My Genealogy Hound

PROSPER O. BOWE, the owner of one hundred and twenty-eight acres, comprising one of Berrien County’s best farms, was born near the village of Clayton, Jefferson County, N. Y., March 26, 1842, and is the son of Horace and Susan (Clark) Bowe. He is of French descent, and his ancestors were for a number of generations residents of Connecticut. Grandfather Bowe removed from Connecticut after the War of 1812, and settled at Clayton, N. Y., where he died at the advanced age of eighty years.

His sons were Seth, Henry, Elijah, Prosper, William and Horace. One of his daughters was Eliza, but the biographer has been unable to learn the names of the other two. All lived to a ripe old age and all reared families with the exception of Seth.

The father of our subject, Horace Bowe, was born in Connecticut in November, 1802, and accompanied his parents to New York, where for a time he was employed by the day. In 1848 he removed to Watertown, and there resided until the spring of 1855, when he moved to Michigan, making the journey via water from Cape Vincent to Detroit, thence by rail to Bainbridge Township, Berrien County. He embarked in farming pursuits and did considerable pioneer work in connection with developing his place. In 1862 he bought thirty acres in Bangor, Van Buren County, this State, and there remained until 1880. In the early part of that year he came to make his home with our subject, and died here in the following November. His wife, who was a native of Connecticut, died in November, 1882, aged seventy-six years.

The following named children were born to Horace and Susan Bowe: Harriet, Mrs. Hamlin, who died in Benton Harbor; Mrs. Asenath Taft, of Nebraska; Mrs. Julia Minnie, who died in Bangor, Mich.; Seth, now of Oshkosh, Wis., who served during the late war as a member of Company D, Sixty-sixth Illinois Sharpshooters, and was discharged as Sergeant; Mrs. Dorcas Boyer, of Bangor; Prosper O., of this sketch; and Gilbert, who was a member of Company D, Sixty-sixth Illinois Sharpshooters, and is now a resident of New Mexico. The mother of this family was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The father was identified with the Whig party and later in life affiliated with the Republicans. The maternal grandfather of our subject, Seth Clark, served in the war for independence, and died in Jefferson County, N. Y. He and his wife, whose maiden name was Asenath Corbin, reared two sons, Chandler and Lemuel, and four daughters, Dorcas, Betsy, Abbie and Susan.

A lad of about eight years when he accompanied his parents to Michigan, our subject was reared to manhood in Berrien County. October 17, 1861, he enlisted as a member of Company D, Sixty-sixth Illinois Sharpshooters, and with his regiment participated in many of the most important engagements of the war, including the battles of Ft. Donelson, Pittsburg Landing, siege and battle of Corinth, and the desperate engagement at Iuka. At the expiration of his term of enlistment he re-enlisted at Pulaski, Mich., and afterward took part in all the battles of the Atlanta campaign, the last engagement being that at Bentonville, N. C. He served as one of Sherman’s bodyguard to the headquarters of Gen. Johnson.

During his long service Mr. Bowe was fortunate, in that he escaped without receiving a serious wound. He was captured at Danville, Miss., in January, 1863, and was in prison for two months at Jackson, Miss. He was one of four hundred captured, of whom three hundred and twenty survived their sixty days’ confinement. After participating in the Grand Review at Washington, D. C., he was discharged at Springfield, Ill., July 16, 1865. It is now his custom to hold an annual reunion of his company at his place, and in August of this year (1893) there will be a reunion of the regiment, Mr. Bowe being President of the organization.

Returning from the front, Mr. Bowe located in Coloma, Berrien County, where he worked in a sawmill for five years. In 1867 he purchased sixty-four acres on section 14, on Lake Paw Paw, and there he resided during the summer of 1867. In 1870 he located permanently upon his present farm, where he now owns one hundred and twenty-eight acres. Of this tract, ten acres are set out in apple trees, and six acres in pear, peach and cherry trees. The farm is recognized as one of the best in the county, and through the exertions of the owner is kept in a high state of cultivation.

Politically a Republican, Mr. Bowe served as Township Treasurer for two years and was elected Supervisor, but refused to serve in that capacity. Socially, he is identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Honor and the Grand Army of the Republic. He was married February 7, 1864, to Miss Jane Boyer, who was born in Bainbridge Township, Berrien County, Mich. Her parents, Austin and Adelia (Wetmore) Boyer, were natives respectively of Sullivan County and Clayton, Jefferson County, N. Y. Her paternal grandfather, Peter Boyer, was born in Constantinople, Turkey, his father being a Frenchman and his mother of English birth. They emigrated to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the mother died. Afterward Peter, who was the only child in the family came to Boston with his father, and the latter died in that city of cholera. Subsequently, Peter resided with his uncle, a Mr. Starkweather, until his aunt died, when he was bound out to William Williams, a Massachusetts farmer.

After his marriage to Lydia Fuller, Peter Boyer removed to Sullivan County, N. Y., thence to Jefferson County, the same State, and in the spring of 1844 he came to Michigan and lived with his children in Berrien County until his death in 1844, at the age of sixty-four. His widow survived him for eight years. They reared four sons and three daughters, all of whom married. The only one now living is Austin. Mr. Boyer and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he was a Whig in politics.

In 1844 Austin Boyer settled in Bainbridge Township, where he owned one hundred and fifteen acres, and in addition to that property he owned eighty acres in Van Buren County, both tracts having been secured by exchange of land. A Republican in politics, he served as Justice of the Peace while residing here. In 1852 he removed to California and spent four years engaged in mining in the Golden State, meeting with good success in this line of work. He returned to Michigan, but did not reside here permanently. In 1859 he went to Lyon County, Kan., and remained there for one summer. Upon his return to Michigan he engaged in the lumber business for a time, and in 1879 removed to California, where he pursued mining occupations for a number of years. He now lives with his daughter, Mrs. Bowe. Mr. and Mrs. Bowe are the parents of eight children, as follows: Anna E., who is the wife of Frank Hunt; Harriet, Mrs. W. C. Spreen; Mary, who married Byron Pierce; Lizzie, Myrtie, Nellie, Julia and Lucy, who are at home and are accomplished and popular young ladies. With his wife and four daughters, Mr. Bowe holds membership in the Congregational Church, and is always interested in religious enterprises, which he aids to the extent of his ability.