Henry N. Couden

Former House Chaplains James Shera Montgomery and Henry N. Couden Henry Noble Couden (November 21, 1842 – August 22, 1922) was a Universalist minister who was the 54th Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives from December 2, 1895, to February 21, 1921. He was the second blind religious leader to serve in this position, the other is William Henry Milburn.

Birth He was born on November 21, 1842, in Plymouth, Indiana, the nephew of Noah Noble, governor of Indiana.

Civil War Days after the outbreak of the American Civil War, on 16 April 1861, He was also a corporal in Company D, 1st Cavalry Battalion, Mississippi Marine Brigade. He was wounded at the Battle of Beaver Dam Lake on May 24, 1863, losing his sight. author of History of the Ram Fleet and Mississippi Marine Brigade.

Education and ordination He studied at the State School for the Blind in Columbus, Ohio, and the Divinity School of St. Lawrence University. He graduated from St. Lawrence in 1878

Career

Universalist minister After his ordination, he served churches in Madrid, New York; Willoughby, Ohio; Chatham, Massachusetts; and Port Huron, Michigan.

Other service He was a member of the board of directors of the Aid Association for the Blind of the District of Columbia. He served in post and departmental chaplaincies for the Grand Army of the Republic

Death He died on August 22, 1922, at his residence at Fort Myer, Virginia, of bronchial pneumonia, after a nine-month illness. along with his second wife, Harriet Dunbar Couden, and one of his two sons, Henry N. Couden Jr.