 While Rowan was still a justice of the Court of Appeals , the General Assembly chose him and John J. Crittenden as commissioners to resolve a border dispute with Tennessee . The dispute had arisen from an erroneous survey of the border line conducted by Dr. Thomas Walker years earlier . Walker 's line deviated northward from the intended line ( 36 degrees , 30 minutes north latitude ) by some twelve miles by the time it reached the Tennessee River . The Tennessee commissioners , Felix Grundy and William L. Brown , proposed that , because it had been accepted for so long , the Walker line be observed as far west as the Tennessee River , with Kentucky being compensated with a more southerly line between the Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers . Crittenden was inclined to accept this proposal with some minor adjustments , but Rowan insisted that Tennessee honor the statutory border of 36 degrees , 30 minutes north . The Tennessee commissioners refused to submit to arbitration in the matter , and Rowan and Crittenden delivered separate reports to the Kentucky legislature . The legislature adopted Crittenden 's report ; Rowan then resigned as commissioner and was replaced by Robert Trimble . Thereafter , the commissioners quickly agreed to a slightly modified version of the Tennessee proposal . 
