Andrew BOWERS (Jr.)

  Birth Notes:

Prior to the discovery that Andrew (Sr.) and his wife Catherine lived in Rockbridge County, Virginia at the time Andrew (Jr.) was born, the only evidence that had been found regarding where Andrew was born were the declarations of his children who were enumerated in the 1880 census. Four such children have been found, namely, Mary Bowers Dyer, Sarah Bowers Needham, Nancy Bowers Needham and Thomas Bowers. They were evenly divided between Virginia and Tennessee as his state of birth. [Note that Tennessee did not become a state until 1796.]

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Court: 1809, Grayson County, Virginia. ¹⁰

At the April term 1809 of the Virginia Superior Court, bills of indictment were returned against the following persons for breach of the peace: George Bowers, Andrew Bowers, John McMullin, James Leonard and Jonathan Bentley.

At the Sept term 1809 of the Virginia Superior Court, all those indicted at the April term were found guilty of assault, except John McMullin for whom no entry was found. George was fined $1.00, Andrew was fined $.12, James Leonard was fined $.50, and Jonathan Bentley was fined $.01. The fines suggest George was judged primarily to be at fault.

[It is not clear whether this record is for Andrew Sr. or Andrew Jr. Since George seemed to be the instigator of whatever took place, I suspect it was Andrew Jr. who was involved. Andrew Jr. was then 17 years old.]

2. Militia: 1809, Grayson County, Virginia. ¹¹

"BOWERS, ANDREW, on Grayson County Militia Delinquents list of 1809."

The Grayson Co. militia "was composed of all able bodied men in a county between the ages of 18 and 45, and in Grayson County militia musters were held monthly. Those that did not attend were fined 75 cents per absence which was collected at the end of the year. The year 1809 was a bad year for militia attendance and many were fined."

[It is unclear whether this record applies to Andrew Sr. or Andrew Jr. Andrew Sr. would have been 56 in 1809 and thus was too old for the militia, but Andrew Jr. did not become 18 until 6 Nov 1809. Most likely it was for Andrew Jr., even though he was not listed as a Jr. It appears he may have missed an end of the year muster.]

3. Court: 1812, Grayson County, Virginia. ¹⁰

At the Aug term 1812, the Grand Jury made presentments for "Robert Smith and Andrew Bowers, Jr. laborouers of this county for each of them swearing two profane oaths a peace at Grayson Court House on the 28th day of July 1812 by information of Joshua Stoneman and Jonathan Canoy, two of our own body."

[Note that Andrew is referred to as a laborer rather than a farmer, which is consistent with being identified as Andrew Jr.]

At the Oct term 1812, the following case was heard:

"The Commonwealth, plaintiff
v
Andrew Bowers, Defendant

Presentment for profane swearing. The court on hearing the evidence are of opinion that the defendant be fined for swearing two profane oaths and to pay the costs."

[Note that at the hearing Andrew is not identified as Jr. Robert Smith was also fined the same day. Also, the deed from Andrew Bowers Sr. to Robert Smith was acknowledged in court and ordered to be recorded. It would appear whatever words were exchanged between Andrew Jr. and Robert Smith were related to this land transaction.]

