John Bowman (Nevada politician)

John Bowman (1824 or 1825 – July 26, 1899) was an American lawyer, assemblyman in Nevada, and Speaker of the Assembly.

John Bowman
Member of the Nevada Assembly
from the Nye County district
In office
November 4, 1868 – November 3, 1874
Serving with William Doolin (1868-1870), A. H. Greenhalgh (1870-1872), and H. G. Prague (1872-1874)
Preceded byJames M. Groves and W. T. Jones
Succeeded byJohn B. McGee and P. M. Ellison
Personal details
Born1824/1825
Tennessee
DiedJuly 26, 1899 (aged 74)
NationalityAmerican
Political party
ChildrenEdward (son) and Frank Hall (daughter)
ProfessionLawyer

Biography

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He was born in 1824 or 1825 in Tennessee. Bowman moved from Illinois to California in 1854 and lived most of the time in El Dorado County.[1] At the beginning of the 1860s, he moved to Washoe City in the Nevada Territory.[2] Bowman was among the first settlers of Austin and Belmont.[1]

On November 3, 1868, Bowman was elected representative of Nye County in the Nevada Assembly.[3] As a Unionist, he served with William Doolin and his term started the next day.[4][5] In November 1870, Bowman was re-elected and this term he served together with A. H. Greenhalgh.[3] From the 1870 election on, he served as a Republican instead of as a Unionist.[6] Bowman was the Republican nominee for Speaker of the Assembly of the 1871 regular session, but the Assembly, that had a Democratic majority, voted 24 to 20 in support of his competitor, Democrat Robert E. Lowery.[7]

At the November 1872 elections, Bowman was re-elected once more and served that term with H. G. Prague.[3] During the 1873 regular session, he was chosen Speaker of the Assembly.[6] His third and final term ended in November 1874.[3] Bowman had served a total of three regular sessions.[4] At the 1874 elections, he was the Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Nevada, but he was defeated by his opponent, Democrat Jewett W. Adams. Bowman received 7,930 votes (44%).[4]

In 1877, he moved from Belmont to Reno, where he would live until his death.[8][1] On November 5 of the next year, Bowman was elected district attorney of Washoe County. He served as district attorney for two years.[3] Bowman died on July 26, 1899, after having been sick for two months. He had suffered from asthma for several years. Bowman had a wife and two children (one son and one daughter) and he had been a member of the Odd Fellows.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Death of Judge Bowman". Nevada State Journal. 27 July 1899. p. 2. Retrieved 6 February 2016 – via Newspapers.com.  
  2. ^ "John Bowman". Nevada State Journal. 1 November 1874. p. 1. Retrieved 6 February 2016 – via Newspapers.com.  
  3. ^ a b c d e Thompson; West (1881). History of Nevada. Oakland, California. pp. 513 and 629. Retrieved 6 February 2016.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ a b c Parker, Renee; George, Steve, eds. (2006). Political History of Nevada (11th ed.). pp. 244, 245, 246, and 356. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  5. ^ "Nevada Legislature: The Constitution of the State of Nevada". 28 July 1864. Retrieved 4 February 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Nevada Legislators, 1861-2015" (PDF). Nevada Legislature. April 2015. p. 8. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
  7. ^ "The Nevada Legislature–Organization". Marysville Daily Appeal. 4 January 1871. p. 2. Retrieved 6 February 2016 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.  
  8. ^ "Short Bits". Weekly Nevada State Journal. 6 October 1877. p. 1. Retrieved 6 February 2016 – via Newspapers.com.