Moving Houses was a Common Practice in early Chicago.

In contrast to the present, when housing structures are seldom moved, Chicagoans in the 1830s, 40s, and 50s took advantage of the mobility of balloon frame structures without infrastructure connections.

Balloon Frame Construction. No Foundation or Anchored to the Ground. 

New arrivals could buy homes and then move them to the desired location. Chester and Simmeon Tupper, Chicago's first house moving company, regularly moved structures on rollers down the middle of Chicago's early streets.

Only specific kinds of buildings were easily moved. Shanties, log cabins, and structures made of brick or stone all posed particular problems for house movers. Balloon frame houses had none of these disadvantages. They were light, of flexible construction, and their frames were not sunk into the ground.

House moving was such a nuisance by 1846 that a group of Chicagoan's asked that the city council not permit more than one building to stand in the streets of any block at the same time, or permit anyone building to stand in the streets for more than three days. In 1855 Daniel Elston unsuccessfully petitioned the city council for permission to move a house across the Chicago River on the Kinzie Street Bridge.

There are several key reasons why house moving was so popular during these years. Early industrialization, which provided factory-made nails, and large-scale milling operations near Chicago facilitated house moving by making balloon frame construction possible. The lack of paved streets and the absence of utilities through the 1840s also facilitated house-moving.

The largest structures were cut from their utilities, then jacked up from their original foundations, placed on greased skids resembling railroad tracks, and then pushed down the street by horizontal jacks at a slow steady pace.

The house-moving industry mushroomed after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. During the rebuilding. the practice became entangled in the argument over whether Chicago should enact a total ban on any wooden house construction or relocation within designated "fire limits." The city council finally enacted a compromise ordinance that allowed the relocation of wooden structures in all but a few districts, a great victory for the working class, and for house movers.

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After the Chicago Fire of 1871, the city was in ruins. Nearly 100,000 people lost their homes. Tens of thousands of people left the city; others were taken in by friends. 

The fire had struck in early October, and winter was coming. It this emergency situation, temporary house kits – plans and materials – made of wood, were provided by the Chicago Relief and Aid Society so people could quickly build their own shelter cottages (aka fire relief shelters and fire relief cottages), as they were called. 

They came in two sizes; both were tiny, small ($100), and smaller ($75). The kits contained pre-cut lumber, windows, a door, a chimney, and a flexible room partition offering a modicum of privacy. The 12-by-16 foot (192 sq ft) model was for those with families of three or fewer; the 16-by-20 foot (320 sq ft) version was for everyone else.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

The Origin and Meaning of the Name Chicago (Indian: Chicagoua).

The name Chicago is derived from the local Indian word Chicagoua (French: Chicagou & Chiquagoux) for the native garlic plant (not onion) Allium tricoccum. This garlic (in French: ail sauvage) grew in abundance on the south end of Lake Michigan on the wooded banks of the extensive river system, which bore the same name, Chicagoua. Father Gravier, a thorough student of the local Miami Indian language, introduced the spelling chicagoua, or chicagou, in the 1690s, attempting to express the inflection that the Indians gave to the last syllable of the word. 

Allium Tricoccum – commonly known as ramps but also called wild leek, spring onion, or ramson.

The French, who began arriving here in 1673, were probably confused by the Indian use of this name for several rivers. They usually wrote it as Chicagou. Gradually other names were given to the streams composing this system: Des Plaines, Saganashkee (Sag), Calumet (Grand and Little), Hickory Creek, Guillory (for the north branch of the present Chicago River), and Chicago or Portage River (for the south branch). Students of early Chicago history likewise tend to get confused, unaware of these name changes, but early French maps and narratives, when carefully interpreted, make it possible to discover who and what was where and when. 

As a name for a place as distinct from a river, Chicagou appears first in Chicagoumeman, the native name for the mouth of the present Chicago River, where Fort Dearborn was built in 1803. As a name for a place where people lived, the simple Chicagou was first used by the French about 1685 for a Jesuit mission and French army post at the site of Marquette's 1675 camp along the south branch. This interpretation and the etymology of the name Chicago derive largely from the memoirs of Henri Joutel, the soldier-naturalist associate of René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (or: René-Robert de La Salle), on his fatal last journey, 1684-1687, to Texas. Joutel spent nearly three weeks in the Chicagou area in 1687-88, and one of his first investigations was into the origin of this name which he had heard from La Salle and many others. His detailed description of the plant, its "ail Sauvage" taste, and its differences from the native onion and its maple forest habitat point unambiguously to Allium Tricoccum. 

