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Bowie family. Bowie Family papers, 1748-1956.

Title: Bowie Family papers.

The Bowie Family papers contain genealogical information and personal papers from one of Maryland's oldest and most prominent families. In addition to offering insights into family life in colonial and antebellum Maryland, the manuscripts in this collection contain important information about plantation life and the people who were enslaved on the family plantation in the decades preceding the American Civil War. The Bowie family had a large plantation, Fairview Plantation, starting around 1810 and during this time there are records of the family enslaving many individuals. The bulk of the Bowie Family papers consist of genealogical information, primarily documenting the Bowie, Davis, Hall, and Pottinger families. Included in the collection are family trees, newspaper clippings, wills, and correspondence concerning family history. In addition to the genealogical information, the collection includes letters concerning the distribution of Bowie family estates, a Civil War letter written by W. W. W. Bowie discussing the confiscation of sheep and enslaved people, and William D. Bowie's farm account ledger, which includes information on the purchase of human beings that the family enslaved and plantation management. Although it is unclear when the collection was assembled, the newspaper clippings included suggest that it was compiled between 1932 and 1956. There are few clues concerning who assembled the material, but the fact that there are several inquiries concerning family history addressed to Washington Bowie, Jr., suggests that he may have played an important role in reconstructing the family's history. Included with the clippings is an undated photograph of a Jonas Johnson, but his connection to the Bowie family is unknown. The Bowie Family papers cover the period from 1748 to 1956. The earliest manuscript material in the collection consists of Robert Pottonger's will, dated 1748, and the latest of these materials is a newspaper clipping concerning the conversion of the Glenview Estate to a civic center in Rockville, dated 1956. Many of the wills, legal documents, and personal papers included in the collection date from the antebellum decades. The family trees included in the collection are undated.

ArchivalResource: 0.50 Linear Feet

http://hdl.handle.net/1903.1/1321 View