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Genealogy of the Bowen Family before Sterling Bowen
(Pre 1800)


"Living Made Simple"
By D E Bowen



B&W Photos
1880-1950


from Elise Brown Bowen

from Eunice Bowen Branyon


Very Early Bowens

Quick Summary of the pre1800 history

1050
Starting in Wales and the Crest


Welsh Immigration Time Line

Bowen's of Bristol Parish

1730
Bristol Parish Bowens


??-1762
William and Amy Bowen


??-1780's
Robert Bowen


1730
William,Jr son of William & Amy


1731-1804
David,Sr son of William & Amy


1732-1790
Ephraim son of Robert & Avis Bowen


1734-1797
Jesse son of William & Amy


Bowen's of Mecklenburg County

1740-80
Bowens of Mecklenburg County


1750-1822
Sterling Bowen


1787??
Drury, Sterling, & Isaac Bowen's Move to Abbeville County, SC


1750?-1817
Charles Bowen


Families associated with the Bowens in Mecklenburg County

Vaughan

Avis

Andrews
Drumright
Gee


Turner

Kirks

More Info & Bowen's of Mecklenburg County

1748-1764
Lunenburg Tithes before 1770


1780
Mecklenburg Census


1782
Mecklenburg Taxes


1782
Mecklenburg Land Taxes


1780???
John Bowen


????-1787
Hicks Bowen


????-1819
Littleberry Bowen


????-1824
William Bowen III


????-1821
Isham Bowen


????-1826
James Bowen


????-1832
Asa Bowen


????-1815
David Bowen, Jr.


1762-182?
Bracy Bowen


1767-???
Littleberry Bowen Kirks


1805-????
Edwin Bowen


Other Stuff

1840's-1900's
Bible Records of Thomas Adam Bowen


1841-1911
James Bryant Bowen


1806
Mecklenburg Taxes


1824
Mecklenburg Land Taxes


Pre 1890
Bowen Marriage Records in Virginia


Eunice Bowen Branyon
1907-1980


Elise Brown Bowen
1920-2012





Bowen Coat of Arms



Edwin H Bowen
of Mecklenburg Co, VA
and Lunenburg Co, VA


According to the censuses, Edwin H Bowen was born about 1805. This was certainly in Mecklenburg Co as his parents Asa Bowen and Charlotte Bowen were living there at this time.

He actually a "double Bowen", descending from two different branches of the Mecklenburg Co Bowens. His paternal grandfather was Charles Bowen, while his maternal grandfather was Isham Bowen. Because the name Hicks was brought down to one of Edwin's sons, it's suspected (not proven) that one of Edwin's grandparents, most likely Isham, was a brother to Hicks Bowen and Littleberry Bowen. However, neither Isham Bowen nor Charles Bowen appeared among the list of heirs in Hicks Bowen's will. The name Hicks was also found in Martha Hicks Bowen, a daughter of William Bowen III, son of William Bowen Jr. Edwin's middle initial H may have stood for Hicks, but no record has ever been found to prove that either.

Asa Bowen's will left son Edwin only $5.00 and no land, and he seems to have acquired no land of his own in later years. The deed books reflect only land that he rented from Samuel Jefferson in Lunenburg near Oral Oaks. It was on this land that Edwin raised his family and buried his first wife, Martha Lewis Meldrum.

His Mecklenburg marriage bond to Martha Lewis Meldrum was dated 27 Sept 1827, Robert Moore bondsman. According to a writing left by grandson Arthur Finn Bowen, "Martha Lewis Meldrom an orphan, my father's mother, was raised by a Methodist minister, Thomas Adam." A son of Edwin H Bowen and Martha Lewis Meldrum was named to honor this minister - Thomas Adam Bowen, father of Arthur Finn Bowen. Thomas Adams owned land in Lunenburg adjoining the Turner land. Since Edwin's older brother Harrison V Bowen had married Mary "Polly" Turner in 1821, it's possible that he met Martha while visiting his brother.

