(Excerpts of the Bower Journals -- As written by his son David Bower)
"Father was born in Kline Botwar Wirtemberg, Germany, January 1, 1799, of poor parents. Two older brothers, John being the oldest, emigrated (and lost track of, as mail facilities were poor and very slow by foot them days) Karl or Carl, also started got as far as France got sick and died and buried and the brothers furnished money, that was in 1838. The next older brother, George P. Bauers, first wife name was Dora F Attinger, born in Stutgart. Wealthy ($30,000) an only daughter but her estate was kept by brother in business in Paris. She was the mother of Charles F and Loesa.
"Charles F Bowers born April 16, 1829 came to America in 1849, stopped with uncle John Glock in Pennsylvania, then came on to Illinois, found work in Freeport, being a mechanic, in a machine shop and sawmill.
"His sister, aunt Loesa, born in Stutgart December 13, 1831 came to America June 1853, stayed with us in Freeport. In November of the same year went with her brother Charles F to Syracuse, New York and Charles F came back to Illinois in 1859 Married Dorothea Moring, died June 30, 1863 at Bailyville, Illinois and buried at North Grove. Aunt Loesa died April 28, 1917, at Syracuse, New York. She had two girls and one boy, John. One girl, Caroline, got married and moved to Memphis, Tennessee, had a few children and died there. The other girl an invalid died after grown. John also married and run his fathers hotel for while, and died since. Aunt Loesa married a John Thurwachter run a hotel and bar for a number of years at Syracuse, New York.
"George Fredrick Bauer, born June 16, 1796, died March 23, 1880 in Germany.
"Stephen Gotleib Bower born January 1, 1799, died in Iowa September 18, 1886 and buried at Louisa Cemetery near Lena, Illinois. In his young days learned the weavers trade by serving an apprentice-ship of three years then traveled on foot (as that was the mode of traveling them days) from one town to another east through Europe, Austria into Turkey, Constantinople, Viana and across into Asia and Palestine. Working at his trade weaving awhile then traveling. While in that Eastern country the diet, port and wine, was to rich for him so he got sickly and seemed the Doctors could not help him. Finally heard of an old German Doctor and went to him and after examination and Questions, he said the diet is to rich, you better go back to Germany and live on your native diet, coarse black bred and sour milk and potatoes, drank slop (scalled bran instead of coffee) and get new blood in your veins and you will get well. He studying over it concluded to try it and did so and got well and after mother died and father boarded with us awhile, as we had a plenty of rooms he liked his coarse simple diet and seldom every sick or needed a Doctor. And I can say I feel better on coarse simple diet than the rich strong sweet and starchy diet and mother would gather sage tea, pepper-mint, charmornile, tansy and have us boys to get sasifras, dig burdoch, dandeline, boneset, horsement and make tea for us when ailing and give us a sweat bath so we could eat boiled beef or pork, sour-kraut and dumplings and pickle, beans and corn as we could not buy canned goods or fresh vegetables like we can now days."
[Stephen Gottlieb Bauer/Bower died September 18, 1886, at Reinbeck in Grundy County, IA at the age of 87. The town where he was born is Klein Bottwar in Wurttemberg. His wife was Maria Glock (1810-1878), who died at Lena, Stephenson County, IL. This family became Church of the Brethren ("Dunkards") after they arrived in America in 1838.
David Bower's mother, Maria Glock
"My mother, born also in Wirtemberg, small town Hoeneck (High Corner) as a corner of the town was up on a rise. Her father Jacob Glock, rather well to do, had a position as inspector or overseer of a Duke or Noblemans wine cellar and in his work of changing the old strong wines (some 20 yrs. old) the air would get so filled with gas or vapor that it would make the men dizzy to work in that cellar changing the wines from one vat or hogshead to another. Then they would scrape out the vats and collect the cream of tarter and get vats ready to fill other wine into them.
"Mother Mary Glock, born December 30, 1810, and died March 5, 1878 in Illinois. Her mothers name, Nana Schwaderer, I think. [David is wrong about this. 'Nana' (Granny) Schwaderer was an old family friend. Maria's mother was Catherine Aininger, and Maria's father was Jacob Philip Glock.] The Hoenick lay at the bank of Necker River came from (Schwartswald) Black Forest and entered in the Danube River and near Ludwicksburg being the county seat or (oberamt Stat). Mother had four brothers; Fredrick, Jacob, John and David and one sister, Dora, who died while a young woman. Jacob and David died in the town where born. Fredrick and John came to America in 1832 and located in Huntingdon County Pennsylvania...
