Bertrand Martin Tipple (1 December 1868 – 19 October 1952) was a Methodist writer, lecturer, and the founder and president of Methodist International College in

Rome, Italy Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Biography

Bertrand M. Tipple was born at Camden,

Oneida County, New York Oneida County ( ) is a county in the state of New York, United States. As of February 26, 2024, the population was 226,654. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or '' ...

on December 1, 1868, the son of Martin Tipple (7 March 1819 – 16 May 1901) and Sara Elizabeth Squier (June 1841 – 3 June 1916). His brother was Ezra Squier Tipple (1861–1936). He was educated at Cazenovia Seminary, graduating in 1890, then on to

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

where he would receive his A.B. in 1894, and ten years later a D.D. (1904). While at Syracuse, he was a member of the

Delta Upsilon Delta Upsilon (), commonly known as DU, is a collegiate men's fraternity founded on November 4, 1834, at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is the sixth-oldest, all-male, college Greek-letter organization founded in North America ...

fraternity, serving as recording secretary and president. He lived in the D.U. house and had as a fellow brother, also living in the house,

Stephen Crane Stephen Crane (November 1, 1871 – June 5, 1900) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. Prolific throughout his short life, he wrote notable works in the Realist tradition as well as early examples of American Naturalism an ...

. During his college years he served as an editor for the monthly University Herald, played baseball, studied classical history, and was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

society. He also served as a correspondent for the New York Tribune and the Mail and Express, and for the Post-Standard of Syracuse.''Who Was Who in America'', v. 5, 1969-1973, p. 724.
Chicago: A. N. Marquis.Price, C. F., ed. (1916).
''Who's Who in American Methodism'', p. 222.
New York: E. B. Treat & Co.Dodge, M. G., ed. (1902).
''The Delta Upsilon decennial catalogue'', p. 694.
Ann Arbor: The Fraternity.Copeland, A. (1907).
''Men and Days in Phi Beta Kappa'', p. 127.
Newark: The Du Bois Press.Sorrentino, P., ed. (2006).
''Stephen Crane Remembered'', pp. 21-22.
Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. Following college, Tipple pursued a career as a clergyman. He studied at Drew Theological Seminary, graduating in 1897 with his B.D. degree and was ordained in 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 nationally. In 1939, th ...

. While at Drew, he served as assistant pastor of Grace M.E. Church, New York City. He married Jane Baldwin Downs on 2 June 1897. She was also a graduate of Syracuse (1895) and a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Phi International Women's Fraternity (, also known as APhi) is an international Fraternities and sororities in North America, sorority with 175 active chapters and over 270,000 initiated members. Founded at Syracuse University in Syracuse, ...

.Smalley, F., ed. (1904).
''Alumni Record and General Catalogue of Syracuse University 1899-1904'', vol. 2, p. 140.
Syracuse: Alumni Association. He served as pastor of Epworth M.E. Church, New Haven, Connecticut, from 1897 till 1900. From 1900 until 1906 he was pastor of Embury Memorial M.E. Church, Brooklyn, New York; and then back to Connecticut as pastor of First M.E. Church, in Stamford until 1909.''New York Charities Directory'', p. 535.
New York: Charity Organization Society, 1903."Tipple is from Brooklyn: Head of Methodist Church in Rome formerly preached there.

/ref> In 1909 Tipple accepted a call to be pastor of the American Methodist Episcopal Church in Rome, Italy. The new position was to afford him the opportunity to pursue missionary work, for at the time there were only about ten members.''The Alpha Phi Quarterly'' 21 (1908): 261.
/ref> He was very busy during his stay in Rome and accepted many new responsibilities. From 1910 until 1923 he was president of Reeder Theological Seminary, which prepared boys for the Methodist ministry in Italy. Perhaps most prominently, he was the founder and president of Methodist International College (Collegio Internazionale di Monte Mario) from 1911 until 1923. The Methodists were in continual conflict with the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

during Tipple's fourteen years in Rome. The most famous incident occurred in early April 1910, when ex-President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

, during his six-week tour through Europe, failed to meet with the Pope. The Pontiff did not want the ex-president to also call on the Methodist mission while in Rome. Roosevelt, who had had no intention of such a visit, was incensed by the restriction that

Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

seemed to be making on him and declined to call on him. The episode, which was mostly the result of misunderstandings, caused quite a stir.Abbott, L. (1910). "The Facts of the Vatican Incident.
''The Outlook'' 94:776-78
See also, pp. 815*, 816*, 858-60, and Roosevelt's statement, pp. 775-76."A Review of the World.
''Current Literature'' 48 (May 1910): 464-72.
/ref>"Diplomat's View of the Roman Situation."
''The New York Times'', 10 April 1910.
/ref> In 1914, Tipple secured six acres at the southern end of

Monte Mario Monte Mario (English: Mount Mario or Mount Marius) is the hill that rises in the north-west area of Rome (Italy), on the right bank of the Tiber, crossed by the Via Trionfale. It occupies part of Balduina, of the territory of Municipio I, Munici ...

, one of the most beautiful locations near the city. He planned on a large-scale building program to expand the college; however, his plans were met with strong opposition from the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

."Methodists Buy Rome Site.
''The New York Times'', 26 January 1914.
/ref>"The Methodists on the Hills of Rome."
''The Literary Digest'', vol. 70, no. 7 (13 August 1921): 28-29.
/ref> On 20 May 1922, the first of seven planned buildings was finally dedicated."Methodists' Aim in Rome."
''The New York Times'', 21 May 1922.
/ref> Tipple resigned as president of the college on 20 November 1923, stating ill health as the necessitating cause, and shortly thereafter the new fascist government would stall and eventually stop the extensive building plans."Dr. Tipple Quits College In Rome."

/ref> During 1910 to 1924 Tipple embarked on numerous lecture trips throughout the United States, Great Britain, France, and Germany. He was a delegate to the world convention of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

Robert College The American Robert College of Istanbul ( or ), often abbreviated as Robert or RC, is a Selective school, highly selective, Independent school, independent, mixed-sex education, co-educational, Education in Turkey#Private schools, private Second ...

in Constantinople in 1911 and a delegate to the Ecumenical Conference in Edinburgh, 1913. From 1912 to 1924 he was correspondent-at-large in Europe and North Africa for ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...

''. During World War I, he maintained social service rooms in the Methodist building in Rome for British and American soldiers and sailors. He was received at the Italian Court in 1910. In July, 1915, he was conferred Knight of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...

(Cavaliere dell' Ordine della Corona d'Italia) by King Victor Emanuel III and in 1920 he was made Commander of the

for making Americans aware of Italy's sacrifice during the Great war.''Phi Kappa Phi Journal'' 1 (1915): 368.
/ref> Tipple was also a Mason (

33rd degree The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is a List of Masonic rites, rite within the broader context of Freemasonry. It is the most widely practiced List of Masonic rites, Rite in the world. In some parts of the world, and in the ...

of Italy). In his later years he focused on traveling, lecturing and writing. He joined his daughter Silva Tipple New Lake on the American expedition to the ruins at Van Fortress, Turkey, in 1938-40. He died on 19 October 1952.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tipple, Bertrand Martin 1868 births 1952 deaths American Methodist clergy Syracuse University alumni People from Camden, New York Drew University alumni Members of Phi Kappa Phi