Personal Artifacts of Robert Bowman of Glasgow, Scotland
I am fortunate to have inherited two very special pieces relating to one of my paternal great-great-grandfathers, Robert Bowman: (1) his original indenture agreement as an apprentice mason in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, dated 1817,[1]
and (2) an oil portrait of him as a successful monumental worker, date unknown.[2]
Robert Bowman was baptized on 14 May 1797, in Craigie, Ayrshire, Scotland.[3] He was the third child (of 10) and first son born to Andrew Bowman and Janet Robertson. On 4 December 1821 in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, he married Marion Wallace, daughter of Robert Wallace and Marion Kennedy.[4] Robert and Marion had five children: Andrew, Mary, William, Marion, and Jane. In the absence of other information, I was able to track Robert through various censuses. In 1841, he was living on Glebe Street in Barony Parish, Lanarkshire, Scotland.[5] He was living as a boarder, and his profession was listed as “Sculptor.” However, his family – Marion, four children, Robert's mother (Janet), and Robert's sister Elisabeth – were living in Kilmarnock Parish in the 1841 census, where Marion was working as a “Handsewer.”[6] I have no information on why they were living separately. It is also interesting that Robert's mother and sister are living with Marion. Also in this census, daughter Mary was working as a “F.S.” (Female Servant) in the Dalrymple household in Kilmarnock.[7] Robert’s wife, Marion, died prior to the 1851 census, but I have been unable to find any record of her death. In the 1851 census, Robert and three children (William, Marion, and Jane), were living in Barony Parish, and Robert was listed as a widower.[8] Robert was again listed as a “Sculptor” and son William was listed as an “Apprentice Sculptor”. Marion was keeping house and Jane was a “Scholar.”
Electoral registers show that Robert had moved to Glasgow by 1857.[9] He died at the approximate age of 63 of bronchitis at 2:20 a.m. on 10 November 1860 at his residence at 28 Parson Street in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, and is buried in Sighthill Cemetery, Glasgow. In the Statutory Register of Deaths, he was listed as a Widower with the occupation of Sculptor. His son, William Bowman, was the informant.[10]
As previously mentioned, Robert and Marion had five children: Andrew, Mary, William, Marion, and Jane. Daughter Mary married Thomas White on 1 June 1849.[11] Their youngest daughter, Laurina Jane (White) Hunt, passed both artifacts to her nephew, Thomas Gay White (my father), from whom I inherited them in 1973. We believe that Laurina Hunt received the document and portrait from her mother, Mary (Bowman) White, the second child and eldest daughter of Robert and Marion (Wallace) Bowman.
Note: This article was originally written for publication in the newsletter of the Dallas Genealogical Society. In this post, I have corrected two errors related to the 1841 Census and the household of Marion (Wallace) Bowman. I had wrongly stated that Marion's mother and sister were residing in the house, when it was in fact Robert's mother and sister.
[1] Indenture for Apprentice document for Robert Bowman [Kilmarnock, Scotland, entered into on 2 July 1817 and completed 29 May 1820]; Moore Family Collection, privately held by Kristin White Moore, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Traverse City, Michigan.
[2] Oil portrait of Robert Bowman, date unknown; Moore Family Collection, privately held by Kristin White Moore, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Traverse City, Michigan.
[3] National Records of Scotland, “Old Parish Registers – Births and Baptisms,” database with images, ScotlandsPeople (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/: accessed 22 June 2017); digital image, Robert Bowman baptism, 14 May 1797; citing OPR Births 584/00 0010 0172 Craigie.
[4] National Records of Scotland, “Old Parish Registers – Marriages,” database with images, ScotlandsPeople (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/: accessed 19 June 2017); digital image, Marriage of Robert Bowman and Marion Wallace, 4 December 1821; citing OPR Marriages 597/00 0100 0040 Kilmarnock.
[5] 1841 census of Scotland, Barony Parish, p. 11, Robert Bowman; image, National Records of Scotland, ScotlandsPeople (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/: accessed 20 July 2017.
[6] 1841 census of Scotland, Kilmarnock Parish, p. 16, Marion Bowman; image, National Records of Scotland, ScotlandsPeople (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/: accessed 19 July 2017.
