FOREWORD

James Samuel Page Bowler may have written most of his autobiography in the early 1920’s. Erma Bowler (Bracken), granddaughter, typed some of the biography in the summer of 1922 from the dictation of the author.

Following J. S. P.’s passing in 1932 Francis Joseph Bowler, son, became heir to a trunk of his possessions which contained a box of biographical materials. Years later, Antone Reed Bowler, grandson, collected the biographical materials with perhaps the idea of printing them up. He gave them to his parents, Francis Joseph and Anna Holt Bowler. They gave the materials to their daughter, Erma Bowler Bracken, in December, 1958. In January, 1960, Gary Bowler Hafen, great grandson, and his wife, Monta Woods Hafen, obtained the materials from Erma. She stated at this time that the portion she had typed in the summer of 1922 was missing.

The materials contained handwritten pages in J. S. P.’s own handwriting plus typed pages. The first four chapters of his autobiography were in his original handwriting -- written with a pencil containing indelible lead. Many type written pages were also his own work. In addition to his autobiography there was a discourse on circumstances and happenings in the early days of the church written in his own hand. Minutes of a J. S. P. Bowler family reunion held January 2, 1909, in Gunlock, Utah, were also among the materials. These minutes had been written on Utah State League of Postmasters stationery.

After typing the biography on alcohol duplicating masters and producing 50 copies of it Gary and and Monta gave the materials back to Erma April 3, 1960. Erma gave the materials back to her parents, the F. J. Bowlers. It is thought that they may have given the materials to someone else, perhaps from another branch of the family.

An additional 50 copies of this autobiography were produced from the original duplicating masters in August, 1966.

This third printing, utilizing a copy of the 1960 printing for the manuscript, was completed in 1998. To this publication we have added pictures, poetry written by J. S. P. and an appendix containing materials of interest. We have corrected three dates J. S. P. had written in error which were not corrected in the 1960 printing. Two of these were the dates of birth for his parents listed in the introduction. The third was for the month and day of birth of his sister, Priscilla, included in chapter II. He had written the month and day of birth of his half brother, George. We have made no other changes to his autobiography.

It was always our intention to reproduce this autobiography in greater quantity with higher quality print. We regret waiting so long to do this.

In 1978 Joseph Page Leavitt, grandson, made some revisions to the 1960 edition and re-printed it. These included the addition of dates and explanations to various parts of the biography as well as revising paragraphing and some sentence structure. A copy of his note regarding these revisions is included in the appendix.

We have listed the names of the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of James Samuel Page Bowler and Matilda Hill following the appendix. We hope this may aid later generation descendants to more easily trace their line of descent from these noble pioneers.

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NOTES RELATED TO THIS PUBLICATION

We felt that knowing the source of biographical information and circumstances surrounding it might be important to many readers. With this in mind, we have added these notes of explanation.

Many visits were conducted with Erma Bowler Bracken, granddaughter, during 1997 and 1998 to review James Samuel Page Bowler family materials. These included letters and other written and printed materials and documents which give additional information and insight about him. Erma had made copies of most of the letters from originals her sister, Anna Fern Bowler Lytle, granddaughter, had in her possession. Entries from the journal of Orson Huntsman, a resident of Hebron, regarding the J. S. P. Bowler family being there were among the materials. We reviewed the Hebron Ward Record dated 1872-1897. J. S. P. himself recorded a portion of the record while he was Ward Clerk. We have included copies of some of these materials in an appendix. Erma also had much of the poetry written by J. S. P. which we added to his biography. We added the poem, Memory Recalls, contributed by Wilverna Pulsipher Leavitt, great granddaughter. Susanne White Hagberg, great, great granddaughter to J. S. P. Bowler (daughter of Hazel Pulsipher White) contributed an additional six poems and seven letters which are included.

Copies of two badly deteriorated sheets of paper in J. S. P.’s handwriting were in Erma’s possession. Both sheets had the heading, “Palace to Post Office,” with the statement: Prof. Langhorn tells us that no species of writing is more worthy of cultivation than biography. One sheet had 1845-1921 under the heading and the following writing: Samuel Page - Merchant - London, England, married Mary Wanmer-Kent, England, no children of their own. William Taylor-Waterloo veteran-married Ann Wanmer-Kent, England, one child-Ann Elizabeth Taylor born in Preston, England, married John Bowler-Long Whatton, England. I am indebted to the above named persons for facts indelibley impressed upon my mind in early childhood. Lost much of my diary being lost while traveling exact dates are not here given. The other sheet had several unreadable words with ----land and Gunlock, Utah, under the heading. Also the following writing: With this axiom in view it is my aim to portray the many changing scenes by sea and land from Sept. 4th, 1845, to Sept. 4th, 1922.

