Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 16

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1360

USA > Iowa > Memorial and biographical record of Iowa > Part 16

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

his home and native State, going to Sis- tersville, Virginia, where his eldest brother was then engaged in the practice of medi- cine. Having taught two terms of school he was called to Sardis, Ohio, where he pursued the same profession until he de- cided to further extend his knowledge by en- tering Granville College, now Dennison Uni- versity, where he remained for a year. At the expiration of that time he returned to Maine and continued his studies in the Maine State Seminary for a short period. Having received a favorable proposition from his for- mer field of labor in Virginia, he decided to re- turn, and in 1859, accompanied by his mother and sisters, who desired to visit friends in that State, he again located in the Old Dominion and resumed the profession of teaching, his school being of a private academic character and attended by the sons and daughters of Virginia planters.

But the war of the Rebellion was at hand and the mutterings that presaged the coming storm could already be heard. The celebrated raid of John Brown at Harper's Ferry, which occurred soon after Mr. Bowman had returned to Virginia, served to intensify the feelings of hatred toward the North, and he decided to again seek a home in his native State; and when the war broke out he was engaged in teaching the grammar school at Hallowell, Maine. Mr. Bowman promptly offered his services in the defense of the Government, and entered the army as a Corporal in the First Maine Cavalry, but was soon detached as Regi- mental Quartermaster Sergeant, and on the first of May, 1862, was appointed Regimental Commissary Sergeant. In December, 1863, he re-enlisted and was commissioned first as Lieutenant and Regimental Commissary, on the 9th of February, 1864; was mustered into the United States service on the 22d of same month. He was detailed as Commissary of the Third Brigade, Second Division, of Gen- eral Sheridan's Cavalry Corps, October 9, 1864, and on March 26, 1865, was ordered to take charge of the reserve supply train, which posi-

RECORD OF IOWA.

tion he occupied until General Lee's surrender to General Grant at Appomattox. By order of Brevet-General C. H. Smith he took charge of the Commissary department of the sub-dis- trict of the Appomattox, relieving Captain M. A. Richardson, C. S., June 15, 1865. He re- mained in that capacity issuing rations to the soldiers and destitute citizens, until he was mustered out, on the Ist of August, 1865, in Petersburg, Virginia. Colonel Bowman was engaged in active duty during the entire time that he was enrolled in the service, and though connected with the commissary department his duties were both arduous and dangerous, and his position a most responsible one. His first important service was at the battle of Win- chester, May 25, 1862. This was followed by an engagement at Cedar Mountain; the second battle of Bull Run on August 29 and 30, 1862; Fredericksburg, December 12, 1862; Rappa- hannock Station, April 14, 1863; Brandy Station, June 9; Aldie, June 17; Middleburg, June 19; Gettysburg, July 1, 2 and 3; Shep- herdstown, July 16, 1863, and in the fortifica- tions before Richmond, March 1, 1864. On the 7th and 8th of May, 1864, an engagement occurred at Todd's Tavern, which was followed by the battle of Cold Harbor on the 2d of June; Reams' Station, August 23, 1864; Farm- ers' Cross Roads, April 5, 1865, and many others, down to Appomattox Court House and the surrender of General Lee on the 9th of April, 1865. With his command Colonel Bow- man was then ordered to re-enforce Sherman and went to North Carolina with that object in view, but Johnston had surrendered to Gen- eral Sherman and the war was over.

As stated, Colonel Bowman's service was an important and hazardous one. He was fre- quently appointed by the General in command to take part in scouting enterprises, and never shrank from duty however responsible or peril- ous. It would be impossible in a biographical sketch of this character to enter fully into all the details of his army experience, but the fol- lowing account from the published history of the First Maine Cavalry illustrates his gal-

lantry and coolness in the hour of danger. This is but one of the many thrilling expe- riences that he underwent during his army life, and is recorded in General Polk's campaign in I862 :