Lunenburg Co DB 30 p 329 10 Aug 1835 Harrison Bowen & Mary his wife of Lunenburg to James Turner. $131.25 52 1/2 acres it being the land bequeathed her Mary Bowen wife of Harrison Bowen by her father Jesse Turner. Bounded on N by William Turner, S by Thomas Adams, W by Branch Turner's children, E by James Turner. Signed Harrison + Bowen, Mary + Bowen. Wit Julius Hite, James Edmunds, Edmd. M Hite

Martha Lewis Meldrum was named in the Mecklenburg Co will of Lucretia Meldrum dated 20 January 1819, proved 21 June 1819. Lucretia was a daughter of William Cooper who left his will in Mecklenburg Co dated 25 June 1802, proved 12 Sept 1808. Lucretia's husband is unproven, but is suspected to be John Meldrum who with Elisha Arnold witnessed when William Allen Sr consented to the marriage of his son Meredith Allen to Nancy Cooper in 1788.

Arthur Finn Bowen, a grandson of Edwin H Bowen and Martha Lewis Meldrum, left a writing in which he said his grandmother was a Lewis. This may have been an assumption based on her middle name. Any connection to a Lewis family has not been discovered.

In 1840, Edwin Bowen and his family were still living in Mecklenburg Co.
1840 Mecklenburg Co, VA, Eastern District (or 78th Regiment):
p 400 E...? H Bowen 2M 0-5, 1M 5-10, 2M 10-15, 1M 30-40, 1F 30-40

The marriage record for son Thomas Adam Bowen states he was born in Lunenburg Co, so the family must have moved from Mecklenburg to Lunenburg by 1846 when he was born.

Lunenburg Co, VA 1850
Bowen, Edwin, 45, farmer, b Va.
Martha, 45, b Va. (wife, Martha Lewis Meldrum)
H. L. (male), 22, b Va. (son, Henry L. Bowen)
M. H. (male), 20, b Va. (son, Mortimer Hicks Bowen)
Weil, Frances, 29, b Va.
Parish, William, 27, carpenter, b Va.
Bowen, Edwin T., 14, b Va. (son, Edwin T. Bowen)
Welles 0., 12, b Va. (son, Willis Oscar Bowen)
Martha L., 11, b Va. (dau, Martha L Bowen)
Thomas A., 3, b Va. (son, Thomas Adam Bowen)

Lunenburg DB 36:66 28 July 1856 Edwin H Bowen and A H Faulkner Trustee. Bowen grants unto Faulkner all of my growing crop of every description that is made on the plantation in Lunenburg that I rent of Samuel Jefferson, one sorrell horse together with all of my household & kichen furniture & plantation tools of every description & stock of hogs & cattle. In trust to secure Robert B Chappell in the sum of $50.00 due by note 1 Jan 1856 and another $45.00 due by note 25 Dec 1856 and another $60.00 which the said Chappell is bound for to Drumright & others. Also to secure Samuel Jefferson in a bond of $75.00 due 25 Dec 1855 and another of $75.00 due 25 Dec 1856. If the above described notes are not paid by the first of Jan 1857 … proceed to sell to the highest bidder. Signed Edwin H + Bowen, A H + Falkner. Wit H R Thomas

From this deed we know that Edwin did not own the land at Oral Oaks where his children were raised, but rented it from Samuel Jefferson.

Lunenburg DB 36:553 11 Sept 1860 Edwin H Bowen and Willis O Bowen. Edwin owes debt of $404.00 to Willis. Mortgaging crops, livestock, household & kitchen furniture, etc. Pay by 1 Apr 1861. Signed Edwin H + Bowen. Wit R H Allen.

I cannot pinpoint exactly when Martha Lewis Meldrum died. I have not been able to find the family on an 1860 census, so I can only be sure it was after 1850 but before Edwin's remarriage in 1867. However, I would think her death probably occurred between 1860 and 1867. I vividly remember my mother, Rebecca Fletcher Bowen (Cullom), telling me a story when I was a child to explain why her father, Arthur Finn Bowen (son of Thomas Adam Bowen), frequently tended to their family's medical needs (including setting my mother's broken arm - a compound fracture) rather than taking them to a doctor. I was under the impression the story was about Arthur Finn Bowen's mother, but the records indicate it almost certainly was about his grandmother, Martha Lewis Meldrum instead.

