W. H. BOWYER
Though all of the period that has elapsed since June 1889, Mr. Bowyer has
been actively engaged in agricultural pursuits in Payne county, and though
for several years he worked very hard and struggled under great difficulties,
he finally won the victory over circumstances, and today is prosperous
and influential in his community.
W. H. Bowyer is
a son of Samuel and Ann (THOMAS) Bowyer, natives of Virginia, but his paternal
grandfather was a Pennsylvanian. Our subject was born October 30,
1845, in eastern Virginia, and when he was six years old the family removed
to the western part of that state. He received a common-school education,
and remained with his father, occupied in farming, until he was twenty-five
years of age. Sixteen years ago he came to the West, and for a short
time was a resident of Peabody, Kans., then settling in Butler county,
same state. He carried on a farm there until Oklahoma was opened,
and in June 1889, he located a claim in Payne county, it being the southwest
quarter of section 23, township 18, range 2. The land is very productive
and is well watered by springs and running streams. He instituted
many good improvements upon the place, planted a large orchard and cultivated
the fields, raising good crops.
In his early manhood,
Mr. Bowyer married Madora HICKMAN, and seven children were born to them.
The eldest, Charles E., died at the age of five years; Samuel H., Walter
B. and James T. are in Kansas, while John S. and George T. are residents
of this territory. Grace B., the only one of the family not born
in Virginia (her birth having occurred in Kansas), is living with the mother
in Blackwell, Okla.
In 1890 Mr. Bowyer and his wife were divorced
and in July 1893, he married Anna, daughter of James and Jennie TREASTER,
of this territory. They are now living upon property which she bought
in the fall of 1889. The place is in the southwestern part of section
24, township 18, range 2, and is well improved with a new house, well-built
barns and fences, an orchard, and other essentials to a model homestead.
Lost Creek, which runs through the farm affords an abundance of water for
the fields and live stock, and adds much to the value of the place.
Two children blessed
the union of Mr. Bowyer and wife, Anna. One died when an infant,
and the other, a promising little boy, Lester Ross, died when he was fifteen
months old. Mr. And Mrs. Bowyer are members of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, and take an active interests in religious and benevolent enterprises.
Through his parents
and himself were natives of Virginia, and he was reared in the South, Mr.
Bowyers always was opposed to secession, and when the Civil war began he
espoused the cause of the Union. In 1862 he enlisted in Company E,
First Virginia Light Artillery, served at the battle of Winchester, under
the leadership of General Cook, and took part in a number of important
engagements and campaigns. He was honorably discharged at Wheeling,
W. Va., in June 1865. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic,
being connected with the post at Perkins. His first presidential
ballot was cast for General Grant, and since that time he has faithfully
supported the nominees of the Republican party. When a resident of
Elm Grove township, Payne county, Okla., he held the office of township
treasurer for two years.
Portrait and Biographical Record of Oklahoma (Chicago:
Chapman
Publishing Co., 1901), 909.
Transcribed for OKGenWeb by Mary Charles
Dodd Hull, February 1999.