[7] 1841 census of Scotland, Kilmarnock Parish, p. 1, Mary Bowman; image, National Records of Scotland, ScotlandsPeople (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/: accessed 19 July 2017.
[8] 1851 census of Scotland, Barony Parish, p. 8, Robert Bowman; image, National Records of Scotland, ScotlandsPeople (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/: accessed 19 July 2017.
[9] Ancestry.com, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, Electoral Registers, 1857-1962 (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Date:2016 Place:Lehi, UT, USA), The Mitchell Library; Glasgow, Scotland; Reference Number: 410498.
[10] National Records of Scotland, “Statutory Registers - Deaths,” database with images, ScotlandsPeople (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/: accessed 9 August 2020); digital image, 1860 Deaths in the Central District in the Burgh of Glasgow, Page 543, No. 1629.
[11] National Records of Scotland, “Old Parish Registers – Marriages,” database with images, ScotlandsPeople (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/: accessed 14 February 2024); digital image, Marriage of Thomas White and Mary Bowman, 1 May 1849; citing OPR Marriages 622/00 0190 0514 Barony.
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My "WDYTYA" Moment
I’m sure you’re familiar with the television show, “Who Do You Think You Are,” where celebrities work with genealogists to research their family history. In each show, there’s always a “wow” moment for some special discovery or document. Well, my husband calls the letter I’m going to describe as my WDYTYA moment. One of my paternal great-great-grandfathers, Lusher Gay, moved his family from Addison County, Vermont, to Knox County, Illinois in late 1836. In his autobiography, his son (my great-grandfather) describes him as having “a longing to see the great West.” The autobiography doesn’t provide any additional insights into the living conditions once they arrived, so aside from some social histories of the time, I really had no idea of the challenges they confronted. All I knew was that they settled in or near Galesburg, Knox County, Illinois, and that shortly after that Knox College was established. My husband and I traveled to Springfield, Illinois, in August 2016 for the FGS Conference. While we were in the area, I reached out to the archivist at Knox College to see if they might have any materials relating to either Lusher Gay, my 2ggf, or William H. Gay, my ggf. The archivist called and told me that, although she hadn’t found anything specifically on William, she thought we should come and see a letter that they did have in their possession as it did mention my 2ggf. And wow! That was my WDYTYA moment! 
The letter is four pages long – two sheets, written on both sides and folded to make an envelope. It was postmarked at the Knox Court House on February 4, 1838. Rather than a paper stamp, “25” is written in the upper right. The letter is from Joseph and Maria (Rhodes) Gay (my 2nd great-granduncle/aunt) in Galesburg to Maria’s brother, Anthony Rhodes, in Chittenden County, Vermont. Inside, it’s addressed “Dear Brother and Sister.” The archivist did not know how the letter ended up in their archives, but we do know that Anthony Rhodes and his family subsequently moved to Knox County as did a sister, Abigail Adelia (Rhodes) Fuller (mentioned in the letter) and her husband, Francis Fuller. Most of the letter was written by Maria describing the condition of the goods they had shipped, as well as the area and structure in which they lived.
We commenced Housekeeping the 6th of Jany in the woods. Out of sight of any house yet not far from Neighbors nearby 1 mile from Lusher [my 2ggf], we live in the worst looking pile of logs you ever saw…. It is about 16 by 14 ft and A Chimmney made of sticks which dus not reach to the roof by several foot
She goes on to say,
you will wonder why we do not have our stove but I will till you our room is so filled we have no where to set it when our table is set we cannot stur around atall we are cramed in thick as we can be yet we set and laugh and wonder what our eastern Friends would think if they were to pop in and see us
There is some advice from both Maria and Joseph in the letter to the readers if they are considering moving west, discussing the weather, the neighbors, and the costs of lumber and labor. There’s also a small postscript from their 10-year-old daughter, Loraine Eliza, describing how she’s been making “shuger.” Maria is not totally content with western customs, as you can see from this postscript to her sister-in-law Adelia.
