David Hastings Moore David Hastings Moore ( September 4 , 1838 – November 23 , 1915 ) was an American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church , elected in 1900 . He also gained notability as a Union Army Officer in the American Civil War , as a Pastor , as the Editor of an important Methodist periodical , and as a University Chancellor . Birth and Early Life . David was born September 4 , 1838 in Athens , Ohio , a son of the Hon . Eliakim Hastings Moore , a U . S . Congressman . David was converted to the Christian faith in 1855 . David married Julia Sophia Carpenter , also of Athens , June 21 , 1860 . She died in 1911 , leaving the couple ' s six children . Education and Military Service . David graduated from the Ohio University in 1860 with the A . B . degree . He earned the A . M . degree from O . U . in 1863 . He also was awarded the honorary degrees D . D . and LL . D . In May 1862 David volunteered in the Union Army during the American Civil War , becoming a Captain commanding an Ohio Company at Harper ' s Ferry when General Miles surrendered that post . Released on parole , he was soon exchanged and re - entered the service as a major , then was promoted to Lieutenant - Colonel . He had command of the 125th Ohio Infantry ( a regiment dubbed the " " Ohio Tigers " " by General Thomas of Chickamauga ) for almost the entire Atlanta Campaign , his colonel having been placed in command of a brigade . Having been wounded , after the fall of Atlanta , his health being impaired , he returned to civilian life in Ohio , where he was immediately re - employed as a Pastor . Ordained and Academic Ministries . David entered the ordained ministry of the M . E . Church in 1860 , admitted as a Probationer in the Ohio Annual Conference . His pastoral ministry actually began in 1855 when he was appointed Pastor of the Second Street M . E . Church in Zanesville , Ohio ( serving there until 1868 , before and after military service ) . Rev . Moore subsequently served these appointments : St . Paul ' s M . E . in Delaware , Ohio ( 1868 – 70 ) ; Wesley Chapel in Columbus , Ohio ( 1870 – 72 ) ; and Trinity M . E . in Cincinnati ( 1872 – 75 ) , having transferred his Conference Membership to the Cincinnati Annual Conference in 1872 . The Rev . David Hastings Moore became the President of the Cincinnati Wesleyan Female Seminary ( Cincinnati Wesleyan College ) in 1875 , serving until 1880 . He then followed fellow Athens , Ohio - born Methodist Earl Cranston to Colorado where Rev . Moore became the President of the Colorado ( Methodist ) Seminary . As such Moore also became the first Chancellor of the University of Denver ( which the Colorado Seminary became ) , which he organized under favorable auspices , serving in this capacity from October 1880 to June 1889 . It is said that " his labors [ at the University of Denver ] are among the treasures of the Rocky Mountain Conference traditions . " He had a genius for friendship which provided a way into the hearts of the plainsmen and mountaineers of that day . This made him and the young university he served a power . Indeed , Bishop Harmon writes : Editorial Ministry . The Rev . Dr . David Hastings Moore became the Editor of the " Western Christian Advocate " , an important Methodist publication of the day , in 1889 . His editorials rang clear and strong as he championed the rights of women ( regarding membership in General Conference , which they were denied at that time ) and the rights of the " Freedmen " ( both in the church and outside of it ) . Indeed , as it has been said , " " there was never a dull line where David Moore ' s pen had wrought . " " Moore held this position until elected Bishop . Episcopal ministry . The Rev . Dr . David Hastings Moore was made a Bishop by the 1900 General Conference of the M . E . Church . He was initially assigned as Bishop of China , Japan and Korea , serving there four years . This was at the time of the Boxer uprising . Bishop Moore also wrote a vivid description of the war between Japan and Russia during this time . Following his four years service in the Far East , Bishop Moore was assigned successively to Portland , Oregon ( 1904 – 08 ) and Cincinnati , Ohio ( 1908 – 12 ) . He retired at the 1912 General Conference . In 1915 Bishop Moore wrote a biography of his friend , fellow - Ohioan and Bishop John Morgan Walden . Death and Burial . Bishop Moore died November 23 , 1915 on a train going to Cincinnati , Ohio . His body was laid to rest in a quiet churchyard in Athens , Ohio . Life Summation . Jesse A . Earl , in his article about Bishop Moore in the Encyclopedia of World Methodism , wrote this about him :