Biographies from Historical and Biographical Annals by Morton Montgomery

BOWER, CONRAD
G.

p. 1100

Surnames: BOWER, HAUCK. GETZ, GANTZ

Conrad G. Bower (deceased) was born in Switzerland, March 22, 1846.
His father came to America with his family of six children in 1851,
landing at New York, whence he came direct to Reading. Here he
followed his trade of wheelwright, but lived a retired life for
twenty years prior to his death, on Jan. 22, 1897. His wife died
Aug. 5, 1895, and both are buried in the Catholic cemetery at
Reading. On the voyage to America two of the children died and were
buried at sea. The children born in Switzerland were: William,
Francis. Victor, Mary, Joseph and Conrad G.; while three born after
the emigration to America were: John, Louis (deceased) and George.

Conrad G. Bower came to America with his parents
when five years of age, and attended the public schools of Reading.
His first employment was in a brick yard, and he later learned the
hatting trade, which he followed for fifteen years in the factory
of Kutz & Arnold. He then embarked in the hotel business at
Locust and Elm streets, where he remained twenty six years,
retiring from business in April of 1903. On January 22, 1904, Mr.
Bower passed away, aged 57 years, ten months. He was a veteran of
the Civil war, having enlisted February 10, 1865, in Company F.,
192d Pa. VI, Col. William Stewart, and was honorably discharged
Aug. 24, 1865. For twenty years he was a member of Post 16, G. A.
R., and of the Ivy Leaf Association in which he was very popular.
Both he and his wife belonged to St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church.

On June 4, 1868, Mr. Bower married Sarah A.
Hauck, who was born in Lancaster county, daughter of the late John
and Mary A. (Getz) Hauck, the former of whom came from Bavaria,
Germany, in 1846, locating in the city of Lancaster. Pa., where he
was the owner of the land on which St. Joseph’s Catholic Church now
stands. Mr. and Mrs. Bower had no children, but adopted and reared
Mary A. Gantz, who survives. Mrs. Bower resided at No. 343 North
Twelfth street, where one of her most precious possessions was an
old spinning wheel, which was secured from a farmer, whom Mr.
Bower, while on one of his numerous fishing trips, had seen throw
it on an ash pile. In the death of Conrad G. Bower the city of
Reading lost one of its good citizens. Honest and straight forward
in his dealings with his fellow men, he was re spected and esteemed
by all, and his loss is felt not only by his immediate friends; but
by the community at large. Mrs. Bower survived until Aug. 23, 1907,
when she too, entered into rest, beloved by all who knew her.

BOWER, JACOB
(GEN.)

p. 333

Surnames: BOWER, NAGEL, WOOD, SCULL, POTTER, MEEKER, HOOVER, SPOHN,
MILLER, TRUCKENMILLER, HARVERY, BRIGHT

Gen. Jacob Bower, prominent Revolutionary hero and county official
of Berks county, was born at Reading in September, 1757. When
eighteen years old, he enlisted in the stirring cause of the
Revolution, becoming sergeant in the company of Capt. George Nagel
(the first company raised at Reading). He marched with this company
to Cambridge, Mass., in July, 1775, and participated in the first
battles for freedom in that vicinity. In July, 1776, he became
captain of a company of the “‘Flying Camp” in the Pennsylvania
line; and he afterward served as Captain of different companies in
the Continental line, until the close of the war for independence,
in 1783. He was one of the American officers who organized the
General Society of the Cincinnati, May 13, 1783, in the Cantonment
of the Hudson river; and he was one of the original members in the
formation of the Pennsylvania State Society of the Cincinnati,
which convened at Philadelphia, Oct. 4, 1783.

When the war was over, Captain Bower returned to
Reading. After serving for some years as a clerk in the county
offices, the Governor selected him to fill various local positions,
in which he was active for some ten years, serving as sheriff from
1788 to 1790; as county commissioner, 1790?1793; as recorder,
registrar and clerk of the Orphans’ Court, 1792?1798; and as county
auditor from 1799 to 1800. He was also delegated by the Governor in
1793 to act as one of the commissioners in the establishing of a
branch bank of Pennsylvania at Reading.

Immediately after the Revolution, a complete
system of militia was organized in Pennsylvania, and Captain Bower,
on account of his former services, was selected as major of the 1st
Regiment, Pennsylvania Militia, in Berks county. He kept up an
active interest in the military affairs of the country until his
decease. He participated also in the war of 1812?15, serving as
brigadier general of the 1st Brigade, 6th Division, Pennsylvania
Militia, by appointment of Governor Snyder. During the trying
winter of 1777?78 at Valley Forge, General Bower was stationed
there and his “Orderly Book,” in which he kept a record of the
transactions of the officers from April 9, 1778, to June 17, 1778,
is an interesting relic, consisting of two small volumes, and is
still in the possession of the family.

