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Jackson Kemper (December 24, 1789 – May 24, 1870) in 1835 became the first missionary bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Especially known for his work with Native American peoples, he also founded parishes in what in his youth was considered the Northwest Territory and later became known as the "Old Northwest" (Indiana, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Nebraska), hence one appellation as bishop of the "Whole Northwest". Bishop Kemper founded Nashotah House and Racine College in Wisconsin, and from 1859 until his death served as the first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Wisconsin.
Kemper entered Columbia College at the age of fifteen, where he studied theology under Dr. Henry Hobart and graduated in 1809 as the valedictorian of his class.
In 1835, the Episcopal Church's General Convention decided to consecrate missionary bishops to preach the Gospel west of the settled areas. Fr. Kemper was the first chosen. After being consecrated as a bishop he promptly headed west for Indiana and Missouri. Since most clergy who had lived all their lives in the settled East were slow to respond to his call to join him on the frontier, Kemper determined to recruit priests from among men already in the West. He established a training college in St. Louis, Missouri, for that purpose, which failed in 1845 for lack of funding. He went on to found Nashotah House in 1842 and Racine College in Wisconsin. Kemper also founded the mission parish that became All Saints Cathedral in Milwaukee.
Kemper constantly urged outreach to the Native American peoples, and translations of the Scriptures and the services of the Church into their languages. His first official act as Missionary Bishop, in what would become Wisconsin, was laying the cornerstone for a new frame church building for Hobart Church, Duck Creek, which served the Oneida Indian Mission.Wagner, Harold Ezra (1947). The Episcopal Church in Wisconsin, 1847-1947: A History of the Diocese of Milwaukee. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Diocese of Milwaukee. Perhaps more significantly, the first ordinations in what would become Wisconsin were also at Hobart Church. There Kemper ordained William Adams and James Lloyd Breck, two young recruits from the East who helped him establish Nashotah House Seminary, on October 9, 1842.Breck, Charles (1883). The Life of the Reverend James Lloyd Breck, D.D.: Chiefly from Letters Written by Himself. New York: E. & J. B. Young. He was regularly invited to the Oneida reservation at Duck Creek by chief Daniel Bread. (2025). 9780815631651, Syracuse University Press. ISBN 9780815631651 Kemper ordained a Native American, Enmegahbowh, of the Ottawa tribe as a deacon in 1859.
Kemper supported the Oxford Movement, although he maintained the importance of separation from the Roman Catholic Church. He ordained James De Koven as a priest in 1855, and supported Benjamin Onderdonk during his trial. In 1846 Kemper purchased a property adjacent to Nashotah House where he lived the rest of his life. From 1847 until 1854, Kemper served as Provisional Bishop of the newly formed Diocese of Wisconsin, and then served as its diocesan bishop from 1854 until his death in 1870. Kemper also supported creation of a new diocese, though he did not live to see the formation of the Diocese of Fond du Lac come to fruition.Curtiss, A. Parker (1925). History of the Diocese of Fond du Lac and Its Several Congregations. Fond du Lac, Wisconsin: P.B. Haber Printing.
Bishopstead, his residence in Delafield, Wisconsin, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Kemper Hall, an Episcopal school for girls in Kenosha, Wisconsin that was named after him, is also listed on the National Register.
Veneration
Kemper is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) and of the Anglican Church in North America on May 24. Nashotah House and now the Anglican Province of America have mission funds named after the missionary bishop.
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Categories: 1789 Births, 1870 Deaths, Anglican Saints, Columbia College Alumni, 19th-century Christian Saints, Episcopal Bishops Of Indiana, 19th-century Anglican Bishops In The United States, Nashotah House People, Racine College People, People From Delafield, Wisconsin, People From Pleasant Valley, New York, Episcopal Bishops Of Milwaukee, 18th-century Anglican Theologians, 19th-century Anglican Theologians
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