Chatham County GaArchives Biographies.....Rowland, Charles P. 1877 - living in 1913 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/gafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 October 13, 2004, 5:40 pm Author: William Harden p. 614-616 CHARLES P. ROWLAND. Among the representative men of Savannah is Charles P. Rowland, property owner and engaged extensively in real estate business. The family was founded here in 1843 by the subject's father and in the ensuing sixty years the name has been one of the honored ones of the city and identified in praiseworthy fashion with business and municipal life, the attitude of the Rowlands, father and son, to the city, being public-spirited and altruistic. Charles P. Rowland was born in Savannah on the 6th of June, 1877, the son of John C. and Mary (Gray) Rowland. The elder gentleman was born in Dutchess county, New York, May 20, 1827. He passed the days of his youth and his early manhood near Rochester, New York, and in 1843 came to Savannah to begin his business life. He embarked in a commercial career, becoming prominent as a cotton warehouseman and shipper. Notwithstanding his northern birth, he readily granted the justice of the southern contention for independence, and as early as January, 1861, enlisted in the Pulaski Guards, with which he served in garrison at Fort Pulaski. In August, 1861, he entered the regular Confederate service as first sergeant of the Washington volunteers, under Capt. John McMahon, which became a company of the First Regiment of Georgia, commanded by Col. Charles H. Olmstead. In the following winter he was promoted to second lieutenant. Lieutenant Rowland was part of the gallant garrison of Fort Pulaski during its bombardment by the Federal fleet and batteries, April 10 and 11, 1862, and which Colonel Olmstead was compelled to surrender after all the guns that could he brought to bear on the enemy had been dismounted and the walls of the fort were breached. Following this event Lieutenant Rowland was taken as a prisoner of war by way of Hilton Head and Governor's Island to Johnson's Island, Ohio, where he was held until the latter part of the summer of 1862. Then being exchanged he returned to Savannah and rejoined his regiment and was promoted to first lieutenant. "With this rank he served in Battery Wagner on Morris Island, South Carolina, during the great bombardment and assault in July, 1863, and in other operations around Charleston. In the spring of 1864 the regiment joined the Army of Tennessee and Lieutenant Rowland, in command of his company (Company K, First Georgia Regiment), participated in the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, the battles around Atlanta, Jonesboro, and other engagements of Mercer's Brigade with Hood's Corps in Tennessee. At the last he was a participant in the campaign in the Carolinas and surrendered with the army at Greensboro, North Carolina. At the close of this worthy and honorable career as a Confederate soldier, John C. Rowland returned to his home in Savannah and reengaged in business life of the city, in which he remained a potent factor up to the time of his death. He retired from the cotton business in 1880 and thereafter was engaged for the most part in real estate transactions, buying and selling his own property for investment, in which business he achieved substantial financial success, becoming one of the wealthy men of the city. He was one of the first directors and was vice-president of the Savannah Bank & Trust Company. He also served as alderman of the city of Savannah for one term. His death occurred on February 1,1908. He held a place of highest esteem with the people of Savannah, for his usefulness as a citizen and business man and for his valiant service in the supreme struggle between the North and the South, as an upholder of the Confederacy. The subject's mother was born in Savannah and died in this city in 1906. She was the daughter of George S. Gray of this city. In addition to the immediate subject of this review, there was a son and a daughter, namely: Clifford G. and Helen C. Charles P. Rowland was reared in Savannah and in the city of his birth has spent his entire life with the exception of the period of his higher education. He had his first introduction to Minerva in the public schools of the city and after finishing their curriculum, he entered Bingham Military Institute at Asheville, North Carolina, where he spent four years, and subsequently entered the Georgia Institute of Technology at Atlanta, In partnership with his cousin, John T. Rowland, he became established in the real estate and insurance business in Savannah in 1898 and after the retirement of the former, became associated with his brother, C. G. Rowland, and their business is one of the most extensive and prosperous in the city. Like his father, Mr. Rowland has been especially successful in the purchase and sale of local real estate for his own investment and he is acknowledged to be one of the best judges of property values in the city. Mr. Rowland has always been interested in military affairs in Savannah, and for several years he was an active member of the Georgia Hussars, in which historic organization he rose to the rank of first lieutenant. He enlisted as a private in the Georgia Hussars on February 28, 1898, and receiving various promotions, received the rank above named on October 9, 1905, serving in that capacity until his retirement October 14, 1909. On May 14, 1910, he was appointed on Governor Brown's staff as aide-de-camp with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He is a member of the Sons of the Revolution; has taken the Scottish, and York degrees in Masonry, and is also a Shriner. Mr. Rowland was married on the 10th day of July, 1909, the lady to become his wife being Miss Minnie Coney Greenlee, of Asheville, North Carolina. They are prominent in exclusive social circles and maintain one of the attractive and hospitable households of the city. Additional Comments: From: A HISTORY OF SAVANNAH AND SOUTH GEORGIA BY WILLIAM HARDEN VOLUME I ILLUSTRATED THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO AND NEW YORK 1913 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/chatham/bios/gbs166rowland.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/gafiles/ File size: 6.5 Kb