Saint of the Week: William Porcher DuBose
8/20/2025
William Porcher DuBose
Priest and Theologian
1836 – 1918
William Porcher [por-SHAY] DuBose was a priest, author, theologian, and cofounder of the Theology School at the University of the South. Born on his family’s plantation near Winnsboro, SC, DuBose descended from Huguenot families who fled French religious persecution in 1686 and settled in the Carolina piedmont. Privately educated, DuBose entered South Carolina Military Academy (The Citadel) at age 15. By his senior year, he was the ranking cadet, graduating first in his class and was serving as an Assistant Professor of English. At The Citadel, DuBose also had a conversion experience. After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1859 with a Master of Arts, therefore, his newfound faith led him to enroll in the just-opened South Carolina Diocesan Seminary in Camden, SC. The American Civil War briefly interrupted his studies. Leaving the seminary to enlist with South Carolina's Holcombe Legion, DuBose was appointed as its adjutant. Twice wounded in the 2nd battle of Manassas, he was captured and spent time in a Union POW camp before being exchanged later in 1862. Wounded yet a third time during the battle of Fredericksburg, family friends and church contacts helped him secure a commission as a military chaplain. Ordained at Grace Church (Camden, SC) in late 1863, he became the chaplain of cousin Dudley M. Dubose’s 15th Georgia Infantry Regiment, serving its spiritual needs for the rest of the conflict. In 1866, Bishop Thomas F. Davis officially changed Fr. DuBose’s ordination as a priest in the Episcopal Church of the Confederate States to that of the United States. He initially served St. John's Parish Fairfield--which included two Churches and an alma mater, Mount Zion College, where he taught Greek. In 1868, he was named Chaplain at Fairmount College and priest-in-charge at the nearby Chapel of the Holy Comforter. While at Fairmont, he met and married its widowed headmistress, Louise Yerger. In 1871, University of the South Vice-Chancellor Rev. Charles Quintard nominated DuBose to serve as its first Chaplain and as Head Professor of Moral Science and the Evidences of the Christian Religion. During the 12 years he served as Chaplain, DuBose helped establish the University’s School of Theology, serving as its Dean from 1894-1908. Retiring with his wife to Fairmount College, he cared for the religious needs of the school and those of the surrounding communities. Twice a month he rode 20 miles on horseback to perform church services for a Swiss community at Gruetli. One Sunday he’d preach in German; the next Sunday he’d do it in French. A gifted, prolific writer, he has been described as possibly the "greatest theologian that the Episcopal Church in the USA has produced."
