My first source of information about Joel H. Metcalf was through the Taunton Public Library who informed me of a Dr. Richard Tattersall (Mathematics and Computer Science, Providence Callege, Providence, Rhode Island) who sought out information about Mr. Metcalf some time before. The packet of information provided by Dr. Tattersall was basicly in outline form with no substantual data.  However, being a comet hunter and observer and,
Comet P/Brorsen-Metcalf (23P/Brorsen-Metcalf) being the first comet I had observed, the data provided by
Dr. Tattersall was enough to stimulate my desire to learn more about the active life of "the Reverend".   The Old Colony Historical Society was my second source for information.  The articels below were from "Old Colony" and are copied as you see them.
    I question whether they are all from the TAUNTON GAZETTEbecause there were no dates or identification of any kind.  It is possible that the articles came from an old Boston, Massachusetts or Providence,
Rhode Island newspaper.
    While living in Taunton, Mass., he wrote three articles for POPULAR ASTRONOMY magazine, one in 1906 (which the third newspaper article below contains many similaritys to) another in 1907 and a third in 1908, which contains a note about the 1907 article.  This issue also containe two photographs taken by Joel H. Metcalf of
Comet Morehouse on October 14th and 15th.
 
 

(Old Colony Historical Society.)

    "The most expert amateur astronomer in the country"   This is the tribute paid by Professor Pickering of Harvard College to a young Bay State Minster.  With a telescope which he himself invented and built, the Rev. Joel H. Metcalf of Taunton, a young Unitarian clergyman, has recently startled the scientific world by photographs he made of Phebe, one of the satellites of the planet Saturn, breaking all records for astronomical camera work.  The smallest telescope to reflect the image of the ninth satellite has been until now the huge 24-inch instrument at the Harvard Observatory at Arequipa, Peru, but the Rev. Mr. Metcalf with a 12-inch glass of his own make and
a little observatory erected in  his backyard, has accomplished the feat which has for years been regarded by scientists as impassable.

WORK OF WEEKS

    Far from being an accident, the photographs which have now made the Rev. Mr. Metcalf world famous were the result of weeks of constant work.  Endless calculations were made and every aspect of the elusive satellite carefully considered, so that when success came there was no room left for doubt that in the person of Joel H. Metcalf one of the countries greatest astronomers was discovered.  While one of the most interesting of the planets for years the existence of a ninth satellite in the Saturn group was unknown.  Eight of them have been observed and photographed repeatedly.  Their names and positions in the sky were known to astronomers the world over, but it was not until the announcement 11 years ago by Professor Pickering of Harvard that it became known that there was another member of the Saturn group.
    As one of the staff of the Harvard Observatory in Peru Professor Pickering was making observations in South America.  Photographs have been frequently made of the Saturn group, but the ninth member of the Saturn family escaped notice until, upon the developing of a plate made on the night of Aug. 16, 1898, there was a suggestion  of a strange object on the plate.  Thinking that the stranger on the film was the result of some imperfection in the exposure, Professor Pickering took a second photograph the next evening .  Again the same microscopic object appeared.  A third exposure brought about the same result, with the consequent announcement of the discovery of a new satellite.  This discovery was not verified, however, till the next year, when other photographs established beyond a doubt the existence of the far-off planet.

AN ASTRONOMER SINCE BOYHOOD

    Professor Pickering's discovery was made with a large 24-inch Bruce telescope.  Next Professor Barnard of Yerkes Observatory, Chicago, succeeded in photographing the satellite with a 20-inch instrument and astronomers at the Greenwich Observatory caught its image on a 80-inch glass.  It has remained however for Taunton's resident astronomer to construct a 12-inch lens with sufficient power to reflect the image of far-off Phoebe.  The young minister who has amazed the world with his feat is a born astronomer.
    When but 14 years old he built a telescope and ground out a lens with which he was able to observe with success all the principal heavenly bodies.  This was a small two inch lens.  His next attempt was a three-inch lens and he later made one of three and a half inches which he subsequently sold toHarvard Collage.  He followed up these two with a seven-inch visual instrument.
    During his work in high school and collage he kept up his astronomical studies.  When he entered the ministry all his spear time was given up to his work with his lenses, and later when his first pastorate in Burlington, Vt., he continued the work.  It was not until the completion of his 12-inch telescope however, that he began to get the results which have amazed scientists all over the world.
    The observatory from where this remarkable star-gazer does his work is a small building in the yard, back of the parsonage.  It is a miniature affair about as large as a small portable garage, and is set out on a cement base.  The roof is cut in two sections, which slide apart when the nose of the telescope is elevated towards the sky during use.  Aside from his ability as a scientific observer, the most remarkable feats preformed by the Rev. Mr. Metcalf are in the making of his lenses.  So small are the objects which he photographs that it is only once in a great while that any of them can be seen even with the aid of a powerful telescope.  His success therefore depends wholly on the accuracy and power of his lenses. Those lenses, which rival in workmanship any turned out by the greatest telescope makers of the world are made are ground in the cellar of his house.  There, with a little bench and a tripod on which he fixes the glass, on which he works, he grinds out his delicate reflectors (*1) and magnifiers, which are able to catch the finest rays of light.  Grinding them down with powder and a glass makes these lenses pastel.  Later when they take the required shape they are polished with rouge and a cloth until they take on a necessary brilliancy.  Then they are mounted in the telescope and tried out for the purpose of detecting any small imperfections.
    The 12-inch lens with which the Rev. Mr. Metcalf succeeded in getting his photograph of Pheobe is the result of several years work.  It is said to be the finest one of it's size in the world.  The quality of his workmanship is attested by the fact that within the last five years he has discovered over 100 asteroids and he shares with Max Wolff of Heidelberg University the distinction of being the foremost living authority on this subject.  Such is the importance with which his work is regarded by Harvard Universitythat he has been furnished with an assistant, who has the care of the little observatory back of the parsonage on Summer Street, in Taunton.