English accounts tracing the name to a "wild onion" date from after 1800, when different groups of Indians, mainly Potawatomi, had displaced the original Miami. In the Potawatomi language, Chicago meant both the native garlic and the wild onion plants. 

The downtown Chicago or Fort Dearborn area, exposed to wind, weather, and passing enemies, was not where the local Miami and other people lived when Frenchmen, led by Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette, S.J., began arriving in 1673. In early 1675 Marquette found a group of Illinois merely camped there before setting out for the Green Bay area. The local population's villages were scattered along rivers and streams in more sheltered environments. Archaeologists have identified dozens of places in the greater Chicago area where they lived; a few were vaguely recorded by the early French. 

Early French forts, camps and settlements, and one or two British army camps are also rather vaguely recorded and can only be approximately located by examination of many obscure pre-1800 maps and documents.

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The following represents an attempt to piece together all available clues and put these locations and people in a time series. In so doing, it will be necessary to correct some longstanding misconceptions, such as the customary labeling of Jean Baptiste Pointe de Sable ("Pointe" is the proper French spelling, but the final 'e' is almost always dropped in documents. The 'du' of Pointe du Sable is a misnomer (a wrong or inaccurate name or designation). It's an American corruption of 'de' as pronounced in French. "Du Sable" first appears long after his death in 1818.) as Chicago's first permanent resident. 

This account, however, ends with the important figure of Pointe de Sable, because with him begins an era for which historical data are available in much greater abundance.

• Louis Jolliet, Jacques Marquette, and five others; 1673 camp at the western end of portage des chênes, marked by the Chicago Portage Historical site. Marquette's party also camped here in March 1675. 

• Louis Jolliet and associates, 1673-1675; two 1674 maps prepared under Jolliet's direction allude to the explorations made during this period. Jolliet's detailed rendering of the river system in the Chicago area and of the lower St. Joseph River indicates intimate knowledge of the terrain. During this time period, there were probably two building sites on the west bank of the Des Plaines (then Chicagou). One was probably at the mouth of the Tukoquenone (Du Page) River, the other opposite the mouth of Hickory Creek at Mont Jolliet in present Joliet. This distinctive alluvial mound, which the Indians called Missouratenoui (the place where pirogues were dragged or portaged), was a prominent landmark for native and French travelers, as it was at the crossing of the major east-west Sauk trail. Marquette, in early 1675 met two of Jolliet's associates who were living and trading in this area: Pierre Moreau (La Taupine) and Jean Roussel or Rousseliere, the unnamed "surgeon" in Marquette's journal. 

• Jacques Marquette, S.J.; 1674-75. He and his two companions, the experienced voyageurs Jacques Largillier and Pierre Porteret, camped briefly near the mouth of the Chicago River and in mid-January, moved to a site on the south branch, probably selected as a result of 1673-74 explorations in the employ of La Salle, in which Largillier may have taken place. 

• Claude Allouez, S.J.; 1677. He visited for several days at a native village somewhere along the Des Plaines en route to the great Kaskaskia village opposite Starved Rock. 

• La Salles employees; 1677-79. Two trading camps, probably both on Hickory Creek, perhaps near New Lenox. The surgeon Jean Roussel, who worked for La Salle in 1669 and again in 1677-80, may have been in both groups because he knew the area from his 1673-75 experience. Assuming the same for Michel Accault (Aco) would explain the latter's detailed knowledge of native traders and of their territories and languages, as early as 1679-80. The 1677 trip produced the buffalo pelts that La Salle showed to Louis XIV in France the following winter. In 1678 the king gave La Salle control over the Illinois country and the rights to trade in buffalo, which were very abundant southward from Mont Jolliet and Hickory Creek. The 1678-79 trip produced a large number of beaver pelts that were taken to present Door County, Wisconsin, and loaded on the Griffon, which soon sank with great loss to La Salles creditors. La Salle seems to have traveled along Hickory Creek twice in 1680, on a route he had not previously seen. On his second trip, he found a trace of an earlier European presence, a bit of sawed wood. 

• La Salle and party, January 1682. Camp along the west bank of the Des Plaines, en route to the mouth of the Mississippi River, probably at Mont Jolliet, opposite the mouth of what the chaplain, Father Zénobe Membré, called the Chicagou (Hickory Creek). After leaving the St. Joseph River, they were waiting for a party of hunters who had separated from the main group. [Hickory Creek flows west from Skunk Grove in eastern Frankfort Township. Chicagoua is the Miami and Illinois word for a skunk.] 

