Martin Vanburen Bower b. 9 Feb 1822, Pennsylvania,
m. (1) bef ___ 1850, Mary Steel, b. abt ___ 1831, NY, Mary: last name is based on speculation only
see notem. (2) 12 Apr 1865, in WI, Malinda Sophia Stambaugh, b. 2 Aug 1848, near Sandusky, OH, (daughter of John Stambaugh and Catharine Stambaugh) d. 24 Sep 1928, Goodell, Hancock Co., IA, buried at Concord Cemetery, Garner, Hancock Co., IA.
Martin died 10 Dec 1895, Garner, Hancock Co., IA, buried at Concord Cemetery, Garner, Hancock Co., IA.
Interesting notes found on Martin Bower
Child of Martin Vanburen Bower and Mary Steel
I. Doratha Bower b. abt 1850, WI.
Children of Martin Vanburen Bower and Malinda Sophia Stambaugh
II. Willie Bower b. 16 Sep 1866, probably Wisconsin, d. bef ___ 1880.
III. Laura Belle Bower b. 9 Mar 1868, Wisconsin, m. 15 Apr 1886, Jacob David Bachman, b. 23 Jul 1865, Baden, Germany, (son of Michael Bachman and Mary Bachman).
IV. Clarence Albert Bower b. 16 Jun 1870, Iowa, m. __ Oct 1892, Sophia Shilling. "Bert"
V. Oscar Grant Bower b. 21 Sep 1872, Ellingon Center, IA, m. 14 Nov 1892, Lettie Faulkner. Oscar died Feb 1917. # died in jail
VI. Clara Elinora Bower b. 24 Apr 1875, Garner, Hancock Co., IA, d. ___ 1886, Nebraska.
VII. John Martin Bower "Martin" b. 4 Mar 1877, Garner, Hancock Co., IA, m. 8 Dec 1897, in IA, Eva Luella Durland, b. 7 Oct 1879, Marshalltown, Marshall Co., IA, (daughter of Samuel Durland and Mary Smith) d. 12 Aug 1970, Spokane, Spokane Co., WA. John died 30 Sep 1935, Moses Lake, Grant Co., WA.
VIII. Nettie Mabel Bower b. 1 Jun 1881, Garner, Hancock Co., IA, d. ___ 1886, Nebraska.
IX. Walter Laurence Bower b. 11 Sep 1883, Garner, Hancock Co., IA, m. 6 Mar 1907, Clara Boettcher.
X. Jacob Wesley Bower b. 23 Mar 1886, Garner, Hancock Co., IA, d. ___ 1886, Nebraska.
XI. Lenard Oral Bower b. 29 Jan 1888, Garner, Hancock Co., IA, m. 20 Feb 1908, in Aberdeen, Brown Co., SD, Mabel Roena Farnham, b. 9 Mar 1891, Arthur, Cass Co., ND, (daughter of George Benson Farnham and Edith Elizabeth Burgum) d. 15 Nov 1964, Marshfield, Wood Co., WI, buried at Riverside Cemetery, Withee, Clark Co., WI. Lenard died 9 Apr 1963, Withee, Clark Co., WI, buried at Riverside Cemetery, Withee, Clark Co., WI. In 1910, Lenard and Mabel moved to a homestead at Saugus, Montana.
XII. Myrtle May Bower b. 6 Dec 1889, Garner, Hancock Co., IA, m. (1) 8 Mar 1908, William Adelbert Lackore, b. 8 May 1869, (son of Chester A. Lackore and Cassie Adeline Heath) d. 20 Jan 1922, m. (2) 6 Jul 1914/15, Thomas Ludlow. Myrtle died 20 Feb 1959, Fremont, MI. other records have Myrtle and William married in 1890
XIII. Trissie Alvina Bower b. 4 Dec 1891; m. 9 May 1908, Cheney Nelson. Trissie died 30 Jun 1972, buried at Oakland Cemetery, Forest City, Winnebago Co., IA.
The 1850 census of Wisconsin, Sugar Creek, in Walworth County lists Martin Bower, 25 (1825), with Mary Bower, 19, a seven month old daughter, Doratha, and a man, William Steel, 48, (possibly Mary's father). Martin was born in Pennsylvania, and Mary and William in New York. Doratha was born in Wisconsin.
back to topThe 1860 census of Wisconsin, Bear Creek, Sauk County, lists Martin Bower, 35, as a farm laborer, living with the Lorenz Smith family. This census also shows him born in Pennsylvania. His age is difficult to read, could be 25, 28, 35. But he is alone, no information on Mary and Doratha.
back to topThe 1860 census of Wisconsin, Washington, Sauk County, lists John(53) and Catherine(50) Stambaugh, born in Pennsylvania, and their children, George(14), Malinda(12), and Daniel(11), all three of them born in Ohio. They are listed as farmers.
Martin and Malinda married 12 Apr 1865. Malinda's obituary says she married Martin Bower, then of Wisconsin, at the age of 16. About two years afterward they moved to the southern part of Iowa and then about 1875 moved to Hancock County.
Martin's grave is in Concord Cemetery, Garner, Iowa. The dates on it are Feb. 8, 1822, to Dec. 10, 1895. The stone is a newer type of stone than 1895.
The 1880 census of Iowa, Ellington, Hancock County, shows Martin, 52, his wife Malinda, 33, and their children Laura, Clarence, Oscar, Clara, and Martin. This entry shows Martin born in Pennsylvania and his parents in Germany. Malinda was born in Ohio and her parents in Pennsylvania. Laura, 12, was born in Wisconsin, while the others in Iowa. Willie, who was born in 1866, was not listed in this census, he would have been but 12, so he may not have lived.
The 1885 state census of Iowa lists Martin age 60 (1825), Malinda, 35, their children Laura through Walter. Their birthplaces are the same, but this census reports that both Martin and Malinda's parents were not of foreign birth.
September 1, 1886, in the Garner Signal, "Martin Bower, who started west last spring, with his family, have returned to Hancock County to live. They have had a most unfortunate experience during the past summer. Mr. and Mrs. Bower left Hancock County with a family of seven children; they return with but four, three having fallen victims, in Nebraska, to diphtheria. We trust that better fortune may attend them in Hancock than they met in the west." The three children who died must have been Clara, Nettie and Jacob.
Garner Signal, Dec. 11, 1895, "Martin Bower, an old resident of this county, died yesterday at 10 o'clock a.m. at his home in Garner. Mr. Bower for a number of years lived on a farm in Ellington township. Several years ago he moved to South Dakota but returned to this county after a year's experience in Dakota. He had been in poor health for a number of years being unable to do manual labor and died physically worn out. He will be remembered by his old friends as an honest industrious man, with many friends and few enemies."
A possible link that I cannot verify:
I am suspecting a possible tie to this family, although so far I have no way to confirm it:
Michael Bower m. Veronica Lane aboutt 1780 in Dauphin Co., PA
their son: John Bower b. 1782 in PA
If anyone has any possible link of information for me, please contact me. I've been searching for over ten years with no real success.
Submitted by
Gina Bower [20Jun99]
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