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

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 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, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

(now

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

, Soule was the seventh child in a Norman- English family. He was the great-great-great-grandson of George Soule, who in 1620 arrived at

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth ( ; historically also spelled as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in and the county seat of Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklor ...

as a ''

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

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, eventually becoming a prominent

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

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. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the ship, inc ...

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 historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

, the adolescent Joshua Soule converted 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 Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...

Unitarianism Unitarianism () is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian sect of Christianity. Unitarian Christians affirm the wikt:unitary, unitary God in Christianity, nature of God as the singular and unique Creator deity, creator of the universe, believe that ...

and

Universalism Universalism is the philosophical and theological concept within Christianity that some ideas have universal application or applicability. A belief in one fundamental truth is another important tenet in universalism. The living truth is se ...

. Tall, dignified and able, Soule was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

, both

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and elder, 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 Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

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 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 Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 165,430 according to the 2023 census estimate, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010 United States census, 2010. Murfreesboro i ...

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

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

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 university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

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