The Bower & Collier Family History
Research by Colin Bower
Bower Family
Progress Report
Progress To Date
Great Grandparent: George Christopher Bower
- His Parents: Benjamin Bates Bower & Mary Pitts
- His Grandparents: Christopher Bower & Elizabeth Pitts
Mini Family Tree (Direct Ancestors)
The family tree to date may be summarised:
Bower Family
George Bower b c 1720
married c 1740
William Bower b c 1745 died ? 1812
married 4.6.1775
Elizabeth Gux b c 1745 Buried 23.12.1820 (Age 75)
Christopher Bower bp 6.5.1794 d 1851 (age 56)
married 3.11.1817
Elizabeth Pitts b c 1798/9 d 1878 (age 80)
Benjamin Bates Bower bp 2.1.1820
died 2.3.1876 (age 56)
married 24.11.1842
Mary Pitts bp 12.1.1817 d 1875 (age 59)
Children:
George Christopher Bower b 1841
Elizabeth Bower b 1845
Louise Bower b 1856/7
George Christopher Bower b 5.12.1842 bp 1.2.1843 d 15.3.1877 (Age 35)
married 13.08.1864
Martha Hannah Jones b c 1845
William Bower b ?23.10.1867 d 2.12.1948
married 6.06.1897
Charlotte Hayes b 15.08.1876
Frederick Bower b 12.09.1910
d 10.09.2006
married 11.07.1936
Doris Ivy Brecht b 15.03.1912
d 29.6.2003
Colin Malcolm Bower b 12.01.1944
married 15.10.1966
Christine Elizabeth Collier b 26.03.1946
Link to Family Tree
George Christopher Bower & Descendants
Summary of Research To Date
We made good progress from noting down information from the family then finding out more about our ancestors, particularly via Census records and birth, marriage and death certificates. I have been unable to trace a number of birth certificates including:
- Alice Bower 1861/2
- William Bower 1866/7
One of the highlights was drinking a pint of beer at the George Inn in Walham Green where George's grandfather Christopher Bower was the publican in 1851!
One of the biggest surprises was tracing George's father Benjamin Bates Bower after many years of research (he died in Whitechapel in 1876).
One enjoyable piece of research was tracing the naval career of my grandfather William Bower.
In 2023/4, there were some exciting finds.
I was given a book on Old Fulham and spotted a dissertation which included a summary of the Bowers running Rowberry Mead near Craven Cottage in Fulham.
I also added Elizabeth;'s will in 1820 and a good number of additional Parish Records.
Together this gave me much more information about the early days of the family in Fulham.
Doubts Remain
The new information does cast doubt whether it is realistic for Elizabeth to have children that late in life:
Elizabeth Bower
born c 1745
married c 1765
died 1820 (age 75)
The 5 Children (named in Elizabeth's Will)
Sarah Bower bp 1773
Eldest son George Bower b 1776/7 (died 1845 age 68)
William Gux Bower bp 1786
Christopher Bower bp 1794
Mary Bower bp 1797
Was there another couple William & Elizabeth Bower?