General Bower resided at Reading until after
1800, when be removed to Womelsdorf, and he died at the latter
place, Aug. 3, 1818. The following obituary appeared in the Berks
and Schuylkill Journal, published at Reading, Aug. 8, 1818:

“Died at Womelsdorf, in this county, on Monday
last, after a tedious and severe illness, aged sixty?one years,
Gen. Jacob Bower. The deceased was a faithful and active officer
during the whole of the Revolutionary war. He sacrificed at the
shrine of Liberty a large patrimony, but, like many other veterans
of the Revolution, was doomed to feel the stings of adversity in
his old age.”

General Bower married Rebecca Wood, daughter of
Col. Joseph and Mary (Scull) Wood, the latter of Philadelphia.
Colonel Wood died from wounds received at Fort Ticonderoga, in the
Revolution. To this union were born six children. Among the many
descendants still living are: Mr. Robert Scott Bower, of
Philadelphia.; Dr. William Bower and Mr. Addison Bower, of
Myerstown, Pa.; Col. Thomas Potter, Jr., Quartermaster?General of
Pennsylvania; Hon. William Potter, President of Jefferson Medical
College of Philadelphia and ex?United States Minister to Italy; Mr.
Charles, A. Potter, of Philadelphia; and Col. Henry A. Potter and
Mrs. Stephen Jones Meeker, of Orange, N. J.

The father of General Bower and the ancestor of
this prominent family of Pennsylvania was Conrad Bower, a pioneer
settler of Reading, who became one of the city’s largest property
holders. He married Catherine Hoover, and they had the following
children: Jacob; George; Catherine, m. John Spohn; Barbara, m.
Henry Miller; Susanna, m. John Truckenmiller; and Eve, m. Michael
Harvey. After the death of Conrad Bower in 1765, in the following
year, his widow became the second wife of Michael Bright, a man of
substance, and she died in 1814.

BOWER, JOEL B.
(D.D.S.)

p. 430

Surnames: BOWER, HOPKINSON, BORNEMAN, LANDIS, MOYER, ZIEGLER,
OVERHOLTZER, LATSHAW, SASSAMEN, EHST, RITTENHOUSE, BECHTEL,
STAUFFER, GRUBB, BICKHART

Dr. Joel B. Bower, D. D. S., of Boyertown, one of the leading
dentists of Berks county, was born in this town Oct. 27, 1840, son
of Henry O. and Barbara (Borneman) Bower, and grandson of John
Bower.

( I ) Hans Bower, the American ancestor of the family, emigrated
from Switzerland between 1708 and 1717. He settled in Colebrookdale
township, with other Mennonites who fled because of persecution. In
time he bought three different tracts, and his first purchase
consisted of 215 acres which he bought from Thomas Hopkinson. His
second purchase which was 201 acres, he secured in 1734, and the
third was made from the Penns in 1734, for which he paid twenty
three pounds, five shillings. This land was located in Hereford
township, Berks county, and is now owned by Rev. John Ehst. In 1749
he sold this tract to his two sons, Michael and Abraham (whose chil
dren were: George, Samuel and Jacob).

( II ) Michael Bower, son of Hans, and great great grandfather of
Dr. Bower, married Fronica, daughter of Johannes Landis. On July 7,
1784, he sold a tract of land containing 108 acres to his son in
law, Christian Moyer, for the sum of 325 pounds; also a tract
containing seventy four acres and twenty eight perches, for 175
pounds. His children were: Samuel, Fronica and Anna.

( III ) Samuel Bower, son of Michael, was born Aug. 6, 1746, and he
is buried at Hereford Mennonite Meeting House. He was a farmer in
Douglass township, Montgomery county. His wife was Elizabeth
Ziegler. and they had children as follows: Susanna, Barbara,
Deborah, John, Elizabeth, Samuel, Hannah, Andrew and Christopher.

( IV ) John Bower, son of Samuel, farm of 156 acres in 1814 for
$13,000. This he sold to John Moyer in 1890 for $5,600. He was a
well known farmer and a most excellent man. During the panic of
1814 to 1820, he hauled rye flour to Philadelphia, receiving
seventy five cents per hundred pounds. Later he prospered, and
although many lost their farms during this time of stringency, he
did not. His wife’s maiden name was Susanna Overholtzer, and they
had five children: Catherine married Samuel B. Latshaw; Elizabeth
m. Jonas Sassaman; John O.; Samuel O. and Henry O.

( V ) Henry O. Bower, son of John and father of Dr. Bower was born
in Douglass township, Jan. 6. 1807, and died there Feb. 14, 1867.
He was a clockmaker, and made 130 grandfather clocks, some showing
the movement of the moon. His grave is at the Mennonite Meeting
House at Bally. The last clock he made, completed about 1845, is in
the possession of his son Dr. Joel B. Bower of Boyertown. Mr. Bower
was well known and traveled from house to house in eastern Berks
county, repairing clocks. His wife was Barbara Borneman, also a
native of Montgomery county. They had six children, as follows: Dr.
Joel B.; John, deceased, a farmer in Douglass Town ship; Priscilla,
deceased wife, of Levi Ehst; Johanna, deceased wife of Daniel B.
Rittenhouse, of Montgomery county; Dr. Daniel B., of Boyertown; and
Elizabeth, living at Boyertown, widow of John Bechtel.

