Dunbar Rowland

Dunbar Rowland (August 25, 1864 − November 1, 1937) was an American attorney, archivist, and historian who served as the first director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History from 1902 until his death in 1937.

Early life and education Born in Oakland, Mississippi, Dunbar Rowland was the youngest son of physician William Brewer Rowland and Mary Bryan Rowland. His grandfather, Creed Taylor Rowland (c.1802–c.1866), had moved from Virginia to Lowndes County, Mississippi, using enslaved African Americans as a collateral for loans that allowed him to buy up large tracts of land.

He received his primary education at private schools in Memphis, Tennessee, and prepared for college at Oakland Academy.

In an article in the Mississippi Historical Society titled, Plantation Life in Mississippi before the War, published in 1901, Rowland acknowledged "...that the state of servitude upon which the labor system of the State [Mississippi] rested at that time [antebellum South] had much in it that was cruel, revolting and oppressive..." Further in the article, he portrayed the life of enslaved African Americans as more hopeful than it actually was: The slave family always had a garden spot given for their own. They were taught the pride of ownership, and many families beautified their little homes with running vines and flowers. Their food was issued to them weekly from a big 'smoke-house' that was to be found on every Mississippi plantation. It was plain, wholesome, and substantial, and consisted of bread, meat, rice, and vegetables, molasses and milk.

In 1902, Rowland became the first director of the newly created Mississippi Department of Archives and History. In addition to the establishment of private and public archives during his tenure at MDAH, he was able to initiate the creation of a museum and a library, plus assemble literary and artistic collections that were representative of Mississippi history and culture.

Publications Dunbar Rowland (ed). 1907. Mississippi: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. vol. I. Dunbar Rowland (ed). 1907. Mississippi: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. vol. II. Dunbar Rowland (ed). 1907. Mississippi: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form. vol. III. Dunbar Rowland (ed). 1923. Jefferson Davis, Constitutionalist: his Letters, Papers, and Speeches. 10 vols. (catalog record) Dunbar Rowland. 1925. History of Mississippi: The Heart of the South. vol. I.