USA > Minnesota > Rice County > History of Rice and Steele counties, Minnesota, Vol. I > Part 31
USA > Minnesota > Steele County > History of Rice and Steele counties, Minnesota, Vol. I > Part 31
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courtesy, and, by request of the Consul-General of Germany, he held service the following Sunday, March 18, at the German Consulate, where there was a large congregation, the grand service having been made more impressive by a special service of thanskiving for the restoration of peace between Germany and France. This was the first public service held in Cuba, and was the beginning of the work which opened Cuba to freedom of worship.
A large resident population of English, Germans and Ameri- eans were most anxious for the establishment of Church serv- ices, among them some prominent Roman Catholics, who, keenly feeling the low moral ebb in the island, promised to give sub- stantial support to any elergyman the Bishop might send who would stand as an example of what a priest should be, declaring that much as they honored the priests of their Communion in the United States, they felt the need of a cleansing and moral influence in the island.
The Consuls-General of Great Britain, Prussia, Austria and the United States, and prominent business men pledged their co-operation, and, with characteristie zeal, the Bishop worked during his stay, securing over three thousand dollars for the support of a resident clergyman. Upon his return to the United States he set himself to the task of arousing the Church to the vital need of the situation. The Church was unwilling to take any responsibility in establishing a mission in Cuba, but, in spite of lukewarmness and opposition, the Bishop continued his eloquent pleas, declaring that it could in nowise be regarded as an "intrusion into the jurisdiction of another historical church." as no effort to proselyte would be considered. It was a time of intense feeling, but the Bishop persevered until the House of Bishops finally awoke and consented to send a resident mission- ary to the foreign population of the island, appointing Bishop Whipple and Bishop Whittingham to the oversight of the work.
In November, 1871, the Rev. Edward Kenney, under Bishop Whipple's direction, and glowing with the latter's faith and zeal, sailed for Havana. At the Bishop's visit to Cuba in 1875. with the Bishop of Ontario, he held the first public confirmation of the Episcopal church in Cuba, having had private confirma- tion on his first visit. The Rev. Edward Kenney proved that he had been wisely chosen. He had one of the largest hospi- tals under his spiritual care, had made over four thousand visits to the sick and dying and had carried on his labors in so broad a spirit of Christian love that, at the Bishop's visit, the Consuls- General of the German empire, Great Britain and America, with several prominent residents, gladly consented to act as a Com-
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mittee to receive and expend contributions, feeling that the val- uable work should be extended to all parts of the island.
The altar in the cathedral at Havana will stand as a memorial of Bishop Whipple, simply as a sign of that memorial greater than sculptored marble, which may be seen today in the im- proved condition of Cuba's commonweal.
In 1871 an English bishopric was offered to Bishop Whipple by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Winchester, sanctioned by the King and Synod of the Sandwich Islands. Strong and insistent pressure was brought to bear to persuade the Bishop that the grave needs and responsibilities of the situ- ation were such that duty seemed involved. The conditions in the islands were beset with delicate and difficult problems, and required a man to head the work of large grasp, of broad poli- cies, of sound and persuasive temper and consecration to the highest ideals. Bishop Whipple was the man who loomed up in the mind of the English Church as the solution to the prob- lem, an opinion concurred in by many of the American bishops, although it was tempered, in the American House of Bishops, by considerations connected with his unique and great work at home. At this time the rigidity of Minnesota winters, with his constant exposure, was beginning to endanger the Bishop's health, and the prospect of prolonged work in a mild climate entered into consideration. The situation was problematic and finally the Bishop sought advice of the members of the House of Bishops, who, representing its theological status, also knew him intimately and understood the situation in Minnesota and the Sandwich Islands.
