Bowen family web
The Bowen's of Illinois.
The early Bowens' used both the spelling Bowin, and Boen for the last name,this may have been the spelling the earliest ancestors used,while I am still in the process of determining the origins of the family,As far as we know the last time the Boen spelling was recorded as such for this clan was the 1850 Jefferson County Illinois census
( listing below).It is not completely known if any of this clan kept the Boen name or if all eventually changed the spelling to the more "Americanized" Bowen.The Bowens' of Illinois probably arrived in the early 1830's. Green Bowen, Joshua Bowen and William Bowen were all in the same company of soldiers in the Blackhawk wars of 1831-1832 from White County Illinois. Some of the records used the spelling variation Bowin.
Green Bowen and his wife Elizabeth Fobar were married in White County in1834, later his nephews, the sons of his brother Joshua who was for a time in North Carolina, can be found in White County records, such as the 1840 census Index . Some of them later fought in the civil war in the Illinois 48th infantry out of Carmi, White County Illinois.While Green Bowen's son William fought for Texas Confederates of Caldwell County, Texas serving in Waul's Texas Legion's Cavalry.We also have this information from the State of Illinois land records showing Joshua Bowen obtaining land in White County, illinois in 1851
Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales
Joshua Bowen of White County,Illinois 1851
| Name of Purchaser | Sale type | Legal Description | Section | Township | Range | Meridian | Acres Bought |
Price Per acre | Total Price | Soc. Status | Date Purchased | County or State of purchaser | Volume / Page |
| Joshua Bowen | FD | NWNE | 06 White |
06S | 10E | 3 | 42.90 | 000.0 | Warrant | Male | 05/03/1851 | Unknown | 105 / 002 |
A History of White County, Illinois
Courtesy of Cindy Birk Conley
The first white settlers came to White County between 1807 and 1809. The first settlements were near the Little Wabash River and Big Prairie, one of the numerous prairies in the county. These families--Hanna, Land, Hay, Williams, Calvert, Ratcliff, Holderby, Robinson, Stewart, among others--typically had spent time in the Carolinas, Kentucky or Tennesee before moving into Illinois, and were of Scotch-Irish descent. Many came through the land office at Shawneetown, which was a port for flatboats which traveled the Ohio River.
The city of Carmi was founded in 1814, and incorporated in 1816. White County was organized from Gallatin County in 1815, and was named after Captain Leonard White, a Gallatin County legislator who is credited with the idea of extending the Illinois-Wisconsin border a few miles north of the southern tip of Lake Michigan. The first courthouse was in the cabin of John Craw.
Other early settlements were Grayville, located at the mouth of Bonpas Creek and the (Big) Wabash River, settled by the Gray family around 1810, and New Haven (mostly in Gallatin County), which was home to a brother of Daniel Boone around 1818. Old Sharon Church (Presbyterian), located near the later village of Sacramento, was organized around 1819, and the village of Seven Mile Prairie was established a few miles north of the church in the 1830's. The parents of Ann Rutledge were part of this group, along with families named McArthy, Miller, McClellan, and Kuykendall.
About 1839, a group of Irish immigrants began moving into the extreme western part of Enfield Township, led by Patrick Dolan, as well as members of the Mitchell and Dunn clans. Dolan was auctioneer in 1853 when the village of Enfield was mapped, as Seven Mile moved west in anticipation of a railroad line, which was not built until 1872. German families moved into the middle portion of the county in the 1840s and onward, especially from the Baden region, and included the family names of Rebstock, Dartt, Brown, Sailer, Stanley, and Drone.
The second half of the 19th century saw the establishment of the towns of Norris City, Springerton, Mill Shoals (once the home of a thriving barrel-making industry which depleted the nearby virgin forests), Epworth, Herald, Burnt Prairie, Crossville, Phillipstown, Concord (also known as Emma), Maunie and Rising Sun (commonly called Dogtown)--the latter two villages are located on the Wabash and attracted several African-American families. A number of villages which no longer exist were also formed: Trumbull, Roland, Middle Point, Stokes Station, Gossett, Bungay, Calvin, Iron, and Dolan Settlement.
Agriculture was the primary industry of White County until the summer of 1939, when oil was discovered in the Storms and Stinson fields in the Wabash River Bottoms. The population of Carmi doubled within two years, from 2,700 to 5,400, with corresponding increases at Crossville and Grayville--in 1940 it was said one could walk between these two towns by simply walking from rig to rig. Many of these workers migrated from previous oil booms in Texas and Oklahoma.
