James Madison University Libraries Special Collections
880 Madison Drive MSC 1704 Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807 Telephone: (540) 568-3612 library-special@jmu.edu URL: https://www.lib.jmu.edu/special/
Chris Bolgiano, Alicia Henneberry
Repository
James Madison University Libraries Special Collections
Identification
SC 0147
Title
Sam Bowman Papers 1848-1967
Quantity
0.51 cubic feet, 2 boxes
Creator
Bowman family
source
Bowman, Sam
Language
English
.
Abstract
The Sam Bowman Papers, 1848-1967, consist of miscellaneous materials and seven business ledgers that document operations of
the Bowman family dairy farm in Rockingham County, Virginia.
The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collection Library.
For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this
collection.
Preferred Citation
[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Sam Bowman Papers, 1848-1967, SC 0147, Special Collections, Carrier Library,
James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.
Acquisition Information
This collection was donated to Special Collections in April 1999 by Sam Bowman.
Processing Information
In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering
campaign in the spring of 2017. This collection was previously cataloged as SC 3092.
The Bowman family is a very prominent one that has been established in the Rockingham County area since the eighteenth century.
The first of the Bowmans to settle in the area was George Bowman and his wife Mary Hite, who traveled from Philadelphia with
her family to start a colony in the Shenandoah Valley around 1731. George and Mary had thirteen children in total: John George,
John Jacob, Emma Maria, Elizabeth, Johannes, Sarah, Regina, Rebecca, George, Abraham, Joseph, Catherine, and Isaac. They made
their home on Cedar Creek and built a large stone house which was passed to their son Isaac. John, Joseph, Abraham, and Isaac
went on to become prominent members of society and in the military during the Revolutionary War, in which they were high ranking
officers that contributed greatly to the fight for independence.
The Sam Bowman Papers, 1848-1967, consists of one folder of miscellaneous papers and seven business ledgers that document
operations of the Bowman family dairy farm in Rockingham County, Virginia. The miscellaneous folder contains tax receipts
from 1859 and 1865, an 1862 receipt for military supplies of twenty bushels of corn, an 1882 Constitution of the West Rockingham
Mutual Fire Insurance Company, an 1891 receipt for a claim for property taken by U.S. soldiers in the Civil War, a 1929 timber
contract, 1942 Certificates of War necessity for Vehicle, and a summary of the S.R. Bowman Estate, 1936-1960. Ledger 7 is
the partnership book of R.L. and S.R. Bowman, 1963-1967.