(VI ) Joel B. Bower was reared in Douglass town ship, where he
attended school, but later he went to the Freeland Seminary, and
then studied with his uncle, Dr. J. H. Borneman, who was a dentist
at Boyertown. Still later he attended the Philadelphia Dental
College, from which he was graduated in 1867. He immediately
located at Boyertown, where be followed his profession for a period
of forty five years. In 1905 his son Dr. A. L. Bower took charge of
the office. In 1892 Dr. Bower opened a branch office at Pottstown,
and this his son Dr. Samuel Bower now conducts. His son Dr. Daniel
Bower had charge of the Pottstown office for ten years prior to his
death in 1905. Dr. Joel B. Bower and his family are members of the
Mennonite Church of Boyertown, and he is very active in Church
work. He resides in his own house on Philadelphia avenue.

Dr. Bower has been married three times. His
first wife, Sevilla Stauffer, of Boyertown, died at the age of
twenty, leaving one son, Henry, who died soon thereafter. He
married (second) Elizabeth Latshaw, of East Vincent, Chester Co.,
Pa., who bore him five children: Dr. Daniel, born March 2, 1873,
died unmarried, Feb. 15, 1905; Jacob died at the age of four years;
Miss Mary lives at Boyertown; Dr. Abram L. is maentioned below; Dr.
Samuel, of Pottstwon, graduated from the Philadelphia Dental
College in 1902, and married Blanche Grubb, of Chester county (no
issue). Dr. Bower married (third) Annie B. Bickhart, who died
October 16, 1906, aged sixty-nine years (no issue).

Dr. Abram L. Bower, son of Dr. Joel B. Bower,
was born Jan. 23, 1879. He graduated fro the Boyertown high school
in 1894, and from the West Chester State Normal School in 1896. He
taught school two terms, after which he attended the Philadelphia
Dental College toow terms and graduated from the Dental Departent
of the University of Pensylvania in 1901. He has practiced
dentistry since at Norristown, Pottstown, and Boyertown, in which
latter place he is now engaged. Dr. Bower has been granted nine
patents and a number of other patents for his inventions have bee
allowed by the United States Patent Office but havenot yet been
issued. He has invented a dental preparation to be used in the
operation of capping live and exposed nerves in teeth. This method
and preparation were quickly adopted by the dental profession and
are now largely used for that purpose His other inventions relate
to railway signalling, chiefly cab signalling, where three classes
of signals are transmitted to the train through a sincle circuit
from the rails to the engne and displayed in the cab in frot of the
engineer. These three classes of signals are clear, cautioary, and
danger, shown by colored electrical incandescent lamps, the colors
being white, green and red, respectively. Bells are also
automatically rung in the cab to call the engineer’s attention to a
change in the signal displayed.

Dr. Bower’s device also makes the service
application of the brakes when caution is indicated, and the
emergency application of the brakes when danger or stop is
indicated. The throttle also is operated, shutting off the steam.
The entire device operates automatically but it is adapted so as to
be instantly controlled by the engineer.

His inventions also include block signals for
electrically operated trains or trolleys which automatically shut
off the opwer or reduce the speed of the vehicle by introducing
resistance into the motor circuit. Also a govenor to prevent the
application of the brakes when the speed is not over six miles per
hour; also a distance device which automatically displays the
danger signal after the train has proceeded a certain perdetermined
distance without receiving a clear or cautionary signal impulse
from the divices on the roadbed. This distance device checks any
failure of the other devices to operate. The Block Signal and Train
Control Board of the Interstate Commerce Commission authorized a
practical test of these devices, to be made by the Board in March
or April of 1909, on the Colebrookdale Branch of the Philadelphia
& Reading Railroad, near Pottstown.

Dr. Abram L. Bower married Hannah O. Landis, of
New Britain, Pa. They have two children, Joel L. and Elizabeth L.

BOWER,
JOHN LINCOLN (M.D.)

p. 540

Surnames: KOCH, , COCK, WAREN, BAUER, BOWER, WARREN, LOTZ,
FREDERICK, HAPPEL, UPDEGROVE, MOYER, RHOADS, SCHEETZ, LEWIS,
HARTRANFZ, POTTS, BABB, DeHART

John Lincoln Bower, M. D., was born in Amity township, Berks
county, on the Bower home-stead, July 12, 1865. The Bower homestead
is part of a five hundred acre tract of land purchased by Otto
Earnest Koch from the commissioners of William Penn, by patent
bearing the date of June 11. 1705. This property was given and
granted by said Otto Earnest Koch to his son Zacharias (who signed
his name Zacharias Cock) by a grant dated the “Thirteenth day of
April in the Fourth year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King
George, Anno Dom. 1718” and remained in his possession until March
10, 1723, when it was acquired by John Waren, who dying without
issue, April 24, 1734, bequeathed 150 acres of said property to his
brother Jacob Waren. On March 10, 1764, 113 acres of this tract of
land were sold by Jacob Waren and his wife Ann to their son Thomas
(who signed his name Warren). Thomas Waren or Warren was possessed
of additional property, for the records show that April 13, 1772,
he and his wife Eva sold 137 acres of land to Moses Bauer (since
Anglicized to Bower) the great-great-great-grandfather of Dr.
Bower, for a consideration of 480 pounds 7 shillings.

