Joseph Russell Howden

Rev. Joseph Russell Howden, B.D. lived in Tunbridge Wells, England, was a Keswick speaker, and appears to have had Low-Anglican Church beliefs. He also appears to have gone on several international missions speaking tours. The following are some tidbits that we found about him.

Joseph was born at Woolwich, London, England to John and Mary A. Howden during the first three months of 1872. John was a journalist clerk. Later, Joseph had a sister, Gertrude M., born in 1881.

Joseph married Emma Annie Summers on June 3, 1893 at Saint Marylebone, Middlesex, Westminster, London, England. Joseph was 21, and working as a bank clerk. His father, John Howden, was a Gentleman. Her father, Thomas Summers, was a Rate Collector. Emma had been born in the town in which she was married.

In 1895, they were living in Streatham, London, England, where they had a son, Eric.

In 1901, Joseph was 29 years old and his wife, Emmie was 39. He was working as a bank clerk.  They had a son, Eric R., who was 6 years old. They lived at 2 East View, Streatham, Wanderworth,  London, England.

Originally he had been against the Keswick conferences, after attending another convention that did not at all impress him. However in 1910, he reluctantly attended the Keswick conference, at the insistence of several friends, and found it was very different than he expected. One message in particular on the verse “When I saw Him I fell at His feet as dead,” brought Howden to the Master’s feet. The following year he spoke at an early morning prayer meeting, and from then onward until his health prohibited him, he was a principal speaker. He was also a member of the Keswick Convention Council, even after he could not longer speak publically.

Howden’s voice was “exceptionally powerful,” so that when he spoke the amplifiers had to be turned off.

On Sept. 3, 1925, Howden and his wife arrived in San Francisco, California, after sailing from Shanghai, China on the President Lincoln. He was 53, and she was 60.

On September 26, 1935, the Howdens arrived in London from Capetown, Australia aboard the S.S. Themistocles in First Class. The ship was 500 feet long and 62 feet wide. It had a twin screw, and quadruple expansion engines, with two masts and a funnel. It carried 103 first class passengers and 256 in third class. They were living at 11 St. Peter’s Vicarage, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. Joseph was 63 and employed as a clerk. Emmie was 69. Margaret was 28.

On June 20, 1937, the Howdens arrived in Bristol, England, having sailed on the S.S. Carare from Kingston, Jamaica, in First Class. The S.S. Carare was 425 feet long and 55 feet wide. It had a twin screw, and travelled at 14 knots. It had triple expansion engines, and two masts and one funnel. They were living at 2 Park Road, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. They had with them Miss Margaret Russell Howden. Joseph was employed as a clerk, and was 65 years old. Emmie was 70 and Margaret was 30.

He passed away in 1959 at the age of 88 (which would put his birth year around 1871), and was called a “staunch Bible defender.”

Sources

Herbert F. Stevenson, Editor. Keswick’s Authentic Voice (Redding, CA: Pleasant Places Press, 2009), p. 408.

Rev. W. Dodgson Sykes, The Gospel Magazine and Protestant Beacon, Sept. 1959, p 349.

Ancestry.com. California Passenger and Crew Lists, 1893-1957 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2008. Original data: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at San Francisco, 1893-1953; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1410, 429 rolls); Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, RG 85; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

London Metropolitan Archives, Saint Marylebone, Register of marriages, P89/MRY1, Item 263. Ancestry.com. London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009. Original data: Church of England Parish Registers, 1754-1921. London Metropolitan Archives and Guildhall Library Manuscripts, London.

Ancestry.com. 1901 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives, 1901. Data imaged from the National Archives, London, England. Class:  RG13; Piece:  476; Folio: 131; Page: 28.

FreeBMD. England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Original data: General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. London, England: General Register Office.

Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1881 England Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Class: RG11; Piece: 3223; Folio: 11; Page: 13;GSU roll: 1341768.

Ancestry.com. UK Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2008. Original data: Board of Trade: Commercial and Statistical Department and successors: Inwards Passenger Lists. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA). Series BT26, 1,472 pieces. Class: BT26; Piece: 1073; Item: 106