Person:Henry Bowyer (6)

Information on Henry Bowyer

Henry Bowyer was supposedly the father of Michael and Henry Bowyer, two settlers in early Colonial Virginia. According to Evelina Gleaves Cohen in "Family Facts and Fairy Tales", she lists the following:

Our Virginia connections stem from the Bowyers. The first member of the family known to have come to America was Edmund Bowyer, who landed at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. He was the son of Sir William Bowyer, Director in the London Company. It is doubtful if he brought his family with him, but his sons Daniel and Henry Bowyer, came from London, and settled in Virginia in 1635 on land which was afterwards within the limits of Augusta County. It is thought that two cousins, spelling the name Boyer, came to Pennsylvania at about the same time. Henry Bowyer left two sons, Michael and Henry.

Analysis: It is doubtful if Daniel and Henry Bowyer would have settled in the area that later became Augusta County, Virginia in 1635. Augusta County (which was not established until a little over 100 years later (abt. 1740) was considered "uncharted territory" at that time, and was did not have settlers until the early 1700's. In order for Daniel and Henry to have come to America in 1635, they both certainly would have been young adults at that time, travelling to to the "new world", making them born surely by at least 1610-1617. The estimated birthdate range for Michael and Henry Bowyer of Colonial Virginia is sometime in the 1690-1700 time frame, making their possible father easily in his 70's at the time his supposed sons would have been born. Either Daniel or Henry Bowyer came to Virginia many years later (and were born later than listed above) or perhaps there is a generation missing from this family, additional research is needed. Several listings on "Familysearch" have this Henry Bowyer's birthdate as 1636, but none list a source for this information.