Bowe/Bowes Family
FAMILY BACKGROUND
The Bowe/Bowes family were part of the mass Irish migration to America because of the potato famine in Ireland during the years 1846-1851.
John Bowe, one of the ancestors of this line to migrate to America, was born about 1808 in Ireland. He is the son of Laurence and Catherine Bowe. The name has been found in various records spelled: BOGUE, BOWES, BOWE, BOW, and BOWIE.
Laurence and Catherine Bowe, who did not move to America, are known to have at least 6 children. They are:
| NAME | BIRTH-DEATH | NOTES |
|
Judith |
1797-1868 |
Married Thomas Edward Grogan in Ireland; Migrated from Ireland in 1823; Buried Saint Patricks Cemetery, Junction City, Perry County, Ohio; |
|
Mary |
1805-1879 |
Died in Reading Twp., Perry County, Ohio. County death record has age at death as 81. Listed as 48 years old in 1850 U.S. Census and 60 years old in the 1860 U.S. Census. |
|
John |
1808-1854 |
Married Mary Murphy in Ireland; Migrated from Ireland in 1848; Buried Elmwood Cemetery, Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio |
|
James |
1810-1902 |
Died in England |
|
Michael |
1814-1854 |
Married Mary Kemer on 22 Nov 1842 in Perry County, Ohio. Died in Perry County, Ohio |
|
Margaret |
1819- ? |
John married Mary Murphy in Ireland. She was born in 1810 in Ireland.
Baptisms were recorded in the Catholic parish of
Lisdowney in Kilkenny, Ireland for the following children of John
Bowe and Mary Murphy:
- Tom Bowe - 7 Dec 1831 (most likely this is James J. Bowes based on
his tombstone that has this birth date)
- Catherine Bowe - 4 May 1833
- Mary Bowe - 11 Feb 1835
- Margaret Bowe - 17 Feb 1839
- Thomas Bowe - 25 Jul 1841
- Honoria Bowe - 12 Nov 1843
The baptism record for Lawrence, born 1837 in Ireland, was not found in these records.
JOHN BOWE FAMILY MIGRATION TO AMERICA
John Bowe sailed from Liverpool, England to America on the ship Forest Monarch arriving on 5 Aug 1848. He is listed on the ship manifest as John Bow, age 37, along with a Thomas Bow*, age 20.
John's family followed him to America on the ship Fidella, sailing from the port of Liverpool, England arriving on 30 Sep 1848. The ship manifest listed:
| Name | Age | Gender | Occupation | County Leaving |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Bow | 35 | Female | Dressmaker | Ireland |
| James Bow | 16 | Male | Servant | Ireland |
| Lawrence Bow | 14 | Male | Servant | Ireland |
| Kitty Bow | 12 | Female | Servant | Ireland |
| Mary Bow | 10 | Female | Servant | Ireland |
| Thomas Bow | 8 | Male | Servant | Ireland |
| Honor Bow | 6 | Female | Servant | Ireland |
| Mary Bow * | 23 | Female | Servant | Ireland |
* NOTE: It is unknown the exact relationship of Thomas Bow, born about 1828, and Mary Bow, born about 1825. They "may" have been siblings or cousins to John Bowe. Also, Margaret was not listed on this manifest.
The family settled in Perry County, Ohio.
John died on 16 Jan 1854 in Junction City, Perry County, Ohio about age 46. Mary died on 28 Dec 1875 in Junction City, Perry County, OH at age 65. Both John and Mary are buried in Elmwood Cemetery, Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio.
Tombstones in Elmwood Cemetery in Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio are inscribed:
- John Bowe, d. Jan 16, 1854, aged 46Y
- Mary Bowe, wife of John, d. Dec 28, 1875, aged 65Y
- Hanoria Bowes, d. Feb 1, 1917, aged 73Y [daughter of John & Mary]
 |
The
Bowes monument on the left is at St. Mary Cemetery in
Lancaster, Ohio. It is dated 1908 and has an inscription of
John Bowes death in 1854.
This is presumed to be a cenotaph honoring John Bowe. Since St. Mary Cemetery did not open until 1881, John was buried in Elmwood Cemetery. No records have been found that indicates he was reburied at St. Mary. |
 |
| St. Mary Cemetery - Lancaster, Ohio | Elmwood Cemetery - Lancaster, Ohio |
CHILDREN OF JOHN & MARY BOWE
Together, John and Mary Bowe had 7 known children. They were:
 |
Lawrence A. Bowes (1837-1914) first married Jane "Jennie" Ward on 13 Jan 1862. She died on 23 Dec 1864 and is buried in Saint Patricks Cemetery, Junction City, Perry County, Ohio. He then married Mary Louisa 'Lida' Flemm, on 28 Oct 1873 in Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio. Lida is the daughter of Theresia Otteni and granddaughter of Benedict Otteni. Lawrence and Lida, along with other Bowes family members, migrated to Kansas City, MO before 1880. They are both buried in St. Mary Cemetery, Louisburg, Miami County, Kansas.
