Bowen Family web
A Texas cabin from the 1800's
Early Texas History and the migration of the Bowens' to Texas.This page compiled and arranged by Ben Bowen from articles from the Texas state Historical Association, The Caldwell County Historical Society, Grolliers Encyclopedia and other sources, attempts to understand the the life and times of these early Texas settlers.
Early Texas History
In 1821 the white population of Texas was 7,000, with Goliad, San Antonio, and Nacogdoches the only towns of any size. During this period Mexico secured its independence from Spain, and, in 1823, Stephen Austin went to Mexico City to seek confirmation of his father's grant. A new law required that agents introduce at least 200 families of colonists, so Austin made an agreement with the Mexican governor to settle 300 American families. Colonization was so successful, however, that by 1836 the population of Texas was 50,000.Differences in language, culture, and religion soon led to difficulties between the new Anglo-American settlers and the Mexican government. Because of the great distance between Texas and Mexico City, cultural and commercial ties grew stronger with the United States, and some settlers hoped that U.S. boundaries would be extended to include Texas.In 1830 the Mexican congress enacted a law to limit immigration to Texas. But this only increased dissatisfaction, for neither the Mexican national constitution nor the constitution of 1827 for the state of Coahuila-Texas granted rights that AngloAmericans considered inalienable, such as trial by jury and the right of bail. Most settlers also found unacceptable the requirement that they become Roman Catholics because most of them were Protestants.War broke out between the American settlers and the Mexican government in 1835, and the Texans won the first battle at Gonzales on Oct. 2, 1835. The same year the Texans captured San Antonio after a devastating siege; a provisional government was set up on Mar. 2, 1836, and Sam Houston was named commander in chief of the Texas armies, Stephen Austin having gone to Washington to solicit aid.In February and March 1836 one of the most heroic battles in history occurred at the Alamo. The besieged Texas forces commanded by William B. Travis had been reduced to 157. He appealed for help, and about 30 additional men from Gonzales broke through the lines of the Mexican general, Antonio Santa Anna. The 187 defenders, commanded by Travis, James Bowie, and Davy Crockett, then held the Alamo for another five days before it fell. March also saw a massacre at Goliad, in which the outnumbered Texans, having surrendered after a battle on Coleto Creek, returned to Goliad only to be killed on the orders of Santa Anna.Despite reverses, the Texans declared their independence in a great spirit of resistance, and on Mar. 2, 1836, David Burnet was named provisional president. Thinking the war was over, Santa Anna moved eastward with his army. Sam Houston's troops-- half the number of the Mexicans--occupied a position at the junction of the San Jacinto River and Buffalo Bayou, opposite Santa Anna's camp. On the afternoon of April 21 the Texans attacked while Santa Anna was having his siesta. Their battle cry was "Remember the Alamo; Remember Goliad." Santa Anna fled but was taken the next day and held prisoner for six months.
[ Read an on-line e-book about old Texas from an early Texian's Journal ]
Early Texas Bowen links :
Texas Bowens' index
Republic of Texas land grants issued to Bowens' ca.(1836-1851)Index of Texas Republic Claims for surname Bowen 1835-1846
Bowens' of Texas Adjutant General service records index 1836-1935.
From the Texas State Archives Library and Archives commission
Bowens' of Texas serving the Confederacy : Rebel soldiers namesBenjamin L. Bowen's :
The Exploits of Waul's Texas Legion Table of Contents.8th Texas Infantry: Hobby's Regiment Texas Infantry
William F. Bowen & the Texas frontier forces 1870-1871
John B.Bowen / John Bowen of Grayson county, Texas 1816-1886
Bowens' migrate to
Lavaca, Gonzales, Calhoun, DeWitt and Caldwell Counties in Texas.My Bowen clan's migration to Texas can be traced back to the Green Bowen his wife Mary Elizabeth Fabor and their children Eliza (age 14), Elizabeth (age 11), Mary A. (age 7) , William (age 6), John (age 3) and Abraham aged 2 months.Green Bowen Jr. may have been the first of our Bowen clan born in Texas abt 1857(1880 Census Green Bowen Jr. is listed from Texas as age 23 ).
