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THE HISTORIOGRAPHER of
THE NA TI ON AL EPISCOPAL HISTORIANS AND ARCHIVI STS and
THE HISTORICAL SOCIET Y OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURC H published t o promote the preserving
of church records and the writing of parochial and diocesan history
Winter 2011 Vol. XLIX No. I
Editor: Deborah B. Crall, Trinity Cathedral, 100 West Roosevelt Street, Phoenix, AZ 85003 TheHistoriographer@gmail.com
Russellville
On 6 April 1935 the banner headline in the national edi- Americans, not only as equal citizens, but as equal
tion of the Norfolk, Virginia Journal and Guide newspa- churchmen and fellow Christians. Russell's non-stop
per read "SCOTTSBORO RULING CALLED NEW efforts and persistence led eventually to a legislative rec-
BILL OF R IGHTS." The ruling by the onciliation of the races within the Episcopal
United States Supreme Court represented a Church-a reconciliation that he did not
major shift in the trials of some of the de- live to see unfold in his own diocese. If
fendants citing deficiencies in the fairness nothing else the Episcopal Diocese of
of the court system in the State of Alabama.:' Southern Virginia, of which Russell was
Seventy-seven years earlier the Supreme archdeacon for 'co!ored work,' slowly
Court made its infamous Dred Scott deci- came to recognize that African American
sion of 1857 declaring that blacks are not churchmen are indeed equal not only at the
and never could be citizens of the United Lord's Table but in the Councils of the
States. Therefore Scott himself had no right Church. lt is certainly interesting and possi-
to sue for his freedom. In comparing the bly providential that Russell was born in
latter Supreme Court decision with the for- the year of the 1857 Dred Scott decision
mer, a sense of progress in the movement and that he died days before the high court's �---------� toward freedom for African Americans could be dis- adjust ment to the "Scottsboro Boys"' earlier trials.
cerned. fmportant as it was, the "Scottsboro" banner and Born into a slave family in Mecklenburg County, Vir-
its articles shared the newspaper's front page with an-ginia, James Solomon Russell's childhood was one of
other notable story but placed in a secondary headline constantly searching for truth, seeking to learn anything
which read: "3 Bishops, 40 Priests Among 3,000 at J.S. and everything with a mind of such probing inquiry that
Russell Rite." In the exact years between these two dif-his overseers and slave master could only be impressed.
ferent Supreme Court decisions lived a man who played Despite his subordinate status as a slave child he was
out his life in a struggle to free all humankind from all never intimidated by his master or his condition in life.
forms of slavery.
James Solomon Russell (1857-1935) was well-known
enough to garner national attention at his passing because
of his life's work and in the founding of what is now
known as St. Paul's College in Lawrenceville, Virginia.
He, too, was possibly the pivotal actor in the fight to get
the Protestant Episcopal Church to recognize African
Russell became the first student at the newly organized
Branch Theological Seminary in Petersburg, Virginia
after attending, off-and-on, Hampton Institute. The semi
nary opportunity was so important to Russell that he
ended his Hampton studies early. But his relationship
with faculty and staff was so good that Samuel Chapman
Armstrong, Hampton's founder and principal, com-
Continued on page 3
NATIONAL EPI SCOPAL HJSTORIANS AND ARCHJVISTS
509 Yale Avenue Swarthmore, PA 19081
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www.episcopalhistorians.org
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Arlington, VA 22205 301-405-43 17
For information on Book Reviews, contact Dr. Carl Stockton at cr.stockton@comcast.net.
2
Who Owns the Past?
Reprinted with permission from anglicansonline.org
It started with a priest-friend who gave us upon retire
ment a collection of book� that had been the rich intellec
tual and spiritual garden of successive rectories until they
became too much to transplant even one more time. Then
there were the groaning deaccession shelves at theologi
cal colleges and seminaries-abundance dispersed!
There were astonishing finds in the least likely of places,
too: a bric-a-brac shop in rural Saskatchewan; a book
store at the airport in Milwaukee; a jumble sale at Christ
Church, Emerald City; the Odd Lots section of
an auction catalog. And
most recently, we've
found ecclesiastical treas
ures of the material sort
hiding in plain view on
eBay and similar online
auction websites.
portraits, service leaflets, CDVs [carte de visite-see
http:! /en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Ca rte de visite], stereo
views, medals, furniture, maps, and manuscripts. Some
times, it has seemed as though the presence of one dead
bishop's papers in a house creates an almost magnetic
attraction for the papers of another dead bishop. And we
can assure you that CD Vs are a gateway addiction ....
We've done our best to repatriate these items when in
some cases they appear to have gone astray from their
proper places through improper channels. Oftentimes, we
never have so much as a reply when writing to a national,
diocesan, or parochial institution to ask whether it would
welcome the return of a cache of sermons or letters by a
distinguished church leader, a photo album from the par
ish picnic in 1934, or an engrossed baptismal certificate
for a figure who went on to religious or civic promi
nence. In real-life examples with identifying details
Deadlines for 2011:
Issue Spring Summer Fall
Submission Deadline 15 April 15 June I September
Continued on page 6
Bulk Mail Date 23 May 18 July 3 October
Russellville, continued from page I
plained that the Bishop Whittle of Virginia was "savage"
in taking Russell from his charge. Russell's second year
at Hampton happened to be the graduating year for
Booker T. Washington. Later in life Washington and
Russell would cross paths in their common quest for bet
ter education opportunities for former slaves.
