Charles W Rowland And His Gold Bullets

DNA Group E, Interesting & Quirky / / By

Charles W Rowland, an expert marksman, became famous for setting world records and making his own bullets from solid gold. Although well-known among the other rifleman of his day (and those of the present day), his fame likely peaked with the general public four years after his death. At that time, “This Curious World” published a drawing of him, which was syndicated in newspapers nationwide. The accompanying text read, “Charles Rowland, old time Colorado rifleman extraordinary, cast bullets of solid gold to gain greater accuracy.”

Charles Wright Rowland was born in 1859 in Morristown, St Lawrence County, New York. By the age of 20, he had moved to Boulder, Colorado, where he lived until his death in 1936. He took a job in a flour mill upon his arrival in Colorado and turned it into a career, He eventually became the owner of the Boulder Milling and Elevator Company, and shared his observations on the yearly wheat harvest with the local newspaper.

However, his real passion was shooting. In 1901, he established the world record for a grouping of 10 consecutive shots at 200 yards. That 0.722-inch diameter grouping remained a record for more than 50 years. He was regularly interviewed and discussed in articles published by Outdoor Life, Gun Digest, and other magazines, and he is still revered by modern-day gun enthusiasts. The book “The Golden Age of the American Schuetznefest: A History and Study of the Marksman’s Art” by Randolph Schreiter Wright, contains a section on Charles W Rowland and another section devoted to his targets.

Charles attributed much of his success to developing, testing, evaluating, and refining his process. An Outdoor Life magazine article from October 1902, described his bullet casting and loading process:

” A large lot is cast, something like 500, all of which to an average man would appear perfect. These bullets are carefully weighed, and all varying over 1/10 grain are laid out; the remaining bullets are then carefully greased with a Pope pump and again weighed carefully, and those not balancing are laid aside. By this time, the original 500 are something like 160 or so. The bullet is loaded with a Stevens-Pope muzzle loading barrel. After the rifle is laid on the rest, a shell with a projecting wire is inserted in the breech to learn if the rod has inserted the bullet too deep. Powder is loaded with a Stevens-Pope flask, rattled five times, and repeated tests by Mr. Rowland proved it is not necessary to weigh the powder. The load used in making this target was 3 grains DuPont #1 smokeless, 7 1/2 UMC primer, and the shell filled nearly full with Hazard Fg powder, making a bulk charge of about 46 grains.”

This dedication to perfecting his process led him to experiment with bullets cast from solid gold. While this may appear to be an expensive and foolish way to make bullets, he recycled each and every one. His targets were posted on the end of a soft log, and he would retrieve them after every shooting match. Then, he would take the now deformed slugs back to his workshop, melt them down, and recast them into fresh new gold bullets. “He never missed–so he never lost any gold. He was the champion rifle shot of the world in 1913,” exclaimed his daughter, Elizabeth (Rowland) Owen.

Genealogy/DNA

Charles Wright Rowland was born on November 16, 1859, a son of Israel Rowland and Roxalana Wright. He was the first of four children born to this marriage. Additionally, he had four half-siblings from his father’s previous marriage with Rachel Coates, and four more half-siblings from his mother’s previous marriage to Horace Giffin. Charles maintained a close relationship with his Giffin half-siblings, and he moved to Boulder, Colorado with a few of them sometime after 1870. In the 1880 census, Charles and his full-brother Hiram, ages 20 and 19, are shown living in the home of their half-brother Sydney Giffin and his family in Boulder, Colorado.

In Boulder, Charles took a job in a flour mill and then married Alice Van Dusen in 1884. Alice was also from St Lawrence County, New York, but it is not known whether or not they knew each other in New York or if they first met in Colorado. They had five children, although one died as an infant. The four growing to adulthood were Jay Miller Rowland (1891-1962), Ben Wright Rowland (1893-1973), Elizabeth A “Bessie” (Rowland) Owen (1896-), and Joseph Giffin Rowland (1898-1959).

As mentioned earlier, his father was Isreal Rowland (1802-1865), who was born in Massachusetts and was residing in St Lawrence County, New York by the 1830 census. His paternal line extends back through Joel Rowland (1770-1850), Israel W Rowland (1750-1827), Thomas Rowland (1721-1808), Israel Rowland Jr (1700-1780), Israel Rowland (1668-1720), and Henry Rowland (1625-1691). Henry Rowland (1625-1691) was born in England, emigrated to the New World, and died in Fairfield, Connecticut Colony. Henry is the earliest known ancestor of Rowland Y-DNA Group E.

Giffin and Rowland Families at 1040 Mapleton Ave, Boulder, Colorado, 18 Aug 1892.
Giffin and Rowland families posed in a studio, Boulder, Colorado, date unknown

Sources/References

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