Faces Behind the Places

Believed to have emigrated from England’s Isle of Wight, Rowland and her mother settled in Cincinnati, Ohio. There, Rowland is said to have met Edward Rector when he was a tenant of Rowland and her mother’s boarding house in Cincinnati. She refused his initial offer of marriage because Rowland and her mother were supporting her brother’s orphaned children. For the next year, Rector is said to have sent Rowland a yellow rose, their mutual favorite flower, each week. At the end of that year, Rowland and Rector married on October 24, 1893.

 

Like Rector, Rowland was known for her devotion to her faith. Throughout their marriage, the couple was described as inseparable. They did not have any children. Instead, they regarded the young men and women of DePauw University as their children, particularly those involved in the Rector Scholarship program and those housed in Rector Hall.

 

Incredibly supportive of Rector’s investment in DePauw, Rowland became a major consultant after her husband’s death. She served on the governing committee of the Rector Foundation and even added about $143,000 in her own bequest to the Rector Scholarship Foundation. In his will, Rector left $250,000 as a donation for another women’s hall named after his wife, Lucy Rowland. The hall was dedicated on October 12, 1928.