What became the St. Paul Normal and Industrial School
was incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia in
1893 and was an institution of the Episcopal Church.
This connection with the Church, though necessary for
support and initial funding purposes, became a thorn in
Russell's side years later when the American Church
Institute for Negroes (ACIN) became the prime funding
(and controlling) agency for southern black Episcopal
Church schools. Though ACIN provided some funding
for St. Paul's, it was necessary for Russell to spend much
of his time writing letters and traveling in fund-raising
campaigns for his school, not unlike university presidents
of today.
The AClN was modeled after the General Education
Board (GEB). The GEB, founded in 1902, was an arm of
the Rockefeller Foundation whose purpose it was to pro
vide funding for the education of former slaves in the
South. Many of the contributors to the GEB (and other
secular foundations) were wealthy Episcopalians. Bishop
David Hummel 1 Greer of New York created the idea of
ACIN and wanted to attract contributions from those
wealthy Episcopalians. The first director of ACIN was
Samuel Bishop, who had difficulty controlling James
Solomon Russell and made charges of financial misman
agement against him. In 1911 Bishop even tried to re
move the popular Russell from the leadership of St.
Paul's by sending him and his son Alvin on a "vacation"
trip to Europe. Russell, after returning from Europe,
launched a counter-attack attempting to get Bishop re
moved as director of ACIN. Neither ploy worked even
though a settlement was reached where operational and
accounting changes were made a St. Paul's. But the
ACIN itself never became what was intended and may be
deemed as another failure by the Church to appropriately
fund black schools.
Russell was appointed archdeacon for colored work by
the bishop of the new Diocese of Southern Virginia, A.
M. Randolph, in 1892. It was this work in the planting of
black churches within the large population of Negroes
living in the southeastern part of Virginia that made the
3
educational entrepreneur an evangelist. Archdeacon Rus
sell was adept at self-promotion and learned to use his
position as archdeacon to upgrade his school. His self
promotion was not the style of a self-centered person but
purpose-driven, a person who knew the hard work it
would take to keep his school not only afloat but to grow
and prosper. Concurrently, Russell founded or helped
found at least thirty-four African American congrega
tions within the Episcopal Church in Southern Virginia.
This alone was a magnificent achievement in faith given
that the Methodists and the Baptists were the more suc
cessful denominations in ministering to 'colored' congre
gations. Most slaves once freed wanted to get away from
the church of their former masters. Russell, nonetheless,
persevered in his evangelism because of the Episcopal
Church's theology, its restrained and dignified liturgy,
and its ecumenical orientation, despite problems with
hard-line leaders on multi-racial governance. He was a
fighter in the best sense of the word.
How ironic it was, immediately after young Deacon Rus
sell's graduation from Bishop Payne Divinity School
(originally Branch Theological Seminary), that he was
assigned to St. Andrew's Parish in Lawrenceville, a
'white' church with a fairly significant 'colored' mem
bership. The white rector asked the bishop to assign Rus
sell to St. Andrew's because of its racially mixed congre
gation. The rector probably thought that the number of
blacks was sufficient to begin a separate congregation for
blacks only. Twenty years after Emancipation, blacks
were worshiping with white people in one church, albeit
in the gallery. Russell accepted the appointment and thus
began his 'adventure in faith.'
The founding of the St. Paul School was a joint effort of
James and his wife Virginia, but it was James who over
the years found himself traveling to the North seeking
funds for his school. As the school grew Russell also
founded a Farmers' Conference held every summer since
1902 to help and assist black farmers and tradesmen with
their futures. Russell gave speeches around the country
to both religious and secular groups. His speeches on
progress were laden with year-to-year statistics of the
success of blacks (economically and otherwise) in the
Southside of Virginia (an area covering more than just
Mecklenburg, Brunswick, Dinwiddie and Greenville
counties). He believed that he had to prove to his patrons
the year-to-year "facts" of progress in order to continue
to receive funds for his school. His churches grew also.
Continued on page 4
Russellville, continued from page 3
At one time the Convocation for Colored People in the
Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia was the largest
African American Episcopal group in the nation, not just
the South. The mentality of the South during the late 19th and early 20th centuries was that of separate but equal.