The story as my mother told me: It was wintertime and a deep snow had fallen. The mother had been sick for some time and was becoming increasingly worse. She was suffering from a bowel blockage. It became obvious that she would not recover on her own and would die without medical help. Her young son struggled for miles through the deep snow in blizzard conditions to beg the doctor to come to the house to treat her. The doctor refused, telling the boy that she'd "go" when she got good and ready. No amount of pleading would change the doctor's mind, and the heartbroken boy could only return home through the deep snow. Within a few days, the mother died when all the impacted material exploded upward through her mouth. The son never had any use for doctors after that.

This story made an impression on me as I thought it was one of the most horrible ways to die I had ever heard of. I know the story could not have been about Arthur Finn Bowen's mother Susan Rebecca Fletecher Goulder since she died after he was grown. It must have been Thomas Adam Bowen's mother Martha Lewis Meldrum. Thomas Adam Bowen would have been a teenager between 1860 and 1867. This is verified in a writing by Arthur Finn Bowen concerning an interview with Sarah Wallace, sister of Coley Wallace, concerning the Edwin H Bowen homeplace and the death and burial of Martha Lewis Meldrum:

"She [Sarah Wallace] told us how we could find the old graveyard and how we could find the old homeplace. The graveyard was not but a few hundred yards from her home and contains the graves of my Father's mother [Martha Lewis Meldrum] - and the baby girl of Hicks Bowen. Miss Sarah remembered all about the Bowens. Said they lived in the tall house. 'Yes', said my father, 'it was two stories high.' 'No' replied Miss Sarah, 'one and a half stories high, but it was the only house in the neighborhood more than one story high - we called it the tall house.' She remembered my Grandfather and Grandmother - the circumstance of her death and the burial and the removal shortly after of my Grandfather to Mecklenburg Co, Va where he died and was burried. She said the place belonged to William, Edwin, and the 'Old Man'. That Hicks married a 'Coley'; Henry a 'Dodd'; and my father a 'Goulder' Beckie, she called her = my mother's name was Susan Rebecca Fletcher Goulder."

We know from the 1856 deed that Edwin did not actually own the property at Oral Oaks where he raised his family, but rented it from Samuel Jefferson. I have never been able to determine who William and the 'Old Man' were. Perhaps Willis Oscar Bowen took over the homeplace following the 1860 mortgage and he is the William who Sarah Wallace was referring to. Or maybe she was referring to members of the Jefferson family. I don't know.

Oral Oaks is a small community located at the intersection of VA Hwy 655 and 635 southwest of Kenbridge.

Edwin H Bowen's second marriage to Mary Jane Slaughter is proven by the following deed:

Lunenburg DB 37:525 4 Feb 1867 Edwin H Bowen and Mary Jane Slaughter. Marriage shortly to be solemnized. Mary Jane Slaughter is to have & to hold all property that is now hers and all that she may hereafter acquire either by decent or otherwise to her sole use & benefit & to be held independent of the said E H Bowen and to be in no way liable to his debts …. Signed Mary Jane (X) Slaughter, E H (X) Bowen. Wit M T Goodwyn, Isaiah x Slaughter

The witness M T Goodwyn was Edwin's son-in-law. Matthew Thomas Goodwyn had recently married Edwin's daughter Martha L Bowen 8 Jan 1867 in Lunenburg Co.

Edwin and Mary Jane were still living in Lunenburg Co as late as 1870.

1870 Lewiston Twp, Lunenburg Co. Taken Aug 20, 1870 roll 1661 p 530
dwelling 133 family 132
Edwin H Bowen 64 miller b VA
Mary J 42 b VA

Edwin has not been found on the 1880 census in either Lunenburg or Mecklenburg and most likely had died. There are no records of his estate in either county. I have found no record of his gravesite or later records for Mary Jane Slaughter Bowen.

Son Henry L Bowen m Sarah Elizabeth Dodd Oct 9, 1855 Lunenburg Co. He was still living shortly before 1901 as proven by a letter written 14 March 1901 in Bracey, VA by Nannie Tannie Bowen, wife of Edwin T Bowen, to Martha Sydnor Parham Bowen, second wife of Thomas Adam Bowen.
"Mr. Bowen [Edwin T Bowen] dident go at all to see his brother Henry. I tried to get him to go, but he wasent well, and said he just couldent go. I havent heard whether he died or not. I never heard of so many deaths before in the same length of time, as have been in our community since Xmas."
Son Mortimer Hicks Bowen m Mary Coley (Cooley?). No marriage record has been found. Known children were the infant daughter buried with Martha Lewis Meldrum Bowen on the property at Oral Oaks, John Wesley Bowen, Carrie Bowen, and Orgie Bowen. Hicks moved to Crab Orchard, KY.

