Biography.guide
Home › People › Writer › Henry Cowles
Portrait of Henry Cowles

Henry Cowles

1803 – 1881

American theological scholar 1803-1881

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Henry Cowles

Lived 1803 – 1881 (aged 78). Henry Cowles was an American writer and theologian.

Henry Cowles (April 24, 1803 – September 7, 1881) was an American theological scholar and abolitionist.

Personal life Cowles, son of Olive Phelps and Samuel Cowles, was born in Norfolk, Conn., April 24, 1803.

He was married, July 30, 1830, to Alice Welch, daughter of Benjamin Welch, M.D., of Norfolk, Connecticut, who died October 14, 1843. They had three sons and three daughters, of whom one son (John Guiteau Welch Cowles) and one daughter (Sarah Florella Cowles) survived him. In March 1844, he married Minerva Dayton. She was the daughter of William Dayton, of Watertown, and widow of Anson Penfield, of Oberlin, who died November 29, 1880. He became the stepfather of Josephine Penfield Cushman Bateham, social reformer, editor, and writer.

Of September 7, 1881, at the age of 78, Cowles died of ataxia while at his daughter Sarah's home in Janesville, Wisconsin.

Education Cowles graduated from Yale College in 1826.

Cowles went to Ohio in 1929, and after laboring about two years in Ashtabula and Sandusky, took charge of the Congregational Church in Austinburg, where he remained until the fall of 1835, when he became Professor of Latin and Greek in Oberlin College. Holiness Of Christians In The Present Life (1841) Gospel Manna for Christian Pilgrims (1847) Ezekiel and Daniel with Notes (1867) The Minor Prophets with Notes (1867) The Minor Prophets with Notes (1867) Isaiah with Notes (1868) The Psalms with Notes (1872) The Pentateuch (1874) Excursus On The Atonement

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

Birth century
Occupation
Nationality
Education
Yale College, Yale Divinity School
Employers
Oberlin College

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Henry Cowles's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Henry Cowles?

American theological scholar 1803-1881

When was Henry Cowles born?

Henry Cowles was born on 24 April 1803 in Norfolk, Connecticut.

When did Henry Cowles die?

Henry Cowles died on 7 September 1881.

What was Henry Cowles's occupation?

Henry Cowles was a writer and theologian.

What nationality was Henry Cowles?

Henry Cowles was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Henry Cowles

· Wikidata: Q20880579

· DBpedia: Henry Cowles (theologian)

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Henry Cowles. https://biography.guide/henry-cowles/

MLA: "Henry Cowles." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/henry-cowles/.

Chicago: "Henry Cowles." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/henry-cowles/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Page generated 2026-09-27 04:59 UTC