I am afraid I don't know anything about this William Bowles. The Jeremiah Bowles, born 1816, was born in Franklin County, and then moved over to Putnam Co, VA/WV by the 1850 census. With the name of Jeremiah, I beleive it's a strong possibility that this elder Jeremiah, who md Elizabeth Martin was his father. These Franklin County Bowles puzzle me. I see these are listed by page number, so does this give us a clue as to how they are grouped? We have page 3, 5 and 6, and with Jeremiah, Ann, Reuben and William being on the same page, I do wonder if or how they could be connected. ----- Original Message ----- From: <leathel@sbcglobal.net> To: <BOWLES-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, April 29, 2005 10:54 AM Subject: Bowles, 1820 Franklin County VA Census > 1820 Franklin County VA Census > page 3 > Jeremiah Bowles - 200010-30110 > Ann Bowles - 100000-21010 > Reuben Bowles - 000010-00010 > William Bowles - 100100-00010 > page 5 > Joseph Bowles - 210010-31110 > William Bowles - 120101-11001 > page 6 > George Bowles Jr. - 000010-00110 > George Bowles Sr. - 000001-00001 > > We know that George Bowles Sr is George Bowles and Betsy Arthur. George > had died by 1824 when Betsy age 88 filed for a pension. We know Reuben > Bowles was a son of George and Betsy and probable George Jr. We also know > that Jeremiah Bowles listed above is not Jeremiah Bowles born 1816. Does > anyone know who this William Bowles, page 5, about the same age as George > Bowles Sr is? > Leathel, >

The 1820 Franklin Co VA census was recorded in semi-alphabetical order, that is all the surnames beginning with B were grouped together. This is unfortunate for us in that it does not tell us exactly who lived near whom. We can however glean some information from what is available. On page 3, Jeremiah is the 5th name listed, and Ann is the 7th name. Between them is Susannah Bird. Then further down the page, the 21st name is Reuben Bowles followed immediately by William Bowles. On page 5, Joseph Bowles is listed 12th; William is 37th. On page 6, George Jr. is 4th; George Sr. is 10th. It is my GUESS that the census recorder had before him the original lists and he went through them, collecting and listing all the individuals whose surname began with B. Thus, while we can't be certain exactly how close together different ones lived, we can get a feel for it. I suspect that Jeremiah and Ann are related; perhaps, given her age, that she was the widow of his brother - how's that for a guess! Reuben and William on page 3 are probably related, since they are listed together. Reuben is 26-44, William is 18-25. I don't know their actual ages, but if Reuben were in his forties and William in his early 20's, they could be father and son. Remember that I am guessing here. The Joseph and William on page 5 may be related, but the distance between their names keeps us from making that guess at this point. Feel free to tell me how dumb my guesses are! [grin] Charlie >>1820 Franklin County VA Census >>page 3 >>Jeremiah Bowles - 200010-30110 >>Ann Bowles - 100000-21010 >>Reuben Bowles - 000010-00010 >>William Bowles - 100100-00010 >>page 5 >>Joseph Bowles - 210010-31110 >>William Bowles - 120101-11001 >>page 6 >>George Bowles Jr. - 000010-00110 >>George Bowles Sr. - 000001-00001