Moses Bower was not the first of his family to
hold property in this section, for on June 27, 1763, Jacob Waren
sold to, Michael Bower, eldest son of Moses Bower, thirty acres of
land, but May 7, 1767, this was purchased by Eleanor Lotz. Moses
Bower died in 1805, and in a will dated March 14th, of the same
year, he bequeathed his “plantation” in equal shares to his only
surviving son Michael and his grandson Jacob, son of Moses Bower,
and great-grand-father of Dr. Bower. Michael was to have the lower
half and the grandson Jacob to have the remaining portion of the
“plantation.” By reason of these bequests certain cash payments
were required to be made by said Michael and Jacob to the widow and
grandchildren of Moses Bower.

Upon the death of Michael Bower in 1823 the
property passed to his son Jacob, who retained possession until
March 13, 1839, when it was purchased by Daniel Bower (grandfather
of Dr. Bower) and his brother Jacob H. On April 1. 1847, Daniel
became the sole owner and so remained until Nov. 8. 1882, when the
property was bought by Jacob L. Bower. the present owner and the
father of the subject of this biographical sketch. The farm now
consists of 104 acres, com-posed largely of the portion bequeathed
by Moses Bower to his son Michael, and lies on both sides of what
was formerly known as the Reading and Perkiomen Pike, the main
highway from Reading to Philadelphia, and is intersected by the
Monocacy creek. A landmark of the place is a sawmill more than a
century old, operated by water power supplied by the Monocacy creek
and is widely known as Bower’s saw mill. The original structure
stands today, and the mill is still in use. Many Indian relics have
been found on the farm, bearing mute testimony that prior to the
coming of the white pioneer, this must have been a favored locality
for the Red Man.

The great-great-great-grandfather of Dr. Bower,
Moses Bauer, or Bower as the name is now spelled, and his wife
Catharine and four children: Michael, John, Moses and Labright-were
the first of this family to come to America. and came from Germany,
landing in Philadelphia, Sept. 10, 1753. Moses Bower died in 1805,
and was survived by his wife, one son Michael and twenty-nine
grandchildren. He was interred in the old graveyard at Amityville.

The great-great-grandfather, Moses, was the
third son of his father Moses. He was twice married, and was the
father of nine children: Jacob. Elizabeth, Moses, George, Daniel,
Samuel, David, John and Michael.

Jacob Bower, the great-grandfather, was born
Oct. 16, 1781, and was the eldest child of Moses and Barbara
(Frederick) Bower. He was married to Susanna Happel who died Dec.
28, 1854. They had ten chil-dren, Daniel, John, Jacob H., William,
Elizabeth, m. William Updegrove, Hannah, m. Jacob Moyer, Mary Ann,
m. Benjamin Rhoads, Catharine, m. David Scheetz, and Susanna and
Samuel who died in early life.

Daniel Bower, his grandfather, was born Oct. 17.
1807, in Amity township, and died March 30, 1894. He married
Elizabeth Matilda Lewis, of Robeson township, who died Jan. 13,
1868, aged fifty-seven years. They are buried in St. John’s Church
Yard, in Robeson township. There were seven children born to them
as follows: Catharine, deceased, m. to John W. Hartranft; Jacob L.;
Samuel L, deceased; Justina, living in Birdsboro; Lewis A., of
Wilmington, Del.; Susan M.. widow of William R. Potts, Birdsboro,
Pa.; and John N., Birdsboro, Pennsylvania.

Jacob L. Bower, father of Dr. Bower was born
Nov. 23, 1834, in Robeson township. He resides on the old
homestead. Mr. Bower for many years conducted the farm and sawmill
with unusual success, but for some years he has lived retired. Some
years ago, Mr. Bower served his township as school director. He is
a solid substantial and progressive man, and has always endeavored
to live up to his high ideals of good citizenship. On November 4,
1860. he married Sarah Babb, daughter of the late John and Mary
(DeHart) Babb, of Alsace township. They had these children, and all
survive: Dr. Elmer E., a dentist of Camden N. J.; Emma; Dr. John L.
and Mary S.

Dr. Bower attended the public schools of his
dis-trict and this was supplemented by several terms at the
Amityville Seminary, following which he taught his home school,
Leopard No. 4, for one term. He was graduated from the Jefferson
Medical College in 1898, and became a resident physician at the
Philadelphia Hospital, and remained there for a little more than
fif-teen months. After this he entered the service of the
Pennsylvania Railroad Co. and is one of its oldest medical
examiners, having been located in Reading since Oct. 15, 1892.