"On the night of August 22, 1862, Sergeant Bowman, then Commissary Sergeant and sub- sequently Lieutenant and Commissary, was at Catlett's station; where he was in consultation with the brigade commissary and quartermaster, with reference to taking rations to the front on the following morning when suddenly, to the surprise of every one-for there was no appre- hension of danger-the train was attacked by General Stuart's cavalry, which had swung round the Union army and was making a rapid raid at this point, a raid well remembered by General Polk's forces. The attack was so furious and so well followed up that there was no time to harness the teams, and barely time for these officers and a third one to secure their horses and mount, which they did though sur- rounded and amid a shower of bullets. They' escaped capture by plunging into the woods with the bullets whistling around them in a lively manner. Then came a wild ride through the woods in the darkness, dodging among the branches of trees and going they knew not whither. Finally, thinking it best to know what had taken place before they went farther, Sergeant Bowman consented to return and ascertain, the other officers to wait for him four hours. He had but started when a ter- rific thunder storm began, but this proved to be to his advantage as the flashes of lightning helped him on his way. Riding until he heard the sound of the enemy he left his horse and advanced on foot until he could see the foe busily breaking open boxes, for whatever they could find. Soon he heard a movement in his rear and the same instant was ordered to halt; but, not choosing to obey, a bullet was sent after him to enforce the order. He eluded his foe, found his horse and was up and away, hastily pursued by the enemy. He reached his waiting friends, but the enemy was close behind. He and his friends were forced to

100

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

flee, and finally escaped unharmed, remaining concealed until daylight, and then finding their way to the Union forces."

The Colonel was a gallant soldier and served his country faithfully and well until the end of the struggle.

At the close of the war Colonel Bowman returned with his regiment to Maine, and was mustered out in Augusta, going thence to Bos- ton, Massachusetts, where he conducted a market until the spring of 1866, when he came to Iowa, locating in Newton, Jasper county. For a time he engaged in the hardware busi- ness, and in the spring of 1867 was appointed a special agent for the Washington Life Insurance Company, which position he held until the spring of 1870, when he resigned and accepted the general agency of the Brooklyn Life Insurance Company of New York, for Iowa. After working for that com- pany eleven months, and sending them a large amount of new business, he accepted the gen- eral agency of his former company and re- moved to Des Moines, in June, 1870, opening an office, and has held that position for the State of Iowa continuously since. After his arrival in Iowa, he was commissioned Lieuten- ant-Colonel on the staff of Governors Gear and Sherman.

On the Ist of January, 1864, Colonel Bow- man was married in Charlestown (now part of Boston), Massachusetts, to Miss Josephine Webber, a very estimable young woman, a native of Maine, who died in November, 1884. She was lovely in her life, and her death left a great sorrow to husband and family. Of the eight children born of their marriage, three died in infancy. Those still living are Leona, DeForrest, Harold M., Herman T., and Josephine Beatrice. The Colonel was the sec- ond time married in Chicago, January 13, 1886, his second union being with Miss Hattie L. Stanard, and on their fourth wedding anniver- sary he was again bereft by death of a beloved wife. Two children were born of this mar- riage, -Dean Cottle and Hattie Corinne. From a biographical sketch published soon af-

ter the death of the wife and mother, the fol- lowing facts were taken:

" Mrs. Hattie L. Bowman, wife of Colonel M. T. V. Bowman, was born in Clarion, Bureau county, Illinois, April 24, 1852. She received most excellent moral and religious training from her parents and united with the Baptist Church at the age of twelve years. When fourteen years of age she entered the State School at Normal, Illinois, where for two years she was preparing for the work of teach- ing, and at the age of sixteen years began her labors in that direction in Charleston, Illinois. During her second year at Charleston, she was tendered and accepted a situation in Little Rock, Arkansas, where she remained nearly three years, when she came to Des Moines, where she taught for one year. The greater part of her work as a teacher, however, was in Omaha, Nebraska, where she taught for ten years, and during the last seven years of that time was principal of the South Side schools. The summer of 1873 she spent in traveling in Europe, going abroad as a representative of the School Journal. She visited England and Scotland and also spent some time on the con- tinent. She possessed fine executive ability, was enthusiastic and conscientious and conse- quently was most successful in her work. Severe labor tending to impair her health she resigned her position in Omaha, and in com- pany with her brother, H. A. Stanard, spent about two years on a farm which she had pre- viously bought, near Madison, Nebraska. She brought to the home of her husband the graces of a cultured mind, refined tastes and a devoted Christian character. Her death was an irrep- arable loss to her husband and family and to all who knew her a source of sincere sorrow."

