William Jones Boone (father)

This article is about the first Bishop of Shanghai. For his son, see William Jones Boone (son).

William Jones Boone
Anglican Bishop of Shanghai
Church	Episcopal Church
See	Shanghai
In office	1844-1864
Predecessor	none
Successor	Channing M. Williams
Orders
Ordination	3 March 1837
Personal details
Born	1 July 1811 Walterboro, South Carolina
Died	17 July 1864 (1864-07-18) (aged 53) Shanghai

William Jones Boone (1 July 1811 – 17 July 1864) was the first Anglican missionary bishop of Shanghai.

Life

Boone was born in Walterboro, South Carolina, graduated from the College of South Carolina in 1829 and was admitted to the bar in 1833. He then attended Virginia Theological Seminary and was ordained deacon on 18 September 1836 and priest on 3 March 1837.

Missionary work in China

Under the auspices of the Protestant Episcopal Church Mission, Boone was appointed a missionary to China on 17 January 1837. Accompanied by his wife Amelia he commenced his journey to China from Boston on 8 July 1837 reaching Batavia on 22 October the same year. In Batavia he studied alongside the priests Henry Lockwood and Francis Hanson to gain a degree of fluency in the Chinese language.

Prior to the conclusion of the First Opium War Boone relocated to Macau. In February 1842 conditions in China were considered secure enough for Boone to relocate his missionary work to Kulang-see, a small island half a mile from the recently opened treaty port of Amoy,

On a return visit the United States Boone was consecrated at St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia on 26 October 1844 as the first Anglican missionary bishop of Shanghai. Influenced by British CMS missionary George Smith he chose to relocate the center of his mission work to Shanghai in 1845 where he served until his death in 1864.

Boone was responsible for the recruitment of numerous missionaries; notably Emma Jones, Henry M. Parker and Channing Moore Williams his eventual successor as Bishop of Shanghai. Boone with others is credited with the translation of the Book of Common Prayer into Chinese and also contributed to a Chinese translation of the Bible.

Family

Married Sarah Amelia deSaussure. Died at Amoy in 1842. Second marriage to Phobe Caroline Elliott

Boone's son, also named William Jones Boone, also served as a bishop of Shanghai in the Episcopal Church.

Consecrators

• Philander Chase, 1st bishop of Ohio and 1st bishop of Illinois
• George Washington Doane, 2nd bishop of New Jersey
• James Hervey Otey, 1st bishop of Tennessee

William Jones Boone was the 45th bishop consecrated for the Episcopal Church.

Bibliography

• Address in Behalf of the China Mission, By the Rev. William J. Boone, M.D., Missionary of the Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States of America to China.

References

• Episcopal Church Office of Liturgy and Music: William Jones Boone