Birth Marriage & Death Certificates Held
- Births: 10+4 Unwanted
- Marriages: 7+8 Unwanted
- Deaths: 5+1 Unwanted
Certificates Held-Bower Family
Census Records Obtained
- 1841
Christopher & Elizabeth (?Bates) Bower & family
- 1851
Christopher & Elizabeth (?Bates) Bower & family
Benjamin & Mary (Pitts) Bower & family
Charles & Elizabeth (Bower) Pollard & family
Alfred & Amelia (Light) & Family
- 1861
Benjamin & Mary (Pitts) Bower & family
Charles & Elizabeth (Bower) Pollard & family and
Elizabeth (Bates?) Bower
Alfred & Amelia Bower & family
- 1871
Benjamin & Mary (Pitts) Bower
Charles & Elizabeth (Bower) Pollard & family and
Elizabeth (Bates?) Bower and grand-daughter Mary Louise Bower
Alfred & Amelia Bower & family
George Christopher Bower & family
- 1881
Charles & Elizabeth (Bower) Pollard & family and
Mary L Bower, Niece
Martha Hennenn (formerly Bower) & family
William Bower (on training ship Exmouth)
Alfred & Amelia Bower & family
- 1891
Alice (Bower) Blake & family
Alfred & Charles Bower
- 1901
William & Charlotte Bower & family
Alice (Bower) Blake & family
- 1911
Wiiliam & Charlotte Bower & family
Alice (Bower) Blake & family
Alfred & Emma Bower & family
Charles & Sarah Bower & family
- 1921
William & Charlotte Bower & family
- 1939
William & Charlotte Bower & family
Frederick & Doris (Brecht) Bower & family
Other Research Undertaken
- IGI - Sheets held-Bower (London)
- Parish Records
- Wills
- Businesses:
Smallholding at Rowberry Mead
Sarah Bower then daughter Mary Bower, Chandlers shop in Stepney
- Correspondence
- with a distant Relative (Pitts family) in Australia
- with West Middlesex FHS (who put entries in their journal)
- Visits:
Limehouse to see where the Edinburgh Castle & Dixon Street were
George Inn, Walham Green and Rowberry Mead & Parsons Green, Fulham and
Whitechapel
- Photographs
- Naval career of William Bower
isc Info/Documents - The Bowers of Old Fulham
Progress 2004
I traced the death of Benjamin Bates Bower in Whitechapel, though it did not solve the mystery as to why his son, my great grandfather George Christopher Bower, was living with his grandfather in 1851 and his uncle Alfred in 1861. In a marriage certificate in 1864 Benjamin's occupation was given as photographer. Intriguingly his brother Alfred had a photographic studio in Whitechapel Road during 1861-1882.
Progress 2005
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Progress 2006
At long last I found Benjamin Bower in a Census after he left his father's home.
In 1861 the family were living at 1 Felix Street, Bethnal Green and there were two daughters I did not know about:
- Elizabeth Bower born 1844/5
- Louise Bower born 1856/7
Progress 2007
I visited Whitechapel to see where Benjamin Bower and his brother Alfred lived.
I obtained the birth certificate of Benjamin's daughter Elizabeth which showed that the family were living in Parsons Green, Fulham in 1845.
Progress 2008
I obtained some more Census entries in 1871, 1891 and 1901.
Progress 2009
I wasa contacted by a distant relative in Australia (Pitts Family), who provided an extraordinary amount of new information about the Bower and Pitts families:
- the baptism of Christopher Bower at All Saints Church, Fulham 12.11.1794(Parents William & Elizabeth (Pitts) Bower, Grandparents John Pitts & Elizabeth Bates)
- an unbelievable entry in a book on Fulham about William's father George Bower who ran a small holding named Rowberry Mead before William took over and then Elizabeth, as a widow.
- the history of the Bowers after Christopher Bower died in 1851 including the whereabouts of Elizabeth (Pitts) Bower in 1861, 1871 and 1878, her son Benjamin in 1851 and her daughter Elizabeth in 1849-1881.
She also told me that Elizabeth (Pitts) Bower appears to have been a witness at the marriage of George Henry Pitts in Chelsea in 1827 and sent me a copy of the Parish Record which has Elizabeth's signature.
She also gave me further details about my 3 x Great Grandfather James Benjamin Pitts including a copy of his death certificate.
So we have two links to the Pitts family via Elizabeth Pitts who married Christopher Bower and Mary Pitts (parents James Benjamin & Louise Pitts) who married Elizabeth's son Benjamin Bates Bower.
Extraordinary!
