Elias Alford Rowan (December 31, 1837 - December 10, 1912) was a longtime

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

state legislator from Copiah County in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Early life

Elias Alford Rowan was born on December 31, 1837, near Crystal Springs, in

Copiah County, Mississippi Copiah County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,368. The county seat is Hazlehurst. With an eastern border formed by the Pearl River, Copiah County is part of the Jackson, MS Me ...

. His parents were Samuel Rowan, who was born in

Robeson County, North Carolina Robeson County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of North Carolina and is its largest county by land area. Its county seat is and largest city is Lumberton. The county was formed in 1787 from part of Bladen County and named in ...

and was of French ancestry, and Jeannette (Alford) Rowan, of Scottish ancestry. He received his early education in the country schools of Copiah County. He was a student in the

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

(then known as Louisiana University)

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, M ...

in the 1860-61 session.

Military career

In May 1861, during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, Rowan temporarily stopped going to Tulane and enlisted in the Twelfth Mississippi Infantry of the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

. However, he was discharged, in

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...

, before his unit left for

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

due to illness. Afterwards, he re-enlisted in Company G of the Sixth Mississippi Infantry. After the reorganization of the army, he commissioned a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

. He also served as assistant surgeon of the regiment after the original assistant surgeon was captured. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of Company G after the captain of Company G died. During the

Battle of Nashville The Battle of Nashville was a two-day battle in the Franklin-Nashville Campaign that represented the end of large-scale fighting west of the coastal states in the American Civil War. It was fought at Nashville, Tennessee, on December 15–16, 1 ...

in December 1864, Rowan was captured and taken to

Johnson's Island Johnson's Island is a island in Sandusky Bay, located on the coast of Lake Erie, from the city of Sandusky, Ohio. It was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp for Confederate officers captured during the American Civil War. Initially, Johnson ...

, where he remained until his release on June 16, 1865.

Postwar

After returning to

, Rowan went back to going to Tulane Medical School, where he graduated with an

M. D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

degree in March 1866. He then started practicing medicine in Copiah County. He moved to Wesson in 1869, where he would reside for the rest of his life. Around that time, he built a large, 24-room Victorian house in Wesson, as the home of his wife and children. Rowan planned to also hospitalize patients there, but it was only used as a hospital in April 1883 after a

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

had hit the area.

Political career

House of Representatives

Rowan was first elected to the

Mississippi House of Representatives The Mississippi House of Representatives is the lower house of the Mississippi Legislature, the lawmaking body of the U.S. state of Mississippi. According to the state constitution of 1890, it is to comprise no more than 122 members elected fo ...

, representing Copiah County as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, in 1875, for the sessions of 1876 and 1877. He was also elected for the sessions of 1884 and 1886. In the 1886 session, he helped introduce local option alcohol laws in Mississippi.

Senate

Rowan was first elected to the

Mississippi State Senate The Mississippi Senate is the upper house of the Mississippi Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The Senate, along with the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, convenes at the Mississippi State Capitol ...

, representing the 11th district, which was composed of Copiah County, in 1895. He was re-elected to the Senate in 1899, 1907, and 1911. In the 1908-1910 sessions, he was the chairman of the Quarantine committee. In the 1912 session, he was the chairman of the Humane and Benevolent Institutions committee and the Temperance committee.

Political views

Rowan was a large supporter of

prohibition of alcohol Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

Death

At 10:30 AM on December 10, 1912, in

Wesson, Mississippi Wesson is a town in Copiah County, Mississippi, Copiah and Lincoln County, Mississippi, Lincoln counties, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,925 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson, Mississippi, Jackson Jackson, Mississippi ...

, Rowan was struck by and killed by a southbound

Illinois Central The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...

passenger train. Jasper Felix Guynes was elected to fill the vacancy in the Senate left by his death.

Personal life

Rowan was a member of the

Baptist Church Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

. He was a member of the Odd Fellows and

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. In 1867, Rowan married Mary Augusta Mobley. She died in May 1869, leaving no children. Elias married Julia Lamb in 1874. They had seven children together: Jeannette Alford Rowan, Martha (Rowan) Wright, Dr. Samuel Lamb Rowan, Elias A. Rowan Junior, Lillie (Rowan) Taylor, Julia Franklin Rowan, and John House Rowan. Lillie, Julia, Samuel Lamb, and John survived Elias Senior when he died.

References

External links

Dr. Elias Alford Rowan
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowan, Elias Alford 1837 births 1912 deaths People from Wesson, Mississippi People from Crystal Springs, Mississippi Democratic Party Mississippi state senators Democratic Party members of the Mississippi House of Representatives Confederate States Army officers American temperance activists