• La Salle's fort, 1683. Probably at the New Lenox site. In 1994 a team led by archaeologist Rochelle Lurie unearthed a rectangular feature of apparently European origin in the midst of an extensive Indian settlement. La Salle, in a letter from here (at the "portage de Chicagoua"), described it as being 30 leagues, about 72 miles, from his newly completed Fort St. Louis on Starved Rock and near a trail (Sauk) from the east. The actual river distance measured on the 1822 U.S. Government surveys is about 32 or 33 leagues. The west end of the portage des chênes, the only portage route seriously studied by historians in three centuries, was about ten leagues farther to the north, a route La Salle disliked. 

• Jesuit mission and French army post, c.1685-86. Probably on the site of Marquette's 1675 camp, about where Damen Avenue crosses the south branch of the Chicago River. Referred to by Joutel, who described the entire area and the maple forest where he found the native garlic, but not the mission and post, which had probably been mostly destroyed by the Iroquois in July 1686. This site is probably the same one farmed from 1809-1812 by James Leigh (often erroneously called Charles Lee), a retired sergeant of the Fort Dearborn garrison. In an 1811 letter to his commander-in-chief Col. Jacob Kingsbury, Leigh mentioned the maple-basswood forest here, a typical habitat of the native garlic, Allium tricoccum. 

• French fort, commanded by Lt. Nicolas d'Ailleboust, sieur de Mantet, 1693-96. Probably at the mouth of the Grand Calumet River, then near present Gary, Indiana. The river is marked R. de Chicagou on the "Louvigny" map, which Mantet helped prepare in 1697. Mantet had been ordered to the region to quell Indian unrest in the St. Joseph River area. He and the garrison evacuated this post in May or June of 1696, pursuant to royal orders. This fort, which was erroneously placed in the Fort Dearborn area by the Treaty of Greenville, 1795, may be the same as the Petit Fort or "Little Fort" of various British and American accounts of 1779-c.1803 and the mythical progenitor of the later settlement at Waukegan. 

• Jesuit Mission of the Guardian Angel, 1696-c.1702. Site of the Merchandise Mart. Headed by Father Pierre-François Pinet. Two large Miami villages were nearby. 

• The trading post of Henri de Tonti, Accault and La Forêt, managed by Pierre de Liette, Tonti's cousin, 1697-c.1702. Near the site of today's Tribune Tower. It was probably discontinued by the establishment of Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit by Cadillac. 

• Trading post owned by Simon Guillory of Michilimackinac, manager not known; c.1716-[?]. Opposite Merchandise Mart on the west bank of the north branch of the Chicago River, which was still called Guillory River in 1824 and 1830. Gurdon Hubbard described the site as it appeared in 1818, sometime after it had been vacated by French traders forced out of business by the American Fur Company. Guillory's father, also Guillory, was a trader in the Great Lakes as early as 1683. 

• British trading post, 1782-83. Probably that of Jean Baptiste Gaffé, somewhere along the Chicago River. This may have been where Mme Rocheblave, wife of a British commandant, took refuge with their children on her way to Quebec after he was arrested at Fort de Chartres and imprisoned at Williamsburg and New York. Her sister was the widow of Prisque Pagé, a prominent Kaskaskia merchant and mill owner whose family name became attached to the Du Page River and the village, now called Channahon at its mouth. 

• Farm of Jean Baptiste Pointe de Sable, c.1784-1800. Near the site of Tribune Tower, later 'owned' by John Kinzie.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Statue of Diana, Goddess of the Hunt, erected in front of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1909.

The Statue of Diana the Hunter was erected in front of the Art Institute on Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. The statue was displayed in front of the entrance to the museum for the Augustus Saint-Gaudens Memorial Exhibition held from August 3 through November 11, 1909. Where are the Lions?

THE HISTORY OF THE LIONS AT THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO
The two bronze lions that flank the Michigan Avenue entrance were made for the Art Institute's opening at its current location in 1893. They were a gift from Mrs. Henry Field, sister-in-law to Marshall Field. They have unofficial "names," given to them by their sculptor, Edward Kemeys, that are more like designations. You'll notice that the lions are not identical and thus are named for their poses: The south lion is "Standing in an Attitude of Defiance," while the north lion is "On the Prowl."

