Joshua Soule (August 1, 1781 – March 6, 1867) was an American

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

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 on a national basis. ...

(elected in 1824), and then of the

Methodist Episcopal Church, South The Methodist Episcopal Church, South (MEC, S; also Methodist Episcopal Church South) was the American Methodist denomination resulting from the 19th-century split over the issue of slavery in the Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC). Disagreement ...

Birth and rebirth

Born to Joshua and Mary (Cushman) Soule at Broad Cove in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

(now

Bremen Bremen ( Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state cons ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

, Soule was the seventh child in a Norman-

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

family. He was the great-great-great-grandson of George Soule, who in 1620 arrived at

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth (; historically known as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore, and culture, and is known ...

as a ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, ...

Pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

, eventually becoming a prominent

Duxbury Duxbury (alternative older spelling: "Duxborough") is a historic seaside town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb located on the South Shore approximately to the southeast of Boston, the population was 16,090 at the 20 ...

landowner. In the autumn of 1781, not long after this Joshua Soule's birth, the Soules moved to Avon where his father, a former

sea captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and effici ...

from Duxbury, was an original settler along the Sandy River. Joshua, the son of Joshua, married Sarah Allen in 1803. Although his parents were strict

Presbyterians Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

, the adolescent Joshua Soule

converted Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

to the Methodist Episcopal faith in 1797, joining the New England Annual Conference in 1799. 19-22-215-museum

Ministry

He became known as a "Boy Preacher," and an opponent of

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...

Unitarianism Unitarianism (from Latin language, Latin ''unitas'' "unity, oneness", from ''unus'' "one") is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian branch of Christian theology. Most other branches of Christianity and the major Churches accept the Trinity, doctri ...

and

Universalism Universalism is the philosophical and theological concept that some ideas have universal application or applicability. A belief in one fundamental truth is another important tenet in universalism. The living truth is seen as more far-reaching th ...

. Tall, dignified and able, Soule was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

, both

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 churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

and

elder An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority. Elder or elders may refer to: Positions Administrative * Elder (administrative title), a position of authority Cultural * North American Indigenous elder, a person who has and ...

, by Bishop Richard Whatcoat. He was appointed a presiding elder at the age of 23, placed in charge of the state of Maine. He also served as a book agent for the M.E. Church. In 1820, he was elected bishop, but declined

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

because the General Conference had adopted a policy he could not approve. He did accept episcopal consecration upon being elected again in 1824. In the 1844 split of the M. E. Church, he sided with the

Soule University Soule University was a private Methodist university in Chappell Hill, a rural community in Washington County, Texas, United States. Chartered in 1856 and named after Bishop Joshua Soule, the school replaced the male department of Chappell ...

in Texas was named in his honor in 1856. At that time there was another Methodist institution of higher learning named for Joshua Soule, Soule College in

Murfreesboro, Tennessee Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropol ...

. At the age of 85 he was worn out with labor and travel. He died in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

in 1867; his body was buried at the old

Nashville City Cemetery Nashville City Cemetery is the oldest public cemetery in Nashville, Tennessee. Many of Nashville's prominent historical figures are buried there. It includes the tombs of 22,000 people, 6,000 of whom were African Americans. Overview Nashville ...

. In 1876 it was reinterred on the campus of

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

."Sacred Dust: Reinterment of Bishops McKendree and Soule at Vanderbilt University". Daily American 4 October 1876
/ref>

Selected writings

*is said by Bishop DuBose (''Life of Bishop Joshua Soule'') to have been ''"the man who at the age of 27 wrote the Constitution of Methodism."'' *is said by Bishop Simpson (''Cyclopedia of Methodism'') to have been the ''"author of the plan for a delegated General Conference."'' *''Sketch of William Beauchamp'' in Beauchamp's Letters on Itinerancy, published after his death. *''Sermon on Death of McKendree,'' delivered at General Conference, brochure, 30 pp., 1836. *''Christ the Author of Salvation,'' Akers, T.P., Sermons for the College, 1851. *Sermon: ''Infant Baptism,'' The Southern Methodist Pulpit, Vol. II, C.F. Deems, Editor, 1849-52. *''Object and Nature of Religious Worship.'' Discourse at Dedication of John St. Church, N.Y.C., 4 January 1818, published 1857. *Sermon: ''"The Perfect Law of Liberty,"'' Methodist Pulpit, South, W.T.Smithson, Editor, 1859. *Sermon in Sermons for the Home Circle, T.P. Akers, Editor, 1859. *''Religious Experience and Happy Death of Miss Eliza Higgins,'' 40 pp., n.d.

Biographies

*Stevens, A., Memorials of Methodism, 1848. *''Sketch'' by L.M.L. in Deems, C.F., Southern Methodist Pulpit, 1849-52. *Wightman, W.M., ''Address in Appreciation of Bishop Soule,'' written manuscript, 1867, in the Methodist Bishops' Collection. *Sketch by Tefft, B.F., in Flood and Hamilton, Lives of Methodist Bishops, 1882. *Memorial Sermon, funeral of Joshua Soule, 1867, in McTyeire, H.N., Passing Through the Gates and Other Sermons, 1889. *Denny, Collins, ''Joshua Soule, Sketch of Life,'' in Armstrong, J.E., Old Baltimore Conference, 1907.
Dubose, H.M., Life of Joshua Soule, 1911.
*Garber, P.N., ''Young Man from Maine,'' Epworth Highroad, May 1940.

References

* Leete, Frederick DeLand, Methodist Bishops. Nashville, The Methodist Publishing House, 1948. *Short, Roy Hunter, Chosen to be Consecrated: The Bishops of The Methodist Church, 1784-1968, Lake Junaluska, N.C., General Commission on Archives and History of the United Methodist Church, 1976.

External links