Progress 2010
My Life
I added the information given to our daughter Helen and our son Steve by our parents when they researched the family tree in their first year at St George's School, Harpenden:
The Bowers
I decided to maintain a summary of what I have found out about my family name:
Benjamin Bates Bower
I was able to solve the mystery of "whatever happened to Benjamin Bower" by obtaining his death certificate in 1876 (age 56) which showed that he reverted to being a tailor living in Raven Row, Whitechapel, near his brother Alfred who had a photographers' studio in Whitechapel Road.
William Bower
I made two visits to the London Metropolitan Archives and looked up the records of the training (correction) ship "Exmouth", which used to be moored at Grays in Essex, to which my grandfather was admitted in 1878 (age 10) and left in 1881 to join the Canadian owned "Bell" bound for New York as cabin boy.
This explains why he told my father that he had sailed on "blue-noses", i.e. he went to sea between leaving the "Exmouth" to go to sea before he joined the Navy in 1883.
Bower/Pitts Family Tree
My contact in Australia, came up with another important document. This time a copy of the marriage register at St George, Hanover Square which included the marriage of Christopher Bower to Elizabeth Pitts on 3 November 1817. Unfortunately the writing of the names of the witnesses is unclear and could have been N G or W Bower and M Pitts (turned out to be Christopher's brother William Gux Bower).
My distant relative in Australia later came up trumps again with:
- the marriage of James Pitts and Louiza Pinnion in Fulham in 1812 (appears to be the right James)
- the baptism of a son James (and his sister Elizabeth) in 1815 but his sad death in 1816 (age just 5 months) and the baptism of Louisa in 1822.
- the baptism of my great great grandmother Mary Pitts in 1817 and
- the marriage of Christopher Bower & Elizabeth Pitts at St George's, Hanover Square in 1817
I included the Pitts family in the project: The Big One!
The Big One - Family History Research Report - Pitts Family
Progress 2011
I visited London to take photo's of 3 churches where there were church services for the Bower/Pitts family, particularly St George, Hanover Square where Christopher Bower married Elizabeth Pitts in 1817 and Benjamin Bower married Mary Pitts in 1842:
- St Giles in the Fields
- St Martins in the Field
- St George, Hanover Square
Progress 2012
Bower/Pitts Family
Pitts/Pinnion Family
A regular correspondent in Australia sent me the details of 2 burials in the Holborn/Drury Lane area of London:
St Giles in the Fields
Louisa Pitts of Great Wild Street
buried 31.10.1838 (age 44)
Benjamin James Pitts of Queen's Court, Holborn
buried 15.1.1839 (age 47)
(Benjamin was born James Benjamin Pitts)
I had previously visited St Giles' church:
Visit to London including St Giles Church
I tried to find the bp of Loiusa Pitts nee Pinnion but found one potential entry only:
West Clandon, Surrey
Louisa Pinion bp 28.4.1793
(Parents William Pinion & Mary)
Pinion/Pinnion is a relatively uncommon name and if this is "our" Louisa, it would mean an unexpected link for the Bower/Pitts/Pinnion family with West Clandon, that we know from my wife Chris' ancestors in the Peryer/Perrier and Smith families:
The Big One!- Peryer/Perrier Family
Progress 2013-2018
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Progress 2019
1939 Register - Our Parents & Grandparents
We started the year with another look at the 1939 Register of England & Wales.
Until then we had not looked up all of the entries for our parents and grandparents:
Our Parents & Grandparents in the 1939 Register
My grandparents were still living in the East End of London, i.e. before their houses were destroyed in the Blitz.
Progress 2020
The parents of my 2 x Great Grandparent Mary Pitts were James Benjamin Pitts and Louisa Pinnion.