The family traveled from Jefferson County, Illinois sometime between 1854 to 1857 .
The census shows the family in Jefferson County, Illinois in 1850 using the Spelling of BOEN .
Greens' Brother Joshua Bowen Jr. (born in 1802) lived in Bertie County North Carolina and later in White County, Illinois with his wife Petney Gann and their family.
The census and marriage records indicate that many Bowens' had settled in Illinois, possibly arriving earlier from Tennessee and North Carolina. Many Settlers traveled from Tennessee in the late 1820's-1840's because at that time it was the new frontier, fresh lands, fertile soils and the opposition to slavery were some of the reasons. One account was that " the land was cheaper". While I am investigating the reasons as to why this Bowen group' would move their family to Texas while others would remain in Illinois,one must wonder if it was not simply the adventurer that still permeates the Bowens' Spirit today, pehaps the search for a new and better way of life,possibly a seach for work in the busy Gulf Port city of Lavaca. All in all traveling and settling in Texas was bound to be a sometimes difficult and dangerous undertaking.As there were many bandidios, desperados and a general lawlessness and this was still comanche and Tonkawa indian land.
The Texas republic, whose independence had been recognized by the United States, Great Britain, France, Holland, and Belgium, was soon struggling with Indian wars, raids by Mexican forces, and financial problems. In September 1836, Texans voted for annexation by the United States; approval by the U.S. Congress was delayed until 1845, however, because of the northern states' opposition to the extension of slavery. On Dec. 29, 1845, the U.S. Congress accepted the Texas state constitution, and Texas became the 28th state, with legal slavery.These were the early days of the newly formed State of Texas,after almost ten years as an independent Republic since its' independence from Mexico the inauguration of state government took place on February 19, 1846. Two months later on April 4, 1846, Calhoun County was formed from parts of Victoria, Jackson, and Matagorda counties and named for John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, who had advocated Texas statehood. Calhoun County is bordered by Victoria and Jackson counties on the north, Matagorda Island and the Gulf on the south, Refugio County on the west, and Matagorda County on the east.Lavaca was the first county seat, later called Port Lavaca.The town was founded in the aftermath of the Linnville raid of 1840, a Comanche attack that swept through Victoria, about twenty-five miles to the northwest, and Linnville, 3 miles to the northeast. Comanche Indians collecting horses sacked and burned the settlement during the Linnville Raid before being pursued and defeated.The burning of Linnville prompted many of its citizens to move to the site of what is now Port Lavaca. Thomas McConnell, who lost his Victoria home during the raid, purchased land for the town from Isidro Benavides of De Leon's colony. The town was named La Vaca ("the cow") in 1841 and was laid out by 1842. It was situated on a bluff some fifteen to twenty feet above the bay. Commission men from the East reportedly played a significant role in establishing Lavaca, which they envisioned as an important shipping point for exporting raw materials and importing manufactured goods. Lavaca fulfilled this expectation, succeeding Linnville as the busiest port on the adjoining Matagorda and Lavaca bays during the period of the Republic of Texas.Despite cholera epidemics in 1849, 1852, and 1853, the Calhoun county population increased between 1850 and 1860 from 867 white and 234 black residents to a total of 2,642, of which 414 were slaves. The San Antonio and Mexican Gulf Railroad was chartered on September 5, 1850. Grading on the road began in 1856, and in 1858 five miles of track were put into operation. Though this short stretch of road ended at the time in empty prairie, the company did a healthy business. In 1861, twenty-three additional miles were completed into Victoria.During the Civil War,Lavaca was a hub of military activity. Several garrisons were stationed at different times in the town, which also had a large Confederate arsenal and small-arms manufactory. Federal gunboats bombarded the port on October 31 and November 1, 1862, but the city, defended by two waterfront batteries, did not surrender, and the gunboats withdrew.government. Lavaca