Dutch Corner History Group

Frank,

Check out the second link Lora posted for me. Does the survey look like anything of the Camp Ranch? It was done in 1774.

The text on the map reads:

" A Draught of a Tract of Land called Bowser's Bowling Green situate on the Water of Dunnings Creek about eight miles from Bedford in the Loop of Dunnings Mountain adjoining Land of Adam Griel William Trent and Michael Fedder in the Township and County of Bedford Containing one hundred $ fifty three Acres and the usual allowance of six ______ for Roads. Surveyed the 24th Day of September 1774 in Pursuance of a Warrant Dated the 13th Day of January in the same year for John Bouser. Thomas Smith "

When I read the index I thought it may be for another tract of land since for location it says "On Br. Dunnings Cr. 7 Mi. fr. Bedford". I then realized it said branch of Dunnings Creek, not on Dunnings Creek. The other clue is "in the Loop of Dunnings Mountain".

Bill

I added another small part to the root post and changed the name for the land in reference to John and Eve. If the "Camp Ranch" is 300 acres (or is it 600?) then the part that the Bowser's owned in 1774 was only half of that. Check out the second link Lora posted (http://www.phmc.state.pa.us.......) and you will see where this comes from. I believe this is the most accurate I can be. It states the past and present. What are your thoughts on this? The two overlap, but are not the identical tracts of land. Right now it looks as there is much more land to the "Camp Ranch" that there was to "Bowser's Bowling Greens"

An application for a land warrant was filled 17 January 1774 for 150 acres. The patent was return 12 Oct 1774 which was surveyed at 153 acres. The name given for the tract of land "in the loop of Dunnings Mountain" is "Bowser's Bowling Green"

Eve died 18 Dec 1802 and John died 19 May 1809. They are buried in a farm cemetery in Dutch Corner on what is believed to have been "Bowser's Bowling Greens" the land of John and Eve Bowser. This is believed to be part of the later and larger "Camp Ranch" which is the proposed "Old Ways Farm"

I also added more to the descendants of John and Eve. I can't confirm the accuracy to the information in red since it is from unsourced family trees on the internet that "appear" ok. I have more, but I don't know if they remained in the Dutch Corner area.

Some names through marriages are: Fickes, Holderbaum, Crisman, Biddle, Beegle, Koontz, Stucke, Buchannan, Kegg, Reighard, and Whetstone. Are any of these names of interest? Most of them are straying pretty far from my line and I don't have details on them.

Bill

Bill,
I am not surprised at the difference in acreage.

"The Camp Ranch" was nearly identical to what the Oppenheimers owned. They consolidated various smaller parcels for their mining operation.

The Camp Ranch was about 600 acres, but was subdivided into two equal parcels of about 300 acres back in 1974 or 1975.

The western parcel has just this year been further subdivided into two parcels.

The farm cemetery is on land that now belongs to Nina Palmer Sweeney. She would probably be very interested in what you are doing.

Probably the western parcel of the former Camp Ranch, now owned by the Antonsons was NOT part of the Bowser's original tract, but that is just a guess. There are footprints of old houses and barns within both parcels.

Of those names that you offered, Crisman, Reighard, and Holderbaum were close neighbors. Biddle and Kegg are also DC names.

DC = Dutch Corner

On the website that I had listed for the land records, if you look up A34 - 138, it has some land (from 1808) and the reason I was posting it was this:

"Situated in the Township of Bedford and County of Bedford on Bowser's Run...."

this is near there because Michael Fetter's land (another curiosity, is that Michael's last name was spelled Fetter, Fetters, Feather, Fedder and Fedor in different land listings!) was bordering this one, as his does for the other land.

There was a "Fetter tract" of land on the north (mountain) side of the parcel where the Bowser cemetery is. It was about 50 acres and was absorbed into the Camp Ranch.

Well, if the Gazette runs what I sent them, there will be a call for people interested in the Bowser history in Dutch Corner to come to our meeting. I think I made a mistake by using the name Poorbaugh. I think the name was Colebaugh. But what the heck!

I haven't had a chance to look through the Bowser Family History book for the names Frank listed as neighbors or go to the courthouse. I will get to it sometime...I promise. I just had to take a break from this to get work done outside in the garden since the danger of frost had past and got into some of the land warants which I found some more of the Bowser's. Some are in Bedford Township, and some are in St Clair Township. The survey Lora posted (A-34-138) is part of the Michael "Fedder "land that was listed on the John Bowser survey (C-7-99). The other half of Michael Fedder's land shown on the Bowser survey (C-7-99) is shown in survey for John "Eaches" (Ickes?) (A-34-139). Interestingly John Eaches (A-34-139) is listed as St. Clair Township, and John Ikes (A-34-138) is listed as in Bedford Township. I also see Capt William Trent's land was shown as James Cummings and James Bells Land (C-16-57). If I remember correctly from snooping around James Cummings land was Frederick Zimmer's land when the warrant was applied for. So between 1774 and 1811 the land of Capt William Trent passed to Zimmer, then to Cummings. John Bowser's grandson John (son of George) married Margaret Zimmer who's father was Frederick Zimmer. Probably the same person. George Bowser Jr, another grandson of John, married Elizabeth Zimmer who I assume was a sister to Margaret.

John's son George had land adjoining John's to the north west. If you guys haven't already pieced these surveys together, I can put them together and send them. There are a few adjoining surveys that I have figured out.

I also see to the south east of Cummings and Bells land is land of George M Imber (Imler). He is also a 6th great-grandfather of mine (my grandmother Bowser's maiden name is Imler, who is a descendant of George M. Imler from Dutch Corner). I am sure John and George new each other.

I also found the survey for George Bowser in Bedford Township with land adjoining John Bowser and Henry Beckley. At first it looked like this is not the same land as the above survey's since the boundries don't seem to line up right. I now see what was Henry Beckley's land in 1802 was apparently in the hands of George Bowser in 1809. Boy you have to think forward and backward and pay attention to the dates.

Bill

Bill,
This is all so interesting.
I still have not seen today's paper, so I don't know if they announced tomorrow's meeting. In any case, I intend to take to the meeting hard copies that I had hand done several years ago, trying to piece the various parcels together. I feel that now I can continue that work. I hope you can be there tomorrow at 2:00 PM at Bedford Middle School room 206.
Frank