Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History
Benson Lossing, Ed.

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Talbot, John 1645-1727

Colonial bishop; born in Wymondham, England, in 1645; was chaplain of the British ship Centurion, which in 1702 brought the first foreign missionaries to Virginia. He soon afterwards left the service of the admiralty and became a missionary among the Indians, sometimes travelling 500 miles on horseback to attend to their spiritual wants. Satisfied that the Church of England needed a bishop in America, he frequently spoke of it. In 1703 he was made rector of St. Mary's Church, New Brunswick, N. J. The next year the clergy of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania petitioned for a bishop, and Talbot was persuaded to carry the petition to London [2] himself. He was favored by Queen Anne in his efforts to have the prayer of the petition granted, but failed to obtain the appointment of a suffragan, and he resolved to ask for consecration for himself by non juring bishops. This was done by two bishops, and in 1722 he returned to America and assumed episcopal authority. The governor of Pennsylvania (Keith) complained of him to the Lords of the Privy Seal, and he was summoned to England, but did not go. He died in Burlington, N. J., Nov. 29, 1727.