Ratcliffe, Robert
(1657-1700). First rector of King's Chapel, Boston. He was a graduate of Exeter College, Oxford University, and appointed by the Bishop of London to minister in Boston. Ratcliffe arrived in Boston on May 15, 1686, and on June 15, 1686, King's Chapel parish was organized with Ratcliffe as the rector. This was the first Church of England parish organized in New England. Ratcliffe presided at the opening of King's Chapel on June 30, 1689, which seems to have been his last official act.
Glossary definitions provided courtesy of Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, NY,(All Rights reserved) from “An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians,” Don S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, editors.