Background
Odenheimer, William Henry was born on August 11, 1817 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of John W. and Henrietta (Burns) Odenheimer.
Odenheimer, William Henry was born on August 11, 1817 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of John W. and Henrietta (Burns) Odenheimer.
He attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1835. He next attended the General Theological Seminary, graduating in 1838.
In 1839, Odenheimer married Anne Randall Shaw. They would have eleven children but only two, Anne and Margaret, would live to adulthood. Odenheimer was ordained deacon three years later, in 1838 by Bishop Henry U. Onderdonk, and was ordained priest by the same bishop in 1841.
After his ordination to the priesthood, he served as rector of Saint Peter"s Church in Philadelphia, remaining at the parish from his ordination until his elevation to the episcopate.
While there, Odenheimer received a doctorate of divinity from the University of Pennsylvania. He also published several books, including "The True Catholic Number Romanist," (1842) about the Oxford Movement, and "Essay on Canon Law" (1847).
Odenheimer was a strong supporter of the Oxford Movement and changed the organization of Saint Peter"s to reflect that preference. Odenheimer was consecrated the third in 1859.
He was the 66th bishop in the ECUSA, and was consecrated in Saint Paul"s Church, Richmond, Virginia by Bishops William Meade, Samuel Allen McCoskry, and William Rollinson Whittingham, along with other co-consecrators.
While bishop, Odenheimer received an additional degree, a doctor of canon law from the University of Oxford, in 1867. During the first fifteen years of his episcopate he confirmed nearly 16,000 people, and the number reached 20,000 before his death. He visited the parishes of his diocese often until 1866, when injuries from a fall broke his kneecaps and forced him to curtail his travels.
As his diocese grew, church authorities found it necessary to divide it into northern and southern portions in 1874, with Odenheimer continuing as bishop of the northern diocese, later renamed the Diocese of Newark.
He was succeeded as diocesan bishop for New Jersey by John Scarborough.
Married Anne Daughters of the Revolution Shaw, 2 children.