J. S. P.’ s statement that he lost much of his diary while traveling and so did not give exact dates coupled with the fact that he would have turned 77 years of age in September, 1922, gives reason for additional appreciation for the biography he wrote.

A few original handwritten pages by J. S. P. have surfaced in recent years. They were written on half sheets of paper and tied together with a small wire. Most of the pages (approximately 16) were torn out and only 9 were left. While their origin is not known they may have been among materials belonging to my mother, Emma Estella Bowler Hafen. Erma Bowler Bracken said that the handwriting was definitely J. S. P.’s. They tell of several of the same events included in chapters II and III of his autobiography. Copies of these handwritten pages are included in the appendix. A typed copy with reference to the events in chapters II and III has been placed at the end of chapter III as a supplement.

It is also interesting to note in these handwritten pages that J. S. P. gives the erroneous birthdate of November 19, 1819, for his father which is the exact same error he made in the introduction to his autobiography. (The correct birthdate according to records is 15 November 1820).

Gary Bowler Hafen, great grandson.
 

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PREFACE
 

James Samuel Page Bowler was born in Leicester, England, September 4, 1845, to John Bowler and Ann Elizabeth Taylor. He married Matilda Hill, born November 19, 1841, to Joseph Hill and Mary Hensworth.

James S. P. was the second of four children born to John Bowler and Ann Elizabeth Taylor. The children were: Mary Ann, James S. P., John and Priscilla. Their mother, Ann Elizabeth Taylor, died when J. S. P. was barely six years old. Their father married Mary Moore approximately two years later. The youngest sister, Priscilla, died from measles when J. S. P. was about eight and a half years old. J. S. P. was about fourteen and a half years old when his half brother, George, was born. His step mother, Mary Moore, died when he was approximately sixteen and a half years old.

Matilda was the sixth of nine children born to Joseph Hill and Mary Hensworth. The children were: Austin, John, Joseph, Mary, Elizabeth, Matilda, Thomas, Henry and Ann. Mr. and Mrs. Hill were highly respected members of the Wesleyan Church, Mr. Hill being a Preacher and Home Missionary. After Mary Hensworth died Joseph Hill married again. A son, Rowland, was born to this union

J. S. P.’ s grandparents had joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints so his family were members. Matilda was not baptized for several years after coming into the family. People who joined this new religion were not without some persecution by friends and family.

J. S. P. and Matilda decided to heed the call to come to “Zion.” They immigrated to Hebron, Utah. departing Liverpool, England, October 23, 1880. J. S. P.’s sister, Mary Ann, and children and his brother, John, had immigrated prior to this; Mary Ann to St. George, Utah, and John to New York. J.S.P.’s half brother, George, also immigrated to New York. J. S. P. had promised Elder Zera P. Terry, missionary to England, that they would go to Hebron. He had encouraged them to come to Hebron because they needed a shoe maker and music teacher. J. S. P. was thirty-five years old and Matilda turned thirty-nine years of age the month following their departure. They brought their eight living children with them to the new country. One child, James Samuel, had passed away ten years earlier at the age of three years. The children making the voyage were: Harry Hill, Ann Elizabeth, John Henry, Kate, Mary Ann, Florence Matilda, Walter Wallace and Francis Joseph. Their youngest child, George Hebron, was born in Hebron, Utah, a few months after the family arrived.

J. S. P. and Matilda had only a week to dispose of all their belongings from their six-room well­furnished house prior to sailing for America. The sparsely settled country of southern Utah in the 1880’s was in sharp contrast to the comfortable home and surroundings of the cities they had left in England. Matilda passed away approximately twenty years after arrival in Utah. A little over a year later J. S. P. married Sarah Canfield, a widow with two children at home; Edna and David.
 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction
Chapter I My Birth
Chapter II
Chapter III
Supplement to Chapters II and III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Discourse Chapter 1
Discourse Chapter 2
Discourse Chapter 3
Book of Poems
Appendix

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