Oden Bowie

Oden Bowie(November 10, 1826 – December 4, 1894),a member of theUnited States Democratic Party, was the34th governor of the State of Marylandin the United States from 1869 to 1872.
He was born in 1826 atFairview PlantationinCollington, Maryland, the oldest son of ColonelWilliam Duckett Bowieand Eliza Mary Oden.
He spent the bulk of his childhood at Fairview where he was educated by a private tutor until his mother died when he was nine years old. After his mother's death, he was sent to the preparatory department ofSt. John's CollegeinAnnapolis, Maryland, where he studied for three years. At age twelve, he enrolled inSt. Mary's Seminary and Universityand graduated in July 1845 as valedictorian of his class.
In 1846 Bowie enlisted in the U.S. Army as a private at the outbreak of theMexican–American War. He was promoted through the ranks, cited with "conspicuous bravery atMonterey" by Captain Taylor and eventually promoted to the rank of Captain byPresident James K. Polk, serving in theVoltigeur Regiment.At the time he was the youngest Captain in the army.
In 1849, he was elected to his first political office, as a member of theMaryland House of Delegates, followed by theMaryland Senatefrom 1867 to 1869. On November 5, 1867, he became
the firstgovernor of Marylandto be elected under the post-Civil WarMaryland Constitution of 1867, and as such, he did not assume the office of governor until January 13, 1869. Bowie's term of governor ended on January 10, 1872, ending his career in politics.
Walter Bowie was a major advocate of expanding the railroad system into southern Maryland, and wrote articles lobbying for this under the pen name "Patuxent Planter". After significant lobbying together withThomas Fielder Bowie, William Duckett Bowie, and Oden Bowie, theBaltimore and Potomac RailroadCompany was organized. Two of the charter members were Walter Bowie and Thomas F Bowie. Directors included William Duckett Bowie and Oden. Oden became the first president of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad around 1853and also president of theBaltimore City Passenger Railwayin 1873.
Oden Bowie was an avid horseman who served for nineteen years as President of the Pimlico Jockey Club,and as President of the Maryland Jockey Club.At Fairview Plantation he bred Thoroughbred racehorses. Among his successful runners,Crickmorewas voted the retrospectiveAmerican Champion Two-Year-Old Coltof 1880.
In 1868, at a dinner party inSaratoga Springs, New York, Bowie and associates agreed to hold a horse race in 1870 for theyearlingsowned by attendees at the party. A wager was placed and the winner of the race would host the losers for dinner. Both Saratoga and the American Jockey Club made bids for the event, but Bowie pledged to build a grand racetrack in his home state if the race were to be run in Baltimore. TheDixie Stakes, (also known as the Dinner Party Stakes)andPimlico Race Coursewere the results.
Before the Civil War, Fairview had many slaves. Charles Branch Clark wrote in 1946 in the Maryland Historical Magazine that 70 of Bowie's slaves enlisted in theUnion Army.
Bowie spent most of his life at Fairview Plantation. He married Alice Carter on December 3, 1851. She was the daughter of Charles H. Carter and Rosalie Eugenia Calvert Carter of Goodwood, Prince George's County. Alice's mother was a descendant ofGeorge Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimorethe first colonial proprietor of theProvince of Maryland.His cousin was state delegateReginald Bowie.
Bowie died after a brief illnesson December 4, 1894, and was buried at Fairview.