The lions have only been moved twice. Michigan Avenue was widened in 1909, and the statues were pushed 12 feet closer to the museum. In 2000, the lion, known as "standing in an attitude of defiance," was moved to make room for a reconstruction project that included renovating the foundation under the lions' pedestal and the museum's front staircase. It was gone for only six months.

DIANA GODDESS OF THE HUNT HISTORY
Diana was commissioned by architect Stanford White as a weather vane for the tower of Madison Square Garden, a theater-and-dining complex at 26th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan. He talked his friend Augustus Saint-Gaudens into creating it at no charge and picked up the cost of materials. Model Julia "Dudie" Baird posed for the body of the statue. Its face is that of Davida Johnson Clark, Saint-Gauden's long-time model and mother of his illegitimate son Louis.

The first version – built by the W. H. Mullins Manufacturing Company in Salem, Ohio – was 18 ft tall and weighed 1,800 lbs. Saint-Gaudens' design specified that the figure appears to delicately balance on its left toe atop a ball. However, the Ohio metal shop could not pass the rotating rod through the toe, so the design was altered, and the figure poised (less gracefully) on its heel instead.

Diana was unveiled atop Madison Square Garden's tower on September 29, 1891. The 304-foot building had been completed a year earlier and was the second-tallest in New York City. But the addition of the statue made it the city's tallest, by 13 feet. The figure's billowing copper foulard (scarf) was intended to catch the wind, but the statue did not rotate smoothly because of its weight. Diana's nudity offended moral crusader Anthony Comstock and his New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. To placate Comstock and to increase the likelihood of its catching the wind, Saint-Gaudens draped the figure in cloth, but the fabric blew away.

Soon after installation, White and Saint-Gaudens concluded that the figure was too large for the building and decided to create a smaller, lighter replacement. Following less than a year atop the tower, the statue was removed and shipped to Chicago to be exhibited at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. New Yorker W. T. Henderson wrote a tongue-in-cheek poetic tribute – "Diana Off the Tower" – a play on the statue's name and situation.

Saint-Gaudens was head of the Chicago 1893 World's Colombian Exposition's sculpture committee. His initial plan had been to place "Diana" atop the Women's Pavilion, but the city's Women's Christian Temperance Union protested and insisted that the controversial nude figure be clothed. Instead, it was placed atop the Agricultural Building.

The catalog Augustus Saint-Gaudens: American Sculptor of the Gilded Age contains this information on page 81:

"The original eighteen-foot figure was reused as the finial on the dome of McKim, Mead, and White's Agriculture Building at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 but was subsequently lost in the fire that destroyed the empty exposition buildings in June 1894." The lower half of the statue was destroyed; the upper half survived the fire but was later lost or discarded.

The Art Institute of Chicago was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Thank you, Nathaniel Park, Director, Art Institute of Chicago Archives, for verifying my article and providing nuance to the story.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

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NOTE: 

Augustus Saint-Gaudens designed the official bronze medallion given to the top 20 percent of all "contests" at the 1893 World's Colombian Exposition. (No Gold, silver, or any type of Ribbons, blue or otherwise, were officially given to contestants at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.) source 

 

Saint-Gaudens' design for the reverse of this medal was not used, despite the sculptor's eventual willingness to modify it. It was rejected by the United States Senate Quadro-Centennial Committee because the premature circulation of a photograph of the new design fostered criticism of the youth's nudity. Saint-Gaudens attempted various modifications but ultimately refused to alter his design and solicited public support for his cause. The art world supported him against the committee's action but to no avail. Saint-Gaudens made a model which eliminated the figure altogether, retaining only the inscription. This last model was adopted by Mint engraver Charles F. Barber for the final design. Saint-Gaudens' design of Columbus for the obverse, however, was retained. Louis Saint-Gaudens assisted his brother with this commission.

Visit my 1893 World's Fair Library 

Lost Towns of Illinois - Alpine, Illinois.

Rubble was all that remained of this "Class A" railroad town. It was located about a hundred yards north of 167th Street between Wolf Road (on the west) and 108th Avenue (on the east). It was located along Marley Creek and along the west side of the old Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific Railroad tracks, about 30 miles southwest of Chicago and three miles southwest of Orland Park, Illinois.

