Eben Samuel Johnson (8 February 1866 – 9 February 1939) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

-American

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, th ...

, elected in 1916.

Birth and family

Born in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, he was a son of William and Catharine (née Sidwell) Johnson. His father was an English Methodist preacher. Bishop Johnson was also descended from one of

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

's helpers. Eben married Sarah Tilsley, with whom he had children Samuel D., Arthur H., and Dorothea.

Early career and education

Eben took a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

training course in England. He also attended the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. He taught school in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for a time. He also engaged in

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

work from 1885 to 1889. Eben then

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

to the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

, where he earned both the A.B. and the A.M. degrees from Morningside College. Syracuse University later awarded him an

honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

degree. He became a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

at an unknown date, and was later admitted to Kane Lodge No. 377,

Ida Grove, Iowa Ida Grove is a city in Ida County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,051 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ida County. History Founded in 1871, the town now known as "Old Ida Grove" was located on the north side ...

on 13 December 1907; he resigned from this lodge on 14 October 1910 and joined instead the Landmark Lodge No. 103,

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...

on 12 December 1910.
digital document by phoenixmasonry: vol. 1

Ordained ministry

The Rev. Eben Samuel Johnson preached on an English circuit at the age of sixteen. In America he entered the Northwest

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Annual Conference in 1889. As a pastor he served the following appointments: Danbury, Wall Lake, Mapleton, Sac City, Webster City, and Rock Rapids. He then was appointed

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Building superintendent, a manager, maintenance or repair person, custodian or janitor, especially in the United States; sometimes shortened to "super" *Prison warden or superintendent, a prison administrator *Soprin ...

of the Ida Grove District. In 1909 he was appointed pastor of the First Methodist Church,

Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Iowa. The county seat of Woodbury County, Sioux City is the primar ...

, where his address was 514 7th St., Sioux City. He served his annual conference as the secretary, then the chairman of the examining board; as the president of the Conference Board of Education; and as a member of M.E. General Conferences, 1904–16. He served as general conference journal secretary for a time, as well. He also was a trustee of Morningside College. During the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

, the Rev. Johnson served as a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

in the 52nd Iowa Infantry Regiment, U.S. Volunteers. He also served in the 56th Regiment of the Iowa

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

, first with the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, then

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Episcopal ministry

The Rev. Eben Samuel Johnson was elected first in 1916 as a

missionary bishop A missionary bishop is one assigned in the Anglican Communion to an area that is not already organized under a bishop of a church. The term was also used in the Methodist churches at one time, but this was discontinued in 1964. Anglican churches I ...

of the M.E. Church for

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. In 1920 he was elected a bishop. Bishop Johnson died at the Veterans' Hospital in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

. He was buried in Riverview Abbey in Portland.

Selected writings

*"Emigration", Oxford degree thesis, in the ''Methodist Bishops' Collection'' at

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

. *"Stenographic Report Lectures" of

R. L. Ottley Robert Lawrence Ottley (2 September 1856 – 1 February 1933) was an English theologian. Life He was the son of Lawrence Ottley, Canon of Ripon. He was born in Richmond, Yorkshire, and was educated by his sister Alice OttleyGillian Avery, 'O ...

Regius Professor of Pastoral Theology The Regius Professorship of Moral and Pastoral Theology, together with the Regius Professorship of Ecclesiastical History, was founded at the University of Oxford by an act of Parliament in 1840, and first filled in 1842. The act attached the cha ...

, Oxford, 1906, ''and of'' W. Lock, Dean Ireland Professor of Exegesis, Oxford, 1906. also in the ''Methodist Bishops' Collection'' at

. *"General Conference Reports and Writings", also in the ''Methodist Bishops' Collection'' at

References