Bowles of Great Gaddesden's Family Tree

Back to The Bowles of Great Gaddesden, Herts

The earliest references that I have for this line are in the 1724 Will of Marvin Bowles of Water End, Great Gaddesden, Hertfordshire. In his Will he named his brothers Henry and Leonard as his Executors and specified bequests to Henry and Leonard as well as to Leonard's youngest son Marvin; to Henry's children: Henry, George, Elizabeth, Hannah and Sarah and to his sister Mary's youngest son William Willis. For a transcription of his Will see Marvin Bowles of Great Gaddesden's Will of 1724

Much of the following tree has been provided to me by Carl Peter Carroll of Abaco, The Bahamas who has extensively researched this line from which his wife is a direct descendant. References are given for the events that I have been able to confirm from primary sources. Events without source references (ex. a birth date without specifying the parish) may be correct but cannot be taken as proven until further substantiation has been obtained.

Note: this family's tree originated in Hertfordshire in the 1600's, as far as we can trace it right now, with a major branch travelling to the Bahamas in the 1700's and from there to the United States and to Canada. As my Bowles one-name study is specific to Bowles lines in England and Ireland and their branches in Canada and the U.S. I have not included the extensive family information which Carl Peter Carroll has collected on his wife's family in the the Bahamas which is still there today. Further details can be found on The Bowles of the Bahamas

Henry Boles b. ca. 1635 (possibly in St Albans, Herts. or Hemmel Hempstead, Herts.)

m.(1) Sarah Pope Apr. 8, 1658 St Peter, St Albans (entry in St Michael, St Albans church)

(Henry was of St Michaels parish, St Albans, Herts. from 1658 to 1668 but seems to have then moved to Hemel Hempstead where his son Leonard was baptized in 1669 and where he appears in the rent roll of the Manor of Hemel Hempstead in 1676 ref.; however his first wife, Sarah, was buried in Hemmel Hempstead in 1664 and his second wife, Mary, was from there)

1. Ellin Boles bp. Nov. 9, 1660 St Albans

2. Henry Boles b. ca. 1662

m. Mary ca. 1690

2.1 Ruth Bowles bp. June 7, 1692 bur. June 15, 1692 both Watford St Mary, Herts

2.2 Elizabeth Bowles bp. May 14, 1693 Watford St Mary, Herts (living in 1724)

2.3 John Bowles bp. Aug. 30, 1694 bur. Oct. 14, 1698 both Watford St Mary, Herts

2.4 Hannah Bowles bp. Mar. 22, 1699 Watford St Mary, Herts (living in 1724)

Hannah bur. Feb. 11, 1785 Watford St Mary, Herts (likely her despite the advanced age as the register specifies Hannah Bowles, spinster)

2.5 Sarah Bowles bp. May 9, 1701 Watford St Mary, Herts (living in 1724)

2.6 Henry Bowles bp. Dec. 26, 1702 Watford St Mary, Herts (living in 1727)

Henry Bowles Jr. bur. Nov. 28, 1764 Watford St Mary, Herts (likely son of above Henry)

2.7 Mary Bowles bur. Sept. 4, 1702 Watford St Mary, Herts

2.8 George Bowles bp. Dec. 29, 1704 Watford St Mary, Herts (living in 1724)

Henry bur. Mar. 12, 1727 Watford St Mary, Herts (note: the burial record states Henry Bowles Senr.)

Mary bur. Feb. 21, 1747/48 Watford St Mary, Herts

(note: this line continued in Watford as a Henry Boles m. there in 1811, a Christopher Bowles b. ca. 1746 was bur. there in 1830 at age 84, a Thomas Bowles b. ca. 1786 was bur. there in 1831 at age 45 etc. until current years)

3. George Boles bp. June 15, 1663 St Albans

Sarah Boles bur. Aug. 16, 1664 Hemmel Hempstead, (entry also in St Michael church, St Albans)

m.(2) Mary Geery nee Mitchell (b. Jan. 27, 1637 Hemel Hempstead; Christopher, Annis) Mar. 27, 1665 St Michael, St Albans

(she was the widow of Nathan Geery m. Apr. 20, 1663 Hemel Hempstead; Nathan bur. Mar. 1, 1663/64 (old calendar) Hemel Hempstead )

