John Morgan Walden
Encyclopedia
John Morgan Walden was an American Bishop
of the Methodist Episcopal Church
. He also gained notability as a newspaper editor and journalist
, as a State Superintendent of Education in Kansas, as an officer in the Union Army
, and as an Official in his Christian denomination
.
, the son of Jesse and Matilda (née
Morgan) Walden. The family moved to Hamilton County, Ohio
in 1832. John was of Virginian
ancestry, his great-grandfather Walden having moved from Culpepper County, Virginia to Kentucky
in 1770, and his grandfather Benjamin to Ohio in 1802. After the death of his mother in 1833. John went to live with relatives near Cincinnati.
John married Martha Young of Cheviot, Ohio
July 3, 1859. They had five children.
. He became interested in the writings of Thomas Paine
, whereby Walden became a skeptic. He read Sir Walter Scott and Oliver Goldsmith
. His own early romantic stories were published under the pen name "Ned Law" in the Hamilton, Ohio Telegraph from 1849 until 1853.
After attending Farmers' College
in College Hill, Ohio in 1849, Walden taught school for a year in Miami County, Ohio
. It was there that he was converted by a Methodist Circuit Rider
. Returning to Farmers' College, Walden graduated in 1852. He then continued to teach there for two years.
, where he published the Independent Press. In his editorials he opposed the liquor traffic and so-called "squatter sovereignty." Illinoisans starved him out by refusing to support his paper, and in 1855 he returned to Ohio, where he became a reporter with the Cincinnati Commercial.
John became deeply interested in the Kansas troubles
while reporting from the Democratic National Convention
of 1856. Indeed, he went to Kansas, where he established the Quindaro Chindowan, a Free-Soil paper in the Free State port-of-entry town of Quindaro
. He was a delegate to five Free-State conventions, including the Leavenworth Constitutional Convention
of 1858. That same year he campaigned over half the Territory, opposing the Lecompton Constitution
.
John Morgan Walden served in the Kansas State Legislature in 1857. He also was the State Superintendent of Education for a time.
While he was there the American Civil War
began. Rev. Walden became very active in the war effort, raising two regiments to defend the city against threatening attacks. He joined the Union Army, where he achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel
.
Rev. Walden served with the Ladies' Home Mission in Cincinnati (1862–64). In the post-war years, he helped many African Americans through his work as corresponding secretary of the Western Freedman's Aid Commission and also with the Methodist Freedman's Aid Society.
In 1867 Walden was appointed Presiding Elder of the East Cincinnati District. In 1868 he was elected Publishing Agent of the Western Methodist Book Concern, also in Cincinnati. His penchant for statistics and organization, his business ability, and his sympathetic cooperation with the preachers made the Concern a financial success under his stewardship.
Walden was a delegate to the Ecumenical Conferences in London in 1881, in Washington in 1891 and in Toronto in 1911. With respect to church organization, he insisted on strict adherence to the written law of the church. Otherwise, he was more liberal in his views.
, Florida
, and is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery
in Cincinnati, Ohio
. He was survived by his wife and three of their five children.
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
. He also gained notability as a newspaper editor and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, as a State Superintendent of Education in Kansas, as an officer in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
, and as an Official in his Christian denomination
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
.
Birth and family
John Morgan Walden was born in Lebanon, OhioLebanon, Ohio
The population at the 2010 census was 20,033. As of the census of 2000, there were 16,962 people residing in the city. The population density was 1,440.6 people per square mile . There were 6,218 housing units at an average density of 528.1 per square mile...
, the son of Jesse and Matilda (née
NEE
NEE is a political protest group whose goal was to provide an alternative for voters who are unhappy with all political parties at hand in Belgium, where voting is compulsory.The NEE party was founded in 2005 in Antwerp...
Morgan) Walden. The family moved to Hamilton County, Ohio
Hamilton County, Ohio
As of 2000, there were 845,303 people, 346,790 households, and 212,582 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,075 people per square mile . There were 373,393 housing units at an average density of 917 per square mile...
in 1832. John was of Virginian
Virginian
Virginian is an adjective used to describe something as being of, from, or related to the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States.Virginian may also refer to:-Automobiles:...
ancestry, his great-grandfather Walden having moved from Culpepper County, Virginia to Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
in 1770, and his grandfather Benjamin to Ohio in 1802. After the death of his mother in 1833. John went to live with relatives near Cincinnati.
John married Martha Young of Cheviot, Ohio
Cheviot, Ohio
Cheviot is a city located in west central Hamilton County, Ohio. The population was 9,015 at the 2000 census.- History :In 1814 a Scottish immigrant named John Craig purchased a half section of of Green Township from Elias Boudinot. He built an inn and tavern on the Harrison Pike. In 1818 Craig...
July 3, 1859. They had five children.
Education and early life
Walden attended a local school in Cincinnati until 1844, when he went to work. Becoming a wandering laborer, he found employment as a carpenterCarpenter
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
. He became interested in the writings of Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine
Thomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
, whereby Walden became a skeptic. He read Sir Walter Scott and Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith was an Irish writer, poet and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield , his pastoral poem The Deserted Village , and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer...
