Thomas BOWERS ³

Born: 24 Mar 1835, Grainger County, Tennessee ⁴
Marriage (1): Abagail SHARP on 6 Sep 1857 in Grainger County, Tennessee ¹
Marriage (2): Mary Donahue MERRITT on 28 Jan 1866 in Grainger County, Tennessee ²

bullet Noted events in his life were:

1. Census: 1850, Grainger County, Tennessee. ⁵

Thomas and his brother, John, are listed as a separate family (1431) in the dwelling of Nancy Bowers (family 1430). The listing for Thomas is:

1372/1431
Thos Bowers, 15, M, Farmer, TN, attended school

2. Guardianship: 1852, Grainger County, Tennessee. ⁶

In the 30 Mar 1852 Settlement of the Estate of Andrew Bowers, Dec'd, distributions totaling $161.75 were made to Daniel Hurst as Guardian of the Minor Heirs of Andrew Bowers, Dec'd. No Guardian Reports have been found.

3. Power of Attorney: 1856, Grainger County, Tennessee. ⁷

Given a power of attorney by David Bowers of Shelby Co., IN to represent him in the matters of Estate of John Bower, Dec'd. In this power of attorney, dated 23 Aug 1856, David identifies himself as "one of the brothers and heirs at law of John Bower."

4. Census: 1860, Grainger County, Tennessee. ⁸

1565/1565
Thos Bowers, 23, M, Farmer, $250, TN
Abigah Bowers, 23, F
John G. Bowers, 1, M

5. Census: 1870, Grainger County, Tennessee. ⁹

53/53
Bowers, Thomas, 35, M, W, Day Laborer
Mary, 45, F, W, Keeping House, Illiterate
John, 12, M, W, At Home, Attended School, Illiterate
Jacob, 10, M, W, Farm Laborer, Attended School, Illiterate
Rosencrance, 6, M, W
Coleman, 3, M, W
Andrew, 1, M, W

Thomas married Abagail SHARP on 6 Sep 1857 in Grainger County, Tennessee.¹

bullet Marriage Notes:

Thomas Bowers to Abigail F. Sharp
25 Aug 1857
By William C. Mallicoat, J. P., 6 Sep 1857

Thomas next married Mary Donahue MERRITT on 28 Jan 1866 in Grainger County, Tennessee.¹⁰ (Mary Donahue MERRITT was born on 12 Nov 1826 in Grainger County, Tennessee ¹⁰ and died on 27 Oct 1907 in Grainger County, Tennessee ¹⁰.)

1 Porter H. McCarty, Miss Lucille Renean and Mrs. Ellen H. Wilson, Compilers, Marriage Records 1838-1857, Grainger County, Tennessee, (The Historical Records Survey, 22 Feb 1939), FHL Film No. 024,657, Item 3, Page 305 of Records, Page 82 of Film.

2 Family Records of Ruth Bowers Dommestrup. Ruth's line of descent is Ulysses Simpson Grant Bowers, James Andrew Bowers, Thomas Bowers, and Andrew Bowers. Her postal address is 830 Frankfort Court, Frankfort, IN 46041; her telephone number is 765-659-9349; and her e-mail address is dommestrup@geetel.net. My cousin, George Johnston, and I are indebted to Ruth for making a call to George in 1996, inquiring whether our Arizona Bowers might be descended from the John Bowers of Grainger Co., TN, and then proceeding to introduce us to the rest of the family by sharing the fruits of her considerable research.

3 Andrew Bowers Family Bible. The whereabouts or even continued existence of the Andrew Bowers Family Bible is unknown. However, there are two known transcriptions of the family information contained in the bible: first, a 1978 transcription by Ruth Bowers Dommestrup, at which time the bible was in the possession of Rector Bowers (William Rosecrans Bowers, Thomas Bowers, Andrew Bowers); and second, a transcription of unknown date and authorship that was obtained from collateral Howeth descendants and which contains the following note at the bottom of the transcription, "this is copied from the old record. the only one any of us knows of anywhere. this record is very fraile and looks to be written with pokeberry ink." The transcriptions are nearly identical, but do have differences: Ruth's has Grainger Co., TN as the place of marriage for Andrew and Katharine, while the Howeth version has nothing in that respect; Ruth's has daughter Katharine being born 6 Apr 1827, while the Howeth version spells her name Kathrine and has her date of birth as 16 Apr 1827; and Ruth's has son Andrew being born 9 Jun 1829, while the Howeth version adds his middle initial "J." and has the date of birth as 19 Jun 1829. Neither transcription provides places of birth nor dates of death. The dates for which this source is cited are from Ruth's transcription.

5 1850 Census, Grainger County, Tennessee, FHL Film No. 444,836, Page 96 (Dwelling 1372, Family 1431).

6 Inventories of Estates and Wills, March 1852 - May 1860, Grainger County, Tennessee, FHL Film No. 580,849, Page 28.

7 Inventories of Estates and Wills, March 1852 - May 1860, Grainger County, Tennessee, FHL Film No. 580,849, Book N, Page 196.

8 1860 Census, Grainger County, Tennessee, FHL Film No. 805,250, Page 514 (District 13 & 14, Dwelling 1565, Family 1565).

9 1870 Census, Grainger County, Tennessee, FHL Film No. 553,029, Page 154 (12th District, Clear Spring P.O., Dwelling 53, Family 53).

Thomas BOWERS 3

Sources

Thomas BOWERS ³