Benjamin Copeland

Born in Clarendon, New York, on June 14, 1855, Benjamin Copeland became a Methodist Episcopal minister and spent decades serving churches across western New York. Reliable biographical sources describe a long ministry of about 42 years, during which he served 22 churches and helped found several new congregations, especially in Buffalo.

Alongside his ministry, he wrote poetry marked by religious feeling, pastoral imagery, and meditative scenes from the natural world. His known books include Poems: Pastoral and Psalm and Niagara, and Other Poems, works that show how closely he linked spiritual thought with landscape and everyday life.

Copeland died in Buffalo, New York, on December 1, 1940. He is remembered as both a clergyman and a poet whose writing offers a gentle, thoughtful window into devotional and regional verse from his era.