Bowie Family

John Bowie, Sr., the first member of this branch of the Bowie family to emigrate to North America, left Scotland around 1705 at the invitation of his uncle, John Smith, who preceded him to North America and established a plantation on the Patuxent River near Nottingham, Maryland. John Bowie, Sr., became the founder of an illustrious Maryland family that included several prominent lawyers, merchants, politicians, Revolutionary patriots, and military officers. Members of the Bowie family married into other leading families, including the Davis, Hall, and Pottinger families.

The Bowie family's economic, social, and political prominence increased during the Revolutionary and Early Federal periods. Allen Bowie, Jr., of Frederick and Montgomery counties served as a representative to the Maryland Convention that elected representatives to the Continental Congress. During the Revolution, he held numerous positions and served as one of Montgomery County's commissioners. In 1799, Allen Bowie's son, Washington Bowie, established the Alexandria merchant firm of Bowie and Kurtz, which soon gained an outstanding national and international reputation. In 1810, the Annapolis Gazette praised Colonel Bowie for his business acumen and devotion to public service, calling him the city's "merchant prince."

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