This is week 40 of my participation Amy Johnson Crow's, once a week challenge to blog about one ancestor a week, tell their story, biography, a photograph, an outline of a research problem — anything that focuses on that one ancestor. More about the challenge can be found at her Blog, No Story Too Small.
Martha (MNU = Maiden Name Unknown) Bowen was born around 1740. Date estimated. Parents unknown.
She married Clifton Bowen about 1756 in Duplin County North Carolina. Date and place estimated from other facts known about the family.
(Note: Clifton is my Revolutionary Solider, see post about him here. My DAR membership was based on Clifton.)
Martha and Clifton had the following children, most fairly well documented:
Stephen Bowen
Elijah E. Bowen
Amelia Bowen
Mark Bowen
Levi Bowen
John Bowen
Mary Bowen
Sometime around 1784 the family moved into Georgia. There is a Georgia Headright and Bounty Land grant dated 1784 for land in Effingham County, Georgia in Clifton's name.
By 1789, there is the following land grant in Martha's name. It is interesting to note that another "warrant" dated 1787 is mentioned herein.
More can be learned about Georgia Headright and Bounty Land records at FamilySearch.
[Note: the following was originally typed with many of the "s" letters as "f". For this presentation the "f"s were changed these back to "s"s. As an example: it was typed by the Georgia Historical Society as adminiftration, it now reads as administration.]
Papers found in the DAR application of Mattie Ella Scarboro Miller states that the Georgia Gazett, August 28, 1794 published the following statement, noting that the paper is held by the Georgia Historical Society, Hodgson Hall, Savannah, Georgia:
"By Lemuel Lanier, Register of Probate for the county of Screvin, in the said state.
Wereas Martha Bowen, widow hath made application to me for letters of administration on the goods, rights, and credits of Clifton Bowen, late of the then Effingham County, now Screvin County, deceased. Those are therefore to cite and admonish all and singular the kindred and creditors of the said deceased to be and appear before me, at my office at Coldstream, on the 18 day of September next, to show cause (if any they have) why letters of administration should not be granted to her. Given under my hand and seal, this 16th day of August, 1794, and in the 19th year of American Independence."
According to Georgia Genealogical Magazine, Bulloch County, Georgia, Records, Book AA, pages 175-176, dated 28 March 1807, recorded July 11, 1808, Martha Bowen, of Bulloch Co., sold to Elijah Bowen, for $200., 200 acres. Wit.: Thomas Russell, Thomas Watts, Charles McCall, JP., Note added that Martha Bowen also gave to sd Elijah Bowen, her bed and furniture. A copy of the deed shows that she signed by "x" mark.
Martha is listed in a list of early members of the Nevils Creek Church, a Primitive Baptist Church, according to "Brief History of Georgia's Oldest and First Primitive Baptist Church", work located at the Statesboro Regional Library, Statesboro, Bulloch County, Georgia. This work states that the church was formed May 17, 1790. She appears on the Membership Roster in 1814.
Church records of the Nevill Creek Church Bulloch County, Georgia show "Marthy Bowin dec'd" on list of female members taken after the October 1824 conference. These records were accessed on microfilm at the Georgia Archives in Atlanta, Georgia.
Wish list for Martha (MNU) Bowen: Maiden name and family lineage, probably a pipe dream after all the research that has been done on this clan, but, ya never know! Marriage data, in any format. Copies of the newspaper of 1794 for letters of administration. Revisit Screven County records, is there more on this administration? Copies of several the deeds that I do not seem to have. See if I can find that 1787 land grant mentioned in the 1789 Headright grant. Input and scanning done to include all that I do have, it lacks detail at this point. (Note: No additional research was done in preparation of this post, so, any new data bases have gone undiscovered, for now.)
* Additional source data can be obtained by contacting me, see the right hand column for a yahoo email address.
** 52 Ancestors Weeks Button courtesy of Amy Johnson Crow.
*** I use many resources to research, FamilySearch.org is a free site. Ancestry.com is a pay site for which I pay, no discounts, etc. Fold3, is another site I subscribe to and pay for. None of these sites have asked me to review them, or use them. See my Disclaimers page for further details.
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