Charles Bowler, Jr

Male 1754 - 1802  (48 years)


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  • Name Charles Bowler  [1
    Suffix Jr 
    Born 21 Apr 1754  Newport, Newport Co., RI Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Book Reference 4841  
    Died 31 Aug 1802  Guilford, Windham Co., VT Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Notes 
    • Bio:
      "When quite a young boy, Charles Bowler was taken by his father to England, to receive his education, with which great pains were taken, as was fitting for the son of one who was in the Colonies with a Commission from the Crown, and for the younger brother of so distinguished a personage as Metcalf Bowler, but when he was only fourteen, his father died, intestate, leaving him, alone in England, a penniless "younger son." He seems to have been born with a wild, free spirit, a spirit of adventure, whch illy brooked the restraints of conventionalism, and tradition is rich with tales of his exploits. He, with another boy, was enticed aboard a trading vessel, lying in the harbor of Liverpool. While they were below, the vessel set sail, and when they came on deck they were out at sea. They were bound for Canada with a cargo of horses, which they landed at Quebec, and in some clever way, not explained, Charles and his friend captured two of the best horses, and made off with them, eventually finding their way to Newport.
      "This is the first we hear of his connection with the horse, a phase of experience in which he figured most prominently throughout his life. His extraordinary love for and control over horses, he has left as a legacy to his children, "even unto the third and fourth generation."
      "When the Colonies declared war, he joined the army, and when the British took possession of Newport, he was taken prisoner. The British Gen. Prescott,
      having had his attention called to Charles Bowler's wide reputation as an expert horseman, gave him the oversight of his own horses. One day, when he had official guests from New York, he wished to show them a fine horse which he had lately procured, and Bowler was ordered to put on the best trappings in the stable, and show the merits of the newly acquired steed. In riding around the General and his party, he kept increasing the circle until he reached a point toward Fall River, when he put spurs to the horse, and crossing on the ice to the mainland, reached his friends in safety. He had no trouble in passing the British soldiers, as all knew him to be General Prescott's servant.
      This horse lived many years, and when he died, had a public funeral, and the
      spot where he was buried was marked and known long afterward.
      "Another "horse story" is told of him in his later years, in Vermont. In his stable was an ugly stallion, who broke out of his stall, one day, and no one dared to enter the stable. They sent for him, and when he entered the animal made for him, but he struck him a smart blow on the temple with a whip handle, and slipping a bridle over his head, led him into his stall as quiet as a lamb.
      "Charles Bowler married the daughter of Col. George Irish, a man of much
      prominence in Colonial and Revolutionary times in R.I. and Providence Plantations, and Col. of a Newport Reg. during the Revolution. He had great wealth for those days; his home was the finest in Middletown, he owned the Brig "Friendship," which sailed from Newport in the West Indies trade, and when the Colonies declared their independence, he loaned the new government of the United States ?3,257.
      "About 1792 or '93, Charles went to sea, and for nearly one hundred years
      his R.I. family and descendants supposed his vessel was lost, since they never
      heard of it nor of him again, but he was cast ashore near the Banks, somewhere, and worked his was as far south as Guilford, Vt., presumably five or six years after sailing from Newport, for in 1798 he married Mary (Yaw) Gallup, a widow, of Guilford. In the summer 1802 he started on horse-back, to visit his Newport family, but there is no record nor tradition that he ever made himself known, if he reached there, and the supposition is, that finding upon his arrival, his first wife, Rebecca, still living, and married again, believing him dead, he went away, making no sign. On his way back to Vermont when nearing Guilford, he stopped at a public house to dine, and while waiting at the table for his dinner to be served, he dropped dead of apoplexy, and was taken home to be buried on the day that his youngest child was born. Thus passed a strange, untamed soul, only the outlines of whose career can be touched upon, within the limits of such a record as this." [N.P. Bowler, pp. 17-19] MARRIAGE: Bowler #7 (NOTE) 2 QUAY 3
    Person ID I01308  irish
    Last Modified 28 Aug 2011 

    Father Charles Bowler,   b. 23 Sep 1701, St. Andrew, Holborn, London, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Mother Margaret Robinson,   b. 1705, St. Andrew, Holborn, London, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F6535  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 1 Rebecca Irish,   b. 1760, Middletown, Newport Co., RI Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1838, Hopkinton, Washington Co., RI Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 78 years) 
    Married 1778  Middleton, Newport Co., RI Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
    +1. Charles Bowler,   b. 8 Nov 1780, Newport, Newport Co., RI Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 11 Dec 1827, Long Island, NY Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 47 years)
    +2. George Irish Bowler,   b. 19 Mar 1782, Newport, Newport Co., RI Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 18 Aug 1868, Cleveland, Cuyahoga Co., OH Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 86 years)
    +3. Sally Bowler,   b. 1784, Newport, Newport Co., RI Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. May 1834, Newport, Newport Co., RI Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 50 years)
    +4. William Davis Bowler,   b. 11 Feb 1786, Middletown, Newport Co., RI Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 28 Mar 1820, Hopkinton, Washington Co., RI Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 34 years)
    +5. Rebecca Irish Bowler,   b. 10 Nov 1788, Newport, Newport Co., RI Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 3 Dec 1869, Toledo, Lucas Co., OH Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 81 years)
     6. Margaret Bowler,   b. 1790
     7. John Bowler,   b. 1792
    Family ID F0722  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family 2 Mary Gallup,   b. 1777, Newport, Newport Co., RI Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Married 1798  Guilford, Windham Co., VT Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Polly Bowler,   b. 31 Mar 1799
     2. William Bowler,   b. 8 Sep 1802
    Family ID F6962  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Sources 
    1. [S007136] Descendants of John Irish 1629-1963, Willis L. Irish.