Person Record
Metadata
Name |
Rowley, Thomas |
Other Names |
Rowlee |
Date Born |
1721 |
Birthplace |
Hebron, Connecticut |
Deceased |
1803 |
Place of Death |
Benson, Vermont |
Father |
Rowlee, Samuel |
Mother |
Rowlee, Elizabeth Fuller |
Spouse |
Rowlee, Lois Cass |
Notes |
Known as the first Vermont poet with several poems published in the Bennington Gazette. He married Lois Cass in Hebron, Connecticut in 1744 and they had seven children in Connecticut. In 1768 the family moved to Danby, Vermont and were one of the first settlers. Thomas served as the first town clerk. He met Ethan Allen and joined the Green Mountain Boys, becoming Ethan Allen's spokesman. He moved to Shoreham about 1774 where his son Thomas later built a hotel. With the outbreak of the Revolutionary War the family returned to Danby and he served as town clerk (1769-1773, 1774-1776, 1780-1783), town constable (1773-1774), town treasurer (1773-1774), selectman (1779-1780) and general assembly representative (1779-1780, 1782-83). He chairman of the Committee of Safety, delegate to the state convention of 1777 and judge of the Shire of Rutland in 1778. With peace he returned to Shoreham where he served as Justice of the Peace from 1785-1791. |