Indeed, the Supreme Court decision of Plessy v. Fergu
son did not help. Russell was a Christian evangelist. His
African American missions
grew and he had to raise
funds for those congrega
tions as well. It appears that
although Southern Virginia
was home to the largest
population of African
American Episcopalians it
had one of the lowest levels
of support for its Colored
Convocation. Other South
ern dioceses had colored
congregations-it was the
norm of the day. In his re
ports to the Annual Council
ary jurisdiction. The Convocations in the dioceses of
North Carolina and East Carolina were in the forefront of
this movement. The African American author and Afro
American Episcopal Church historiographer, George ; . Freeman Bragg, Jr., also was an ardent supporter of this
movement. But it was Russell who persevered in oppos
ing the special jurisdiction. It was Russell, a catholic
minded (not Anglo-Catholic minded) churchman, who
resisted the movement for a
special jurisdiction; resist
ing it because it meant
separation. He resisted be
cause he believed it tore at
the soul of the church; he
resisted because he be
lieved separation to be out
side the Will of God. Rus
sell asserted himself as a
force of reconciliation
within the Church. Rus
sell's work and his popular
ity played a role in his elec-
.·- tion as the first black
of the Diocese of Southern bishop suffragan in the con-
Virginia, Russell would tinental national Church. Group of Alumni of the Bishop Payne Divinity School, with boast of the growth of the Archdeacon Russell, its first graduate, seated in the center. Russell declined the Dio-
Convocation but he would Photo from Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria, VA. cese of Arkansas election
also provide the Council sufficient information suggest- and preempted a consideration by North Carolina to do
ing that the diocese did not support its 'colored' missions
and clergy effectively or fairly.
If financial support was not at par, representation in the
Council of the Church was worse. White parishes in
Southern Virginia had a vote in Annual Council and each
of their clergy (whether one, two or three clergy) had a
vote each. Conversely, the Colored Convocation
(anywhere from 10 to thirty-four parishes or missions)
had only one vote, collectively. Only grandfathered col
ored clergy had a vote. The undivided Diocese of Vir
ginia had granted council voting rights to all clergy re
gardless of racial identification. But when Southern Vir
ginia was formed, it developed canons limiting black
clergy votes on a grandfathered basis. This type of think
ing of the Church had even deeper implications and cre
ated division.
In many African American Convocations of the South
both lay persons and clergy wanted to have their own
racial bishop thereby having their own racial or mission-
4
the same.
The social status of the Negro in the years after Recon
struction was not good in America's South. The Chris
tian Church in America had been co-opted by regional
and political norms. Nonetheless, as Russell saw it, the
Gospel of Jesus Christ will prevail and the work of rec
onciliation must be entered into.
Once when Bishop Arthur Seldon Lloyd addressed the
citizens of Brunswick County, Virginia at St. Paul's
School, he referred to the town as "Russellville." The
audience laughed as if the good bishop had erred. But,
no! The bishop knew exactly what he was saying. James
Solomon Russell and the St. Paul's School was the larg
est single employer in Lawrenceville and Brunswick
County and many of Lawrenceville's finest buildings
were constructed by students from the Normal and Indus
trial School.
The two bookends-the Dred Scott decision of 1857 and
the "Scottsboro Boys" trial reversals in 1935-provide
Continued on page 5
EWHP History Conference:
"Making Do, Getting It Done"
The Episcopal Women's History Project was founded in
1980 "to promote and encourage research, writing and
publication in all matters touching upon the history of
women in the Episcopal Church; to promote and encour
age the collection and preservation of records and other
artifacts of interest pertaining to such history; to foster
and promote public knowledge of interest in such his
tory."
In this spirit all interested persons are invited to a Confer
ence in Seneca Falls, New York, 24-27 October 2011.
This years theme is "Making Do, Getting it Done."
Women of faith have traditionally had to "make do" with
whatever resources they could muster, working within
and transcending limitations imposed by economic, cul
tural, and political realities as well as by the church itself.
In our current time of economic recession, political re
entrenchment and growing environmental concern, the
theme of "Making Do" seems particularly relevant.
Seneca Falls is the site of the first Women's Rights Con
vention in 1848, where women like Elizabeth Cady··
Stanton, Amelia Jenks Bloomer, and Lucretia Mott
"made do" and started a revolution in women's rights
that is still going on. Please join us in exploring this site,
Russellville, continued from page 4
the timeframe and context of the life and work of James
Solomon Russell. Russell's life, flanked by these two
monumental secular-social Supreme Court decisions,
provides the foundation and a model for future efforts at
recognizing the human dignity and human rights for all
persons. To this day Russell and his life's work directly
or indirectly influence not only those who made or make
laws and those who pass judgment on and correct laws,
but neighbors and friends living next door or down the
street.
fn 1996 the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia
made Russell a local saint. fn the future the name of
James Solomon Russell should be honored in the Episco
pal Church's prayer book as a national saint.
Bibliography
Anderson, Eric, and Alfred A. Moss, Jr. Dangerous Dona
tions: Northern Philanthropy and Southern Black Edu
cation, 1902-1930. Columbia: University of Missouri
Press, 1999.
5
their stories, and stories of other women in the church
who have said, "Yes, we can."
The EWHP Board extends an invitation to scholars and
others interested in women's history to contribute papers
of 15-20 minutes in length on such topics as a solitary
woman or group of women motivated by their religious
faith or working within their church communities who
"made do." Please send a 1-2 pp. summary of major
points, the bibliography you intend to use, and a brief
biographical statement to the program chair, the Rev.
