Lemuel Jackson Bowden (January 16, 1815January 2, 1864) was an American lawyer and politician from
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...
.
Early life
Bowden was born in 1815 in Williamsburg, Virginia, and graduated from the
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest instit ...
in 1831-1832.
Career
As an adult, Bowden settled in Williamsburg and practiced law there. He was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates three times, serving from 1841 to 1846.
In 1850, Lyons was elected to the
Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850
The Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1850 was an assembly of elected delegates chosen by the voters to write the fundamental law of Virginia. It is known as the Reform Convention because it liberalized Virginia political institutions.
Backgro ...
. He was one of two delegates elected from the Tidewater delegate district made up of Essex, King and Queen, Middlesex and Mathews Counties.
In 1860, he was a presidential elector from his Congressional District.
During the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
Bowden served as mayor of Williamsburg, Virginia from 1862 to 1863 in a region occupied by Federal troops. Following the creation of West Virginia organized by
Unionist Virginians in 1863, the
Restored Government of Virginia
The Restored (or Reorganized) Government of Virginia was the Unionist government of Virginia during the American Civil War (1861–1865) in opposition to the government which had approved Virginia's seceding from the United States and join ...
chose Bowden to represent
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
in the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
in 1863 as a member of the
Union Party. There he served until his death.
Death and family
Bowden died on January 2, 1864, of smallpox while in office at Washington, D.C. and he is buried in the
Congressional Cemetery
The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street in Washington, D.C., in the Hill East neighborhood on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American ...
there.
Bowden's son,
Thomas Russell Bowden, served as
Attorney General of Virginia
The attorney general of Virginia is an elected constitutional position that holds an Executive (government), executive office in the government of Virginia. Attorneys general are elected for a four-year term in the year following a United State ...
in both the Restored Government and the post-war
Reconstruction era
The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...
government, and his nephew,
George E. Bowden, represented
Virginia's 2nd congressional district
Virginia's second congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, U.S. congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It currently encompasses all of the counties of Accomack County, Virginia, Accomack, Nort ...
in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
from 1887 to 1891.
[ Congressional Bioguide, "Lemuel Jackson Bowden"]
See also
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References
Bibliography
*
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External links
Biographic sketch at U.S. Congress website
1815 births
1864 deaths
People from Williamsburg, Virginia
American people of French descent
Unionist Party United States senators from Virginia
Democratic Party United States senators from Virginia
Virginia Unionists
Mayors of Williamsburg, Virginia
Virginia lawyers
College of William & Mary alumni
People of Virginia in the American Civil War
Southern Unionists in the American Civil War
Deaths from smallpox in the United States
Burials at the Congressional Cemetery
United States senators who owned slaves
19th-century United States senators
19th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly
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