Edward Thomson (October 12, 1810 – March 21, 1870) was an American Bishop 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 ...

(and therefore also of the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelica ...

), elected in 1864.

Early life

Thomson was born in Portsea, part of

Portsmouth, England Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most densel ...

. When he was seven years old his family emigrated to the United States, settling in

Wooster, Ohio Wooster ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Wayne County. Located in northeastern Ohio, the city lies approximately south-southwest of Cleveland, southwest of Akron and west of Canton. The population was 27,232 at ...

. His father, a pharmacist, influenced Edward toward the study of medicine, which he pursued at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...

. He united with the M.E. Church April 29, 1832, and was licensed as an exhorter the next year. Indiana Asbury (now DePauw) University gave him the degree of

D.D. 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 1846, and Ohio Wesleyan that of

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the earl ...

in 1855.

Ordained ministry

The following July, Thomson was recommended for admission to the

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

Annual Conference, and he was received "on trial" that September. He was appointed junior preacher on the Norwalk Circuit. His great abilities were apparent almost immediately. In 1836 he was appointed to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

in the

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

Annual Conference (the northern part of Ohio then being a part of the Michigan Conference).

Lewis Cass Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was an American military officer, politician, and statesman. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He wa ...

Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of state, head of government, and chief executive of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as th ...

, though a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...

, was among Rev. Thomson's parishioners. While at Detroit, Thomson married a daughter of

Mordecai Bartley Mordecai Bartley (December 16, 1783 – October 10, 1870) was a Whig politician from northeastern Ohio. He served as the 18th governor of Ohio. Bartley succeeded his son, Thomas W. Bartley as governor, one of few instances of this happening in t ...

, a

U.S. congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

and later also a governor. In 1837 Thomson became the principal of the Norwalk Seminary, where his success was so great that in 1843 he was offered the chancellorship of the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

and the presidency of Transylvania College. In 1844 Edward was elected by the M.E. General Conference as the editor of the '' Ladies' Repository'', an important denominational periodical. He was re-elected to this post in 1848, but instead was called to the presidency of

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium ...

, a post he held until 1860. He was elected editor of the ''Christian Advocate'' in 1860, remaining until 1864 despite much opposition.

Episcopal ministry

Elected to the

episcopacy 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 ...

in 1864, Bishop Thomson continued in this office until his death. He likewise attained high rank as a lecturer and an editor, writing much for periodicals and papers. He was a profound student, though absent-minded, preferring the seclusion of a college to the episcopal "office." Notwithstanding, he was among the most eminent of bishops of that time. Thomson died in

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and also contains a tiny portion extendin ...

. He was buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in

Delaware, Ohio Delaware is a city in and the county seat of Delaware County, Ohio, United States. Delaware was founded in 1808 and was incorporated in 1816. It is located near the center of Ohio, is about north of Columbus, and is part of the Columbus, Ohio ...

Selected writings

*''Educational Essays'' (new edition), Cincinnati, 1856. *''Moral and Religious Essays,'' 1856. *''Biographical and Incidental Sketches,'' 1856. *''Letters from Europe,'' 1856. *''Letters from India, China, and Turkey,'' (2 vols.), 1870. *''Our Oriental Missions'', 1870.

References

*Leete, Frederick DeLand, Methodist Bishops. Nashville, The Methodist Publishing House, 1948.

External links