Dr. Lewis Sumpter Owings (September 6, 1820-August 20, 1875) was a medical doctor and politician in the New Mexico

New Mexico Territory

thumb|right|240px|Proposed boundaries for State of New Mexico, 1850The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of...

 and Arizona

Arizona Territory

The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....

 territories. He was chosen twice for the role of Provisional Governor for the territory of Arizona by conventions seeking to organize the territory-by both pre-Civil War Union and Confederate delegations.

Born in Roane County, Tennessee, Owings was a medical doctor and businessman. He went to Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

 and then to Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, where he helped founded Helena, Texas

Helena, Texas

Helena is a ghost town in Texas located approximately southeast of San Antonio in Karnes County. The seat of Karnes County from 1854 to 1894, Helena was once known as the self-proclaimed "toughest town on earth" in the mid-19th century...

 serving as the first postmaster. In 1855, he served in the Texas House of Representatives

Texas House of Representatives

The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...

 but was defeated for reelection moving to Mesilla, New Mexico

Mesilla, New Mexico

Mesilla is a town in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,180 at the 2000 census...

, where he had a mine.

In 1860 Owings was chosen as Provisional Governor of "Arizona Territory"—a region including New Mexico and Arizona—in an organization convention at Tucson. The Convention subsequently petitioned the United States Congress for recognition of their government, but the impending conflicts of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 in the east distracted Washington's attention away from what was then a remote frontier outpost. Owings nevertheless proceeded to carry out the functions of a de facto governor in the largely unorganized territory and established three militia companies to protect residents from Indian raids and border smugglers.

In March 1861 with the onset of the Civil War, the secession

Secession

Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...

 conventions were called in the southern portions of the territory at Mesilla and Tucson. The conventions established the Confederate Territory of Arizona and Owings was elected its first Provisional Governor. He held the post until August 1, 1861, when the Confederate Arizona Territory was reorganized and declared south of the 34th Parallel

34th parallel north

The 34th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 34 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean....

 by John Baylor

John Baylor

John Robert Baylor was a politician in Texas and a military officer of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.-Biography:...

, who then assumed the role of Territorial Governor.

In 1862 following Baylor's ouster and the Confederate retreat from the territory following the Union victory at the Battle of Glorietta Pass, Owings was again appointed Governor of the territory and held the post in exile in San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio, Texas

San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

, until the end of the war.

After the war, Owings went to Kansas briefly and then settled in Denison, Texas

Denison, Texas

Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, United States. The population was 22,773 at the 2000 census; it is estimated to have grown to 24,127 in 2009. Denison is one of two principal cities in the Sherman-Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

 serving briefly as mayor.

Further reading

• In Old Arizona: True Tales from the Wild Frontier (1985) by Marshall Trimble
  Marshall Trimble
  Marshall Trimble is an American author, singer, community college professor, and Arizona's official state historian. In addition to his position as director of Southwest studies at Scottsdale Community College, he is a popular speaker.-Biography:...