Bowie
John Bowie Sr. (1688 – April 1759) was an early settler in colonial Maryland.
Bowie was born in Scotland in 1688 and died in Maryland in April 1759.[1] He was the first of the Bowie family to arrive in colonial Maryland, emigrating from Scotlandbetween 1705 and 1706 and settling near Nottingham, Prince George’s County, Maryland on the Patuxent River.[2] He and his wife, Mary Mulliken,[3] established the colonial manor, Brookridge, near Nottingham after their marriage in 1707.[2]
They purchased a large tract of land called “Brooke’s Reserve” about two miles from Nottingham for a son, Captain William Bowie, when the son was twenty-one years old. A large brick house called Mattaponi was erected there and later, another built on the foundation of the first. The tract later became known by the name for the house.[2]
The Bowie family went on to have extensive landholdings in the county and other colonial areas. They were important politically,[4] and participated in the Continental Congress during the founding of the United States as well as for the founding of Maryland and many other developments during the transitions.
Mary Milliken and John Bowie Sr. were the parents of John Jr., Eleanor, James, Allen, William, Thomas, and Mary. William became Captain William Bowie. They were the grandparents of many notables, including Walter Bowie, Robert Bowie, and James Bowie.[1][2]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bowie_Sr.
The 1608 records of Captain John Smith’s exploration of the Chesapeake Bay and its rivers indicate that the town of Nottingham was located near the former site of an American Indian village called Wosameus. formerly known as Mattapany Landing, Nottingham occupied fifty-five acres along the Patuxent River, about five miles south of Charles Town (Prince George’s County’s first County Seat from 1696-1721). The town of Nottingham was a bustling eighteenth century port which hosted British and American soldiers in the War of 1812, and is now a quaint river front community whose name carries a rich history.
In 1706, the Maryland General Assembly passed “An Act for the Advancement of Trade”. The act named five new towns in Prince George’s County: Mill Town, Queen Anne Town, Aire, Upper Marlborough and Nottingham. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries ocean-going sailing ships docked at the wharves that lined the shores of Nottingham. Merchants opened stores that sold West Indies rum, muscovado sugar, and European and East Indian goods. Multitudes of slaves were imported from Africa and sold at Nottingham to provide labor for the local tobacco plantations.
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Fielder Bowie
educated at Rev. John Eversfield’s school near Nottingham, Prince George’s County.
RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: Anglican, St. Paul’s Parish,Prince George’s County.
OCCUPATIONAL PROFILE. planter and merchant; in business in Nottingham,
Prince George’s County, with Thomas Contee (ca.1729-1811) in a firm that engaged in the European tobacco trade and the importation of large quantities of goods. They advertised the firm’s dissolution on April 1, 1775. Bowie applied for a license to operate the Nottingham Ferry in 1788 and owned a store in Nottingham, Prince George’s County, at the time of his death.
MARRIED ca. 1765 Elizabeth Clagett (1745-1794), who was buried at “Brookridge,” Prince George’s County; daughter of Rev. John Eversfield (ca. 1701-1780), who immigrated from England in 1728, was the rector of St. Paul’s Parish, Prince George’s County from 1728 to 1780, and an outspoken Tory whose property was confiscated during the Revolution, but was ultimately returned to him and his wife Eleanor Clagett; granddaughter of Richard Clagett, Sr. (ca. 1681-1752) and wife Deborah Dorsey. Her brothers were John (1731-?), who was educated for the ministry at Oxford University, England, but died on his return voyage to America, leaving a widow and one daughter; Matthew (1742-1798), who married Susanna Fraser (1749-?), daughter of Allen Bowie, Sr. (1719-1783); Charles (1750-ca. 1815), a physician, who married in 1785 Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Gantt, of Calvert County; and William (1753-?), who died young. Her sisters were Eleanor (1733-?), who married William Eversfield, of England; Mary (ca. 1739-?), who married Benjamin Brooke, Jr.; and Deborah (1748-?), who married Benjamin Berry.
- LEGISLATIVE SERVICE: Lower House, Prince George’s County, 1785, 1786-1787 (Grievances 1), 1787-1788, 1788 (elected to the Assembly to fill vacancy), 1790.
- OTHER STATE OFFICE: Constitution Ratification Convention, Prince George’s County, 1788.
- LOCAL OFFICES: register, St. Paul’s Parish, Prince George’s County, in office 1767;
Committee for inspection for armed resistance, Prince George’s County, 1775; justice, Prince George’s County, 1777-1794 (chief justice, 1793-1794); St. Paul’s Parish Vestry, Prince George’s County, in office 1779, 1782, 1785-1788; justice, Orphans’ Court, Prince George’s County, 1782-at least 1790; Maryland Senate elector, Prince George’s County, elected 1786.
- MILITARY SERVICE: captain, Nottingham Company, Prince George’s County Militia, promoted from 1st lieutenant, 1776.
WEALTH DURING LIFETIME
- PERSONAL PROPERTY: 60 slaves, 1790; mortgaged 60 slaves, plus all of his household furniture, plate, livestock, plantation utensils, a chariot, and a sulky between 1789 and 1792.
- LAND AT FIRST ELECTION: at least 1,752 acres, plus 1 lot and a partnership in another lot, and one undivided fifth part of 526 acres, all in Prince George’s County (at least 561 acres, the remainder of at least 661 acres inherited or received by deed of gift from his
father; 262 acres through his marriage, but all sold before first election; 1,471 acres, plus 1 lot and a partnership in another lot, and one undivided fifth part of 526 acres by purchase, but 280 acres of this purchased land had been sold before his first election). *SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN LAND BETWEEN FIRST ELECTION AND DEATH: sold 130 acres in Prince George’s County, 1789; purchased 2 lots in Nottingham, Prince George’s County, 1790; sold at least 975 acres in Prince George’s County to his son Allen, 1791; Bowie mortgaged and remortgaged several of his tracts as security for his various debts between 1790 and 1792.
- WEALTH AT DEATH. DIED: in September 1794 in Prince George’s County; buried at “Brookridge,” Prince George’s County.
- PERSONAL PROPERTY: TEV, £3,749.14.7 current money (including 38 slaves, 115 oz. plate, and books, all of which in addition to the remainder of his personal property Bowie had mortgaged before his death); FB, estate overpaid £1 10.7.3.
- LAND: 543 acres, plus 3 lots, a partnership in another lot, and one undivided fifth
part of 526 acres, all in Prince George’s County. After Bowie’s death his creditors went before the Chancery Court where it was determined that his personal property was insufficient to pay his debts. The court ordered that 155 acres plus 2 lots be sold to settle Bowie’s accounts.
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bowie-1012
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Fredrick Fraser Bowie
he enlisted (at 48 years old) in Maj. B.F. Marlin’s battalion of Mississippi Volunteers, and served throughout the four years of the Civil War; his eldest son being a member of the same regiment
Thomas Miller Bowie
… or, Company D, 12 Infantry, Mississippi … 1 April, 1861 (or 12 May) Corinth, MS
mustered out 9 April 1865 Appomattox Courthouse, VA
surrendered