4. Mervin Bowles bp. June 17, 1667 St Michael St Albans, Herts. bur. Apr. 17, 1668 St Mary Hemel Hempstead, Herts.

5. Leonard Bowles bp. Aug. 2, 1669 St Mary Hemel Hempstead

Leonard d. 1747 Great Gaddesden (See Family Tree of 5. Leonard Bowles below)

6. Marvin Bowles b. ca. 1670 probably in Great Gaddesden or Hemel Hempstead

(refers to himself as a yeoman in his Will; his holdings included the Red Lion Inn in Water End, in the parish of Hemel Hempstead Common, which he left to brothers Henry and Leonard)

Marvin d. 1724 (Herts. Probate Record Index) bur. May 10, 1724 Hemel Hempstead (per request in above Will to be buried at Hemel Hempstead next to his mother)

There was a Marvin Bowles on record in land transactions at Water End, Great Gaddesden in 1717 and 1724 but his occupation in them is given as a cordwinder, a somewhat lower class occupation. This was a prosperous family and he had extensive land holdings so possibly he owned a business that manufactured cord? Alternatively this could be a transcription error for 'cordwainer' in the original document which was a type of shoemaker but for higher quality footwear, say gentlemen's boots rather than workboots.

7. Mary Bowles

m. William Willis of Bushey, Herts

7.1 Henry Willis (eldest son per Marvin Bowles' Will 1724

7.2 Mary Willis (per Marvin Bowles' Will 1724)

7.3 other sons (per Marvin Bowles' Will 1724)

7.4 William Willis (youngest son per Marvin Bowles' Will 1724)

Family Tree of 5. Leonard Bowles From Above Tree

Leonard Bowles of Great Gaddesden, Herts b. Aug. 2, 1669 Hemel Hempstead

m. Mary Leach Oct. 1, 1703 Great Gaddesden (ref. Bishop's Transcripts)

1. Frances Bowles bp. July 15, 1704 Great Gaddesden

m. William Horn Apr. 25, 1723 Ivinghoe, Pitstone, Buckinghamshire

1.1 Mary Bowles Horn bp. Feb. 29, 1723 Edlesborough, Bucks.

1.2 William Horn bp. Mar. 6. 1725 Edlesborough, Bucks.

1.3 Frances Horn bp. June 18, 1727 Edlesborough, Bucks.

1.4 Sarah Horn bp. Feb. 1, 1729 and bur. Apr. 23, 1732 Edlesborough, Bucks.

1.5 Elizabeth Horn bp. Aug. 27, 1732 Edlesborough, Bucks.

1.6 Sarah Horn b. 1735 bur. Aug. 16, 1736 Edlesborough, Bucks.

1.7 William Horn bp. Jan. 21 and bur. Jan. 27, 1734/35 Edlesborough, Bucks.

1.8 Leonard Horn bp. 1737 Edlesborough, Bucks.

2. Mary Bowles bp. Mar. 3, 1705/06 Great Gaddesden

m. John Hobbs Feb. 13, 1724 Great Gaddesden, Herts.

3. Elizabeth Bowles bp. Dec. 5, 1707 Great Gaddesden

4. Leonard Bowles bp. Aug. 3, 1709 Great Gaddesden

(a prosperous London merchant; See: Family Tree of 4. Leonard Bowles below)

Leonard d. 1768 London, bur. Mar. 16, 1768 Great Gaddesden

5. Hannah Bowles bp. Oct. 7, 1711 Great Gaddesden

m. James Rayner (b. Oct. 22, 1712, Dunstable; William, Annie) June 28, 1734 St Andrew by the Wardrobe, London

