Robert Woodward Barnwell Elliott (August 16, 1840 – August 26, 1887) was the first Missionary Bishop (1874–1887) of what was then the Missionary District of Western Texas in the Episcopal Church.

Family and Early Life

Elliott was born on August 16, 1840, in

Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort ( , a different pronunciation from that used by the city with the same name in North Carolina) is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South ...

, to Stephen Elliott and Charlotte Bull Barnwell. The Elliotts were an old Low Country family and members of "the Chivalry." His father was the

Bishop of Georgia The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia, USA is one of 20 dioceses that comprise Province IV of the US Episcopal Church, and is a diocese within the worldwide Anglican Communion. The current bishop is Frank S. Logue, who succeeded Scott Anson Benha ...

when the Civil War broke out, then served as the first and only Presiding Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America. Stephen Elliott was a founder of the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee, and had founded the Montpelier Female Institute in Georgia in the 1840s. His father's ancestors originated from

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

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 ...

, and arrived in the

Province of Carolina Province of Carolina was a province of England (1663–1707) and Great Britain (1707–1712) that existed in North America and the Caribbean from 1663 until partitioned into North and South on January 24, 1712. It is part of present-day Alaba ...

in 1690, while his mother's ancestors came from

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

in what was then the

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in 1689. The Southern novelist

Sarah Barnwell Elliott Sarah Barnwell Elliott (November 29, 1848 – August 30, 1928) was an American novelist, short story writer, and an advocate of women's rights. Elliott was born in Montpelier, Georgia, to Stephen Elliott a bishop in the Episcopal Church who was ...

(1848-1928) was Robert's sister. Elliott married his third cousin Caroline Elliott on January 7, 1864, and they had five children. He studied at the South Carolina College and graduated in 1861. Later he enlisted in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

and was made an aide to Alexander Lawton. He was wounded during the

Second Battle of Bull Run The Second Battle of Bull Run or Battle of Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, in Prince William County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign waged by Confederate ...

and was accompanying Joseph E. Johnston at the time of his surrender in May 1865.

Ordained ministry

After the war he settled in

Rome, Georgia Rome is the largest city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia metropolitan area, Rome, Georgia, metropolitan statisti ...

, where he studied for the priesthood and where he was ordained deacon on August 4, 1868, in St Peter's Church by Bishop

Charles Todd Quintard Charles Todd Quintard (December 22, 1824 – February 16, 1898) was an American physician and clergyman who became the second bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee and the first Vice-Chancellor of the University of the South. Medical car ...

of Tennessee. Between August 1, 1868, and September 1870 he was in charge of the missions in Cave Spring, Centerville, Dalton, and

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. He was then appointed assistant minister at the Church of the Incarnation 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 ...

in November 1870. While there, he also attended the

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating Seminary in the Anglican Communi ...

. He was then ordained a priest on April 9, 1871, at Christ Church in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, by Bishop

John W. Beckwith John Watrous Beckwith (February 9, 1831 – November 23, 1890) was the Second Bishop of Georgia. He was the 86th bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA). Life Beckwith was graduated from Trinity College, Hartford in ...

of Georgia. In May 1871, he transferred to the Chapel of the Reconciliation in

and remained there until September of that same year. In October 1871 he was then made rector of

St Philip's Church ''Riceyman Steps'' is a novel by British novelist Arnold Bennett, first published in 1923 and winner of that year's James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. It follows a year in the life of Henry Earlforward, a miserly second-hand bookshop ow ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Episcopacy and legacy

In 1874, Elliott was elected by the House of Bishops to be the first Missionary Bishop of Western Texas. He was consecrated bishop on November 15, 1874, by Bishop

Alexander Gregg Alexander Gregg (October 8, 1819 - July 11, 1893), an Episcopal clergyman, was the first bishop of Texas. Early life and education Alexander Gregg was born on October 8, 1819, in Society Hill, South Carolina, Darlington County, South Carolina, ...

of Texas. He remained in office until his death on August 26, 1887. Elliott was the founder of St. Mary's Hall in San Antonio, Texas (1879), an institution once closely affiliated with the Episcopal Church. The Bishop Elliott Society in the Diocese of West Texas is named in his honor."Robert Woodward Barnwell Elliott Report, 1886"
''Texas Archives''. Retrieved on August 31, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Robert W. B. 1840 births 1887 deaths 19th-century American Episcopalians People from San Antonio Episcopal bishops of West Texas 19th-century American clergy