Lawrence Cowan: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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{{Short description|American politician (1858–1933)}}

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{{Infobox officeholder

[[File:Lawrence Oscar Cowan.jpg|thumb|L. O. Cowan]]

| honorific-prefix =

'''Lawrence Oscar "L. O." Cowan''' (September 18, 1858{{spaced ndash}}July 20, 1933) was a .

| name = Lawrence Cowan

| honorific-suffix =

| image = Lawrence Oscar Cowan.jpg

| alt =

| office = Member of the [[19th Arizona Territorial Legislature]]

| district =

| term_start =

| term_end =

| term = 1897

| predecessor =

| successor =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1858|09|18}}

| birth_place = [[Due West, South Carolina]], US

| death_date = {{death date and age|1933|07|20|1858|09|15}}

| death_place = [[Tucson]], Arizona, US

| nationality =

| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]

| relations =

| children =

| residence =

| alma_mater = [[Erskine College]]

| occupation =

| profession = Politician, Businessman

| signature =

| signature_alt =

| website =

| footnotes =

}}

'''Lawrence Oscar Cowan''' (September 18, 1858{{r|mc1}}{{spaced ndash}}July 20, 1933) was an American judge, state legislator, city official, businessman, and miner in the [[Arizona Territory]] and [[Arizona|state]] in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

==BiographyBackground==

Cowan was born in [[Due West, South Carolina]], the son of planter and merchant Captain John Cowan. He attended the local public schools and graduated from [[Erskine College]] before studying law in the state of [[Georgia (US state)|Georgia]]. He was admitted to practice before the [[Supreme Court of Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia Supreme Court]] in 1882 and then moved to Arizona the same year, settling in [[Kingman, Arizona|Kingman]].{{r|wh1}}

==Kingman and first term in Legislature==

There he continued to practice law, and had interests in cattle ranching and mining. He moved to [[San Diego, California]], for a brief time before returning to Kingman and being elected a [[Probate Judge]], serving in that position for four years{{r|wh1}} and simultaneously he was the superintendent of county schools.{{r|mc1|ads1}} He served as the clerk of the District Court of Mohave County for four years,{{r|mc1}} and clerk of the Board of Supervisors.{{r|wh1}} In 1895 he was elected Mohave [[County Recorder]] and in 1897 elected to the upper house of the [[19th Arizona Territorial Legislature]] from Mohave County.{{r|wh1}}

Near the end of the session, tensions grew between the House of Representatives and Governor [[Benjamin Joseph Franklin]], a [[gold Democrat]] in a predominately [[free silver]] territory, leading Cowan to sponsor a resolution declaring "the best interests of the territory demanded an immediate change in the office of governor." The resolution was opposed in the Council which proclaimed it "has implicit confidence in the integrity and ability of our present governor."{{r|wag}}

==Tucson and second term in Legislature==

In 1898, he moved to [[Tucson, Arizona|Tucson]]{{r|ads1}} and was elected to the [[22nd Arizona Territorial Legislature|22nd legislature]] in 1902 representing [[Pima County, Arizona|Pima County]].

===Cowan Bill===

Acting upon a recommendation by Governor [[Alexander Oswald Brodie|Brodie]],{{r|wn1}} he introduced what came to be known as the Cowan Bill which raised significant revenue for Arizona.{{r|wh1}} Under the original laws of the territory, the territorial secretary, who approved and recorded articles of incorporation for companies incorporating in the territory, was entitled to keep the fees charged as part of his salary. The secretary at the time, [[Isaac T. Stoddard]] was receiving an estimated $40,000 per year (about ${{Inflation|US|40000|1901|fmt=c|r=-4}} per year in present-day terms{{Inflation-fn|US}}) in fees, and he had built a side business that assisted foreign businesses to incorporate under Arizona law. His earnings were harshly criticized.{{r|ceml1}} The bill made incorporation fees revenue to the territory treasury. The Cowan Bill passed in the state assembly 13 to 5,{{r|ads2}} despite Stoddard's active opposition.{{r|wn1}} By 1905, Arizona was receiving over $50,000 per year in incorporation fees.{{r|wn1}}

==FootnotesLater life==

Cowan was the Tucson city recorder for twenty-two years beginning in 1910, which at the time made him also the city clerk and a city police court judge.{{r|mc1|ads1}}

{{notelist-ua}}

==Personal==

Cowan married Rosalie Rice Ogden of California in December 1883{{r|asb2}} with whom he had two daughters, Florence and Edith.{{r|mc1}} In 1888, he opened Kingman Soda Works and manufactured sodas including [[sarsaparilla (soft drink)|sarsaparilla]], [[ginger ale]] and soda water.{{r|mcm1}}

He lost part of his thumb when closing the [[Breechloader|breech]] of his gun on it while attempting to shoot a large cat.{{r|k}}

He was also a partner with [[US Senator]] [[Marcus A. Smith]] in a [[Sonora, Mexico]], copper mine.{{r|mc1}} The pair were awarded possession of the mining claim by the [[Supreme Court of Mexico]] in 1904, after losing cases in lower courts, and regained the claim from three Mexican [[land claim|claim jumper]]s.{{r|asb1}}

Cohen died July 20, 1933, in Tucson{{r|ads1}} and was buried at Evergreen Memorial Park.