Colonel Bowman was married to his present wife at Columbus, Ohio, July 9, 1891. She was the widow of Colonel J. W. Halliday, of Steubenville, Ohio, whom she married there in 1865, and who died in 1881. She is the daughter of David B. and Elizabeth Patton, of Sardis, Ohio, her grandfather being one of the first settlers of Wheeling, Virginia. She

101

RECORD OF IOWA.

received her education at Blairsville Ladies' Seminary, Pennsylvania, graduating at that institution in 1861. Mrs. Bowman is an active worker in the Woman's Relief Corps, having been elected president of the E. M. Stanton W. R. C. in 1884, and the same year was elected to the Vice Presidency of the depart- ment of Ohio, and was afterward appointed Assistant National Inspector for Western Vir- ginia on the staff of Mrs. Charity Rusk Craig.

Colonel Bowman has been very successful as a business man, having been connected with numerous important business enterprises of Des Moines. During 1881 and 1882, he held the first Vice-Presidency of the Iowa Baptist State Convention, and during 1883 and 1884 was the President of that organization, was re-elected in 1885, but resigned, when J. W. Burdette, of Burlington, Iowa, was chosen in his stead. He has been a director of the Iowa National Bank since its organization, and for eleven years was a member of the com- mittee on loans and discounts. He is the first- vice-president of the Des Moines Ice Com- pany, treasurer of the Iowa Coal-Land Com- pany, also director of the first electric railroad of Des Moines, and has been prominently con- nected with other business enterprises. He is a charter member of Crocker Post, served as its second Commander, and is a member of the Iowa Commandery of the Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. He has been a member of the order of Masonry for many years and is a prominent Knight Temp- lar. In educational matters the Colonel has always taken a lively interest, having been a member of the Executive Board of Des Moines University (now Des Moines College) for eleven years, and was President of the gen- eral board one year when he resigned ..

Colonel Bowman has made his way in life unaided, and has won the respect and confi- dence of his fellow-citizens, by whom he is esteemed for integrity and uprightness of character. Politically he is a Republican, and religiously is a member of the First Baptist Church of Des Moines.

R. ROBERT McCORMICK, de- ceased, came to Chariton, Iowa, in May, 1857, from Brimfield, Illi- nois, whither he removed from Carl- isle, Pennsylvania. He was born in the latter place February 5, 1805, and acquired his edu- cation in Dickinson College and at Jefferson Medical College. He began practice as a physician and surgeon in Sharon, where he continued for fifteen years, doing a good busi- ness. He was married there to Miss Susan Ulp, who died in Sharon in 1847.

After the death of his wife Dr. McCormick left his home in the Keystone State and started for the West. He took up his residence in Illinois, locating near Peoria, in the town of Brimfield, where he engaged in practice for a few years. He then came to Lucas county, Iowa, and was a resident of Chariton from 1857 until his death, on the 24th of January, 1877. The family consisted of four sons and three daughters, six of whom attained to years of maturity, namely: Elizabeth, James Oli- ver, William Laughlin, Albery Ulp, Marga- ret and Emily. One child, Robert, the sixth in order of birth, died in infancy. Elizabeth, and James died in Chariton; William died in San Francisco, California; Albert was Captain of Company H, First Iowa Cavalry, served throughout the entire war, re-enlisted as a veteran and was in the service for nearly five years. In 1893, on account of failing health, he went to California and died in Los Angeles, November 20, 1894, leaving a wife and eight children. His father also was in the hundred- days service, although long past the ex- emption age. Misses Margaret and Emily

constitute the family in Chariton. They have erected a beautiful home on Woodlawn avenue, where they live in comfort. Miss Margaret was formerly matron in the Boys' School, of Davenport, Iowa, having charge of Kemper Hall. This is a school under the auspices of the Episcopal Church. Miss Emily was reared to womanhood in Pennsylvania and educated in Poland, Ohio, where she was acquainted with William McKinley, who also was a stu-

102

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

dent there. She holds membership in the Presbyterian Church, and both the sisters are talented ladies, deeply interested in charitable and church work and untiring in all that will benefit the community. They belong to the Chariton History Club, a literary society in which they have held membership for seven- teen years. No family in Iowa is more highly esteemed than the McCormick family.

