NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG3229.AM: Protestant Episcopal Church. Diocese of Nebraska
Records: 1868-1962
Omaha, Douglas County, Neb.: Episcopal Church
Size: ca. 200 volumes on 10 reels of microfilm
BACKGROUND NOTE
The beginnings of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Nebraska may be traced to the General Convention of 1838 when the jurisdiction of the missionary bishop, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Jackson Kemper, was extended to include “the Territories of Wisconsin and Iowa, and in all other parts of the United States north of latitude 36 1/2 where the Church is as yet unorganized.”” Included in this area was the territory that would be known as Nebraska. The first clergymen to serve regularly in the future territory of Nebraska were the Rev. James De Pui, chaplain to the army at Fort Kearney, and the Rev. W. Vaux at Fort Laramie.
Trinity Parish was organized in Omaha on April 12, 1856. From 1856 to 1859 the Nebraska Territory was served by Bishop Henry Lee of Iowa. In 1859 Bishop Joseph C. Talbot, elected Missionary Bishop for the North West which included Nebraska, made Nebraska City his official residence. On October 21, 1865, the House of Bishops created the Missionary District of Nebraska, including part of Dakota, and appointed Robert H. Clarkson as Bishop. Clarkson, who moved his residence to Omaha, was appointed Bishop of Nebraska when the Diocese was established in 1868. In 1871 an Indian Jurisdiction was created within Nebraska and designated as the Missionary District of the Niobrara. When Clarkson died in 1884, the church had difficulty finding a cleric who would accept the vacant post. Finally Dr. George Worthington was elected and was consecrated on February 24, 1885.
Because the Diocese proved too large to be effectively served by one bishop, it was divided in 1889 and the Missionary District of Platte was created in western Nebraska. The Rev. Anson R. Graves was elected to the new bishopric with its seat at Kearney. In 1898 the boundaries extended to include eastern Wyoming and the changed to the Missionary District of Laramie. The two parts of the district were never successfully integrated, and so in 1907 eastern Wyoming was removed, the boundary returned to that of the old District of the Platte, and the jurisdiction renamed the Missionary District of Kearney. Due to ill-health Grave resigned in 1910 and George Allen Beecher, a Presbyter of the Diocese of Nebraska, was chosen as the new Bishop of Kearney. In 1913 the name was changed to the District of Western Nebraska.
Despite the creation of a missionary district in western Nebraska, the work of the Diocese remained too burdensome for Worthington, whose health was poor, and so Arthur L. Williams was elected Coadjutor Bishop for the Diocese of Nebraska in 1899. When Worthington died in 1908, Williams succeeded him until his own death in 1919. Ernest V. Shayler of Seattle then served until his resignation in 1938. On October 18, 1939, the Rev. Howard R. Brinker, Rector of St. Bartholomew’s Church, Chicago, replaced Shayler, and when Beecher resigned because of advanced age in 1943, Brinker was appointed Provisional Bishop of the District of Western Nebraska.
In 1946 the General Convention merged the District of Western Nebraska with the Diocese of Nebraska under Bishop Brinker. In 1961 the Rev. Russell T. Rauscher, Rector of All Souls Church Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was elected Coadjutor, and he succeeded as Bishop of Nebraska when Brinker retired the following year.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection of the records of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska from 1868 to 1962 also includes records of the Missionary District of Western Nebraska as well as some individual parishes and is contained on ten reels of microfilm.
The records of the Diocese of Nebraska include Registers of Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Burials, Clergy, and Consecrations of Churches, 1884-1962; newspapers published by the diocese; the constitution and canons of the diocese; journals of the proceedings of the Annual Council; proceedings of the annual Convocation of the Clergy; and minutes of the Standing Committee.
Among the records of the District of Western Nebraska are Registers, 1886-1947; journals of the meetings of “Bishop and Council”; and financial records.
