Born in Kirk Braddan, Isle of Man; baptized in 1843; following family’s immigration to Nauvoo, Illinois, accepted employment in Times and Seasons printing office; after the Latter-day Saints were expelled from Illinois, worked for the Frontier Guardian in Kanesville, Iowa; immigrated to Salt Lake City in 1852; found employment at the Deseret News; member of Thirtieth Quorum of Seventy (GQC’s quorum); served mission to England, 1853–57; following his return to Utah, married Sarah Elizabeth Foss in 1857; died from accidental drowning in Jordan River. (See Cowley Reminiscences; Cowley diary; “Report of the 30th Quorum,” Deseret News, June 27, 1855; “Drowned,” Deseret News, June 8, 1864; GQC journal, Apr. 20, 1854.)