Bowie Notes

George Bowie

I got an inquiry from a researcher through my cousin Steve Bowie. The researcher was looking for a George Bowie. I happened to have some info on a George Bowie that was what she was looking for. Here's what I had:

George Bowie married Cordelia McWright on 30 Nov 1893 in Winn Parish, Louisiana, according to Louisiana records available from the Family History Library. The 1900 and 1910 censuses for Winn Parish show two Bowie families and four McWright families living in close proximity to each other. The inquiring researcher listed their children as:

America E Bowie b Dec 1893
Levy Bowie b Dec 12, 1897
Pleas Bowie b January 11, 1899
Lela Bowie b 1902
Arilla Bowie b 1905
Lucy Bowie b 1907
Odis Bowie b 1910
Bertha Bowie b 1913
George Bowie b 1918
Clementine Bowie b 1920
Willie Bowie b 1921

This list of George's and Cordelia's children appears correct, except it omits at least one son, Harty [or Hardy], born 22 Feb 1915, died 1 Mar 1989 in Los Angeles. I know about him because he appears on the 1930 census, by which time George and Cordelia had moved away from Winn Parish in north-central Louisiana to West Carroll Parish in northeastern Louisiana. Army enlistment records from WWII show a Harty Bowie from West Carroll Parish, Louisiana. Harty also appears in California state death records which gives his mother's maiden name as "McWright." Now here's a curiosity: the same California death records also show a Harvey Bowie, born in Louisiana on 29 Oct 1919, died in Los Angeles 2 Jan 1987; mother's maiden name also McWright. This appears to be the person who shows up in the 1920 census in Winn Parish as "Infant Bowie," the son of Henry and "Armonty" Bowie. In the 1930 census, Armonty is married to a man named Ike Connely and Harvey Bowie is one of the children.

It was fun to help out! I don't know yet how or if this Bowie family is related to mine, but I now have another angle to check out.


Bowie Reunion

The Bowie/Martin Family Reunion will be in Chicago, July 27-30, 2006. For questions (via email) contact Floritta Morris at FCMBoley@aol.com (she's a descendant of Annis Bowie, James FMC's and Chaney's only daughter).