Alpine’s original history begins when it was founded as a Wabash Line Railroad station in 1891, even though the railroad was built in 1879. At that time in history, stations were established along the railroad every three miles or so. Its founding was followed by a land boom, in which many lots were sold sight unseen. The depot, which was claimed to be the “most ornate railroad depot between Chicago and St. Louis,” was a busy shipping point for local farmers and cattle raisers.

The Alpine Post Office was established May 21, 1881 with Herman R. Allen as first postmaster. So from this bit of information it appears the town may have been established earlier than 1891. That 1891 date might be a typo from my original sources of information. In any case, Alpine peaked around 1910 when it had a blacksmith shop, the Alpine Methodist Church, feed mill, Albert Cooper’s two-story general store with a dance hall in the rear, two saloons, and a railroad depot. 

The Alpine Methodist Church, Feed Mill, Albert Cooper's two-story general store with a dance hall in the rear, Two Saloons, and the Railroad Depot. 

On the northern side of the railroad were stockyards that allowed shipment of cattle to the Chicago Union Stockyards. Excursion trains were run into town from Chicago, and life seemed grand. The main street was also lined with a wooden sidewalk. Homerding’s and Schaffert’s saloons were located conveniently across from the depot. 

A telegrapher's strike began the town’s woes as the Wabash Company eliminated telegraph operators from every other station. Alpine drew the short straw and lost its operator. Orland kept its operator, and that station became the main shipping point, decreasing business to Alpine.

In November of 1911 or 1912, fire destroyed the store and two saloons, putting the town in a tailspin. Since there was no central water system, the three buildings burned to the ground. This blow seriously crippled the dreams of Alpine. Shortly after the fire, the railroad depot was no longer used. It was torn down during WWII, leaving Alpine a vacant site. Around 1941, Cook County officially announced the “disappearance” of Alpine when it was removed from the state’s sales tax list.

By the 1980s, the barren site was overgrown with weeds and any homes in the area were of much more recent vintage. 

Alpine has risen. Alpine Heights is a subdivision in Unincorporated Cook County. Orland Park used the same streets and street names with a new tract of homes built over the old home-site.

Compiled by Neil Gale, Ph.D.

The Bowe Brothers of Company "D" of Birge's Western Sharpshooters (66th Illinois Volunteer Infantry)

The three brothers from the Bowe family of Michigan, Seth, Prosper, and Gilbert, enlisted in Company "D" of Birge's Western Sharpshooters (later known as the 66th Illinois Volunteer Infantry). The unit was recruited by John C. Fremont, organized in St. Louis, and mustered into Federal service on November 23, 1861. 

Tintype photograph of five Company "D" privates reveals the diversity of dress in the regiment. Seated from the left - Front row: Prosper O. Bowe, James Smith, Unidentified. Rear: Unidentified, Gilbert S. Bowe. Note the smoking pipes, oversized cravats, and bottles pouring into a cup.

It consisted of ten companies recruited in different Midwestern states, Company "D" being from Michigan. Seth and Prosper enlisted in late 1861, and Gilbert in September 1862. The regiment first operated in Northern Missouri; five companies would see their first action there at Mount Zion Church. In February 1862, they were shipped to Fort Henry shortly after its capture, taking part in the capture of Fort Donelson.

Sergeant Seth A. Bowe (left) and brother Gilbert S. Bowe.
Note the sack coats tucked into their trousers.

At Fort Donelson, Pvt. Prosper Bowe was known to have captured the colors of the 3rd Tennessee Infantry. Although, it's not exactly known if he captured it in battle or after the surrender. 

The Western Sharpshooters went on to see action at Shiloh and in the Luka-Corinth Campaign. In late 1862, they were transferred to Illinois service, becoming the 66th Illinois Volunteer Infantry (Western Sharpshooters). Seth A. Bowe was discharged on June 17, 1862, due to disability, Gilbert enlisted on September 1, 1862, and Prosper remained in service and reenlisted on December 24, 1863. That December, 470 men reenlisted, and the regiment was sent to Chicago to be given a veteran furlough. 

Prosper O. Bowe

in civilian clothing.

Date unknown.

Prosper O. Bowe's two brothers, Seth, were the oldest, born in 1837, and Gilbert, the youngest, born in 1844. They also had a sister, Dorcas P. Bowe, born in 1840, to whom Prosper is known to have written letters. 

All four siblings were born in Jefferson County, New York; the family moved to Michigan in 1855.

After the reorganization in early 1864, the 66th Illinois Sharpshooters returned to Pulaski, leaving for Chattanooga in April. From there, they would travel to the Army of Tennessee in Georgia and see action in the Atlanta Campaign. 

