My Genealogy Hound

RT. REV. FRANK ROSEBROOK MILLSPAUGH, D. D.
Rt. Rev. Frank Rosebrook Millspaugh, D. D., Bishop of the Diocese of Kansas of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and member of the board of trustees and president of the faculty of the Kansas Theological School, is one of Topeka’s most distinguished citizens. He was born in New York State, April 12, 1848, and is one of three children born to Cornelius M. and Elvira (Rosebrook) Millspaugh.

Frank Rosebrook Millspaugh was nine years of age when he moved with his parents to Faribault, Minnesota, and there he received his early educational training. He attended Shattuck Military School from which he graduated in 1870, and in 1873 he was graduated from Seabury Divinity School. The first church work he performed was when he was in charge of a number of missions in Minnesota, with headquarters at Brainerd. He was made dean of Trinity Cathedral, Omaha, Nebraska, in 1876 and thereafter held that charge for a period of 10 years. In cooperation with Rev. Robert Clarkson, D. D., LL. D., he built a cathedral at a cost of $100,000. In 1886 he took charge of St. Paul’s Church at Minneapolis, Minnesota, and was rector there for eight years, the church discharging a large indebtedness under his management. In 1894 he took charge of Grace Cathedral at Topeka, Kansas, and on September 9, 1895, was consecrated as Bishop of the Diocese of Kansas, succeeding Bishop Thomas. Under his care and direction the church has had a good growth in numbers and usefulness, making its imprint upon affairs of magnitude and working for the betterment of social and moral conditions in the State of Kansas. Taking up the work of his predecessors in connection with the Kansas Theological School, that institution has prospered and been of incalculable value in the improvement of the services rendered by the representatives of the church.

The Kansas Theological School was conceived in the mind of Bishop Vail as early as 1869, when in his address to the diocesan convention he said: “We should provide for our candidates for orders such a theological school as shall secure the appropriate ministerial training.” In furtherance of this purpose, he purchased the property occupied by the Diocesan Seminary for Girls, paying to the parish of Grace Church $3,000 for its rectoral rights. In 1874 the trustees of the College of the Sisters of Bethany gave a warranty deed of this property to the trustees of the Kansas Theological School for the consideration of $30,000, an amount which Bishop Vail had raised and expended in the building of the College of the Sisters of Bethany. The original plan of Bishop Vail was to have the school under the management of one professor, who was himself to do missionary work as well as theological studies. The school was opened in 1876 with two students, and Rev. Henry H. Loring, rector of Grace Church, was elected professor. In 1879, Rev. Mr. Loring removed from the diocese, and the candidates received private instruction from Rev. Dr. Beatty, who came at stated times to Topeka and, with other clergy who were appointed, held examinations in the building, and thereby kept it in use until a change was made in the plan of conducting the school. This change was made by Bishop Thomas in 1892, the charter being so changed as to give the trustees the power to confer upon graduates the degree of Bachelor of Divinity, and a full corps of professors and lecturers were se cured. The working plan was so changed that the students for the most part were able to support themselves while attending the institution. The plans outlined by Bishop Thomas were carried out successfully until his death, and then under the fostering care of Bishop Millspaugh and of Bishop Brooke of Oklahoma, the school continued to prosper. The board of trustees of this institution is constituted as follows: Rt. Rev. Frank Rosebrook Millspaugh, D. D., Topeka, president; Rev. Nathaniel Seymour Thomas, Philadelphia; Rev. J. P. de Beavers Kaye, Topeka; Charles Blood Smith, Topeka; John W. Farnsworth, Topeka; Hiram C. Root, Topeka; and William Henderson, Topeka, secretary. The faculty includes the following: Rt. Rev. Frank Rosebrook Millspaugh, president; Rt. Rev. Francis Key Brooke, S. T. D.; Very Rev. J. P. de Beavers Kaye; Rev. DeLou Burke; Rev. Irving E. Baxter; and Rev. Charles B. Crawford.

Under Bishop Millspaugh’s episcopate of 10 years, a debt of about $40,000 on the College of the Sisters of Bethany has been paid and $30,000 added to the endowment fund. To Christ’s Hospital, valued at $80,000, two large wings of brick have been added at a cost of over $30,000 and five acres added to the already large property. For the Kansas Theological School he has secured an endowment of $20,000. In the 10 years 30 new churches have been built in the diocese, and less than $5,000 will cover all the debts of the Diocese of Kansas.

At Omaha, Nebraska, Bishop Millspaugh was united in marriage with Mary McPherson Clarkson, a daughter of Rt. Rev. Robert Clarkson, Bishop of Nebraska. They have a very comfortable home in Topeka.