Peter M. Rowland (1820 - 1882) son of Robert Rowland and Elizabeth Baker of Henry Co., Virginia. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Peter M. Rowland organized a company of cavalry that became Co. A, Calvary 5th Battalion, Hilliard's Legion, Alabama Volunteers, later known as Co. A, 10th Confederate Cavalry. And after the War, he was Judge of Probate Court for Chambers Co. in the 1870s and 1880s.

...His brother James W. Rowland (1818 - 1895) married Elizabeth A. Mills and settled in Yalobusha Co., Mississippi in the 1840s and raised a family there, one of whom was Mary Ann Rowland, my g-g-grandmother.

Information from: [email protected]
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The following is from "Confederate Soldiers From Chambers County, Alabama and Thereabouts", published 1993, and second edition 2004, by Carl Summers, Jr.

Peter M. Rowland - Captain of Company "A". He was born in Henry County, Virginia, on September 20, 1820. He was a member of the 14th Alabama and was attached to Faulkner's brigade. Later he was commissioned a Captain and came home and made up a company of his own from Chambers County. His company joined Hilliard's Legion which had just passed through the Kentucky campaign. He was a farmer and very active in the (Congregational) Methodist Church where he was licensed to preach. He was elected Judge of Probate in 1874 and held that office until his death on December 28, 1882. Judge Rowland married Mary E. Hurst on January 27, 1847 and after her death in 1855, he married Ann M. Hill on January 13, 1857.
- Biographical information and photograph courtesy of Marion Davis Turner. Other information from "The Reason For The Tears", by Bobby L. Lindsey.
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The following article was written by Mrs. Betty Davis Shirley for "The Heritage of Chambers County, Alabama", published in 1999.

PETER MONROE ROWLAND 1820 - 1882. A Judge's Sentence.

Peter Rowland was born in Henry County, Virginia in 1820. In 1845, he came to Alabama to deliver a wagon load of Virginia tobacco and decided to settle in Fredonia. As one of the early settlers of Chambers County, Alabama, he was elected to the office of probate Judge and served from 1874 until his death in 1882. Judge Rowland had a penchant for justice that landed him in jail. During his term in office he was ordered to levy and collect a tax for the payment of a large claim regarding a United States railroad bond case. He knew the people of his county did not owe this debt, so he refused to obey the unjust mandates of the court. In December, 1881, he was put in jail in Montgomery for contempt of court, and was kept there for about six weeks. Upon his return home he was met at the train by a thousand people celebrating his return in one of the greatest demonstrations ever shown in LaFayette.
Known for his religious convictions, it is said that he had a heart for the poor and never turned a needy person away. He was ordained as a Congregational Methodist minister in 1850 by the old State Line Church near Fredonia. A successful plantation owner, he never received pay for his preaching. On one occasion soon after the War (1861-65) he announced that an offering would be received. All the farmers brought grain on that day, they thought to "pay the preacher", but instead the grain was divided and each needy widow in the community received grain enough to sustain her household.
While he never expected to become a soldier, the need arose and he organized a Cavalry regiment that fought many important battles in the Civil War.
Orphaned and separated from his only sibling at an early age, the only relatives he ever knew were his in-laws. In 1847 he married Mary E. Hurst. Before her death in 1854, she bore him three children:

Sara Rowland (1849-1891)
Henry Rowland (1851-1920)
Mary Rowland (1854 - 1925)

