Rev. Dr. George Howells (1871-1955)

_{Rev. Dr. George Howells}

_1871-1955

_{Baptist Missionary Society, Missionary to
India, 1895-1929}

_{Educational Missionary to Cuttack, Orissa,
1895-1906}

_{Principal, Serampore College, 1906-1929}

_{Dr. George
Howells and His Wife, Beebe Mary Sophia Phillips}

_{Beebe Phillips's
Eminent Missionary Family}

_{Dr. Howells and
Serampore College}

_{Selected Postcards from
Dr. Howells's Correspondence}

_{Dr. George Howells and
His Wife, Beebe Mary Sophia Phillips}

_{Born in the Welsh village of Cwm on May 11,
1871, and educated in local south Wales schools,
George Howells went on to a distinguished missionary and academic career in
India. Winning a John Ward scholarship, Howells proceeded to
Regent's Park
College, University of London, where he earned
the B.A. After Regent's Park, he earned the B.D.,
St. Andrews University,
and the B.Litt. in Semitic Studies from Jesus College,
University of Oxford. While on furlough from missionary service in India,
Howells earned the M.A. at
Christ's College, University of Cambridge, and a Ph.D. from the
University of Tübingen.}

_{In 1895, the Baptist Missionary Society
accepted and designated Howells as an educational missionary to
Cuttack, Orissa,
India. In Cuttack, Howells taught in the Cuttack Theological
College in both the Native Christian Training Institution and the High School.}

_{While serving in Cuttack, Howells and Miss Beebe Mary Sophia Phillips married on
November 3, 1897, in Calcutta. Beebe Phillips was born on September 16,
1869, in
Midnapore, India, and she
attended Wellesley College in
Massachusetts, Oberlin College in Ohio, and the Kindergarten Training School,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before returning to India as a missionary in 1895.
In 1896, Beebe Phillips became the first Kindergarten missionary, and she opened
a Kindergarten School in

Balasore, India, 1896, while her mother, Mary Sayles Phillips, served as
President of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of India.}

_{George and Beebe Howells had three children: twins, Mary Gladys and Gerald
Sydney, born October 5, 1900, in Cuttack; and Edith Winifred, born April 15,
1909, in Battle Creek, Michigan. One month away from her seventh birthday,
Mary Gladys died in Serampore on September 7, 1907.}

_{Beebe Phillips's Eminent
Missionary Family}

_{Beebe came from an eminent American Baptist family of missionaries,
and was
the eldest daughter of
Dr. James Liddell
Phillips, a medical missionary in Orissa, India,
1865-1895. In his last five years of service, James Phillips
also served as Field Secretary for the India Sunday School Union.}

_{Dr. James Liddell Phillips's father, was
Dr.
Jeremiah Phillips who under the auspices of the Free Will Baptist Foreign
Mission Society of Maine had gone to India in 1836, and established the
Bengal-Orissa Baptist Mission for the Bengalis, Oriyas, and Santals.
Jeremiah Phillips served forty-four years in various villages of India (Sambalpur,

Cuttack,

Balasore, Jellasore, and

Midnapore), and
in his memory, the Union Baptist Church (a.k.a.,
Phillips Memorial Church) stands for him in
Kharagpur, India. Also, a
memorial church to his son Dr. James Liddell
Phillips (Beebe's father) stands in
Cranston, Rhode
Island.}

_{Dr.
Jeremiah Phillips was married to Mary Spaulding Beede (d. November 8, 1837,
27 years old, Sambalpur, India), Mary Anne Grimditch (d. August 16, 1840, 20
years old, Midnapore, India), and lastly to Hannah
W. Cummings (d. August 8, 1907, 89 years old, Balasore, India). All
three of his wives served as missionaries along with him. Dr. Jeremiah
Phillips died December 9, 1879, and was buried in
Oak
Grove Cemetery, Hillsdale, Michigan.}

