Charlotte Atlee White Rowe

by Reid S. Trulson

Charlotte Atlee White was the first woman officially appointed as a missionary by any denomination or mission agency. The scandal of her 1815 appointment required her to prevail over gender bias, survive attempts to revoke her appointment, and surmount the challenge of insufficient funding. After marrying Joshua Rowe, a widowed missionary in Calcutta in 1816, she remained in India to serve with the British Baptists. There she overcame local prejudice against educating girls while starting schools, teaching in Hindi, and writing a Hindi spelling and grammar book as teaching aids. She confronted new scandal arising when her confidential correspondence was repurposed in America for anti-missionary propaganda. Her developing missiology critiqued the role of money in mission and the system of language acquisition for new missionaries. Following her husband's death in 1823, she continued to work alone while adapting her approach to the local culture. Eventually forced to seek financial aid in London, she found that official appointment by British Baptists would cause as much scandal in England as it had earlier in America. Her decade of work in India was now over. Charlotte White Rowe's consistent omission from early mission accounts led to her subsequent absence in histories of mission and gender studies. Based on sources in England, India, and America, her reclaimed story corrects numerous inaccuracies that appear in the few earlier references to her. Hers was a key element in the century-long process through which single and married women finally gained equal missionary appointment with men.

304 pages, Hardcover

Published November 1, 2021

Reviews

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author has done a very thorough, dedicated job in recounting the historical events of this American missionary's life. He includes the timeframe leading up to her birth, the facts we know about her life and ministry, and the impact she had in the mission field, among her colleagues, and within the missionary societies and churches who were involved in sending missionaries at the time. The data provided basically shows a hundred-ish year history of women as missionaries, and the struggles borne in the making of this history. This book serves as a well-documented resource.

[Bud Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trulson is an excellent storyteller. His book not only contains the remarkable record of Charlotte's life and ministry but also the fascinating conditions and characters which surrounded her. A terrific book for those interested in biography, missions, and gender studies.

[Marly · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s sad to me that I’m just now hearing this story. Charlotte’s work was hidden both while she was doing it and has been pretty erased in missions history as I know it. Thankful though for how far we’ve come in sending and supporting women in God’s mission!

[Carol Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fasccinating story of Charlotte's missionary years, as well as the history of American Baptist Missions.