Episcopal Bishops of North Dakota Correspondence

Brief information on each of the bishops: Henry Benjamin Whipple was the first Episcopal bishop for Minnesota, elected in 1859. He was known for his work with native peoples and particularly with the Episcopal mission to the Ojibwe at the White Earth Reservation in north-central Minnesota. William David Walker served as the first missionary bishop in North Dakota after being consecrated in December 1883. He later was the third bishop of Western New York. Cameron D. Mann was consecrated in December 1901 as the third bishop for the missionary district of North Dakota. After about eleven years, he became missionary bishop of Southern Florida and later was the first bishop of South Florida when this diocese was established in 1922. John Poyntz Tyler served as the fourth missionary bishop of North Dakota following his consecration in January 1914. He was a nephew of U.S. President John Tyler. Bishop Tyler died shortly after indicating his intention to resign in July 1931. Frederick Bethune Bartlett was consecrated in December 1931 as the fifth bishop for North Dakota. He served for about four years before becoming bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Idaho. Douglas Henry Atwill was the next bishop for the Missionary Diocese of North Dakota and was consecrated in January 1937. He served for about fourteen years before resigning in February 1951. Richard R. Emery, a native of Minnesota, succeeded Atwill as missionary bishop, elected in October 1951. Bishop Emery was killed in a car-train accident in Grand Forks in February 1964. Source: Wilkins, Robert P., and Wynona H. Wilkins. God Giveth the Increase: The History of the Episcopal Church in North Dakota. Fargo, ND: North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, 1959.

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