Background
Thomas Nettleship Staley was born 17 January 1823 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. His father was minister William Staley.
Thomas Nettleship Staley was born 17 January 1823 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. His father was minister William Staley.
Staley entered Queens" College, Cambridge in 1840, earned his Bachelor in 1844, and became a Fellow in 1847 after earning his Master of Arts. He was Tutor at Saint Mark"s College, Chelsea 1844-1848 and Headmaster of the Saint Mark"s Practising School 1848-1850 (whilst still lecturing at Street Mark"s College) and then Principal of the Collegiate School, Wandsworth. He was appointed by John Bird Sumner, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and consecrated on 15 December 1861, at the suggestion of Samuel Wilberforce and Queen Victoria, as the church"s first bishop of the Kingdom of Hawaii. His presence provoked conflict with the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions because they considered him a symbol of ritualism.
The fact that he was a Bishop also bothered the Calvinists who disliked any kind of religious hierarchy.
Although he was appointed to the King"s Privy Council 1863–1864 and Board of Education in 1865, he denied ever giving political advice, or being behind any plots leading to British colonization of the islands. In December 1863 he held the memorial service for Kamehameha IV, and later dedicated the Royal Mausoleum where the royal family was reburied.
The next King Kamehameha V would continue his support, and the cornerstone for the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew was laid in a ceremony in March 1867. Staley began two church-operated boarding schools: Saint Andrew"s Priory School for Girls and ʻIolani School in Honolulu (originally named for Saint Alban).
Staley was appointed Chaplain of Hawaii"s Royal Order of Kamehameha I.
He corresponded with Charles Darwin regarding the decline in population of the native Hawaiians.
Staley was frustrated with the political struggle, and suggested he would like to resign. He hoped to be replaced by an American Episcopal bishop, but none could be foundation He retired in 1870, and was replaced by Alfred Willis.
He resided in Croxall, and died on 1 November 1898, at Bournemouth.
Staley publicly defended his actions as being non-political, but was considered symbolic of the struggle for influence on the islands.
