Francis Harold Rowley (25 July 1854 – 14 February 1952) was an American

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

minister,

animal welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...

campaigner and

hymn writer A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who composed many of ...

Biography

Rowley was born in

Hilton, New York Hilton is a village in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 5,886 at the 2010 census. The community was named for the Rev. Charles A. Hilton. The Village of Hilton is within the Town of Parma. History In 1805, Jonathon ...

on 25 July 1854.''The National Cyclopædia of American Biography, Volume 43''
(1961). New York: James T. White & Company. pp. 206-207 In 1875, Rowley graduated B.A. at the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

and B.D. at

Rochester Theological Seminary Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School is a Baptist seminary in Rochester, New York It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. History 1820s-1960: Early history Four Baptist institutions merged over the course of the 19th and 20t ...

in 1878. He was ordained into the Baptist ministry in 1879. He was a pastorate at Baptist churches in

Titusville, Pennsylvania Titusville is a city in the far eastern corner of Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,601 at the 2010 census and an estimated 5,158 in 2019. Titusville is known as the birthplace of the American oil industry and for ...

during 1879–1884. Rowley was the pastor of the First Baptist Church of North Adams, Massachusetts during 1884–1892. In

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

he served the First Baptist Church until 1910. Rowley was a trustee of the

University of Chicago Divinity School The University of Chicago Divinity School is a private graduate institution at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries. Formed under Baptist auspices, the school today lacks any s ...

, 1894–1896. He preached at

Appleton Chapel The Memorial Church of Harvard University is a building on the campus of Harvard University. It is an inter-denominational Protestantism, Protestant church. History Predecessors The first distinct building for worship at Harvard University was H ...

of Harvard University. Rowley was a hymn writer best known for authoring the popular hymn ''I Will Sing the Wondrous Story''. It was composed by Rowley's associate Peter P. Bilhorn and was presented to

Ira D. Sankey Ira David Sankey (August 28, 1840 – August 13, 1908) was an American gospel singer and composer, known for his long association with Dwight L. Moody in a series of religious revival campaigns in America and Britain during the closing decades o ...

as a gift.Osbeck, Kenneth W. (2012)
''101 Hymn Stories''
Kregel Publications. pp. 33-34. Sankey was impressed with the song and published it in ''Gospel Hymns and Sacred Songs and Solos'', in 1887. He married Isa Amelia on June 11, 1878, they had four children. An honorary

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

was given to him by the University of Rochester in 1895. In 1947, the Rowley School of Human Understanding at Oglethorpe University was established in his honour. Rowley died in Boston, in 1952.

Animal welfare

Rowley took interest in animal welfare and the humane movement. From 1892 to 1900, he was Secretary of the American Humane Association and succeeded George T. Angell as President of the

Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell Animal Medical Center (MSPCA-Angell) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with its main headquarters on South Huntington Avenue in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Bos ...

in 1910. Rowley used photographic evidence to reveal the poor conditions and violence towards animals found in

slaughterhouse A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

s.Cronin, J. Keri. (2018). ''Art for Animals: Visual Culture and Animal Advocacy, 1870–1914''. Pennsylvania State University Press. pp. 92-93. Most people give little thought to the subject because they do not directly encounter the activities of the slaughterhouse on a daily basis. Rowley aimed to remind people of violence toward animals that was occurring in the slaughterhouse and how people's

consumer choice The theory of consumer choice is the branch of microeconomics that relates preferences to consumption expenditures and to consumer demand curves. It analyzes how consumers maximize the desirability of their consumption as measured by their pref ...

s were part of a cycle of cruelty, although not always visible. In 1914, one of the photographs Rowley circulated was titled "For the Sake of a Veal Cutlet". It shows a young calf being slaughtered by two men. The calf is suspended from hooks attached to the slaughterhouse ceiling. The calf can be seen kicking and fighting for his life as a worker slices the calf's fur, skin and muscles, whilst blood pours to the floor. Rowley acknowledged

vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism may ...

as an ethical idea but was not personally a vegetarian.Finsen, Lawrence. (1994). ''The Animal Rights Movement in America: From Compassion to Respect''. Twayne Publishers. p. 52. Helstosky, Carol. (2015). ''The Routledge History of Food''. Routledge. pp. 190-191. He admitted that "the less meat eaten the less the demand that creates the whole traffic in food animals fraught with its many cruelties." Rowley's goal to prevent cruelty was the requirement by law that every animal killed for food would be rendered unconscious first before the knife was inserted. In 1915, through Rowley's influence, a building was made to house the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Angell Memorial Animal Hospital. He was President of the American Humane Education Society. Rowley was President of both societies until his retirement in 1945. He was responsible for the passage of legislation toward slaughterhouse humane education and reform in Massachusetts. Rowley was Chairman of the Animal Protection Committee for the Massachusetts Committee on Public Safety and vice-president of the American Society for the Humane Regulation of Vivisection. In 1948, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals named the Rowley Memorial Hospital in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

for him in 1948.

Selected publications

''Human Vivisection: A Statement and An Inquiry''
(with John G. Shortall, 1900)
''A Christmas Conference''
(1910)
''The Humane Idea: A Brief History of Man's Attitude Toward the Other Animals''
(1912)
''Slaughter-House Reform in the United States and the Opposing Forces''
(1913)
''Slaughter House Reform''
(1914)
''The Gnat and the Camel''
(1920)
''The Teacher's Helper in Humane Education''
(1920) *''The Horses of Homer'' (1930) *''An International Appeal'' (1935)

Gallery

For the Sake of a Veal Cutlet.png, ''For the Sake of a Veal Cutlet'', published by Rowley in 1914 Francis H. Rowley and others, 1918.png, Francis H. Rowley and others, 1918 Francis H. Rowley 1920.png, Newspaper article, 1920

Biography

Animal welfare

Selected publications

Gallery

References

Further reading