Sister Adelia please to send me A paper
and marke the shape of the sleeve and
waste of a Dreſs on it as I did not fetch
any patterns with me and the fashiones
are not pleasint here they are olde stile
people dreſs very fine in the Colony and
think they are first rate the Lades ware
no stays that is the young Ladies that
Fashion orginated in York and most of
them follow it Mrs. Cook also reccommend
it but I am not in that fashion.
this from your loving Sister M A Gay
I am so thrilled to have photographs of this letter. It brings the struggles of that time alive, and I’m so impressed with the strength and will of our ancestors to endure the challenges of what was then the frontier.
The letter is held in the Special Collections and Archives of the Knox College Library in Galesburg, Illinois. They provided a transcript of the letter, which I appreciate. However, I have found a few errors in the transcription and, more importantly, in the first footnote. The footnote in the Archive's transcription reads:
Apparently the author of part of the letter was initially misidentified as Marie McCandless. In two places the female author signs "M.A.Gay." Part of the letter was written by Joseph & signed "Joseph & Maria". See accompanying U.S. 1840 Census which describes Joseph Gay of Hendersonville, Knox County, IL. Lusher & Eliza Gay have long been listed among the founders of Galesburg. The child of Joseph & Maria was E. Lorain Gay who was in the Knox class of 1899. She married George McCandless who was in the class of 1897.
The last sentence is the source of the misidentification. The problem is that the transcriber conflated two women with the same name. The correct child of Joseph & Maria was E. Loraine Gay (12 Jan 1828 - 5 Feb 1904) who married her first cousin, Martin Waterman Gay, son of Lusher Gay & Eliza (Waterman) Gay. The E. Lorain Gay incorrectly identified here was the granddaughter of Joseph Gay and Maria (Rhodes) Gay and the daughter of Francis Nelson Gay & Mary Della (Clark) Gay; she did marry George Tudor McCandless. That Loraine’s dates were 18 Nov 1877 - 26 Jan 1965). A comparison of the date of the letter with the dates of the two E. Lorain Gays clearly shows that the footnote could not be correct.
This article was originally written for publication in the newsletter of the Dallas Genealogical Society; it has been edited for this post.
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Overly Ambitious
One of the wonderful things about living in northern Michigan is the cool summer and the great outdoors, even in the midst of a pandemic. We've been camping and kayaking, all the while observing social distancing. But that means I'm not spending a lot of time on genealogy. However, today is a rainy day, and while I should be cleaning house, this is just too tempting a time not to do at least a little genealogy.
Yes, I had such great ambitions for 2019. I've actually started several of the projects and made some progress; others, not so much. And I haven't finished a single project that I can think of. It's a journey, right? And I keep adding to the list. While organization and DNA are at the top of the list, so is documenting some of my research. In addition to the tasks I listed in my 2019 Genealogical Resolutions, I'd also like to prove one set of ancestors into the Prairie Pioneers as early (1836) settlers of Illinois. As part of that, I have a task related to an 1838 letter from my g-g-g-uncle, Joseph Gay, and his wife, Maria A. (Rhodes) Gay, to her brother, Anthony Rhodes, back in Vermont. The original letter is stored at the Knox College County Archives in Galesburg, Illinois, and is accompanied by a transcription of the letter and some genealogical information. Unfortunately, the genealogical info conflates two women with nearly the same name. I'd like to send them updated information on that as well as some improvements to the transcription itself. Since I got this back in 2016, I'd better hop on that.
An additional line of inquiry would be into my ancestors who were enslavers. I have found various pre-Civil War censuses that list the number and ages of slaves, but not the names. I've joined a couple of Facebook groups that have suggestions on how to research this and where to share the information I find.
So many ancestors, so little time, so many BSOs (Bright Shiny Objects)!
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A Virtual Reunion of a Separated Family Artifact
My father's paternal grandparents and great-grandparents (so my g-grandparents and 2g-grandparents) came from Scotland to the United States in 1851. They left their home in Paisley (near Glasgow) and sailed from Liverpool to New Orleans before making their way up the Mississippi River to settle in Illinois. My great-great-grandparents (Thomas White and Esther (Watson) White settled in Pike County, Illinois, where he became a farmer; he'd been involved in the weaving industry back in Scotland. Their third son and my great-grandfather, also named Thomas, initially settled in Pike County (according to his Declaration of Intention), but by the 1855 Illinois State census was living in Quincy. The successive censuses provide an idea of his achievements. In 1860, his occupation is shown as "Moulder." In 1870, he is a "Stove Manufacturer" with a personal estate value of $6,000 and real estate of $15,000; in 1880, his occupation is listed as "Stove Foundry".
