Orlando Milo Bowman
Orlando represents the most traveled and storied representative of our family in my opinion. He represents the furthest west expansion of the Bowman family up to the time and was not surpassed in moving west until almost a century later with Craig Bowman's arrival in Grand Junction, Colorado in the 1970's. This father-less child became a teacher and methodist minister who spread the Word to the western reaches of Colorado.
Early Years
Born in Brighton, Iowa on 4/17/1855, Orlando was left fatherless with the death of his father Jacob Z. during the Civil War in 1862. An 1870 Census lists him as a farm hand on the farm, without the rest of his family, of his grandfather-in-law Issac Ault's farm in Wayne County, Ohio after his father's land was sold for debts.
On his own
It appears that after this he became interested in and became a teacher, as in "History of Nemaha County, Kansas", he is listed as a principal of the Centralia School, rebuilt after a cyclone in 1882. An 1885 Kansas census supports his living in Seneca, Kansas and a 1891 Annual Catalog of ... State Normal Schools, Emporia, Kansas" lists him as the superintendent as well. In the early 1890's Orlando also branched out into the occupation of Methodist Minister. He is listed in the 1890 Mennointe Minutes as "on-trial minister" in Vermillion, Kansas.
Family
Orlando Milo (often referred to as OM) was first married to Clara Fryhoffer on 2/21/1892 (according to family bible entry in his granddaughter-in law's handwriting). a 1900 census identifies them both in Topeka City, Kansas. At this same time, he became it appears the most traveled member of the family with Mennonite minister assignments throughout Kansas and Colorado. His next 30 years were spent in over 20 locations from Olatha, Kansas as far west a Cedaridge, Colorado. The best pictures I could create of his "Teacher/Minister" and Later Ministry" locations are included here. It must have been a mobile life living with Orlando with these traveling years.
Orlando's first wife passed on 12/31/1910 and left orlando with 4 children between 17 and 10 years old. 8 years later, in 1918, Orlando married again to Ada McDowell inIowa as recorded by Iowa Marriage records. He spent the rest of his life in or around Denver Colorado. Orlando died August 5, 1926 in Crawford pennsylvania of "cronic endocarditis" and is buried in Spring Cemetary, Springboro, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, USA
Miscellaneous Notes
Orlando spent may years as a Methodist minister. In the Library of Congress, there is a 1900 glass plate image of OM and fellow methodist ministers taken during the 1900 Methodist annual convention. Some day may get there to get a full size copy but a this is whats available online
The Travels of OM Bowman in map form