"Mother would tell us how they had to work while going to school and in later years when wash-day would come, they would take the clothes down to River and do the washing there to save packing the water up to their homes and mother yet had the idea or habit of washing the clothes in lukewarm water was much better than to make it hot for the first washing. Kept the clothes whiter.
"And so many at the river at same time would have big jolly times and the men folks had so many shirts, from 20 up to 50 or 100 and underwear accordingly. Home spun and made after raising the flax, ratting, scutching and hackeling it. I heard a neighbor woman tell mother one day, while visiting, she worked at a place or home where they had as much linen, sheets, pillow-slips, towels, shirts, underwear, etc., as to fill an ordinary bedroom. That would make a wagon loan and the reason for having so many shirts or so much linen was so they would not need to go wash so often. Some 3 or 4 times a year. They would go help men folks on the farms or lots as the farms are mostly cut up into lots or truck patches and this much linen takes lots of care or work to keep from mould ot turning brown yellow.
"Mother had three nephews that came to this country. Lived in Pennsylvania or across the mountains from where we lived in Huntingdon County... [David tells a story about his father that he heard from a Glock cousin] "...When I told him my name he told me an incident about my father. Once on a time he was coming on horse back along the road to cross the Ridge from Germany Valley to Shyrleysburg and father thought the hill to steep for the horse so he got off and took saddle off, packed saddle and led the horse over the Ridge. This only shows how little he knew about the use or experience with horses, as he was timid to get on a horse. He may have been afraid to ride up hill.
"But he sure could wave as (his worked three years as an apprentice learning his trade) weaving them old style coverlids, red, white, green or yellow, bright colors, big checks. They are out of date now days. Some few old timers still have them as relics from former times and I had to help him many a day to thread up his gear and draw one thread in chain at a time and in his loom. He had eight or ten treadles and did not need to look if his feet hit the right treadle while weaving and I would fill the spools or quills as the case might be with the filling for his schuttle for the filling.
"Yet when the Illinois Railroad came through our country and the little towns came and stores kept ready made clothing mother quit at spinning and father also stopped at his weaving, asa we could buy our clothing. Us boys were pretty well grown up and glad to get a change and do away with the home spun and butternut cloth. And the change came none to soon as we wanted to go into society with other young folks and wanted to dress like them.
"About this time, our neighbor, just above us, John Smith a Canadian and M.E. Preacher, organized a Union Sunday School and we attended it for a few years. Then he moved away and another neighbor, J. D. Fowler, a Yankee from Vermont, a free man (M. E.) and his second wife, organized the same Sunday School in our old Louisa School house for a few years this Union S.S. was large in attendance. Members of our church came from Pennsylvania, settled mostly in west part of Chelsea District and Germans came and settled north of us in the timbered country and Bro. Guenther and family came as also Bro. Paul Wetzell and family from Lee County, Illinois and the church organized in 1859 and the old Brick Church built in 1866, with Milton Phillips as Superintendddent then some few members were dissatisfied with Sunday School in our church so we were told to move it to the School house a block away and for a time (or a year or two) until the Annual Conference passed its decision to allow Sunday School to be held in our Churches so we moved it back to the church and had a good strong attendance. The Church was growing until the Adversary sowed seeds of discord among the members and principally among the officials or leaders as we had some German members with Bros. E. Eby and Benjamin Kepner and Issac Myers.
"For a while the services were held alternatly then the Sunday School being in English the same element got stronger and the German weaker until the divide or division when the old order brothers pulled off. On the other side the Progressives organized churches of their own which was hard on the Waddams Grove Church, weakened it so it never got back to what it was before the divide. This shows what taking sides will do and now the old brick church is standing idle save for a funeral occasionally, when no other convenient. Found out lately that the old church has been sold and torn down.
"The last time I was there to have a marker put up at parents graves the folks came in through the basement up inside stairway and out the same way. Did not use the front doors or stairways..."
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As I Remember It" Plus other family connections - website of Philip H. Pitzer |
