George BOWERS ² ³

Born: Cir 1786, probably Berkeley County, (West) Virginia ⁴ ⁵ ⁶
Marriage: Sarah SHORT on 4 May 1809 in Grayson County, Virginia ¹
Died: 7 Apr 1856, Carroll County, Virginia ⁴ ⁷ ⁸

bullet Research Notes:

In the 1850 census appears a C___ Bowers, age 6, who seems too young to have been a child of George and Sarah. He is also listed at the end amongst individuals named Clay. Pending further identification, I have omitted this child from the list of children.

bullet Birth Notes:

Beth Robinette's records show he was born in 1783.

bullet Noted events in his life were:

1. Tax List: 1807-1827, Grayson County, Virginia. ⁹

1807 George Bowers, 1 white male and 1 horse.

1809 George Bowers, 1 white male and 1 horse

1810 George Bowers, 1 white male

1811 George Bowers, 1 white male and 1 horse

1812 George Bowers, 1 white male

1815 George Bowers, 1 white male and 1 horse

1817-1820 George Bowers, 1 white male and 2 horses

1821 George Bowers?, 1 white male and 1 horse

1822 George Bowers, ?

1824-1825 George Bowers, 1 white male and 1 horse

1826-1827 George Bowers, 1 white male and 2 horses

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

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.

Note it is possible this Andrew could be Andrew Jr., particularly since George seemed to the instigator. Andrew Jr. would have been 17 years of age at this time.

3. Census: 1820, Grayson County, Virginia. ¹²

George Bower: 310010-10010

4. Census: 1830, Grayson County, Virginia. ¹³

Bower, George: 1012001-211001

5. Census: 1850, Carroll County, Virginia. ⁴

Dwelling 831, Family 831, District 11
George Bowers, age 64, male, farmer, $350 real property, born in Va
Sarah Bowers, age 58, female, born in Va, cannot read or write
Catherine Bowers, age 26, female, born in Va, cannot read or write
Sarah Bowers, age 22, female, born in Va, cannot read or write
John Bowers, age 18, male, farmer, born in Va
Rachel Bowers, age 16, female, born in Va
Henry Clay, age 2, male, born in Va
C___ Bowers, age 6, male, born in Va
Daniel Clay, age 26, male, born in Va

George married Sarah SHORT on 4 May 1809 in Grayson County, Virginia.¹ (Sarah SHORT was born in 1790-1792 in Virginia ⁴ ⁸ ¹⁴ and died between 1870 and 1880 in Carroll County, Virginia ¹⁴.)

bullet Marriage Notes:

"Bond 1809-4: George Bowers and Sarah Short, 25 April 1809. William Short, surety. Return 2-1: Rev. George Keith certifies that he married George Bowers and Sary Short on 4 May 1809." ¹

1 John Perry Alderman, Carroll/Grayson Marriages (Alderman Books, Hillsville, VA, 1987), Page 20.

2 Grayson County, Virginia, Personal Property Tax Books, 1794-1807, 1809-1850, FHL Film No. 2,024,555. 1827 is the end of this reel of film.

3 John Perry Alderman, Carroll 1765-1815, The Settlements (Alderman Books, Box 1255, Hillsville, VA 24343, 1985), Page 307. "Andrew seems to be the first of the family in Carroll. [Carroll Co. was formed from Grayson Co.] His name first appears on the 1798 personal property tax list, which is likely the year following his arrival. He sold out and left in 1812. Not much is known about him. He is not found in the 1790 "census" records of either Virginia or North Carolina, but he apparently had sons grown about the time he settled; he was taxed with them. He bought 236 acres on Chestnut Creek from Tom Blair in 1799, and the clerk of court indexed his name as Powers, rather than Bowers (Grayson, D.B. 1-265). There are several references to him in the order book; he was appointed at August Court 1806 to view two proposed roads and in 1810 he came to court to testify for the Commonwealth against a man charged with stealing James Dodson's saddle (Grayson, Orders 1806-1811). In October 1812 he sold his farm and left (Grayson, D.B. 3-107). The old tax records suggest, but do not prove, that he was the father of George Bowers who married Sarah Short in 1809."

4 1850 Census, Carroll County, Virginia, Roll M432_939, Page 374 (Ancestry.com Image 112 of 130).

5 Personal Property Tax, 1783-1789, Berkeley County, West Virginia, FHL Film No. 2,024,478.

6 Family Records of Beth Robinette. Beth is a descendant of George Bowers of Carroll County, Virginia, through his son William. Beth's family records include more information about subsequent generations. Those interested in more information on George's descendants are advised to contact her. Her contact information is as follows: e-mail address, dbrobin@earthlink.net; postal address, 3313 Misty Dr, Kingsport, TN 37660; and telephone, 423-349-6924.

8 1860 Census, Carroll County, Virginia, Roll 653_1339, Page 944 (Ancestry.com Image 170 of 197).

9 Grayson County, Virginia, Personal Property Tax Books, 1794-1807, 1809-1850, FHL Film No. 2,024,555.

10 John Perry Alderman, Carroll 1765-1815, The Settlements (Alderman Books, Box 1255, Hillsville, VA 24343, 1985), Page 307.

11 Jeffrey C. Weaver, Grayson County, Virginia Superior Court Order Book, 1809-1821, New River Notes: http://www.ls.net/~newriver/va/gcsupct.htm, Website: http://www.Is.net/~newriver/va/gcsupct.htm.

12 1820 Census, Grayson County, Virginia, Roll M33_131, Page 43 (Ancestry.com Image 2 of 23).

13 1830 Census, Grayson County, Virginia, Roll 190, Page 248 (Ancestry.com Image 7 of 86).

14 1870 Census, Carroll County, Virginia, Roll M593_1639, Page 514 (Ancestry.com Image 32 of 47).

George BOWERS 2 3

Sources

George BOWERS ² ³