Dr. Lewis S. Owings (September 6, 1820 – August 20, 1875) was an American politician, physician, and businessman from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

who served as the 2nd Governor of Arizona Territory (

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

), in exile, from 1862 to 1865. He had previously served as provisional governor of Arizona Territory from 1860 to 1861.

Early life

Born in Roane County, Tennessee, Owings went to Yell County,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

and then to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, where he helped found the town of Helena, serving as the first postmaster. In 1855, he served in the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...

but was defeated for reelection moving to Mesilla,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

, where he had a mine.

Political career

In 1860 Owings was chosen as Provisional Governor of "Arizona Territory"—a region including New Mexico and Arizona—in an organization convention at

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. The Convention subsequently petitioned the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

for recognition of their government, but the impending conflicts of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

in the east distracted Washington's attention away from what was then a remote frontier outpost. Owings nevertheless proceeded to carry out the official functions of a ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' governor in the largely unorganized territory and established three

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

companies to protect residents from Indian raids and border smugglers. Owings held the post until August 1, 1861, when the Arizona Territory was formally reorganized by the Confederacy and declared south of the 34th Parallel by Lieutenant Colonel John R. Baylor, who then assumed the governorship. In 1862, following Baylor's ouster and the Confederate retreat from the territory following the Union victory at Glorietta Pass, Owings was again appointed Governor of the territory and held the office in exile in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

until the end of the Civil War.

Later life

After the American Civil War, Owings went to

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

briefly and then settled in Denison, Texas, serving briefly as mayor.http://followingtheirfootsteps.net/getperson.php?personID=I16483&tree=Owings

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Owings, Lewis 1820 births 1875 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American physicians 19th-century American politicians Governors of Arizona Territory Burials in Texas Businesspeople from Tennessee Exiled politicians Mayors of places in Texas Members of the Texas House of Representatives People of Arizona in the American Civil War People from Roane County, Tennessee Physicians from Tennessee

Early life

Political career

Later life

References

Further reading

External links