Barbara Schlachter, 7 Glenview Kn! NE, Iowa City IA
52240 or b.schlachter@mchsi.com by 1 May 2011.
Here is a brief schedule of the conference: In the evening
of Monday, 24 October, there is dinner, an orientation,
and a visit from Elizabeth Cady Stanton herself.
On Tuesday, 25 October, hear papers on the theme, as
well as a Living History Panel featuring some of the
clergy and lay women who were active in the struggle for
the passage of the canon authorizing women's ordination
to the priesthood. The founding of the Episcopal
Women's Caucus and the early years of the struggle is
similar to the experience of the Seneca Falls women.
On Tuesday evening, Mary Donovan, a co-founder of
EWHP, will speak and then we will see a video funded in
Continued on page 6
Raper, Derris L., and Constance M. Jones. A Goodly Heri
tage: The Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia
1892-1992. Norfolk: Pictorial Heritage Publishing
Company, 1992.
Russell, James S. Adventure in Faith: An Autobiographic
Story of St. Paul Normal and Industrial School, Law
renceville, Virginia. New York: Morehouse Publishing
Company, 1936.
Archives of the Episcopal Church
Journal of the Diocese of Southern Virginia, 1909.
Journal of the Diocese of Virginia, 1889.
No1folkJournal & Guide, 6 April 1935.
Southern Workman, Hampton Institute: 35, no. 9
(September, 1906); 37, no. I 0 (October, 1908)
Worth E Norman, Jr. Independent researcher,
Birmingham, Alabama
woodE.norman@gmail.com
Who Owns the Past, continued from page 2
changed to protect the guilty:
We donated a small collection of 19th-century church
newspapers to a central church archive, and never re
ceived an acknowledgment.
We inquired whether a diocese
would like the free return of a
cache of century-old personal
papers by one of its most illustri
ous bishops, and received a per
functory reply saying that they
already had quite enough of his
stuff, thank you very much.
We donated a rare liturgical book
from the 1920s to a seminary
library and received a kind email
thanking us. A month later, we
received an email from a friend
who studies there and knew of
our interest in the period, asking
whether we would like the self
same book, as it had turned up in
the deaccessions shelf of items free for the taking.
So, having lost the trust for some church archival institu
tions that we ought to have, we are content to be guardi
ans of our goodly heritage for as long as necessary. The
papers and other items that have found their way to us
will be cared for, loved, and studied until we find more
permanent homes for them. But they are now personal
belongings of aficionados rather than the common prop
erty of the larger Church that produced them, and this
should not have to be. A church should serve its mem
bers-and, indeed, the world-by making the riches of
history easily accessible to those who wish to learn from
E WHP, continued from page 5
part by EWHP about Marge Christie, one of the most
influential early supporters of women's ordination.
On Wednesday, there are more papers on the theme fol
lowed by visits to the historic sites associated with the
first Women's Rights Convention. That evening there is
an optional dinner at a local winery. On Thursday morn
ing, there is an optional tour of local wineries and beauti
ful sites of the Finger Lakes.
Overnight accommodations, breakfasts, and Monday and
6
them. Selling them for pennies on the pound to Jhe com
mercial market where they may or may not be acquired
by good custodians is only marginally better than allow
ing them to moulder unseen in basements. This vexing
subject raises a host of ,questions to which we're sure
there are no simple answers.
Who owns the past?
Why does the Church (with some major
and delightful exceptions) seem so often
bent on casting the pearls of its history
before Mammon?
Who on earth allowed a manuscript of
King Kamehameha's translation of the
BCP into Hawa'iian to be put up for
commercial sale this year?
Can a church be nourished in its own
saving faith without a knowledge of its
past? Put another way, how can we be
equipped to feed those with hungry
stomachs when our souls have not been
transformed by the renewing of our
minds?
It's stuff that matters in the complex answers to these
questions. It is stuff-printed, written, painted, sewn,
built-that carries and encodes our culture as Anglicans,
and it is this culture that gives us a framework in which
to pray, care, think, teach, heal, grow, feed, and sing.
See you next week, when the present will already be the
past, and when we're fairly sure our newest archival ac
quisition-a gernrna ecclesiastica of unusual impor
tance-will have arrived safely.
All of us at Anglicans Online 6 February 2011
http:! I anglicansonline. org
Tuesday dinners will be at the Hotel Clarence in Seneca
Falls. The historic church of Trinity, Seneca Falls, will be
our meeting location on Monday, and the historic church
of St. Paul's in Waterloo will be our site on Tuesday.
Ground transportation is available from the Syracuse
Airport. For more information, please contact Barbara
Schlachter at 3 19-35 1-4380 or email her at
b.schlachter@rnchsi .corn.
By Train to Pokegama, Oregon
On 6 April 1906, Bishop Benjamin Wistar Morris died at
assumed the dignity of a diocese, it still remains a vast
missionary field. Now look at the map again and trace
the boundaries of Crook, Klamath, Lake, Harney, Mal
heur, Grant, Gilliam and Wallowa coun
ties. Here we find that the Church has not
one church building nor service in this
territory as large as the whole of the New
England States. An appeal came from a
place in this vast field some weeks ago
asking for a church building and services.