5.1 Hannah Rayner bp. & bur. Nov. 7, 1734 St Peter Dunstable, Bedfordshire

5.2 William Rayner bur. Mar. 14, 1735 St Peter Dunstable, Bedfordshire

5.3 William Rayner bur. Sept. 24, 1735 St Peter Dunstable, Bedfordshire

5.4 William Rayner bp. Nov. 6, 1737 & bur. Mar. 26, 1738 St Peter Dunstable, Bedfordshire

5.5 James Rayner bp. Sept. 2, 1739 St Peter Dunstable, Bedfordshire

5.6 Dorothy Rayner bp. Mar. 7, 1742 St Peter Dunstable, Bedfordshire

m. John Parker Apr. 11, 1765 St Peter Dunstable, Bedfordshire

5.7 William Rayner b. Mar. 25, 1745 bp. Nov. 8, 1751 Dunstable, Bedfordshire

5.8 Frances Rayner b. Mar. 27, 1746 bp. Nov. 8, 1751 Dunstable, Bedfordshire

5.9 Elizabeth Rayner b. Apr. 18, 1748 bp. Nov. 8, 1751 Dunstable, Bedfordshire

5.10 Marvil (Marvin) Rayner b. May 23, 1751 bp. Nov. 8, 1751 Dunstable, Bedfordshire

5.11 Leonard Rayner b. Feb. 2, 1756 bp. Aug. 17, 1757 Dunstable, Bedfordshire

A William Rayner bur. July 11, 1761 St Cuthbert Bedford, Bedfordshire (could be Sr. of Jr.)

6. Marvin Bowles b. 1712/where? (a distiller living on Gerard Street in St Anne Westminster parish; owned several properties in the Liberty of Westminster and left 3000 pounds worth of Bank of England shares plus his business and property interests in his Will)

m. Mary Hobbs Mar. 22, 1754 St Benet Paul's Wharf, London

6.1 Mary Anne Bowles (possibly)

Marvin d. 1760 London bur. Feb. 6, 1760 Great Gaddesden

7. Dorothy Bowles b. 1715/where?

m. John Goulds of Redbourn, Herts Feb. 15, 1742/43 St Benet Paul's Wharf, London

7.1 Marvin Goulds b. 1745

m. Rebecca Smith June 3, 1771 Wheathamstead, Herts.

2 children

A Dorothy Bowles bur. Apr. 17, 1766 Redbourn, Herts.

Mary d. ?

m.(2) Elizabeth Rhodes Aug. 18, 1726 Lincolns Inn Chapel, Holborn, London ref.

Leonard bur. Aug. 5, 1747 Great Gaddesden, Herts.

(Herts. Probate Record Index - his Will is in the Herts. Archives)

Elizabeth was probably the Widow Bowles bur. Feb. 8, 1756 Great Gaddesden, Herts.

Family Tree of 4. Leonard Bowles From Above Tree

Leonard Bowles bp. Aug. 3, 1709 Great Gaddesden

(in 1724 he was apprenticed to Daniel Garrett, a Master Girdler in London ref.; became a London merchant; he lived on Bread Street in St Matthew parish from 1734 to 1747, in St Pancras parish from 1748 to 1755, on St Clements Lane in Langbourn Ward from 1758 to 1763 more details London Tax Roll entries London Tax Roll entries 2; in 1758 he also acquired some property at 36 Gerrard Street and at 30 Rose Street North both in St Anne Westminster parish from his brother Marvin; at the time of his death in 1768 he was living in the house in St Anne Westminster he had inherited from his brother Marvin)

m. Martha Rustatt (Tobias Rustatt of Weathersfield, Suffolk) Nov. 9, 1738 St Paul’s Cathedral, London

1. Thomas Bowles bp. Dec. 7, 1739 St Matthew, Friday Street, London

2. Martha Bowles bp. Jan. 14, 1740 St Matthew, Friday Street, London

m. Thomas Haddock, widower May 17, 1767 St Andrew Holborn, London

2.1 Leonard (Leonardus in Latin in the register) Haddock Feb. 17, 1771 Lincolns Inn Fields (RC), Holborn, London

3. Leonard Bowles bp. Apr. 28, 1742 St Matthew, Friday Street, London

(settled in Bahamas in the 1760’s; involved in trade with the ship 'Two Brothers' ref (possibly raw cane sugar to England); moved family to Philadelphia in 1779)

m. Elizabeth Ellis (John Doe E.) Mar. 5, 1768 Christ Church Cathedral, Nassau, Bahamas

3.1 Thomas Bowles b. Sept. 29, 1769 New Providence, Bahamas (ship captain)

See The Bowles of Great Gaddesden's Bahamian Line's Family Tree for his descendants

Thomas d. Dec. 17, 1813 Nassau, Bahamas

3.2 Tobias Bowles b. Nov. 24, 1771 Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas (in Charleston, South Carolina by 1790; apprenticed under Thomas Winstanley, attorney)

m. Susannah Drayton (John Drayton of Drayton Hall, Rebeccah Perry) Mar. 10, 1795 St Philips Parish, Charleston, SC