On January 13, 1857 he was married to Ann McDaniel Hill, granddaughter of Colonel Waid Hill, wealthy landowner and early settler. Col. Hill built a fine house around 1840 that still stands in LaFayette, and pictured in William Davidson's 1964 "Pine Log and Greek Revivial", as the old Judge Dowdell home. This home was the scene of a tragedy when horses pulling a carriage ran away, throwing Mary Ann MacDaniel Hill (daughter-in-law of Col. Waid Hill and mother of Ann M. Hill Rowland) and her infant son from the carriage. This story is dramatically told by Daniel Pike Hill, II, as an adult when he says "Sadly my mother was killed in that accident...I was that baby".
My great-grandmother Ann M. Hill Rowland (wife of Peter Rowland), was second born in the family of ten children parented by Mary Ann MacDaniel and Gibson Flournoy Hill, and was 24 at the time of her mother's tragic death. Her youngest sister, Emma Hill (1850-1957) married Charles Center, was six at the time, and lived to be 107. Thanks to GG-aunt Emma's longevity we heard many family stories from that generation firsthand. I was 29 when she died and I cherish the memories of her visits.
Of the children born to Peter Rowland and Ann Hill Rowland I was privileged to know five (marked with *). They were:

Peter M. Rowland, Jr. (1857-1918) a merchant in Talladega, Alabama.
Mary Ann Rowland 1859-1942) married William Daniel Smith, lived in Texas.
Selina Hill Rowland (1861-1905) married Mr. Smith, 2nd Mr. Denham, lived in Texas.
*Virginia Rowland (1864-1938) never married and lived with my grandparents.
*Mattie Rowland (1866-1947) My beloved grandmother was married to Charles C. Farr, and they lived near LaFayette.
*Robert Gibson Rowland (1868-1956) lived in Birmingham.
*Sidney J. Rowland (1870-1964) lived in California.
Margaret Rowland (1872-1929) married William J. Lindsey and lived in Texas.
*Alice Rowland (1874-1959) married Woodson McClendon and lived near LaFayette.
Wade Hill Rowland (1877-1881).

With one exception they were all born two years apart. I learned the lore of that generation from my much loved Great-aunt Virginia "Gennie", who also introduced the Pollyanna books into my young life. Although crippled from polio, she lived a radiantly productive life from a wheel chair and died when I was ten.
The gathering place for relatives was my grandmother's (Mattie Rowland Farr) front porch. While "a good time was being had by all" on the porch, a better time was being held by all us cousins in the living room listening to "The Preacher and the Bear" roaring from the old Victrola...

(The article continues and is included on Mrs. Bessie Farr Davis's memorial page as it pertains to her immediate family.)
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1860 Chambers County, (Fredonia) AL Census:

#H400

P. M. Rowland 40M Dry Goods Merchant R$500 P$5,000 (2-Slaves) Born VA
Ann M. Rowland 28F Born VA
Sarah E. Rowland 10F Born AL
Henry W. Rowland 8M Born AL
Mary M. Rowland 6F Born AL
Peter Rowland 3M Born AL
Mary A. Rowland 1F Born AL
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1870 Chambers County, (Fredonia) AL Census:

#H68

Peter M. Rowland 50M Farmer R$375 P$500 Born VA
Ann M. Rowland 38F Keeping House Born VA
Henry W. Rowland 18M Farm Hand Born AL
Mary M. Rowland 16F At Home Born AL
Peter Rowland 12M At School Born AL
Mary A. Rowland 10F At School Born AL
Selina Rowland 8F At School Born AL
Virginia Lee Rowland 7F At School Born AL
Martha B. Rowland 5F At School Born AL
Robert G. Rowland 2M Born AL
Sidney J. Rowland 6/12M Born AL
Mary Bonner 13F (Black) Servant Born AL
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1880 Chambers County, (Lafayette) AL Census:

#H122

Peter M. Rowland 59M Probate Judge Born VA
Ann M. Rowland 47F Wife Keeping House Born VA
Peter Rowland 23M Son Clerk in Store Born AL
Salina Rowland 17F Daughter Born AL
Virginia L. Rowland 15F Daughter Born AL
Mattie Rowland 13F Daughter Born AL
Robert G. Rowland 11M Son Born AL
Albert S. Rowland 9M Son Born AL
Alice Rowland 5F Daughter Born AL
Maggie H. Rowland 7F Daughter Born AL
Wade H. Rowland 3M Son Born AL
Amanda Hugley 22F (Black) Domestic Servant Born AL
Clarra Hugley 4F (Black) Born AL
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