This finding aid is made available for public use following the Universal 1.0 Public Domain Dedication Creative Commons designation.
This collection is open for research.
Onsite storage.
Formerly part of the independent Missionary Research Library (MRL), these records were moved with the MRL to the Brown Memorial Tower of Union Theological Seminary in 1929, and accessioned by the Burke Library at the time of the MRL's closure in 1976.
George Bowen (April 30, 1816 - February 5, 1888) was a missionary born in Middlebury, Vermont. At sixteen, Bowen decided on a literary career combined with music. Bowen studied German, French, Italian, and Spanish and further mastered these languages by extensively travelling Europe from 1836-1840. The death of his fiancée began a drastic transformation in his life and resulted in Bowen offering himself to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) as a missionary.
From 1844-1847 Bowen studied at Union Theological Seminary in New York. He arrived in Bombay on January 19, 1848, where he lived until his death in 1888. After withdrawing from the ABCFM, Bowen earned his living by tutoring and was Associate Editor (1851-1854) then Editor (1854-1888) of the Bombay Guardian. Bowen was also editor of the Marathi publications of the Bombay Book and Tract Society and Secretary to the Religious Tracts Society.
In 1871 Bowen began associating himself with the work begun by travelling Methodist Evangelist William Taylor. As a result of this relationship, Bowen joined the Methodist Episcopal Church as a missionary staff member in 1873. He became a charter member of the South India Conference, and for three years was a presiding elder of the Bombay District. Twice, in the absence of the bishop, Bowen acted as the president of the Conference.
George Bowen's editorials in the Bombay Guardian were published as three volumes: Daily Meditations, The Amens of Christ, and Love Revealed in Scotland (Edinburgh) and the United States (Presbyterian Board of Publications, Philadelphia). They were widely regarded as influential devotional books.
Missionary Research Library Archives: MRL3, South Asia
Item description, MRL 3: George Bowen Papers, 1846-1862, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
The notebook was cataloged by Lynn A. Grove on 1988-07-18. Materials were tied with cotton string and wrapped in unbuffered tissue paper and placed in a new acid-free box. The finding aid was created by Debbie Liu in 2012 with the support of the Henry Luce Foundation, and edited by Leah Edelman in 2020.
MRL 12: American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions records, 1878-1958, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions Archives, 1810-1961 (ABC 1-91) Houghton Library, Harvard University.
This collection contains a bound notebook containing hand-written lectures, sermons, notes and comments written by George Bowen during his time at Union Theological Seminary and in Bombay. The notebook has 332 pages and is bound chronologically, from October 1, 1846 through March 16, 1862. A set of numbered lectures is available on pages 150-169.
Some material in this collection may be protected by copyright and other rights. Information concerning copyright, fair use, and reproduction requests can be consulted at Columbia's Copyright Advisory Office.
This collection is arranged in original order.