George Ashton Oldham (August 15, 1877 – April 7, 1963[1]) was the third bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany in the United States from 1929 to 1950, during the turbulent times of the Great Depression and World War II.
Now largely forgotten,[1] Oldham was a major religious leader for several decades in the middle of the 20th and a serious candidate for presiding bishop.
[10] Their society wedding was announced in the New York Tribune, which was set for January 14, 1915, to be celebrated by Bishop Greer at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
[1] However, it was not necessarily made in support of the controversial "America First" movement:[1][15] His message was a more compassionate one, a call to transform ourselves into a nation that is first in "things of spirit", rather than "treading again the old, worn, bloody pathway which ends inevitably in chaos and disaster".
That would be a terribly unlucky year to begin any ministry, as the Great Depression was to start with the Stock Market Crash of 1929.
[20] In 1947, Bishop and Mrs. Oldham attended a conference in Sydney, Australia, and on their way home from New Zealand, the seaplane pilot, in order "to avoid disaster was [forced] to jettison cargo and passengers' luggage to lighten the load.