Alfred Edmeads Cowley (1849–1916) was a

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British Anglican mission society working with Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

to ''Sindh Mission'' or ''Karachi Mission'' – then-part of

Western India Western India is a loosely defined region of India consisting of western states of India, Republic of India. The Ministry of Home Affairs (India), Ministry of Home Affairs in its Western Zonal Council Administrative divisions of India, Adminis ...

before the

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

in 1947.

Biography

Cowley was born in 1849 at Fairford,

Rupert's Land Rupert's Land (), or Prince Rupert's Land (), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin. The right to "sole trade and commerce" over Rupert's Land was granted to Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), based a ...

—then part of

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...

, and now part of

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, Canada. Having been

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

on 25 February 1872, he was sent as a

(CMS) missionary to

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

, chief station of ''Sindh Mission'' in 1872, where he served till 1876 – ''Sindh Mission'' was begun in 1850 as a mission to

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

s after the

Sindh Province Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind or Scinde) is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest provin ...

was annexed by

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

in 1843 – In 1852, a school was started on own expense by Colonel Preedy, the first magistrate of Karachi; later, that school came as a gift to CMS in running the school after his transfer –

James Sheldon Leonard James Schleifer, also known as James Sheldon (November 12, 1920 – March 12, 2016), was an American television director. Sheldon directed for television programs including ''The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series), The Twilight Zone'', ''Th ...

was the first CMS missionary to ''Sindh Mission'' in 1854. On account of ill health, he returned to England on 14 February 1876, but was later transferred to North-West America to assist his aged-father. Between 1876 and 1881, he was an incumbent for St. Clement's Church, Mapleton – St. Clement's Church became independent of the CMS in 1879. In 1879, he married Hart Davies, principal of Principal of the Ladies' College in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Manitoba. In spite of receiving an offer to return to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in 1880, but could not be carried into effect. He was made an

Honorary Canon Canon () is a Christian title usually used to refer to a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, in one of the houses within the precinct of ...

in 1910 after serving in positions like rector of St. James,

Winnipeg—Assiniboine Winnipeg—Assiniboine was a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1988. This riding was created in 1976 from parts of Portage, Winnipeg South and Winnipeg South Ce ...

, and later at Headingly between 1884 and 1911 – served as assistant secretary of CMS from 1881 to 1887 and CMS's co-secretary from 1887 to 1889 – served as rural

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

Selkirk, Manitoba Selkirk is a city in the western Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba, located on the Red River of the North, Red River about northeast of Winnipeg, the provincial capital. It has a population of 10,504 as of the 20 ...

, from 1888 until 1911.

References

External links

The history of the Church missionary society, its environment, its men and its work

THE CHURCH MISSIONARY INTELLIGENCER AND RECORD
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowley, A. E. 1849 births 1916 deaths Canadian Anglican missionaries Anglican missionaries in India People from Rupert's Land