He found opinion equally divided, some fearing that it might involve suffraganship to Canterbury, besides taking the Bishop from the diocese which he had so nobly founded, others urging that there were so many reasons for regarding either as a great work for which the Bishop was pre-eminently fitted, that the indications of a Providential leading were strikingly and equally clear. Some were dazzled by the importance of the results to be won socially and ecclesiastically with a leader like Bishop Whipple fitted to successfully cope with the entanglements and problems, characterized by Bishop John Williams of Connecti- cut as "being in such a snarl that what, between King Synod and bishops in England, Solomon himself could hardly hope to set things straight." Some urged that it would be a glorious dem- onstration of Anglican friendship, so prolific of far-reaching issues that there seemed but one view to take of it. Others took the stand that the one ground for decision should be the Bishop's health, and that the duty of the Church lay in the desire and aim for the prolongation of his life in whichever field the
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promise was most hopeful of lengthened official service. Indeed so conflicting was the advice offered that the Bishop finally decided to leave the matter of health to a higher Power, believ- ing that his first duty was to his schools, his Indians and his diocese as long as he lived.
In 1873 Bishop Whipple was elected one of the trustees of the great Peabody Fund for educational work in the South. When this fund was created there was not a public school in the South. The board of trustees was and always remained one of the most distinguished and brilliant bodies of men ever con- vened in America. The Hon. Robt. C. Winthrop, who succeeded Henry Clay as Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Daniel Webster in the United States Senate, was its first presi- dent, having been succeeded by the Hon. William M. Evarts, with Bishop Whipple and Chief Justice Fuller of the United States Supreme Court as its two vice-presidents. In 1875, at one of the meetings, the Bishop, familiar with the conditions of the South and the problems confronting it, and knowing that the poor children of the Southern states would be dependent upon common schools for their education, and that trained teachers would be needed, offered the resolution "That the Executive Committee be requested to take into consideration the propriety of establishing scholarships for the education of teachers in a limited number of schools and colleges in the more destitute parts of the South." The resolution, which was seconded by General Taylor (son of President Zachary Taylor), was unani- mously adopted and led to the founding of the Peabody Normal College in Nashville, Tenn.
In 1888, by request of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Bishop Whipple preached the opening sermon of the Lambeth Confer- ence, at Lambeth Palace. London, of which one of the greatest prelates of England said: "The name of Bishop Whipple has been held in the highest honor, for long years, throughout the Anglican Communion, and I shall never forget his sermon to the Lambeth Conference on 'The Church of the Reconciliation,' which has become a well-known note of our communion ever since." In 1889 he preached the triennial sermon in St. George's church, New York city, on the centenary of the organization of the American branch of the Church.
In 1890 much needed rest caused the Bishop to succumb to the generous wishes of a dear friend, and his winter was spent on the Continent, in England and in Egypt. He preached upon many memorable occasions during the winter, having been one of the consecrators of the present Most Reverend Archbishop of Canterbury when he was made Bishop of Rochester, and also of the Rt. Rev. Dr. Creighton, Bishop of London. He had a
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private interview with Victoria, Queen of England, who was deeply impressed by the Bishop's personality, requesting a por- trait of himself and presenting him with her own portrait, accompanied by a beautifully bound and inscribed copy of her book, "Journeys in the Highlands." He preached in the Royal Chapel at Windsor and delivered the opening sermon of a course in Westminster Abbey, where he had many times been the Special Preacher, as he had been in nearly all the English cathedrals, and before the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Durham, from which he had received the honorary degrees of D. D. and LL. D. He received the degree of D. D. from Hobart College.
On June 3d, 1897, by a request of the preceding year. he preached in Salisbury cathedral at the great service in com- memoration of the thirteen hundredth anniversary of the bap- tism of King Ethelbert, the first Christian Saxon king, with a congregation of seven thousand persons, a procession of seven hundred bishops and vested clergy and fourteen hundred chor- isters. The same year he preached one of the special sermons before Oxford and the "Ramsden Sermon" before Cambridge, which, by request of the S. P. G., was published for circulation. He also preached the opening sermon after the restoration of the wonderful old Cathedral-Church of St. Saviour's, London, vibrant with history, and in the Ladye chapel, of which Bishop Gardner held court and condemned to be burned at the stake the Bishop of St. David's, Bishop Farrar of Worcester, John Rogers and five priests. It was said by many of the one hundred and fifty bishops present at this service that Bishop Whipple seemed to have reached the zenith of impassioned outpouring of spiritual truths, striking the keynote of everything most needed in the Christianization of the world. In August, 1897, Bishop Whipple preached the Tennyson memorial sermon in the Poets' parish church at Freshwater, Isle of Wight, at the time of the unveil- ing, by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Dean of West- minster, of the memorial erected by the poet's friends in America and England-the Iona cross, which stands a beacon for sailors on the summit of the downs.