_{Mary Beede
Phillips had a daughter, Fidelia Amy (b. and d. October 22 , 1837), with Jeremiah,
but Mary Beede Phillips died six weeks later on November 8, 1837.
Phillips's second wife Mary Anne Grimditch Phillips had twins (James
Liddell and John Howard, b. January 17, 1840)) with Jeremiah, but Mary Anne died
August 16, 1840, when the twins were
seven months old. Jeremiah's third wife,
Hannah Cummings
Phillips, had eleven children with Jeremiah,
and she took the responsibility for
raising Jeremiah's twin boys as well.
Hannah Cummings Phillips spent
sixty-seven years as a missionary in India, 1840 until her death in Balasore,
India, on August 8, 1907. During her sixty-seven years in India, she
enjoyed only two furloughs.}

_{From Jeremiah Phillips,
six of his children and three of his granddaughters became missionaries in
India. Over 375 years of combined Christian missionary service were given to India
by Jeremiah, his spouses, his children, grandchildren, and their spouses.}

_{Of special note, Beebe
Phillips Howells's paternal grandmother was Mary Anne Grimditch Phillips (second
wife of Dr. Jeremiah Phillips). Miss Grimditch was born near Cawnpore,
India, October 9, 1819, and she was baptized by
Rev. John Mack in Serampore,
January 1830. Miss Grimditch and Dr. Jeremiah Phillips were married in
Serampore, India, January 29, 1839, and the ceremony was conducted by Rev. Mack. Mack was the foster-father of
Miss Grimditch, a colleague of Drs. Carey, Marshman, and Rev. Ward, and
Principal of Serampore College, from 1837 until his death in 1845. Rev.
Mack first arrived in Serampore, 1821, as a Baptist Missionary Society
appointee.}

_{Beebe
Phillips Howells
(below, seated on right), her baby twins Gladys and Gerald, her step grandmother

Hannah Cummings Phillips, her aunt
Dr. Nellie Phillips, and her cousin Bertha Coffman (and son) sat for a
photograph ca. 1901.}

_{Dr. Howells and Serampore
College}

_{Howells moved to Serampore in 1906, and
remained there as Principal of Serampore College until 1929. Of historical
importance was Serampore College's
conferral of three Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.) degrees on December 4, 1915.
This was the first time in Indian history for the conferral of the B.D.
(theological degree), and the
students who received it were Rev. I. W. Johory, M.A., Professor in the
Canadian Mission College, Indore; the Rev. N. G. Kuriakos, priest of the
Orthodox Syrian Church; and Mr. D. N. Devasahayam, B.A., of the London
Missionary Society, South India.}

_{Through his long tenure and commitment to
Serampore College as the eighth Principal (2011
placard
list in Serampore College;
current full list of all Principals),
Howells
came to be known affectionately as
"the second founder of the College." In 1959, the
George Howells Building was opened on the
campus on Serampore College, which houses the Administrative Office, General
Office, Finance Office, the Department of Economics, the Department of Political
Science, the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) Office, the Board Room, and a Research Cell.}

_{Under Howells's
leadership, Serampore College achieved the status of granting College degrees,
and he resumed the conferral of theological degrees.
Also, the interdenominational character of the College became evident as Anglicans,
Baptists, Congregationalists, Disciples, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians,
Syrian Orthodox, and Welsh Calvinists either enrolled or served on the faculty.
After he returned to Great Britain, Howells
continued serving on the Serampore College Council until 1949 when he
successfully aided in the transition of the Council from London back to India.}

_{Esteemed by national Indians in higher
education, Howells also served on the Syndicate of Calcutta University.
For Howells's commitment to Serampore, the Senate of Serampore College granted
him the honorary Doctor of Divinity, and later,

the Indian government in 1969
honored Serampore College with a
national stamp and first day issue brochure.}

_{Howells wrote two important books.
First, The Soul of India: An Introduction to the Study of
Hinduism, in its Historical Setting and Development, and in its Internal and
Historical Relations to Christianity (London: James Clarke &
Co., and The Kingsgate Press, 1913) originally was a set of lectures that
Howells gave at Regent's Park College in 1909-1910. In The Soul
of India, Howells affirmed an orthodox understanding of Jesus Christ as the
divine Redeemer for all people from their sin, but he also argued that Jesus was the
perfection and fulfillment of Hindu ideology and devotion.}

