Samuel Bowman (May 21, 1800 – August 3, 1861) was an American
suffragan
A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations.
In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...
Episcopal
Episcopal may refer to:
*Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church
*Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese
*Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name
** Episcopal Church (United State ...
Bishop of Pennsylvania
The Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America encompassing the counties of Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Chester and Delaware in the state of Pennsylvania.
The Diocese has 36,641 ...
, United States.
Early life and family
Bowman was born in
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in th ...
, the son of Samuel Bowman, a captain in the
Continental Army
The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
, and his wife, Eleanor Ledlie.
[Bond, 699] He was educated at the Academy of Wilkes-Barre and, while he was initially inclined toward the practice of law, Bowman soon changed his studies toward the church.
[Mombert, 390] His theological instruction was conducted by Bishop
William White.
[Perry, 137] White ordained Bowman deacon in 1823, and he was ordained priest the following year, also by White.
[ After his ordination to the priesthood, Bowman took charge of two parishes in Lancaster County.][Batterson, 185] In 1825, he became rector of Trinity Church in Easton, Pennsylvania
Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river tha ...
.[ He returned to Lancaster in 1827 to serve at St. James Church in that town, assisting the rector there until his death in 1830, at which time Bowman became rector.][ While there, Bowman earned a doctorate in divinity from his Geneva College (now ]Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Hobart and William Smith Colleges are Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts colleges in Geneva, New York. They trace their origins to Geneva Academy established in 1797. Students can choose from 45 maj ...
).[
Bowman married twice. He was first married to Susan Sitgreaves of Easton, with whom he had three children, one of whom died young. His son, Samuel Sitgreaves Bowman, graduated from ]Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
in 1845 and studied law in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, but died unmarried, predeceasing his father in 1848.[ Bowman's daughter, Ellen Ledlie Bowman, survived her father and died in 1894 in ]Topeka, Kansas
Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...
, having married Thomas H. Vail, the Episcopal Bishop of Kansas, in 1867.[Thompson-Stahr, 475] After Susan died in 1831, Bowman remarried to Harriet Clarkson, the daughter of the previous rector of St. James, Lancaster.[ Bowman's brother, ]Alexander Hamilton Bowman
Alexander Hamilton Bowman (May 15, 1803 – November 11, 1865) was an engineer, military educator, and career officer in the United States Army. Bowman supervised the erection of Charleston Harbor defenses, including Fort Sumter,Cullum, ''Biograph ...
, was Superintendent
Superintendent may refer to:
*Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank
*Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator
*Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...
of the United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
at West Point, New York
West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...
during the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
.
Coadjutor bishop
In 1845, the clergy elected him Bishop of Pennsylvania
The Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America encompassing the counties of Philadelphia, Montgomery, Bucks, Chester and Delaware in the state of Pennsylvania.
The Diocese has 36,641 ...
, but when the laity refused to concur, Bowman acquiesced in the nomination of Alonzo Potter
Alonzo Potter (July 6, 1800 – July 4, 1865) was an American bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States who served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. Potter "identified himself with all the best interests of society."
...
, who was eventually chosen.[ In 1847, Bowman was elected Bishop of Indiana, but he declined the appointment, preferring to remain in Lancaster.][ Bowman was consecrated a suffragan Bishop of Pennsylvania in 1858, and this appointment he accepted.][ He was the 64th bishop in the ECUSA, and was consecrated in Christ Church, Philadelphia, by Bishops ]Jackson Kemper
Jackson Kemper (December 24, 1789 – May 24, 1870) in 1835 became the first missionary bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Especially known for his work with Native American peoples, he also founded parishes in wha ...
, William Heathcote DeLancey
William Heathcote DeLancey (October 8, 1797 – April 5, 1865) was a bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America and the sixth Provost of the University of Pennsylvania. DeLancey was known as a High Churchman, and served as t ...
, and Alfred Lee.[ Bowman threw himself immediately into his work, but his episcopate was brief.][ While visiting the western part of Pennsylvania in 1861 on the ]Allegheny Valley Railroad
The Allegheny Valley Railroad is a class III railroad that operates in Western Pennsylvania, and is owned by Carload Express, Carload Express, Inc.
AVR acts as a feeder line connecting its many and varied customers to Class I railroads such as ...
, a landslide wrecked a railroad bridge, causing the passengers, including Bowman, to walk several miles. Bowman lingered behind, and was later found dead along the tracks, either of apoplexy
Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...
or a heart attack.[ He was buried in St. James churchyard in Lancaster.]
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, Samuel
1800 births
1861 deaths
People from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
19th-century American Episcopalians
Episcopal bishops of Pennsylvania
Railway accident deaths in the United States