In 1899 he was again invited to preach upon special occasions in England. He delivered the address at the centenary of the Church Missionary Society of England, as representative of the American church, a memorable occasion, on which archbishops, bishops, statesmen, ex-governors of foreign colonies and dele- gates of distinction from all over the world were present. When Bishop Whipple arose to give his address the great audience of six thousand men stood up, and the prolonged and deafening cheers and shouts of "Minnesota, Minnesota !" were a token of
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the love and honor in which Bishop Whipple was everywhere held. From the academic shades of old Cambridge came the following description of him upon this occasion : "The Bishop of Minnesota, tall, graceful, with the figure of a Sirdar and the face of a saint, rose to speak. With voice strong and powerful, having lost nothing of its music and thrilling with earnestness coming straight from the soul, this typical spiritual Chief of the West, this silver pine of Minnesota, began his noble and impressive address, amid a storm of applause.
The last service of a Lambeth Conference, in which Bishop Whipple participated, was at the closing service in St. Paul's cathedral, London, when he, with the Archbishops of Canter- bury and York. and the Bishop of London were the celebrants.
In 1895 the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, meeting for the first time west of the Mississippi river. was held in Minnesota, and was an occasion not to be forgotten in the state. It was a widespread tribute of honor and appreciation, regardless of creed, to the work done by the great first Bishop of Minnesota in the Sce city and in the diocese under his noble leadership. A more hospitable reception was never given to any General Convention than to this one by Churchmen and their icl- low-Christians of Minnesota, Archbishop Ireland and other distinguished clergy of the Roman Catholic church joining in the welcome to the Bishop's guests. A beautiful silver loving cup was presented to the Bishop at this time by the House of Bishops. One of the problems of American Christianity which has been so wisely worked out in Minnesota in connection with the large Scandinavian population was of profound interest to the Convention, as it showed the extent to which the diocese has incorporated with itself the members of the Swedish National Church, as it was in the Colonial days of Delaware and Penn- sylvania. Bishop Whipple's work among the Scandinavians during his rectorship in Chicago had borne fruit, and in his Con- vention and other addresses, as carly as 1868-twenty years before the matter was legislated upon by the Lambeth Confer- ence-Bishop Whipple declared his conviction with clearly stated reasons, that the standards of doctrine of the Scandinavian . Church were so closely allied to those of the Anglican Church that her children should be accepted as members of a sister Church. Ile then formulated the steps which crystallized suc- cessfully in his own diocese after the Lambeth Conference of 1885 had adopted the recommendations of the Report, which was made at the time by a committee composed of some of the soundest theologians among the bishops of the Anglican Church, who took the same stand which Bishop Whipple had taken twenty years before. It was declared that the Swedish Church
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"should be most gladly welcomed with a view to the ultimate establishment of permanent intercommunion on sound principles of ecclesiastical polity." This was a subject very close to the Bishop's heart and he so impressed his convictions upon his assistant, Bishop Gilbert, that the latter was ready to co-operate with him when the time came for the decisive step to be taken. Bishop Whipple acted under the authority of the Lam- beth conference of 1888 and in 1898 the General Convention passed a canon ratifying the action of the Diocese of Minnesota in allowing Swedish congregations to use the liturgy of the National Church of Sweden.
With that wonderful prescience which so signally distin- guished Bishop Whipple it seemed to be his gift to foresee the end from the beginning. Fifteen years before it was deemed necessary to appoint a bishop for Alaska, Bishop Whipple vis- ited Alaska and, finding conditions which aroused his pity and interest, his voice was heard at every subsequent General Con- vention pleading for the establishment of a missionary jurisdic- tion in that land of suffering humanity, until finally it came in the election of the heroic Bishop Rowe.
In the winter of 1900 Bishop Whipple made a visit to Porto Rico, by official request, making an investigation of the social and religious status of the island,-an undertaking in which he was heartily assisted by General Davis, Military Governor of Porto Rico, who gave him every facility for learning true conditions. The Bishop's concise and exhaustive report was wel- comed by thousands of Americans, eager to know facts concern- ing their new possession, among them President Mckinley, who had written the Bishop asking that the report might be sent to him as soon as completed. Bishop Whipple was the first American bishop to set foot in Porto Rico, and was everywhere enthusiastically welcomed. He visited all parts of the island, by horses or steamer, delivering sermons and addresses in theaters, private houses and the barracks of the United States soldiers. He administered the rite of confirmation, and, upon Washing- ton's birthday, at their first patriotic meeting, delivered an inspiring speech on "Our Country" in the San Carlos theater of San Juan to an audience of several thousand persons. So deplor- able a condition of illiteracy, poverty and demoralization was revealed that the Bishop returned to the United States to again plead for a down-trodden people. His insistent appeals were finally rewarded when the House of Bishops appointed the Rt. Rev. Dr. Van Buren as Bishop of Porto Rico.
Of the many proofs of Bishop Whipple's apostolic character none shine forth more luminously than his lifelong passion of love and hope for the dark races and for suffering humanity
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generally. In the center of darkest Africa a great bell calls the benighted natives to a house of prayer and learning, which bears the inscription, "In love and reverence for Bishop Whipple, Friend of the Black Man." In the distant Philippines stands a noble altar-piece made by the famous carver of Ober-Ammergau, in the niches of which stand figures of a few men who, in the world's history, have stood for great truths, among them Bishop Whipple, the exponent of love and justice to all men.
In the later years of his life the severity of Minnesota win- ters made it necessary for the Bishop to spend part of the season in a milder climate. The burden of his diocese went with him, but, notwithstanding his enormous correspondence, which took up a large part of every day, he still found time to erect a church in Florida, of which he always spoke as "The Church of the Reconciliation," where he held regular services, instructing the colored people in their own church Sunday afternoons.
In 1886 the growth of his diocese made it necessary for the Bishop to ask for an assistant. Notwithstanding the difficulties and hardships of a new country, with everything to contend against and with everything to plan and build, the bishop had brought his diocese to a splendid pre-eminence. The handful of feeble missions and parishes which he had found worshiping in small frame and log churches had multiplied to scores of flourish- ing parishes, and a large number of rectories had been built. Church hospitals in St. Paul, Minneapolis, Duluth and White Earth had been built, and his schools had become the honor and pride of the Northwest. The State of Minnesota had grown into one of the great commonwealths of our country. The prairies and forests where Bishop Whipple had labored and traveled by horse, on foot, by canoe and by stage were lined with railroads, Pullman cars running to within a short distance of Indian res- ervations, where the Indians were living at peace, in houses of their own.
At this auspicious time the Rev. Mahlon N. Gilbert was elected Assistant Bishop. The magnanimous and wise methods of the great-hearted Bishop, and the confidence and admiration of his assistant, made the relation one of unusual harmony, which continued until Bishop Gilbert's death, in 1900. Then again Bishop Whipple had the care of the diocese upon him. until, in 1901, he asked for a coadjutor. The Rt. Rev. Dr. Edsall, Missionary Bishop of North Dakota, was elected, an event which caused the Bishop to exclaim, "Laus Deo!" Until his death, Bishop Whipple never ceased to be the Great Diocesan, guiding, working, and literally "dying in harness."
Bishop Whipple was twice married ; first to Cornelia, daugh- ter of Benjamin and Sarah (Ward) Wright, of New York state,
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by the Rev. Mr. Fisk, of Trinity church, Watertown, N. Y. Mrs. Whipple was of the family of Ward and Pell, of New York state. She was deeply interested in the early work in Faribault, particularly in the beginning of St. Mary's Hall. She entered into rest in the year 1890.