This place is by name Klamath Falls and is
located in Klamath Co. Hither the General
Missionary went to investigate the possi
bilities for the Church
the age of 87 years. A new Bishop, Charles
Scadding, was elected on June 14th but did
not arrive in Oregon until November 4th of
that year. In the interim Archdeacon Henry
D. Chambers took charge of the affairs of
the diocese. As the following article indi
cates, he was particularly concerned with
how to serve the far flung reaches of the
vast region. One of those areas was the
Klamath Basin, located east of the Cascade
Mountains on the California-Oregon bor
der. Bishop Morris had visited the area
then known as Linkville, as early as 1886,
and again several times in the 1890's. A
recently discovered letter in the Diocese
Archives opens a window on these times. L_����������--'
The way was long and tedious. Starting
from Portland at 8.45 P. M on the South
ern Pacific R.R. and traveling a distance of
382 miles to a place called Thrall in Cal,
Archdeacon Chambers ( 1864-1936) wrote the following
article for publication in the national periodical "Spirit of
Missions" to solicit financial help. The article was re
jected by the editor in a letter dated 4 September 1906, as
inappropriate and stated that this request should come
from the new Bishop after he was installed. The article
was never published and rendered mute. In 1907, a new
Missionary District with its own Bishop was created for
Eastern Oregon and a Parish Church, St. Paul's, was es
tablished at Klamath Falls.
The letter indicates among other things, what travel was
like a century ago. Long gone are two communities
which are mentioned in the letter, Thrall and Pokegama.
Thrall was a significant railroad point between Ashland,
Oregon, and Yreka, California. Pokegama was a signifi
cant lumbering community on the Klamath River just
inside of the Oregon border, an area well known to the
author.
Richard L. Van Orman, Historiographer and Archivist, Episcopal Diocese of Oregon,
historian@diocese-oregon.org
"A New Work in Southeastern Oregon" "If the readers of the spirit of Missions will take their
maps of Oregon and look at the size of the state, 98, 030 square miles, with only one diocese, while Main(e), Ver
mont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland have only 88,480 square miles and 14 dioceses and bishops. This glance at
the map will give some idea of the extent of the diocese of
Oregon, and let it be understood that while Oregon has
7
where a stop was made over night in a tent. Then at 7:30 A. M taking a train on a logging road for a place called
Pokegema in Ore., a distance of 28 miles, here was found
two stages, drawn by four and six horses each The first
carried eleven passengers, and the latter twenty one.
The ride was 24 miles over the boulders on what/or lack
of a better name is calls a road, through virgin pine for
ests, and also through a cloud of red dust. A stop was
made for dinner at a spring where horses were changed,
and then on again to Keno the lower end of Lower
Klamath Lake. Here we found a small steamer waiting to
take us to Klamath Falls a distance of 20 miles. After
washing the dust from our faces we were in a position to
enjoy some of the finest scenery that can be imagined.
Arrived at the city at 6.15 P. M Over this route all the
freight is hauled by "Freighters" that is used by the peo
ple in this vast valley. Upper Klamath Lake is a large
body of water and is now being put to use. The U S. Government is spending four million dollars in digging
an irrigation canal, and in reclaiming tule land in and
around the lakes. Over 280, 000 acres will be brought
under cultivation, which will make this whole section a
vast garden. A R.R. is being built from Weed, Cal. To
Klamath Falls as fast as men can do the work. So the U S. Government and the R. R.s are seeing the value of this
section of the state. Shall it be said that the Church does
not? There are two religious organizations doing work in
the town and who are backed by their missionary boards.
The town has gown from 900 to 2000 in nine months and
as soon as the R.R. reaches the city will easily gain 1000 more in one year.
The missionary found about ten families of Church pea-
Continued on page 9
Epiphany Mission and Father Nakajo
The Vicar and the entire con
gregation of Epiphany, an Ore
gon Diocese Mission Church,
was incarcerated and forcibly
removed from the state, but
they continued to be an active
part of the Diocese. How and
why could this happen?
The Rev. Kenneth W. The October 1935, Oregon
.___N_ak_a_jo_,_c_._1_9_43_·_� Churchman, reported that a
new mission Epiphany Mission, for Japanese, had been
established at 22 S. W. Columbia Street, Portland, with
Deacon Kenneth W. Nakajo in charge. He had been or
dained by the Bishop of Utah, on 7 July 1935. By De
cember it was reported that the Epiphany Church School
numbered 50, including 1 1 adults. On 29 December,
Bishop H-uston of the Diocese of Olympia confirmed 18.
This also was the first use of an altar which had been
presented to Epiphany by Trinity Church School.
By March 1936, Fr. Nakajo also was working with 85
Japanese to start a congregation in the Gresham/Boring
area. A Japanese Mission Church School was started at
Boring, on 27 April, with 17 children attending the first
session. With the ordination of Nakajo to the Priesthood
on 30 August 1936, his work became a diocesan sup
ported mission and his canonical residency changed to
Oregon.
