Sedgwick County KSGenWeb

Portrait And Biographical Album of Sedgwick County, Kan.

Chapman Brothers 1888

Pages 587 - 591 

JESSE P. BOWLES cast his lot with the pioneers of Salem Township in 1873, and after the close of the late war, in which he participated as a Union soldier. He has now a little more than rounded up the sum of threescore years, and by a life of temperance, industry and frugality, has a snug homestead and something besides for a rainy day. The traveler, in passing through the southeastern part of Sedgwick County, can scarcely fail to note the finely cultivated farm on section 35, in Salem Township, which bears about it all the evidences of having been established and carried forward by a man of more than ordinary intelligence and forethought.

            Mr. Bowles, a native of the Blue Grass State, first opened his eyes to the light in Bourbon County on the 13th of June, 1827. Hughes and Elizabeth (Payne) Bowles, his parents, were Virginians, and removed from the Old Dominion to Kentucky before their marriage. The paternal grandfather of our subject, Jesse Bowles, also a Virginian by birth, was taken prisoner by the Tories during the Revolutionary War. His uncle, David Bowles, served in the War of 1812.

            Hughes Bowles, the father of our subject, was twice married and became the head of a family of twelve children, of whom the following survive, namely: Anderson, of DeWitt County, Ill.; Elizabeth, Mrs. Hall, of Tazewell County; David and William, of Logan County; Rebecca, Mrs. Wallace, of Sumner County, Kan.; and Julia, wife of Peter Hawes, of Butler County, this State; the above being all living, Those deceased are Joseph, Walter, Henry, Verlinda and Nellie. Jesse P., of our sketch, was the child of the second wife, and was about six years of age when his parents removed from Kentucky to Illinois. They located in DeWitt County, and were among the earliest pioneers. After a residence there of eleven years the father departed this life in the spring of 1845, and when his son Jesse was a youth of eighteen years. The mother joined her husband in the other life the year following. They were people of the highest moral principle, conscientious, truthful, diligent and prudent, and enjoyed in a marked degree the esteem and confidence of those around them. Hughes Bowles readily adapted himself to the best interests of his adopted county, and contributed to the best of his ability to the establishment of the worthy institutions which form the ground-work of a well-regulated community. There was much of hardship and privation in the early days, times which called for courage and fortitude, and amid the often thrilling events of that period the father of our subject was found equal to every emergency. While performing the arduous duties necessary to the opening up of the new farm he officiated as one of the pioneer preachers of the Christian Church of the county, and in addition to the labor involved in the tilling of the soil on week days, employed the Sabbath in giving spiritual instruction and consolation to the people who gathered together for miles around to listen to the words which fell from his ready tongue.

            Jesse P. Bowles spent his childhood and youth in DeWitt County, Ill., and from his infant years to his manhood lived most of the time amid the wild scenes of pioneer life. His education was necessarily very limited, the school-houses being few and far between, and in the winter season especially, which was about the only time the farmer boy could give to study, were difficult of access. Mr. Bowles, like the majority of the young men of that day, began early in life to lay the foundation of a future home, and on the 6th of August, 1846, soon after reaching his nineteenth birthday, secured a life partner in the person of Miss Maria Beavin, the wedding being celebrated at the home of the bride in DeWitt County, Ill. Mrs. Bowles, also a native of Kentucky, was born in Breckenridge County, Aug. 10, 1826, and was the daughter of Thomas and Nancy J. (Cooper) Beavin, natives respectively of Maryland and South Carolina. They were reared in Kentucky, where their marriage took place, and whence they removed when their daughter Mary was a little girl nine years of age to DeWitt County, Ill. They were among the earliest settlers there, where they spent the remainder of their days, the mother passing away in 1844, and the father in 1847.

            The parents of Mrs. Bowles had a family of eight children, of whom five survive, namely: Elizabeth, Mrs. Bruner, of DeWitt County, Ill.; Martha, wife of Allen Craig, of Washington Territory; Belle, Mrs. Brown, of Colorado, and Delilah, of this county. Those deceased are Nancy, William and Mary. To Mr. and Mrs. Bowles there have been born eight children: America, the eldest, is the wife of M. D. Canaday, of Mulvane, this State; Cassandra, wife of D. P. Wright, of Colorado; Martha, wife of S. F. Field, of Salem Township; Annie, Mrs. J. G. Thompson, of Salem Township; Andrew F., of Sumner County, and Mollie J. and William D., at home. Mary is deceased.

            Mr. Bowles left Illinois in 1873, and crossing the Father of Waters with his family, purchased his present farm on section 35 in Salem Township. This embraces 160 acres, which he has improved from the raw prairie to productive fields, which surround neat and substantial buildings, including the residence, the barn and the various outhouses required for the shelter of stock and the storing of grain. Mr. Bowles is essentially a self-made man, being thrown upon his own resources early in life and having learned well in the school of experience. Both he and his excellent wife are devoted members of the Christian Church, in which Mr. B. has officiated as Elder for the past ten years. Their hospitable doors have entertained both friend and stranger in a praiseworthy manner, and many are the kind deeds which have not only brightened their own pathway, but contributed to the comfort and happiness of those around them. They have lived in harmony for a period of over forty years, and present the spectacle of a calm and happy old age, with conscience free from reproach.

            We cannot very well pass over the period of Mr. Bowles' life in the army which began on the 11th of August, 1862, when he enlisted in Company B, 107th Illinois Infantry, which became a part of the Army of the Cumberland, 23d Corps. He participated with his comrades in the battle of Knoxville, besides minor engagements, and went all through the Atlanta campaign. He met the enemy at Franklin, Tenn., and in the siege of Nashville, and after the surrender of the city, owing to rheumatism, was incapacitated for active service in the ranks, and was subsequently employed in transportation duty for the Government. He received his honorable discharge in July, 1865, and returning to Illinois began the career of a farmer, in which he has met with such signal success.

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