Thomas Nettleship Staley (17 January 1823 – 1 November 1898) was a British

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 ca ...

of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

and the first

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

bishop of the

Church of Hawaii The Church of Hawaiʻi, originally called the Hawaiian Reformed Catholic Church, was the state church and national church of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1862 to 1893. It was the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Hawaiʻi. His ...

Life

Thomas Nettleship Staley was born 17 January 1823 in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

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 ...

. His father was the Wesleyan minister William Staley. Staley entered

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

in 1840, earned his

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 ...

degree in 1844, and became a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

in 1847 after earning his

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree. He was tutor at St Mark's College, Chelsea, from 1844 to 1848 and headmaster of St Mark's Practising School from 1848 to 1850 (whilst still lecturing in mathematics at St Mark's College) and then principal of the Collegiate School,

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Gre ...

, from 1850 to 1861. He married Catherine Workman Shirley in September 1850. He was appointed by

John Bird Sumner John Bird Sumner (25 February 1780 – 6 September 1862) was a bishop in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury. Early life John Bird Sumner was born in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, on 25 February 1780. He was the eldest son of the R ...

, the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

, and consecrated on 15 December 1861, at the suggestion of

Samuel Wilberforce Samuel Wilberforce, FRS (7 September 1805 – 19 July 1873) was an English bishop in the Church of England, and the third son of William Wilberforce. Known as "Soapy Sam", Wilberforce was one of the greatest public speakers of his day.Natural Hi ...

and

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

, as the church's first bishop of the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the independent island ...

. He departed on 17 August 1862 and arrived in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

in October 1862, several weeks after the death of Albert, Prince of Hawaii, the only son of

King Kamehameha IV Kamehameha IV (Alekanetero ʻIolani Kalanikualiholiho Maka o ʻIouli Kūnuiākea o Kūkāʻilimoku; anglicized as Alexander Liholiho) (February 9, 1834 – November 30, 1863), reigned as the fourth monarch of Hawaii under the title ''Ke Aliʻi ...

and Queen Emma Kaleleonālani Naea. His presence provoked conflict with the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...

because they considered him a symbol of

ritualism Ritualism, in the history of Christianity, refers to an emphasis on the rituals and liturgical ceremonies of the church. Specifically, the Christian ritual of Holy Communion. In the Church of England, Anglican church in the 19th century, the rol ...

. The fact that he was a bishop also bothered the

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

s who disliked any kind of religious hierarchy. In a letter to

Rufus Anderson Rufus Anderson (August 17, 1796 – May 23, 1880) was an American minister who spent several decades organizing overseas missions. Personal life Rufus Anderson was born in North Yarmouth, Maine, on August 17, 1796. His father, also named Rufus ...

of the American Board, the British missionary William Ellis (who had visited the

Hawaiian islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...

in 1825) wrote that Staley was "associated with that section of the Church of England from which the greatest number of perverts to Popery has proceeded, and between whom and the Roman Catholics the difference is reported to be slight ..." Even the American writer

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

criticized Staley as an agent of Britain. Staley publicly defended his actions as being non-political, but was considered symbolic of the struggle for influence on the islands. Although he was appointed to the King's

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

1863–1864 and

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

in 1865, he denied ever giving political advice, or being behind any plots leading to British colonization of the islands. In December 1863 he held the memorial service for Kamehameha IV and later dedicated the Royal Mausoleum where the royal family was reburied. The next King

Kamehameha V Kamehameha V (Lota Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Aliʻiōlani Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui; December 11, 1830 – December 11, 1872), reigned as the fifth monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipaʻa": i ...

continued his support and the cornerstone for the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew was laid in a ceremony in March 1867. Staley began two church-operated

Saint Andrew's Priory School for Girls St. Andrew's Schools is a private K–12 school in Honolulu, Hawaii. Made up of The Priory, an all-girls K–12 program with a college preparatory school; The Prep, the all-boys K–5 program; and a co-educational preschool for ages 2–5 years i ...

and

ʻIolani School Iolani School, located at 563 Kamoku Street in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a private coeducational college preparatory school serving over 2,020 students with a boarding program for grades 9 - 12 as well as a summer boarding program for middle school gra ...

in Honolulu (originally named for

Saint Alban Saint Alban (; la, Albanus) is venerated as the first-recorded British Christian martyr, for which reason he is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with fellow Saints Julius and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded ...

). Staley was appointed

Chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...

of Hawaii's

Royal Order of Kamehameha I The Royal Order of Kamehameha I (''Kamehameha I e Hookanaka'') is an order of knighthood established by Kamehameha V in 1865, to promote and defend the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Hawaii. Established by the 1864 Constitution, the Order of Kam ...

. He corresponded with

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

regarding the decline in population of the

native Hawaiians Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii ...

. Staley was frustrated with the political struggle and suggested he would like to resign. He hoped to be replaced by an American Episcopal bishop, but none could be found. He reluctantly retired in 1870 and was replaced by

Alfred Willis Alfred Charles Willis (3 February 1836 – 14 November 1920) was an Anglican missionary bishop and author in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Biography Born the son of a physician, he was educated at Uppingham and St John's College, Oxf ...

. He resided in

Croxall Croxall is a hamlet and former civil parish in England that was historically in Derbyshire, but since 1895 has been part of Edingale parish, Staffordshire. The settlement today is mainly the Church of England parish church of St John and Crox ...

and died on 1 November 1898 at

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

Life

Publications

See also

References

Citations

Works cited

Further reading