Ira Barnes Dutton, more commonly known as Joseph, the name he took after recovering from alcoholism in his adult life, was born in Stowe, Vermont on April 27, 1843, and served in the Union Army during the Civil War. After his time as a Union lieutenant, he successfully worked many different types of jobs before he converted to Catholicism on his 40th birthday and, later in life, became a lay member of the Secular Franciscan Order, often being referred to as Brother Joseph.

Shortly after his conversion in 1886, Dutton decided to start a new life. He went to the Hawaiian island of Molokai and offered himself in service to Father Damien De Veuster, who would later become St. Damien of Molokai, aiding those living with leprosy in government-mandated medical quarantine in a settlement on the Kalaupapa Peninsula of Molokai. Upon meeting Father Damien for the first time Dutton said, “My name is Joseph Dutton; I’ve come to help, and I’ve come to stay.” He followed through with this promise and ended up serving this unique community for the remainder of his life.
He worked closely with Father Damien for two years before the priest’s death. In 1889, before Fr. Damien died, he said of Dutton, “I can die now. Brother Joseph will take care of my orphans.”
 
Through his written articles and letters detailing his life among those with leprosy on the island, Dutton was recognized and revered by many, including U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt. He was known to sign his letters with “Joyfully yours.” Throughout the rest of his life, he continued to manage the Baldwin Home for Orphan Boys and Elderly Men, tending to the needs of those who were quarantined there, and spent the pensions he had earned at his previous jobs to help those sick and dying in his care.

After 44 years of service in Hawaii, Dutton died of leprosy in Honolulu on March 26, 1931, and is quoted as saying, before his death, “It has been a happy place — a happy life.” In 2021 the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops affirmed their support for the advancement of his Cause of beatification and canonization on the diocesan level.