Tobias d. Oct. 8, 1808 Charleston, SC (Will dated Oct. 13, 1807) His Will

See Tobias Bowles of Charleston, South Carolina

3.3 Martha Matilda Bowles b. June 19, 1774 New Providence, Bahamas

See The Bowles of Great Gaddesden's Bahamian Line's Family Tree for her descendants

Martha d. May 9, 1799 Newport, RI ref

3.4 Nicholas Bowles b. ca. 1778 (in Charleston by 1790 but returned to The Bahamas; had a plantation on Eleuthera with 10 slaves in 1834 ref)

See The Bowles of Great Gaddesden's Bahamian Line's Family Tree for his descendants

A grandson of this line, Frederick Henry Augustus Bowles Jr, raised a family in The Bahamas and then moved on to homestead far out in the Canadian West, see The Bowles of Saskatchewan

Nicholas d. Mar. 9, 1834 Eleuthera, Bahamas

3.5 Mary Newton Bowles b. ca. 1780 Nassau, The Bahamas

m. John Wood, Esq. (b. ca. 1770 Chichester, Sussex) Jan. 13, 1798 Christ Church Cathedral, Nassau

(John Wood was an officer in the 32nd Foot Regiment which was based in the West Indies , where he married Mary, and Ireland from the 1790's until 1802; mother Elizabeth left plot in Nassau to daughter Mrs. Wood of Ireland; John served in the Peninsular War against Napoleon's troops in 1808/09 and 1811-13 ref)

(five children as mentioned in the pension given to Major Wood's widow in 1813)

3.5.1 Mary Stuart Wood b. ca. 1807 Ospringe, Kent (as Mary Susan Wood, age 53, in 1861 census)

Mary d. Apr. 16, bur. Apr. 20, 1886 St Peter Port, Guernsey ref

3.5.2 Caroline Augusta Eason Wood b. ca. 1809 St Peter Port, Guernsey (age 50 in 1861 census)

Caroline d. Oct. 14, bur. Oct. 16, 1885 St Peter Port, Guernsey ref

John d. July 31, 1813 Pyrenees, France (of wounds received 3 days earlier during the British Army's pursuit of Napoleon's French troops fleeing through the Pyrenees mountains in the winter of 1813/14 after their withdrawal from Spain during the Peninsular War of 1807-14) ref

(At some point Mary retired to the Channel Islands where she was living with two of her daughters in the 1861 Census of St Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands)

Mary Newton bur. Oct. 14, 1861 St Martin's Church, St Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands ref

4. Tobias Bowles b. Feb. 7, bp. Feb. 14, 1743 All Hallows, Bread Street, London

m. Mary Fell Mar. 16, 1778 St Camberwell, St Giles, Middlesex

4.1 Mary Bowles b. Nov. 24, bp. Dec. 23, 1778 St Anne, Soho, Westminster

m. William Henchman Crowfoot F.R.C.S. (b. Sept. 9, bp. Sept. 15, 1780 Kessingland, Suffolk; John Crowfoot, Susan Henchman) May 27, 1802 Brandeston, Suffolk

4.1.1 William Edward Crowfoot F.R.C.S. and J.P. b. Dec. 9, 1806 Beccles

m. Ellen Miller (b. Nov. 1805; Wm. Richard Beckford M.) Apr. 16, 1833, Mary's Church, Bryanston Square, Marylebone, London

5 children (William Miller C., Mary Susanna C., John Henchman C., Ellen; Edward Bowles C.)

Ellen d. Oct. 31, bur. Nov. 5, 1870 Beccles Churchyard, Suffolk

William d. May 12, bur. May 17, 1887 Beccles Churchyard, Suffolk

4.1.2 Susan Crowfoot b. Mar. 1, bp. Mar. 8, 1808 Beccles, Suffolk; d. Mar. 15, bur. Mar. 19, 1808 Beccles Churchyard, Suffolk

4.1.3 Mary Crowfoot b. Apr. 21, bp. Apr. 22, 1810 Beccles, Suffolk; d. Oct. 31, bur. Nov. 5, 1870 Beccles Churchyard, Suffolk