_{Second, Howells was the main

contributor assisted by A. C. Underwood to
The Story of Serampore and Its College
(1918; 1927 2nd ed.).
One particular copy of the book,
signed by Dr.
Howells, was a gift to
David Lloyd George
(1863-1945), the

British Prime Minister, 1916-1922.}

_{After retirement from Serampore College,
Howells moved back to Wales. In 1934 after Howells had been in Great
Britain for five years, he published an insightful article that summarized his
understanding of the practice of the Christian faith: "Christian
Problems: Settled; and Awaiting Further Exploration," Baptist Quarterly
7/3 (July 1934):106-122. Howells died in 1955 in Castleton, Wales.}

_{Selected Postcards from Dr. Howells's Correspondence}

_{ca. 1900-1920}

_{Containing over seventy
postcards, the selections from Dr. George Howells's collection provide some insight into his life, travel, and family relations.
The postcards also reveal various details of Howells's pain from being separated
from his family. The postcards to his youngest daughter Winifred reveal a
caring, yet lonely, father.}

_{Most of the postcards in
the collection are undated, but various context clues provide a 1900-1920
window. In addition, some postcards reveal a different handwriting, which
likely indicates that on occasion Dr. Howells used a secretary to draft his
correspondence.}

_{Serampore
Postcards, ca. 1900-1920}

_{Calcutta Postcards, ca.
1900-1920}

_{Local Indian Scenes, Postcards, ca.
1900-1920}

_{Japan Postcards, ca.
1900-1920}

_{England and
Germany Postcards}

_{Serampore
Postcards, ca. 1900-1920}

_{●
John Nagar Chapel, Serampore}

_{Miss
Winifred Howells 16
Breakspears Road Brockley London S 5}

_{The picture is a chapel with a
thatched roof. It was built long ago by a man named John, and so
this place is called John - Nagar or John's town. The man's full name was John Clark Marshman, the son of Dr Marshman a famous
missionary. How would you like to have a place named after you &
called Winifred's Nagar?}

_{With much love & xxx Papa}

_{●
Danish Gateway (to the Danish Government House
Compound), Serampore}

_{Originally a gate built
from brick in 1772 by the Danish, the British rebuilt the gate during
the British occupation, 1808-1815. of Serampore, a Danish colony.
No later than 1827, the Danish ornamented the gate and added the
monogram of the Danish King Frederik VI. King Frederik VI ruled
Denmark 1808-1838. In the early 21st century, the gate still stands but
the ornaments and top part of the gate no longer exist.}

_{Miss Winifred Howells
16 Breakspear Rd
Brockley London
September 11, 1913}

_{With much love from Papa}

_{●
Dr. Carey's Grave, Mission Burial Ground,
Serampore}

_{Miss Winifred Howells
16 Breakspears Rd Brockley
London S 5 England}

_{Have just had your photos. They are
very good. What are you holding in your hand in one of them? Is it
a cat or a lamb or a doll or what xxx From loving
Papa}

_{Calcutta Postcards,
ca.
1900-1920}

_{●
Bank of Bengal, Calcutta}

_{Miss Winifred Howells}

_{This is the place where your Papa
keeps his money and on which he signs charges. Sorry I sent you
the same postcard twice. Write me every week. With love and
kiss from Papa.}

_{●
Bathing Ghat, Adjoining Hooghly Bridge, Calcutta}

_{Miss Winifred Howells}

_{Do you see all these people bathing?
How would you like to take your bath in the river? That what you
would do if you were a little Indian girl. With love and kisses.
from Papa}

_{●
Black Hole, Calcutta}

_{Miss Winifred Howells

Mama will tell you about the Black Hole. Is your hand well? I want to
see my darling girl very much. Will you know me when we meet?}

_{●
Chowringhee Road, Calcutta}

_{Miss Winifred Howells

I felt so glad when I saw your writing again. I will do my best to come
and see you soon. We can go for nice long walks together. If I get tired
you must carry your old father. xxx Papa}

_{●

Church of the Sacred Heart, Calcutta}

_{Miss Winifred Howells}

_{Oh! it is so hot just now, and there
is such a strong son [sic] in the day. In England you love
the son [sic] Here we mostly fear it. With love &
kisses Papa}

