Term: Welles, Edward Randolph 1830 - 1888

Definition: Episcopal clergyman, bishop, b. Waterloo, N.Y. He graduated from Hobart College (1850), studied law, and for several years taught school in Vicksburg, Miss., and in Niagara Falls, N.Y. In 1857 he was ordained in the Episcopal clergy, and in 1858 founded Christ Church in Red Wing, Minn. After serving various pastorates and posts in the Minnesota-Wisconsin area, Welles was consecrated Bishop of Wisconsin in 1874, and served in this capacity until his death. Prominently identified with the cathedral movement in America, Welles was instrumental in persuading many of the Episcopal dioceses to accept the idea. During his episcopate in Wisconsin, he was instrumental in increasing the number of Episcopalians by 45 per cent. A high churchman, he introduced the work of nuns in the diocese and championed the place of monks and nuns in the life of the Church. He was instrumental in building 32 new churches in Wisconsin, and was a constant defender of the catholic nature of the Episcopal Church. He died while returning from the Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops in London. E. S. Welles, ed., Sermons and Addresses by... E. R. Welles (Milwaukee, 1889); H. E. Wagner, Episc. Church in Wis. ([Waterloo, Wis.] 1947); Milwaukee Sentinel, Oct. 21, 1888.