John W. E. Bowen, Sr. John Wesley Edward Bowen (December 3, 1855 – July 20, 1933) was born into American slavery and became a Methodist clergyman, denominational official, college and university educator and one of the first African-Americans to earn a Ph.D. degree in the United States. He is the first known African-American to receive the Ph.D. from Boston University, which was granted in 1887. Early life Bowen was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on December 3, 1855, the son of Edward Bowen and Rose Simon Bowen. Edward Bowen, a carpenter, was from originally from Maryland, lived in Washington, D.C., but moved to New Orleans, where he was enslaved and held in bondage until he purchased his own freedom. In 1858, he purchased freedom for his wife and son, then three years old. Edward Bowen later served in the Union Army during the Civil War. Rose Simon Bowen was the granddaughter of an African princess of the Jolloffer tribe on the west coast of Africa. (This information comes from a one page anonymous biographical sketch of Bowen while he was still living) ]Education After the Civil War, J.W.E. Bowen studied at the Union Normal School in New Orleans, and New Orleans University, a university established by the Methodist Episcopal Church for the education of freedmen. Bowen received a Bachelor of Arts degree with the university’s first graduating class in 1878. From 1878 to 1882, he taught mathematics, Latin and Greek at Central Tennessee College (formerly Walden University) in Nashville. In 1882, Bowen began theological studies at Boston University. While a theological student, he was the pastor of Revere Street Methodist Episcopal Church in Boston. When he completed the requirements for the Bachelor of Sacred Theology (S.T.B.) degree in 1885, his classmates selected him as one of two students to speak at commencement exercises. After graduation, Bowen became pastor of St. John’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey. He received a Master of Arts degree from New Orleans University in 1886. He married Ariel Serena Hedges of Baltimore, Maryland in 1886. They became the parents of four children. In that same year, Bowen entered the Ph.D. program at Boston University in historical theology. He also did special advanced work in Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Chaldee, Arabic, and German, and in metaphysics and psychology. Boston University conferred the Ph.D. degree upon him in 1887. Later, Gammon Theological Seminary made him its first recipient of the honorary degree of doctor of divinity. [edit]Baltimore and Washington D.C. Years Bowen was chiefly a pastor after completing his doctoral degree. He pastored the Centennial Methodist Episcopal Church in Baltimore and also served as a professor of church history and systematic theology at Morgan College. A gifted preacher, Bowen conducted a notable revival during this pastorate in which there were 735 conversions. Bowen also served as pastor of Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. and as a professor of Hebrew at Howard University. From 1889 to 1893 Bowen was a member and examiner for the American Institute of Sacred Literature. In 1892 he published What Shall the Harvest Be? A National Sermon; or A Series of Plain Talks to the Colored People of America, on Their Problems. He represented the Methodist Episcopal church at the conferences of world Methodism in Washington D.C. in 1891 and London in 1901. [edit]Years at Gammon Theological Seminary In 1893, Bowen became professor of historical theology at Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia, a seminary founded in 1883 by the Methodist Episcopal Church for the preparation of African-American clergymen. He was the first African-American to teach there full-time. As the secretary of Gammon’s Stewart Missionary Foundation for Africa, he also edited its periodical, the Stewart Missionary Magazine. In October, 1895, Bowen delivered “An Appeal to the King” on “Negro Day” at the Atlanta Cotton States’ Exposition. That December, he organized an important three-day conference on Africa held in conjunction with the exposition and published its proceedings as Africa and the American Negro: Addresses and Proceedings of the Congress on Africa…in Connection with the Cotton States…Exposition, December 13–15, 1895 (1896). As a member of the Board of Control of the Methodist Episcopal Church’s Epworth League, he organized a national conference in Atlanta on the Christian education of African-American youth. With I Garland Penn, Bowen also edited and published its proceedings, The United Negro:…Addresses and Proceedings, The Negro Young People’s Christian and Educational Congress, Held August 6–11, 1902 (1902). In January 1904, Bowen and Jesse Max Barber launched The Voice of the Negro, a Literary journal addressed to a national audience of African Americans. In September, 1905, they endorsed the Niagara Movement. Months later, they promoted the organization of the Georgia Equal Rights League, which had