_{●

Curzon Gardens, Calcutta}

_{Miss Winifred Howells

And so you want to bring a real motor car for you from India? Or is it a
toy you want? A box of candy? I will remember but what do you mean by a
jack-straw. I have missed your letter for this past week or two. With
much love from Papa xxx}

_{●
Dalhousie Barrack, Fort William, Calcutta}

_{Miss Winifred Howells}

_{I was so glad to get your letter.
You will be my secretary when I am old. You will soon learn to
write nicely. xxxx Papa}

_{●
Grand Hotel, Chowringhee Road, Calcutta}

_{Miss Winifred Howells

How is your hand? Mama did not know my handwriting when I wrote like
this. I want you hand to get well soon so that i may get a letter from
you. Unless you write I am afraid I shall get ill. xxx Papa}

_{●
High Court, Calcutta}

_{Miss Winifred Howells}

_{My darling Winifred}

_{I am so glad to see from your photo
that you can play the piano, and from another that you can eat bread &
butter. These two are very necessary for a young lady. With
much love & many kisses from Papa.}

_{●

Mosque, Tollygunge, Calcutta}

_{Miss Winifred Howells

I hope your hand is quite well again. I am so sorry not to get your
letters. With much love xxx from Papa.}

_{●
Municipal Office, Calcutta}

_{Miss Winifred Howells

This is the building where they do the business of the City of Calcutta.
When will you write me? With love and kisses Papa}

_{●

Outram Statue, Calcutta}

_{Miss Winifred Howells

Such a long letter you sent me this last time. Almost as long as the
very long letters that Gerald has written of late. Love & kisses Papa}

_{●

Railway Station, Howrah, Calcutta}

_{Miss Winifred Howells

I have not heard from my little girl for a long time. Write me often.
With love and kisses from xxxxxxxx Papa.}

_{●
Shipping, Calcutta}

_{After attacking and capturing various Russian and French ships, the German
Navy's ship, SMS Emden, was run aground on the Cocos Islands by the Australian
HMAS Sydney on November 9, 1914.}

_{Miss Winifred Howells}

_{These are some of the ships sunk
by the Emden. You write your capital letters
capitally. With much love and many kisses to my little girl from Papa.}

_{●

St. Andrew's Church, Calcutta}

_{Master Gerald Howells

I don't suppose you remember much of Calcutta. This will arrive just
after Xmas. Hope you will have a pleasant holiday, & that you have done
well in your exams. Your loving Father}

_{●

Writers Buildings from Dalhousie Square, Calcutta}

_{Miss Winifred Howells}

_{I often go to this building to see about College matters. Perhaps
I may be able to come and see you all in May and June next. Will
you know me? With love and xxx Papa}

_{●
Young Men Christian Association, Chowringhee,
Calcutta}

_{Miss Winifred Howells}

_{I am remembering about the motor.
I will buy it before I meet you, we will go for a ride together!!
xxx Papa}

_{Local Indian
Scenes, Postcards,
ca.
1900-1920}

_{●
A Fakir}

_{Miss Winifred Howells

There are very many people of this kind in India. They appear to be holy
me[n] but they often do hard things just [to] get a little money, [and]
so escape ordinary work. With much love xxx Papa}

_{●
A Reckla}

_{Miss Winifred Howells

What funny bullocks they have in this country! Do you notic[s] the hump
on [the] back? Sometimes the drivers twis[t] [the] tails of the oxen,
that they break. With much love and many kisses Papa.}

_{●
Beaters & Bison}

_{Miss Winifred
Howells 15 Clarence Rd Mottingham
Kent England}

_{My darling Winifred}

_{Ask Mama [to] tell you what a bison is. I h[ave] never shot a bison, but I have killed a leopard.
Mama knows all about it. The people . . .}

_{●
Cotton Cleaners}

_{Miss Winifred Howells

My darling Winifred

I was so pleased to get your letters. They were written so beautifully,
and they made me feel so glad. I will expect a letter every week from my
own dear little girl. With many kisses xxx Papa.}

