Johannes Bauman (John Bowman)

John(?Johannes?) birth is in question and is discussed in "Origins" below. He died on 1785-05-14 in Londonderry, Lebanon, Pennsylvania, United States. Johannes and John are both hypothesizes names of our descendent as Johannes was a German name which was regularly 'Anglicized' to John upon arrival in the United States. The same was true for the German name Bauman being 'Anglicized' to English name Bowman. It is impossible to prove that one was the exact same as the other but the differences are clear in the Robert & Alice documents at the ships records link below (Bouman, Bauman,Baumann and Hannis,Johannes. Same person, 3 different interpretations of the written person.

Where Johannes(John) was born is in question and still being pursued and are discussed below

While researching, it was very interesting to me as I had to research the Mennonite migration and in particular, migration in the 1730's. A few great reads I found if you are interested are

"Apart from the World", J. Ross Baughman Big file (may want to right click and save as) but covers from stone age in Swiss/Alsace area onward and the Mennonite historical challenges
"Year of the Destroying angels", Klaus Wust: 1738 Mennonite migration, a deadly year (thankfully Johannes missed it by a year

Early Years

We currently have not direct confirmation of Johannes and his early years. He was hypothesized to be born in 1720 but I have yet found any corroborating documents. There is a record in a family bible which claims it was brought "from Switzerland by John Bowman to America in 1725 ([see Page 11]). There is questions on conflicting publishing dates on this bible. The earliest official records we have are land warrants filed in 1743 which would make him 23.

It is hypothesized that Johannes came over on the Ship Robert & Alice, arriving September, 1739. This would have made Johannes 19 at the time of arrival if this was truly him. While we have confirmation that a Johannes(Hannis) arrived on this ship (click for ships records and oath signatures), it is still not proven by any 100% direct source as of this date that this was 'our' Johannes.

On his own

Again, with his marriage estimated as 1740, there is very little information on him during this period 'on his own' other than perhaps his arrival as described above.

Family

After his marriage, it appears he began filing warrants and patent lands. Over his time it appears he had warranted and proved on 3( possibly 4) different areas of land in Lancaster county, outside present-day Palmyra, Pennsylvania. Warrants and patents have been found for his 3 major land holdings later deeded to his children. a 285 acre, a 365 acre, and a purchased 128 acre plot have been found as warranted, platted, and/or purchased. These lands were subsequently distributed as put forth in the will below. An attempt to put all the land records together into one layout to show the overall content of known holdings is available by clicking here. A brief note about the Bowman homestead is available in the About Section.

The first concrete information on Johannes and how he connects with our line is with his will dated February 13, 1884. Here he lays out distribution of land to his descendants, which includes Abraham, the 2nd in our line. Also available for Joh(a)n(nes) as an aside is the inventory of his property at the time the will was executed

Origin

There is a document found that lists a Johannes Bowman baptized in Arbon, Thurgar, Switzerland (based on baptism record found by Mel Bowman).

I am moving forward based on the hypothesis that Joh(a)n(nes) is:

not the brother or relative of a Wendal (Wynant) who arrived on the Charming Nancy in 1737 (DNA results do not match)
was the man who arrived in 1739, and this is based on a belief by knowledgeable researchers Mel Bowman and Sara (Sally) Roberts that there is some connection between this Johannes and another man on that ship (Nicholas or Christian Ellenberger) based I believe on his land, location of settlement, and subsequent marriage of grandson to "Magdalene Ellenberger "

If I move ahead with international research on Joh(a)n(nes), I believe the Alsace-Lorraine region is possible for the following reasons:

approximately 2/3 of the migrants on the Robert & Alice were found to have been from this region (See this web page)
Over half of the immigrants on the Robert & Alice came from a roughly 20 square mile area (See Map) outside Sarrebourg, France The remainder of the identified immigrants (25%) came from another small clustered area (See Map) outside Haguenau, France
Many of the early ships were based on 'recruiters' working in regions and villages to fill their ships for the return trip to America
I am hoping to gain access to the book ("Eighteenth Century Emigrants from the Northern Alsace to America", Annette K. Burgert, Camden, ME: Picton Press, 1992. 690p) where these people locations were referenced to see if there is any mention of Johannes and if there was a chance he was somehow connected to either of these groups.

One other option I am currently pursuing. It appears in the 1730's, due to the overcrowding and massive Mennonite migration influx, the Dutch government instituted a "passport" system. I am currently researching if any of the "records" from this passport system still exists in Rotterdam, which was the departure point for the Robert & Alice in 1739. Just another breadcrumb to follow.

Demographics:

Here is a breakdown of the Robert and Alice immigrant composition by "area of residence" per the Annette K. Burgert Book

Location	# Immigrants	Map Cluster
Altwiller, Alsace-Lorraine	10	1
Burbach, Alsace-Lorraine	12	1
Diedendorf, Alsace-Lorraine	4	1
Hirschland, Alsace-Lorraine	6	1
Kirrberg, Alsace-Lorraine	27	1
Niederstinzel, Alsace-Lorraine	4	1
Postroff, Alsace-Lorraine	1	1
Tieffenbach, Alsace-Lorraine	3	1
Vinstingen, Alsace-Lorraine	11	1 (today Fenetrange)
Weyer, Alsace-Lorraine	12	1
Hoffen Alsace-Lorraine	4	2
Kutzenhausen, Alsace-Lorraine	4	2
Rittershoffen, Alsace-Lorraine	4	2
No location available	50