Son Edwin T Bowen m Nannie Tanner. No marriage record found, but the 1873 Mecklenburg will of Robert Tanner named niece Nannie Bowen formerly Nannie Tanner. The 1881 Mecklenburg will of Nancy Tanner named Leter May Bowen, Nannie T Bowen, Robert M Bowen, and Edwin A Bowen who can be proven by later censuses and a letter by Nannie Bowen to Martha Sydnor Parham Bowen as the children of Edwin T Bowen and wife Nannie. The 1886 Mecklenburg Co will of Evans Tanner named granddaughter Nannie Bowen. Edwin T and Nannie were living in Bracey, VA in 1901 when Nannie wrote the following letter to her sister-in-law Martha Sydnor Parham Bowen, second wife of Edwin's brother Thomas Adam Bowen who was living in Blackstone, VA at that time. There is a record of the grave of a Nannie Bowen buried in the Rehobeth United Methodist Church in Boydton, Mecklenburg Co, but there were no dates or records for other Bowens buried there, so I cannot firmly establish the connection.

March 14, 1901

Dear Sister Martha,

      Your letter received a few days ago. You must be sure to let us know what day you will pass Bracey, and we will be at the depot to see you, but we will only get a glimpse of you, as the train just does stop about two minutes, but at any rate Nannie and I will be there, also Mr B. That is, if he is well enough, he certainly complains a great deal. I think he had some fever last night, but he is up this morning and in the garden at work.

      Nannie's little girl, Mabel, has gotten over her sickness, but for two months her right ear has been running corruption. I took her to Richmond once to be examined by a doctor, and after I came back with her, Nannie took her back again and staid a week, and the doctor saw her every day. She seemed to get better for a while, but it is worse again now. The doctor said she had an abscess in her ear. I am afraid she will be entirely deaf in that ear and it still runs thick yellow corruption.

       Mr. Bowen dident go at all to see his brother Henry. I tried to get him to go, but he wasent well, and said he just couldent go. I havent heard whether he died or not. I never heard of so many deaths before in the same length of time, as have been in our community since Xmas.

      Mr. Bowen received a letter from Iffie not long since. She offered her services to come and nurse any of us if we should be sick "free of charge" after she finished her course at the hospital in Durham, which I think she said would be in June. I was certainly astonished at her doing it, but it was certainly kind and nice of her to make such an offer, she hadent written to any of us before, since she wrote us about her mothers death. I dont reckon she would have written though, but Julia Mason, she said, wrote to her and asked her to write to her Uncle Edwin and tell him of her fathers illness. She (Julia) dident know his address, and in that letter "she made this kind offer", which we of course appreciated very much.

      I am looking forward for my son (Robert) every day, but I havent heard from him in over two months, he wrote me though before Xmas that he was coming in March, so I keep looking every day but I am awfully afraid something has happened to him, as he hasent written in so long. You all might come by and spend several days with us as you go on to Blackstone, it wouldent cost any more than it would keep straight on. Nannie is right there at the depot and you could make her a visit too. Be sure to let us know what day you will come or pass if you cant stop over with us.
With best wishes for you all.

Affectionately your sister

Nannie


Edwin T Bowen was deceased by 1907 as proven by the Mecklenburg Feduciary Records:
p 113 E T Bowen dec'd. Nannie R Bowen admr. 17 July 1907 $5,000 A H Bracey security

Nannie Tanner Bowen apparently lived until at least 1926 as proven by a letter written by Iphigenia Bowen (Freeman) to her brother Arthur Finn Bowen mentioning Aunt Nannie:

31 N 13th St
Newark, N J
Sept. 13, 1926

My dear Brother:-
       I am sending you a little history of the Bowen generations which was gotten up in 1907.
      That brings it up to our grandfather. I think the Thomas Bowen and Sally Winterton are our great grandparents for I think of Papa telling me a little something once about the family history and if I remember correctly that is what he said. I also heard him speak of Rees Bowen. I am going to write to Aunt Nannie and possibly she knows.....

