Rev. Charles O. Scoville, rector of Trinity Episcopal church, situated on the Green in New Haven, well known as one of New England's prominent ministers and orators, was born at Montpelier, Vermont, December 1, 1862, a son of James B. and Mary (Foster) Scoville. The father was born in Farmington and was a descendant of Rev. Thomas Hooker, one of the founders of the city of Hartford. He spent his early life in this state but afterward removed to Montpelier, Vermont, where he took up agricultural pursuits, following farming to the time of his death, which occurred in 1883. His wife was born in North Conway, New Hampshire, and died in Chicago in 1894. In their family were nine children, seven of whom are still living: Mrs. John R. King, now a resident of Ohio; Mrs. Hattie Ramdall, living in Chicago; Miss Julia Scoville, also of Chicago; James B., who is in Troy, New York; and Alice and Harry D., also of Chicago.

Of this family the Rev. Charles O. Scoville was the seventh in order of birth. In his boyhood he attended school in Montpelier, Vermont, and passed through consecutive grades to the high school. He afterward entered Yale University, where he pursued an academic course and won his degree in 1887. He then entered the Berkeley Divinity School at Middletown, Connecticut, and was graduated therefrom in 1890. His first charge was the pastorate at Westville, Connecticut, where he presided over the Episcopal church of St. James from 1890 until 1892. He then accepted the position of curate of the Trinity Episcopal church on the Green in New Haven, acting in that position until 1908, when he was made rector. He has since had charge of the parish, covering a period of nine years, and under his direction the church has done splendid work in advancing the moral progress of the community. The different lines of work are thoroughly organized and its radiating force is proving a very strong element in moral progress.

Rev. Scoville is a member of the Graduates Club of New Haven. He has social qualities which are most valuable in his pastoral work and in all of his efforts he is ably assisted by his wife, who in her maidenhood was Miss Lena May Isbell, a daughter of Willis B. and Ida (Hotchkiss) Isbell, of Westville, Connecticut. He was married June 1, 1892, and they have one child, Helen, who was born in New Haven and is a graduate of the Hillhouse high school and also of Wellesley College in the class of 1915.  She is now in her sophomore year in the Yale Medical School.

It would be almost tautological in this connection to enter into any series of statements as showing Rev. Scoville to be a man of broad scholarly attainments for this has been shadowed forth between the lines of this review. He is well known as a writer of many interesting articles and is a historian of no mean ability. A public-spirited citizen, he stands for progress and improvement in all things that relate to the uplift of the individual and the upbuilding of the community. He possesses marked oratorical powers and his ability in that direction has won him the reputation of being one of the strongest representatives of the Episcopal ministry. His reasoning is always clear, he thinks deeply and his deductions are logical. He calls upon literature and experience for an apt illustration that carries his point home and he quickly reaches the hearts of his listeners.