Rowland Ebenezer Trowbridge (June 18, 1821 – April 20, 1881) was a politician from the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

.

Trowbridge was born in Horseheads, New York

Horseheads (village), New York

Horseheads is a village in Chemung County, New York, USA. The population was 6,461 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from the number of bleached skulls of pack horses left behind by the Sullivan Expedition....

 and moved with his parents in 1821 to Oakland County, Michigan

Oakland County, Michigan

-Demographics:As of the 2010 Census, there were 1,202,362 people, 471,115 households, and 315,175 families residing in the county. The population density as of the 2000 census was 1,369 people per square mile . There were 492,006 housing units at an average density of 564 per square mile...

. In 1841, he graduated from Kenyon College

Kenyon College

Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...

 in Gambier, Ohio

Gambier, Ohio

Gambier is a village in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,871 at the 2000 census.Gambier is the home of Kenyon College and was named after one of Kenyon College's early benefactors, Lord Gambier....

 and engaged in agricultural pursuits. Years later, he became a member of the Michigan Senate

Michigan Senate

The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. The Senate consists of 38 members, who are elected from constituencies having approximately 212,400 to 263,500 residents....

 serving from 1856 to 1860.

In 1860, Trowbridge was elected as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 from Michigan's 4th congressional district

Michigan's 4th congressional district

Michigan's 4th congressional district is a United States Congressional district that currently includes portions of Northern and Central Michigan, consisting of all of...

 to the 37th United States Congress

37th United States Congress

The Thirty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1861 to March 4, 1863, during the first two...

, serving from March 4, 1861 to March 3, 1863. After redistricting as a result of the 1860 census

United States Census, 1860

The United States Census of 1860 was the eighth Census conducted in the United States. It determined the population of the United States to be 31,443,321 — an increase of 35.4 percent over the 23,191,875 persons enumerated during the 1850 Census...

, Trowbridge ran as a candidate in the newly created 5th congressional district

Michigan's 5th congressional district

Michigan's 5th congressional district is a United States congressional district in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.It is currently a mostly industrial area , with Tuscola County being the main exception. It encompasses much of the area south of Saginaw Bay...

 in 1862, losing to Democrat Augustus C. Baldwin

Augustus C. Baldwin

Augustus Carpenter Baldwin was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.Baldwin was born in Salina and attended the public schools. He moved to Oakland County, Michigan, in 1837 and taught school. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1842 and commenced practice in Milford, Michigan...

. In 1864, Trowbridge defeated Baldwin to be elected to the 39th Congress

39th United States Congress

The Thirty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1865 to March 4, 1867, during the first month of...

, and was reelected in 1866 to the 40th Congress

40th United States Congress

The Fortieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1867 to March 4, 1869, during the third and fourth...

, serving from March 4, 1865 to March 3, 1869. He served as chairman of the Committee on Agriculture

United States House Committee on Agriculture

The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, or Agriculture Committee is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The House Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction over federal agriculture policy and oversight of some federal agencies, and it can recommend funding...

 during the 40th Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-nomination.

Trowbridge resumed agricultural pursuits and served as Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1880 and 1881. He died in Birmingham, Michigan

Birmingham, Michigan

Birmingham is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan and an affluent suburb of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103...

and is interred there in Greenwood Cemetery.