. His own early romantic stories were published under the pen name "Ned Law" in the Hamilton, Ohio Telegraph from 1849 until 1853.
After attending Farmers' College
Ohio Military Institute
The Ohio Military Institute was a higher education institution located in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1890, it closed in 1958.-History:...
in College Hill, Ohio in 1849, Walden taught school for a year in Miami County, Ohio
Miami County, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 98,868 people, 38,437 households, and 27,943 families residing in the county. The population density was 243 people per square mile . There were 40,554 housing units at an average density of 100 per square mile...
. It was there that he was converted by a Methodist Circuit Rider
Circuit rider
Circuit rider is a term originating from the United States for any professional who travels a regular circuit of locations to provide services, and has several specific applications:...
. Returning to Farmers' College, Walden graduated in 1852. He then continued to teach there for two years.
Journalism career and Kansas
In 1854 John went to Fairfield, IllinoisFairfield, Illinois
Fairfield is the county seat of Wayne County, Illinois, United States, the site of Frontier Community College, , , and Airtex; an auto parts manufacturing facility...
, where he published the Independent Press. In his editorials he opposed the liquor traffic and so-called "squatter sovereignty." Illinoisans starved him out by refusing to support his paper, and in 1855 he returned to Ohio, where he became a reporter with the Cincinnati Commercial.
John became deeply interested in the Kansas troubles
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War, was a series of violent events, involving anti-slavery Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian" elements, that took place in the Kansas Territory and the western frontier towns of the U.S. state of Missouri roughly between 1854 and 1858...
while reporting from the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
of 1856. Indeed, he went to Kansas, where he established the Quindaro Chindowan, a Free-Soil paper in the Free State port-of-entry town of Quindaro
Quindaro Townsite
Quindaro Townsite is an archaeological district in the vicinity of North 27th Street and the Missouri Pacific Railroad tracks in Kansas City, Kansas. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 2002....
. He was a delegate to five Free-State conventions, including the Leavenworth Constitutional Convention
Leavenworth Constitution
The Leavenworth Constitution was one of four Kansas state constitutions proposed during the era of Bleeding Kansas. The Leavenworth Constitution was drafted by a convention of Free-Staters, and was the most progressive of the four proposed constitutions...
of 1858. That same year he campaigned over half the Territory, opposing the Lecompton Constitution
Lecompton Constitution
The Lecompton Constitution was the second of four proposed constitutions for the state of Kansas . The document was written in response to the anti-slavery position of the 1855 Topeka Constitution of James H. Lane and other free-state advocates...
.
John Morgan Walden served in the Kansas State Legislature in 1857. He also was the State Superintendent of Education for a time.
Ordained ministry
John returned again to Ohio, where on September 8, 1858 he was admitted on trial to the Cincinnati Annual Conference of the M.E. Church. His first two years of ministry were spent on various circuits. In 1860 he was admitted to the Conference in full connection and sent to the York Street Church in Cincinnati.While he was there the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
began. Rev. Walden became very active in the war effort, raising two regiments to defend the city against threatening attacks. He joined the Union Army, where he achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
.
Rev. Walden served with the Ladies' Home Mission in Cincinnati (1862–64). In the post-war years, he helped many African Americans through his work as corresponding secretary of the Western Freedman's Aid Commission and also with the Methodist Freedman's Aid Society.
In 1867 Walden was appointed Presiding Elder of the East Cincinnati District. In 1868 he was elected Publishing Agent of the Western Methodist Book Concern, also in Cincinnati. His penchant for statistics and organization, his business ability, and his sympathetic cooperation with the preachers made the Concern a financial success under his stewardship.
Episcopal ministry
John Morgan Walden was elected a Bishop by the 1884 General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. During his service he presided at some time or other over every Conference in the U.S.A. He also inspected missions in Mexico, South America, Europe, China and Japan. He did much to shape the missionary policy of his Church.Walden was a delegate to the Ecumenical Conferences in London in 1881, in Washington in 1891 and in Toronto in 1911. With respect to church organization, he insisted on strict adherence to the written law of the church. Otherwise, he was more liberal in his views.
Legacy and honors
- In recognition of his work for African Americans, in 1900 Central Tennessee College in NashvilleNashville, TennesseeNashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
was renamed in his honor as Walden University (Tennessee)Walden University (Tennessee)Walden University , a historically black college, was created by northern missionaries of the Methodist Church in 1865 in Nashville, Tennessee to serve freedmen...
.
Death and burial
Walden died on January 21, 1914 at Daytona BeachDaytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, USA. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 64,211. Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Deltona – Daytona Beach – Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, and is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery
Spring Grove Cemetery
Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is a nonprofit garden cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the second largest cemetery in the United States and is recognized as a U.S. National Historic Landmark....
in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
. He was survived by his wife and three of their five children.