He was annually chosen secretary of the Diocesan Convention of Pennsylvania from 1825 to 1830, and was secretary of the House of Bishops from 1823 to 1829. He was provost of the University of Pennsylvania from 1828 to 1833; traveled in Europe in 1835 and on his return, after the death of Bishop White, succeeded to the rectorship of St. Peter's, Philadelphia. In 1838 he was chosen fir>t bishop of the diocese of Western New York, and was consecrated May 9, 1839. The Hobart Free College at Geneva was chiefly indebted to his efforts for its maintenance. In 1852 he was a delegate to England from the Episcopal bishops of the United States, and was one of the recognized leaders of the High Church party. He received the degree of D.C.L. from the Oxford University in 1852 ; D.D. from Yale in 1828 and LL.D. from Union College in 1847.

Thomas Paine, the noted political and atheistic writer, is identified with Westchester County by the fact that for his Revolutionary services the State of New York granted him five hundred acres of land in New Rochelle, where he resided part of the time after his return to the United States, in 1802. Paine was a native of Thetford, Norfolk, England, born January 29, 1737 ; died in New York City, June 8, 1809. His parentage was humble and his educational opportunities limited. For a time he preached occasionally as a dissenting minister, and in 1774, at the suggestion of Franklin, came to America. He soon became known as a writer of uncommon force and logic and an opponent of slavery. His celebrated pamphlet, " Common Sense," in which he advocated the independence of the colonies, was published in January, 1776, and had an extraordinary influence in disseminating republican ideas. His subsequent publications were of inestimable benefit to the patriotic cause.