Matthew Rowan was a British colonial official who was the acting governor of North Carolina from 1753 to 1754.
13 Facts About Matthew Rowan
1.
2.
Matthew Rowan was born in County Antrim, Ireland, but the date of his birth remains unknown.
3.
Matthew Rowan was the son of Reverend John Rowan and the former Margaret Stewart and had eight brothers and three sisters.
4.
Matthew Rowan joined the assembly in 1727 and the executive council in 1731, where he worked between 1734 and his death in 1760.
5.
In 1735, Matthew Rowan worked in the survey of the boundary line between North and South Carolina with other men, being appointed surveyor-general of North Carolina.
6.
Matthew Rowan was appointed President of the Council and acting governor of North Carolina in 1753, following the death of governor Nathaniel Rice.
7.
Matthew Rowan married Elizabeth, the widow of his brother John, in 1742, although they had no children.
8.
Matthew Rowan did father one child, John Matthew Rowan, with Jane Stubbs; he acknowledged his paternity and remembered John in his will.
9.
Matthew Rowan mainly lived in the Lower Cape Fear, near the Brunswick County community, where he lived in North Carolina.
10.
In 1753, the area that had previously been the northern part of Anson County was formed into Matthew Rowan County, named in his honor.
11.
Matthew Rowan abandoned the survivors but later returned to recover the cargo from the wrecked ship.
12.
Apparently, Matthew Rowan wanted the valuable cargo but felt no responsibility to save the lives of his passengers.
13.
Thirteen years later, Matthew Rowan turns up as governor of North Carolina.