Records of Trinity Cathedral, Omaha, include minutes of the Cathedral Chapter, 1872-1939 and minutes of the Executive Board of collection are St. John’s Church, Omaha, Minutes of the Vestry, 1886-1900 and Register, 1885-1892; Church of the Good Shepherd, Omaha, Marriage Register, 1915-1920; St. Margaret’s Church, Papillion, Register, 1884-1923; St. Augustine’s Mission Chapel, Omaha, Register, 1898-1899; St. Matthias’ Church, Omaha, Marriage Register, 1907-1914; Church of the Incarnation, Decatur, Register, 1862-1897 and minutes of the Vestry, 1871-1889; and St. John’s Church, Wahoo, Register, 1892-1912
INVENTORY
Reel 1
Volume
- Diocese of Nebraska baptisms, 1886-1891
Diocese of Nebraska confirmations, 1884-1910
Diocese of Nebraska marriages, 1885-1954
Diocese of Nebraska burials, 1890-1908, 1940-1957 - Diocese of Nebraska clergy list, 1866-1962
Diocese of Nebraska postulants and candidates for orders, 1887-1962
Diocese of Nebraska ordinations, 1885-1962
Diocese of Nebraska renunciations, 1926, 1953-1955
Diocese of Nebraska depositions
Diocese of Nebraska restorations, 1949
Diocese of Nebraska consecration of bishops, 1899-1961
Diocese of Nebraska consecration of churches, 1877-1950
Diocese of Nebraska lay readers, 1886-1903 - Diocese of Nebraska confirmations, 1910-1954
- Diocese of Nebraska confirmations, 1955-1962
Reel 1
Volume
- Missionary District of Western Nebraska baptisms, 1890-1928
Missionary District of Western Nebraska confirmations, 1890-1928
Missionary District of Western Nebraska marriages, 1891-1947
Missionary District of Western Nebraska burials, 1892-1946
Missionary District of Western Nebraska cornerstones, 1908-1944
Missionary District of Western Nebraska consecration of churches, 1892-1941 - Missionary District of Western Nebraska lay readers, 1890-1942
Missionary District of Western Nebraska postulants, 1890-1943
Missionary District of Western Nebraska deacons, 1892-1942
Missionary District of Western Nebraska ordination of priests, 1893-1943
Missionary District of Western Nebraska list of clergy, 1886-1943 - Missionary District of Western Nebraska confirmations, 1929-1943
Reel 1
Trinity Cathedral (Omaha, Neb.), minutes of the Cathedral Chapter, 1872-1906
Reel 2
Trinity Cathedral (Omaha, Neb.), minutes of the Cathedral Chapter, 1906-1919
Diocese of Nebraska, publications, 1868-1961
The Diocese of Nebraska, 1889-1897
The Guardian, 1873-1874
Forward Together, 1945-1946
The Nebraska Churchman, 1947-1954
Reel 3
The Nebraska Churchman, 1954-1957
Reel 4
The Church Guardian, 1877-1888
Reel 5
The Crozier, 1900-1915
Reel 6
The Crozier, 1915-1930
Reel 7
The Crozier, 1930-1932
Constitution and Canons of the Diocese of Nebraska together with the Statutes of the Cathedral Chapter and Laws of the State Relating to the Church, 1947
A Brief History of Trinity Cathedral: the First Hundred Years, 1856-1956
The Consecration of the Reverend Russel T. Rauscher, 1961
Journals of the Proceedings of the Annual Council of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Nebraska, 1868-1901
Reel 8
Journals of the Proceedings of the Annual Council of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Nebraska, 1902-1947
Reel 9
Journals of the Proceedings of the Annual Council of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Nebraska, 1947-1961
Report of the Committee on Revision of the Constitution and Canons of the Diocese of Nebraska, 1882
Constitution and Canons of the Diocese of Nebraska, 1883, 1894, 1902, 1911, 1922, 1947
Diocese of Nebraska, minutes of the Standing Committee, 1868-1910
Trinity Cathedral, Omaha, minutes of the Cathedral Chapter, 1919-1939
Diocese of Nebraska, proceedings of the Annual Convocation of the Clergy of the Diocese of Nebraska, 1908-1909
Reel 10
Proceedings of the Annual Convention of the Clergy of the Diocese of Nebraska, 1911-1919
Missionary District of Western Nebraska, 1920-1945
Proceedings of the Diocesan Committee of the Nation Wide Campaign Committee, 1920
Proceedings of the “Bishop and Council” of the District of Western Nebraska, 1920-1945
History of the Parish of Christ Church, Beatrice, Nebraska, 1873-1923
Trinity Cathedral, Omaha, Minutes of the Executive Board of the Woman Auxiliary, 1932-1943
St. John’s Church, Omaha, Minutes of the Vestry, 1886-1900
Minutes of the Omaha Clericus, 1891-1915
Journals of the Annual Convocation of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Missionary Jurisdiction of the Platte, 1891-1898
Journal of the Annual Convocation of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Missionary Jurisdiction of the Platte and Laramie, 1899
Journals of the Annual Convocation of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Missionary Jurisdiction of Laramie, 1900-1907
Journals of the Annual Convocation of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Missionary Jurisdiction of Kearney, 1908-1910
Proceedings and Programs of the Diocese of Nebraska, 1898-1907
Church of the Good Shepherd, Omaha, Marriage Register, 1915-1920
St. Margaret’s Church, Papillion, Register, 1884-1923
St. John’s Church, Omaha, Register, 1885-1892
St. Augustine’s Mission Chapel, Omaha, Register, 1898-1899
St. Matthias’ Church, Omaha, Marriage Register, 1907-1914
Diocese of Nebraska, Deanery of the North Platte, Journal of the Dean, 1889-1890
Church of the Incarnation, Decatur, Register, 1862-1897
Church of the Incarnation, Decatur, Minutes of the Vestry, 1871-1889
Missionary District of Western Nebraska, Missionary Trust Funds, 1924-1939
Missionary District of Western Nebraska, Episcopate Fund, 1924-1939
Missionary District of Western Nebraska, Special Funds, 1905-1911
St. John’s Church, Wahoo, Register, 1892-1912
Subject headings:
Beecher, George Allen, 1868-1951
Brinker, Howard R., 1893-1964
Christ Church (Beatrice, Neb.)
Church of the Good Shepherd (Omaha, Neb.)
Church of the Incarnation (Decatur, Neb.)
Episcopal churches
Graves, Anson R., 1842-1931
Protestant Episcopal Church. Diocese of Nebraska
Shayler, Ernest V., 1868-1947
St. Augustine’s Mission Chapel (Omaha, Neb.)
St. John’s Church (Omaha, Neb.)
St. John’s Church (Wahoo, Neb.)
St. Matthias’ Church (Omaha, Neb.)
Trinity Cathedral (Omaha, Neb.)
Williams, Arthur L., 1853-1919
Acc. August 1973
APD/ct 05-15-1975
ND 06-03 1997
KFK/dco 09-11-2003
