Joel Harvey Linsley (1790–1868) was a notable Congregational minister and president of

Marietta College Marietta College (MC) is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio, United States. Its campus encompasses approximately six city blocks next to downtown Marietta and enrolls 1,200 students. History Marietta College began as the Muskin ...

in Ohio. The Rev. Dr. Joel Harvey Linsley was born in 1790 in

Cornwall, Vermont Cornwall is a New England town, town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. It was founded November 3, 1761. The population was 1,207 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Geography Cornwall is located in south-central Addison Count ...

to Levina Gilbert and Joel Linsley, who subsequently became a New York Judge. Joel Linsley graduated from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

and then studied and practiced law during the first seven years of his professional life. After resuming his religious studies, Linsley was ordained and served as a pastor of South Congregational Church in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

in 1824. He then served as pastor of

Park Street Church Park Street Congregational Church, founded in 1809, is a historic and active evangelical congregational church in Downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. The Park Street Church is a member of the Conservative Congregational Christian Confer ...

in Boston from 1832 to 1835. In 1835 the trustees of

recruited Linsley to serve as the college's first president. By the end of 1846, Linsley accepted a pastorship of the Second Congregational Church in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he served until his death in 1868. Among Linsley's siblings was

Charles Linsley Charles Linsley (August 29, 1795 – November 3, 1863) was a Vermont lawyer and politician. The son-in-law of Daniel Chipman, he was notable for his service as United States Attorney for the District of Vermont (1845-1849), member of the Vermo ...

, a prominent Vermont attorney and politician.

References

1790 births 1868 deaths People from Cornwall, Vermont American Congregationalists Middlebury College alumni 19th-century American clergy {{US-Christian-clergy-stub