Col. Johannes "John" Bowman | |
|---|---|
| Born | Johannes Bowman 17 December 1738 Cedar Creek, Shenandoah Valley, Orange/Frederick County, Virginia Colony |
| Died | 4 May 1784 Bowman Station, Burgin, Lincoln/Mercer County, Kentucky, USA |
| Resting place | Bowman Family Graveyard Addie Curd farm near Burgin, KY where the Old Bowman Station was located. |
| Nationality | German-American |
| Known for | Early Kentucky pioneer and militia officer |
| Title | Commissioner of Botetourt County of Virginia Colony, Safety Committee member in Harrodsburg in Kentucky County, First Kentucky County Lieutenant, Colonel in the Revolutionary War, Military Governor of Kentucky County Virginia, Sheriff and presiding Justice of the Peace of Lincoln County in the state of Kentucky. |
| Term | 1770–1784 |
| Successor | Benjamin Logan |
| Spouse | Elizabeth McClung (c. 1731–1784) |
| Children | John Jr. |
| Parent(s) | Hans Jerg (George) Baumann (Bowman) Maria Elizabeth (Mary) Heydt (Hite) |
| Relatives | Jost Hite (the Old German Baron), grandfather Jacob Bowman, brother Colonel Abraham Bowman, brother Major Joseph Bowman, brother Capt. Isaac Bowman, brother |
Col. Johannes "John" Bowman (17 December 1738 – May 4, 1784) was an 18th-century American pioneer, colonial militia officer and sheriff, the first appointed in Lincoln County, Kentucky. In 1781 he also presided as a justice of the peace over the first county court held in Kentucky. The first county-lieutenant and military governor of Kentucky County during the American Revolutionary War, Col. Bowman also, served in the American Revolution, many times, second in command to General George Rogers Clark, during the Illinois Campaign, which, at the time, doubled the size of the United States.
He and brothers Joseph, Isaac and Abraham Bowman were excellent horsemen and later known as the "Four Centaurs of Cedar Creek", all of whom were among the earliest pioneers to settle in Kentucky and prominent officers in the Continental Army.[1] He was the brother-in-law of frontiersmen Isaac Ruddell, Lorentz Stephens, Peter Deyerle, George Wright, Henry Richardson and George Brinker. His grandnephew, Abraham's grandson John Bryan Bowman, founded Kentucky University and the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky.[2][3] He is the younger brother of Jacob Bowman.