Philander Chase facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Most Reverend Philander Chase
6th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
Church	Episcopal Church
In Office	1843–1852
Predecessor	Alexander Viets Griswold
Successor	Thomas Church Brownell
Other posts	Bishop of Illinois (1835-1852)
Orders
Ordination	November 10, 1799
Consecration	February 11, 1819 by William White
Personal details
Born	December 14, 1775 Cornish, New Hampshire, United States
Died	September 20, 1852(1852-09-20) (aged 76) Brimfield, Illinois, United States
Buried	Jubilee College
Nationality	American
Denomination	Anglican
Parents	Dudley Chase & Alice Corbett
Spouse	Mary Fay (m. 1796; d. 1818) Sophia May Ingraham (m. 1819)
Children	6
Previous post	Bishop of Ohio (1819-1832)
Signature
Sainthood
Feast day	September 22
Venerated in	Episcopal Church

Philander Chase (December 14, 1775 – September 20, 1852) was an Episcopal Church bishop, teacher, and a pioneer. He helped spread the church in the early western frontier of the United States, especially in Ohio and Illinois.

Early Life and Family

Philander Chase was born in Cornish, New Hampshire. He was the youngest of fourteen children. His family were Puritans who had moved to New England a long time ago. His father wanted one of his sons to become a minister.

Philander went to Dartmouth College. While studying there, he learned about the Book of Common Prayer. This book is important to the Episcopal Church. After college in 1795, he worked as a lay reader. This meant he helped lead church services while studying to become a minister. He helped start Trinity Church in his hometown.

He married Mary Fay and they had three sons. Mary passed away in 1818. The next year, Philander married Sophia May Ingraham. They had three more children together.

Philander Chase's nephew, Salmon P. Chase, later became a very important person. He was a statesman and a judge, even serving as the Chief Justice of the United States. Philander helped oversee Salmon's education when he was young.

Becoming a Minister

On May 10, 1798, Philander Chase became a deacon. A deacon is a church leader who helps the priest. He was given missionary duties. This meant he traveled to new areas to spread the church's message. He rode on horseback, visiting many towns in northern and western New York. He baptized people, preached, and helped people in rural areas.

In 1799, he became a priest. He then worked in Poughkeepsie, New York, for over five years. He also taught at a school there.

In 1805, Rev. Chase moved to Louisiana. He helped start the first Episcopal church there, which became Christ Church Cathedral, New Orleans. He also ran a school. While there, he purchased a young servant named Jack. Years later, after Chase had left Louisiana, he made sure Jack was freed.

In 1811, Rev. Chase moved to Hartford, Connecticut, to lead Christ Church. He enjoyed his time there. However, he still felt called to help people moving westward. He wanted to spread the church in new areas.

Leading the Church in Ohio

In 1817, Rev. Chase traveled to Ohio. He preached his first sermon there in March. He continued his missionary work, helping to form new churches. One of these became Christ Church Cathedral in Cincinnati. Chase bought a farm in Worthington and became the principal of Worthington Academy.

In 1818, the Episcopal clergy and laymen in Ohio met. They elected Philander Chase to be their bishop. A bishop is a senior leader in the church, overseeing many churches in a region. This was an unpaid position at the time.

Becoming a Bishop

Bishop Chase traveled east to be officially consecrated. On February 11, 1819, he was consecrated by Bishop William White in Philadelphia. He was the 18th bishop consecrated in the Episcopal Church.

Bishop Chase returned to Ohio on horseback. He traveled many miles, preaching, baptizing, and confirming people. He worked hard to build up the church in Ohio. He wanted to create a seminary (a school for training ministers) in his state.

Founding Kenyon College

In 1823, Bishop Chase sailed to England to raise money for his planned school and seminary. He met with important people and raised nearly $30,000. This was a lot of money back then!

In 1824, the Ohio Legislature officially started Kenyon College and Bexley Hall seminary. These schools were named after people who gave large donations. Bishop Chase bought 8,000 acres of land in Knox County for the school. He named the location Gambier after another donor.

Chase wanted to create a community where students could focus on their studies. His wife, Sophia, helped a lot. She cooked for students, did their laundry, and cared for them. She also helped run the school when her husband was away raising money.

However, some people disagreed with his way of managing the college. In 1831, Bishop Chase resigned from his position as bishop and from the college. Charles McIlvaine took over as bishop and college president.

Moving to Illinois

After leaving Ohio, Chase moved his family to a new farm in Ohio. But he still felt called to do missionary work. In 1835, Episcopalians in the western frontier of Illinois decided they needed their own bishop. They asked Philander Chase to be their first Episcopal bishop of Illinois. He accepted and moved near Peoria, Illinois.

Starting Jubilee College

Bishop Chase still dreamed of building another self-sufficient college in a rural area. He traveled to England again to raise money for what became Jubilee College in Brimfield, Illinois. The first stone for the college was laid in 1839.

Fundraising was harder this time. Chase traveled to the southern states to raise money. His family helped run the farm and a small school for girls. The college chapel was finished in 1840–1841.

Presiding Bishop

As he grew older, Bishop Chase became more senior in the church. In 1843, he became the sixth Presiding Bishop of the entire national Episcopal Church. This meant he was the head bishop for the whole country.

Death and Legacy

Bishop Chase spent his last years working on Jubilee College. On September 14, 1852, he was in a carriage accident and was hurt. He passed away in his sleep on September 20, 1852. He was buried at Jubilee's cemetery.

After his death, Jubilee College had money problems and closed. Today, the main part of the college is a state park in Illinois. Some of the college buildings were restored in the 1970s. The park is still open for visitors.

The Episcopal Church remembers Bishop Chase every year on September 22.

Writings

• Christianity and Masonry Reconciled (1814)
• A Plea for the West (1826)
• The Star in the West, or Kenyon College (1828)
• Defense of Kenyon College (1831)
• A Plea for Jubilee (1835)
• Reminiscences: An Autobiography (First Edition, 1841), (Second Edition, 1848, various publishers in 2 volumes)

Images for kids

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  Grave monument in Jubilee Cemetery next to Jubilee College in Peoria County, Illinois

See also

• List of presiding bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
• List of Episcopal bishops of the United States
• Historical list of the Episcopal bishops of the United States
• Chase family