Dr. Bower is a member of the Berkshire Country
Club, the Wyomissing Club, the Union League of Philadelphia, and
the Pennsylvania German Society. Professionally he is a member of
the Reading Medical Association, the Berks County Medical Society,
the Medical Society of the State of Pennsylvania, The American
Medical Association and is a member of the Medical Staff of the
Reading Hospital.

BOWER, JOHN
NEWTON

p. 539

Surnames: BOWER, BAUER, LEWIS, COULTER, HARTRANFT, BABB, LUDWIG,
POTTS, JOHNSON, HAPPEL, BUSH

John Newton Bower, assistant cashier of the First National Bank of
Birdsboro, was born on the Bower homestead along the Monocacy creek
in Amity township, Berks county, adjoining the Perkiomen turnpike,
Feb. 7, 1856. He attended the township schools and the Oley
Academy. In 1875 he passed a creditable examination given by the
county superintendent of schools, and received from him a
certificate authorizing him to teach, but he did not follow the
profession.

Shortly afterward he entered the employ of the
E. & G. Brooke Iron Company, at Birdsboro, Pa., as a nailer,
and he continued there until 1891. The directors of the First
National Bank of Birdsboro then selected him as their bookkeeper,
and he filled this position until March, 1905, when he was promoted
to assistant cashier. He is identified with the Birdsboro Building
& Loan Association, and also with the public school affairs of
the borough as a director.

Daniel Bower, his father, was a farmer on the
homestead in Amity township, for upward of fifty years, having been
previously employed as a forgeman at the Gibraltar forge. Besides
carrying on farming, he was actively engaged in conducting a
sawmill, on the prem-ises, which was run by water power, supplied
by the Monocacy creek. He died in 1894, aged eighty-seven years. He
married Elizabeth Matilda Lewis (daughter of Archibald and
Catharine (Coulter) Lewis, of Robeson township), who was of Welsh
ancestry and the descendant of a well known Quaker family. She died
in 1868, aged fifty-seven years. They are both buried in the St.
John’s Church Yard, Robeson township. They had seven children:
Catharine (1833-1889) m. John W. Hartranft; Jacob L. (1884), who
lives on the homestead, m. Sarah Babb; Justina (1837) is living at
Birdsboro; Samuel L. (1842-1908) m. Amanda Ludwig, and they moved
to Wilmington, Del.. about 1880, where he died; Susan M. (1845) m.
William R. Potts, a farmer of Amity township, who died in 1888, and
after his decease, she moved to Birdsboro, where she now resides;
Lewis A. (1848) m. Justina Johnson, and resides in Wilmington,
Del., and John Newton. The parents were thrifty and industrious,
were widely known and universally esteemed for their sterling
qualities of heart and mind.

Jacob Bower, or Bauer, as the name was then
spelled, the grandfather, was a farmer of Amity township having
inherited his farm of ninety acres from his grandfather, Moses
Bower. He died in 1867, aged eighty-six years. He married Susanna
Happel, who died Dec. 28, 1854. They had ten children: Daniel, m.
to Elizabeth Maltilda Lewis; John, m. to Anna Bush; Jacob H., m. to
Matilda Bush; William, m. to Catharine Boyer, Elizabeth, m. to
William U degrove; Hannah, m. to Jacob moyer; Mary Ann, m. to
Benjamin Rhoads; Catharine, m. to Savid Scheetz; Susanna; and
Samuel, who died young.

Moses Bower, the great-grandfather, when a child
emigrated from Germany with his parents. He was twice married, and
was the father of nine children, as follows: Jacob, Elizabeth,
Moses, George, Daniel, Samuel David, John and Michael.

Moses Bower, the great-great-grandfaather, and
his wife Catherine and four children, Michael, John, Moses and
Labright, were the first settlers of this family in America. They
arrived in Philadelphia, Sept. 10, 1753. In 1772, he purchased 137
1/4 acres of land in Amity township, a large part of which
constitutes the present Bower homestead. He died in 1805, and was
survived by his widow, one son Michael and twenty-nine
grandchildren. He provided amply for his widow, and to the subject
of this sketch, he bequeather his farm to be divided in equal
portions subject to certain cash payments on the part of said son
Michael and grandson Jacob, to his grandchildren. He was buried at
Amityville in the old burying ground connected with the Lutheran
and Reformed Church.

BOWER,
WILLIAM L.

p. 1453

Surnames: BOWER, PARKS, MILLER, GOODHART, FREEMAN, RATHJE

William L. Bower, a resident of Robeson township, was born in
Allegheny City, Pa., March 23, 1863, son of Charles C. and Anna
(Parks) Bower, and grandson of David Bower.