_{●
Fisherman}

_{Miss Winifred Howells

With much love [and] kisses [from] Papa}

_{●
Monkey Trainer}

_{Miss Winifred Howells

What you think of this little monkey? There are p[lenty] of that k[ind]
in India. I love you very much, and your letters make me very glad. Be
sure to write every week. With many kisses from Papa.}

_{●
Native Shops}

_{Miss Winifred Howells

I hope to . . . home to see you in September of next year. What you want
me to bring for you? With much love

xxx Papa}

_{●
Snake Charmer with his Mangoose}

_{Miss Winifred Howells

5 Clarence Road

Mottingham

Kent

We have a mongoose in our compound. It is very good at killing snakes.
Mother will tell you all about this animal.}

_{●
Sweetmeat Seller}

_{Miss Winifred Howells

My darling

Some Indian sweetmeats are very nice. I will bring some with me when I
come. Papa xxx}

_{Japan Postcards, ca.
1900-1920}

_{●
Hibiya Park, Tokyo}

_{Miss Winifred
Howells

Would you like to come back to India with me? It is cool and healthy up
on the hills and you spend your holidays - three months - at Serampore -
December to Feb. It is then the cold season. xxx Papa}

_{●
Imperial Palace, Tokyo}

_{Miss Winifred
Howells}

_{What a nice
long letter you have sent me. And what good capital letters you make.
You will soon be writing letters for Gerald and Mama, and when I
become an old man, you will write all my letters for me. I will
try and bring a motor car for you, and ride in it in from India all the way.
Your loving Papa xxxx}

_{●
Ryogoku Bridge, Tokyo}

_{Miss Winifred
Howells}

_{Only one more letter
to you, and them I will come myself. I will come with the mail across France. If a submarine catches us, I
must try and swim ashore. I swam once about two miles. How far can Gerald swim?}

_{With love & kisses
Papa}

_{●
Shiba Park, Tokyo}

_{Miss Winifred
Howells}

_{Once I went through
Japan on my way to America, and bought several postcards there.
I will now send them week by week to my little girl. When I reached
America, my little girl would not look at me and wanted me to go away!
Ask Mama about it. xxxx Papa}

_{●
Yushima Tenjin Shrine, Tokyo}

_{Miss Winifred
Howells}

_{Am going on a
long train journey. I wish I could take you with me.}

_{With much love & many
xxx Papa.}

_{England and Germany
Postcards, ca.
1900-1920}

_{●
Hohenzollern,
Germany}

_{Master Gerald Howells % Mrs. J.
L. Phillips West Bowdoin, Maine U. S. America August 27, 1906}

_{My
dear Gerald,}

_{I was so very glad to get your letter counting up to 100. I want
very much to see you again. We shall meet before very long I hope in
Liverpool. This is a picture of a great castle. I was there
yesterday. It is
the old home of the German Emperor. xxx Your loving Father.}

_{●
S. S. Mantua}

_{Mrs. George Howells
38 South Wabash Ave Battle Creek Michigan U.S.A.

We are leaving in a few minutes time. I am on Board-ship at the Tilbury
Dock. Will see that you get news from each port. For some time there
will be a good interval between my letters. xxxx}

_{●
Taunton [England] - North Street}

_{Miss Winifred Howells

Serampore College

Serampore,

Bengal

India}

_{Dear Winifred,}

_{This is the main street of Taunton. What do you think of it? It is
better than Serampore I suppose but not so good as Calcutta. We have
been having fine from skating on the ice lately

Well good bye

From your brother

xxxxxx Gerald}

_{●
Tom Quad, Christ
Church, Oxford (William Matthison, artist)}

_{Mrs. George Howells
38 South Wabash Ave Battle Creek Michigan U.S.A.}

_{My
dear Beeb, Had such a lovely day in Oxford and thought of you so many times.
Mother wrote me about Will(?). Give Aunt ___(?) my love and
sympathy. I wish I had time to write her a good, long letter.
With dearest love to all. _[?]_}

_{August 21, 1910}

_{●
Tübingen, Germany}

_{Miss Gladys Howells
Gwaelodywaun Bargoed Via Cardiff England December 18
[1906?]}

_{With
much love from Papa. Send me another letter soon.}

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Created: June 2, 2016 Updated: June 30, 2016