Abiel Leonard (June 26, 1848 – December 3, 1903) was a missionary bishop of the district of Episcopal Diocese of Utah and Episcopal Diocese of Nevada, serving from 1888 to 1903.

The Right Reverend

Abiel Leonard
Missionary Bishop of Utah and Nevada
ChurchEpiscopal Church
SeeUtah and Nevada
ElectedOctober 1887
In office1888–1903
PredecessorDaniel S. Tuttle
SuccessorFranklin Spencer Spalding
Orders
OrdinationJune 29, 1873 (deacon)
November 4, 1873 (priest)
by Charles Franklin Robertson
ConsecrationJanuary 25 , 1888
by Thomas Hubbard Vail
Personal details
Born(1848-06-26)June 26, 1848
DiedDecember 3, 1903(1903-12-03) (aged 55)
Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
BuriedMount Olivet Cemetery
NationalityAmerican
DenominationAnglican
ParentsAbiel Leonard & Jeanette Reeves
Spouse
Flora Terry Thompson
(m. 1875)
SignatureAbiel Leonard's signature

Early life edit

Abiel Leonard was born in Fayette, Missouri on June 26, 1848, the son of Abiel Leonard who was a state supreme court judge in Missouri, and Jeanette Reeves.[1]

He was educated at the Fayette grammar school and upon completion attended the Washington University in St. Louis, and later Dartmouth College from where he graduated in 1870. He then studied at the General Theological Seminary, graduating in 1873.[1] [2][3] He married Flora Terry Thompson on October 21, 1875, and they had five children.[1]

Ordained Ministry edit

Leonard was ordained deacon on June 29, 1873 in the Church of the Transfiguration, New York City, and priest on November 4, 1873 at St Mary's Church in Fayette, Missouri, on both occasion by the Bishop of Missouri Charles Franklin Robertson.[4] He became rector of Calvary Church in Sedalia, Missouri, serving from 1873 to 1876 when he became rector of Trinity Church in Hannibal, Missouri where he remained until his election as bishop in 1887.[5]

Bishop edit

In October 1887, the House of Bishops elected Leonard as the Missionary Bishop of the Missionary District of Nevada and Utah.[6] He was then consecrated on January 25, 1888 at Christ Church in St. Louis by Bishop Thomas Hubbard Vail of Kansas.[7] Leonard was instrumental in establishing the church in the vast areas he oversaw during his episcopacy. In 1892 the missionary district was expanded and included the incorporation of Western Colorado. After another realignment in 1898 the Missionary District of Salt Lake which included Nevada was created and this was overseen by Leonard until his death in 1903.[8]

Death edit

Abiel Leonard died from typhoid fever in Salt Lake City on December 3, 1903.[9][10]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. XII. James T. White & Company. 1904. p. 87. Retrieved August 13, 2020 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "Abiel Leonard Papers" (PDF). The State Historical Society of Missouri. October 6, 1968.
  3. ^ "LEONARD, Abiel". Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography. 6: 692. 1889.
  4. ^ "The Rt. Rev, Abiel Leonard". Inventory of the Church Archives of Nevada: 9. 1941.
  5. ^ "LEONARD, Abiel". Living Church Quarterly: 73. 1887.
  6. ^ "Districts and their leaders". Inventory of the Church Archives of Nevada: 5. 1941.
  7. ^ "Consecration of Missionary Bishops". The Annual Report of the Board of Missions of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America: 28. 1888.
  8. ^ "Abiel Leonard, the Bishop as Builder". Utah Historical Quarterly. 72. November 3, 2004.
  9. ^ "Death List of a Day". The New York Times. December 4, 1903. p. 9. Retrieved August 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Bishop Leonard Gone From Life". Salt Lake Daily Herald. December 3, 1903. p. 1. Retrieved August 13, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.

Further reading edit

  • Grissom, Daniel M. "Personal Recollections of Distinguished Missourians - Abiel Leonard." Missouri Historical Review 18 (April 1924): 400-403. online