The current population of White County is a little over 17,000, with 6,500 in the county seat of Carmi. There is a high number of retired people, and many citizens work in the factories of Evansville or Mt. Vernon, Indiana, located 45 and 25 miles to the east, respectively. Besides oil and agriculture, industries include auto parts manufacturing, plastics, a convenience store distribution center, and underground coal mining.
1830 Illinois Census Index : Head of Bowen families,Counties in Illinois
Various 1830 Illinois Bowens' Bond County Illinois Bowens Morgan County Bowens Vermillion County Bowens' Marion County Bowens' other Illinois Counties Michah Bowan
John Bowen
Andrew Bowen
Jeremiah Bowen
Jerry Bowen
Jesse Bowen
Rousey Bowen
William Bowen
Willy Bowen
Edward Bowen
Daniel Boen
Joshua Boen
Joshua Boen jr.
Rebecca Boen
Thomas Bowen- Lawrence
Thurman Boan- Schuyler
Rebecca Boen- Marion
Michael Bowen- Wabash
1840 Index to Illinois Census
Joshua and Green both appear in White county in 1840
Adams County : Charles R Bowen, John R Bowen, Riley Bowen
Bond County :Thomas Bowen, William Bowen
Carroll County : L H Bowen
Cass County : Jeremiah Bowen
Clark County :John Boan
Cook County : Henry Bowen
Hancock County : John Bowen
Kane County : Sarah Bowen, Hyram Bowen
Knox County : Sally Bowen
Lawrence County : Thomas Bowan, David Bowen
Lee County : Cyrus Bowen
Madison County : A Bowen, Margaret Bowen, John Bowen
Mc Lean County : James Bowen
Mercer County : David Bowan
Monroe County : Alfred Bowen
Pike County : William Bowin , Obadiah Bowen
Rick Island County : Han ?? D Bowen
Sangamon County : Zasy Bowen, Abraham Bowen
Schuyler County : Absolam Bowen
Shelby County : Thomas Bowen
Stark County : William Bowin
Vermilion County : Edward Bowen, Katharine Bowen
WarrenCounty : Rawsey Bowen
White County : Green Bowen, Joshua Bowen
Will County : H H Bowen, Christopher Bowen
This clan of Bowens' later moved on to Texas in and around DeWitt or Lavaca Counties.
1850 Jefferson County Illinois census Name Age Sex Occupation From notes Boen, Green 35 M Farmer Tn. father Boen, Mary 36 F Ill. Mother Boen, Eliza 16 F Ill. daughter Boen, Mary A. 7 F Ill. daughter Boen,William 6 M Ill. son Boen, John 3 M Ill. son Boen, Abraham 2 Months M Ill. son The Early Settlers of Jefferson County, Illinois
Some thoughts of the early settlers.
Jefferson County motto
"What's brave, what's noble, let's do it."
"Life's more than breath, and the quick round of blood;'Tis a great spirit and a busy heart,We live in deeds, not years, In thoughts, not breaths, In feelings, not in ligures on the dial, We should count time by heart-throbs.He most lives who thinks most, Feels the noblest, acts the best; It matters not how long we live, but how." (unknown author.)
The early settlers and of Jefferson county were a hardy bunch with strong moral standards,integrity, and fortitude.They however were human beings with high spirits and diverse opinion and fortune.In a time of a growing and industrious nation, of expanding territory and new possibility,each day was an adventure with the possibility of great achievement and or of great reversal of fortune, but as one local put it."It's nothing against you to fall down flat, But to lie there, that's disgrace."As the county grew more and more people arrived with all varying ideas and attitudes about life, below are a couple of stories that relate the early days in Jefferson ,County.
Mr. Johnson alludes to a general fight that took place in New Mount Vernon in 1820, in which nearly everybody took part. It seemed that somebody said that the Caseys and Maxeys were going to rule the county. John Abbott wanted to refute that idea and threatened to thrash the first Casey or Maxey he met-which happened to be Elihu Maxey. At it they went and soon the entire population was interested, excited and even "Uncle" Jimmy Johnson threw his straw hat high in the air and invited any other man who wanted to fight to come forward. Jim Abbott said, "'Anyone that whips John Abbott will have to thrash me. The whole outfit had their coats off, ready for the fray; but in a few minutes the storm blew over and "peace reigned in Warsaw --or rather, where they "war saw" a short time before. It was no unusual thing for part of the population to settle their differences by fist-i-cuffs, but this was the first outbreak among the better citizens.
