Cowgill was born on April 2, 1848, in
Henry County, Indiana, to William M. Cowgill and Roda Cowgill. A Unionist, he enlisted with the
9th Indiana Infantry Regiment during the
American Civil War, serving from October 7, 1864, to September 28, 1865. He married Ella Myers on September 22, 1867, with whom he had four children. In August 1868, he moved onto a farm in unincorporated
Caldwell County, Missouri; his property and the surrounding area was eventually developed into the city
Cowgill, Missouri. He was elected Caldwell County's judge in 1882, then its treasurer in 1900. A
Democrat, Cowgill served in the
Missouri House of Representatives from 1891 to 1892, representing Caldwell Countywell County. From 1893 to 1897, he served as the Missouri Railroad and Warehouse Commissioner. Beginning in 1918, Cowgill served as mayor of
Kansas City, Missouri; he had moved to the city in 1913 and previously worked as an insurance executive. He died while at his desk while giving a conference at Kansas City Hall, on January 20, 1922, from an
intracerebral hemorrhage. He is buried in
Elmwood Cemetery. ==References==