Rees Tate Bowen (January 10, 1809 – August 29, 1879) was a nineteenth-century American

congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

, magistrate and judge from

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 ...

. He was the father of

Henry Bowen Henry Bowen (December 26, 1841 – April 29, 1915) was a Virginia lawyer, soldier and politician from Tazewell County, Virginia. After raising a unit which became the 22nd Virginia Cavalry, he fought for the Confederate States of America during ...

Biography

Born at "

Maiden Spring Maiden Spring is a historic home and farm complex and national historic district located at Pounding Mill, Tazewell County, Virginia. The district encompasses eight contributing buildings, two contributing sites, and one contributing structure. ...

" near

Tazewell, Virginia Tazewell () is a town in Tazewell County, Virginia, Tazewell County, Virginia, United States. The population was 4,627 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bluefield, West Virginia, Bluefield, West Virginia, WV-VA Bluefield micropolitan area, micr ...

, Bowen attended Abingdon Academy and later engaged in agricultural pursuits. He was appointed a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in the Virginia Militia by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Henry A. Wise Henry Alexander Wise (December 3, 1806 – September 12, 1876) was an American attorney, diplomat, politician and slave owner from Virginia. As the 33rd Governor of Virginia, Wise served as a significant figure on the path to the American Civil W ...

in 1856 and served in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

from 1863 to 1865. Bowen was magistrate of

Tazewell County, Virginia Tazewell County () is a county located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,429. Its county seat is Tazewell. Tazewell County is part of the Bluefield, WV-VA Micropolitan S ...

for several years prior to 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 ...

and was presiding judge of the county court a portion of that time. He was elected 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 ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in 1872, serving from 1873 to 1875 and afterward resumed engagements in agricultural pursuits. Bowen died at his estate called "Maiden Spring" in

on August 29, 1879 and was interred in the family cemetery on the estate.

References

External links

Information on Rees Bowen
1809 births 1879 deaths Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates Virginia state court judges Virginia lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia People from Tazewell County, Virginia 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American judges Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves {{Virginia-Representative-stub