Charles Henry Fowler
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the Methodist Episcopal Church
Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church, sometimes referred to as the M.E. Church, was a development of the first expression of Methodism in the United States. It officially began at the Baltimore Christmas Conference in 1784, with Francis Asbury and Thomas Coke as the first bishops. Through a series of...
, elected in 1884.
Birth and Family
Charles was born in BurfordBurford, Ontario
Burford is a rural community and is part of the County of Brant, in central southwestern Ontario. It has 1,940 residents . It is located eight kilometers west of the City of Brantford along Highway 53, and seventy kilometers east of London, Ontario...
Ontario, Canada. At the age of four he was taken to Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, U.S.A.
Education
Charles spent some time at the Rock RiverMount Morris College
Mount Morris College was a religious college affiliated with the Church of the Brethren in Mount Morris, Illinois. The original institution at this location was Rock River Seminary, which was founded by the Methodist Church in 1839. The Methodists closed Rock River Seminary in 1878 and subsequently...
Seminary in Illinois. Then he entered the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary
Genesee Wesleyan Seminary
The Genesee Wesleyan Seminary was the name of two institutions located on the same site in Lima, New York.The Genesee Wesleyan Seminary was founded in 1831 by the Genesee Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The plan for its establishment dates to 1829 when the Conference...
at Lima
Lima, New York
Lima, New York refers to two locations south of the City of Rochester, New York in Livingston County, New York:*Lima , New York*Lima , New YorkNote that the names of both places are pronounced like the bean, not like the capital of Peru....
, Livingston County, New York
Livingston County, New York
As of the census of 2000, there were 64,328 people, 22,150 households, and 15,349 families residing in the county. The population density was 102 people per square mile . There were 24,023 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile...
(which became Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
), graduating in 1859. He received the honors
Honors student
An honors student is a person recognized for achieving high grades or high marks in their course work.Honors students may refer to# Students recognized for their academic achievement on lists published periodically throughout the school year, known as honor rolls, varying from school to school, and...
of his class.
His original plan to enter law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
changed when he was converted to Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
. Instead, he entered Garrett Biblical Institute, Evanston, Illinois
Evanston, Illinois
Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...
, from which he graduated in 1861.
Ordained Ministry
The Rev. Fowler joined the Rock River Annual ConferenceAnnual Conference
An Annual Conference in the United Methodist Church is a regional body that governs much of the life of the "Connectional Church." Annual conferences are composed primarily of the clergy members and a lay member or members from each charge . Each conference is a geographical division...
in 1861. He served in the pastorate for twelve years, all in the city of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. He collected $40,000 in Eastern cities for the relief of Chicago's churches following the Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying about in Chicago, Illinois. Though the fire was one of the largest U.S...
.
In 1872 the Rev. Dr. Fowler became the President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in Evanston, having declined this same position in 1861. Four years later he was made Editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
of the Christian Advocate based in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, an important Methodist periodical of that day. In 1880 he was elected Missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
Secretary of his denomination.
Episcopal Ministry
In 1884 he was elected to the Episcopacy by the General Conference of the M.E. Church. During a large part of his episcopal service his residence was in San Francisco.Founding the College of Puget Sound
Dr. Fowler was also the main founder of the College of Puget Sound (now the University of Puget SoundUniversity of Puget Sound
The University of Puget Sound is a private liberal arts college located in the North End of Tacoma, Washington, in the United States...
). He came up with the idea while in Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
for a Methodist conference.