Joseph Horsfall Johnson

Joseph Horsfall Johnson (June 7, 1847- May 16, 1928) was the first Bishop of Los Angeles in The Episcopal Church.[5][6]

The Right Reverend

Joseph Horsfall Johnson

D.D.
Bishop of Los Angeles
Bishop-elect Johnson in 1895
ChurchEpiscopal Church
DioceseLos Angeles
ElectedDecember 3, 1895
In office1896–1928
SuccessorW. Bertrand Stevens
Orders
OrdinationJune 29, 1873 (deacon)
May 29, 1874 (priest)
by Horatio Potter
ConsecrationFebruary 24, 1896[1]
by Thomas Frederick Davies
Personal details
BornJune 7, 1847[2]
DiedMay 16, 1928(1928-05-16) (aged 80)[4]
Pasadena, California, United States
BuriedSan Gabriel Cemetery, San Gabriel, California
NationalityAmerican
DenominationAnglicanism
ParentsStephen H. Johnson & Eleanor Horsfall
Spouse
Isabel Green Davis
(m. 1881)
ChildrenReginald Davis Johnson
Alma materWilliams College

Early life and education edit

Johnson was born on June 7, 1847 in Schenectady, New York, the son of Stephen Hotchkiss Johnson and Eleanor Horsfall. He studied at Williams College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1870. He then enrolled at the General Theological Seminary from where he graduated in 1873. He was awarded with a Doctor of Divinity from Nashotah House in 1895, and a Doctor of Sacred Theology from the General Theological Seminary in 1908.[7]

Ordained ministry edit

Johnson was ordained deacon on June 29, 1873 at the Church of the Transfiguration, and priest on May 29, 1874 in the chapel of the House of Mercy in New York City by Bishop Horatio Potter. He was in charge of Holy Trinity Church in Highland, New York from 1873 to 1879. He then became rector of Trinity Church in Bristol, Rhode Island between 1879 and 1881, and then of St Peter’s Church in The Bronx from 1881 until 1886. He then served as rector of Christ Church in Detroit between 1886 and 1896.

Episcopacy edit

On December 3, 1895 Johnson was elected as the first Bishop of Los Angeles and was consecrated on February 24, 1896 by Bishop Thomas Frederick Davies of Michigan. He founded The Bishop's School[8] in La Jolla, California[9] and served on the Pomona College board of trustees.[10] The Bishop Johnson College of Nursing at Good Samaritan Hospital was named for him.[11] He was the father of architect Reginald Davis Johnson.[12]

References edit

  1. ^ "PURPLE CASSOCK AND A ROCHET: Consecration of Dr. Johnson as First Bishop of Los Angeles". San Francisco Call. 79 (87). 25 February 1896.
  2. ^ Herringshaw's American Blue Book Of Biography. American Publishers' Association. 1915. p. 696.
  3. ^ McGroarty, John Steven (1921). Los Angeles from the Mountains to the Sea: With Selected Biography of Actors and Witnesses to the Period of Growth and Achievement, Volume 2. Los Angeles, California: American Historical Society. pp. 171–173.
  4. ^ "Bishop Johnson Called by Death in Pasadena". Los Angeles Times. May 17, 1928.
  5. ^ Stevens, William Bertrand (1936). A Bishop Beloved: Joseph Horsfall Johnson, 1847-1928. New York: Morehouse Publishing.
  6. ^ "To Confirm Bishop Williams: The Diocese of Western Michigan Votes Unanimously in His Favor" (PDF). The New York Times. 18 January 1896. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  7. ^ "Joseph Horsfall Johnson". The Bishops of the American Church, Past and Present: 375. 1897.
  8. ^ Engstrand, Iris Wilson (2005). San Diego: California's Cornerstone. San Diego, California: Sunbelt Publications. p. 126. ISBN 0932653723.
  9. ^ "BISHOP JOSEPH HORSFALL JOHNSON". HISTORY: FOUNDERS. The Bishop's School. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
  10. ^ "Bishop Joseph Horsfall Johnson". Pomona College Quarterly Magazine. VII (3) (published March 1919): 88–91. 1917. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  11. ^ "Bishop Johnson College of Nursing". Museum of Nursing History. Museum of Nursing History. 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-10-03. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  12. ^ Leitereg, Neal J. (February 26, 2015). "Reginald Johnson home in Pasadena has ties to Episcopal Church". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 October 2015.