4. Tax List: 1815-1837, Grainger County, Tennessee. ¹²


1815 Capt. Robert McGinniss Company: Andrew Bowers, 1 white poll

1816 Capt. John Arwine's Company: Andrew Bowers, 1 white poll

1817 Returned by Philip Sigles, J. P.: Andrew Bowers, 1 black poll (wrong column checked for a number of people)

1818 Capt. John Arwine's Company: Andrew Bower, 1 white poll

1819 Capt. John Arwine's Company: Andrew Bower, 1 white poll, 200 acres

1820 Capt. Wm. Clarke's Company: Andrew Bowen, 200 acres, 1 white poll

1821 Capt. Clark's Company: Andrew Bower, 200 acres, 1 white poll

1823 Capt. William Clark's Company: Andrew Bowen, 150 acres, 1 white poll

1824 Capt. Clark's Old Company: Andrew Bowen, 150 acres, 1 white poll

1825 Capt. Adkins Company: Andrew Bowers, 150 acres, 1 white poll

1826 Capt. Adkins Company (a list of free taxable inhabitants): #59, Andrew Bower

1826 Capt. Adkins Company (the tax list): Andrew Bower, 150 acres, 1 white poll

1827 Capt. Adkin's Company: Andrew Bower, 150 acres, 1 white poll

1828 Capt. Adkin's Company: 150 acres, 1 white poll

1829 Capt. Adkinson's Company: Andrew Bower, 150 acres, 1 white poll

1830 Capt. Atkinses Old Company: Andrew Bower, 150 acres, 1 white poll

1831 Capt. Adkins Old Company: Andrew Bower, 150 acres, 1 white poll

1832 Capt. John Brockes Company: Andrew Bowen, 150 acres, 1 white poll

1833 Capt. Brocks Company: Andrew Bowers, 150 acres, 1 white poll

1834 Capt. Brocks Company: Anderson Bowen, 150 acres, 1 white poll

1835 Capt. James Brock's Company: Andrew Bowers, 150 acres, 1 white poll

1837 District No. 12: Andrew Bower, 360 acres, value $700, 1 white poll

5. Deed: 1824, Grainger County, Tennessee. ¹³

A. Arnwine to And. Bower on 6 Jan 1824; $275 for 150 acres in the Caney Valley. Note there was considerable delay in registering this Deed, since it appears in Book F.

6. Census: 1830, Grainger County, Tennessee. ¹⁴

Household of Andrew Bowers: 11001-212001
[Presumably, from youngest to oldest, the male childen were Andrew and William and the female children were Katherine, Elizabeth, Sarah, Mary and Susan.]

7. Deed: 1835, Grainger County, Tennessee. ¹⁵

Albartis Arnwine to Andrew Bowers on 27 Oct 1835 (registered 24 Aug 1836); $245 for 200 acres in the Caney Valley, Grainger Co., TN. Witnesses included John Bower and J. A. Howeth.

8. Deed: 1835, Grainger County, Tennessee. ¹⁶

James Arnwine to Andrew Bower on 27 Oct 1835 (registered 27 Aug 1836); $20 for 10 acres in Caney Valley, Grainger Co. Witnessess included John Bower and J. A. Howeth.

9. Court: 1837, Grainger County, Tennessee. ¹⁷

6 Nov 1837
Andrew Bowers recorded his ear mark, to wit, a smooth crop off the right ear.

[Note that James Haworth recorded his ear mark the same day, to wit, a smooth crop off the right ear and a slit in same.]

10. Deed: 1838, Grainger County, Tennessee. ¹⁸

Gabriel McCrain (appointee of Chancery Court of Claiborne Co., TN to sell land on behalf of Sarah and Sarah Jane Nickelson, widow and heir, respectively, of Samuel Nickelson, Dec'd) to Andrew Bowers per Court Order issued Dec. 1838 and registered 29 Oct 1842; 100 acres abutting land already owned by Andrew Bowers. James A. Hawith was a witness.

11. Bill of Sale: 1838, Grainger County, Tennessee. ¹⁹

Benjamin Ford to Andrew Bowers on 31 Mar 1838 (recorded 25 Apr 1838); $260 for "a negro Boy named Washington about three years old." Warranted to be "sound healthy, sensible and a Slave for life."

[Washington would have been raised with the younger Bowers sons. It is interesting to speculate what their relationship might have been like. It is also interesting to speculate why Andrew would have made this purchase, since a slave who was a small child was in the short run a burden rather than a benefit. Did he purchase the child for altruistic reasons, perhaps to take him out of a bad situation? Did he view the purchase as an investment with near guaranteed appreciation as the child matured? Was he planning ahead for the day when his sons were off on their own and no longer available to help on the farm? Hopefully, some day we will be able to discover Washington's descendants and get their perspective on these questions.]

12. Census: 1840, Grainger County, Tennessee. ²⁰

Household of Andrew Bowers: 3101001-0221001
[Presumably, from youngest to oldest, the male children were Jacob, John, Thomas, Andrew, and William and the female children were Nancy, Eliza, Katherine, Elizabeth, and Sarah.]

