Edward Marsden
Encyclopedia
The Rev. Edward Marsden (1869-1932) was a Canadian-American missionary and member of the Tsimshian
nation who became the first Alaska Native to be ordained in the ministry.
He was born May 19, 1869, in Metlakatla, British Columbia
, and became from his earliest years a protégé of that utopian Christian community's founder, the charismatic Anglican
lay minister William Duncan
. Edward's father, Samuel Marsden, had been one of Duncan's first converts and was named after a famed Anglican missionary
. Edward's mother was Catherine Kitlahn, Duncan's housekeeper. Duncan tutored young Edward in reading, music, and eventually bookkeeping and business. As a teenager, Marsden was one of the approximately 800 Tsimshians who undertook an epic canoe voyage in 1887 to found Duncan's new, dissident community of "New Metlakatla"
on Annette Island
in the very southeast of Alaska.
Duncan exercised fierce control over his parishioners' lives and for a while barred the young, ambitious Marsden from leaving the island to pursue higher education. Eventually, the Presbyterian missionary Sheldon Jackson
intervened and persuaded Duncan to let Marsden join him in Sitka, Alaska, to attend the industrial school there (now known as Sheldon Jackson College
).
There he became Jackson's own protégé, earning high marks, learning to preach, and gradually shifting from Duncan's low-church Anglicanism towards conversion to Presbyterianism
.
Jackson arranged for Marsden to attend the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania and then Marietta College
in Ohio, making him the first Alaska Native to receive higher education in the "lower 48." During his education there, he joined the Presbyterian Church, deepening his schism with Duncan. In 1894 he became a U.S. citizen, the first Alaska Native to do so. He attended Lane Theological Seminary
in Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he graduated in 1898, becoming ordained the same year. Also, in 1897 he became the first North American Indian to be licensed to preach in the U.S.
Duncan refused to find a position for Marsden in Metlakatla, and was especially opposed to Marsden's suggestion that a Presbyterian church be established on Annette Island to minister to the Tlingit families on the island. The island was (and is) still the unceded territory of the Tongass tribe of Tlingit, who were then, as now, a predominantly Presbyterian people.
Instead, under Jackson's direction, Marsden was installed as minister at the Tlingit community of Saxman
, near Ketchikan. The establishment of that mission consolidated that community's position as a gathering place for various Tlingit subgroups of the area. From here he participated in a fierce rivalry with Duncan for Tsimshian loyalties, including participating in a campaign to have Duncan removed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA). His complaints, and those of many in the community, focused on Duncan's control over the community's entire economic life and his opposition to his flock's seeking any economic or educational betterment off of the island.
Marsden married Lucy Kinninook, the young woman whose job was to translate Marsden's English sermons into Tlingit. She was a Tlingit chief's daughter and had been partially raised by the missionary Thomas Crosby
in the Tsimshian community of Lax Kw'alaams
(a.k.a. Port Simpson), B.C. Duncan refused to perform their marriage on the grounds that she was a divorcée.
Marsden was also involved in the short-lived sawmill community of Port Gravina, near Ketchikan, which was founded in 1892 and burned to the ground in 1904. This was an offshoot of the Metlakatla community, committed to Presbyterianism
rather than Anglicanism and oriented to individual economic advancement outside of Duncan's control.
After Duncan's death in 1918, Marsden was involved in the transition to new leadership, becoming a partner in running the Metlakatla Commercial Company, the community's economic engine.
In 1922, Marsden began construction of a Presbyterian church in Metlakatla, where he was to serve as minister until his death. He was also a political leader in the community.
In May 1932 Marsden died in Ketchikan of injuries sustained during a rough sea voyage between Metlakatla and Hydaburg, Alaska
.
A comparison of two accounts -- a 1955 biography of Marsden by William Gilbert Beattie, a Presbyterian BIA superintendent who had been allied with him, and on the other hand Peter Murray's very pro-Duncan account of the controversies in his 1985 Duncan biography (see bibliography) -- will attest to the strong feelings that the Duncan-Marsden rivalry continue to give rise to among those with a stake in the Metlakatla community.
Tsimshian
The Tsimshian are an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Tsimshian translates to Inside the Skeena River. Their communities are in British Columbia and Alaska, around Terrace and Prince Rupert and the southernmost corner of Alaska on Annette Island. There are approximately 10,000...
nation who became the first Alaska Native to be ordained in the ministry.
He was born May 19, 1869, in Metlakatla, British Columbia
Metlakatla, British Columbia
Metlakatla, British Columbia, is a small community that is one of the seven Tsimshian village communities in British Columbia, Canada. It is situated at Metlakatla Pass near Prince Rupert, British Columbia...
, and became from his earliest years a protégé of that utopian Christian community's founder, the charismatic Anglican
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
lay minister William Duncan
William Duncan (missionary)
William Duncan was an English-born Anglican missionary who founded the Tsimshian communities of Metlakatla, British Columbia, in Canada, and Metlakatla, Alaska, in the United States...
. Edward's father, Samuel Marsden, had been one of Duncan's first converts and was named after a famed Anglican missionary
Samuel Marsden
Samuel Marsden was an English born Anglican cleric and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society, believed to have introduced Christianity to New Zealand...
