George Bowman (pioneer)
George Bowman (10 February 1699–2 March 1768) was an 18th-century American pioneer, landowner and a prominent Indian fighter in the early history of the Virginia Colony. He, along with his father-in-law Jost Hite, was one of the first to explore and settle Shenandoah Valley. His estate, on which Fort Bowman was founded, was one of the earliest homes to be built in Shenandoah Valley and is the site of present-day Strasburg, Virginia.
George Bowman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Hans Jerg Baumann 10 Feb 1699 Eppingen, Kurpfalz, Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation |
| Died | 2 Mar 1768 (aged 69) Ft Bowman/Bowman Estate on Cedar Creek (near Strasburg, Virginia) |
| Nationality | German-American |
| Occupation(s) | Landowner, farmer and Indian fighter |
| Known for | Early pioneer of Shenandoah Valley; built one of the oldest houses in present-day Virginia. |
| Spouse | Mary Hite (c. 1707-1768) |
| Children | 13 children |
| Relatives | Jost Hite, father-in-law Abraham Bowman, son Isaac Bowman, son Joseph Bowman, son John Bowman, son |
Four of his sons, Joseph, Isaac, Abraham and Johannes, also became well-known frontiersmen in Kentucky during the late 1770s.[1] His great-grandson, John Bryan Bowman founded Kentucky University and Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky.[2][3][4] Their older brother, Jacob, was also a famous American pioneer.
Biography
Born in the Holy Roman Empire on the West bank of the Rhine in present-day Germany, he arrived aboard the ship William and Sarah in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1727 where he later met and married Mary Hite in 1731.[5] He was one of the first to settle in the Shenandoah Valley with his father-in-law Jost Hite and brothers-in-law Jacob Chrisman and Paul Froman during the early 1730s.[6][7] He and his wife, Mary Hite, later settled on the banks of Cedar Creek[8] located 8 miles (13 km) south of Peter Stephens' Newtown settlement (present-day Stephens City, Virginia). They would eventually establish a 1,000-acre (4.0 km2) tract of land on which Fort Bowman was later built. He later received a tract of land from his father-in-law, 145 acres (0.59 km2) on Lenville's Creek in Frederick County.[9]
On Cedar Creek they raised their thirteen children, including Abraham, Isaac Bowman, Joseph and John Bowman.[1] In 1746 and 1749, he bought 2 large tracts of land amounting to over 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) on Linville Creek on which he constructed and operated a grist mill later known as "Bowman's Mill";[10] the mill, as of 1972, was still in operation near present-day Bartonsville, Virginia.[11] On August 14, he deeded some of his property to his widowed mother livestock and various household goods. Among his property including one horse, one mare, two cows, two yearling heifers and a slave known as Harry.[12]
In 1752 or 1753, while living on Ceder Creek, Bowman built a colonial mansion known as Ft Bowman or Harmony Hall which is listed on the "National Register" of historic places. Following his death in 1768, his sons inherited the Estate. Part of the Estate was sold by John Bowman to an Abraham Miller in July of that year.[13] The Bowman home, one of the first homes built in the Shenandoah Valley, still exists and remains one of the oldest historical buildings in the state.[1] His son Isaac and his first and second wife as well as Samuel Kercheval and his daughters are buried in the family graveyard located 200 yards (180 m) West of the house.[14]
References
- Hayden, William. Conquest of the Country Northwest of the River Ohio, 1778-1783. Indianapolis: Bowen-Merrill Company, 1896. (pg. 116)
- Wayland, John W. A History of Shenandoah County, Virginia. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1980. (pg. 588) ISBN 0-8063-8011-X
- Johnson, E. Polk. A History of Kentucky and Kentuckians: The Leaders and Representative Men in Commerce, Industry and Modern Activities, Vol II. Chicago and New York: Lewis Publishing Co., 1912. (pg. 1132)
- Bowman, Charles W. Bowman Genealogy: Fragmentary Annals of a Branch of the Bowman Family. Washington, D.C.: Law Reporter Printing Company, 1912. (pg. 93-94)
- du Bellet, Louise Pecquet. Some Prominent Virginia Families. Lynchburg, Virginia: J.P. Bell Company, 1907. (pg. 336-337)
- Raine, James Watt. The Land of Saddle-bags: A Study of the Mountain People of Appalachia. New York: Council of Women for Home Missions, 1924. (pg. 41)
- Fischer, David Hackett and James C. Kelly. Bound Away: Virginia and the Westward Movement. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2000. (pg. 113) ISBN 0-8139-1774-3
- Lewis, Virgil A. History of West Virginia: In Two Parts. Philadelphia: Hubbard Brothers, 1889. (pg. 59-60)
- Hofstra, Warren R. The Planting of New Virginia: Settlement and Landscape in the Shenandoah. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005. (pg. 98-99) ISBN 0-8018-7418-1
- Wayland, John W. A History of Shenandoah County, Virginia. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1980. (pg. 95) ISBN 0-8063-8011-X
- Keister, Elmo Earl. Strasburg, Virginia, and the Keister Family. Strasburg, Virginia: Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc., 1972. (pg. 398)
- Sharp, Lois. Ancestors of Mom & Dad Sharp: Sharp & Dennis. Utica, Kentucky: McDowell Publications, 2000. (pg. 263)
- Kegley, F.B. Kegley's Virginia Frontier: The Beginning of the Southwest, the Roanoke of Colonial Days, 1740-1783. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. (pg. 533) ISBN 0-8063-1717-5
- Wayland, John W. A History of Shenandoah County, Virginia. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1980. (pg. 449) ISBN 0-8063-8011-X
Further reading
- Lambert, Oscar Doane. Pioneer Leaders of Western Virginia. Parkersburg, West Virginia: Schull Printing Co., 1935.
- Armentrout, Georgie Carrier Early. Carrier-Carryer and allied lines: Lincoln, Harrison, Rhodes, Holsinger, Thomas, Bowman, Early, Summers, O'Roark, Phillips, and others. Baltimore: Gateway Press, 1985.
- Wayland, John W. The Bowmans: A Pioneering Family in Virginia, Kentucky and the Northwest Territory. Staunton, Virginia: McClure Co., 1943.