The Story of the Search and DNA Connections
I had searched for months. Finally, I had a name - Donald Campbell Bowman. Based on prior research, I had confidence Donald was a seven generation, direct, male descendent of Elias Bowman. And, I had good reason to believe that Elias Bowman, b. 1746, was the brother of my ancestor, John Bowman, b. 1750. But I had no other information about Donald Campbell Bowman. Then, Google provided me a wedding announcement for Donald C. Bowman, Jr. in the New York Times. The announcement included his father's name, hometown and occupation.
But permit me to digress before telling the ending of the story. My ancestor, John Bowman, was born to George and Maria Barbara Keller Bowman in Berks County, PA, one year after George and Maria Barbara arrived in Philadelphia. The George Bowman Family genealogy book, first published in the 1970s, presented John's descendents, with everyone assuming John was the only child of George and Maria Barbara Bowman.
In fact, as recorded in that book, Maria Barbara's name was unknown, John's birth date was in error, the estimated date of their arrival was several years to late, and everyone assumed George was German/Swiss, but no idea of their town of origin. Using usual and customary genealogical research, I found George and Maria Barbara's marriage record in Bodigheim, Mosbach, Baden, Germany. Much to my surprise, included was the record of five children having been born in Bodigheim. Four were living at the time of their departure for America. No doubt we had cousins we knew not of!
I found and researched an Elias Bowman who seemed to meet all criteria to be John's brother. He had lived in Berkeley County, WV, then in Washington County, TN. But without DNA, no one could be certain. Finding Donald Campbell Bowman was key!
I found an email address for the Donald Bowman noted in the wedding announcement, and sent any email just as I left my office. When I arrived home ten minutes later, the phone was ringing. It was Don! And the rest, as they say, is history! DNA testing through Family Tree DNA Bauman Project confirmed that the Elias I had found living in Berkeley County, WV and Washington County, TN was, in fact, the older brother of John Bowman, my ancestor.
This confirming DNA evidence was the culmination of more traditional genealogical research. Neither genealogical research nor responding to a "voice from within" were ever my life's aspirations. But this continues as a story about a genealogical search that began with a voice within that would not be ignored.
My father developed a keen interest in genealogy as he aged. Much to my dismay, visits home were filled with genealogy talk. But things began to change for me in late winter of 2002. I could not ignore the voice within telling me to "go home"! Finally I resolved to go. But, why, and where specifically, and for what reason? My parents were both deceased. The home plaace had been sold. It was six hours of driving, one way, back to Rockingham County, VA from Maryville, TN.
As I contemplated the excursion, I remembered a Sunday afternoon drive when I was in 8th grade. Dad insisted I accompany the family on a visit to the old Bowman house, back past Singer's Glen, almost to the Shenandoah County line. I could not bring to mind an image of the house, but I did remember the fence out front and the large pond next door. Dad told us this was the house our ancestor, George Bowman, built when he came to Virginia from Pennslyvania many years ago.
I called my older brother, told him I was coming to visit, and wondered if he remembered how to get to the old Bowman house. He responded positively, but said the last Bowman inhabitant had died. The property had recently been sold and he would have to check with the new owners to see if we could visit. He called back telling me the new owners had donated the old house to the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia at Staunton, VA. Furthermore, demolition was to begin the following week. A fence had been erected and guards were posted to ensure no one removed any of the house before it could be moved and rebuilt on the Museum grounds. We decided the odds of a guard being on duty at sun up on Sunday morning were slim. We showed up at that hour, scaled the fence, and spent an hour touring the house and taking pictures.
I returned home, aware it would be a couple years before the house would be open for tours at the Museum.
In August of 2005, my wife and I moved into our newly constructed house. In the move I found, and spent time reading, the George Bowman genealogy book first published in the 1970s. I was reminded that George had settled in Berks County, PA, then relocated to Rockingham County, VA in about 1770. The assumption was that his son, John, had come to America with his parents as their only child. No one knew George's wife's name, nor their town of origin. From property tax and a naturalization record, folks knew that George had owned land in Greenwich Township, Berks County, PA from about 1754 until 1769 or 1770.
Reading the Bowman book along with renewed interest in the Bowman house piqued my curiosity. I decided to "Google" George Bowman and see what popped up. I found a genealogy forum posting in which someone said they had found a record of John's birth in some church records in Pennsylvania. When I contacted the writer, she declined to share any information, but the awareness that a birth record existed was sufficient spark to ignite my search.
I found those birth records. They provided not only John's correct birth date, but his mother's name. From this I knew George and Maria Barbara had come to America earlier than thought. I was able to confirm George's arrival on the ship, Patience, in 1749 by tracking others on the same ship who continued relating to the Bowmans in Berks County. And there was speculation as to the area of Germany from which those others came.
After coming to realize Berks County did not exist in 1750, I was able to find the record of Bowman's land purchase in Philadelphia County records. Then through LDS records, I found several Johann Georg Baumann and Maria Barbara Keller couples living in Germany, Alsace, and Switzerland just before 1750. After several dead ends, I felt the record of the couple with the right names, having married in Bodigheim, Mosbach, Baden, Germany merited additional on-site research. I hired a German researcher, and the results were astounding. I found Johann Georg and Maria Barbara's marriage record, their parent's names, and even George's grandparents' names. And most surprising, I found that George and Maria Barbara had five children in Germany, four living when they boarded the ship to America. Later I discovered George's property sale record in Bodigheim and his manumission tax payment record prior to departure. And, the relationships I first picked up on the ship, which carried over to Berks County? Well, those were documented in Bodigheim prior to their departure as well!
The evidence of other children initiated an entirely new search. And, now we've come full circle to the beginning of this story. Through DNA, we have "found" Elias Bowman. I have some leads on another of George and Maria Barbara's children, the oldest son, George Jr. My focus now is on "finding" those descendents for a repeat DNA comparison. To follow those results, visit www.gbowmanhouse.weebly.com.