Owing to poor health the Doctor did not engage in the active practice of inedicine after coming to this State. He was elected county Judge of Lucas county in 1865, re-elected in 1867, and for a third term in 1869, thus serv- ing for six consecutive years with credit to himself and satisfaction to all concerned. He was the first County Auditor under the law authorizing the existence of that office, the position of county judge being abandoned. In 1871 he was re-elected County Auditor, and again in 1873. No man was more familiar with the history of the county and certainly none stood higher in social and political circles. His memory is cherished by the older residents of Chariton, and all speak of him as an upright, honorable citizen, -an official fully competent to discharge the duties of his exalted positions, and a father whose tender solicitude for the well-being of his family, so early bereft of a mother's tender care, was the subject of special mention among his intimate friends. He died as he had lived,-a consistent and devout Christian.

The estimable ladies who preside over the McCormick home in Chariton, Misses Margaret and Einily, occupy a very exalted position, numbering among their friends the best people of the city. Being liberally educated they naturally take great interest in the literary societies and in the improvement of their minds; and in church and Sunday-school work they are ever active and faithful. Being the only survivors of their family, they inherited a fine property and feel assured of a pleasant home provided with all the comforts of life, with leisure to engage in any benevolent or charitable work to which they may feel inclined.

a APTAIN BENJAMIN FOWLER, one of the prosperous farmers of Lincoln township, Warren county, Iowa, and an honored veteran of the great Civil war, dates his birth in Perry county, Ohio, October 7, 1834, he being one of the eleven children of John and Sarah (Brown) Fowler. Five of this number are still living, namely: Mary Ann, wife of George Barnett, of Ohio; David C., who resides on the old homestead in Perry county; Maria, wife of James E. Davis, Perry county; Benjamin, the subject of this article; and William H., Perry county.

John Fowler, his father, was born in Mary- land, near the city of Baltimore, and lived there until he was twenty-one years of age. On attaining his majority he emigrated to Perry county, Ohio, and made settlement in a heavily timbered district, he being the first white settler of Pike township, and so far as known there were no settlers to the west of his location. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, was nearly all through that struggle and rendered valiant service. Some time after the war he was married to Miss Sarah Brown, a native of Virginia and a daughter of Isaac Brown and wife, whose maiden name was Clayton, both natives of Virginia; and in Ohio Mr. and Mrs. Fowler spent the whole of their married life, and died and are buried there, her death occurring at the age of sixty-three years and his at eighty-four. Our subject's grandfather, Richard Fowler, was a native of France and a son of Richard Fowler, they be- ing descended from the old nobility of France. The elder 'Richard Fowler was a man of marked personality and prominent in military matters. His son Richard came to this country in early life and made settlement in Maryland, where he was for many years engaged in farm- ing and where he died at an extreme old age. The Fowlers are noted for longevity. In the family burying-ground upon the old homestead may be seen the graves of fifteen members of the family whose ages average over eighty-five years-a remarkable record indeed.

Captain Benjamin Fowler, whose name

103

RECORD OF IOWA.

graces this sketch, made his home in his native State until after the close of the Civil war. August 26, 1861, he enlisted in the Thirtieth Ohio Infantry, Company D, under Colonel Hugh Ewing, and at once went to the front. The first important engagement in which he took part was that of South Mountain, where his regiment met with a heavy loss. His com- mand also met with heavy loss at the battle of Antietam, the siege of Vicksburg and the siege of Jackson, Mississippi. Other engagements in which he participated were those of Chat- tanooga, Missionary Ridge, Atlanta, Kenesaw mountain, Ezra Chapel, Jonesborough and Bentonville. At Missionary Ridge, Company D lost one-third of its members. But Mr. Fowler passed safely through the many hotly contested battles until that of Bentonville, where he received his first wound, and for three months thereafter was in hospital. His regiment participated in the grand review at Washington, but Captain Fowler-he hav- ing been promoted to the rank of Captain some time before-had not sufficiently recovered from his wound to be there on that occasion. He was mustered out of the service August 18, 1865, at Little Rock, Arkansas, after four years of honorable and arduous service, and after receiving his discharge returned to his old home in Ohio. That same fall he came out West and settled in Warren county, Iowa, on the place where he now lives.

