JOHN BOWEN
JOHN BOWEN, son of Moses Bowen and Rebecca Reese, was born about 1680 in Wales
and died 1769 in Virginia. He married 1720 in Chester County, Virginia to
LILY MCILHANEY, born about 1705 in Ireland and died 1780 in Virginia.
Issue:
NANCY BOWEN, born 1732 in Orange County, Virginia and died 1759. She married
Archibald Buchanan.
AGNES BOWEN, born 1735 and died 1803. She married James McFerrar.
REECE BOWEN, born 1737 and died 7 October 1780 at the Battle of King's Mountain.
He married Levisa (Louisa) Smith.
HENRY BOWEN, born 1738 and died 1808 in Grainger County, Tennessee. He married
Ann Cunningham.
ROBERT BOWEN, born 1740 and died 1817. He married Mary Gillespie.
WILLIAM BOWEN, born 1742 in Fincastle County, Virginia and died 15 December 1804
in Sumner County, Tennessee. He married 1777 in Augusta County, Virginia to
Mary Henely Russell.
ARTHUR BOWEN, born 1744 in Augusta County and died 1816. He married Mary McMurrey.
MARY BOWEN, born 1748 in Augusta County an died 1820. She married William (?) Porter.
CHARLES BOWEN, born 1749 and died 1833. He married Nancy Gillespie.
MOSES BOWEN, born 1754 and died 1774 while serving in the Colonial Army.
JOHN BOWEN, born 1757. He married 1768 Rachel Matthews.(wrong date, no doubt)
JANE BOWEN, born in Washington County, Virginia and died in Roane County, Tennessee. She
married Mr. Cunningham.
REBECCA BOWEN. She married Mr. Whitley.
John Bowen is well written about, being described as "..the Quaker who was remarkable for
his personal prowess, and an active, energetic farmer of considerable wealth for that day".
Late in life he fell in love with a very beautiful young Scotch-Irish girl, whose family had just landed
in the colonies from Ireland. She was about 17 years old and he was over 40. But
he won the heart and hand of Lily McIlhaney and she became his loving and helpful wife. She proved
to be a very remarkable woman. She had a strong descriminating mind, decision, and energy of character.
They purchased slaves as soon as they were introduced into the colonies,
to work on their large landed estate, but the Quakers, as a class,
were opposed to slavery. Lily persuaded John to move to Augusta
County, Virginia about 1730, at that time a frontier settlement.
The land was rich, and the prospect for a good class of people moving
to that portion of the state was good.
There is much to be found about this family in the county and court records
published in Lyman Chalkley's Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement
in Virginia - Extracted from the Original Court Records of Augusta County 1745-1800. Of the
descendants of John and Lily Bowen there is much written, especially of Lt. Reece Bowen and Capt. William Bowen.
I will, in time, add information on the children as to their spouses, children and interesting comments as
time will allow. Until then, I will be posting only my direct line but you can
Email me for what I have.
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