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 ...

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.

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, 1910-1922
at 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

See also

References

External links