Judge Peter M. Rowland, Rebel With A Cause

Judge Peter Monroe Rowland was no ordinary judge — he was a Congregational Methodist Minister, an Army Captain, and a bit of a rebel. Born in Henry County, Virginia, in the year 1820, he was orphaned and separated from his only sibling at an early age. The only relatives he ever knew were his two wives, his in-laws, and his 13 children (and their offspring).

In 1845, at the age of 25, young Peter was tasked to deliver a wagon load of Virginia tobacco to Alabama. Upon his arrival in Chambers County, Alabama, he liked what he saw and decided to settle there instead of returning to Virginia. The county had been established just 13 years before his arrival, making him an early settler. Peter M. Rowland married Mary E. Hurst in 1847, and she was the mother of his first three children. After her death, he married Ann M. Hill in 1857, and ten more children were produced by their union.

The old State Line Church near Fredonia ordained him a Congregational Methodist minister in 1850. He never received pay for his ministry work, although he once asked the congregation to make offerings of grain. Thinking they were finally going to pay the preacher, the congregation was surprised when he divided the grain among the needy widows of the community.

The Civil War saw him enlist as a 1st Lieutenant in Faulkner’s Cavalry Company of the 14th Alabama. He was eventually commissioned a Captain, at which time he returned to Chambers County an organized his own cavalry company that became Company A, Calvary 5th Battalion, Hilliard’s Legion, Alabama Volunteers, later known as Co. A, 10th Confederate Cavalry.

Peter was elected Judge of Probate in 1874 and held that office until his death on December 28, 1882. It was this role that garnered the rebel with a cause description. In 1881, the court ordered him to levy and collect a tax for payment of a claim on a U.S. railroad bond case. He refused to obey the court’s mandate, claiming it was an unjust action against his innocent community. This contempt of court landed him in jail for six weeks in Montgomery. Once released, a thousand people celebrated his arrival at the LaFayette train station. Their rebel was back home.

Book Excerpts

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.

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.

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”.

Genealogy and Y-DNA

There are many conflicting “family trees” claiming to identify his parents, although none have sources. Additionally, none of his known male Rowland descendants have taken a Y-DNA test, making his one of the Untested Rowland Lines. Given the above, at this time it is imperative to say that the parents of this particular rebel are Unknown.

Peter M Rowland married Mary E. Hurst on 28 Jan 1847 at Chambers County, Alabama. She died in 1854. Children:

Sara Elizabeth (Rowland) Abernathy (1849 – 1891)
Henry W Rowland 1851-1928
Mary M (Rowland) Slaughter 1854-1925

Peter M Rowland married Ann M Hill on 13 Jan 1857 at Chambers County, Alabama. Children:

Peter Monroe Rowland (1857 – 1918)
Mary Ann (Rowland) Smith (1859 – 1942)
Selina Hill (Rowland) Denham (1861 – 1905)
Virginia Lee Rowland (1864 – 1938)
Mattie Bonner (Rowland) Farr (1866 – 1947)
Robert Gibson Rowland (1868 – 1956)
Sidney Johnson Rowland (1870 – 1964)
Margaret H. (Rowland) Lindsey (1872 – 1929)
Alice E. (Rowland) McClendon (1874 – 1959)
Waid Hill Rowland (1877 – 1881)

Having 13 children qualifies him to be included on our Be Fruitful and Multiply page.

Peter M. and Ann Hill Rowland, about the time of their marriage in 1857. Image is a 1/4 plate ruby ambrotype from the collection of Fay M. Newton, great-granddaughter of the Rowlands.

Sources/References

Much of the biographical information and photographs are courtesy of Marion Davis Turner. Other information from “The Reason For The Tears”, by Bobby L. Lindsey.
Lindsey, B. L. (1971). “The Reason for the Tears”: A History of Chambers County, Alabama 1832-1900. United States: Hester Printing Company.
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/57023882/peter_monroe-rowland: accessed May 25, 2025), memorial page for Judge Peter Monroe Rowland (20 Sep 1820–28 Dec 1882), Find a Grave Memorial ID 57023882, citing Rock Springs Baptist Church Cemetery, Penton, Chambers County, Alabama, USA; Maintained by Churchwell (contributor 46607715).
WikiTree contributors, “Peter Monroe Rowland (1820-1882),” WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Rowland-3234 : accessed 25 May 2025).
Summers, C. (1993). Confederate Soldiers from Chambers County, Alabama and Thereabouts. United States: Chattahoochee Valley Historical Society.
The Heritage of Chambers County, Alabama. (1999). United States: Heritage Pub. Consultants.