Elliot Christopher Cowdin

Elliot Christopher Cowdin I (August 8, 1819 - April 12, 1880) was an American businessman and politician. He served one term in the New York State Assembly in 1877, representing the 11th district.

Cowdin became involved in the silk trade in the 1840s and, in 1852, he moved to New York City to establish his own business, Elliot C. Cowdin & Company, an importing firm that specialized in "ribbons, silks, flowers and other Paris novelties."

Political career Cowdin held some appointed posts in government, including that of U.S. Commissioner to the Paris Expedition in 1867. He was also a member of the 100th New York State Legislature in 1877, elected to the New York State Assembly as a Republican representative of the 11th District (New York County). His interests as an Assemblyman, as indicated by the bills he introduced, included government reform, taxation and finance, and trade and commerce. Cowdin served just one term, declining afterward to run for reelection.