On 5 December, approximately 150 members of Epiph
any Mission held a reception in the Parish House of St.
Stephen's Cathedral for the Fr. Nakajo and his new bride
the former Miss Hoshiko "Esther" Kasuga, a member of
All Saints, Koishikawa, Japan, where they had been mar
ried on 20 September 1937, in a marriage arranged by Fr.
Nakajo's sister.
In 1938, Epiphany moved to 125 Montgomery Street,
Portland, where on 18 December Bishop Dagwell con
ducted a confirmation class. The Mother's Group, from
Gresham, met at Epiphany on 7 January 1939, to discuss
religious education of children.
The February 1940, Oregon Churchman reported Epiph
any had a fine church school, weekly English language
classes, Japanese culture and history classes, mother's
club, women's guild and young people's fellowship.
English language classes and weekly services were also
conducted in the Gresham area. The 20 August 1941,
North American, Seattle, reported Epiphany has a school
8
named Seijo Gakuin, the " Stars and Stripes Sch_ool" that
endeavors to provide a Christian education taught in
Japanese. The article goes on to say; "We can declare
without hesitation that all the second-generation Japa
nese are loyal American citizens ... "
No services were held at Epiphany after 7 December
194 1 (Pearl Harbor), because Fr. Nakajo had been imme
diately jailed in Portland, and 20 days later sent to an
alien camp at Ft. Missoula, Montana. A letter he wrote
on 14 April 1942, indicates that his vestments had arrived
and that he had conducted a baptismal service in the Post
Chapel on 19 April.
On 19 February 1942, President Franklin D. Roo
sevelt issued Executive Order #9066 which re
quired all Japanese-Americans, including native
born, to be removed from the west coast. This
order impacted only those living in California,
Oregon and Washington and did not include those
elsewhere including the huge Japanese population
in the Hawaiian Islands.
Because the Japanese in Utah were not under Executive
Order #9066, Fr. Nakajo made several attempts to be
transferred to the Bishop of Utah, but to no avail.
In Oregon, all Japanese were ordered on 28 April, to re
port by 5 May, to the Pacific International Exposition
Grounds, the " Portland Assembly Center", on Marine
Drive. They were "housed" in cattle barns. This order
included all the members of Epiphany Parish, Fr. Nakajo,
his pregnant wife and small daughter. The contents of
Epiphany including the altar and an organ were stored.
While at the Assembly Center, Fr. Nakajo taught classes
and ministered to his flock. On 26 June 1942, Mrs. Na
kajo gave birth to a son. In September of 1942, the 2,3 18
Japanese assembled at Portland, were moved to the Mini
doka Relocation Center, fdaho.
By May 1943, Fr. Nakajo was listed on the roles of the
Diocese of Oregon as Vicar, Epiphany, Relocation Cen
ter, Hunt, Idaho. Bishop Dagwell confirmed a class at
Epiphany, Minidoka, Idaho, on 14 June 1943. By No
vember of that year Fr. Nakajo was enrolled at Virginia
Theological Seminary, Alexander, Virginia, as well as
assisting at Emmanuel Church, Washington DC. The
irony of all this was that he was allowed to be a free citi
zen in the nation's capital, but was considered a danger
ous security risk in Portland, Oregon. The April 1945,
Diocesan Convention reported that Fr. Nakajo had once
Continued on page 9
By Train to Pokegama, continued from page 7
pie who are among the prominent people in town. These
are willing to do all they can to assist in building a
Church and sustaining the services. Two lots can be se
cured as a donation but not central a site in a central
location will cost $2,500. The missionary secured $240, pledges in material for the building and, placed subscrip
tion papers in the hands of active business men, and
hopes to hear soon that something has been done by the
people. Now the church building will cost $2,500 and if a
lot has to be purchased then add $2,500 more. So some
help must come from the outside. This church will be the
first one of ours in this vast territory larger than 8 dio
ceses in the east. We ought to place a man in this field at
once, but he must be a missionary and live on missionary
fare and be content. If we had the means to sustain a man
here fro three or our years the place would be self sus
taining. Hence I write in the hope that some one may see
this and also see the need and come to the aid of these
people.
I may add that the Diocesan Board of Missions are in
hearty accord with me in this work, and also that had we
a bishop at this time the appeal would have come from
him. The Rev. Charles Scadding, Bishop elect is taking
upon himself a great missionary task in accepting the
election, and yet a task which will bring in a rich harvest.
There are many more places in Ore. presenting serious
needs but this one ought to be attended to at once. I am
asking the General Board to accept subscriptions for
Klamath Falls, Ore. Or they can be sent to me and will
be acknowledged, or to Mr. Paul Van Fredagh, Se. of the
Diocesan Board of Missions, Concord Bid. Portland,
Ore. All subscriptions should be marked plainly.
Klamath Falls Work in Oregon.
Sincerely, [H D. Chambers} General Missionary, Diocese of Oregon 544 191" St. Portland, OR
Epiphany Mission, continuedfrompage 8
again settled in Utah. World War II ended on 2 Septem
ber 1945. After the war no new mission work among the
Japanese in Oregon appears to have occurred.
