Henry (Harry) Thomas Rowley was born on January 26, 1847 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was a lifetime resident of the city.

His father, Thomas A., a veteran of the Mexican War, served as Colonel of the 13th Pennsylvania Infantry starting on April 25, 1861. The regiment was renamed the 102nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and he remained its Colonel. He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General on November 29, 1862 and resigned his commission on December 29, 1864 as a brevetted Major General.

Harry was a charter member of the Davis Camp No. 1, joining on November 12, 1881. At the time the Camp was the parent of the National Organization. He became the first Captain of the Camp and Colonel of the Pennsylvania Division. A. P. Davis declared him Provisional Commander-in-Chief. About six months later Harry issued his first General Order accepting the position. At the First Annual Session of the Commandery-in-Chief Sons of Veterans, U.S.A., in July 1882, he was elected to be Commander-in-Chief until August 1883.

For sixty years, Harry tried to have his Civil War service recognized in the 102nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He was too young to officially enlist at 14 and thus never on an Army list. Officers of the Washington Infantry Association procured the aid of Representative Clyde Kelly to bring recognition of Rowley's service. Seventy-five survivors of his old regiment had signed affidavits of his service. But Harry died before a decision had been made; the bill was still in committee.

After the war, he worked seven years in the engineering corps of the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad. Next he worked in the book and stationary store of J.R. Welden & Co. He was a Clerk and then Chief Clerk with the Allegheny County Commissioners' Office for 20 years. And for some years, the Borough Clerk of Wilkinsburg.

He was a member of the 11th Ward Republican Marching Club, Young Men's Christian Association, and a Knight Templar.

He married Emma Van Court and they had no children.

Brother Rowley died on January 26, 1924 in Pittsburgh after a fall on an icy sidewalk. He is buried in Homewood Cemetery in Pittsburgh. His burial is documented by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Military Affairs.