Atkinson Hill Rowan

1803-1833

Atkinson Hill Rowan was born on April 30, 1803, in Frankfort, Kentucky. He was named in honor of Atkinson Hill, who was a Judge in Nelson County and a business partner of John Rowan, Sr. “Hill”, as he was known to family and friends, was well educated and became a lawyer, like his father. He courted Charlotte Foster (Stephen Foster’s older sister) when she came to Bardstown in 1828, but she rejected him. Nevertheless, he rushed to be with Charlotte when she was taken ill in Louisville in 1829, and remained by her side until she passed away. Hill never married. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson sent Hill as a diplomatic currier to the Court of Spain, and he spent several months in Madrid. Hill died from a cholera outbreak at Federal Hill on July 26, 1833, at the age of 30, and is interred in the family cemetery.