b.
[28 Jan.] 1841
in a cottage which used to stand within the precincts of the castle,
Denbigh
, son of
John
Rowlands
and
Elizabeth
Parry
, daughter of a
Denbigh
grazier
and
butcher
— he was christened in the church of
Tremeirchion
, near
Denbigh
, according to
D.N.B.
(but at the
church of S. Hilary
,
Denbigh
, according to the
Welsh
memoir named below). His father dying in
1843
when the child was but two years old and the grandfather (
John
Rowlands
,
Llys
,
Llanrhaeadr
) declining to become responsible for his care, he was looked after by relatives on the mother's side, the mother having, in the meantime, gone to
London
to service (and later marrying). Maternal uncles arranged for a married couple who lived within the precincts of the castle to look after the child who, when he was about 6, was deposited in
S. Asaph union workhouse
. There, according to what
Stanley
says in his
Autobiography
, he was treated somewhat cruelly at times. When he was about 15 he decided to leave, without official permission; he spent some time as
assistant in a school
at
Brynford
, near
Holywell
, of which a cousin was
master
; he also dwelt for a short time at
Tremeirchion
, in the house of that cousin's mother. He stayed in
Liverpool
at the house of another aunt for a short time before he shipped for
New Orleans
,
U.S.A.
, ostensibly as a
cabin-boy
. There he was befriended by a
merchant
named
Henry
Stanley
, whose name he adopted as his own. He joined the
Confederate (Southern) Army
during the
American Civil War
; he also served, later, in the
American navy
. About this time he became fairly prominent as a
newspaper reporter
, going to
Asia Minor
,
Abyssinia
, and
Spain
. In
Oct. 1869
he was commissioned by the proprietor of the
New York Herald
to proceed to
Africa
‘to find (
David
)
Livingstone
,’ the
explorer
and
missionary
who was feared lost. He started on his African journey from
Zanzibar
on
21 March 1871
and met with
Livingstone
at
Ujiji
on
10 Nov.
of that year. He stayed with
Livingstone
(and travelled with him) until
18 Feb. 1872
, but was forced to depart without being able to persuade
Livingstone
to return with him; his book,
How I found Livingstone
, was published in
1872
. The other journeys which he undertook and the discoveries which he made need to be narrated in greater detail than space here allows. When news came of the death of
Livingstone
,
Stanley
was sent again to
Central Africa
, which he crossed from east to west. His third journey to
Africa
was in
1887
, this time to attempt the rescue of
Emin Pasha
;
Stanley
discovered new
lands
which afterwards became known as the
British East African Protectorate
. On his return from this third journey
Stanley
was received more warmly but he had to wait until
1899
before he was awarded the
G.C.B.
, and became known, thereafter, as
Sir
Henry Morton
Stanley
. He continued to travel overseas until near the end of his life. He
lectured
frequently and extensively in
Britain
,
Germany
,
America
, and
Australia
; he also
published several books
, the chief being
How I found Livingstone
,
1872
;
Through the Dark Continent
,
1878
;
The Congo and the Founding of its Free State
,
1885
;
In Darkest Africa, or the Rescue of Emin
,
1890
;
My Early Travels in America and Asia
,
1895
.
Sir
Henry M.
Stanley
was m. on
12 July 1890
, at
Westminster Abbey
, to
Dorothy
, daughter of
Charles
Tennant
,
Cadoxton Lodge
,
Neath
,
Glamorgan
; it was
lady
Stanley
who prepared for publication in
1909
The Autobiography of Sir Henry Morton Stanley, G.C.B., D.C.L., Ll.D.
On the title-page of the
Autobiography
is a list of the numerous honours which
Stanley
had received.
Stanley
d. in
London
,
10 May 1904
. He had wished to be buried in
Westminster Abbey
, near
Livingstone
, but permission was not granted by the dean; he was, therefore, buried in the churchyard of
Pirbright
,
Surrey
, near his new home,
Furze Hill
. For a short time (
1895-1900
) he had been
Unionist M.P.
for
North Lambeth
, but parliamentary life had no great appeal for him.
Long before the publication of the
Autobiography
,
1909
, and particularly so after his return from his
Livingstone
journey — when he suddenly became famous — there had been much speculation and debate in regard to
Stanley
's origins and early life.
North Wales
people were emphatic in claiming him as a
North Welshman
; see
Hanes Bywyd Henry M. Stanley
(
Denbigh
,
1890
), and, particularly,
Cadwalader
Rowlands
,
Henry M. Stanley. The Story of his Life from his Birth in 1841 to his Discovery of Livingstone in 1871
(
London
,
1872
). Some
Americans
—
Stanley
at this time was an
American
citizen — claimed him as
American
-born — e.g. in
Missouri
. In
1895
there was published, in
London
,
The Birth, Boyhood, and Younger Days of Henry M. Stanley, the Celebrated Explorer. A South Wales Hero. By Thomas George (An Old Playmate)
; the
author
of this book claims that
Stanley
was no other than his schoolmate
Howell
Jones
, son of
Josuah
Jones
,
bookbinder
,
Cenarth
, in the valley of the
Tivy
, and that
Stanley
was born at
Ysgar
, in the parish of
Betws
, near
Newcastle Emlyn
. But
lady Stanley
and the writer of the detailed article on
Stanley
in the
D.N.B.
do not accept the findings of
Thomas
George
.
Stanley
himself (see
Autobiography
) gives numerous details about the first sixteen or so years of his life — at
Denbigh
,
S. Asaph
,
Tremeirchion
,
Brynford
, and
Liverpool
; he describes a visit to his mother which he made soon after he had returned from his first stay in
America
.
Cadwalader
Rowlands
instances other visits, but the
D.N.B.
biographer
advises caution in regard to the use of the
Rowlands
book.
Sir William Llewelyn Davies, M.A., LL.D., F.S.A. (1887-1952),
Aberystwyth.