Charles C. Bower was born in Washington county,
Pa., in 1828, and learned the business of potter at Geneva, in
Crawford county, Pa. He located at Reading in 1869 and established
a pottery plant at the foot of Washington street, which he operated
for seven years. He was then connected with the Metropolitan Life
Insurance Company for four years, and then was with the Boyd
Directory Company for twenty years, when he retired. He married
Anna Parks, of Geneva, a daughter of David Parks, and by her had
seven children: Edward, who died unmarried; Charles F., who married
a Miss Miller; William L.; Andrew P.; Edward; Anna; and one who
died in infancy.

William L. Bower moved to Reading with his
father when but six years old, and in that city he received his
education, attending school until he was sixteen years of age. He
then learned the trade of potter in his father’s pottery, which
then stood at the foot of Washington street, between the West
Reading Rolling Mills and the sawmill of Foos & Bingaman. He
served an apprenticeship of but two years, when he was sufficiently
qualified to take charge of the Klahr Pottery at Bernville, and he
managed the plant for two years.

Mr. Bower then turned his attention to
bar-keeping, starting the “Eagle Hotel” in Bernville, and after
remaining there two years went to Flying Hill Park, then a very
popular resort along the Schuylkill river, several miles below
Reading, to assist the proprietor during the summer season of 1885.
He then took charge of the bar at the “Hotel Penn” in Reading, and
here he continued for eight years. When the proprietor of the
Sheetz saloon, on Penn street above Eighth, died, he purchased the
place from the widow. He carried it on less than a year when he
sold out to remove to Pittsburg, to take charge of the Baily Cafe,
opposite the post office, and recognized as the finest saloon in
that prosperous city. He remained there two years, but preferring
the eastern part of Pennsylvania, he returned to Berks county, and
purchased the “Centre House” at Grill, in Cumru township. He
carried on this place for five years in a most successful manner,
making it a very popular resort by first-class catering, and
furnishing superior meals to many of the best people of Reading.
The large and finely equipped “Lebanon Valley House” at
Wernersville having then been offered for sale, he purchased it and
took possession in 1901. He operated this also in a very successful
manner for five years, when he retired, after having been
continually engaged in the business of catering to the public for
upward of twenty years. He has recently removed to a large farm in
Robeson township, which he purchased.

Mr. Bower has been twice married. His first wife
was Rebecca Goodhart, of Adamstown, a daughter of John Goodhart,
who was a soldier in the Civil war, and a prisoner at Libby Prison,
where he was starved to death. After her decease, Mr. Bower married
Ella Freeman, of Cumru township, a daughter of Peter R. Freeman and
Dora Rathje, his wife, and they have a daughter, Anna.

BOWMAN
FAMILY

p. 1283

Surnames: BECHTOL, GEHMAN, WEBER, HUBER, GOOD, WEAVER, HOOVER,
MOSSER, BURKHART, ZIMMERMAN, GEIGLEY, MOHN, MARTIN, HORNING,
STAUFFER, MOORE, REIFSNYDER, BECKER, TROOP, MUSSELMAN, SEYFERT,
MOSEMAN, ESHELMAN, MESSNER, REDCAY, MUSSER, GEHMAN, GOOD, HORNING,
BOWMAN

Bowman Family. Among the prominent and successful farmers of
Brecknock township, Berks county, who worthily bear a name that for
generations has stood for industry and integrity, may be mentioned
John M. Bowman and Israel M. Bowman, both descendants of sturdy
Mennonite ancestry.

(I) The Bowman family was planted in America by Wendell Bowman, the
great-great-grandfather of John M. and Israel M. He was born in
Switzerland, and was one of the founders of the Mennonite faith in
Brecknock township, coming into the Allegheny Valley prior to 1750.
He owned considerable land, and was rated among the well-to-do
pioneers. He was twice married, but his children were all by his
first marriage, these were: Christian; Wendell and Joseph, who both
settled in Canada; Susanna, who married a Bechtol, and also went to
Canada; Elizabeth who married Daniel Gehman; and Esther (born July
31, 1790, died Sept 11, 1827), who married Henry Weber (born June
7, 1794, died Jan. 16, 1873).

(II) Christian Bowman, son of Wendell, was a well known farmer in
the Allegheny Valley, making his home in Brecknock township. In
1777 he built the Bowman Mill, which is still in the family, being
now owned and operated by Noah M. Bowman, the great grandson of the
builder. Christian Bowman adhered to the faith of his fathers, and
was active in the Mennonite Church. He is buried at the Allegheny
Meeting House, and his grave is marked by a sandstone, whose
inscription has long since been effaced by the elements. He married
Nancy Huber (or Hoover), and their children were: Joseph; Lizzie,
born Nov. 20, 1785, who married Jacob Good, and died July 6, 1866
aged eighty years, seven months, sixteen days; Samuel: mentioned
below; Daniel, who settled near Bowmansville, Pa.; Maricha, who
married Samuel Weaver; Mary, who married Jonas Good; and Sallie,
who married Jonathan Weaver.

