Isaac Bowman

Isaac Bowman
Born(1757-04-24)April 24, 1757
Ft Bowman on Cedar Creek (near Strasburg, Virginia)
DiedSeptember 9, 1826(1826-09-09) (aged 69)
Strasburg, Virginia
NationalityGerman-American
Occupation(s)Landowner, farmer and militia officer
Known forOfficer under General George Rogers Clark during the Illinois campaign and Northwest Indian War; held in two-year captivity by the Chickasaw before his eventual escape to Cuba.
Spouses
Elizabeth Gatewood
(m. 1782⁠–⁠1790)
Mary Chinn
(m. 1792⁠–⁠1826)
Children16 children
Parent(s)George Bowman and Mary Hite
RelativesJost Hite, grandfather
Col Abraham Bowman, brother
Maj Joseph Bowman, brother
Col Johannes "John" Bowman, brother
John Jacob Bowman, brother

Isaac Bowman (April 24, 1757 – September 9, 1826) was an 18th-century American soldier and militia officer who took part in the American Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian War. His capture and eventual escape from hostile Chickasaw led him on a two-year adventure before returning to the United States from Cuba in 1782.[1]

His brothers, Colonel John Bowman (1738–1784), Colonel Abraham Bowman (1749–1837), and Major Joseph Bowman (c. 1752–1779), were also officers during the Revolutionary War, and all four were early frontiersman who were among the first to settle in Kentucky. Their father and grandfather, George Bowman and Jost Hite, respectively, were also prominent pioneers in the Colony of Virginia.[1]

One of his patrilineal descendants, Alpheus Michael Bowman, was a successful Virginia businessman and politician during the late 19th century.[2] Another of his descendants is William Irving Shuman, a banker and assistant U.S. Treasurer in Chicago, Illinois.[3] Another descendant is Euday Bowman, composer of the 12th Street Rag.[4]

  1. ^ a b Hall, Henry. Year Book of the Societies Composed of Descendants of the Men of the Revolution. New York: The Republic Press, 1890. (pg. 206)
  2. ^ Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, ed. Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Vol. III. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1913. (pg. 274)
  3. ^ Press Reference Library. Notables of the West. Vol. II. New York: International News Service, 1915. (pg. 446)
  4. ^ The family tree is documented on records.ancestry.com. Euday is the grandson of Isaac Gatewood Bowman, who is the grandson of Isaac Bowman and Elizabeth Gatewood.