Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana Archives

Rev. John Addams Linn

The Rev. John Addams Linn was born in Lena, Illinois, on 9 September 1872, the son of the Rev. John Manning Linn and wife Mary Catherine (Addams), sister of Jane Addams of Hull House fame. He was ordained a deacon in 1897 and began his career at Trinity Church in Petersburg, Illinois. He was living in New York City in 1900 and came to Mishawaka, Indiana, in 1902 as rector of St. Paul's, Mishawaka. During his tenure the old church was demolished and a new church constructed. He later left the parish to join the faculty of Trinity School, where he was a Master of Greek. He was rejected for active military service in World War I on account of his age and weak eyes, but as a secretary of the Chicago YMCA, he was permitted to play a support role, carrying supplies for the soldiers in France. He was killed by a German shell in the Meuse-Argonne offensive on 8 October 1918 and has been hailed as one of the war's "fighting chaplains." He was buried in the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery in France. A plaque commemorating his service was later installed in St. Paul's Church.





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