In January of 1946, Bishop Dagwel 1 sent an organ to Fr.
Nakajo for use at his parish church of Holy Cross, Salt
Lake City. It is not known if this was Epiphany's original
organ. Fr. Nakajo continued to work in Utah, with out
reach mission work in Provo, Bingham Canyon, Brigham
City and Layton unti 1 1949. He wanted to extend his mis
sion work to Ontario, Oregon (Diocese of Eastern Ore
gon) but apparently never did. During 1950-51 he was
Chaplain at St. Mark's (Episcopal) Hospital, Salt Lake
City. His canonical residence continued to be Oregon
until his death in Salt Lake City, 6 July 1953. Upon his
death, his wife, two daughters and two sons returned to
Japan to live. However, Mrs. Nakajo returned at some
point and was living in San Francisco in the early 1970's
Richard L. Van Orman, Historiographer and Archivist, Episcopal Diocese of Oregon,
historian@diocese-oregon.org
Na ti on al Episcopal Historians and Archivists [_ -�-- . -�j Search this site
l\l:IL-\ Hom• 20ll 1'li!L-\ Conference Attirities Publications Resonrce Links Past l'<e.nts History Bl��, Contact Sitemap
NEHA Website Makover
The NEHA website at www.episcopalhistorians.org has
had a makeover! Matthew Payne of the Diocese of Fond
du Lac was recently appointed websexton by the NEHA
Board and began a process to make the website more
useful in achieving NEHA's goals. Our thanks to former
websexton Nancy Walsh for her years of work on the
website.
After a process undertaken to understand the desired use
of the site and evaluating a variety of ways to implement
them, an action plan was developed. The plan included a
free hosting service (saving NEHA over $ 100 a year)
with the ability to provide an archive for Episcopal histo-
9
rians and archivists. Of course an archive is useless if one
can't find information that isn't there, so over time the
site is being populated with a variety of resources.
Some information being considered for publication in
cludes back-issues of The Historiographer, an obituary
page with those we have published in the Historiogra
pher, content from past engagement calendars, various
lists of past board members, meeting sites, etc.
In addition, NEHA is now on Facebook Uust search for
NEHA) and has a YouTube account to allow posting of
video content.
If you haven't visited the site recently, why not do so
today at www.episcopalhistorians.org.
2011 NEHA Conference Details
Eden: The End of the Oregon Trail
Tuesday, 14 June 2011 2 :00-4:00 pm Registration, University Place Hotel, PSU
3 :30 & 4 :30 Shuttle runs to The Bishop's Close
4 :00 pm Tour Elk Rock Gardens & Diocesan Archives
5 :30 pm Welcome to Oregon-Bishop Michael Han
ley; Evensong in Chapel of St . Mary the Vir
gin, Reception & Buffet
7 :00 & 7:30 Shuttle runs to University Place Hotel, PSU
Wednesday, 15 June 201 1 8 :00 am Tour bus departs, University Place Hotel, P SU
Morning Prayer on bus-Fr. Phillip Ayers
l. The Rev. St . Michael Fackler's homestead, Butte
ville & Champoeg
2.Town of St . Paul, 1838 Roman Catholic Church
Monsignor Moyes
3. Salem, box lunches
4. Pacific Northwest Methodist Archives, Salem,
Willamette University, State Capitol
5 . Mt . Angel Benedictine Abbey & Library
5 :15 p .m. Vespers, Abbey Church,
German Dinner : The Glockenspiel Restaurant Pub
6 . Oregon City, Willamette Falls
7. Old St . John's Church, Milwaukie
Thursday, 1 6 June 201 1 7 :30 am Registration Desk "pens, Trinity Cathedral
8 :00 am Morning Prayer, Trinity Cathedral Chapel
8 :30 am Episcopalians in Oregon-"Rusty" Kimsey,
9 :30 am
10 :30 am
11 :00 am
12 :00
2 :30 pm
3 :00 pm
4 :00 pm
5 :00 pm
retired Bishop of Eastern Oregon
501" Anniversary ofNEHA & Remembrance
of Larry Fish
Break
Cathedral Tour-Prof. Ann Weikel
Eucharist, Trinity Cathedral-Bishop Hanley
Lunch in the Morrison Room
The Rev. William Richmond, First Missionary
to Oregon-Jean Ballard Terepka
The Rev. Reuben Nevius, Pioneer-Gregg
Nelson
Sir Francis Drake in Early Oregon-James
Baxendale
Evening free
Friday, 17 June 2 0 11 7 :30 am Morning Prayer, Trinity Cathedral Chapel
8 :00 am Breakfast in the Morrison Room
9 :00 am NEHA Business Meeting
10 :00 am Archival Methods
1 1 :00 am
12 :00 am
Writing a Parish History
Lunch in the Morrison Room
Fr. Lawrence Crumb-Creator & Singer of
Extraordinarily Witty Songs
10
GENERAL CONFERENCE INFORMATION
Dates: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 thru Friday, June 17, 2011
Location: Trinity Cathedral, 147 NW 191" Avenue, Portland
OR 97209; www.trinity-episcopal.org '
Hotel: University Place Hotel and Conference Center, 310
SW Lincoln Street, Portland, OR 97301; phone 503-221-
0140 or 1-866-845-4647, www.uplace.pdx.edu
Ask for 2011 National Episcopal Historians and Archivist
Conference for Conference rate of$79.00 plus tax for king
or double.
