William Fitzjames Oldham

William Fitzjames Oldham (15 December 1854 - 27 March 1937) was an Indian-born British-American Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church and Missionary Bishop for Southern Asia. He also distinguished himself as a Missionary, an Author, and a Church Official.

Birth, Family and Ancestry

William was born in Bangalore, India the son of James and Mary Elizabeth Oldham. James was a British officer commanding Sepoy troops in India. William's ancestry was primarily Irish-English, with some Indian blood, it was said, on his mother's side. William married Marie Augusta Mulligan 13 September 1877.

Education and Conversion

William earned the B.A. degree from Boston University and the M.A. from Allegheny College. He became a government surveyor. He was converted to the Christian faith under the preaching of the Rev. D.O. Fox, who assisted at the time of the well-known Taylor evangelistic meeting in 1873.

Ordained and Missionary Ministry

The Rev. Oldham entered the Michigan Annual Conference of the M.E. Church in 1883. He also served for a time under the auspices of the Ohio Conference. He was the founder of a Mission. He also served as an Assistant (Corresponding) Secretary of Missions for his denomination, beginning in 1912.

Rev. Oldham was a member of M.E. General Conferences in 1880, 1900, 04, 08 and 1912. He was a delegate of the Second and Fourth Ecumenical Conferences of 1891 and 1911, as well as the Edinburgh Convention of 1910.

Episcopal Ministry

Bishop Oldham was elected Missionary Bishop for Southern Asia in 1904. He later was elected a Bishop of the M.E. Church in 1916, serving until his death. His office was at 150 Fifth Ave., New York City. His residence was in Leonia, New Jersey. He also served as a Trustee of the Union Missionary Institute of Brooklyn, New York.

Death and Burial

Bishop Oldham died 27 March 1937 in Glendale, California. He was buried in Forest Lawn cemetery.

elected Writings

* "Translated from Malaysia," Charles A. Gray, pamphlet, 1889.
* "Sketch" of Thoburn, The Picket Line of Missions, 1897.
* The Study of Missions in Colleges, Student Missionary Appeal, 1898.
* "Presenting the Gospel to Non-Christian Peoples," Ecumentical Missionary Conference, 1900.
* Addresses: "What the Missionary Secretary Can Do," and "The Deaconess as a Missionary Worker," First General Missionary Convention, Cleveland, 1903.
* "Malaysia," Nature's Wonderland, 1907.
* Address: "To Advance in Foreign Missions," Militant Methodism, Downey et al, Eds., 1913.
* Address: "The Crucial Hour of Missions in Non-Christian Lands," The Second General Missionary Conference, 1913.
* India, Malaysia, the Philippines, 1914.
* Graves Missionary Lectures, 1914.
* The World Task and Opportunity, New England Methodism's Convention, Ed. E.C.E. Dorion, 1915.
* Address in Challenge of Today, 1915.
* Introduction, "Bishop Frank Warne's Story of His Conversion," 1915. (33 pages)
* Address: Book of Devotions, 1916.
* Thoburn - Called of God, 1918.

Biographies