A romantic who left her home to marry a preacher in America. A missionary who risked her life to share the Gospel. A trailblazer whose fearless leadership and advocacy opened new doors for women in ministry. These are all descriptions of Clementina Rowe Butler.
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Clementina Rowe was born in Ireland in 1820 to a family of English descent. Her religious passion surfaced early; as a child, she collected money from her peers to support missionary work. Sometime before 1850, Clementina was drawn to the preaching of a young Methodist minister named William Butler. The two stayed in touch even after Butler moved to the United States, and in 1854, Clementina arrived in Portland, Maine, to marry him and assist in his mission work across New England.[1]
Two years later, the couple accepted a request to serve as missionaries in India. They arrived shortly before the Sepoy Rebellion, an uprising of native Indian soldiers (sepoys) against the British colonial administration. White foreigners across India were targeted, forcing the Butlers to seek refuge in the Himalayas. After the rebellion ended, they resumed their missionary work, building orphanages for children who had lost their parents in the conflict.[2]
William’s declining health eventually forced the couple to return to the United States, where they became advocates for foreign missions. Clementina’s experiences in India convinced her of the need to expand opportunities for women in missionary work. In March 1869, she and seven other women gathered at Tremont Street Methodist Episcopal Church to establish the Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society (WFMS). This organization sent female missionaries to Africa, Asia and Latin America, providing training in evangelism while also recruiting women with practical skills in medicine, education, and administration. These missionaries went on to establish schools, hospitals and charities in the countries they served.[3]
Clementina accompanied her husband on two more missions—to Mexico in 1873 and back to India in 1883. The Butlers established a hospital in the Indian city of Vadodara. After William’s death in 1899, Clementina continued to support mission work. She also funded the Zenana Paper Fund, which printed women’s literature in five languages.[4]
Clementina Rowe Butler died peacefully on September 12, 1913, at her home in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. Her children carried on their parents’ legacy. Her son, John Butler, became a pastor, taking over the mission his parents had started in Mexico. Her daughter and namesake, Clementina Butler, also became a missionary and author, writing biographies about both her parents. The biography of her mother is titled Mrs. William Butler: Two Empires and the Kingdom.[5]
Butler’s missionary work and advocacy inspired women a new generation of women in ministry. The WFMS she helped establish trained female missionaries who would go on to play leading roles in the church for years to come
[1] Butler, Clementina. “Mrs. William Butler; two empires and the Kingdom.” New York, The Methodist book concern. 1929.
[2] Dana L. Robert, “Butler, William and Clementina (Rowe),” in Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, ed. Gerald H. Anderson (New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 1998).
[3] Baker, Frances J. “The story of the Woman's Foreign Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1869-1895.” Cinncinati : Curts & Jennings, 1898.
[4] Dana L. Robert, “Butler, William and Clementina (Rowe),” in Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, ed. Gerald H. Anderson (New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 1998).
[5] Butler, Clementina. “Mrs. William Butler; two empires and the Kingdom.” New York, The Methodist book concern. 1929.
