Howard J. (Howard James) Chidley

Howard J. Chidley, also listed as Howard James Chidley, was an American clergyman and writer born in 1878 and died in 1966. Surviving catalog records connect him with books for young readers, including New Story Talks to Boys and Girls and Story Sermons for Children, which suggest a gift for turning lessons of faith into clear, engaging reading.

Beyond his books, Chidley is remembered as a minister and church leader. A later account about North Carolina Central University notes that he was the minister at First Congregational Church in Winchester, Massachusetts, an early financial supporter of the university, and a member of its Board of Trustees from 1916 to 1921.

Detailed biographical information is limited in the sources I could confirm, so some parts of his life remain only lightly documented online. Even so, the record that does survive shows a writer focused on speaking to children with kindness, moral purpose, and a pastor’s instinct for making big ideas feel close at hand.