Isaac Wilson Joyce (October 11, 1836 – July 28, 1905) was an 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 ...

in 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 1888.

Early life

Isaac Wilson Joyce was born in Colerain Township, Hamilton County, Ohio on October 11, 1836, to James Wilson Joyce. His father was a farmer. At the age of thirteen, in April 1850, Joyce and his family moved to Indiana. He joined the United Brethren Church. Joyce attended Hartsville College from 1854 to 1856, but left college to assist with the family's photograph business. He later completed college and graduated with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

from Asbury University (now

DePauw University DePauw University ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Greencastle, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1837 as Indiana Asbury College and changed its name to DePauw University in 1884. The college has a Methodist heritage and was ...

) in 1872.

Career

In June 1858, Joyce was a preacher at the United Brethren Church and joined the

. He became a member of the Northwest

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

Annual Conference of the M.E. Church in September 1859. He was ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in 1861 by Bishop

Matthew Simpson Matthew Simpson (June 21, 1811 – June 18, 1884) was an American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1852 and based mainly in Philadelphia. During the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War, most evangelical denominations in ...

, and an elder by Bishop

Thomas Asbury Morris Thomas Asbury Morris (April 28, 1794 – September 2, 1874) was an American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1836. He also distinguished himself as a Methodist circuit rider, pastor, and presiding elder, and as an editor. ...

. Around 1867, Joyce became the presiding elder of the Lafayette district. In 1873, Joyce became the pastor at Trinity Church in Lafayette. He worked there for three years. In October 1876, Joyce became pastor of Bethany Church, a church in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, affiliated with his wife's cousin Charles J. Baker. He remained in Baltimore until the fall of 1877. He was offered to remain with the church, but he declined since the church would not become a regular Methodist church. In 1877, Bishop Edward Raymond Ames arranged for Joyce to join Meridian Street United Methodist Church in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, but ultimately Joyce returned to his old conference. In September 1877, Joyce was appointed to Roberts Chapel in Greencastle. He briefly accepted an appointment at Trinity Church in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

. In September 1880, Joyce moved to

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. He became a pastor at St. Paul Church in 1880 and served as pastor of Trinity Church from 1883 to 1886. He then returned to St. Paul and remained there until 1888. Joyce was elected as bishop in May 1888. After becoming bishop, Joyce moved to

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

. He remained there for eight years. He also served as chancellor of U.S. Grant University. In June 1896, Joyce moved to

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, and preached at

Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church is a church across the Virginia Triangle (Hennepin Avenue/ Lyndale Avenue) from the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Its address is 511 Groveland Avenue. History The church was organized as ...

. He then supervised conferences in Japan, Korea and China until April 1898. From 1902 to 1904, Joyce visited conferences in South America.

Personal life

Joyce married Caroline Walker Bosserman of

La Porte, Indiana La Porte () is a city in LaPorte County, Indiana, United States, of which it is the county seat. Its population was estimated to be 21,341 in 2022. It is one of the two principal cities of the Michigan City-La Porte, Indiana metropolitan stat ...

, on March 20, 1861. They had two sons, Frank Melville and Wilbur Bruce. Wilbur Bruce died at the age of fourteen months. Their son Frank Meville was a captain in the Second Ohio Battery. Joyce lived in Minneapolis later in life. In 1875, Joyce suffered a severe illness diagnosed as "

congestion of the brain "Congestion of the brain" and "cerebral congestion" were medical terms used before hypertension was understood. The term was first proposed by Dr. von Basch in the nineteenth century and was widely used for the next 150 years, and had a major inf ...

". He died on July 28, 1905, in Minneapolis and is buried in

Lakewood Cemetery Lakewood Cemetery is a large private, non-sectarian, rural cemetery located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is located at 3600 Hennepin Avenue at the southern end of the Uptown, Minneapolis, Uptown area. It is noted for its chapel ...

of that city. Joyce spelled his last name as "Joice" until 1863.

Awards and honors

Around 1876 Joyce received the degree of

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 ...

from

Dickinson College Dickinson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1773 as Carlisle Grammar School, Dickinson was chartered on September 9, 1783, ...

, and in 1891 he received the degree of

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

from the University of the Pacific.

References

* ''Methodism: Ohio Area (1812–1962)'', edited by John M. Versteeg, Litt.D., D.D. (Ohio Area Sesquicentennial Committee, 1962).

External links