13. Court: 1845, Grainger County, Tennessee. ²¹

Monday, 6 Jan 1845
Andrew Bowers was ordered released from the payment of tax on one white poll for the year 1844 because he was over age 50.

14. Court: 1845, Grainger County, Tennessee. ²²

Monday, 7 July 1845
Andrew Bowers was appointed Guardian of W. M. R. Hill and Pelina P. Hill, the minor heirs of John Hill Dec'd. He succeeded Martin Cleveland. Andrew's securities wer John Bower and W. M. Dennis.

15. Court: 1847, Grainger County, Tennessee. ²³

Monday, 7 Jun 1847
Andrew Bower renewed bond for Guardianship of Wm Ramsey Hill and Palina Palestine Hill.

[Query if such renewal wasn't necessitated by the death of John Bower, a security for the initial bond.]

16. Estate Administration: 1849, Grainger County, Tennessee. ²⁴

Having died intestate, Letters of Administration for the Estate of Andrew Bowen, Dec'd, were issued to Andrew J. Bowen and George Sellars on the first Monday of December, 1849, and were recorded 7 Dec 1849.

17. Estate Administration: 1850, Grainger County, Tennessee. ²⁵

A Commissioner's Report, issued at the Jan 1850 term and recorded 19 Jan 1850, ordered an allowance for one year's provisions for Nancy Bowers, widow of Andrew Bowers, Dec'd. Set apart for her benefit were 11 hogs, 200 bushels of corn, leather on hand, $34.50 to purchase salt, coffee, sugar and wheat; whatever cotton, flax(?), turnips, cabbages, potatoes and onions were on hand; and $10 for other expenses.

18. Estate Administration: 1850, Grainger County, Tennessee. ²⁶

George Sellers, as Administrator of the Estate of Andrew Bowers, Dec'd, filed an Inventory of personal property and Account of Sale of 9 Feb 1850. The sale took place on 25 Jan 1850 and resulted in proceeds of $394.56. Prominent among the assets was a "Negro boy aged about 13 years." Washington was not sold at that time, but was hired out for one year to John White for $40.53. Other significant assets were: a wagon, sold for $41.25 to Jacob Beelar; a gray horse, sold for $48.57 to Jesse F. Beelar; a bay mare, sold for $42.50 to John Mallicoat; a gray colt, sold for $27.32 to Daniel Hurst; a still and tubs, sold for $40.55 to Daniel Hurst; and a set of blacksmith tools, sold for $28.00 to Albartis Arnwine. Family members who made purchases at the sale included James Sellers (husband of Katherine Bowers), John Dyer (husband of Susan Bowers), Willie B. Dyer (husband of Mary Bowers), and Nancy Bowers (widow of Andrew). Also participating in the sale was Thomas Majors, future father-in-law of John Bowers.

19. Estate Administration: 1850, Grainger County, Tennessee. ²⁷

A Guardian Report for the minor heirs of John Hill, Dec'd, was rendered as of 21 Jan 1850 and recorded 9 Feb 1850. The report was by William Dennis, who succeeded Andrew Bowers as Guardian for said minor heirs (Andrew had become the Guardian for William Ramsey Hill and Perina Pallestine Hill following his marriage to their mother, Nancy Hill). The report states that cash in the sum of $909.79 was received from the Administrators of the Estate of Andrew Bowers, Dec'd, on 19 Dec 1849.

20. Estate Administration: 1851, Grainger County, Tennessee. ²⁸

On 6 May 1851, a report was filed with the Court by L. M. Ellis, identified as the Administrator for the Estate of Andrew Bowers, Dec'd. He asserted that the former Administrator had taken possession of and sold all the assets and refused to turn over the proceeds of sale to him. [There has to be an interesting story here. Why was there an attempt to replace the original Administrators? Was someone upset about the length of time that had passed since the Estate sale? In any event, given the Settlement filed by George Sellers the next year, it appears George remained in control.]

