Cowperthwaithe, Humprey Pickard

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Hans Rollmann, “COWPERTHWAITE, HUMPHREY PICKARD,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 15, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/cowperthwaite_humphrey_pickard_15E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Methodist clergyman and administrator; b. 30 Nov. 1838 near Sheffield, N.B., son of Hugh Cowperthwaite, a farmer, and Elizabeth Ann Hunter; m. 19 July 1867 Annie A. S. Buchanan in Jacksontown, N.B., and they had at least three sons and two daughters; d. 26 Dec. 1924 in St John’s.
    • It was not until his 18th year, however, that he himself experienced a life-changing conversion under the preaching of John Prince on the Woodstock circuit. His call to ministry ripened slowly, after serious doubts about his vocation. In 1861 he was received on trial in the Eastern British America Conference and stationed at Sussex Vale (Sussex Corner), N.B. Probationary appointments in Nova Scotia, at Pugwash (1862) and Windsor and Falmouth (1863), were followed by studies in 1864–67 at Mount Allison Wesleyan College in Sackville, N.B. After receiving his ab in 1867, he was ordained in Halifax.
    • From 1867 until 1889 Cowperthwaite served churches in Nova Scotia (Horton, 1867–70), New Brunswick (Fairville, 1870–73; Saint John, 1885–87), and Prince Edward Island (Tryon, 1873–76, 1888–89; Cornwall, 1876–79, 1882–84; Charlottetown, 1879–81). During this period, he not only earned an ma from his alma mater in 1870, but he also developed into a respected and capable churchman. He held several posts, among them financial secretary (1874–78, 1883), journal secretary (1878–79), and president (1889) of the New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island Conference and district chairman of the Island (1879–80, 1882, 1888–89). As well, in 1882 and 1883 he was a delegate to the General Conference. Cowperthwaite began work in Newfoundland in August 1890 and would continue there for three decades until severe debilitation ended his labours.
    • His appeal in urban Newfoundland rested on his combination of patriotic values and a progressive version of Methodist spirituality rooted in revivalism and personal holiness. During the South African War and World War I this loyalist descendant rallied Methodists around the flag and the empire. (His paternal grandfather had left New Jersey in 1783 for pioneer life in New Brunswick.) 
  • Great Grandson of Proven United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=1839
  • Find a GRAVE: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/191834827/humphrey-picard-cowperthwaite