EPISCOPAL TROUBLES IN ILLINOIS. THE FOLLOWING LETTERS APPEARING TO SOME LAYMEN WORTHY, AT THIS TIME, OF REVIVAL AND WIDER CIRCULATION THAN WHERE THEY ORIGINALLY APPEARED, THEY HAVE CAUSED THEM TO BE REPRODUCED IN THEIR PRESENT FORM. THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE, FROM THE PEN OF E.C. LARNED, ESQ., WHICH APPEARED IN THE CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE OF 23RD FEBRUARY, 1853, AFFORDS A CONTEMPORANEOUS HISTORY OF THE TRANSACTIONS TO WHICH IT REFERS.|A NEW EPISCOPAL CHURCH.| A MOVEMENT OF INTEREST AND IMPORTANCE HAS RECENTLY BEEN MADE AMONG THE EPISCOPALIANS IN THIS CITY. SOON AFTER BISHOP WHITEHOUSE ENTERED UPON HIS MINISTRATION IN THE DIOCESE, A STRONG INTEREST WAS AWAKENED, AND THE DESIRE TO SECURE THE BENEFIT OF HIS MINISTERIAL LABORS AND OF HIS PERMANENT RE

[Whitehouse, Bishop Henry J.]

Published by [Chicago?, 1860

About this Item

Folio sheet, folded to 8.25" x 11", 4pp. Caption title [as issued]. Old folds, couple of small holes cost about a few letters. Good+. This rare and evidently unrecorded item exposes a serious rift in the Protestant Episcopal Church in Illinois. The first Letter, entitled "A New Episcopal Church," is signed by "A. Churchman." It was originally printed in the Chicago Tribune in 1853. Two additional Letters, originally printed in 'The Churchman' in October 1860, are from "Aurora" and "Illinoise| Richmond House. These pseudonymous authors, who sign their names in type, outline the dispute. This imprint was prepared during a well-publicized nine-year dispute over land purchased as the domain of the Episcopal Church in Chicago, and as the residence of Bishop Henry J. Whitehouse [1803-1874], the second Bishop of Illinois. The plan was for Whitehouse and the new Cathedral to be housed in Chicago. Cyrenius Beers [1813-1869], a wealthy Chicago landowner in Chicago, had agreed to sell to the Diocese two adjoining lots of land for a modest price. High-minded intentions often go awry; this noble plan resulted in bitterness and conflict. Beers donated part of the land; the Church raised money to pay Beers the balance of several thousand dollars. Bishop Whitehouse, listed on the deed as donee of the property, sat on the project for several years: no church was built, and Whitehouse refused to take his seat as Bishop until his salary demands were met. Whitehouse, some said, held up the entire deal until Beers paid him $6000 to release Whitehouse's interest in the property. Whitehouse cashed Beers's check but refused to release his interest. In 1860, the Convention of the Illinois Episcopal Diocese charged Whitehouse with dereliction of his episcopal duties, and a lay delegate accused him of financial scheming. [Guelzo: FOR THE UNION OF CHRISTENDOM: THE IRONY OF REFORMED EPISCOPALIANS: 1994, Pages 79-86; Kerfoot: BISHOP WHITEHOUSE AND THE DIOCESE OF ILLINOIS. Chicago: 1860.] Not in Ante-Fire Imprints, Eberstadt, Decker, Sabin. Not on OCLC as of January 2024. Seller Inventory # 31784

Bibliographic Details

Title: EPISCOPAL TROUBLES IN ILLINOIS. THE ...

Publisher: [Chicago?

Publication Date: 1860