Ann Sylvester Bowers and Jonathan Bowers - their children

a continuation from yesterday's post on Ann Sylvester Bowers birthday, my great times 6 grandmother

The Family Bowers (repost from 2018):

Jonathan Bowers (Capt.) (1673-1750) and his wife, Ann Sylvester Bowers, (1669-1745) had their first child, Anne Bowers in 1695, who died in 1696.

Second, Benanuel Bowers was born in 1699 and lived till 1752, having 3 children of his own.

Third child of the Jonathan and Ann Bowers family was Jonathan Bowers Jr (1) born 1701, died 1702.

Fourth born was Benjamin Bowers (Rev.) who had 10 children before dying in 1775.

Their fifth and the second Jonathan Bowers Jr. was born in 1708 and lived till 1775, having 2 daughters.

Sixth born was George Bowers, in 1710-1752, with one child noted.

Seventh, Elizabeth Bowers married but had no children, and she lived from 1711-1771.

Eighth Henry Bowers (Esq.) married and had 8 children with his first wife. He lived from 1716-1790 and married a second time at age 44.

Ninth, Mary Bowers was born in 1719 and married Joseph Swasey in 1744...to become my ancestors.  She died sometime after 1823, when she was in a census of Boston living in a boarding house, age 104, listed as widow of Joseph Swasey.  They had 6 children. (She became my 5 times great grandmother.)

Tenth and the last child of Jonathan and Ann was Jerathmel Bowers, born in 1720, lived until 1799 and had 4 children.

This week I've enjoyed getting to know the Bowers of Somerset.  By the time Jonathan and Ann Bowers might have counted their grandchildren (had they lived to see them all) they had at least 34.

I'm sorry to have left out the names and dates of the wives and husbands of most of these Bowers...not to mention those of the grandchildren.  But I want to check out a few more in my direct line which I don't know enough about, before going astray again to learn about cousins!

Somerset MA with Jonathan Bowers Jr. home on l, and Henry Bowers Esq. home between the masts of the Sullivan.  Of note is that Ann Sullivan Bowers was the mother of Jonathan and Henry. Perhaps the ship was named for (or owned by) her father.

Ah the Somerset Bowers (edited repost from 2014)

Alexander G. Swasey Sr.'s father was Jerathmel Bowers Swasey. That Bowers is the direction we go today...

His mother of course was a Bowers of Somerset, MA, married to Joseph Swasey (1714-1801)
She was daughter of Jonathan Bowers; he had been born in Cambridge, Charlestown, MA, but lived in Somerset, and he was one of the well to do founders of the town. 

His wife was Ann Sylvester Bowers.

Jonathan and Ann Bowers house, 616 Main St, Somerset, built 1723

And there was a quilt done of the various historic homes which includes this view of the house.

It's third down from the top, second column from right, if you can try to focus upon it.\

Part of the original Bowers property is the grave yard, established in 1708.

Mary is bottom of right hand column.


There are some wonderful original census reports of Somerset, which will give me a glimpse at how the Bowers and Swaseys were living close to each other...and perhaps I can guess at birth date for Mary.  I only know she appears in 1823 in the Boston directory as a resident of a boarding house, as widow of Joseph Swasey.