at St . Mark's Church in the north end of the city, he inspired a generation of young men to enter the priesthood. He then came home to his native province to be Rector of St. Peter 's Cathedral, and Archdeacon of Prince Edward Island . Although towards the end of his time as Archdeacon he began to be plagued by the ill health that eventually forced his retirement, he got the Island clergy and parishes moving and working together. They began to develop a strong sense of belonging to each other and to their own community in ways that promised well for the future of the Anglican Church in Prince Edward Island . Unfortunately, this was not always well understood or appreciated elsewhere, particularly in Halifax where the Island parishes were seen primarily as elements in the Diocese of Nova Scotia . " Staff Tanton was an apostolic man in every way but one. Although he placed third in one episcopal election in Nova Scotia , he was never elected bishop. That perhaps says more about the inadequacy of synods as instruments of episcopal selection than it does about " Staff " Tanton. It is impossible to think of him as a compromise candidate, or as one who might qualify as the second choice of a sufficient number of electors to be elected. However, it is worth remembering that through most of the time he was at Tangier and St . Mark's the Bishop of Nova Scotia was a man very much like him in both character and churchmanship, Robert Harold Waterman . That there was such a man as bishop at that time helped make the ministry, and the achievements, of " Staff Tanton possible. Robert C Tuck .