Being sharpshooters, they saw much skirmishing throughout the campaign and were heavily engaged on July 22, 1864, at the Battle of Atlanta. 

The 66th Illinois was known for being equipped with Henry repeating rifles. Prosper wrote to his sister about how he put his Henry rifle to good use in the Battle of Atlanta, "I stood and fired nearly ninety rounds without stopping. My gun was so hot I could not touch it - spit on it... and it sizzled!"

To become a member of this regiment, a prospective member was required to fire a 3-shot group of 3 ⅓″ or tighter cluster at 200 yards. These rifles were initially known as Birge's Western Sharpshooters after their commander, Col. John W. Birge. They were made in various calibers ranging from 33 to 69 and fired a special Schuetzen bullet.

The 66th Illinois finally participated in the March to the Sea and Carolina's Campaign (May 7, 1864 - December 2, 1864).

They marched in the Grand Review at Washington on May 24, 1865, and were discharged from service on July 7, 1865. All three brothers survived the war; Prosper and Gilbert mustered out with the regiment on July 7, 1865.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

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THE BOWE FAMILY

Seth A. Bowe:
Birth: February 20, 1837, Watertown, Jefferson County, New York, USA
Spouse: Nellie H. Walton Bowe (1850-1931)
Death: March 21, 1905, Oshkosh, Winnebago County, Wisconsin, USA
Burial: Riverside Cemetery, Oshkosh, Winnebago County, Wisconsin, USA

Prosper O. Bowe:
Birth: March 26, 1842 - Clayton, Jefferson County, New York, USA
Death: March 25, 1923, USA
Burial: Watervliet Cemetery, Watervliet, Berrien County, Michigan, USA

Early Life

Prosper O. Bowe was born on March 26, 1842, in Clayton, Jefferson County, New York. He was part of a close-knit family, having two brothers (Seth and Gilbert) and a sister (Dorcas). At some point, likely during his childhood, the Bowe family relocated to Michigan.

Civil War: A Call to Service

The outbreak of the American Civil War likely ignited a strong sense of duty within Prosper. In 1861, he enlisted in Company D of the 66th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. This regiment, originally known as Birge's Western Sharpshooters, was recruited across various Midwestern states and had a reputation for highly skilled marksmen.

Campaigns and Battles

Prosper's service with the 66th Illinois involved participation in several notable campaigns and battles:

Fort Donelson: He was present during the capture of Fort Donelson, a crucial Union victory. Prosper is even noted to have captured the colors of the 3rd Tennessee Infantry, demonstrating his bravery.

Shiloh and Corinth: Prosper and his unit saw action in the bloody Battle of Shiloh and the subsequent Corinth Campaign.

Veteran Status and the Atlanta Campaign: Prosper reenlisted in December 1863, a testament to his dedication. The 66th Illinois participated in the Atlanta Campaign, a series of battles instrumental in the Union's eventual victory.

The Mystery of His Burial Site

Unfortunately, Prosper O. Bowe's final resting place remains unknown.

Prosper Bowe's story is a common experience of countless ordinary men who answered the call during a defining moment in American history. His service and sacrifice deserve to be remembered. 

Gilbert L. Bowe:
Birth: April 1844, Watertown, Jefferson County, New York, USA
Spouse: Mary Bowe (????-1926)
Death: January 16, 1921, California, USA
Burial: Los Angeles National Cemetery, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA

SISTER: Dorcas Priscilla Bowe Boyer:
Birth: March 20, 1840, Watertown, Jefferson County, New York, USA
Children: Sterling Edward Boyer (1859-1923) & Seymour Albert Boyer (1871-1914)
Death: May 17, 1917, Bangor, Van Buren County, Michigan, USA
Burial: Arlington Hill Cemetery, Bango, Van Buren County, Michigan, USA

FATHER: Horace Bowe:
Birth: November 12, 1802, Connecticut, USA
Death: October 28, 1880, Watervliet, Berrien County, Michigan, USA

Horace moved from Connecticut with his family in 1848 to Watertown, New York, and in 1855 to Michigan, where he settled in Berrien County. Horace died in the home of his son Prosper, with whom he had been living for several years. 

MOTHER: Susan Clark Bowe:
Birth: November 5, 1809, Connecticut, USA
Death: November 25, 1882, Watervliet, Berrien County, Michigan, USA