21. Estate Administration: 1852, Grainger County, Tennessee. ²⁹

On 30 May 1852, there was a Settlement with George Sellers as Administrator of the Estate of Andrew Bowers, Dec'd. In addition to the $394.56 raised at the sale of personal property, another $13.14 had been raised at an additional sale of personal property, and $560 had been received in connection with the sale of Washington, the slave. Thus, the total to be accounted for was $967.90, for which a very detailed accounting was given. The costs of settling the Estate amounted to $166.76. Included therein were the satisfaction of certain accounts payable, the cash included in the one year's allowance for Andrew's widow, Nancy, $30 to George Sellers on account of his services in settling the Estate, and assorted court costs. Distributions to or on behalf of heirs were made to Willie B. Dyer (Mary Bowers), Catherine (Bowers) and James Sellers, A. J. Bowers, Daniel Hurst as Guardian of the minor heirs of Andrew Bowers, Dec'd, Susan (Bowers) and John Dyer, Nancy Bowers, Nancy (Bowers) Needham, the minor heirs of William Bower, Dec'd, George Sellers (Elizabeth Bowers) and Sarah (Bowers) Needham. The distribution to Andrew's widow, Nancy, was of a share in the proceeds from the sale of the slave, Washington. Since she was not an heir, perhaps this distribution was made for the benefit of George Lafayette Bowers, her son by Andrew, in lieu of a formal guardianship. The only heir who did not receive a distribution at this time was Eliza Louisa (Bowers) Hurst. The funds remaining after these disbursements and distributions was $193.91. [Hopefully, Eliza eventually received her share of the inheritance. Unfortunately, I could find no further settlements that accounted for the undistributed funds.]

[Also of record are some Bills of Sale whereby some heirs prior to Settlement transferred their interest in Washington, the slave. It appears that distributions on account of Washington to heirs who had assigned their interest were made to the assignees.]

[Missing from the Settlement was any accounting for the real property owned by Andrew Bowers, which appears not to have been a part of the administration of his Estate. It appears the heirs individually conveyed their interests in the real property, but only a few deeds have been found. See Events for Andrew Jackson Bowers, Catherine Bowers (Sellers), Mary Bowers (Dyer), Susan Bowers (Dyer), Nancy Bowers, widow, and John Bowers.]

[I have not been able to track the funds distributed to Daniel Hurst as Guardian of the minor heirs of Andrew Bowers, Dec'd. These heirs included Thomas, John and Jacob. George was also a minor heir, but the distribution to Nancy may have been for his benefit. I was not able to locate any Guardian Report filed by Daniel Hurst. The only Guardian Report I could find was filed by L. M. Ellis for John. See Events for John Bowers for details of this report.]

Andrew married Katherine HOWETH, daughter of William HOWETH and Mary, on 29 Aug 1816 in Grainger County, Tennessee.^{2 3 4 6} (Katherine HOWETH was born on 14 Aug 1800 in Grainger County, Tennessee ⁶ and died on 30 Aug 1841 in Grainger County, Tennessee ^{9 30}.)

  Marriage Notes:

Kennerly has: "Bowen, Andrew [to] Catherine Hawith, August 26, 1816. B. Eli Clark, August 26, 1816. John Hall, J.P." Fennell & Mason records the marriage the same way. The author has xerographic copies of the official records and there is no difficulty in reading the names as Andrew Bowers and Catherine Howeth. The August 26, 1816 date is actually the date of the license and bond. John Hall wrote on the license, "I certify I married the within named on the 29th Augt 1816." This latter date is confirmed by the Andrew Bowers Family Bible.

Andrew next married Nancy DENNIS on 13 Sep 1842 in Grainger County, Tennessee.⁵ (Nancy DENNIS was born in 1808 in Tennessee ^{31 32}.)

  Marriage Notes:

James Howeth, brother of Andrew's first wife, Katherine, was the bondsman. The date of the bond was 31 Aug 1842. The marriage was performed by William Sharp, J.P.

Nancy Dennis was previously married to John Hill. See the Research Note for Andrew Bowers (Sr.) for a discussion of the likelihood the Bowers and Hill families were friends in Rockbridge and Grayson Counities, Virginia, and that the Hill famlies' move to Grainger County may have played a role in Andrew's (Jr.) decision to move there. ³³