William R. Rothwell (1831-1898)
Baptist Leader

      Near the center of the Fairview Cemetery in Liberty, Missouri, is the imposing monument to Alexander Doniphan, the hero of the Mexican War who led local soldiers on the longest land march in modern history, some 5,500 miles. That monument stands 33 feet tall and honors a statesman who saved the Mormons from extinction, kept Missouri in the Union, and helped launch William Jewell College. About fifty steps south and southwest of the Doniphan obelisk is the sturdy but unimposing marker for the Rothwell family, a simple granite slab about five feet tall and three feet across. Buried in this plot is the professor and administrator, William R. Rothwell, who was probably the most influential Baptist in the Midwest during the last quarter of the nineteenth century and who helped save William Jewell College from financial ruin. Sturdy but unimposing, Rothwell, a contemporary of Doniphan and representing the best in churchmanship and theological clarity, marched William Jewell College through the Long Depression of the 1870’s, bringing stability and sturdiness to this young institution. - Jerry Cain

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