Introduction

Biography

William was the son of Ri­chard New­ton and Ly­dia Grea­tor­ex, hus­band of Em­i­ly Ste­ven­son Cooke, and ne­phew of hym­nist Will­iam New­ton.

During the Am­er­i­can civil war, he served in Lan­dis’ (Penn­syl­van­ia) Bat­te­ry.

After the war, he at­tend­ed the Un­i­ver­si­ty of Penn­syl­van­ia (AB 1865, AM 1868, hon­or­a­ry DD 1890), and the Epis­co­pal Di­vin­i­ty School in Phil­a­del­phia. He was or­dained an Epis­co­pal dea­con June 19, 1868, and priest Fe­bru­a­ry 19, 1869.

He served as as­sist­ant rec­tor at the Church of The Epiph­a­ny, Phil­a­del­phia (1866–70); min­is­ter at the Ca­thed­ral Church of St. Paul, Bos­ton, Mas­sa­chu­setts (1877–82); pas­tor of St. Ste­phen’s Church, Pitts­field, Mas­sa­chu­setts (1881–1900); chap­lain at the Eng­lish Church in Di­nan, Brit­ta­ny, France (1903–04); and rec­tor at the Church of the As­cen­sion, Wake­field, Rhode Is­land (1905–06).

Publications

• Little and Wise: Less­ons from the Ants, the Co­nies, the Lo­custs, and the Spi­der (Lon­don: Wes­ley­an Con­fer­ence Of­fice, 1876)
• Christianity and Po­pu­lar Amuse­ments (Bos­ton, Mas­sa­chu­setts: Mudge & Son, 1877)
• Essays of To­day: Re­li­gious and The­o­lo­gic­al (Bos­ton, Mas­sa­chu­setts: A. Will­iam, 1879)
• The Wick­et-Gate New York: R. Car­ter & Bro­thers, 1879)
• The In­ter­pre­ter’s House (New York: R. Car­ter & Bro­thers, 1880)
• The Voice of St. John, and Oth­er Po­ems (New York: An­son D. F. Ran­dolph, 1881)
• Troublesome Child­ren, 1882
• The Wel­come of Christ to Par­a­dise (Pitts­field, Mas­sa­chu­setts: J. B. Har­ris­on, 1884)
• Told Among the Hills (Pitts­field, Mas­sa­chu­setts: J. A. Max­im, 1892)
• The Child and the Bi­shop, 1894