Aunt Suky Johnson in her memoirs fifteen years later, also gives Mount Vernon a black eye, when in her account of her new home she says: "We found Mount Vernon a 'hard place.' There were only five professors of religion in town-two Baptists and three Methodists, and the same number of groceries-five. There was no church; two blacksmith shops, three stores and a half a dozen log houses; not a fence in town except crooked rail fences, and these were buried under a luxurious growth of elder, polk and jimson weeds. Saturday was always a lively day. The Moores, Jordans, the Long Prairie and Horse Creek gangs, came to town, and from two to six fights took place, and that A had his nose bitten off, or B had his jaw-bone broken, or C had his eyes blackened etc., etc., were the items that went to make up the gossip of the day. Races and shooting matches, open groceries on Sunday and the fence corners full of drunken men, were part of the exercises."
But all this was the "other side" of the story of our first settlers. The Christianity of the Caseys, Maxeys and Johnsons and others soon began to tell on the town and county, and has progressed through the succeeding generations until now we find the entire county equal in civilization and refinement to any part of the country, and as to Mount Vernon, it may very appropriately be termed the Athens of Southern Illinois.
SOURCE: Walls History of Jefferson County 1909 some material contained herein is © 1998-1999 Misty Flannigan or Ben Bowen 1999 for the Bowen family web.
Illinois Historical Time Line: 1850-1894
1851 - Illinois Central Railroad, the first railroad in the U.S. to receive a grant of public lands, was chartered. This backbone north/south route was completed in 1856.
1851 - Isaac Singer perfected the sewing machine.
1853 - Illinois State Agricultural Society was chartered and first State Fair was held in Springfield. In later years, it was held in various towns until 1894, when it was permanently located in Springfield.
1855 - First free public-school system was approved by state legislature.
1860 - Abraham Lincoln left Springfield to become president of the U.S.
1861-1865 - Civil War took 256,297 Illinois men away from their families, over 34,000 were killed or died of disease.
1867 - George Pullman founded a company to build sleeping cars for railroads. In 1880 he built the town of Pullman around his factory in South Chicago.
1867 - Phillip Armour's meat-packing company opened in Chicago.
1869 - I.W. McGafley of Chicago was awarded the first American patent for his invention of a suction principle vacuum cleaner.
1871 - The Chicago Fire killed 350 people and destroyed the homes of one-third of the city's population, about 1,600 stores, 60 factories, 28 public buildings. The city quickly rebounded as more costly structures were built and more than 100,000 craftsmen were employed for the reconstruction.
1872 - Montgomery Ward issued the first mail-order catalog in Chicago.
1873-1879 - Economic depression ended the prosperity that followed the Civil War. Chicago saw 37% of its workers jobless. Layoffs and wagecuts led to sweeping labor unrest in Illinois and around the country.
1874 - Joseph Glidden of DeKalb received a patent for barbed wire. While not the only wire made, Glidden's wire was the most popular.
1876 - Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Exchanges opened in Chicago, Bloomington, Danville, Springfield, and Decatur in 1879; Joliet and Freeport in 1880; Champaign in 1881; and Aurora and Evanston in 1882.
1880 - Stationary steam engines powering threshing machines were becoming more prevalent in Illinois wheat fields.
1886 - There were more than 1,000 labor-related strikes in the state. At a labor assembly near the Haymarket in Chicago, a bomb exploded killing over 75 people. As a result, some labor leaders were sentenced to death, and the progress of organized labor was slowed.
1889 - Jane Addams opened Hull House in the worst slum district on the West Side of Chicago. Addams and her associates developed programs to educate and improve the living conditions of immigrants--about half the population of Chicago at the time.
1893 - In response to an economic depression, the Pullman Railway Car Company lays off workers but does not lower rents in the Pullman village. Workers demand higher wages and lower rents, the company refuses to negotiate. Pullman workers go on strike.
1894 - The American Railway Union joins the Pullman workers to boycott the Pullman Company Railway cars. The strike paralyzes the Illinois economy. The Federal Government intervenes and ends the strike.
Timeline is from the Illinois state Museum
Other links
[| Bowen family web index |]
[| Photo album & document Archives |] [| Origins |]The Bowen family web : The Rootsweb edition 2000-2003