John Bryan Bowman (October 16, 1824 – September 21, 1891) was an American lawyer and educator, most notably as the founder of
Kentucky University and the
Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky. He was the grandson of Kentucky frontiersman
Abraham Bowman, as well as the grandnephew of
Isaac
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was th ...
,
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
and
John Jacob Bowman. His great-grandfathers were noted Virginia colonists
George Bowman and
Jost Hite Jost is both a German given name and a surname and a Jewish (Ashkenazi) surname. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
* Jost Amman (1539–1591), Swiss
* Jost Bürgi (1552–1632), Swiss clockmaker, maker of astronomical instruments ...
.
[Wayland, John W. ''A History of Shenandoah County, Virginia''. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1980. (pg. 588) ]
Biography
Born to John Bowman and Mary Mechum/Mitchum in
Mercer County, Kentucky
Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,772. Its county seat is Harrodsburg. The county was formed from Lincoln County, Virginia in 1785 and is named for Revoluti ...
. John Bryan Bowman's father John Bowman studied law under Henry Clay and became licensed to practice law in 1809, and inherited in 1825 the house, Bellevue, from his first cousin, John Bowman Jr., son of Col. John Bowman Sr., brother of Col. Abraham Bowman. John Bryan Bowman was a member of the
Disciples of Christ and attended
Bacon College; his father being an incorporator and trustee. Upon graduation in 1842, Bowman studied law under
Major James Taylor and was admitted to the bar, although he did not become a practicing lawyer. Four years later, he married Mary Dorcas Williams and settled down as a farmer after inheriting the Old Forest Farm in Mercer County. Managing the property for the next ten years, he became a successful farmer and landowner.
[Ohles, John F. ''Biographical Dictionary of American Educators''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1978. (pg. 153-154) ]
He was also a trustee Bacon College until the close of his old alma mater. In 1857, he led a campaign to found a new academic institution,
Kentucky University, on the site of the defunct college administrated by the Disciples of Christ.
[Kleber, John E. ''The Kentucky Encyclopedia''. Louisville: University Press of Kentucky, 1992. (pg. 107-108) ] He proposed to the other trustees to organize a fundraiser to raise $100,000 for an endowment, one-third of the proceeds to be raised in Mercer County. With the assistance of Major James Taylor, he was successful in gathering $30,000 in his county and, traveling to nearby communities, gained $150,000 within five months. Due to his efforts, the Kentucky Legislature granted a charter in
Harrodsburg
Harrodsburg is a home rule-class city in Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 9,064 at the 2020 census.
Although Harrodsburg was formally established by the House of Burgesses after Boonesbo ...
on January 15, 1858.
Named a regent by the Kentucky state legislature, he oversaw the later merging of Kentucky and
Transylvania University
Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...
in Lexington, Kentucky in 1865. During the time, he also founded and organized the
Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky as an extension of the new Lexington university. Under his administration, Bowman's liberal-minded policies saw Kentucky University grow as a modern center for education and learning during the next several years.
He remained its chief executive administrative and financial officer, a position he held for over twenty years until he resigned in 1874.
Following his retirement however, criticism from both his church and the state eventually caused the withdrawal of the state A&M college in 1878, and the board of curators abolished the office of regent.
In 1887, he moved to the
New Mexico Territory due to his wife's poor health. In his later years, he became a prominent resident in the
Las Cruces-area and was active in promoting industrial interests in the territory serving two years as the general manager of the
Southern New Mexico Fair Association. He was involved in the organization of
Hocker College, the
College of the Bible and
Commercial College.
Returning to Harrodsburg, he died at the home of his brother-in-law
John Augustus Williams on September 22, 1891. He was buried in
Lexington Cemetery
Lexington Cemetery is a private, non-profit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 833 W. Main Street, Lexington, Kentucky.
The Lexington Cemetery was established in 1848 as a place of beauty and a public cemetery, in part to deal ...
.
[Bowman, Charles W. ''Bowman Genealogy: Fragmentary Annals of a Branch of the Bowman Family''. Washington, D.C.: Law Reporter Printing Company, 1912. (pg. 93-94)]
References
Further reading
*Pyles, Henry M. "The Life and Work of John Bryan Bowman". (doct. diss., University of Kentucky, 1945).
*Wayland, John W. ''The Bowmans: A Pioneering Family in Virginia, Kentucky and the Northwest Territory''. Staunton, Virginia: McClure Co., 1943.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, John Bryan
1824 births
1891 deaths
John Bryan
Farmers from Kentucky
Educators from Kentucky
People from Harrodsburg, Kentucky
American Disciples of Christ
19th-century American educators