Biography of Archie S. Bowman, pages 641/642/643/644.   History of DeKalb 
County, Indiana; B. F. Bowen & Company, Inc., Indianapolis, 1914.

Archie S. Bowman

	Dependent very largely upon his own resources from his early youth, 
Archie S. Bowman, of Smithfield township, DeKalb county, Indiana, has 
attained no insignificant success, and though he may have, like most men of 
affairs, encountered obstacles and met with reverses, he has pressed steadily 
forward, ever willing to work for the end he has in view.  His tenacity and 
fortitude are due, no doubt, in a large measure to the worthy traits 
inherited from his sterling ancestor, whose high ideals and correct 
principles he has ever sought to perpetuate in all the relations of life.
	Archie S. Bowman was born on July 1, 1850, in the southeastern part 
of Smithfield township, DeKalb county, Indiana, and is a son of Cyrus and 
Sarah Ann (Smith) Bowman. Cyrus Bowman was a brother to James Bowman, 
whose record give interesting details of the family ancestry.  Cyrus 
Bowman was a son of John and Matilda Bowman, and was born in Van Buren, 
Onondaga county, New York on November 9, 1818, and died at his home in 
West Waterloo, Indiana, on March 12, 1901, at the advance age of eighty-two 
years.  He came of good old Puritan stock, his father having been a native 
of New Jersey and his mother of Connecticut.  Mr. Bowman remained with his 
parents in New York until he reached his majority, his youthful years being 
spent in working on the farm.  His father had entered land in DeKalb county, 
Indiana, in 1838, and gave one hundred and sixty acres of this land to his 
son, who came here the following year, spending three years, he unmarried, 
in which time he worked hard clearing the land, splitting rails, building 
fences and getting about twenty acres of his own land in condition for 
cultivation.  In 1842 he returned to his native state and there, on June 
15, 1843, he was united in marriage to Rachel Waterman, a native of Van 
Buren, New York, The same fall they came to the farm in DeKalb county, 
building a log cabin in the woods northeast of Waterloo, and there together 
they shared the joys, sorrows, hardships and privations incident to pioneer 
life. To their union were born two children, Harriett Matilda, who died on 
October 8, 1855, aged nearly eleven years and Rosa G., who is now the wife 
of Phineas D. Childs, of Fairfield township, this county.  Mrs. Bowman died 
on October 17, 1855, and on September 4, 1858, Mr. Bowman married Sarah Ann 
Smith, the daughter of Archibald and May (Thompson) Smith.  Her father, who 
was born in Scotland, was married in Liverpool to Mary Thompson, a native 
of England, and they sailed at once to America.  They were storm-driven 
south of the equator and were three months on the journey across the ocean.  
They lived a short time in New York city and then came to Stark county, 
Ohio, and finally to DeKalb county, Indiana.  To Mr. and Mrs. Bowman were 
born two children, Archie S., now of Smithfield township this county, and 
Fred C., of Waterloo.  Late in life Mr. Bowman bought a nice home in 
Waterloo, where he spent his last years.  In politics he was an ardent 
Republican, and in 1886 he was elected a member of the board of county 
commissioners at a time when the normal political majority was against his 
party, but, owing in his personal popularity and his ability, he reversed 
the majority to a plurality in his favor of two hundred and twenty-seven, 
the head of his ticket being defeated by two hundred and nineteen.  His 
official career was marked by business ability of a high order and during 
his administration much was done on the way of public improvement and 
development of the county.   As a pioneer citizen of the county and a 
progressive man in his views and attitude toward the public affairs he was 
one of the most influential factors in advancing the public interests and 
in giving prominence to this section of the state.
	Archie S. Bowman was reared on the home farm until he had attained 
his majority, his early years being spent in the arduous toil of clearing 
the land and putting it under cultivation.  He distinctly remembers when 
the cleared land was as scarce as the timbered part is now.  In the fall 
after he had attained his twenty-first year he was married to Alice Kelly, 
the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Freeman Kelly. Freeman Kelly, who is now 
deceased, was born in 1833 in Hancock county, Ohio, a son of Isaac and 
Rebecca (DeWeese) Kelly.  He was reared in his native state and at the age 
of eighteen years went to California, where he followed gold mining and 
other occupation until 1857.  He then located in the southeastern part of 
Smithfield township, DeKalb county, Indiana, where he bought one hundred 
and sixty acres of land.  In August, 1857, he married Martha J. Marvin, a 
native of Hancock county, Ohio, and the daughter of William and Mabel 
(Roberts) Marvin.  Freeman Kelly was a successful farmer and a prominent 
citizen of his locality, having served two terms as justice of the peace, 
two terms as a member of the Legislature, and in other ways working for 
the benefit of his fellow men. Fraternally, he was member of the Free and 
Accepted Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and in religion 
was a member to the Universalist church.  He was active in the support of 
the Democratic party, being an efficient and forceful campaign orator, and 
attained to a marked popularity throughout this section of the state.  His 
widow survived him and now lives on the old farm in Smithfield township 
with her son-in-law, Archie Bowman.
	Immediately after his marriage Archie Bowman moved to Cass county, 
Michigan, where he engaged in the timber business and farming.  He bought 
ninety-three acres of land there, on which he made his permanent home until 
1900, when he returned to DeKalb county, locating again on the farm where 
he was born and reared, living there a year.  He then went to the Chapman 
farm, which he rented for three years, but finally bought the Freeman Kelly 
farm of one hundred and eighty-six acres, which was well improved and up-to-
date in its appointments, and there he now resides.  He is the father of 
seven children: Clarence A., Ray, Mildred, Delbert, Mary, Ruth and Russell.  
Clarence A. married Dora Lutz, daughter of Jacob Lutz, and they have a 
daughter Thelma.  He lives on the old Bowman homestead, where the subject 
of this sketch was born.  Mildred is the wife of Arthur Grogg and lives 
two miles west of Waterloo.  Mary is the wife of Charles Bell, and lives 
in Barry county, Michigan, and has one daughter.  Mr. Bowman is a member 
of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Waterloo, which he joined while 
living in Michigan in 1882, and is an appreciative participant in its work.  
Socially, Mr. Bowman enjoys to  marked degree the confidence and regard of 
all who know him, for his life here has been controlled by proper motives 
and his actions have ever been such as to win the commendation and approval 
of his fellow citizens.

Submitted by:
Arlene Goodwin
Auburn, Indiana
Agoodwin@ctlnet.com