WILLIAM BOWEN | bowenarrow

William and Harriet Bowen are my great, great grandparents. They had two sons Otis and Harlan Bowen. Harlan and Effie Bowen had two sons Ernest and Charles Bowen. Ernest is our grandfather that we grew up with in Randolph, New York. See photo on Home Page with discriptors.

I ran across a website "Find A Grave". It contains alot of history on the Bowen family. Donna Markey is the creator of this website and many other history sites. I have contacted her and she will point me to additional history information. The link is: www.findagrave.com

Bowen links: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=137570230

The following article from The Randolph Register, April 13, 1913

contains the obituary for William and son Harlan Bowen.

Birth: Nov. 27, 1852
Randolph
Cattaraugus County
New York, USA

Death: Apr. 13, 1913
Randolph
Cattaraugus County
New York, USA

Obituary: Randolph NY Register, April 18, 1913
A DOUBLE FUNERAL FOR FATHER AND SON
Oldest Man in Randolph Dies after a Short Sickness
PNEUMONIA WAS THE CAUSE
William Bowen and His Son, Harlan Bowen, Died but a Few Hours Apart -- Funeral at Late Home
Sudden sickness removed from their sphere of activity two men of one family, when on Sunday last William Bowen and his son, Harlan Bowen, both died of pneumonia. Within a few hours of each other these two men who had been closely associated through a lifetime, died in the same house and of similar difficulties.

William Bowen, the oldest man in Randolph and who had resided here perhaps longer than any other person, died Sunday morning, while his son, himself a man of middle age, survived until some time during the night. A double funeral was conducted at the home Tuesday afternoon, in charge of Rev. P. D. Westbrook of Buffalo, and the burial was made in the family plot at Sample Hill cemetery.
The family had been afflicted with a serious epidemic of influenza which in the cases of the two men resulted in pneumonia. Harlan Bowen's condition was considered somewhat serious about the middle of last week, but he seemed to recover, and on Thursday last William Bowen addressed a letter to his daughter in which he stated he thought the worst was over, referring to his son's sickness. The older gentleman's health was so vigorous that his sickness did not cause alarm until the latter part of the week when some symptoms of pneumonia developed.

William Bowen was born at Henrietta, Monroe county, N.Y., September 8, .... His father's name was Darius Bowen, and the parents of William moved into Randolph about 1827. The older generation was among the very first to settle in this township, and since that time this section has been the home of the family. In 1847, on March 16, William Bowen was united in marriage with Miss Harriette Hitchcock, and to them have been born seven children; Elsie J. Hildom of Chicago; ... Adaline of Bradford; Harlan, who died Sunday; Otis F. of Randolph; Olive E. Woodmancy of Coldspring; Milan of Bemus Point; and T. E. Bowen of Washington. The family were all present at the funeral except Mrs. Hildom.
The double fatality marks the first death in William Bowen's family, and that is all the more singular for one so advanced in age when it is known that not one death has occurred in the branch families, composed as they are of several children each. Mr. Bowen had been in very vigorous health, and only last month he walked three miles to visit some friends. He occupied his time with the lighter forms of farm work and kept regular hours for rest and refreshment.

At the time of Mr. Bowen's 89th birthday anniversary, when a family gathering was held, the Register published the following sketch of his life:

Mr. Bowen has to a remarkable degree lived in harmony with the laws of life and health. He has never drank any intoxicants, not even tea or coffee as a habit. For more than forty years he has not used any tobacco, and has been almost entirely a vegetarian. He has been a steady worker and is still a .... man. Even as these lines are being written, he comes with his wheelbarrow and tools from the garden some distance away, where he had been at work. Next he fills baskets he has made from a pile of shavings surrounding the "shaving horse" where he had lately split the bolts and shaved over a thousand pine shingles for repairs on his house roof. This and other useful work, and attending to his bees, continuing his usual habits of industry from choice and although he makes it of no account, is it not worthy of note, being uncommon?
He delights to tell of the early days when the people were not too much in a hurry to be neighborly nor anyone ... to feel exalted over another; when they went with ox teams ......................

When in 1825 his father, Darius Bowen, moved with ox teams from farther east, it was a wilderness of woods here. Soon he had a log house sixteen by twenty feet. Their first dining table was the side of the sled box as it hung on pegs on the side of the log house, and the dishes were large clean chips fresh cut from the trees. This was because the snow suddenly thawed off when they were moving and some of their goods were left for a while miles back.
A few years after this time pioneer men organized this township. "Esquire" York was the first supervisor and his wife christened the town Randolph after her home place in Vermont.

Mr. Bowen has worked for the good education and training of his own and other's children, and improvement in many ways. He has all his life acknowledged his Creator, the living God of heaven as supreme, and has read His word from a child until now. To his children and friends recently assembled he earnestly said: "My advice to you and all is take the Bible for your guide."

Harlan Bowen was born in Randolph November 27, 1852, and had lived in this township all his life. He was notoriously an industrious man and kept everything about his place neat and orderly. He married Miss Effie Williams in April, 1880, and to them two sons were born: Charles Lindsey Bowen, who after obtaining an advanced education went to Africa, where he is now employed as missionary; and Ernest Nelson Bowen of Randolph. Mr. Bowen was one of the sturdy, upright farmers who has made for himself a competency through constant and untiring labor. He manufactured a high grade of butter upon his farm and twice each month he drove to Jamestown where his products sold at a high price. He was, like his parents and family, an earnest member of the Seventh Day Adventist church, and conscientiously followed the teachings of that doctrine in leading a Christian life.
The surviving members of the family have the satisfaction of realizing that the two men whose lives went out last Sunday had lived upright and honorable and had the respect of the entire community. The funeral, Tuesday afternoon, was attended by a very large number of friends, relatives and associates.