From a photocopy from a book on Quincy (ca 1888; I need to find the exact title):
Thomas White was born in Scotland; came to Quincy in 1852, and when first arrived was engaged in making flasks and patterns. When Mr. White first came to this city he possessed but little of this world's goods, but he did possess that which always insures the success of men. He was honest and ambitious and industrious, and with these, as his only capital, he has advanced step by step; higher and higher, until he is now at the summit of a successful life. He possessed the spirit of the Pilgrim Fathers and thus made this western country his home, and we have all been blessed and benefited by his coming.
In 1863 Mr. White, Mr. Bonnet and Mr. Duffy commenced the manufacture of stoves and hollow-ware, under the firm name of White, Bonnet & Co., possessing a total capital of about three thousand dollars. In 1866 Mr. White bought out the interests of his partners and conducted the business, which had grown very large, alone, until 1887, when the present firm of The Thomas White Stove Company was incorporated as a stock concern, with a paid up capital of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Their foundry, warerooms and offices occupy nearly a half block, in the heart of our city, and is, as may be imagined, very valuable property. We believe that Mr. White was, about 1860, foreman of the Phoenix Stove Works, and so it may again be seen how energy and enterprise, honesty and industry, will win in the city of Quincy, if practiced as Mr. White has practiced it--faithfully and persistently; a successful life is that of the subject of our sketch.
Some genealogical background: Thomas White, the younger, was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, 8 Jan 1825. On 1 Jun 1849, he married Mary Bowman (b 10 Apr 1828 in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland) in the Paisley Abbey. Their first child, Marion Wallace (White) McAfee, was born in Mary Hill, Scotland, 16 Oct 1850, and their second child, Esther Watson (White) Newby, was born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, 16 Feb 1852. As noted earlier, Thomas migrated to Illinois in 1851, and Mary sometime later. Their third child, Mary Bowman (White) Wilson, was born 10 Oct 1853 in Quincy. They had two more children (Thomas J. White & Elizabeth F. White), both of whom died in infancy before the birth of my paternal grandfather, Robert Bowman White on 27 Dec 1860 in Quincy. There were four children born thereafter: Thomas Collins White, Jane Bowman White, an unnamed infant boy, and Laurina Jane (White) Hunt.
Thomas White was an active member of a number of groups in Quincy, including the Bodley Masonic lodge, and he and wife, Mary, were members of the First Union Congregational Church, the first church in Quincy. In honor of their parents, Robert (my grandfather), Thomas C., and Mary (White) Wilson, children of Thomas & Mary, donated a Tiffany window to the church when its new building was dedicated in October, 1874.
The first time I saw the Tiffany window was in 1965, when my parents and I visited Quincy to attend the funeral of one of my father's cousins. The complete window was in a prominent place in the sanctuary. In 1968, the Gothic Revival building "which had served for nearly a century" was razed, and the new church building opened in March 1970. "In keeping with the colonial tradition, the windows are plain glass. However, the church retained two very fine stained glass windows. A portion of one is located behind the chancel in the Moorman chapel and a portion of the other graces the South side of the Heritage room." (https://firstunionquincy.org/about/history/) When my husband and I attended the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) Conference in Springfield, Illinois, in August 2016, we spent time both in Galesburg (another side of the family) and in Quincy researching my family history. I visited the First Union Congregational Church and the Moorman Chapel and was able to see the main part of the window displayed there.
By now, I'm sure you've guessed that the virtual reunion of the title refers to the window, or specifically, two separate portions of the original window. The window as displayed in the Gothic Revival church building was separated into two pieces. The largest piece of the two is the window now in the Moorman chapel behind the chancel.
The remaining part of the window, which is the dedication, is now displayed at the History Museum on the Square at 332 Maine Street in Quincy. I don't think the pastor at the church had any idea that there was another piece until I mentioned it to him.
So, while the two pieces of the window are physically separated, I've now reunited them virtually as they should be.
Map of Quincy, Illinois Family History Sites
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