      Note: Iphigenia was mistaken about any connection to Thomas Bowen and/or Rees Bowen. The Bowen history she sent concerned the Rees Bowen line. It is obvious from this letter that neither Arthur Finn Bowen or his sister Iphigenia Bowen knew who the father of Edwin H Bowen was.

      Son Willis Oscar Bowen m Emma Jane Thomas Goulder 11 Apr 1873 Nottoway Co. His marriage record states he was a single wheelright, age 35, living in Lynchburg. It also names his parents as Edwin H Bowen and Martha Meldrum. His wife was the sister of Susan Rebecca Fletcher Goulder, first wife of brother Thomas Adam Bowen, both daughters of George Edwin W Goulder and Susan Ann Tucker. I do not have further records concerning this family.

      Daughter Martha L "Patty" Bowen married Matthew Thomas Goodwyn 8 Jan 1867 Lunenburg Co. Her marriage record states she was the daughter of Edward H Bowen who was present and assenting. It also states that Matthew was age 28 and born in Lunenburg. Martha was age 22 and born in Mecklenburg. I suspect Martha "fibbed" a little about her age as she was age 11 on the 1850 census which would make her DOB about 1839 rather than 1845. Her father's 1840 census also shows 2 females age 0-5. M T Goodwyn witnessed a deed for Edwin H Bowen a few months after their marriage. Additional records for Matthew Thomas Goodwyn indicate he was buried in Old Bethesda Cemetery in Aberdeen, NC.

      Son Thomas Adam Bowen b 7/27/1846 Lunenburg Co, d 7/23/1926 Blackstone, Nottoway Co married first Susan Rebecca "Becky" Fletcher Goulder b 12/28/1844/46, d 3/28/1895, sister to Emma Jane Thomas Goulder (Bowen) and daughter of George Edwin W Goulder and Susan Ann Tucker. Becky's birth date on her tombstone is recorded as 12/28/1846, but the Bible records for the family give her birth as 12/28/1844. The 1850 census listed her as age 5 which would agree better with 1844. The Nottoway Co marriage register lists their marriage date as 4 May 1866 and T A Bowen's age as 23. The marriage register record also named his parents. However, the Thomas Adam Bowen Bible records give the date of their marriage as 4 May 1870 which agrees better with his age and the birth of their first child in 1871. It would appear that the clerk must have miscopied the year into the marriage register. By 1875, the family was living in Raleigh, NC where wife Becky died on 3/28/1895 and was buried in Oakwood Cemetery. By 1896, T A Bowen had returned to Blackstone, Nottoway Co, where he married his second wife, Martha Sydnor Parham, sister to Nannie Parham (Bowen) and daughter of James L Parham and Mary Jane Eckles. Tom Bowen made his living as a wheelright and wagon maker. He died in Blackstone on 7/23/1926, and Martha Parham Bowen soon after in 1927. Both were buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Blackstone. All children were by his first wife, Susan Rebecca Fletcher Goulder:

1) Arthur Finn Bowen b 5/16/1871, d 11/3/1942 m Isabelle Carew Woodward, both buried Oakwood Cemetery, Raleigh, NC, 6 daughters.
2) Iphigenia Bowen b 2/14/1873, d 6/28/1950, m Horace Lazelle Freeman, both buried in Oakwood Cemetery, High Point, NC, 1 son, 2 daughters.
3) William Thomas "Tom" Bowen b 7/30/1875 m Elizabeth "Lizzie" Johnson, living in Petersburg, VA in 1918 and Albany, GA in 1941, 1 son, 1 daughter.
4) Harry Marvin Bowen b 4/27/1877 m Adelaide Blackledge, living in Hampton, VA in 1918, Norfolk, VA in 1920, Macon, Ga in 1927, no children.
5) Andrew H Bowen b 11/23/1879 m Bessie Fleet Crump, living Richmond, VA in 1920, living in Roanoke, VA 1944, 1 daughter.
6) Annie Sue Lewis Bowen b 8/6/1784, d 4/23/1899 Raleigh, NC, buried Oakwood Cemetery, Raleigh, NC.
7) Richmond Goulder Bowen b 12/1/1787, d 5/29/1945 m Petronella Thompson, both buried Lakeview Cemetery, Blackstone, VA, 2 daughters.