(III) Joseph Bowman, son of Christian, was born Jan. 22, 1784, and
he died Jan. 9, 1841, aged fifty-six years, eleven months,
seventeen days. He was a well known miller, owning and operating
the Bowman Mill in Brecknock township. He also cultivated the fifty
acres of land belonging to the mill property. He was strictly
honest in all his dealings, and was a successful man in business.
He was buried at the Allegheny Meeting House. He married Nancy
Hoover, and they became the parents of three sons and three
daughters, Elizabeth, who married Samuel Bowman, of County
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; Isaac, who married Judith Gehman;
Benjamin; Esther, who married Joseph Gehman; Nancy, who married
Jacob Mosser; and Jacob.

(IV) Benjamin Bowman, son of Joseph and father of Israel M. and
Noah M., was born Dec. 16, 1816, and he passed his entire life
engaged at farming and milling, owning the Bowman Mill in Brecknock
township, and becoming very well-to-do. He died Nov. 13, 1861, and
was buried at the Allegheny Meeting House. He was a consistent
follower of the Mennonite teachings. He married Lovina Mosser, who
was born Jan. 29, 1819, daughter of John Mosser. She died Oct. 8,
1881, aged sixty-two years, eight months, nine days, the mother of
nine children, namely: Eliza, born Jan. 29, 1842; Susanna, Sept.
22, 1843; Lydia, June 29, 1845; Anna, Nov. 5, 1848; Israel M.,
Sept. 6, 1850; Noah M., Oct. 7, 1852; Leah, Nov. 26, 1854; Lovina,
Feb. 1, 1858 (died Feb. 22, 1858); and Benjamin, April 8, 1859
(died June 18, 1860).

(V) Israel M. Bowman, son of Benjamin, was born on the old Bowman
homestead Sept. 6, 1850. In 1874 he began farming on the property
where he now makes his home. He has forty-three acres of good land,
which he purchased in 1884, and this he devotes to farming and
trucking. He attends Reading market every week, and has a stand at
the Deppen market, Tenth and Chestnut streets, and is well known
for his fine produce, his stand being one of the most popular in
the market. He is courteous and obliging, and is of strict honesty
and integrity.

On Oct. 21, 1873, Israel M. Bowman was married
to Annie Burkhart, born Nov. 25, 1850, daughter of Isaac and Susan
(Zimmerman) Burkhart. They have eight children, as follows: (1)
Noah, born Sept. 22, 1874 is a minister in the Mennonite Church,
and lives near Bowmansville, Lancaster county; he married Tilly
Geigley. (2) Benjamin, born Aug. 27, 1877, is a farmer near Terre
Hill, Lancaster county; he married Alice Good. (3) Lydia Ann (born
Nov. 24, 1879), (4) Lizzie (Jan. 16, 1882), (5) Katie (Sept. 26,
1883), (6) Susanna (March 31, 1886), (7) Israel (Jan. 23, 1888) and
(8) Martin (May 23, 1891) are all at home.

(V) Noah M. Bowman, son of Benjamin, and present owner of the
Bowman Mill, on Allegheny Creek, Brecknock township, was born where
he now resides, Oct. 7, 1852. He attended the township schools, and
later was given the advantage of private instruction. In 1870 he
went to Adamstown. Pa., and there for fifteen months worked for
Henry Mohn, thoroughly learning the miller’s trade. He then
returned home and began for himself in the Bowman Mill, continuing
for two years, when he sold out to Jonathan Good. Thirty-three
years later he re-purchased it from the Cooper estate, and since
1904 he has again been the owner and operator. He and his family
are members of the Allegheny Meeting House, in which he has been a
deacon since 1880.

On March 17, 1872, Noah M. Bowman married
Susanna Good, who was born June 11, 1852, daughter of Jonathan and
Lydia (Gehman) Good, farming people of Cumru township. Fourteen
children were born of this marriage, namely: Lydia, born Oct. 28,
1873, married Phares Good, of Lancaster county; Annie, born Feb.
10, 1875, married Samuel Weber, of Lancaster county; Lovina, born
Sept. 5, 1876, married Benjamin Martin, of Lancaster county;
Joseph, born Feb. 17, 1878, married Isabella Mosser, and lives on
his fathers farm; Susanna, born Oct. 14, 1879, married Harry
Horning, of Lancaster county; Jacob, born March 24, 1881, married
Annie M. Stauffer, and lives in Lancaster county; John, born March
5, 1883, died Nov. 11, 1887; Samuel, born Dec. 31, 1884, died Jan.
13, 1887; Noah, born Oct. 25, 1886; Henry, born Aug. 13, 1889;
William, born Dec. 18, 1891; Enos, born July 29, 1893; Abel, born
March 26, 1896, died April 3, 1896; and Sally, born Feb. 22, 1898.

(IV) Jacob Bowman, son of Joseph and brother of Benjamin, was born
in Brecknock township, April 19, 1823, and he died July 10, 1860,
aged thirty-seven years two months, twenty-one days. His life was
devoted to agricultural pursuits. Both he and his wife were members
of the Mennonite Church, and both are buried at the Allegheny
Meeting House. He married Catharine Moore, born March 10, 1826, and
she died Jan. 7, 1901, aged seventy-four years, nine months,
twenty-seven days. This marriage was blessed with three sons:
Joseph, who died aged eleven years, and Jacob, who died aged nine,
both of diphtheria in two weeks time; and John M.

