John Washington Bowen (1696 - abt. 1761)

Born 1696 in Chester, Pennsylvania

Ancestors

Husband of Lillian Stella (McIlhaney) Bowen — married 1730 in Chester, Pennsylvania

Descendants

Died about 9 May 1761 at about age 65 in Botetourt County, Colony of Virginia

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Biography

John Bowen was a Virginia colonist.

John was born about 1696. He passed away in 1761.

"Among the early Quaker settlers in Pennsylvania was John Bowen who became a wealthy planter of Lancaster County, PA. As was the custom of the times, at harvest gathered the lads and lassies of the surrounding country to his harvesting. One of these, Lilly McIlhaney, by her grace and beauty, so attracted the old bachelor's heart that he bowed at the shrine of Matrimony." From this marriage came Capt. William Bowen, the Indian fighter and the more celebrated Reese Bowen, who was killed at the Battle of King's Mountain. Captain William was one of the early settlers of Sumner County.

John Bowen and Lily were leaders in the development of southwest Virginia and the frontier where there was continuous conflict between the settlers, the French and the Indians. Then came the Revolutionary War when their sons and sons-in-law, with one exception, were leaders in their services with the Continental line and the Virginia Militia. Rebecca Bowen Whitley's son, Moses, disagreed with his mother's family. He had the courage to fight for his convictions and was an officer in the British Army. Note: John had 8 sons and 5 daughters. The 8 sons were John, Hugh Rees, Henry, Robert P., William R., Aurthur, Charles and Moses. Moses died from wounds suffered during the French and Indian War. He was only 20 at the time of his death and is believed to have died from disease caused by washing his wounds in unboiled water. During the Revolution, John's sons William, Robert, John, Arthur were Captains, Hugh Rees and Henry were officers and the youngest at that time, Charles, was a Private.

Seven of John's eight sons mustered in with the Tazewell Co. Militia in 1780. Four of them were Captains, one was a Lieutenant, one was a Sergeant and one was a Private. At least four of them marched or rode down the Over The Mountain Victory Trail which concluded with the Battle of Kings Mountain, SC. There, the Over the Mountain Men defeated Major Furgeson and approximately 1,000 Tories. Hugh Rees BOWEN was killed in the battle, 1 of 28 Patriots to die on the field. Some stories state he was buried on Kings Mountain but many doubt that because, with 4 brothers there, they probably would not have left him. There is an organization called OVTA (Overmountain Victory Trail Association) that is trying to preserve parts of the actual trail these men took that have not yet been developed.

They descend from Moses Bowen / Rebecca Rees, who came from Wales in 1668 with a large group of Quakers, who settled in Pennsylvania around Chester and Lancaster Counties. It's thought that Rebecca was a Quaker, but Moses wasn't. Their only "known and proven" child was John Bowen, who married a beautiful young heiress, fresh of the boat from Ireland. She came with her mother, one full brother, many half siblings and a stepfather. She and her brother were their father's only heirs, so she was very well off. Her name was Lillian McIllhaney, a 17 year old miss.

A very interesting note about this remarkable family. Lillian and her mother and sisters were "Master Flex Weavers" and were the first to bring the industry into Pennsylvania. It's quoted in many accounts of the time, that a very wealthy planter, John Bowen fell in love almost "at first sight". They soon married, and moved several places before finally settling in Augusta Co., Virginia. Their beautiful home was located just outside of what is now Clifton Forge (Unfortunately the home fell into disrepair and for many years remained so. Finally it was torn down to make way for "progress". A gas station was built on the site, but the family cemetery can still be found on the hill behind what was the home.) John and Lillian had a total of 13 children, five of the Bowen sons were in and around Southwest Virginia with the advent of their brother, Rees Bowen discovered and naming of "Maiden Springs" and where his home and huge estate is still in the family's possession. Most of Rees's brother's moved on to Tennessee, as many people did after the Revolutionary War. Whenever new and free lands became available, that's where you'll find people moving to. Anyway, Rees was one of the first to explore and settle the area and of all the Bowen's that went to "the Battle of King's Mountain.", in North Carolina, he was the only one of his clan that died there. Anyway, the brothers that were in the area around Tazewell which was made up of Montgomery, Smyth and Russell counties, and were also at the battle, were William, Robert, Arthur, John, Charles and Rees's oldest son John. John Bowen ...^[1]

His Will was probated on 19 May 1761.

Research Notes

• Needs Ref Tags: Facts in the biography need to be associated with sources using ref tags, especially when the profile lists what it describes as a fraudulent source. Why is that source being used? Spratlin-29 19:18, 18 April 2022 (UTC)

Also found Birth Place Wales.

Werna Rudy notes birthplace of John as Wales Llanelly, Carmarthen other notes:was a Quaker.lived for awhile in Maryland then moved to Augusta co.VA now the county of Rockbridge circa 1730.the earliest record of his placement there is a bond to Col.Patton dated 15th April 1748 (this was part of a grant for 100.00 acres on the upper James River surveyed in 1747)

Rather than just delete this information, please note that it was innocently included (via Ancestry, of course); from a source that was known to provide fraudulent informaton. Therefore it should be verified with other sources. The birth place differs. There is a will of Evan Bowen of Whiteland, PA where a son John and brother John is mentioned. There is no mention of Moses or Rebecca. However, I found this One Moses Bowen, a Quaker, is said to have emigrated from Wales to Guinnedd Township, Penn., about 1698 with his wife Rebecca Reece. He had, probably among others, a son named John, who married a Scotch-Irish girl named Lily McIlhaney and removed to Augusta County, Va.^[2]

Hopefully, this will help clarify WikiTree information. Jo Ann

• Fact: Migrated (ABT 1730) from Pennsylvania Orange Co., VA
• Fact: Probate 19 May 1761 Will 13 March 1760
• Fact: HISTORY OF JOHN BOWEN AND FAMILY See below
• Fact: Religion The Quaker John Bowen Sr.
• Fact: Burial Bowen Family, Alleghany, Virginia, United States

Sources

1. ↑ Entered by Jared Goodpasture, Jun 6, 2011.
2. ↑ The Media Research Bureau, Washington, D.C. (compiler), George C. Shaw II (transcriber), "The name and family of Bowen;" image copy, Ancestry.com (http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/9155952/person/6447958913/mediax/3?pgnum1&pg32817%2C0&pgpl=pid%2Cpid%7CpgNum). [known fraudulent source]

See also:

• Jamie Ault Grady, Bowens of Virginia and Tennessee, Descendants of John Bowen and Lily McIlhaney, Part One (1969); image copy, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/362974/?offset=0#page=1&viewer=picture&o=&n=0&q=).
• Jamie Ault Grady, Bowens of Virginia and Tennessee, Descendants of John Bowen and Lily McIlhaney, Volume Two (1976); image copy, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/360140/?offset=0#page=1&viewer=picture&o=&n=0&q=).
• Anna Russell des Cognets, William Russell and His Descendants, and Louis des Cognets, Jr., The Russell Family in Virginia (Princeton, New Jersey: Louis des Cognets, Jr., 1960); image copy, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/767232/?offset=0#page=1&viewer=picture&o=&n=0&q=).
• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 09 March 2020, 03:24), entry for John Washington Bowen Sr (PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:LRF1-R2Q); contributed by various users.
• GenealogieOnLine [no specific citation].
• Find A Grave: Memorial #72488263 for John Bowen Sr.; BIRTH: 1696; Chester County, Pennsylvania, USA; DEATH: 9 May 1761 (aged 64–65); Augusta County, Virginia, USA.