BOWEN.
Four brothers named Bowen bought land in Albemarle,
James M., William, Peter and Thomas C. They came from
the vicinity of Jeffersonton, Rappahannock County. In
1817 James and William together made their first purchase
of five hundred acres from Benjamin Ficklin—the old White
place southwest of Batesville. James must have relinquished
his interest to William, since in 1829 the latter with his wife,
who was Eliza George, of Fauquier, sold this land to Roland
H. Bates. William was a teacher, having had a school
near Ivy Depot, and afterwards near Mount Ed church. He
finally returned to Rappahannock. Peter, who was a physician,
never resided in the county, though he more than
once purchased land in the Greenwood neighborhood. Besides
farming, James for some years prosecuted business as a
merchant. He prospered in his affairs, and in 1835 bought
the old Ramsey place, with its Mill, building the large brick
mansion which still stands, calling it Mirador, and making
it one of the finest seats in the county. He married Frances
Starke, and his children were Ann, the wife of Dr. John
R. Baylor, Mary, the wife of Dr. O. R. Funsten, of
Clarke, and Eliza, the wife of her cousin, Dr. George M.
Bowen, son of Peter. James died in 1880. His grandson,
James Bowen Funsten, was recently consecrated Episcopal
Bishop of Boise, Idaho.
When Thomas first came to the county, he also engaged in
the vocation of teaching. One of his schools was located
beside the old Mount Pleasant Methodist Church, which
stood on the hill three or four hundred yards west of Hillsboro,
and there he had Slaughter Ficklin as one of his pupils.
In 1837 he purchased from John Pilson the place which he
occupied till his death, which had been the old home of Isaac
Hardin, and which consisted of three tracts, Huntsmans, so
called from a former owner who removed to Kentucky, Hard
Labor, and Greenwood, which gave name to the Depot subsequently
established. Thomas Bowen acted a more prominent
part in the affairs of the county than his brother, and
served as a magistrate prior to the Constitution of 1850. He
was twice married, first to Miss Wheatley, of Culpeper, and
secondly to Margaret Timberlake, of Clark County. He left
two daughters, Mary Eliza, the wife of Colonel Grantham,
of Jefferson County, and Julia, the wife of John Shirley.
His death occurred in 1886. Thornton W. Bowen, who
lived north of Whitehall, was a brother of these gentlemen.
