John Bowie (1688 - 1759)

I can find no evidence to support the theory that the John Bowie chr. at Carnock in Fife in 1688 was identical to the nephew of John Smith mentioned in the will of the latter in 1707. On the contrary, this theory has some problems, not the least of which is that on 7 Feb 1709, John Bowie of Carnock married Katharin Cuningham there. If the groom of 1709 was not the same person as the infant of 1688, I don't know who he would have been. (To be fair, there was another John Bowie Jr. chr. in Carnock in 1674, but marriage at age 35 would be somewhat on the late side for those times.)

The possibility that the John Bowie christened in Carnock in 1688 was still there 21 years later, when he wed the fair Katharin, is at war with the known facts about John Bowie of Maryland; mainly that the Maryland immigrant named John Bowie was already in the colonies by 1707, and that upon attaining his majority he married to Mary Millikin in Maryland.

In addition, it was posited on John Bowie's FamilyTree profile that his mother was a "Jane Smith," so as to make her the sister of John Smith of Maryland, who then would be an uncle to John Bowie. However, the entry in the Carnock baptismal register gives no information about the mother of the John Bowie who was born there in 1688, so we can't establish the uncle - nephew relationship based on the christening record.

Nor does the marriage register advance that ball. The parish clerk in Carnock recorded the marriage of John Bowie [i.e., John Bowie Sr.] 24 April 1684 to Margaret Ker or Car [perhaps really Margaret Kerr or Carr]. There is another marriage entry for another John Bowie on 27 May 1673 (which could be an earlier wo marriages for the same man), but again the bride was Agnes Brown ("Broun"), i.e., not a Smith. Thus the marriage register gives no support for the theory that the mother of the John Bowie chr. in 1688 was a Smith.

Assuming that the bridal pair of 1673 and / or 1684 were the parents who had a number of children christened in Carnock in the 1670s and 1680s as children of "John Bowie," it is difficult to see how John Smith of Maryland could have been their uncle.

In short, John Smith chr. in 1635 in Edinburgh as the son of John Smith and Janet Hunter fits the known facts relating to John Smith, the emigrant to Maryland, but it is at best highly speculative to imagine that he was the uncle of the John Bowie chr 27 Dec 1688 at Carnock. The timing is right, but that is all.

I've a bit more sourced information regarding John Bowie which I'm glad to share. Please contact me if you'd like to have and use it. Beth

Bowie-296 and Bowie-357 appear to represent the same person because: They are the same man - same birth and death, birthplace of Carnock, Fife has been confirmed.