Individual Details
Sophia Perizade Bowman
(3 Mar 1846 - 2 Feb 1924)
"Genealogy of a Bowman Family," by Byron Whitener Bowman, 1956:
Biography of Sophia Welker Pope, 1846-1924
Sophia Perizade, the tenth child of Benjamin and Sophia Bowman, was born March
3, 1846, at the Kanawha Salt Works in Virginia. As she grew to womanhood, she
had some serious trouble with her eyes and was practically blind for a long
time, though she so far recovered her sight that she was able to perform her
household duties, even reading if the print was fairly good.
On February 19, 1865 (Note: This date is documented in the Marriage Records of
Cape Girardeau, Co., Missouri), she was married to William H. Welker, who some
time later was converted; and, though all his family were Methodists, he united
with his wife to the Baptist Church and soon began to preach, showing great
earnestness. He won many converts in the years to follow until his death on
April 12, 1888, which was very sudden. He had gone to the home of a friend to
spend the night, became ill, and died in a few hours.
Of his past life he would often say: "What a change His Word can make, turning
darkness into day." If he had been a very ungodly man before his conversion,
he was surely a very pious one afterward.
The children born to William and Sophia Welker were: Samuel, who became a
railroad worker at Fornfelt, Missouri; Mary, who married "Bud" Lewis, a farmer
at Allenville, Missouri; Ben, who became a telegraph operator and was at one
time located at Caliente, Nevada, and who is still living at this writing at
4401 Braeburn Rd., San Diego 16, California (his daughter Eugenia M. Welker now
lives with him); George, who became a farmer living near Blodgett, Missouri,
but so far we have been unable to locate him, if he is still living; Russell,
who died in Mexico City, Mexico, August 1, 1906, of smallpox; and James, who is
a deaf mute who became a worker in a shoe factory in Cape Girardeau, Missouri,
and whose wife was also deaf and dumb. James, at this writing, is still living
with son, Woodrow, on Star Route out of Glen Allen, Missouri (his wife died in
1941). James has three children, 10 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Welker remained a widow until after all her children were grown, after
which she married Judge M. J. Pope, and they lived at Marquand, Missouri.
Judge Pope served two terms as Associate Judge from the southern district of
Madison County, having been elected on the Democratic ticket over one of the
most popular men in the Republican party who had served the county in the State
Legislature.
Sophia was naturally a good woman with a strong mind and a bright intellect.
She studied the Bible more than most people and was well posted on questions of
Biblican knowledge. Her disposition was a cheerful one.
Besides the children mentioned above, four died in infancy and were buried in
the Old Salem graveyard, where the body of Mr. Welker lies, and a marble shaft
to mark the spot was erected by the Oak Ridge Baptist Church, of which he was
the highly esteemed pastor at the time of his death.
June 12, 1956
Biography of Sophia Welker Pope, 1846-1924
Sophia Perizade, the tenth child of Benjamin and Sophia Bowman, was born March
3, 1846, at the Kanawha Salt Works in Virginia. As she grew to womanhood, she
had some serious trouble with her eyes and was practically blind for a long
time, though she so far recovered her sight that she was able to perform her
household duties, even reading if the print was fairly good.
On February 19, 1865 (Note: This date is documented in the Marriage Records of
Cape Girardeau, Co., Missouri), she was married to William H. Welker, who some
time later was converted; and, though all his family were Methodists, he united
with his wife to the Baptist Church and soon began to preach, showing great
earnestness. He won many converts in the years to follow until his death on
April 12, 1888, which was very sudden. He had gone to the home of a friend to
spend the night, became ill, and died in a few hours.
Of his past life he would often say: "What a change His Word can make, turning
darkness into day." If he had been a very ungodly man before his conversion,
he was surely a very pious one afterward.
The children born to William and Sophia Welker were: Samuel, who became a
railroad worker at Fornfelt, Missouri; Mary, who married "Bud" Lewis, a farmer
at Allenville, Missouri; Ben, who became a telegraph operator and was at one
time located at Caliente, Nevada, and who is still living at this writing at
4401 Braeburn Rd., San Diego 16, California (his daughter Eugenia M. Welker now
lives with him); George, who became a farmer living near Blodgett, Missouri,
but so far we have been unable to locate him, if he is still living; Russell,
who died in Mexico City, Mexico, August 1, 1906, of smallpox; and James, who is
a deaf mute who became a worker in a shoe factory in Cape Girardeau, Missouri,
and whose wife was also deaf and dumb. James, at this writing, is still living
with son, Woodrow, on Star Route out of Glen Allen, Missouri (his wife died in
1941). James has three children, 10 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Welker remained a widow until after all her children were grown, after
which she married Judge M. J. Pope, and they lived at Marquand, Missouri.
Judge Pope served two terms as Associate Judge from the southern district of
Madison County, having been elected on the Democratic ticket over one of the
most popular men in the Republican party who had served the county in the State
Legislature.
Sophia was naturally a good woman with a strong mind and a bright intellect.
She studied the Bible more than most people and was well posted on questions of
Biblican knowledge. Her disposition was a cheerful one.
Besides the children mentioned above, four died in infancy and were buried in
the Old Salem graveyard, where the body of Mr. Welker lies, and a marble shaft
to mark the spot was erected by the Oak Ridge Baptist Church, of which he was
the highly esteemed pastor at the time of his death.
June 12, 1956
Events
| Birth | 3 Mar 1846 | Kanawha Salt Works, Kanawha, , WV | |||
| Marriage | 19 Feb 1865 | , Cape Girardeau, MO - William Henry Welker | |||
| Death | 2 Feb 1924 | ||||
| Burial | Marquand, Madison, MO |
Families
| Spouse | William Henry Welker (1846 - 1889) |
| Child | Mary Adeline Welker (1867 - 1920) |
| Child | Benjamin Lee Welker (1869 - ) |
| Child | James Franklin Welker (1883 - 1972) |
| Child | Samuel S. Welker (1886 - 1926) |
| Child | Mr. ( - ) |
| Child | William Russell Welker ( - 1906) |
| Spouse | Mr. ( - ) |
| Father | Benjamin Bowman (1804 - 1873) |
| Mother | Sophia Hill Ferguson (1805 - 1896) |
| Sibling | Lucy Ann Bowman (1827 - 1897) |
| Sibling | Elizabeth Mary "Betsy" Bowman (1829 - 1859) |
| Sibling | Charles Chisholm Bowman (1831 - 1837) |
| Sibling | John Otea Bowman (1833 - 1838) |
| Sibling | William Edwin Bowman (1835 - 1837) |
| Sibling | Benjamin Leroy "Lee" Bowman (1837 - 1920) |
| Sibling | James Orin Bowman (1839 - ) |
| Sibling | Columbus Carroll Bowman (1841 - ) |
| Sibling | Samuel Sterling Bowman (1843 - 1916) |
| Sibling | Thomas Anderson Bowman (1850 - 1915) |