The Rt. Rev. Joseph Cruikshank Talbot was born in Alexandria, Virginia on September 5, 1816. In 1841 he began his course of preparation for Holy Orders and was ordained to the diaconate on September 5, 1846 and to the priesthood on September 6, 1848.
He moved to Indiana in 1853 and became rector of Christ Church, Indianapolis, where he served for seven years. In 1859, he was elected by General Convention to serve as Missionary Bishop of the North West and was consecrated the following year. The Missionary District of the North West covered nearly nine hundred thousand square miles and included Nebraska, the Dakotas, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Montana, and Idaho.
In 1865, Talbot was elected Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of Indiana, serving for five years before becoming diocesan bishop in 1872 after the death of Bishop George Uphold.
Bishop Talbot died in Indianapolis on January 15, 1883.
Published
The papers of Joseph Talbot document his time as Missionary Bishop of the North West and as bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Indiana through his death in 1883. The collection consists mainly of a set of pocket diaries kept by Talbot over the period 1856-1882 which gives insight into his daily activities. Also included is a typescript copy of Talbot’s journal of a trip to Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Nevada between May and December of 1863. It offers a reasonably detailed description of travels in the American West at a time when transportation and accommodations were primitive or even dangerous.
Arranged chronologically.
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