George Biller Jr. (February 25, 1874 – October 22, 1915) was Missionary Bishop of the

Episcopal diocese of South Dakota The Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota is a diocese of the Episcopal Church with jurisdiction over the state of South Dakota. History The diocese was created in 1871 at the Missionary District of Niobrara. It adopted the name Missionary Distric ...

, serving from 1912 to 1915.

Early life and education

Biller was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on February 25, 1874, to George Biller and Clara E. Smith. In 1887, he emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He was educated at St Austin's School in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and then at the

Berkeley Divinity School Berkeley Divinity School, founded in 1854, is a seminary of The Episcopal Church in New Haven, Connecticut. Along with Andover Newton Theological School and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Berkeley is one of the three "Partners on the Quad," ...

, from where he graduated in 1898.

Ordained ministry

Biller was ordained deacon on June 5, 1898, by Bishop Thomas A. Starkey of Newark. He at once left to minister in the Oklahoma territory, and was ordained priest on December 21, 1898, by Bishop Francis Key Brooke of Oklahoma. While in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, he was also chaplain at All Saints' Hospital in McAlester, Oklahoma. He remained in

for five years, until 1903, when he became vicar of the Church of the Incarnation in

. In 1908, he became vicar of Calvary Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, while in 1909, when the church became a cathedral, he was installed as its first dean.

Bishop

On April 11, 1912, Biller was elected Missionary Bishop of South Dakota on the third ballot, and was consecrated on September 18, 1912, by Presiding Bishop

Daniel S. Tuttle Daniel Sylvester Tuttle (January 26, 1837 – April 17, 1923) was consecrated a bishop of the Episcopal Church in 1866. His first assignment was as Bishop of Montana, a missionary field that included Montana, Utah, and Idaho. Early and family lif ...

. He died suddenly a few years later on October 22, 1915.

References

*''The Living Church Annual'', 1916, p. 652. 1874 births 1915 deaths 19th-century American Episcopalians Berkeley Divinity School alumni Episcopal bishops of South Dakota Clergy from London English emigrants to the United States {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub