James Mills Thoburn (March 7, 1836 – November 28, 1922) was an American
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...
of the
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...
as well as an author. He did
missionary work
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
Thoburn was born on March 7, 1836 in
St. Clairsville, Ohio and graduated from
Allegheny College
he, תגל ערבה ותפרח כחבצלת
, mottoeng = "Add to your faith, virtue and to your faith, knowledge" (2 Peter 1:5)"The desert shall rejoice and the blossom as the rose" (Isaiah 35:1)
, faculty = 193 ...
in
Meadville, Pennsylvania in 1857, beginning his Methodist preaching ministry that same year in the Pittsburgh Conference. He was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...
an
Elder in 1858.
He went to India as a missionary in 1859 and was stationed successively at
Nynee Tal,
Moradabad
Moradabad () is a city, commissionary and municipal corporation in Moradabad district of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Moradabad is situated on the banks of the Ramganga river, at a distance of from the national capital, New Delhi and 344 ...
,
Lucknow
Lucknow (, ) is the capital and the largest city of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is also the second largest urban agglomeration in Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and division ...
, and
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
, where he founded
Calcutta Boys' School
The Calcutta Boys' School is an independent private day school located in Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal. was founded by the Rev. James Mills Thoburn (Methodist Missionary to India, and later Missionary Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Chur ...
in 1877. Preaching in both the native and European languages, he built the largest church in India at that time. As presiding Elder of the Indian Conference, he preached for some time at
Simla
Shimla (; ; also known as Simla, the official name until 1972) is the capital and the largest city of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared as the summer capital of British India. After independence, th ...
, the summer capital of India, and was for five years editor of the ''Indian Witness''.
After an accident, he returned to the United States in 1886. At the 1888 Methodist Episcopal General Conference, held in New York City, he was elected missionary bishop of India and Malaysia. He published the book ''My Missionary Apprenticeship'' in 1884, a history of twenty-five years in India, and a collection entitled ''Missionary Sermons'' in 1888. Other works included ''The Deaconess and her Vocation'' (1893), ''Christless Nations'' (1894), ''The Church of Pentecost'' (1899), ''Life of Isabella Thoburn'' (1903), ''The Christian Conquest of India'' (1906), ''India and Southern Asia'' (1907), and ''God's Heroes Our Examples'' (1914).
Thoburn retired in 1908 to
Meadville. He died on November 28, 1922, aged 86.
Thoburn was the uncle of
YWCA
The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries.
The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...
leader
Mabel Cratty.
See also
*
List of bishops of the United Methodist Church
This is a list of bishops of the United Methodist Church and its predecessor denominations, in order of their election to the episcopacy, both living and dead.
1784–1807
;Founders
* Thomas Coke 1784
* Francis Asbury 1784
* Richard Whatcoat ...
References
*Methodism: Ohio Area (1812–1962), edited by John M. Versteeg, Litt.D., D.D. (Ohio Area Sesquicentennial Committee, 1962).
External links
James Mills Thoburn papers, 1910-1922at Pitts Theology Library,
Candler School of Theology
Candler School of Theology is one of seven graduate schools at Emory University, located in metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia. A university-based school of theology, Candler educates ministers, scholars of religion and other leaders. It is also o ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thoburn, James Mills
Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church
American Methodist bishops
People from St. Clairsville, Ohio
1836 births
1922 deaths
Methodist missionaries in India
American expatriates in India
Methodist writers
American biographers
Missionary educators
Founders of Indian schools and colleges
Methodists from Ohio