Alpheus Waters Wilson (February 5, 1834 – November 21, 1916) was an American bishop for the

Methodist Episcopal Church, South The Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC, S; also Methodist Episcopal Church South) was the American Methodist denomination resulting from the 19th-century split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC). Disagreement ...

from 1882 to his death in 1916.

Early life

Alpheus Waters Wilson was born on February 5, 1834, in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, Maryland, to Cornelia Laurence (née Howland) and Norval Wilson. His father was a preacher and elder of the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

. Wilson attended public schools in Baltimore and graduated from

Columbian University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presi ...

(later George Washington University).

Career

In 1853, Wilson was received on trial in Baltimore Conference Methodist Episcopal Church. He served four years as junior preacher and two years as pastor of circuits. From 1859 to 1870, Wilson was a supernumerary member of the conference. He practiced law sometime during this period. Around 1866, Wilson and the Baltimore Conference moved to the

. He founded Trinity Church, the first Southern Methodist church in Baltimore. From 1870 to 1873, Wilson was presiding elder of the Washington District. From 1873 to 1877, he was pastor of Mount Vernon Place Church in

Washington City ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

. He was a pastor of Calvary Church in Baltimore from March 1877 to May 1878. In 1878, Wilson was made secretary of the board of missions and in 1882, he was consecrated as a bishop. From 1898 to his death, Wilson was senior bishop, succeeding Bishop

John Christian Keener John Christian Keener (February 7, 1819 – January 19, 1906) was an American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, an author and an editor, and the superintendent of C.S.A. chaplains west of the Mississippi River during the American ...

. He also served as president of the board of missions and chairman of the

College of Bishops College of Bishops, also known as the Ordo of Bishops, is a term used in the Catholic Church to denote the collection of those bishops who are in communion with the Pope. Under Canon Law, a college is a collection (Latin collegium) of persons un ...

. In 1886, 1888 and 1890, he took bishop tours around the world. He traveled to Japan, Korea and China in 1898–1900 and 1907. He was a delegate to the ecumenical conference in London in 1881 and 1901. He was also a delegate to the ecumenical conference in Washington, D.C., in 1891 and Toronto in 1911. Wilson visited Brazil on mission inspection from 1892 to 1903. Wilson wrote religious articles and papers, including the book "Mission: Witnesses to Christ".

Personal life

Wilson married Susan B. Lipscomb, daughter of a Methodist preacher, on March 4, 1857. His wife died in 1908. They had three daughters, Maybelle, Nina and Mrs. William L. Weber. Wilson had asthma. He died from pneumonia and

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

on November 21, 1916, at his home at 1600 Park Place in Baltimore. He was buried in

Loudon Park Cemetery Loudon Park Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland. It was incorporated on January 27, 1853, on of the site of the "Loudon" estate, previously owned by James Carey, a local merchant and politician. The entrance to the cemetery i ...

in Baltimore.

References

External links

*
SMU Libraries: Alpheus Waters Wilson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Alpheus Waters 1834 births 1916 deaths Religious leaders from Baltimore George Washington University alumni American Methodist Episcopal, South bishops