Sidney Catlin Partridge (September 1, 1857 – June 22, 1930) was the first Bishop of

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

(1900–1911) and the second Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri (1911–1930).

Early life and education

Partridge was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on September 1, 1857, to George Sidney Partridge and Helen Derby Catlin. He graduated from

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

in 1880, where he served on the eighth editorial board of ''

The Yale Record ''The Yale Record'' is the campus humor magazine of Yale University. Founded in 1872, it is the oldest humor magazine in the United States."History", The Yale Record, March 10, 2010. http://www.yalerecord.com/about/history/ ''The Record'' is c ...

'' and was a member of

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones (also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death) is an undergraduate senior Secret society#Colleges and universities, secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior-class ...

. He then undertook studies at

Berkeley Divinity School Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, founded in 1854, is a seminaries, seminary of Episcopal Church in the United States of America, The Episcopal Church in New Haven, Connecticut. Along with Andover Newton Theological School and the Yale Institute ...

and graduated in 1884.

Ordained ministry

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

, Bishop of Connecticut, ordained Partridge to the diaconate on June 4, 1884, at the Church of the Holy Trinity in

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles (25.749504 km) south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. Middletown is the largest city in the L ...

. The Reverend Partridge married Charlotte Irene Mills (1857-1886) on Tuesday, June 10, 1884, in Brooklyn, New York. He then worked as a missionary in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

under Bishop William Jones Boone, Jr. who ordained him a priest in 1885. Between 1884 and 1887 he served as an instructor in natural science at St John's Missionary College in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

and was treasurer of the mission. He then was in charge of Bishop Bonne Memorial School in

Wuchang Wuchang is one of 13 urban District (China), districts of the prefecture-level city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province, China. It is the oldest of the three cities that merged into modern-day Wuhan, and stood on the right (southea ...

until 1899 where he taught Chinese and English. In 1886, Charlotte Irene Mills Partridge died of typhoid fever. Their daughter, Helen Louise Partridge (1885-1963) was sent to live with her paternal grandmother in the United States, while Partridge continued his mission work in China. He was also involved in teaching bible studies at St Peter's Divinity School.

Bishop

In January 1900, Partridge was elected as the first Missionary Bishop of Kyoto in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and was consecrated on February 2, 1900, in Trinity Cathedral,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

by the Bishop of Tokyo John McKim. Other bishops in attendance included: *

William Awdry William Awdry (24 January 1842 – 4 January 1910) was the inaugural Bishop of Southampton and Osaka who subsequently served South Tokyo. He was the fourth son of Sir John Wither Awdry and his second wife Frances Ellen Carr, second daughter of ...

, Bishop of South Tokyo * Hugh James Foss, Bishop of Osaka * Philip Kemball Fyson, Bishop of Hokkaido * Frederick Rogers Graves, Bishop of Shanghai * John McKim, Bishop of North Tokyo He was decorated as a Knight of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

following his marriage to Agnes Laura Louisa Simpson (1877-1954), the daughter of the Danish consul general at

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

on November 27, 1901. She was the daughter of Captain John Simpson (1840-1905) and Amalia Barbara Jeanette Ortved Simpson (1851-1921). In 1911, he was elected Bishop of West Missouri and was enthroned in Grace Church, now Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, on June 27, 1911. He was a bishop associate of the American Branch of the

Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament The Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament (CBS), officially the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, is a devotional society in the Anglican Communion dedicated to venerating the Real Presence of Christ in the ...

. On June 12, 1928, Rev. Partridge offered the

invocation Invocation is the act of calling upon a deity, spirit, or supernatural force, typically through prayer, ritual, or spoken formula, to seek guidance, assistance, or presence. It is a practice found in numerous religious, spiritual, and esote ...

at the opening of the

1928 Republican National Convention The 1928 Republican National Convention was held at Convention Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, from June 12 to June 15, 1928. Because President Calvin Coolidge had announced unexpectedly he would not run for re-election in 1928, Commerce Sec ...

in Kansas City. He died in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, due to double

lobar pneumonia Lobar pneumonia is a form of pneumonia characterized by inflammatory exudate within the intra-alveolar space resulting in consolidation that affects a large and continuous area of the lobe of a lung. It is one of three anatomic classifications ...

. He was buried in Forest Hill Calvary Cemetery in

References

1857 births 1930 deaths Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Berkeley Divinity School alumni Yale University alumni Anglican bishops of Kyoto Episcopal bishops of West Missouri Psi Upsilon Members of Skull and Bones {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub