Joseph Dutton (April 27, 1843 – March 26, 1931) was a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

veteran and Union Army lieutenant, who converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and later worked as a missionary with

Father Damien Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai, SS.CC. or Saint Damien De Veuster ( nl, Pater Damiaan or '; 3 January 1840 – 15 April 1889), born Jozef De Veuster, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacr ...

Biography

He was born Ira Barnes Dutton in

Stowe, Vermont Stowe is a town in Lamoille County, Vermont, United States. The population was 5,223 at the 2020 census. The town lies on Vermont Routes 108 and 100. It is nicknamed "The Ski Capital of the East" and is home to Stowe Mountain Resort, a ski faci ...

, son of Ezra Dutton and Abigail Barnes. Dutton carried out his studies at Old Academy and

Milton Academy Milton Academy (also known as Milton) is a highly selective, coeducational, University-preparatory school, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lowe ...

, Wisconsin and in 1861 enlisted in 13th Wisconsin Infantry under Colonel Maurice Malooney. He was a quartermaster in the

13th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment The 13th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 13th Wisconsin was raised at Janesville, Wisconsin, and mustered into federal service October 17, 1861. The re ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

. He had been raised Protestant in Baptist Sunday schools and was for a time married. The marriage did not last as his wife (who he never mentioned by name) was unfaithful and Dutton developed problems with alcohol. He quit drinking in 1876 and later took the name Joseph. He converted to Roman Catholicism in 1883 and afterward spent 20 months at the

Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani is a Catholic monastery in the United States near Bardstown, Kentucky, in Nelson County. The abbey is part of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (''Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae''), ...

. In 1886 Dutton went to

Molokai Molokai , or Molokai (), is the fifth most populated of the eight major islands that make up the Hawaiian Islands archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It is 38 by 10 miles (61 by 16 km) at its greatest length and width with a us ...

to aid the dying

, who was grateful for his assistance. Dutton remembered that he told Father Damien "My name is Joseph Dutton; I’ve come to help, and I’ve come to stay" upon meeting him—and he did stay, for the remainder of his life. After Father Damien's death Dutton founded the Baldwin Home for men and boys with financial assistance from

Henry Perrine Baldwin Henry Perrine Baldwin (August 29, 1842 – July 8, 1911) was a businessman and politician on Maui in the Hawaiian Islands. He supervised the construction of the East Maui Irrigation System and co-founded Alexander & Baldwin, one of the " Big Five ...

. Dutton was a member of the

Secular Franciscan Order The Secular Franciscan Order ( la, Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis; abbreviated OFS) is the third branch of the Franciscan Family formed by Catholic men and women who seek to observe the Gospel of Jesus by following the example of Francis of Assisi ...

. He was often called "Brother Joseph." Dutton wrote the article "Molokai" for the ''

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

'', and composed and sent many letters detailing life on the island, and U. S. President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

was one of those who read of his service to the ailing. He was so impressed by the veteran's work that he ordered the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Great White Fleet The Great White Fleet was the popular nickname for the group of United States Navy battleships which completed a journey around the globe from December 16, 1907 to February 22, 1909 by order of President Theodore Roosevelt. Its mission was t ...

to pay tribute to him by dipping their flags as they passed by the island. Dutton died in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

on March 26, 1931. He was buried at St. Philomena Catholic Church Cemetery,

Kalaupapa Kalaupapa () is a small Unincorporated area, unincorporated community on the Hawaiian Islands, island of Molokai, Molokai, within Kalawao County, Hawaii, Kalawao County in the U.S. state of Hawaii. In 1866, during the reign of Kamehameha V, ...

. In 2015, the

Diocese of Honolulu The Catholic Diocese of Honolulu ( la, Diœcesis Honoluluensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church that comprises the entire state of Hawaii and the unincorporated Hawaiian Islands. The Diocese of Honolu ...

set up a committee to evaluate the possibility of canonization. In December 2015, the Joseph Dutton Guild was established by the Diocese of Honolulu to petition the Diocese of Honolulu to start the formal cause of

beatification Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their na ...

and

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...

. At the present, the Guild is in the process of collecting evidence to ascertain whether a petition for a formal cause is feasible.

References

External links

Brother Joseph Dutton
at Kalaupapaa National Historic Park
Ira B. Dutton
at Wisconsin Veterans Museum *Carte de viste images of Ira B. Dutton from the

Wisconsin Historical Society The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of ...

Joseph Dutton papers
at Notre Dame {{DEFAULTSORT:Dutton, Joseph 1843 births 1931 deaths Roman Catholic missionaries in Hawaii American Roman Catholic missionaries Converts to Roman Catholicism from Baptist denominations Milton College alumni Members of the Third Order of Saint Francis Union Army officers People from Stowe, Vermont People from Janesville, Wisconsin People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War People from Molokai 20th-century venerated Christians American Servants of God People from Kalawao County, Hawaii Catholics from Wisconsin Catholics from Hawaii Catholics from Vermont Contributors to the Catholic Encyclopedia

Biography

References

Further reading

External links