JEAN MARIE REILLY DELANEY -- A Celebration November 14, 1931 -- December 28, 2004 Jean Marie Reilly was born November 14, 1931 in Jersey City, NJ. She was the fifth of seven children born to John and Genevieve Reilly, and I am so happy that her two sisters, Peg and Rose, were able to make the trip down here. She is also survived by two brothers, Jim and Bill Reilly. After graduating from high school, mom moved to West Virginia to attend Fairmont State College. While putting herself through school, she met my dad, Donald Delaney, while she working at a local diner in Fairmont. After receiving her bachelor’s degree, mom accepted a teaching job in Canton, Ohio. In 1956, my parents were married, and they moved to St. Mary’s County in Southern Maryland, where they both taught. They rented a cottage on the water – what a beautiful and fitting start to their marriage! A few years later, mainly because mom missed the “culture” of the cities, they moved to Towson, Maryland, where she taught at Golden Ring Middle School. When she became pregnant with me in 1962, my parents purchased their home in Bel Air. It was important to mom to stay home with me until I was old enough to start school, at which time she began home teaching. Anxious to further her education in the late 1970’s, mom earned her Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology at Loyola College in Baltimore. She worked briefly at a counseling center in Essex, Maryland, and then made the decision to return to teaching art, which undoubtedly was her passion. She worked many years at Cockeysville Middle School, and eventually became the department chair person. During this time, she received numerous awards, some of which include the Baltimore County Art Educator of the Year, Maryland Art Educator of the Year, and National Art Educator. I am most proud of my mom’s decision to return again to school. In 1990, she was accepted into the doctoral program at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, and completed her PhD in Urban Education at the age of 60. Such an amazing woman! Many universities offered her teaching positions, and she finally selected Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri as her choice. She taught Art Education there for five years. When my father’s health started to decline, she retired and they returned to Bel Air. After my dad’s passing in March of 2000, the Lord almost immediately drew her to this church, where the parishioners were such a comfort to her. When the Alzheimer’s began to take its toll, she moved to Brightview Assisted Living. Although she could no longer do many of the things she loved, her joy and beautiful spirit still emanated. She was always the first to get up and dance at any given social event! Even in her final months at the nursing home, she maintained her gracefulness and loving ways. She passed away peacefully the afternoon of December 28, where I was by her side. While we were celebrating her life at the viewing yesterday, my dad and mom were celebrating their 48th wedding anniversary in Heaven. Mom loved to paint, bake, read, swim, boat – (and drink wine) – and at Bush River Yacht Club, she found kindred spirits who enjoyed the same. Those were the days of trips across the bay to Belly Button Beach, Stillpond and Fairlee. The days of “Under the Tree at BRYC”, where my mom and her friends (Peg, Trina, Judi, Carol, Molly, Ruthie, and Nancy) would drink Gallo Hearty Burgundy, (many times decanted into a much lovelier bottle), Blackberry Brandy, and grilled on hibatchi’s every day of the summer. I didn’t grow up with the “normal” meals – my mom would fix crudites and mini-dinny’s instead – of which I proudly carry on the tradition. She established friendships when they started boating there that last until this day. A ton of the old boat club crew were the first people to visit at the viewing yesterday, and the stories that everyone shared truly warmed my heart. What I have heard over and over from my mom’s family, friends and co-workers throughout the years is what an inspiration she was to them….and my dad and I are at the top of the list of her admirers. She was an exceptional wife, mother, artist, teacher, Girl Scout Troop Leader, counselor, and loved the Lord with all of her heart. That is why I know she is at peace now. We all will miss her beyond words, but I take comfort in knowing that she will live on through the hearts and stories of her friends and family. Thank you all for being here to celebrate the life of Jean Marie Reilly Delaney.