Written by Velma Rose Smith – 1975

David Bowen and Sarah Farrer Bowen were my great grandparents. He was born in Wales in 1816 and she was born in England in 1816 just over the border. We believe they were married there before he left to come to America. He came and worked, we dont know where, until he earned enough money to send for her to come. We havent any dates, nor do we know how they come to settle where they did. They settled, built a log house beside the spring, at this edge of what you to be Bartoos orchard. At that time there was a family living on the back of Bill Krolls upper place, there there are old foundations, now called the Bailey Lot. The road came from Elk Run, somewhere around Tom Parsons place up by the Bailey place, by where the Bowens located, on by where my folks house is, on the south side between house and creek, and over the hill somewhere to Beuters.

They lived in the log house and there their eight children were born in 10 years.

Margaret	born in 1846	died 1929	Bowen cemetery
Thomas	born in 1847	died	Whitneyville
David	born in 1848	died	Wheeler Cemetery near Welsh Sett
Mary Etta	born in 1849	died 1914	Bowen Cemetery
Sara Jane	born in 1850	died 1864	Bowen Cemetery
William	born in 1852	died 1917	Bowen Cemetery
Martha	born in 1854	died 1933	Bowen Cemetery
John	born in 1856	died	Cherry Flatts Methodist

David then purchased some land and built the house where my folks lived and where I was born. We dont know when he purchased the land, but we know he purchased over 400 acres of the Bingham estate. This estate was granted by William Penn to a man by the name of Bingham, for payment for some service rendered.

There was an office of the Bingham estate established in Wellsboro in 1845, by Hon. Wm Bingham Clymer, grandson of Hon. George Clymer, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The estate was by far the most important of any in Northern Pa. By his liberal and honest dealings Mr. Clyrner was instrumental in attracting to Tioga County a large number of intelligent and industrious citizens. Mr. Clymer lived in Wellsboro 28 years, he died in Italy in 1878. Robert C. Simpson Esq. took his place as agent for the estate.

Grandfather Bowen hired Fred Beuter, Rexs grandfather, to help him build the house, where my folks live and where I was born. Mama Rose declares all the tools they had were a saw and hammer, no level nor measuring tape. It is a plank house, built of pine. It was built as many houses of that era, with hall and stairway as the entrance, and rooms on both sides and kitchen on back. (Millers, where Linda lives, Ray Jones in the Flatts, Grandpa Jones, Parsons, the Smith house where Wanda was born, Irwins, the original house where Jay lives, Benedicts, etc were built on this same plan.) The front porch, toward the creek, had lattice work all around it with an opening, and wide seats on each side, very picturesque. I loved it.

Grandfather Bowen chose the site for his house beside a spring, as he had for his log cabin. In those early days, people build their homes near a spring if possible. Wells had to be dug by hand, with pick and shovel, and then stoned up, a long hard job. They laid galvanized pipe from the spring to the summer kitchen, on the back of the house, where it came in and water could be drawn from the spigot and a valve there could shut it off from running in the pipe to the watering trough by the road. These pipes carried the water to the house, until Merritt had new ones laid in 1975. When I spoke about “summer Kitchen”, some one asked me what I meant. Houses were built without dining rooms. In summer with the big iron wood burning kitchen range, cooking, baking, preserving, etc made the kitchen very hot, so in summer you did all this work in the summer kitchen. It was handy to draw the water and heat it in boilers on the stove for washing. Washing was done here too, wash tubs and scrub board, and hang the clothes on the line out back, Of course, for every house there wan an out-house, or back-houses, (Mama taught me to call it a toilet, as her well-bred Mother taught her) way up back. The Bowens had big butts, and those holes were big and round, so Papa made me a little one at one side.

Lavina told me that her Mother told her that her father was a small made with blue eyes. The blue eyes sounds ok, but I remember his four sons, built like Clark Bowen, and my Grandma was built like me. They say the mother was a large woman with black eyes, that a long way to go for black eyes, Eileen.

We believe they moved from the log house to the new house in early 1863, for Sara Jane was ill when they moved, but she wanted to walk to the new home, so Martha, who was 9 years old, carried a little rocker, and Jane would sit and rest in it. I wonder if it was the little cherry rocker that Jay and Phyllis have.

Grandma used to rock me in her lap sitting in that chair, and said she was rocked in it. (I dont know when her mother found time to rock babies). Sara Jane died in 1864, when she was 14 years old. The family attended the Church in Welsh Settlement, and they buried her in the Welsh Settlement Cemetery. But later they had trouble, an argument of some kind and they had her body moved to a plot near their new home, as the Bowen Cemetery by my folks home was started. In 1868 Grandfather Bowen died and was buried beside Sara Jane.

Margaret married Aaron Douglas, he owned a farm east of Bowens farm (Douglas place on top of hill).

Thomas married Martha Baity, his father gave him around 100 acres (The Bill Kroll farm) and they lived there several years.

David married Emma Wheeler and they started housekeeping on the home place, having part of the house, and he worked the farm, as Grandfather died. Later they moved to her folks, the old Wheeler place is now where Vera Bowen lives (Ransome Bowen). Uncle Dave took over the butchering business, and was a well known cattle dealer and butcher.

Mary married Daniel Rose, as his second wife and went to live at his home. House now has been torn down (Bill Krolls upper place). There was a barn across the road Claudette Rose barn. His first wife was Lucy Baity and they had four children, Luna was only four years old when Mary had David born in 1876 (September 25). We figured they moved from the Rose farm to the Bowen homestead in about 1886, Grandfather Bowen died in 1875 and David moved to the Wheeler place. Only six years later Daniel died, leaving his widow Mary, and David, (16 year old) to run the place. David had finished at the country school and was attending Normal School at Mansfield. He had to quit to run the farm. The half brothers Leon and, Robbie had had their father sign notes for them to borrow money, and they never paid them so Mary and David had those to pay off, besides their own debts.

William married Elsie Webster – Grandfather Bowen gave him a farm of about 100 acres, the north portion of his farm, (where Mime Bowen and Graydon live). Up on the back of their place was the Webster farm, which Elsie got when her folks died.

Martha married Jake Kimbal. Grandfather Bowen gave each son a farm from his parcel of land, each boy to give a sister $1000. John paid Martha $1000.

John married Helen Walker and he was given the farm where Bartoo’s live, and they built a new house.