Rev. ROBERT E. TALBOT (1855-1923)

First Rector at Trinity Church in Kansas City (now Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral)

By Bill Tammeus

The Rev. Robert E. Talbot, born in 1855 in Fayette, Mo., the seventh of eight children, was the first rector at Trinity Church in Kansas City. Trinity Church was founded in 1883 on the east side of downtown Kansas City, Mo. In 1917, Trinity merged with Grace Church — which had been founded as St. Paul’s Church and renamed in 1873 — to become Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, which is located on the west side of downtown.

Talbot was an 1872 graduate of Kemper Military Academy in Boonville, Mo. In 1875, he graduated from Central College (now Central Methodist University) in Fayette. He was ordained an Episcopal deacon in 1879 and a priest in 1882. Talbot’s older brother, Ethelbert P. E. Talbot, also served as an Episcopal priest and later as bishop of the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania.

Rev. Robert E. Talbot

Source: St. Paul’s Church, K Street, Washington D.C.

While serving as rector of St. Jude’s Church in Monroe City, Mo. (1882-83), Robert Talbot married Mary Stella Glaze (1862-1945). In 1883, the couple moved to Kansas City, where he became rector of Trinity Church. He served there until 1909, when they moved to Washington, D.C., and he became rector of another St. Paul’s Church. He served that congregation for 14 years until his death in 1923. He was buried at Mount Washington Cemetery, where his widow, who outlived him by a little more than 22 years, joined him in 1945.

Old postcard view of Trinity Church, Kansas City, Missouri

Trinity Church – 10th & Tracy

Source: Tom Taylor Collection