. Edward's mother was Catherine Kitlahn, Duncan's housekeeper. Duncan tutored young Edward in reading, music, and eventually bookkeeping and business. As a teenager, Marsden was one of the approximately 800 Tsimshians who undertook an epic canoe voyage in 1887 to found Duncan's new, dissident community of "New Metlakatla"
Metlakatla, Alaska
Metlakatla is a census-designated place on Annette Island in Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 1,375.- History :...
on Annette Island
Annette Island
Annette Island, or Taak'w Aan, is an island in Gravina Islands of the Alexander Archipelago of the Pacific Ocean on the southeastern coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is at . It is about long and about wide. The land area is...
in the very southeast of Alaska.
Duncan exercised fierce control over his parishioners' lives and for a while barred the young, ambitious Marsden from leaving the island to pursue higher education. Eventually, the Presbyterian missionary Sheldon Jackson
Sheldon Jackson
Sheldon Jackson was a Presbyterian missionary who also became a political leader. During this career he travelled about 1 million miles and established over 100 missions and churches in the Western United States. He is best remembered for his extensive work during the final quarter of the 19th...
intervened and persuaded Duncan to let Marsden join him in Sitka, Alaska, to attend the industrial school there (now known as Sheldon Jackson College
Sheldon Jackson College
Sheldon Jackson College was a small private college located on Baranof Island in Sitka, Alaska, United States. Founded in 1878, it was the oldest institution of higher learning in Alaska and maintained a historic relationship with the Presbyterian Church. The college was named in honor of Rev...
).
There he became Jackson's own protégé, earning high marks, learning to preach, and gradually shifting from Duncan's low-church Anglicanism towards conversion to Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
.
Jackson arranged for Marsden to attend the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania and then Marietta College
Marietta College
Marietta College is a co-educational private college in Marietta, Ohio, USA, which was the first permanent settlement of the Northwest Territory. The school offers 42 majors along with a large number of minors, all of which are grounded in a strong liberal arts foundation...
in Ohio, making him the first Alaska Native to receive higher education in the "lower 48." During his education there, he joined the Presbyterian Church, deepening his schism with Duncan. In 1894 he became a U.S. citizen, the first Alaska Native to do so. He attended Lane Theological Seminary
Lane Theological Seminary
Lane Theological Seminary was established in the Walnut Hills section of Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1829 to educate Presbyterian ministers. It was named in honor of Ebenezer and William Lane, who pledged $4,000 for the new school, which was seen as a forward outpost of the Presbyterian Church in the...
in Cincinnati, Ohio, from which he graduated in 1898, becoming ordained the same year. Also, in 1897 he became the first North American Indian to be licensed to preach in the U.S.
Duncan refused to find a position for Marsden in Metlakatla, and was especially opposed to Marsden's suggestion that a Presbyterian church be established on Annette Island to minister to the Tlingit families on the island. The island was (and is) still the unceded territory of the Tongass tribe of Tlingit, who were then, as now, a predominantly Presbyterian people.
Instead, under Jackson's direction, Marsden was installed as minister at the Tlingit community of Saxman
Saxman, Alaska
Saxman is a city on Revillagigedo Island in Ketchikan Gateway Borough in southeastern Alaska, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 431. The city of Ketchikan lies just to its northwest.-Geography:...
, near Ketchikan. The establishment of that mission consolidated that community's position as a gathering place for various Tlingit subgroups of the area. From here he participated in a fierce rivalry with Duncan for Tsimshian loyalties, including participating in a campaign to have Duncan removed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
(BIA). His complaints, and those of many in the community, focused on Duncan's control over the community's entire economic life and his opposition to his flock's seeking any economic or educational betterment off of the island.
Marsden married Lucy Kinninook, the young woman whose job was to translate Marsden's English sermons into Tlingit. She was a Tlingit chief's daughter and had been partially raised by the missionary Thomas Crosby
Thomas Crosby
The Rev. Thomas Crosby was an English Methodist missionary known for his work among the First Nations people of coastal British Columbia, Canada....
in the Tsimshian community of Lax Kw'alaams
Lax Kw'alaams
Lax-Kw'alaams , usually called Port Simpson, is an Indigenous village community in British Columbia, Canada, not far from the city of Prince Rupert. It is the home of the "Nine Tribes" of the lower Skeena River, which are nine of the fourteen tribes of the Tsimshian nation...
(a.k.a. Port Simpson), B.C. Duncan refused to perform their marriage on the grounds that she was a divorcée.
Marsden was also involved in the short-lived sawmill community of Port Gravina, near Ketchikan, which was founded in 1892 and burned to the ground in 1904. This was an offshoot of the Metlakatla community, committed to Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
rather than Anglicanism and oriented to individual economic advancement outside of Duncan's control.
After Duncan's death in 1918, Marsden was involved in the transition to new leadership, becoming a partner in running the Metlakatla Commercial Company, the community's economic engine.
In 1922, Marsden began construction of a Presbyterian church in Metlakatla, where he was to serve as minister until his death. He was also a political leader in the community.
In May 1932 Marsden died in Ketchikan of injuries sustained during a rough sea voyage between Metlakatla and Hydaburg, Alaska
Hydaburg, Alaska
Hydaburg is a town in the Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, in the U.S. state of Alaska. The population was 382 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hydaburg is located at . It is the southernmost city on Prince of Wales Island...
.
A comparison of two accounts -- a 1955 biography of Marsden by William Gilbert Beattie, a Presbyterian BIA superintendent who had been allied with him, and on the other hand Peter Murray's very pro-Duncan account of the controversies in his 1985 Duncan biography (see bibliography) -- will attest to the strong feelings that the Duncan-Marsden rivalry continue to give rise to among those with a stake in the Metlakatla community.