Jabez Bowen

Bowen was born in Providence, Rhode Island, the son of Ephraim Bowen and Mary (Fenner) Bowen.[1] His father was a prominent doctor in Providence in 1739, and his great-uncle Jabez Bowen was also a prominent Providence physician. In 1757, Bowen graduated from Yale College.[2]

He married Sarah Brown on December 19, 1762, a cousin of Moses Brown and John Brown of the prominent Brown family (see Brown University) of Providence. Bowen was deeply involved with the Browns in the shipping business, involving slaves, molasses, rum, and the China trade.[3]

He was a member of the Providence town council from 1773–1775, and was a representative in the General Assembly in 1777.[4] During the American Revolution, Bowen served in the Rhode Island Militia from 1774–1777, serving as the colonel of the First Regiment of Providence County from 1776–1777.[5] He served under Brigadier General William West who would later, like Bowen, serve as Deputy Governor of the state.

Bowen was Deputy Governor of Rhode Island for a total of seven years from May 1778 to May 1780, and from May 1781 to May 1786.[6] He was a delegate to the Annapolis Convention in 1786 and the Constitutional Convention in 1790.[7]

He served as a Superior Court judge from August 1776 to May 1778, and became Chief Justice in February 1781 following the death of Shearjashub Bourn, holding that office until May 1781.[8][9] Bowen was an ardent federalist (pro-Constitution) supporter, and was on the city committee which negotiated a peaceful end to William West's antifederalist protest on the Fourth of July in 1788.[10] Bowen served as Chancellor of Brown University from 1785 until his death.[6]

He died on May 7, 1815 in Providence,[11] and is interred in Swan Point Cemetery in Providence.[12]

Bowen and his first wife, Sarah Brown, married 12/19/1762, had 11 children together. After Sarah's death, he married Peddy Leonard on May 21, 1801; they had no children together.[1] Bowen's son Henry served as Rhode Island Secretary of State from 1819–1849.[13]

He was a Freemason in St. Johns Lodge #1 Providence, and served as Master of the lodge from 1779–1790,[14] and served as Grand Master in Providence from 1794–1798.[7] Bowen was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1814.[15]

His mahogany tea table is currently at the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library in Winterthur, Delaware. The tea table was made in 1763 by John Goddard at Goddard and Townsend in Newport, Rhode Island.[16]

• Charles Rappleye, Sons of Providence: The Brown Brothers, the Slave Trade, and the American Revolution (Simon & Schuster, New York, 2006)

• Rhode Island Historical Society- Bowen papers
• Lt. Gov. Jabez Bowen's Silver Spoon Presented in 1780
• Jabez Bowen at Find a Grave
• Portrait of Mrs Sarah (Brown) Bowen by John Singleton Copley