4.1.4 John Rustat Crowfoot B.D., Clerk in Holy Orders b. Feb. 21, bp. Feb. 23, 1817 Beccles

m. Elizabeth Tufnell (b. May 13, 1825 Hurstpierpoint, Susses, (Rev. John Charles Fowell T.)) Aug. 27. 1850 Edburton, Sussex

4.1.4.1 Charles Rustat Crowfoot b. May 25, 1852 d. Mar. 7, 1870

John d. Mar. 17, bur. Mar. 23, 1875 Reydon Churchyard, Suffolk

Elizabeth d. Sept. 3, 1908 Beccles, Suffolk

Mary d. July 14, bur. July 18, 1835 Beccles Churchyard, Suffolk

William d. Nov. 13 Wangford, Suffolk, bur. Nov. 18, 1848 Beccles Churchyard, Suffolk

4.2 Martha Bowles b. Dec. 8, 1779 bp. Jan. 5, 1780 St Anne Soho, Westminster, Middlesex

m. Edward Stephenson Dennison (b. ca. 1775 Newington, Surrey; Robert, Mary Usher) Apr. 29, 1802 St Marylebone, St Mary Le Bone, London

4.2.1 Edward Dennison b. Apr. 2, 1803 Castle-Bear, Ealing ref (nothing further found for him)

4.2.2 Martha Dennison b. May 28, 1805 Ealing, Middlesex

m. Griffith Richards, Q.C. (b. Sept. 1, 1796 London; Richard Esq., Catherine Humphreys) Aug. 12, 1839 St Georges, Hanover Square, London ref

2 children

Griffith d. June 11, 1843 Regent's Park, Middlesex

4.2.3 an infant daughter b. & d. 1806 (possibly on the ship bound to India)

Martha and their child d. Sept. 1806 bur. Sept. 30, 1806 British Cemetery, Calcutta

Edward d. Oct. 1806 Calcutta bur. Oct. 16, 1806 British Cemetery, Calcutta

("Deaths Captain Edward Dennison, of the Verunah East Indiaman; and also his wife and child, a few hours after they landed at Bengal." The Scots Magazine 1 April 1807; The Madras Courier reported in October 1806 that Captain Dennison's wife and infant daughter had died at sea on board the Varuna; their memorial in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) states that he survived them "but a few days")

4.3 Catharine Bowles bp. Feb. 2, 1781 Gosport Hampshire & bur. Feb. 14, 1781 St Mary the Virgin, Rowner, Hampshire

4.4 Leonard Bowles bp. May 25, 1782 St Mary Alverstoke, Hampshire & d. Aug. 29, 1782 St Mary the Virgin, Rowner, Hampshire

4.5 Dorothea Bowles bp. Sept. 17, 1783 St Mary Alverstoke, Hampshire & bur. Sept. 7, 1783 St Mary the Virgin, Rowner, Hampshire

4.6 Charles Bowles b. & bp. Dec. 21, 1784 Haslar Hospital, Alverstoke, Hampshire

4.7 Elizabeth Bowles b. & bp. Oct. 17, 1787 Haslar Hospital, Gosport & d. Haslar Hospital bur. Nov. 13, 1787 St Mary the Virgin, Rowner, Hampshire

(note: the Haslar Hospital references are interesting as it was a Royal Naval Hospital for navy personnel only)

Tobias d. aft. Jan, 1798 (Will dated Feb. 11, 1792; Codicil Jan. 17, 1798)

5. Marven Bowles bp. Mar. 28, 1746 All Hallows, Bread Street, London

6. Catherine Bowles b. Apr. 5, bp. Apr. 14, 1748 St Mary Abchurch, London

7. Mary Bowles bp. Feb. 23, 1749/50 St Mary le Bow, London

8. Sarah Bowles bp. Oct. 5, 1753 St Mary le Bow, London

9. Thomas Bowles b. Oct. 9, bp. Oct. ?, 1758 St Edmund The King and Martyr, London

10. Dorothea Bowles bp. Sept. 17, 1764 Dulwich, London

Leonard d. Mar. 9, 1768 London (died in Saint Anne parish) bur. Mar. 16, 1768 Great Gaddesden (plaque photo courtesy of Carl Peter Carroll)

Martha d. Dec. 16, 1790 bur. St Peter & St Paul Church, Bromley, Kent ref.

Goes in somewhere:

John Bowles m. Thea

1. Mervin Bowles bp.Apr. 30, 1746 Redbourn, Herts.