Croes, John

(June 1, 1762-July 26, 1832). First Bishop of the Diocese of New Jersey. He was born in Elizabethtown, New Jersey. He pursued a brief career as a teacher and served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. After the war, he received theological instruction from Bishop William White of Philadelphia, who ordained him deacon on Feb. 28, 1790, and priest on Mar. 4, 1792. He was rector of Trinity Church, Swedesborough, New Jersey from 1790 to 1801, and of Christ Church, New Brunswick, New Jersey from 1801 until his death. He was consecrated at St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia, on Nov. 19, 1815. Croes helped strengthen and expand the Diocese of New Jersey over the course of his seventeen-year episcopate.