John Bowman (August 29, 1782 in

Peekskill Peekskill is a city in northwestern Westchester County, New York, United States, from New York City. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across fr ...

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

– September 14, 1853 in Clarkson,

Monroe County, New York Monroe County is a county in the Finger Lakes region of the State of New York. The county is along Lake Ontario's southern shore. At the 2020 census, Monroe County's population was 759,443, an increase since the 2010 census. Its county seat an ...

) was an American lawyer, banker and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Life

He was the son of John Bowman and Ann Drake (1760–1831). On February 9, 1812, he married Lovice McCarty (1792–1870) at

Colchester, Connecticut Colchester is a New England town, town in New London County, Connecticut, New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 15,555 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. In 2010 Colchester became the first town in Connecti ...

, and they had five children. He was a delegate to the

New York State Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constituti ...

of 1821. He was a member from Monroe County of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

in 1823. From 1824 to 1826, he was

Bucktails The Bucktails (1818–1826) were the faction of the Democratic-Republican Party in New York State opposed to Governor DeWitt Clinton. It was influenced by the Tammany Society. The name derives from a Tammany insignia, a deer's tail worn in the hat ...

member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

where he introduced on April 12, 1824, the motion to remove Ex-Governor

DeWitt Clinton DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and naturalist. He served as a United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the seventh governor of New York. In this last capacity, he was largely res ...

from the

Erie Canal Commission The Commission to Explore a Route for a Canal to Lake Erie and Report, known as the Erie Canal Commission, was a body created by the New York State Legislature in 1810 to plan the Erie Canal. In 1817 a ''Canal Fund'' led by ''Commissioners of the C ...

. Clinton had been the driving force behind the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

construction, but was hated by the Bucktails. The maneuver backfired, since the indignation caused by this ungrateful political move led to Clinton's re-election as

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...

in November of the same year. In May 1835, Bowman was appointed a

canal commissioner The Commission to Explore a Route for a Canal to Lake Erie and Report, known as the Erie Canal Commission, was a body created by the New York State Legislature in 1810 to plan the Erie Canal. In 1817 a ''Canal Fund'' led by ''Commissioners of the C ...

by Governor

William L. Marcy William Learned Marcy (December 12, 1786July 4, 1857) was an American lawyer, politician, and judge who served as U.S. Senator, Governor of New York, U.S. Secretary of War and U.S. Secretary of State. In the latter office, he negotiated the Gad ...

to the vacancy caused by the declination to take office of

Heman J. Redfield Heman Judd Redfield (December 27, 1788 – July 22, 1877) was an American politician from New York. Life Redfield was born on December 27, 1788, in Suffield, Hartford County, Connecticut. He was the son of Peleg Redfield (1762–1852) and ...

. Redfield had been elected to the vacancy caused by the resignation of Michael Hoffman two days before the adjournment of the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...

. In January 1836, the recess appointment was confirmed by the State Legislature, and Bowman remained in office until February 1840 when the new Whig majority removed all Democratic commissioners. He was buried at the West Clarkson Cemetery in Clarkson, NY. His son John M. Bowman (1817–1892) was part-owner of the Bacchus & Bowman factory in

Brockport, New York Brockport is a village in the Town of Sweden, with two tiny portions in the Town of Clarkson, in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 7,104 at the 2020 U.S. Census. The name is derived from Heil Brockway, an early settler. ...

which manufactured

McCormick reaper Cyrus Hall McCormick (February 15, 1809 – May 13, 1884) was an American inventor and businessman who founded the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which later became part of the International Harvester Company in 1902. Originally from the ...

Sources

*The removal of Clinton i
''De Witt Clinton and the Rise of the People's Men''
by Craig & Mary L. Hanyan (McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP, 1996, , ; pages 184ff)

His son's obit, in NYT on February 7, 1892
''The New York Civil List''
compiled by Franklin Benjamin Hough (pages 42, 57, 125f, 139, 199 and 260; Weed, Parsons and Co., 1858)

Political Graveyard

Genealogy Forum {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, John 1782 births 1853 deaths People from Clarkson, New York New York (state) state senators Members of the New York State Assembly Erie Canal Commissioners People from Peekskill, New York 19th-century American politicians