Prominent among the loyal and public-spirited of Fort Smith, Sebastian county, Arkansas, is Judge Styles T. Rowe, who holds distinctive prestige as one of the most versatile trial lawyers and well fortified counselors in this section of the state. Judge Rowe was born at Troy, Alabama, the date of his nativity being the 28th of May, 1861. His father, Rev. Daniel Rowe, was a native of the state of Georgia and during the latter years of his life he became well known as a missionary Baptist preacher in the states of Georgia and Alabama. Rev. Rowe removed to Arkansas about the year 1872, location having been made in Sebastian county, where he passed the residue of his life, his demise having occurred in 1876. Rev. Rowe was united in marriage to Miss Margaret A. Taylor, a native of Georgia and a descendant of General Zachary Taylor. She is a relative of the renowned Alexander H. Stephens and she is now living at Greenwood, Arkansas, having recently celebrated her eighty-second birthday. Judge Styles T. Rowe, of this review, was the youngest in a family of four children, and he was a child of eleven years of age at the time of his parents’ immigration to Arkansas. He received his preliminary educational discipline in the schools of his native place in Alabama and subsequently he completed his academic education in the public schools of Arkansas and under the tutelage of his father and mother, both of whom were particularly well educated. After attaining to years of discretion he decided upon the legal profession as his life work and accordingly began to read law with Judge C. B. Neal, of Greenwood, Sebastian county, under whose able preceptorship he made such rapid strides in the absorption and assimilation of the science of jurisprudence that he was admitted to the bar on the 22nd of October, 1882. About the same time, his elder brother, Robert A. Rowe, was admitted to practice and they formed a partnership, under the firm name of Rowe & Rowe. This mutually agreeable alliance continued with marked success to both members of the firm until the election of the junior member, Styles T. Rowe, to the office of circuit judge of the Twelfth judicial circuit of Arkansas, on the 31st of October, 1898. He served with all of honor and distinction in this capacity for the ensuing four years, at the expiration of which he was further honored by his fellow citizens with re-election to the same office. This is one of the largest and most important courts in the entire state and Judge Rowe presided over it with signal ability, dignity and justice. In connection with the work of his profession Judge Rowe is affiliated with the Fort Smith Bar Association and with the Arkansas State Bar Association and it may be stated here that as the result of his close adherence to the unwritten code of professional ethics he holds a high place in the confidence and esteem of his fellow practitioners. He served with efficiency as deputy circuit clerk of the Twelfth circuit for a short time subsequent to his admission to the bar and it was in this connection that he became so well posted on all matters relating to the office of circuit judge, to which he was later elected. In 1906, at the expiration of his term as circuit judge, Judge Rowe removed from Greenwood to Fort Smith, where he has since been engaged in a general practice of law. In 1906 he admitted his son, Prentiss E. Rowe, as a member of the law firm of Rowe & Rowe. The latter was graduated in the law department of the University of Arkansas as a member of the class of 1905, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and he is proving himself a particularly capable young lawyer, one most admirably fitted by innate talent and training as a partner of his illustrious father. They control a large and lucrative clientage and have figured prominently in many of the most important litigations in the state and federal courts. Prentiss E. Rowe served in the state legislature in 1909, from Sebastian county, being the youngest member of that body.

In Sebastian county, Arkansas, on the 23d of April, 1884, Judge Rowe was united in marriage to Miss Emma C. Patton, who was born and reared in the state of Arkansas and who is a daughter of James G. Patton, of Greenwood, Arkansas. Judge and Mrs. Rowe have four children, namely, Prentiss E., who is associated in the practice of law with his father, as previously noted; Emma, who is now Mrs. Alcuin Eason and who maintains her home at Fayetteville; and Styles P. and Rupert H., both of whom are attending school. Mrs. Rowe is a woman of rare charm and most gracious personality and her beautiful home is widely renowned as a center of generous hospitality.

In his political proclivities Judge Rowe is aligned as a stalwart supporter of the principles and policies promulgated by the Democratic party, in the local councils of which he has ever been an active and interested worker. In a fraternal way he is one of the most prominent secret order men of the state. In the time-honored Masonic order he has passed through the circle of the Scottish Rite branch, having attained to the thirty-second degree, and in the York Rite branch he is a master and Royal Arch Mason. He is also affiliated with the adjunct Masonic organization, the Order of the Eastern Star, and he is past grand master for Arkansas in the Masonic grand lodge of the state. He is also a valued and appreciative member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Honor, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks. In their religious faith the Rowe family are zealous and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, in the various departments of whose work they are active factors. Judge Rowe is a man of tremendous vitality, broad mind and admirable executive ability, and in all the relations of life he has so conducted himself as to command the unalloyed confidence and esteem of his fellow men.