Theodore Payne Thurston (June 30, 1867 – January 28, 1941) was the second missionary bishop of

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 ...

in the Episcopal Church between 1919 and 1926.

Early life and education

A son of Benjamin Eaton Thurston and Mary Ann Siddall, Theodore was born in

Delavan, Illinois Delavan is a city in Tazewell County, Illinois, United States. Its population was 1,689 in the 2010 census. It is a part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Delavan was founded by a group of settlers from New England. T ...

, on June 30, 1867. He was educated at the public schools in

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, graduating in June 1883 and then from Shattuck School at

Faribault, Minnesota Faribault ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Rice County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 23,352 at the 2010 census. Faribault is approximately south of Minneapolis–Saint Paul. Interstate 35 and Minnesota State Highways ...

, in 1887. He also studied at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1891 and awarded a

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 1911. He completed his theological studies at the Episcopal Theological School in

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, in 1894.

Ordained ministry

Thurston was ordained deacon on June 20, 1894, by Bishop William Lawrence of Massachusetts, in St John's Memorial Chapel,

. He was then ordained priest on June 23, 1895, by Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple at St Paul's Church in St. Paul, Missouri. He initially served as rector of St Paul's Church in Owatonna, Minnesota, until 1897 when he moved to Winona, Minnesota, to become rector of St Paul's Church. In 1903 he went to Minneapolis, becoming rector of St Paul's Church where he remained until 1911.

Episcopacy

Thurston was elected Missionary Bishop of Eastern Oklahoma in 1910 and was consecrated on January 25, 1911, 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 was the first and only Missionary Bishop of Eastern Oklahoma between 1911 and 1919. The District of Eastern Oklahoma was created on October 11, 1910, and reunited with the District of Oklahoma on October 10, 1919. Upon reunification, Thurston became Missionary Bishop of the combined Eastern and Oklahoma District, while after 1928, the title was changed to Bishop of the Missionary District of Oklahoma. He was considered to be socially liberal and a low churchman like his predecessor. He retained the post until his resignation on October 15, 1926, due to an increasing poor health.

Family

Thurston married Jane Mitchell on September 21, 1904, but she died eight months later on May 14, 1905. On June 8, 1920, he married Daisy Dean Carroll in

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 ...

. Daisy was previously married to Milton Hamlin Speer who died in 1906. She died March 23, 1968.

References

1867 births 1941 deaths People from Delavan, Illinois People from Owatonna, Minnesota People from Winona, Minnesota Clergy from Minneapolis Episcopal bishops of Oklahoma {{Oklahoma-stub