In February 1988, my father, E.
Stanley Bowers, Jr., then
80,
identified the members of his family shown in this photograph.
He estimated the portrait date as 1906.
Front row, left to right: Clara
(Bowers) Sines, b.1868 - d.1935*
Elizabeth
Hosfeld Bowers, my dad's grandmother, d.1912*
John
L. Bowers, my dad's grandfather, b.1840 - d.1910*; Agnes
(Bowers) Wall, b.1866 - d.1949
Back row, left to right: Charles
Bowers, b.1884 - d.1955; J.
Harry Bowers, b.1873 - d.1929
Frank
E. Bowers, b.1878
- d.1950; Albert
Bowers, b.1875 - d.1945*
E.
Stanley Bowers, b.1880
- d.1952; William
Bowers, b.1870
- d.1940*
Death dates followed by an
asterisk (*) are approximate.
Family Facts
The Bowers family arrived in the United States from Wittenberg,
Germany in 1751.
Our roots in Philadelphia predate the Civil War, a conflict in which
John L. Bowers was wounded.
An 1850 census indicates that William and Agnes Bowers, 44 and 43
respectively,
lived with their eight children, including my great-grandfather, John
L. Bowers,
in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia.
William was identified as a native of Pennsylvania and was listed as a
"coal dealer."
My dad, E. Stanley
Bowers, Jr., was born in 1907 in Brooklyn during his
father's two-year tenure
as head of Continental Mills' New York office.
He succeeded his father as co-principal of the mill, a position he held
until it was sold in the early 1960's.
My dad died in Ocean City, NJ on Tuesday, 5/26/92, the day after
Memorial Day.
My mother, Marjorie Bowers, died on Friday, 12/5/03, a month shy of her
94th birthday.
Family Occupations
John was a Philadelphia City Tax Officer
Harry and Frank: Wall & Ochs, Opticians (Frank later co-founded
Doyle & Bowers)
Stanley and Charles: Continental Mills (Stanley was a co-principal)
William and Albert: Phosphor & Bronze (metal fabricators)
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