Joseph Flintoft Berry (May 13, 1856 – February 11, 1931) was a

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 1904.

Birth and family

Joseph was born 13 May 1856 in

Aylmer, Ontario Aylmer is a town in Elgin County in southern Ontario, Canada, just north of Lake Erie, on Catfish Creek. It is south of Highway 401, and is almost equidistant between the United States cities of Detroit and Buffalo. Aylmer is surrounded by ...

, Canada, the son of the Rev. Francis and Ann Berry. He was the brother of Dr. H.G. Berry. Joseph was married to Olive J. Johnson.

Education

Joseph was educated at the

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 ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He was led to

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

by two young friends, who took him to his father's barn and there held a prayer-meeting. This resulted in Joseph's

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Convert'', a 2023 film produced by Jump Film & Television and Brouhaha Entertainment * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * ...

. Joseph entered the Ordained Ministry of the M.E. Church in 1874. Joseph came to

Mount Clemens, Michigan Mount Clemens is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 15,697 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the county seat, seat of government of Macomb County, Michigan, Macomb County and part of the Metro Detroit, Det ...

in 1879 to pastor the First M.E. Church. He served as the Associate Editor of the ''Michigan Christian Advocate,'' 1885–90. He also served as Editor of the ''Epworth Herald,'' the official publication of the Epworth League, 1890–1904. March 5, 1924, it was reported that Bishop Berry of Philadelphia told the New Jersey Methodist Conference that "every Methodist preacher has as much right to belong to the Ku Klux Klan as to Masons or Odd Fellows if he thinks it is a proper thing to do." Bishop Berry served the

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

Episcopal Area (Genesee Annual Conference) for eight years. He then served the

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Area until retirement. His retirement was spent in

Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 29,795 according to the 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Orlando, Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winter Park was foun ...

, where he died 11 February 1931 at the age of 74. His body was brought back to Mount Clemens, Michigan to be buried with his two sons who had died during his pastorate there. His father, mother and wife are also buried in his cemetery lot.

References

"News of the Night in Brief" ''Fitchburg Sentinel'' (Fitchburg, Massachusetts) March 5, 1924, page 13. Access date April 16, 2017. *Aylmer Express, 19 February 1931, page 7. Index to the Aylmer Express newspaper, 1930–1934, Aylmer, Ontario, Canad

*''"Berry, Joseph F.,"'' in The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Samuel Macauley Jackson, D.D., LL.D., Editor-in-Chief. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 195

*McGhee, C. Bernard, ''The Founders and Builders of Mount Clemens.

*Mahood, J.W. (Evangelist), The Art of Soul-Winning (Specially Adapted for Personal Workers), Cincinnati: Jennings & Pye, New York: Easton & Mains, 190

*St. Thomas Times-Journal, 12 February 1931, page 1. Extractions of names for Births, Marriages, Deaths and Burials (extracted and transcribed by members of the Elgin OGS), St. Thomas, Ontario, Canad

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Joseph Flintoft American Methodist Episcopal bishops Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church 1856 births 1931 deaths 20th-century Canadian bishops Editors of Christian publications People from Elgin County Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian Methodists 20th-century Methodist bishops

Birth and family

Education

See also

References

Further reading

References

External links