Jane Helen Rowlands (Helen o Fôn; 3 April 1891 – February 1955) was a Welsh linguist, scholar and missionary. Educated at

Bangor University Bangor University () is a Public university, public Research university, research university in Bangor, Gwynedd, Wales. It was established by Royal charter, Royal Charter in 1885 as the University College of North Wales (UCNW; ), and in 1893 ...

Newnham College, Cambridge Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicen ...

, St Colm College,

Calcutta University The University of Calcutta, informally known as Calcutta University (), is a Public university, public State university (India), state university located in Kolkata, Calcutta (Kolkata), West Bengal, India. It has 151 affiliated undergraduate c ...

, and the Sorbonne, she served in India for the Foreign Mission of the Welsh

Calvinistic Methodist The Presbyterian Church of Wales (), also known as the Calvinistic Methodist Church (), is a denomination of Protestant Christianity based in Wales. The Calvinistic Methodist movement has its origins in the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival ...

Church. Rowlands is also known for establishing a residence for widows and orphaned children. Her two known written works include ''La femme bengalie dans la littérature du moyen-âge'' (1930), and the undated ''The quest : scenes from the life of Chandra Lela''.

Biography

Rowlands was born in

Menai Bridge Menai Bridge (; usually referred to colloquially as ''Y Borth'') is a town and community on the Isle of Anglesey in north-west Wales. It overlooks the Menai Strait and lies by the Menai Suspension Bridge, built in 1826 by Thomas Telford, j ...

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

in 1891. Her parents were Jabaz, a sea captain ( Marianglas, Llanallgo) and Martha ( Llanfair Mathafarn Eithaf). She had two siblings, brothers William and Thomas. In her early years, she was influenced by the Reverend Thomas Charles Williams, who ministered at her church. She was educated at

Beaumaris Beaumaris (; ) is a town and community (Wales), community on the Anglesey, Isle of Anglesey in Wales, of which it is the former county town. It is located at the eastern entrance to the Menai Strait, the tidal waterway separating Anglesey fro ...

Grammar School,

, and

. Rowlands taught French at Beaumaris and at Newtown County School. She became a missionary in June 1915 in the General Assembly held in London. She then gained special instruction at St Colm College, Edinburgh before sailing to India in 1916 on behalf of the Welsh

Church's Foreign Mission. Rowlands lived in

Sylhet Sylhet (; ) is a Metropolis, metropolitan city in the north eastern region of Bangladesh. It serves as the administrative center for both the Sylhet District and the Sylhet Division. The city is situated on the banks of the Surma River and, as o ...

for the next ten years. Here she taught at a school for girls and learned

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

. She moved to

Moulvibazar Moulvibazar (), is a town in north-eastern Bangladesh just south of Sylhet. It is the capital of Moulvibazar Sadar Upazila and Moulvibazar District, and is located on the banks of the Manu River, Tripura, Manu River. History In 1771, Moulvi S ...

in 1927, serving as headmistress and first principal, at

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...

's Language School. She was able to attend

from this location and earned a master's degree. She then earned the DLitt degree from the Sorbonne (1930). Returning to India, she worked at

Karimganj Karimganj, officially Sribhumi, is a town in the Karimganj district of the Indian States and territories of India, state of Assam. It is the administrative headquarters of the district. Karimganj town is located at . The area of Karimganj Tow ...

and established a residence for widows and orphaned children. Rowlands died in 1955.

Selected works

*(1930) ''La femme bengalie dans la littérature du moyen-âge'' *(n.d.) ''The quest : scenes from the life of Chandra Lela''

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Anglesey Archives - Jane Helen Rowlands (missionary) Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowlands, Jane Helen 1891 births 1955 deaths 20th-century Methodists 20th-century Welsh educators 20th-century Welsh writers 20th-century Welsh women writers 20th-century British women educators Welsh scholars and academics Welsh schoolteachers People from Anglesey Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Alumni of Bangor University University of Calcutta alumni University of Paris alumni Female Christian missionaries Methodist missionaries in India Welsh non-fiction writers Missionary linguists Welsh Methodists Calvinistic Methodists Welsh women academics