Eugene Cecil Seaman (December 9, 1881 – November 22, 1950) was an American prelate of the Episcopal Church who was missionary bishop of the Missionary District of Northwest Texas, serving from 1924 to 1945.

Early life and education

Seaman was born on December 9, 1881, in

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

, the son of William Henry Seaman and Sophia Baldwin. He was educated at Ball High School in Galveston, graduating in 1900. He also earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1903, a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

in 1906, and an honorary

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

in 1925 from the University of the South.

Ordained ministry

Seaman was ordained deacon in June 1906 and priest on May 26, 1907, by Bishop

George Herbert Kinsolving George Herbert Kinsolving (April 28, 1849 – October 23, 1928) was an American religious leader who was the second bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, serving from 1893 to 1928. Early life and family Kinsolving was born on April 28, 1849 ...

of Texas. He then became assistant minister at Christ Church in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, while in 1907, he became rector of Christ Church in Temple, Texas. Between 1911 and 1916 he served as Archdeacon and general missionary in North Texas, and then rector of St Andrew’s Church in Amarillo, Texas, between 1916 and 1920. In 1920 he transferred to

Gadsden, Alabama Gadsden is a city in and the county seat of Etowah County in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is located on the Coosa River about northeast of Birmingham and southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is the primary city of the Gadsden Metropolitan ...

, to serve as rector of the Church of the Holy Comforter, where he remained until 1925. He was also executive secretary of the

Diocese of Alabama The Episcopal Diocese of Alabama is located in Province IV of the Episcopal Church and serves the state of Alabama with the exception of the extreme southern region, including Mobile, which forms part of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coas ...

from 1923 until 1924.

Bishop

In 1924, Seaman was elected on the first ballot to be the missionary bishop of the Missionary District of North Texas. He was subsequently consecrated bishop on January 18, 1925, by Bishop Thomas F. Gailor of Tennessee. In 1926 he was also elected as acting missionary bishop of Oklahoma. During that time he consecrated

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

in Oklahoma City. He relinquished his responsibilities in Oklahoma to give way to the election of its first diocesan bishop in 1927. He remained in North Texas until his retirement in 1945. He died in Phoenix, Arizona, on November 22, 1950.

Personal life

Seaman married Henrietta Morgan on April 11, 1912, and together had two sons, one of whom dies in infancy, and one daughter. His wife died on April 8, 1971.

References

1881 births 1950 deaths Episcopal bishops of Northwest Texas Sewanee: The University of the South alumni People from Galveston, Texas {{US-bishop-stub