Source:[3] While it is certain that men and women associated with the Episcopal Church were included among the earliest explorers and settlers of the territory that came to be called Nebraska, it is unknown who those first Episcopalians might have been and where in the territory they might first have led worship services from the Book of Common Prayer.

In 1856 several churchmen in Omaha city requested the Bishop of Iowa visit them and consult about forming a parish.

Dr. Edward Peet arrived April 12, 1856, and met with 8 or 10 churchmen who organized a parish under the name of Trinity Church.

On July 4, 1858, at the morning service the little congregation of pioneers adopted the following preamble: "We whose names are hereto affixed, deeply sensible of the truth of the Christian religion, and earnestly desirous of promoting its holy influences in our hearts and in those of our families and neighbors, do hereby incorporate ourselves under the name of St. Mary's Parish in Nebraska City, Nebraska Territory in communion with the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States."

The Episcopal Church General Convention of 1838 tasked the great Missionary Bishop, Jackson Kemper with jurisdiction over, "the Territories of Wisconsin and Iowa and in all other parts of the United States north of latitude 36 1/2 where the Church is as yet unorganized."

Bishop Talbot made Nebraska City (and St. Mary's) his home for five years beginning in 1860, during which time he laid foundations for the Episcopal Church's later work in his vast jurisdiction which included the present states of Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and California.

Although some other clergymen fled the city, Clarkson stayed to minister to the sick and bury the dead.

from Racine College which was awarded in 1857 while he was serving as the rector of St. James's Episcopal Church in Chicago.

During his ministry in Nebraska, Clarkson helped establish the first Christian missions to the Ponca Indians and was responsible for building fifty churches in his diocese as well as a children's hospital.

Clarkson designated Trinity Church in Omaha as his cathedral and soon determined to improve that physical plant.

In 1918, Beecher designated St. Mark's Church in Hastings as Pro-Cathedral for the Western Nebraska district.