Bowra History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Scotland

The chronicles of Scottish history reveal that the first people to use the name Bowra were the Strathclyde- Britons. It was a name for a maker of bows. Further research revealed that the name is derived from the Old English word bower, which means bow maker.

Early Origins of the Bowra family

The surname Bowra was first found in Peeblesshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd nam Pùballan), former county in South-central Scotland, in the present day Scottish Borders Council Area, where they held a family seat in the old manor of Bower in the parish of Drummelzier.

One of the first records of the family was "Lorence atte Bure of the county of Peebles, and William Oftherebure of the county of Roxburgh [who] rendered homage [to King Edward I of England] in 1296." ^[1]

Important Dates for the Bowra family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bowra research. Another 166 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1317, 1387, 1489, 1479, 1615, 1449, 1686, 1766, 1685, 1702, 1706, 1705, 1681, 1664, 1689, 1671 and 1718 are included under the topic Early Bowra History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bowra Spelling Variations

Prior to the first dictionaries, scribes spelled words according to sound. This, and the fact that Scottish names were repeatedly translated from Gaelic to English and back, contributed to the enormous number of spelling variations in Scottish names. Bowra has been spelled Bower, Bowre, Bowyr, Bowers, Bowyer, Beauer and many more.

Early Notables of the Bowra family (pre 1700)

Notable amongst the family at this time was Walter Bower or Bowmaker (d. 1449), Abbot of Inchcolm, reputed continuator of Fordun's 'Chronica Gentis Scotorum,' as it appears in the volume generally known as the 'Scotichronicon.' Archibald Bower (1686-1766), was a Scottish author of the 'History of the Popes,' born on 17 Jan. 1685 at or near Dundee; according to his own account, he was descended from an ancient family which had been for several hundred years possessed of an estate in the county of Angus in Scotland. In 1702 he was sent to the Scotch college at Douay; afterwards proceeded to Rome...
Another 114 words (8 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bowra Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Bowra family to Ireland

Some of the Bowra family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Bowra family

In such difficult times, the difficulties of raising the money to cross the Atlantic to North America did not seem so large compared to the problems of keeping a family together in Scotland. It was a journey well worth the cost, since it was rewarded with land and freedom the Scots could not find at home. The American War of Independence solidified that freedom, and many of those settlers went on to play important parts in the forging of a great nation. Among them: Henry Bower who settled in Virginia in 1637; Robert Bower settled in Virginia in 1698; John Bowers settled in Virginia in 1663; Jonas Bowers settled in Virginia in 1637.

Citations

1. ^ Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)