Bishop Philander Charles Chase, Sr

Philander Chase (December 14, 1775 – September 20, 1852) was an Episcopal Church bishop, educator, and pioneer of the United States western frontier in Ohio and Illinois. in 1795 while still a student at Dartmouth College, Chase was instrumental in establishing Trinity Church in his hometown of Cornish, New Hampshire. In 1799 as a missionary, he helped to organize first congregation of what would become St. John's Episcopal Church, Canandaigua New York. In 1805 he was appointed as the founding Rector of what is now Christ Church Cathedral, New Orleans. He became the first Episcopal Bishop of Ohio in 1819, and later the first Episcopal bishop of Illinois, simultaneously serving as Presiding Bishop of the national church.

Upset by the lack of institutions of higher learning west of the Appalachian Mountains, Chase undertook a difficult fund-raising campaign both in the United States and in England to raise money for such a school to be located in Ohio.

He became the founder and first president of Kenyon College and Bexley Hall seminary in Gambier, Ohio in 1824. Originally the college existed in Worthington, Ohio, but Chase chose to relocate the school on the remote hill of Gambier to protect his students from the immorality (such as drinking and dancing) that could be found in cities.

As Kenyon College grew, Chase came into conflict with the teachers and the trustees of the college, as he desired more control over the direction of the college. After a quarrel with the Board of Trustees, Chase resigned his position as President of the college in 1831. He was succeeded by the Bishop Charles McIlvane.

After removing himself and his family to the Valley of Peace in central Ohio, Chase spent the final years of his life founding Jubilee College and the surrounding frontier community near present-day Peoria, Illinois, financed by arduous fund-raising journeys overseas.

Philander Chase was the uncle and caretaker of Salmon P. Chase, future Chief Justice of the United States.

He was the 18th bishop consecrated in The Episcopal Church.

Veneration

Chase is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on September 22.

Writings

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 (1848)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philander_Chase