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 |
Per Charles Tomacci, Great Grandson of Lida Flemm Bowes, Lida bought a china platter (shown below) from the Homer Laughlin China Co. in East Liverpool, Ohio. She brought it to Kansas and it remains in the family today.
Lawrence and Lida Bowes had two sons, Thomas Burke and Charles Edward.
 |
 |
|
Charles Edward Bowes (1874-1938) |
Thomas Burke Bowes (1875-1945) |
Margaret Bowes (1839-1916) entered the Sisters of the Precious Blood at Maria Stein, Ohio as a teacher and eventually became Mother Superior of the Ohio convent. Sr. Salesia Bowes, CPPS died on 2 Aug 1916 at the convent in Fort Wayne, Indiana and is buried in Rome, Noble, Indiana at Kniepp Springs, a sanitorium run by the sisters from 1901-1976.
Thomas Hubert Bowes (1841-1923) was, by today's standard, a self made multimillionaire and bachelor who made his money in his Ohio store and then Ohio real estate. Evelyn Bowes Tomacci, a grand neice of Thomas Bowes, said in his will, Thomas gave $100 (at the time a 100 days pay) to her father, Thomas Burke Bowes, a nephew of Thomas, as well as all the other nephews and $500 to each niece. The rest of his estate went to the Catholic Church as his sister Maggie Bowes was a mother superior in an Ohio convent.
In 2013, The Diocese of Columbus, Ohio published an article about Thomas Bowes and his 1889 Holy Land Pilgrimage.
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Thomas Bowes was the historian of the family. In 1907, he authored a small booklet outlining the history of the BOWES family in Ireland. The last two pages of the booklet was a summary of this immediate family starting with his grandfather.
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COLUMBUS, O. Nov. 20, 1907 I, Thomas H. Bowes, do claim to belong to the
succession of the aforesaid family. Am of the opinion that at the end of
the 17th century during the persecutions of the Catholics in England, my
grandfather, Lawrence Bowes, emigrated to Ireland, settling in the
County of Kilkenny, where he married, and to him was born six children:
Michael,
James, Margaret,
Judy, Mary
and John, of which group of children
John was my father. My father married Mary Murphy of Johnstown,
County Kilkenny. Her brothers were Michael, Patrick and Thomas
Murphy. Her sisters w ere Catherine, Margaret and Honoria. My father’s
family consisted of seven children.
Three boys and four girls.
Namely, James,
Lawrence and
Thomas. The girls were
Catherine,
Mary, Margaret and
Honoria. My father, John Bowes,
emigiated to America in 1847. The family following in 1849. Locating at
Junction City, Ohio, where my father died January 16, 1854. James Bowes, the eldest of the
family, was born December 7, 1831. Married to Mary Ann Welch of Junction
City, Ohio, August 18, 1857. Had issue fourteen children. Seven boys and
seven girls. Namely, John, Henry, William, Thomas, Brice, Robert, and
Frank. The girls were:
Mary, Anna, Ella, Ida, Charlotte,, Clara and Laura. Died at North
Berne, Ohio, July 30, 1903. Catharine Bowes, born May 4,
1833.Married to Lawrence Ryan of Junction City, Ohio, January 27, 1856.
Had issue, twelve children. Six boys and six girls, namely, Albert,
William, George, Charles, John and Thomas. The girls were Emma, Martha,
Anna, Clara, Blanche and Katie.
Residence, Olathe, Kas. Mary Bowes, born 1835. Married to
Jacob Welch of Junction City, Ohio, February 13, 1855. Had Lawrence Bowes, born November 22,
1837. Married to Jennie Ward of New Lexington, Ohio, November 1861. Had
issue, two children, a son and a daughter. The son died in infancy. The
daughter, Elizabeth Bowes, is married to Mr. Flavius Wiseman of Rich
Hill, Mo.
Married, secondly, October 28, 1873, to Lida Flemm of Lancaster, Ohio. Had issue, two sons, Charles and Thomas Bowes. Residence, Louisburg,
Kansas. Thomas H. Bowes, born July 25,
1841. Residence Columbus, Ohio. Honoria Bowes, born 1843.
Residence, Kansas City, Mo.
The writer of these notes, Thomas H. Bowes, takes great pleasure
in presenting this pedigree to the
descendants of the family of John Bowes, with a special request that
they preserve this genealogy and hand it down from generation to
generation. The value of
such a pedigree is recognized more
and more by people of culture and refinement. Being above purchase even
by millionaires.
Respectfully,
THOMAS H BOWES
Christmas, 1907
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ADDITIONAL FAMILY INFORMATION
Click on the
following link to view information on the descendants of
Laurence Bowe
to the present. This report is generated by the Legacy Genealogy
program.
Laurence Bowe Family Descendant Book (1770 - Present) - a privatized (dates & places of living people omitted) 8 Generation Descendant Book (PDF), starting with Laurence Bowe - 35 pages plus index.
John Bowe (1808-1854) Find A Grave - Burial information with links to descendants
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Last modified:
October 19, 2022