was occupied however by Federal troops in December 1863. In April 1864 voters elected to change the county seat back from Indianola to Lavaca, reportedly because some county officials in Indianola had sworn allegiance to the Union during the Federal occupation of that city. Federal troops evacuated the Matagorda Bay area in June 1864. In September 1865, after the end of the war, Indianola again became the county seat. In addition to the disruption of commerce as a result of the Federal blockade, Lavaca suffered from the destruction in the winter of 1862-63 of its wharves and railroad, an action ordered by Confederate authorities. The railroad was rebuilt in 1866. In 1870 Lavaca reported a white population of 429 and a "colored" population of 339. By 1880 the population of Lavaca had fallen to 100, and by 1884 it had declined to seventy. In 1884 the only businesses reported there were a general store and a combination dry-goods and grocery store; at that time the town also had two churches and the district school.The 1890 census reported a town population of 365, though another source claimed a population of 500. By 1896 the estimated population of Port Lavaca had risen to 800, and the town had two hotels and a weekly paper, the Port Lavacaen.By 1910 the town had two banks and two cotton gins, in addition to a broom factory, an oyster-knife factory, an ice factory, an electric plant, and a local telephone company.
The present DeWitt County was formed from Goliad, Gonzales, and Victoria counties in 1846 and named for empresario Green DeWitt the founder of Dewitt's Colony.In April 1825 empresario Green DeWitt was authorized by the Mexican government to settle 400 families between the Guadalupe and Lavaca rivers. These pioneers began landing at the mouth of the Lavaca, which became the site of the Old Station settlement. Of the 179 people who took up the 199 DeWitt colony grants, 39 were located in what is now DeWitt County, almost all on farms along the Guadalupe River. In 1826 the Arthur Burns family established the first home in the county on Irish Creek near present Cuero.In 1850 residents of the county numbered 1,716, of which 1,148 were white and 568 were black slaves; there were no free blacks reported. The population was significantly increased with the German immigrations of the 1840s and 1850s. By 1857 nearly half of the county's population were Germans. The main areas of early German settlement were Meyersville, Yorktown, Arneckeville, and Lateiner (later Five Mile). The census of 1860 recorded 5,108 people living in DeWitt County, of which 3,465 were white and 1,643 were slaves; again, no free blacks were reported. In 1861, with the election of Abraham Lincoln and the outbreak of secession among the Southern states, DeWitt County joined the majority of organized Texas counties in voting to leave the Union. Several military units were raised in the county: Josiah Taylor's DeWitt Guerella [sic] Company, H. G. Wood's Shilo Home Guards, A. J. Scarborough's Davis Guards, Robert Kleberg's Coleto Guards, Charles Eckhardt's York Town Hulan Reserve Companie, William R. Friend's DeWitt Rifles, and M. G. Jacobs's Concrete Home Guards.
Caldwell County,Texas was formed in 1848 from part of Gonzales County. Luling Texas is an incorporated community in southern Caldwell County. Early settlement of the area began in the 1840s and was concentrated along Plum Creek. The Plum Creek post office opened in 1848. In 1874 the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio line laid track from Columbus to a terminus three miles west of Plum Creek. This terminus became the city of Luling, drawing much of its early population from the Plum Creek area and from the Atlanta community. Sources vary on how Luling came by its name: one said that it was named for a Chinese worker; a second, that it was named for a Judge Luling; and a third, that Luling was the maiden name of the wife of the man who built the railroad. The Luling post office opened in 1874, and the community grew rapidly. Within ten years Luling had five churches, several mills, a bank, a school, a weekly newspaper, and 1,800 residents. Its primary shipments were cotton, cottonseed oil, livestock, and pecans. In 1889 a second railroad, the San Antonio and Aransas Pass, built through Luling, connecting it with both Lockhart and Shiner. By 1890 the community had an opera house, two hotels, and a population of 2,000. The number of residents fell to 1,349 by 1900 but increased again to 1,502 by the 1920s.