Mr. Fowler was married September 22, 1857, to Miss Emily Brown, a daughter of Joshua and Sarah Brown, she being a native of Perry county, Ohio, and a member of a large family of children. Mr. and Mrs. Fowler have four children: Grant, living on a farm adjoining his father's; Thad., at home; Sallie, wife of Ed Webster, Fort Collins, Colorado; and Samuel, at home.

For a period of thirty-five years Captain Fowler has made Warren county his home, and in this time has won a place among the most successful and enterprising farmers of his vicinity, always abreast with the times and ever ready to give his support to any movement or

enterprise intended to advance the interests of the county. A veteran of the Civil war, he is, of course, identified with the G. A. R., his membership being with James Randolph Post, No. 116. He is in politics a pronounced Re- publican and finds as he grows older that he is more strongly imbued with Republican ideas. Both he and his wife are devoted Christians and earnest and efficient members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, their church or- ganization having recently erected a fine, new house of worship on land immediately joining the Fowler homestead.

ON. J. W. RUSSELL, the popular and efficient Mayor of Adel, whose capable administration has proved of great benefit to the town, was born on the 19th of May, 1851, in Kosciusko county, Indiana, and is a son of Adoniram and Sarah (North) Russell. The father was born in Fair- field county, Ohio, in 1825, and died in Clay county, Illinois, in 1867. He was a soldier of the Mexican war, in which he served with the rank of Lieutenant, and during the Civil war he won the rank of Colonel for meritorious conduct on the field of battle. His wife was born in Delaware county, Ohio, in 1828, and is still living at the old home in Indiana. She was one of a family of seven children, of whom five are yet living. To Colonel and Mrs. Russell were born three children, and after the death of her first husband the mother was again married and had two daughters by her second marriage.

On the paternal side the Russells are of English lineage. The great-grandparents, John and Sarah (Lovett) Russell, crossed the Atlantic from England before the war of 1812 and settled in Virginia, where they spent their remaining days. The former was a shoemaker by trade and followed that pursuit through much of his life. The grandparents, David L. and Sophia (Smith) Russell, were natives of Loudoun county, Virginia, and New York respectively. The former was born in 1795

104

HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL

and during the Civil war disappeared and was never heared from again. The grandmother died in Delaware county, Ohio, in 1865. The maternal great-grandparents of our subject, Thomas and Sarah (McCarty) North, emi- grated from England to America prior to the Revolutionary war and settled in Virginia. They were of English and Irish descent and were farming people. The former aided the Colonies in their struggle for independence. The grandparents were Joseph and Sarah (Russell) North. The former, born in Fair- field county, Ohio, in 1805, died in Indiana, in 1885. His wife was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, in 1820, and died in Mary- land in 1866.

We now take up the personal history of our subject, whose life record we feel assured will prove of interest to many of our readers, for he is widely known and has many warm friends. He spent the first fifteen years of his life on a farm, and then entered Hillsdale Col- lege, wishing to secure a more advanced edu- cation than the district schools had afforded him. In order to meet the expenses of his collegiate course he worked on a farm. He continued his studies until some time in the sophomore year, when, in 1872, he sought a home in the West, and took up his residence in Adel, Iowa. He had not a dollar of capital: in fact $150 indebtedness was resting upon him; but he was resolute and energetic, and de- termined that he would win success if it could be accomplished through enterprise and perse- verance. He clerked for a law firm and read law for a year, and was then placed in charge of a loan business. Subsequently he bought out Mr. North in the loan business, and under the firm name of Willard & Russell carried on operations in that line. The partnership con- tinued until the Ist of August, 1875, when he bought out Mr. Willard, and added the ab- stract to the loan business, which he has since continued.

His abilities are broad, and as he has found opportunity he has extended his labors into other fields of operation. He is engaged in

land speculation, is president of the Dallas County Savings Bank, and was vice-president of the first railway built through Adel. The company was organized in his office, and with the aid of several other enterprising business men the new concern was secured. He is also secretary of various other business organiza- tions, including the Adel Improvement Com- pany, having held that office since its organiza- tion. This association has secured the loca- tion of several factories in Adel, and has indeed done much toward building up the town.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Memorial and biographical record of Iowa, Part 16

Author: Publication date: 1896 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1360

Author:
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1360