Samuel Rowe (colonial administrator)
| Sir Samuel Rowe | |
|---|---|
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| Administrator of the Gambia | |
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In office June 1875 – 30 March 1877 |
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| Preceded by | Cornelius Hendricksen Kortright |
| Succeeded by | Valerius Skipton Gouldsbury |
| Governor of Sierra Leone | |
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In office July 1875 – January 1881 |
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| Preceded by | Cornelius Hendricksen Kortright |
| Succeeded by | Arthur Havelock |
| Governor-in-chief of the British West Africa settlements | |
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In office 12 June 1887 – January 1881 |
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| Governor of the Gold Coast and Lagos | |
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In office 28 January 1881 – 29 April 1884 |
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| Preceded by | William Brandford Griffith |
| Succeeded by | W. A. G. Young |
| Governor-General of the West Africa settlements | |
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In office 30 December 1884 – 28 August 1888 |
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| Preceded by | Arthur Havelock |
| Succeeded by | John Meredith Maltby |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
23 March 1835 Macclesfield, Cheshire, England |
| Died | 28 August 1888 (aged 53) Madeira |
| Nationality | British |
Sir Samuel Rowe KCMG (23 March 1835 – 28 August 1888) was a British doctor and colonial administrator who was twice governor of Sierra Leone, and also served as administrator of the Gambia, governor of the Gold Coast and governor-general of the West Africa settlements. He was known for his ability to form pro-British relationships with the local people. He was in favour of a vigorous programme of expansion from the coast into the interior in response to French activity in the Sahel region, at times in opposition to Colonial Office policy.
Samuel Rowe was born on 23 March 1835 at Macclesfield, Cheshire. He was the youngest son of George Hambly Rowe, a Wesleyan minister, and Lydia Ramshall of London. He was educated at private schools, then studied medicine under Joseph Denton of Leicester and others. He qualified as a doctor in 1856. He was appointed to the army medical staff in 1862 and assigned to Lagos in West Africa. Rowe married Susannah, daughter of William Gatliff of Hawker Hall, Whitby, Yorkshire. They had one son, who died young.
Rowe arrived in Lagos in July 1862 and was soon appointed a judicial assessor in the chief magistrate's court and a slave commissioner, a difficult position. He afterwards became colonial surgeon. Rowe got on well with the local people, who would later call him "Old Red Breeches", and was made a commandant of the eastern districts. He was appointed special commissioner to make a treaty with the town of Epe in the Ijebu Kingdom. He returned home on leave in July 1864, and continued his studies in Aberdeen, graduating in medicine and surgery in 1865.
Rowe returned to West Africa in 1866 and stayed in Cape Coast Castle He was again made colonial surgeon and superintendent of the Hausas in Lagos in 1867. In 1869 he also was a magistrate and clerk of the council of Lagos. He was promoted staff surgeon in the army on 4 July 1870. He returned for a stay in England, then was dispatched to the Gold Coast in January 1872. On 1 March 1973 he was appointed surgeon-major. He may have advised Nathaniel King and Sylvester Cole, members of the Sierra Leone elite, to study medicine at Aberdeen. King graduated in 1876 and returned to practice in Lagos, while Cole graduated in 1883 and entered government service in the Gold Coast.
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