(V) John M. Bowman, son of Jacob, was born in the Allegheny Valley,
in Brecknock township, Aug. 21, 1859. He was reared upon his
father’s farm, and there became thoroughly familiar with everything
that pertains to the up-to-date and successful management of a
farm. In 1885 he began for himself on his own farm, which he
acquired after his mother’s death. This is the old Bowman
homestead, which has been in the family name since 1751. The
present house was built in 1863, and in 1891 Mr. Bowman built his
substantial barn 100×40 feet. There are 124 acres in the farm, all
under a high state of cultivation. Mr. Bowman attends the Reading
market twice a week in summer and once in winter. He has a stand in
the Deppens market, where he disposes of all his produce.

In 1889 John M. Bowman was married to Sallie C.
Reifsnyder, born Aug. 19, 1865, daughter of Samuel and Caroline
(Becker) Reifsnyder. Samuel Reifsnyder was a farmer and butcher
near Center Church, Lancaster county. Mrs. Bowman was the second
born of his six children, the others being: Charles, of Lancaster
county; Isaac, who lives on the homestead; William, near
Churchtown; Irwin, near the homestead; and Minnie, who married John
Troop, a farmer of Cumru township.

(VI) Samuel Bowman, mentioned above as son of Christian, was born
Dec. 1, 1789, and he died Jan. 19, 1857, aged sixty-seven years,
one month, eighteen days. From John B. Good, who knew him
intimately, it is learned that in his childhood his mother noticed
that he was different from her other children, and was much
concerned about him. When he entered school he evinced a natural
fondness for learning. The only language used was Pennsylvania
German, but he determined to learn English, and with the aid of the
dictionary applied himself and made wonderful progress. After he
had attended the township school until he had learned there all
that he could, he went to Churchtown Academy, and there learned to
converse in English. He also studied surveying at the Academy, and
in this attained much skill, practicing it successfully many years.
“His clear head and logical mind were eminently fitted for
practical geometry. His love of justice and equity and his high
character for honesty and uprightness of purpose all combined to
make him afterward a most successful surveyor. In his library were
found some of the best classical authors in the English language.
From 1815 to 1820 he was, during the winter months, engaged in
school teaching. Surveying, scrivening and ordinary labor took up
the rest of his time. As a teacher he acquired a wonderful
reputation among his neighbors for the great amount of knowledge he
possessed, and was especially famous for his success in keeping
good order and governing his school. Some of his pupils are still
living, and acquainted as they are with modern school discipline,
say, ‘It was not so in Sam Bowman’s school.’ His life was one of
constant and unremitting toil of mind and body. He had a laudable
ambition to be esteemed as a correct and competent business man,
and all who knew him and had any business transactions with him can
bear testimony to the ability and honesty with which his affairs
were conducted. He was a man of great power and worth, the ideal
leader and adviser around whom his neighbors flocked for advice;
the center of a community which he founded; the father any
settlement may be proud of. Like the mighty oak in a great forest,
he was the giant among those who gathered around him. I am
digressing from my subject but no sketch of any place is complete
unless something is known of the founder. It is true, most
admirable biographical sketches of this marvelous man appear in
several of our county histories, but his noble rugged character is
deserving of a wider acquaintance, and for that reason I have at
some length referred to him. In 1820 Mr. Bowman built a house on
the southeast corner where the road leading from Reamstown to the
Plow Tavern crossed the State road. The house was arranged for
keeping a country store. Here he commenced the mercantile business
immediately after the building was finished, and was succeeded by
his son-in-law, J. B. Musselman. This was the first house in the
now thriving village and from, whence the name of the place was
derived. . . . . Now the village of Bowmansville contains over an
hundred houses, many of beautiful modern design, four churches, two
Mennonite, one Lutheran and Reformed, and an Evangelical Methodist,
and a handsome substantial two story school house. In 1840, just
twenty years after the first house was erected, a post office was
established at Bowman’s store, and named Bowmansville. Mr. Bowman
was appointed postmaster, the only office, outside of justice of
the peace, he would accept, the latter only for the convenience of
acknowledging his official papers.” [From a paper read by A. G.
Seyfert before the Lancaster County Historical Society.]

The Allegheny Meeting House, so frequently
mentioned in the above sketch of the Bowman family, is one of the
landmarks of Berks county. The following families have been
represented in each generation among its most active members:
Gehman, Good, Horning, Bowman, Moseman, Eshelman, Messner, Redcay
and Musser. The ministers who have officiated there in the order
given, were: Christian Gehman, Samuel Good, Bishop Jacob Moseman (a
native of Germany); Peter Musser, Benjamin Horning, Abraham Gehman,
Henry Good, Abraham Gehman and Noah Bowman.