. (1903). A Genealogical History of the Montgomerys and Their Descendants. Owensivlle, Indiana: J. P. Cox. p. 361. ISBN 9780598802651.
  2. ^ a b The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Vol. II. Boston: The Biographical Society. 1904.
  3. ^ a b c Weber, Francis J. (1966). George Thomas Montgomery: California Churchman. Westernlore Press.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Archbishop George Thomas Montgomery". Catholic-Hierarchy.org.
  5. ^ a b c Gaffey, James P. (1976). Citizen of No Mean City: Archbishop Patrick W. Riordan of San Francisco (1841-1914). Wilmington, Delaware: Consortium Books.
  6. ^ "LAST WORDS OF ARCHBISHOP IN PRAYER". San Francisco Examiner. January 11, 1907.
  7. ^ a b "THE LEAGUE OF THE CROSS". San Francisco Examiner. September 27, 1886.
  8. ^ "IS BISHOP-ELECT". The San Francisco Call. January 14, 1894.
  9. ^ "The Archbishops and Founding Archbishops of Los Angeles". Queen of Angels Foundation.
  10. ^ "THE CATHOLIC TRUTH SOCIETY". The Catholic Tidings. May 23, 1896.
  11. ^ "MANY HEAR EUGENE V. DEBS". Los Angeles Express. November 6, 1899.
  12. ^ a b "Remarkable Career of Archbishop Montgomery". The Evening Mail. Stockton, California. January 11, 1907.
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles
1896–1902 		Succeeded by
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