Born in St. James parish of St Kew, Cornwall, Rowe received a common school education.
[1] He moved to Iowa County in 1849 and to Idaho Territory in 1862; after living there for five years he returned to Arena, Wisconsin, in 1866.
[2] Rowe was elected to the Assembly in 1868, succeeding Republican incumbent Jefferson Rewey, defeating Democrat Henry C. Barnard by four votes.
He defeated Republican challengers in 1872 and 1873, but did not run for re-election in 1874, and was succeeded by Reform Party candidate Owen King.
In 1878, he ran again for the Assembly as a Democrat, losing to Greenback George L. Frost, who polled 1,154 votes to 862 for Republican Robert L. Joiner, and 697 for Rowe.