Bowen Family
Bullock Family
Garnzey Family
Richard Bowen’s ancestry is still a highly contested issue.
So far, it appears his father might have been Thomas Bowen of Kettle Hill in Wales . Other
researchers, far better than I, also claim Richard’s father to be James Bowen.
I have tried to puzzle through all the arguments and find myself no closer to
any solution. But I do have an opinion.
The Welsh, in accordance with the times, had no surnames. They used a
patronymic system which indicated you were the son or daughter of the male
adult in the family. They used the
prefixes, ab, ap, verch, and ferch,
most commonly, to designate the names of the children in a family.
Thus, a man named Rhys (Rice) would have a son, let’s say
John ap Rhys and a daughter, Joan verch Rhys. Eventually, John’s name became
Price and the daughter married and changed her name to her husband’s. Another
example is ap Harry, which years later became the surname Perry. A name such as
ap Richard became Pritchard. In the same
way, ab was used to show a son. The
National hero of Wales
is Owain Glyndwyr. Many a male child was named Owain or Owen in honor of this
man. So a male child of Owen would be ab Owen or eventually, Bowen. There are
many variations on the spellings of the surnames that evolved. If you are
looking for a Welsh surname, check every possible form of the spelling. They
can differ remarkably, even within the same family branch.
This most likely resulted in a large number of people with
the surname Bowen who may or may not have been related to each other. They also
tended to use the same given names over and over, causing generational and
lateral blurring. When there were five sons in a family and they all married
and used the same given names for their sons, John, Richard, James, Thomas,
William, etc., it all becomes really difficult to determine which John Bowen
was the son of which one of the brothers.
Therefore, at this point, I will grant that Richard Bowen
was born in Wales ,
that he immigrated to the colonies and that his father is unknown to me. He was
b. about 1590 in Wales ,
perhaps Glamorganshire, and d. Feb. 4 1675 in Rehoboth , MA Swansea , Wales .
However this marriage and an elaborate ancestry which was all 19th
century fabrication has been debunked, by TAG Vol. 76 p. 263 (2001). It is
believed that all of his children were by his first wife. His 2nd
wife was Elizabeth (nee unknown) March, widow of George Marsh. Some have said
her maiden name was Rey or Key. Richard and his first wife and children were
briefly reported to have been in Weymouth
before striking out for Rehoboth.
He was present on Jun 21 1644, in Rehoboth, when woodland
divisions were granted to 58 men, but no actual date of immigration has been
found.
His children were:
Sarah
(1623-bef 1673) m. Robert Fuller
Thomas
(1625-1663) m. Elizabeth Brewster
Ruth
(1627-1688) m. Leverich Kendrick
2 Obadiah (1627-1710) m. Mary Clifton
William
(1630-?)
George
(1631-1632)
Richard
(1632-?)
2 Obadiah Bowen (1623-1710) m. 1651 Mary Clifton – 15 children
3 Obadiah (1651-1699) m. 1677 Abigail Bullock
Mary (1653-1678)
m. Isaac Allen
Sarah (1654-1703)
m. 1672 John Savage
Jacob (1656
-?)
Rebecca
(1657-?)
Daughter
(1658-?)
*Samuel
(1659-1728) m. 1684 Elizabeth
Wood
Joseph
(1662-1727 m. 1683 Elizabeth
Rounds
Thomas
(1664-1743) m. 1689 Thankful Mason
*Hannah
(1665-1715) m. 1685 Timothy Brooks
Sarah
(1668-?) m. 1686 James Abell
Mercy
(1672-young)
Isaac
(1674-1706) m. 1698 Hanna Winchester
Hezekiah
(1678-?)
*Samuel and his family moved to Cohansey , NJ Cohansey , NJ Bowentown , NJ
3 Obadiah and Abigail Bullock Bowen
If the Bowen origins are clouded in the distant past
records, then so too are the records of the Bullocks. Abigail’s father is
recorded as Richard Bullock of Rehoboth MA, but there ends any certainty. It
appears there were several contemporaries by the name of Richard Bullock. The
greatest amount of energy has been directed to connecting Richard Bullock to
Elizabeth Ingraham, a descendant of Sir Arthur Ingraham. I believe this is
driven by Sir Arthur’s connection to Royalty. So far I have found no evidence
that will support this. What I have found is vastly inconsistent dates, which
makes everything fall apart. So, again on this family name I take the stand of
not knowing what is correct so will refrain from offering something that would
most likely prove to be incorrect.
Children of Obadiah and Abigail Bullock Bowen:
4 James (1680-1738) m. 1703 Elizabeth Garnzey
Hezekiah
(1682-1751) m. 1706 Elizabeth Randall
Mary (1684-?)
m. 1710 John Bush
Abigail
(1688-1710) m.1701 Benjamin Fiske
Peleg (?)
Daniel
(1689-1737) m. 1716 Priscilla Vinton
Aaron
(1691-1774) m. 1717 Experience Whitaker
Sarah
(1693-?) m. Martyn Luther
Nathan
(1698-1776) m. Mary Boden
The Garnzey family seems to have originated in Somersetshire , England
4 The children of James and Elizabeth Garnzey
Bowen:
Lydiah
(1704-1747) m. 1724 Squire Wheeler
5 Elizabeth
(c.1705-1755) m. 1726 Jonathan Cole
Obadiah
(1706-?) m. c 1731 Barbara Martin
Tabitha
(1710-?) m. c, 1731 Daniel Wheaton
Mary (1713-?)
m. 1733 Thomas Wilbur
Patience
(1716-?)
Experience
(1720-?)
Abigail
(1722-?)
5. Elizabeth Bowen and Jonathan Cole
6. Abigail Martin and Jonathan Cole
7. Margaret Wade and Ebenezer Cole
8. Catherine Buck and Edward Cole
9. Rebecca Cole and Alexander Chambers
10. Alvina Chambers and Patrick John Broderick
My grandparents
A History of Rehoboth, Rev. George Tilton, 1918
Find a Grave
Historical Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and
Personal Memoirs of Ellery Bicknell Crane, Worcester Historical Museum
The Visitation of the county of Somerset
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