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'Iolani School Archives - People of 'Iolani: Thomas N. Staley

Notable people in the history of 'Iolani School.

 

The ‘Iolani School Archives collects, organizes, preserves and provides access to historical records of ‘Iolani School.

Bishop T. N. Staley

Bishop Thomas Nettleship Staley

Resources about Bishop Staley

Written by Bishop Staley

Quick Facts

  • Name: Thomas Nettleship Staley
  • Life: January 17, 1823 - November 1, 1898
  • Parents: Reverend William Staley
  • Spouse: Catherine Workman Shirley
    • married in 1859
    • 6 or 7 children
  • Became a deacon in 1846
  • Ordained as a priest in 1847
  • Consecrated Bishop of Honolulu in December 1861
  • Bishop of Honolulu: 1861 - 1870
  • Arrived in Hawai'i in October 1862
  • Incorporated the Hawaiian Reformed Catholic Church in 1862 

From the beginning...

Appointed the first Bishop for the missionary district of Honolulu in December 1861, Thomas Nettleship Staley arrived in October 1862 sent by the English Church in response to requests from King Kamehameha IV to establish a mission in his kingdom. He formed the Hawaiian Reformed Catholic Church (later the Anglican Church of Hawai'i). 

In 1863, Bishop Staley, Rev. George Mason, and Rev. Edmund Ibbotson, with the patronage of the King and Queen, established St. Alban's College ('Iolani School).

Timeline:
October through December 1862, missionaries arrived, founded the church in the islands, and prepared to open the school.

  • 10/11/1862 - Bishop Thomas N. Staley, Rev. George Mason, Rev. Edmund Ibbotson arrive
  • 10/12/1862 - First service in the Hawaiian Kingdom
  • 10/25/1862 - Hawaiian Reformed Catholic Church charter accepted at the courthouse
  • 11/08/1862 - Notice in the Polynesian newspaper that a "Collegiate Grammar School for Young Gentlemen" would be opening soon.
  • 12/14/1862 - First service on Lahaina
  • 12/27/1862 - Polynesian newspaper announcement that school will start January 12, 1863 at the Parsonage House, Kukui Street (behind the temporary cathedral; temporary; Mason residence; beginning of St. Alban's College). "The Warden will receive a limited number of boarders."

 

Clipping, 1862 announcement, future school opening

Anglican Mission Rare Book Collection at 'Iolani School Archives

The Anglican Mission Rare Book Collection (MS-017) contains volumes discussing early mission life and activities in the Kingdom of Hawai'i. Established as the Hawaiian Reformed Catholic Church, it later became the Anglican Church of Hawai'i.

Available digitally via Google Books:
Mission Life: A Magazine of Information About Church Missions, and the Countries In Which They Are Being Carried On, Vol. I
by ed. Rev. J.J. Halcombe
Publication Date: 1866

Available digitally via University of North Dakota, UND Scholarly Commons:
The Net Cast in Many Waters Sketches from the Life of Missionaries for 1866
by ed. Anne Mackenzie
Publication Date: 1866
Part of the Settler Literature Archive.

Available digitally via Google Books:
The Net Cast in Many Waters Sketches from the Life of Missionaries for 1867
by ed. Anne Mackenzie
Publication Date: 1867

Available digitally via HathiTrust:
Hawaii 1778 - 1920 from the Viewpoint of a Bishop
by Rt. Rev. Henry Bond Restarick, D. D., Retired Bishop
Publication Date: 1924


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