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

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

veteran and Union Army lieutenant,who converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and later worked as a missionary with

Father Damien Damien De Veuster , popularly known as Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai ( or '; born Jozef De Veuster; 3 January 1840 – 15 April 1889), was a Catholic Church in Belgium, Belgian Catholic priest in the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts ...

. He was a member of the

Third Order of Saint Francis The Third Order of Saint Francis, or Franciscan Tertiaries, is the third order of the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi. Francis founded the Third Order, originally called t ...

. His cause for canonization was opened in 2022.

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 fa ...

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

Milton Academy Milton Academy (informally referred to as Milton) is a coeducational, co-educational, Independent school, independent, and College-preparatory school, college-preparatory boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts, educating students in g ...

in Wisconsin. He had been raised

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Sunday schools. In 1861, Dutton enlisted in 13th Wisconsin Infantry under Colonel Maurice Maloney. He served in the

Quartermaster Corps Following is a list of quartermaster corps, military units, active and defunct, with logistics duties: * Egyptian Army Quartermaster Corps - see Structure of the Egyptian Army * Hellenic Army Quartermaster Corps (''Σώμα Φροντιστών ...

of the 13th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment during the

. Dutton began in the Union Army as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

and left as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

and the regimental quartermaster. He married during the Civil War. Prior to his marriage, Dutton was warned about his future wife's reputation for promiscuity, but had hoped he could change her. The marriage did not last as his wife (who he never mentioned by name) was unfaithful and Dutton developed

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

. His wife was an oniomaniac who left him broke and ran off with another man. After the Civil War, Dutton oversaw a distillery in Alabama and later worked on the railroads in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. He quit drinking in 1876 and later took the name Joseph. He seemed to believe his wife would return, and did not sign the

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

papers until 1881. He converted to

in 1883 and afterward spent 20 months at the

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a Religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious o ...

monastery at the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani. In 1886 Dutton went to

Molokai Molokai or Molokai ( or ; Molokaʻi dialect: Morotaʻi ) 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 g ...

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 an American 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 " ...

. Dutton was a member of the

Secular Franciscan Order The Secular Franciscan Order (; abbreviated OFS) is part of the Third Order of Saint Francis, third branch of the Franciscans, Franciscan family formed by Catholic Church, Catholic men and women who seek to observe the Gospel of Jesus in Christia ...

. He was often known as "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 Encyclopedi ...

'', 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), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

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 naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

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

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

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

on March 26, 1931, in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. He was buried at St. Philomena Catholic Church Cemetery, Kalaupapa. In 2015, the Diocese of Honolulu set up a committee to evaluate the possibility of

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

. 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 , "blessed" and , "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 name. ''Beati'' is the p ...

and canonization. His cause for canonization was opened in 2022.

References

External links

A Servant of the Lepers: Brother Joseph of MolokaiIra 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