Edward R. Welles

Edward Randolph Welles (January 10, 1830 – October 20, 1888) was an Episcopal clergyman who became the third Bishop of Milwaukee, serving from 1874 until his death.

The Right Reverend Edward Randolph Welles
Bishop of Milwaukee
Church	Episcopal Church
Diocese	Milwaukee
Elected	1874
In office	1874–1888
Predecessor	William Edmond Armitage
Successor	Cyrus F. Knight
Orders
Ordination	September 12, 1858 by William H. DeLancey
Consecration	October 25, 1874 by Benjamin B. Smith
Personal details
Born	(1830-01-10)January 10, 1830 Waterloo, New York, United States
Died	October 20, 1888(1888-10-20) (aged 58) Waterloo, New York, United States
Buried	Forest Home Cemetery
Nationality	American
Denomination	Anglican
Parents	Gardner Welles & Paulina Fuller
Spouse	Mary Sprague
Alma mater	Hobart College

Early life and preparation for the ministry

Welles was born on January 20, 1830, in Waterloo, New York, the son of Gardner Welles, a physician, and Paulina Fuller. He attended Hobart College in the nearby town of Geneva, graduating in 1850. After a year of clerking in a law office, he announced his intention of entering the ministry. He prepared for his ordination with the Rev. Dr. Martin of the Hobart faculty. During this period, he lived with the family of John Magee, a former member of Congress and leading citizen of Bath, NY, where he served as a tutor to the children. In November, 1854, Welles moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he headed up a school for young ladies. He returned to New York in the summer of 1856 and took a job tutoring at De Veaux College, a newly founded school for destitute youth in Niagara Falls. He was at last ordained deacon on December 20, 1857.

The following summer he made a trip West with his father, during which he visited a college friend who occupied the pulpit of a small mission church in Red Wing, Minnesota. Soon after Welles's ordination to the priesthood by William Heathcote DeLancey, bishop of Western New York, on September 12, 1858, the young man moved to Minnesota, where the formative portion of his career was passed..

Career in Red Wing

Welles was appointed to organize the parish of Christ Church in Red Wing, Minnesota, and became its rector, a post he retained until 1874.^[1] He received the degree of Doctor of Sacred Theology from Racine College in 1874.^[2][3]

Bishop of Wisconsin

He was consecrated as Bishop of Wisconsin on October 25, 1874, in St Thomas' Church, New York City, by Presiding Bishop Benjamin B. Smith. He assumed the title Bishop of Milwaukee in 1886 following the creation of the Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac as a separate jurisdiction.^[4] He died in office on October 20, 1888.

Welles' primary consecrators were:

• Benjamin B. Smith
• John Williams (bishop of Connecticut)
• Thomas Atkinson (bishop)

He is buried in Red Wing, Minnesota.