I did not know any more information about Louisa, so I did a few searches on Ancestry and found:
1. James Benjamin Pitts (1791-1839)
married
Louisa Pinnion (1793-1838)
at Parsons Green, Fulham
2. Louisa Pinion bp 28.4.1793
(Parents William Pinion (1759-1826) and
Mary Smithers (1764-1830)
at St Peter& St Paul Church, West Clandon
- This came as a real surprise with the Bower Tree because Chris and I have been to the Chuch when researching the Collier/Peryer Tree:
James Benjamin Pitts (Parents John Pitts and Elizabeth Bates) had a sister Elizabeth who married Christopher Bower
Progress 2021
There has always been a bit of a mystery about my grandfather's date of birth for which I have never found the registration of his birth
Having another look, I found new pieces of information on Ancestry:
1. Entries in the books of the Training Ship "Exmouth"
Training Ship "Exmouth 1876-1918
Record Book
1. Bower Wm No 769
Age: 12
Date of Entry: 22.5.1878
Date of Discharge: 25.6.1878
Discharge: to Union (Mile End)
2. Bower, William No 957
Age 13
Date of Entry: 18.6.1879
Date of Discharge 13.5.1882
Union: Mile End
Discharge: Ship "Bell"
Comments include:
25.9.1881 Rated Gold Case Boy
15.10.1881 Rated Gun-room boy
28.1.1882 Rated Chief Lamptrimmer
3. William Bower
Age 15
Date of Entry: 21.2.1883
Date of Discharge: 1.3.1883
Union: Mile End
Discharge: Royal Navy
HMS Boscawen
Blue Jacket
(William's DOB given in his Royal Navy service record is 23.10.1867. He signed on in 1885 age 18 for 10 years)
2. A record of his christening when he was 13 (about the time he joined the Exmouth)
St Peter & St Paul, Grays, Thurrock
William Bower (Age13) born abt 1866 bp 9.8.1879
(Parents George & Martha Bower)
I was hoping that he was christened as an infant!
I have summarised the information I have on William Bower in date order:
I have also listed the places where William Bower lived including entries in the Electoral Rolls:Places where William Bower lived
Progress 2022
1921 Census
It will be a while before I can access the new Census via Ancestry but I did have a look at some of the changes I would expect and in so doing found out a lot of additional information:.
Find My Past
I decided after all to pay for a copy of the transcription of the entry for our parents & grandparents:
from Find My Past, and added a comparison with the 1911 Census and 1939 Register:
Progress 2023
I came across a postcard of All Saints, Fulham where family christenings took place:
Little did I know that I woulld be mounting a Mini-Project early in 2024:
Introduction/Index to Mini-Project
For Christmas, I was given the book, Fulham Old & New by Charles Frenet., which gave more information about the family running a smallholding at Rowberry Mead in Fulham:
Progress 2024
I traced a dissertation on the internet, which gave much fuller information about the family's lease of Rowberry Mead:
I followed up reference in the dissertation to the probate & will of Elizabeth Bower who died in 1820:
The will gave the names of William & Elizabeth Bower's 5 children including Christopher. For the first time, I had a link between Christopher Bower, his parents William & Elizabeth and Rowberry Mead.
The new information lead me to Christopher's brother William Gux Bower.
Hoping that his middle name Gux was a family name, a further search gave me the details of William & Elizabeth's marriage:
Dartford, Kent
William Bower
married 4.6.1775
Elizabeth Gux.
I took a chance and found the baptism of William & Elizabeth's eldest son George:
Dartford, Kent
George Bowyer bp 29.5.1776
(Parents Willm.& Elizabeth Bowyer)
While I was in research mode, I found a number of additonal entries in the Parish Records:
One potential find was the death of William Bower in 1812. Unfortunately it does not give the age but it is about the right year and the burial was at All Saints in Fulham.
Things we wish we knew
- Birth (c1745) of William Bower
- Whether William & Elizabeth had children late in their lives
- Whether Benjamin Bower was a photographer, e.g. with his brother Alfred
- Birth certificate of Benjamin's daughters Elizabeth (b 1843/4) or Louise (b 1856/7)
- Birth (born c 1861/2) of daughter Alice (Bower), Marriage and Death of Alice (Blake)
- Birth certificate of George Christopher Boweer's son William (23/10/1866)
- What became of William's siblings
Colin Bower
20 January 2024
Links to:
