Elisha Mulford (November 19, 1833 – December 9, 1885) was an American religious minister and author of ''The Nation: the Foundation of Civil Order and Political life in the United States'' and ''The Republic of God, an Institute of Theology''. Mulford was born in Montrose, Pa., November 19, 1833, and was prepared for

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in Homer, New York, entering at the beginning of the Sophomore year. He graduated in 1855. For the year after graduation he remained at home, studying law with the Hon.

William Jessup William Jessup (June 21, 1797 – September 11, 1868) was a Pennsylvania judge and father of the missionary Henry Harris Jessup. A member of the Republican party, he is best known for being the chairman of the platform committee that crafted ...

and general literature. He then spent a year in the Union Theological Seminary, New York City, whence he removed to the Andover Theological Seminary. He left Andover in January, 1859, and in the following May went abroad. After a year or more, spent mainly in Germany and Italy, he pursued further studies in New York City. On April 20, 1861, he was ordained a Deacon in the Protestant Episcopal Church by Bishop Williams, at

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settler ...

, and for a few months had temporary charge of a parish in Darien, Conn. On March 19, 1862, he was advanced to the priesthood by Bishop Odenheimer, and in the succeeding autumn became rector of the Church of the Holy Communion in

South Orange South Orange, officially the Township of South Orange Village, is a suburban township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village's population was 16,198, reflecting a decline of 766 (4.5%) fro ...

, N. J. He withdrew from this charge, and from further service as a parish minister, in November, 1864, on account of increasing deafness and for family reasons. He then settled in a secluded country home at Lakeside, near Montrose, Pa., where he devoted himself to reading and study. The first fruit of his retirement was a treatise entitled ''The Nation'', published in 1871 (8°, pp. xiv, 418), which secured him a recognized place among the profound and original minds of his generation. The degree of

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

was conferred on him by Yale in 1872. In 1880 he removed to

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, Mass., chiefly for the sake of educational advantages for his children, and there he published in 1881 his second great work, ''The Republic of God, an Institute of Theology'' (8°, pp. viii, 261). He continued to be busy in study, and also found occupation in

, as lecturer on Apologetics and Theology in the Episcopal Theological School, a duty which he continued to fulfill to the very last. In the summer of 1885 his health began to fail, and it was discovered that he was suffering from an acute form of Bright's disease. He died, at his home in Cambridge, December 9, 1885, in his 53rd year. He married, September 17, 1862, Rachel P. Carmalt, of Lakeside, Pa, who survived him, with four of their six children, two daughters and two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:mulford, elisha 1833 births 1885 deaths People from Montrose, Pennsylvania Yale College alumni Union Theological Seminary (New York City) alumni Andover Newton Theological School alumni American Episcopal priests American religious writers American male non-fiction writers Episcopal Divinity School faculty 19th-century American Episcopalians 19th-century American clergy