A BRILLIANT SPEAKER

    The Rev. Mr. Metcalf is one of the most successful pastors in Taunton.  However, important the researches which he may be conducting, they are never allowed to interfere with his labors in his parish.  He is a brilliant speaker and has a genius for managing the finances of his church.  He is married and the farther of a family.
    The Rev. Mr. Metcalf is pronounced by Professor Pickering of the Harvard observatory to be the greatest amateur astronomer on the continent.  Some of his photographs of comets are declared to out out class those of the great observatories.  Mr. Metcalf, however, says that he is a minister and not anastronomer, and that it his church work that always comes first.
    The Rev. Mr. Metcalf lives 54 Summer, Taunton, and the observatory is only a few hundred yards from the church.  Seen from a distance the spire of the church and the point of the telescope in the Metcalf's back yard are the two most prominent objects on the street.  It is predicted that the observatory will soon be remodeled and one several sizes larger will be built to meet the requirements of the work Mr. Metcalf is doing.

 (Old Colony Historical Society)

    Recognized by the Astronomical Society of Mexico as one of the foremost astronomer in the world, the Rev. Joel H. Metcalf of Taunton is unable to find time from his ministerial duties to journey to Mexico but will instead by proxy, receive the coveted "Felipe Rivera" prize that has just been awarded him because of his discoveries among the stars.
Mr. Metcalf has instructed United States minister Wilson accept the prize in his name.  Although Mr. Metcalf is inclined to avoid the publicity and the ovation that comes with this award, even though he has devoted his spear time since he was a boy of 14 to studding the Heavens.

A MINISTSER FIRST

    Known among astronomers the world over as the most patient and successful of the students of the most fascinatingly indistinct planetoids, Mr. Metcalf feels that he should remind an interviewer that he is a minister first and an astronomer only in his spear time.
    Although he has maintained a private observatory near his home ever since he went to Taunton in 1904 to take charge of the First Unitarian Church here, Mr. Metcalf has given little or no mind of his time to the examination of the of the planets or to the discovery of new planetary detail.
Instead he follows the photographic method and has established it's superiority over the visual method especially in fixing faint points of light or luminous haze, such as the planetoids.  Of these he has discovered 85 and although he has named only a few of them he has placed the name of Taunton in the skies by calling one of the planetoids "Tauntonia".
    The notification from the astro-.....................
".................am a working minister and not an astronomer, since my astronomical observations have been simply done as a recreation.  The less said about my astronomical work the better for at most I am an amateur."
    "As for my method of observation, the photographic method, the chief point of excellence is to be found first in the remarkable images that one in practice obtains for most of the asteroids come out astonishingly round and clear cut.  It gives the ability to photograph very faint asteroids with a comparatively small lens.
    "Also it give an image compatible  of more accurate measurements.  The gain over the old method in an hour's exposure must certainly be at least three magnitudes."
 
 

Thirty one of his 41 asteroids were discovered from Taunton, Massachusetts, the other 8 were discovered from
Winchester, Massachusetts.  Only one comet P/Metcalf, 1906 VI (97P/Metcalf-Brewington) was discovered from Taunton, on November 15th, 1906.  His other comets were discovered from South Hero, Vermont.

(Old Colony Historical Society)
Judging from the mention of a comet being discovered, using the 12 inch doublet,I must assume that this article dates from just after his first comet discovery, mentioned above, from Taunton, Mass.

