Richard Cowie was born at Hetton Downs Co. Durham on the 18th. of April 1881.

His parents were working class folk & they were both very young when their first child Rich. was born. Edward Cowie, the youthful father of twenty one [2] was of Scotch descent, he came from a race of hardy highland folk of the Macpherson clan. Coming down to [blank] they became fisher folk & finally as so many of their countrymen have done crossed the border & settled for a time in Durham. Edward had good mental ability (enlarge [blank] but lacked the staying qualities which would have made him a notable man. He painted with some charm but his technique was imperfect as he was entirely self taught. His skill as a mixer of herbal remedies was well known & people came from miles round to procure them. He could discuss current events with wisdom & discernment. After working in the mine for many hours he would make beautiful stools, chests & chairs. His violin playing was sufficiently good to charm away dull care from the brow of his overworked wife & set his childrens' feet dancing.

So much good there was in him that as selfishness & greed & also the dark shadow of a secret weakness developed & crowded out his nobler qualities so his young son's life was saddened, & he faced the fact that to his father he could not give respect, but only a supporting & restraining love.

Mary Surtees, the young mother was a fine daughter of a still finer mother. Mary Surtees the elder [3] had been widowed while still a young woman. She brought up her large family – the youngest was born after her husband's death – by sheer hard work of hands & mind & above all by the loving devotion of a fine generous nature. Her grandson, Richard, in after life was to confess that he owed nearly all of good that was in him to her.

When Richard was nine the family removed to Ilinois. Here the affairs of the family prospered, but the mother remained unsettled & after less than two years they returned first to Wallsend-on-Tyne & finally to Newcastle-on-Tyne.

On these years it is not possible to dwell. The tall, good looking lad, (at thirteen he had attained his full growth) was passing through perilous experiences. At eleven he left school & unknown to his parents secured a job in the mine. His work was to open the doors to allow the heavily laden trucks drawn by the patient ponies to pass through. His love for his mother was very great & to aid her he toiled in the pit, rose early to help her, & came home tired to renew his labours on her behalf. Some times his youthful strength was overtaxed & alarming fainting attacks showed him that it would be better if his work could be done in a fresher purer air. This & a serious accident to the cage while he was being lowered to his work led him to decide to leave the mine, where he now held a responsible position. During these years he had attended the Methodist Church & Sunday School but the boy was wild & undisciplined though his love for his mother & grandmother & their prayers kept him from serious sin. His fine nature was struggling to shake itself free from lower things & to enter on a fresh stage of development.

At this critical moment God spoke to him through a humble Sunday School teacher & in later years on one of the rare occassions on which he spoke of his inner life he paid a glowing & heartfelt tribute to this faithful servant of God.

From this period his whole outlook on life altered. While continuing in his loving care of his mother he rose still earlier & worked hard to repair the serious lack of early education. He bought books, he walked miles to hear notable preachers & speakers, & patiently learnt the things he should have learnt as a child. He joined the church & took up various forms of work in it. His beautiful singing attracted attention & at one time he was strongly urged to train as a chorister in Durham Cathedral. His young brother, Edward who predeceased him, several years later became well known through his lovely singing both amongst his comrades in the Great War & later in Newcastle & Durham.

The Christian Endeavour Movement was then at the height of its power. He became a member of the local branch & in 189- he joined many other young Primitive Methodists in the first holiday tour held under the auspices of the movement. Dr John Watson, Principal of the Hartley Victoria College, was President of the National Union of the CE Movement for Great Britain & Ireland. He & his young daughter journeyed from Manchester to Laxey in the Isle-of-Man. Richard came from Newcastle & in those lovely glens was sown the seed of the ever lasting flower of love.

This unforseen but ordained meeting led to an engagement the following year & to a happy marriage in 1910.

The intervening years had been years of hard & persistent work in his studies.

Before his meeting with his future wife he had had longings to enter the ministry of the Methodist church & he was a lay preacher when they met. His fiancée & her father encouraged him in this desire & his marked ability as a preacher led to a definite call to the ministry.

[ends]

[1] This biography was probably written shortly after Richard's death in 1936
[2] In fact, Edward was just 18 years old
[3] Incorrect -- Mary's mother's name was Elizabeth [née Todd]