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UMBERTON, IN. U| MOM^T, auu zy, 1VJ8.Colonel Alfred Rowland, A Distinguished Robesonianbut nlso entered upon the study ot hr.v in the office of Giles Lcitch, prominent Lumberton lawyer, whose office was a small stoneBy R. C. Lawrence Col. Richard Clinton, revolutionary hero and patriot, came of dU»linguished ancestry, being * ne- blliiciin^ at the corner of fourthphew of that famous American. De-j Witt Clinton, governor of Newj Yofk, builder of the Erie canal, i The service of Colonel Clinton to i the revolutionary cause was so no-j table,; tj^Rt. wh^t;fliirnpgon county 1 was tstpMshed in 1784, its county I seat WaiT: hanied Clinton in honor of Ccioix^i'Si'card Clinton. After the- \ ‘ V. - .•* i - L . . . - 1 - — ^1 revolution -Colonel Clinton contin-* * f ' ' * ’j ued his public career, and was sen-1• Iator from Sapipson county for tan | consecutive terms. The sword car-J ried by Colonel Clinton during the | revolution, and buttons from his1I uniform, are in the possession of ; the elect Lumberton ladies hereinafter referred to. This distinguished jAmexican soldier was the lineal an-cestor of the subject of this sketch.I Col. Richard Clinton married a daughter of James Kenan, also I a distinguished revolutionary statesman, in whose honor Kenansviile,; county seat of Duplin county, is j named. During the last years of . her life Penelope Clinton, widow of Col. Richard Clinton, made her . home near Lumberton with her ; daughter Mrs. Thomas Morrisey., Her will, dated August 28th, 1814,, is recorded in Robeson county in | Book of Wills No. 1 page 138.Mary Eliza Clinton, daughter of Col. Richard Clinton, married General Alfred Rowland, of Robeson• county. The details of his life havei been lost in the misty haze of an | unchartered past. But it is known that he was a planter upon a large i scale, and that he was a general of J North Carolina militia. We also | know that he served four consccu-itve terms as senator from Robeson county, beginning in 1811 andextending through 1814.General Rowland’s son—John A. Rowland—was a large figure in the life of ante-bellum Robeson. He was senator in 1848. He served as sheriff for four years. He served as Clerk of the county court for seven years. He was register of deeds for one year. I know of no other person who has served as sheriff, clerk and register of deeds. He died in 1872 when only fifty-seven. One of his daughters married the beloved Dr. John D. McMillan, father of Mrs. G. Ed..and Chestnut streets. In due course Colon d Rowland was admitted to the bar and began the practice ir, association with. Mr. Leitch, and j ilus continued until the death of ;!V;i . Leitch. *Colonel Rowland then^Swiuid^h^'! partnership with the latc^|iL:;NciJR‘ Archie McLean—Mr. C. BiTTown-A send being also a member of this1 fi! m for a short ptiiod before hi* election as clerk of the Superior court. This firm wag one of the strongest legal firms in North Caro-j lina and appeared in practically all important litigation in the Cap# Ke.'tr section.But. Colonel Rowland was not allowed to pursue his private law piaclico uninterrupted. He wa; so*hi called again to the public service and represented Robeson several terms in the house of representatives at Raleigh. There he had a prut in shaping much of the important legislation during the troubled period following reconstruction. Thereafter he was a presidential elector during the. first Cleveland campaign, and thereafter he was elected to Congress and served his district for two terms with conspicuous ability.Town of Howland Named For HimAfter his retirement from Congress, he resumed the practice of law at Lumberton in partnership with Col. McLean, and continued in the successful practice until his premature death in 1898—hastened. it is thought, by the exposure and hardship suffered by him during his imprisonment during the war. The town of Rowland was. in his lifetime, named in his honor and perpetuates the memory of a gallant Robesonian.Colonel Rowland was a devoted member of the Presbyterian church, in which he was a ruling elder, and long superintendent of its Sunday school. He served as moderator of his presbytery. When the general assembly of that church met at St. Louis in 1SS7, Colonel Rowland had the honor of being the ONLY layman to be a member of that distinguished body.Colonel Rowland's only son—| John A. Rowland—would haveRancke of Lumberton. Another i made an outstanding success as f daughter married Christopher von * lawyer, had not a wasting disease Glahn, and their daughter became i Prevented him from actively prac1' 1 • 4 lt;• A ' . . _the wife of our esteemed townsman, John H. Wishart.Alfred Rowland, subject of this (sketch, was the son of John AA j Howland. When but a youth of six-; teen he volunteered in the Con-| federate service as a private in the|lSth North Carolina regiment, inthe same company with his near I kinsman Captain William S. Nor-ment. He served during the entire I war, and his ability and fidelityticing his profession. But he served with ability as mayor of Luna berton, and was the first judge o: our recorder’s court.Names Written Larjfe.Those elect ladies, Misses Pene (Biinch) Rowland, daughters oJ lope (Rennie) and Winifrec Colonel Rowland, have written theii names large upon the hearts of thc youth of Lumberton for the pasl forty years. Prior to the establish-tp the Confederate cause was such ment of our graded schools, theS'■ v ■ _ _that he rose from private to lieutenant colonel. He was captured I during the heavy fighting around Spottsylvania Court House, Virginia, and was carried to Fort Dela-j ware, where he was confined to thei end of the war. He never fully recovered from the effects of his imprisonment.j Returning to Lumberton, he was elected as register of deeds in 1S67,ladies conducted their own privat school, but when our grade* schools were established, they wer naturally elected as teachers there in, and have since so continuedwith a record of efficient and.faith ful service rarely equalled ii North Carolina. When anothe school building is erected in Lum berton it should by all means b called the ROWLAND BUILDING
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Robesonian
Lumberton, North Carolina, US
Mon, Aug 29, 1938
Page 2
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USA 02 Dec 2018
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