1880 DeWitt County, Texas Census
Name Race-Sex Age Occupation Notes From Bowen, Green W- M 68 Farmer Debility Tn. Bowen, Mary W- F 67 Wife Illlinois Bowen, Green, Jr. W- M 23 Farmer Texas Bowen,Elmira W- F 20 wife keeping house Texas Rice,Oren W- M 24 farming Texas Rice, Alice W- F 20 wife Keeping House Texas Rice, Mary A. W- F 4 Daughter Texas Rice, Nancy E. W- F 2 Daughter Texas Bowen, Abraham W- M 30 Farmer Illinois Bowen, Adeline P. W- F 40 wife Keeping House New York Bowen, Daniel H. W- M 10 Son Texas Bowen,Dora Alice W-F 5 Daughter Texas Bowen, David W- M 2 Son Texas Rice, Mary E. W- F 14 Wife Daughter Texas From a hard copy of the census supplied by James Bowen and transcribed by Ben Bowen 6-6-99
Transcriber notes: Oren Rice is the son of Adeline P. from a previous marriage to Oliver Rice. Notice that Mary was 1 year older than Green in the 1850 Jefferson County, illinois census but is now one year younger.
James Lawrence Bowen Dora Alice Bowen Seymour Courtney Bowen age 13 William AbrahamBowen age 12 Addie Mae Bowen age 9 Mahala Agnes Bowen age 7 Richard Neal Bowen age 5 Edna Lea Bowen age 3 Andrew Bowen age 9 months Abraham Bowen (Dora's father) Nancy McNichols Bowen (Abraham's 2nd Wife) |
links
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[ Read an on-line e-book about old Texas from an early Texian's Journal ]
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Grolliers encyclopedia,Calhoun County Historical Commission, Shifting Sands of Calhoun County, Texas (Port Lavaca, Texas, ca. 1980). Brownson Malsch, Indianola-The Mother of Western Texas (Austin: Shoal Creek, 1977). Port Lavaca: Queen City of the Texas Mid-Coast Belt (Port Lavaca: Port Lavaca Wave Print, 1911?). Port Lavaca Wave, May 16, 1940. Vertical Files, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin (Calhoun County, Port Lavaca, Edgar Collins Singer). Bill Winsor, Texas in the Confederacy (Hillsboro, Texas: Hill Junior College Press, 1978). Lonnie Ficklen Maywald .Bibliography of Luling Texas information: Mark Withers Trail Drive Museum, Historical Caldwell County (Dallas: Taylor, 1984). Vertical Files, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin.Vivian Elizabeth Smyrl.: A Century of Texas Governors (Austin: Texas Centennial of Statehood Commission, 1943). Texas Almanac, 1945. Rudolph L. Biesele, The History of the German Settlements in Texas, 1831-1861 (Austin: Von Boeckmann-Jones, 1930; rpt. 1964). Joseph L. Clark, Texas Gulf Coast: Its History and Development (4 vols., New York: Lewis Historical Publishing, 1955). Cuero Record, December 31, 1935, November 15, 1944, November 29, 1950, November 4, 1956. Cuero Star, October 1895, March 1906. DeWitt County Historical Commission, History of DeWitt County, Texas (Dallas: Curtis, 1991). Edward Albert Lukes, De Witt Colony of Texas (Austin: Jenkins, 1976). Nellie Murphree, A History of DeWitt County (Victoria, Texas, 1962). Ethel Zivley Rather, "DeWitt's Colony," Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association 8 (October 1904). Dorothy House Young, The History of Education in DeWitt County (M.A. thesis, University of Texas, 1943).Craig H. Roell
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/PP/hep7.html
The Bowen family web : The Rootsweb edition 2000-2004
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