==References==

{{Reflist|refs=

{{reflist |colwidth=30em}}

{{refbegin}}

* {{cite book |editor1-last=Conners |editor1-first=Jo |title=Who's who in Arizona |volume=Vol I |publisher=Arizona Daily Star|location=Tucson |year=1913 | oclc = 8862523 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LxFQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA417|ref=harv}}▼

*{{cite book |last=Goff |first=John S. |title=Arizona Territorial Officials Volume VI: Members of the Legislature A–L |publisher=Black Mountain Press|location=Cave Creek, Arizona |year=1996 | oclc = 36714908 |ref=harv}}▼

* {{Cite book | last = McClintock | first = James H. |authorlink=James H. McClintock | title = Arizona, Prehistoric, Aboriginal, Pioneer, Modern: The Nation's Youngest Commonwealth Within a Land of Ancient Culture |volume=Volume III| publisher=S.J. Clarke Publishing Co. | year = 1916 | location = Chicago | oclc = 5398889 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nBQ1AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA334|ref=harv}}▼

{{refend}}

▲*<ref name=wh1>{{cite book |editor1-last=Conners |editor1-first=Jo |title=Who's who in Arizona |volume=Vol I |publisherwork=Arizona Daily Star|location=Tucson |year=1913 | oclc = 8862523 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LxFQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA417|ref=harv}}</ref>

==External links==▼

▲*<ref name=mc1>{{Cite book | last = McClintock | first = James H. |authorlink=James H. McClintock | title = Arizona, Prehistoric, Aboriginal, Pioneer, Modern: The Nation's Youngest Commonwealth Within a Land of Ancient Culture |volume=Volume III| publisher=S.J. Clarke Publishing Co. | year = =1916 | location = Chicago | oclc = 5398889 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nBQ1AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA334|ref=harv}}</ref>

<ref name="ads1">{{cite news |title=Pioneer Judge Taken By Death |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26123394/arizona_daily_star/ |accessdate=December 10, 2018 |work=Arizona Daily Star |date=July 21, 1933 |location=Tucson, Arizona |page=1|via=[[newspapers.com]]}} {{free_access}}</ref>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roskruge, George J}}▼

<ref name="ads2">{{cite news |title=Reaching the End Last Days of Session-Cowan's Bill Passed in House |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26182834/arizona_daily_star/|accessdate=December 12, 2018 |work=Arizona Daily Star |date=March 3, 1902 |location=Tucson, Arizona |page=1|via=[[newspapers.com]]}} {{free_access}}</ref>

<ref name="asb1">{{cite news |title=M.A. Smith and L.O. Cowan Win Mexican Mining Suit |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26125332/arizona_silver_belt/ |accessdate=December 11, 2018 |work=Arizona Silver Belt |date=June 30, 1904 |location=Globe, Arizona |page=6|via=[[newspapers.com]]}} {{free_access}}</ref>

<ref name="asb2">{{cite news |title=Married.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26182172/arizona_silver_belt// |accessdate=December 12, 2018 |work=Arizona Silver Belt |date=January 6, 1884 |location=Globe, Arizona |page=3|via=[[newspapers.com]]}} {{free_access}}</ref>

<ref name="mcm1">{{cite news |title=Local Brevities|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26125638/mohave_county_miner/|accessdate=December 11, 2018 |work=Mohave County Miner|date=July 28, 1888 |location=Mineral Park, Arizona |page=3|via=[[newspapers.com]]}} {{free_access}}</ref>

<ref name="wn1">{{cite news |title=$4,732.20 In Incorporation|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26183351/williams_news/|accessdate=December 12, 2018 |work=Williams News|date=June 10, 1905 |location=Williams, Arizona |page=1|via=[[newspapers.com]]}} {{free_access}}</ref>

<ref name = ceml1>{{cite news|title=The Wickenburgh Herald claims that Issace Stoddard, territorial secretary, has struck a bonanza|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/14747336/the_copper_era_and_morenci_leader/|accessdate=29 October 2017|work=The Copper Era and Morenci Leader|date=March 27, 1902|page=2|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{free access}}</ref>

<ref name="k">{{citation|author=Dan W. Messersmith|title=Kingman|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YDK1Vnc1HroC&pg=PA105|year=2010|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0-7385-7930-6|pages=105–}}</ref>

<ref name=wag>{{cite book |last = Wagoner |first = Jay J. |title = Arizona Territory 1863–1912: A Political history |publisher = University of Arizona Press |location = Tucson |year = 1970 |isbn = 0-8165-0176-9 |pages = [https://archive.org/details/arizonaterritory00wago/page/330 330–1] |url-access = registration |url = https://archive.org/details/arizonaterritory00wago/page/330 }}</ref>

}}

▲==External links==

▲*{{cite book |last=Goff |first=John S. |title=Arizona Territorial Officials Volume VI: Members of the Legislature A&ndash;L |publisher=Black Mountain Press|location=Cave Creek, Arizona |year=1996 | oclc = 36714908 |ref=harv}}

▲{{DEFAULTSORT:RoskrugeCowan, George JLawrence}}

[[:Category:1829 births]]▼

[[:Category:19201858 deathsbirths]]

▲[[:Category:18291933 birthsdeaths]]

[[Category:Members of the Arizona Territorial Legislature]]

[[Category:People from Abbeville County, South Carolina]]

[[Category:People from Kingman, Arizona]]

[[Category:Politicians from Tucson, Arizona]]

[[Category:Erskine College alumni]]

[[Category:Arizona lawyers]]

[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers]]

[[Category:Arizona Territory judges]]

[[Category:Arizona Democrats]]