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'''Milton Drew Bowers, Jr.''' (October 19, 1886 - December 15, 1985), was a federal attorney and the [[Republican]] nominee for governor of [[Arkansas]] in 1926 and 1928. He was born near Pocahontas in Randolph County in northeastern Arkansas.

 

'''Milton Drew Bowers, Jr.''' (October 19, 1886 – December 15, 1985), was a federal [[attorney]] and the [[Republican]] nominee for governor of [[Arkansas]] in 1926 and 1928. He was born near Pocahontas in Randolph County in northeastern Arkansas.

   

   

==Biography==

==Biography==

Bowers was the eighth of fifteen children of Milton Drew "Mitt" Bowers, Sr. (1850-1914), a [[Baptist]] minister and a native of Palmyra in Montgomery County near Clarksville in northern [[Tennessee]]. The senior Bowers served in the 1899 session of the Arkansas House of Representatives.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~arrandol/obits/obitsag.htm|title=Milton Drew Bowers, Sr.|publisher=rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=August 13, 2012}}</ref> Bowers'  mother, the former Lucinda Angelina Pratt (1855-1934), a native of Ironton in southeastern [[Missouri]], was a daughter of Jesse Richardson Pratt and his second wife, the former Elizabeth Gibson. Like her husband, Drew Bowers, Sr., Lucinda's father was a Baptist minister.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~arrandol/PrattFamAlbum.htm|title=The Reverend Jesse Richardson Pratt Family Album|publisher=rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=August 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~arrandol/obits/obitsag.htm|title=Mrs. Lucinda A. Pratt Bowers|publisher=rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=August 13, 2012}}</ref>

Bowers was the eighth of fifteen children of Milton Drew "Mitt" Bowers, Sr. (1850-1914), a [[Baptist]] minister and a native of Palmyra in Montgomery County near Clarksville in northern [[Tennessee]]. The senior Bowers served in the 1899 session of the Arkansas House of Representatives.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~arrandol/obits/obitsag.htm|title=Milton Drew Bowers, Sr.|publisher=rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=August 13, 2012}}</ref> Bowers'  mother, the former Lucinda Angelina Pratt (1855-1934), a native of Ironton in southeastern [[Missouri]], was a daughter of Jesse Richardson Pratt and his second wife, the former Elizabeth Gibson. Like her husband, Drew Bowers, Sr., Lucinda's father was a Baptist minister.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~arrandol/PrattFamAlbum.htm|title=The Reverend Jesse Richardson Pratt Family Album|publisher=rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=August 13, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~arrandol/obits/obitsag.htm|title=Mrs. Lucinda A. Pratt Bowers|publisher=rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=August 13, 2012}}</ref>

One of Bowers' nieces, Mildred Bowers (1912-1951), a daughter of his brother, J. C. Bowers, was a singer who was killed in an automobile accident near her home in Burbank, [[California]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~arrandol/obits/obitsag.htm|title=Mildred Bowers|publisher=rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=August 13, 2012}}</ref>

One of Bowers' nieces, Mildred Bowers (1912-1951), a daughter of his brother, J. C. Bowers, was a singer who was killed in an automobile accident near her home in Burbank, [[California]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~arrandol/obits/obitsag.htm|title=Mildred Bowers|publisher=rootsweb.ancestry.com|accessdate=August 13, 2012}}</ref>

   

   

<blockquote>

<blockquote>

'''Bowers' friend [[Osro Cobb]] described him as "the finest trial lawyer I ever met. Mr. Bowers had a photographic memory. When he quoted the testimony of a witness in argument, it would be word-for-word -- with voice inflections highly similar to those of the witness.'''</blockquote>

'''Bowers' friend [[Osro Cobb]] described him as "the finest trial lawyer I ever met. Mr. Bowers had a photographic memory. When he quoted the testimony of a witness in argument, it would be word-for-word -- with voice inflections highly similar to those of the witness.'''</blockquote>

   

   

   

   

<blockquote>

<blockquote>

Drew Bowers was the finest trial lawyer I ever met. Mr. Bowers had a photographic memory. When he quoted the testimony of a witness in argument, it would be word-for-word -- with voice inflections highly similar to those of the witness. Working with Mr. Bowers was a fruitful, unforgettable experience. I recall that we persuaded him on rather short notice one day to go to Stuttgart (in Arkansas County) to try a nongovernment tort damage case in which we had filed a cross complaint for $2,500. When Mr. Bowers arrived in court, Circuit Judge W. J. Waggoner was selecting a jury for the case preceding ours. The judge motioned for Mr. Bowers to approach the bench. He then arose, handed the gavel to Mr. Bowers, and asked him to preside while he was getting a haircut and attending to some personal matters!<br>

Drew Bowers was the finest trial lawyer I ever met. Mr. Bowers had a photographic memory. When he quoted the testimony of a witness in argument, it would be word-for-word -- with voice inflections highly similar to those of the witness. Working with Mr. Bowers was a fruitful, unforgettable experience. I recall that we persuaded him on rather short notice one day to go to Stuttgart (in Arkansas County) to try a nongovernment tort damage case in which we had filed a cross complaint for $2,500. When Mr. Bowers arrived in court, Circuit Judge W. J. Waggoner was selecting a jury for the case preceding ours. The judge motioned for Mr. Bowers to approach the bench. He then arose, handed the gavel to Mr. Bowers, and asked him to preside while he was getting a haircut and attending to some personal matters!<br>

   

   

   

   

When Cobb was named U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, he asked the Eisenhower administration to waive age requirements so that Bowers, who had good physical health, could remain as the assistant U.S. attorney. In his memoirs, Cobb recalls a humorous incident involving Bowers:

When Cobb was named U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, he asked the Eisenhower administration to waive age requirements so that Bowers, who had good physical health, could remain as the assistant U.S. attorney. In his memoirs, Cobb recalls a humorous incident involving Bowers:

    

    

<blockquote>

<blockquote>  

We were trying a criminal case for the government. Mr. Bowers was left-handed and he had the habit of pacing in front of the jury box during argument and flinging his arms to emphasize his remarks. Mr. Bowers reached a point directly in front of a juror seated at one end of the front row of the jury and suddenly thrust his left hand forward to make a point. The juror, who was a large man slumped in his chair, had an involuntary reaction that caused him to lose his balance, fall out of his chair and the jury box onto the floor.<br>

We were trying a criminal case for the government. Mr. Bowers was left-handed and he had the habit of pacing in front of the jury box during argument and flinging his arms to emphasize his remarks. Mr. Bowers reached a point directly in front of a juror seated at one end of the front row of the jury and suddenly thrust his left hand forward to make a point. The juror, who was a large man slumped in his chair, had an involuntary reaction that caused him to lose his balance, fall out of his chair and the jury box onto the floor.<br>

   

   

    

    

On October 24, 1974, the U.S. District Court in Little Rock observed "Drew Bowers Day" in honor of the attorney's 88th birthday and his sixty-one years of legal practice. Bowers' papers are deposited at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.<ref name=bio/>

On October 24, 1974, the U.S. District Court in Little Rock observed "Drew Bowers Day" in honor of the attorney's 88th birthday and his sixty-one years of legal practice. Bowers' papers are deposited at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.<ref name=bio/>

   

   

==References==

==References==

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[[Category:Arkansas]]  

[[Category:Arkansas]]  

[[Category:Republican Party]]

[[Category:Republicans]]

[[Category:Lawyers]]

[[Category:Lawyers]]

[[Category:Baptists]]

[[Category:Baptists]]