Joseph Clemens

Who was Joseph Clemens?

Joseph Clemens was an American Methodist Episcopalian chaplain, missionary and plant collector who served and worked in South East Asia and elsewhere. He was born in the rugged western English county of Cornwall. Later, his family migrated to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and then moved to Eichelsburg, Pennsylvania. His father was a Cornish iron miner, Charles Clemens, and his mother, Mary Jane James Clemens. Joe was the only one of five brothers who did not follow the family tradition and become a miner. He also had a sister.