In 1896 Bishop Whipple was married to Evangeline, only daughter of Francis and Jane Van Poclien Marrs, of Massachu- setts, by the Rt. Rev. Henry C. Potter and the Rev. Dr. Greer, in the Church of St. Bartholomew, New York city. Mrs. Whip- ple is a New Englander, descended from a distinguished Eng- lish and Dutch ancestry. Mrs. Whipple now owns and lives in the home which has so long been identified with the diocese of Minnesota, as its Bishop's residence, and is closely associated with the Bishop's work. Four children of the Bishop are liv- ing: Mrs. Charles A. Farnum, of Philadelphia, Mrs. H. A. Scandrett, of Faribault, Mrs. F. R. Jackson, of Cleveland, and Brigadier-General Charles H. Whipple, Paymaster-General of the United States Army, a son, and a beloved daughter, Mrs. Cornelia Rose, having died in 1878 and 1884.
Bishop Whipple was Chaplain-General of the Societies of the Sons of the Revolution and of the Colonial Wars of the United States, was a member of the Indian Board of Commissioners and of other important societies in England and America. In 1861, he was chosen chaplain of the First Regiment Minne- sota Volunteers, but although obliged to decline this position, he was a frequent visitor at the camps, where he was loved and revered by the officers and soldiers. He actively promoted the labors, during the Civil War, of the Sanitary Commission in be- half of the sick and wounded, afterwards aiding in many ways in the relief of the widows and children of those killed.
In his Churchmanship, in his dealing with the Indian ques- tion, in the management of his great educational work, in the rational and far-sighted conduct of subtle and critical situations in his diocese, his statesmanship has been conspicuous, his tact- ful and persuasive influence bringing together men of oppo- site schools of theological thought in a remarkable way. To these qualities the diocese of Minnesota owes the noble position she holds in the Church. The Bishop was once seen standing at his full, benignant height, with his right arm drawn tightly around one of the most extreme ritualists of the day, his left arm as closely encircling the extremest of Low Churchmen. Looking down upon them with radiant face, he exclaimed : "Here are two of the best men in the whole Church. I don't know which one I love the more, and they are just beginning to find out how much they love each other!" They were held so closely that they could do nothing but smile in each other's
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faces, which they had never done before, but the smile cemented an enduring friendship.
Technically speaking, the Bishop was a High Churchman of the Conservative School, but it has often been said that "Bishop Whipple was too large for any one Church-he belonged to the whole world." He was rightly called "The Spiritual Father of a Great Commonwealth." He was a loyal and tender father to his clergy and counted nothing hard if he could serve anyone in need.
The Minnesotans, familiar with the story of the early days of the state, know that the solution of some of its most subtle problems confronting it in its chaotic condition, when its wilder- ness was filled with red men, was due to this indomitable leader of men, who went up and down its vast stretches, month in and month out. He was alike welcomed in town, hamlet, and lum- ber camp, where his wise and virile counsel, his profound spirit- ual teaching applied to the practical needs of right state build- ing, inspired his listeners with lofty ideals of citizenship, mak- ing them feel their personal obligation as a part of a great na- tion. His life from first to last was identified with the devel- opment of the best interests of the state, and to his pure char- acter, energy, self-sacrifice and zealous Christian teaching the state of Minnesota owes an immeasurable debt.
A brief biographical sketch can in no way tell the story of Bishop Whipple's life and personality-a personality which drew around him a host of men and women, whose names stand for the best and greatest in the English-speaking world of the last half century. with whom he had an intimate friendship and correspondence. He was not only honored and revered, but was loved with the tenderness which made the rugged old warrior, General Sherman, say to his adjutant. as they sud- denly confronted the Bishop in an hotel lobby, "Here is our In- dian Bishop. We have the Indians between us, and we'll exterminate them." "General," responded the Bishop. "why don't you say you thank God that there is a bishop to defend these poor red men?" The answer came with tears in the veteran fighter's eyes, as he threw his arm about the Bishop : "Bishop, I do, and I love you for it!"
Bishop Whipple was never taken unawares. At a moment's notice, his arguments were ready for the occasion, concise, cleancut and convincing. lle was a fascinating conversational- ist, absolutely free from self-consciousness, with a keen sense of humor, fine wit and a most charming freshness and sim- plicity. His wide knowledge of men and events peculiarly fit- ted him for any position in life, and made him the delight of men like Lord Houghton, Lord Salisbury, Ranke the historian,
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