    Ministerial duties do not prevent Rev. Joel H. Metcalf of Taunton, pastor of the First Congregational church (Unitarian) from pursuing astronomical investigations.  His study of the stars has resulted in the discovery of a new comet, which is now being closely observed by astronomers throughout the world.  It has been named "Metcalf's comet" and Harvard observatory is constantly receiving telegrams from other great observatories containing data disclosed to other observers in their study of the body.
Mr. Metcalf has an observatory in the yard attached to his Taunton residence, which he built himself; likewise a telescope which he made himself.
He has developed a new method of discovering asteroids.  It was by this method that the plate was taken in the development of which the new comet was apparent.
    Mr. Metcalf was born in 1866, at Meadville, Penn.  And was graduated from Allegheny collage and Meadville theological school.  He received his degrees of Ph.D. from there in 1901.  He is also a graduate from Harvard divinity school.  He first became interested in astronomy when he was a boy of 14 reading Richard Proctor's books.
    Until the discovery of the comet in November his parishioners had viewed the observatory and telescope with not much more interest than a portable garage, believing that his study of the heavens was mearly a fad of no greater importance than some of their own fads, like amateur photography or collecting coins.  But the announcement through Harvard observatory of his discovery awoke them to the fact that he was an astronomer of rank and that his work was rapidly taking prominent place in astronomical records.
    The little backyard observatory, 12x12, has become in a since an adjunct to the Harvard department of astronomy, since the university pays for an assistant to make use of Mr. Metcalf's methods and instruments, exposing the plates which Mr. Metcalf then develops.  The plates obtained go to Harvard and are there made part of the department collection.
    The discovery of a comet however, was an unexpected phase of his regular line of study.  For the past year he has devoted himself, during the time he gives to astronomical work to the discovery of asteroids and he is one of the two astronomers in the world today who are working in this line with conspicuous success., the other being Henry Doktor(*?) or Max Wolf of Heidelberg.  During the past year Mr. Metcalf has discovered 19 asteroids of which 17 were new, the other two being rediscoveries of asteroids that have been lost.
    In addition his work is notable for two things.  His largest instrument a 12-inch photo lens, he made himself, and the method he uses for photographing asteroids is one of his own devising, which permits successful work with much smaller instruments than those required by the old methods.  His skill as a lens grinder is the result of necessity, dating back to his early studies, when he first began experimenting and had to learn by bitter experience.  For the largest one he has ever made, the 12-inch lens he now uses, tested disks were imported from Paris and the curves computed by Prof. F. R. Moulton of Chicago.
    His observatory is of very simple construction.  It is of the sliding-roof pattern, costing with the concrete base, only $100.  It is made in two parts, one half a little larger than the other, so one slides over the other about six inches when the roof is closed.  Grooves run up and down at the joint of the lower section to prevent water working in.  The sections of the roof are each mounted on four wheels, which run on an iron track fastened to the long beams, which are twice the length of the house.  The roof is opened by pulling two ropes fastened in the middle of the cross-pieces of the projections.
    He has also made a measuring machine for astronomical photographs.  It holds a larger plate than the Oxford and Greenwich machines, and differs slightly in the lens and micrometer scale.  He bought a Troughton Simms micrometer scale and a Teiss Planular doublet for microscopic enlargement and a Teiss micrometer scale.  He had the rest of the work done in this country, thus saving more than half the cost of the complete outfit.
    In photographing asteroids Mr. Metcalf adopted the plan of moving the telescope and plate to follow the movements of the asteroids, so that a long exposure can be made and the fainter ones photographed by apparatus that under the ordinary circumstances would not serve.  In the plate thus secured the asteroid appears as a dot, while the stars are trails.  This principle has been utilized in the discovery of comets, but never for asteroids.  The old method consists of following the movements of the stars with the instruments, the stars appearing as dots and the asteroids as trails.
    About 85 minutes are required to secure a plate on which asteroids will show and during this time the instrument is adjusting every minute.  To make it easier he has arranged an alarm clock, which sound every minute.  He has the usual star clock and mechanism to make the telescope automatically follow the course of the stars.
    To avoid error Mr. Metcalf moves the plate a fraction of a degree every 35 minute exposure, so that everything is shown in duplicate, stars being represented by two trails each and asteroids by two points each.  This makes it impossible to be misled by any imperfection of the film, the distance between the two dots, if an asteroid being the same as that of the two trails representing the stars.
    It was while examining a plate for asteroids that Mr. Metcalf discovered the mark left by a comet, moving in a southwesterly direction, nearly south of the Pleiades and southwest of Orion.  A second photograph taken the following night confirmed the discovery.