Conference Registration Options:
$ 210.00 with 1 April postmark: All events and meals per
agenda, reception, Transportation and tour
$ 240.00 with 15 May postmark : All events and meals per
agenda, reception, Transportation and tour
$ 90.00 for Thursday and Friday : All events and meals per
agenda
Travel:
Air travel is via Portland International POX.
NO shuttle is available to University Place Hotel but light
rail is available from POX to downtown where taxi or bus is
available to University Place Hotel .
Train travel via Amtrak : Union Station is in downtown Port
land, taxis and buses are available.
Auto travel : Parking is available at University Place and
Trinity Cathedral.
Note : You will find that Portland has an extensive public
transportation system which includes a light rail, street cars,
and buses.
The following meals are provided in the registration fee :
Tuesday : Evening reception buffet
Wednesday : box lunch and beverage
Thursday : lunch
Friday : breakfast and lunch
Hot breakfast Buffet available at hotel for guests
Meals not covered : Wednesday bus tour dinner, Glocken
spiel Restaurant. Plan on prices between $15.00 and $25.00
plus beverages .
Weather: The Willamette Valley is known for its frequent
showers, so bring light weight rain gear. Temperatures are
mild to warm.
Special needs: Please indicate on registration form any spe
cial dietary or physical needs that you may have.
Q uestions: Contact Richard Van Orman, Conference Chair
richardvanorman@msn.com
NEHA CONFERENCE REGIST RAT ION FORM
Mai l completed form with check to the address at bottom of page
NOTE: last postmark for this registration is May 15, 20 1 1
Use one form per person
NAME: _______________________ _
MAILING ADDRESS: _________________ _
CITY, STATE/PROVINCE, ZIP ______________ _
Email: PHONE: __________ _ -------------
FULL REGISTRATION FEE per person:
Postmarked by April 1
Postmarked by May 1 5
2 days only; Thursday and Friday
MAKE CHECK PAY ABLE TO: Episcopal Diocese of Oregon
$ 210.00
$ 240.00
$ 90.00
(Note : NEHA Conference on memo l ine of check)
MAIL COMPLETED FORM and CHECK TO:
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Episcopal Diocese of Oregon Richard L. Van Orman Historiographer and Archivist 1 1 800 SW Military Lane Portland, OR 972 1 9-843 6
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HOTEL RESERVATION: If you are staying at University Place Hotel be sure to reserve your room by April 1 2, 20 1 1 for NEHA Conference rate. University Place Hotel and Conference Center
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503-221-01 40 -or- 1-866-845-4647
See page 1 2 for bus tour lunch options.
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The National Episcopal Historians and Archivists c/o Trinity Cathedral 100 West Roosevelt Street Phoenix, AZ, 85003
NONPROFIT ORG. US POSTAGE
PAID PHOENIX, AZ PERMIT NO. I
R -' C '""' t !d '
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
BUS TOUR LUNCH
Bus tour lunches: Please circle the number of your lunch choice
and return with your registration form.
#I ROASTED TURK EY with dill havarti, herbed mayo, lettuce and tomato of foccacia
#2 B LACK FOREST HAM & BRIE with Dij on-pepper spread on foccacia
#3 ALBACORE TUNA with lettuce, red onion, lemon-caper mayo on multi-grain bread
#4 CLASSIC CAP RESE provolone, roma tomatoes, fresh basil, balsamic vinaigrette on French baguette
#5 M E DITERRANEAN WRAP with hum m us, red peppers, cucumber, Greek olives, cream cheese, lettuce wrapped in a flour tortilla
#6 CHICK EN-HAZELNUT SALAD with dried cranberries, red onion, lettuce, cucumber-dill dressing on multi-grain bread
#7 PEAR CHICKEN SALAD; marinated chicken breast, candied pecans, fresh pears, crumbled blue cheese, roasted pear vinaigrette
#8 ORGANIC M IX E D G REENS & G RI LLED CH ICK EN; chicken , tomato, cucum ber, red onion, house made dressing (circle one: creamy cucumber dill, blue cheese, balsamic vinaigrette, roasted pear)
1 2
• Russellville, pages 1, 3-5
• Who Owns the Past, pages 2, 6
• E WHP History Conferen-ee, pages 5-6
• By Train to Pokegama, pages 7, 9
• Epiphany Mission and Father Nakajo, pages 8-9
• NEHA Website Makeover, page 9
• . NEHA Conference Details, Information, & Regis
tration, pages 1 0-12
Upcoming Events N EHA Conference:
Eden : The End of the Oregon Trai l
Trin ity Cathedral
_ Portland, OR
1 4- 1 7 June 20 1 1
www . ep is co pa lh istoria ns. o rg/ activi ties/20 1 1 -n eh a-conference