G. Ashton Oldham

George Ashton Oldham (August 15, 1877 – April 7, 1963David Walsh, "Independence Day", Blog at DA Words, see DA Words Blog. Retrieved January 8, 2009.) was the third bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany in the United States from 1929 to 1950, during the turbulent times of the Great Depression and World War II. He was also notable as the primary author of the catechism used in the American Episcopal Church for decades until 1979. Now largely forgotten, Oldham was a major religious leader for several decades in the middle of the 20th century and a serious candidate for presiding bishop.

Early life Oldham grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and attended Cornell University, where he was an active debater, and graduated with an A.B. in 1902.Cornell Alumni News, May 2, 1900, found at Cornell University website Library commons archives for 1900. Retrieved January 8, 2009.Cornell Alumni News, December 11, 1901, found at Cornell University website Library commons archives for 1901. Retrieved January 8, 2009., Cornell Alumni News, May 14, 1931. Retrieved June 13, 2025.Catalogue of Officers and Graduates of Columbia University from the Foundation of King's College in 1754, p. 54 (Columbia University 1906).One source claims he graduated in 1905, but this can be confirmed, and is refuted by other, more reliable sources. He served as a chaplain at Columbia University while in seminary in 1906. In 1908, he graduated from the General Theological Seminary with his bachelor's degree in divinity."Divinity Students Graduate; 33 at the General Theological Seminary -- Honorary Degrees", The New York Times, June 4, 1908.

Marriage Oldham was married to Emily Pierrepont Gould (March 24, 1884 – October 31, 1969), from a very old and wealthy family.Genealogy of the Pierrepont family at the University of Pennsylvania website. Retrieved January 8, 2009. She was noted in the Social Register of New York of 1914,Social register, New York (1914), pg. 254. Found at Google Books. Retrieved July 31, 2012. among other years. She was the daughter of Mary Pierrepont Perry and James Henry Gould (1844-1896), and a direct descendant of James Pierpont, the founder of Yale University.R. Burnham Moffat, Pierrepont Genealogies from Norman Times to 1913 (L. Middleditch Co., 1913), pp. 92-93. Found at Google books. Retrieved July 31, 2012. Their society wedding was announced in the New York Tribune, which was set for January 14, 1915, to be celebrated by Bishop Greer at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine."Numerous Entertainments for the Debutantes", New-York Tribune, December 20, 1914, pg. 8. Found at Library of Congress website. Retrieved July 31, 2012. Emily Pierrepont Gould was a distant cousin of Aaron Burr through James Pierpont.

At the time of his marriage, Oldham was rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church at Convent Avenue and West 141st Street in Manhattan, which was next to Hamilton Grange, the home of Alexander Hamilton.Hamilton Grange Move Media Advisory, National Park Service website. Retrieved July 31, 2012.

Work as bishop Oldham was elected Bishop Coadjutor of Albany in 1922, to prepare for replacing Richard Henry Nelson. Albany Episcopal Diocese website History page . Retrieved January 8, 2009."Consecrated As Bishop.; Ceremony for Dr. George A. Oldham as Albany Coadjutor", The New York Times, October 25, 1922.

In 1924, Oldham made a major sermon, entitled "America First", at the Washington National Cathedral. However, it was necessarily made in support of the controversial "America First" movement:See also University of Georgia website Libraries archives . Retrieved January 8, 2009. His sermon on "The church's responsibility for world peace" was also widely published.James Gilchrist Lawson, "Great sermons on world peace" (New York, Round Table Press, Inc., 1937). Retrieved June 13, 2025. – via Internet Archive. He was a keynote speaker at the 1931 dedication of the War Memorial in Ithaca, New York, place of his alma mater, Cornell.

Oldham was an organizer of a conference on Anglo-Catholicism in Albany. He was also active in ecumenism with the Roman Catholic Church, long before that became popular.

He was installed in 1929 in the cathedra in the choir at the Cathedral of All Saints, as the 3rd Bishop of Albany. That would be a terribly unlucky year to begin any ministry, as the Great Depression was to start with the Stock Market Crash of 1929.

Oldham wrote the Catechism Today: Instructions on the Church, the catechism used in the American Episcopal Church for decades until 1979. Amazon.UK.com website. Retrieved January 8, 2009. He also wrote a book entitled The Fighting Church.Ebooks.com website . Retrieved January 8, 2009.

He was very active in Episcopal Church activities, from at least 1932."Yearbook of American Churches: A Record of Religious Activities in the United States for the Year 1932", found at Google books. Retrieved January 8, 2009. In 1937, he was a serious candidate for election as presiding bishop."Episcopalians in Cincinnati", Time, October 18, 1937. By the end of the war in 1945, he was acknowledged as a church leader."Yearbook Of American Churches 1945 Edition", found at Archives of yearbookofameric website. Retrieved January 8, 2009. In 1947, Bishop and Mrs. Oldham attended a conference in Sydney, Australia, and on their way home from New Zealand, the seaplane pilot, in order "to avoid disaster was [forced] to jettison cargo and passengers' luggage to lighten the load."James Gwynn, "A Narrow Escape", The Swan & Elk (Newsletter of the Cathedral of All Saints) January 2009. Lost in "the Oldham luggage [was] ... the cope the bishop had worn at his consecration".

In 1949, he received an honorary degree from Hobart College.Hobart and William Smith Colleges archives . Retrieved January 8, 2009. The deanery of the Cathedral of All Saints is named Oldham House in his honor.

He retired as bishop in 1950 and died in 1963. He was replaced by Bishop Frederick L. Barry, whose death he announced to a diocesan convention in 1960.George E. DeMille, Project Canterbury: The Episcopate of Frederick Barry (Albany: Diocesan Book Store, 1962), found at Anglican History website page on DeMille, 1962. Retrieved January 9, 2009.

G. Ashton Oldham

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