Born: December 5, 1847, Colebrook, Connecticut.
Died: January 21, 1924, Connecticut.
Buried: Walnut Grove Cemetery, Meriden, Connecticut.
Joel was the son of Alfred Eaton Ives and husband of Emma Sarah Butler.
He graduated from Yale University, and after becoming a Congregational minister, he served pastorates in Stratford and East Hampton, Connecticut.
He was also was secretary of the Connecticut state association of Congregational churches. In July 1892, he was hanged in effigy in Stratford by people opposed to his support of the blue laws
that mandated Sunday business closures.