The Proeger Family · Generation 4 — Earl's great-grandparents and their siblings

Solomon Alfred Bowles

Son of William Anderson Bowles · born 1886

Solomon Alfred Bowles

Confirmed

Son of William Anderson Bowles · born 1886

Born
11 August 1886
Died
2 June 1964
Parents
William Anderson Bowles & Iona Belle Brock
Married
Jewell Ross
Sources
12

Research status

Research status: CONFIRMED — added 24 September 2026 from a record that names the parents; entered in the family tree the same day.

Life in the order the records give it

Birth1886
Born 11 August 1886, St. Paul, Arkansas; Solomon A., Aug 1886, in the 1900 census S140
Death1964
Died 2 June 1964, Abilene, Texas
Work1920
🆕 He farmed in Taylor County with his wife Jewel: in 1920 with Yolanda S515, in 1930 with Yolanda, Dixon and Lorene S516, and in 1940, aged 52, on a farm he owned S517. He died of pneumonia at Abilene on 2 June 1964 and was buried at Potosi; the certificate names his parents as Wm. A. Bowles and Ionabell Brock, and gives his birth as 11 August 1887 S514. added 25 September 2026.
Census1958
🆕 The 1958 Abilene directory lists him with Jewel at 1357 Sycamore S569. added 25 September 2026.
Burial1898
🆕 His widow, Jewel Ross Bowles, born 28 September 1898 in Texas, a daughter of W. D. Ross and Lula Greenway, died at Abilene on 8 June 1974, still at 1357 Sycamore, and was buried at Potosi S658. added 26 September 2026.
Military1917
🆕 His two draft cards give different birthplaces. In 1917, a farmer on Abilene Route 2, he gave St. Paul, Arkansas, and claimed exemption on grounds of conscience S684; in 1942, at Potosi with his wife Jewel, he gave Cass, Arkansas S685. Both give 11 August 1886. added 26 September 2026.
Census1950
🆕 In 1950 Alfred S. Bowles, 65, born in Arkansas, was still farming his own land in Taylor County with Jewel, 52; the index left her out. Next door was John W. Bowles, 47, a farmer, with Ethel and Verna; how he was related is not known S743. added 26 September 2026.
Record1920
🆕 The Texas birth index records a child of Alfred Bowles born in Taylor County on 1 February 1920, certificate 11378, not yet named in the index S744 Probable confirm or correct →. This is probably their son Dixon, who is in the 1930 household but was not yet born when the 1920 census was taken in January. What is weak: the index gives no name, and the certificate has not been read. added 26 September 2026.

Family parents, marriages, children, siblings

Parents
Son of William Anderson Bowles and Iona Belle Brock; brother of Lydia Mae Bowles
Marriage1917
🆕 His wife was Jewell Ross, born at Potosi. Their first child, Yolanda, was born there on 29 December 1917; the certificate gives his age as 31, which fits a birth in August 1886 S542. added 25 September 2026.

In the record Generation 4 — Earl's great-grandparents and their siblings

Solomon Alfred Bowles · Sources

Citations

Sources cited on this card

12 of the record's sources are cited here. The numbering is the record's own; the full list, with where else each is cited, is at Sources.

  1. S1401900 U.S. Federal Census — the William A. Bowles household, Justice Precinct No. 1, Taylor County, Texas. Ancestry collection 7602, records 44269127 and 44269126 — one sheet, two hints, one pull — image 4118560_00039. Supervisor's District 4, Enumeration District 148, sheet 18 A, dwelling 288, family 302, enumerated 29 June 1900 by N. M. Everett. Read from the image at full resolution — 3880 × 3688 px, 21 September 2026; read-only, nothing accepted, attached or edited. Lines 38–50: William A. Bowles, head, Apr 1858, age 42, Farmer, born Kentucky of a Kentucky father and a Tennessee mother; Iona B., wife, Dec 1865, age 34, born Kentucky of Kentucky parents, 12 children born, 11 living; then eleven children — James E. Jun 1882, Lily Jul 1883, Mary M. Jan 1885, Solomon A. Aug 1886, Ellie Dec 1887, Cynthia G. May 1890 and Clara H. Oct 1891 all born in Arkansas, and William A. Apr 1893, Onie Jan 1894, Martha Sept 1896 and Ida J. May 1898 all born in Texas. A third voice on the 1856-versus-1858 conflict, and it agrees with 1858 twice over. The date columns read Apr 1858, and the age column reads 42 at the 29 June 1900 census date — exact for an April 1858 birth, and 44 for an 1856 one. Two independent sources now say April 1858: the Owsley County birth register and this census, taken thirty-six years before the death certificate and while he was alive. The certificate's 1856 is the outlier. ⚠ The day is not on this sheet — a 1900 schedule carries month and year and no day column, so the ninth still rests on the birth register alone. The same sheet brackets the household's move: the last Arkansas-born child is October 1891 and the first Texas-born child is April 1893, so they left Arkansas for Texas between October 1891 and April 1893. ⚠ Years married reads 17 on his line and 19 on hers; the two do not agree and the sheet cannot settle the marriage year. Ancestry indexes the whole household as "Beals"; the page reads Bowles, partly obscured by an indexer's struck-through pencil mark — a transcription artefact, not a name variant. ⚠ This is not the Callahan County sheet [S138]: different county, different image, different household.
  2. S514Texas, U.S., Death Certificates — no. 39576: Solomon Alfred Bowles, 1964. Ancestry record 23545742. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Solomon Alfred Bowles, farmer, died 2 June 1964, Abilene, of pneumonia; born 11 August 1887, Arkansas; father Wm. A. Bowles, mother Ionabell Brock; informant Mrs. S. A. Bowles; buried Potosi. The certificate's birth year, 1887, differs from the year on his card; both are recorded.
  3. S5151920 U.S. Federal Census — Solomon A. Bowles household, J.P. 7, Taylor County, Texas (indexed “Bowler”). Ancestry record 13175136. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Solomon A., 33, farmer; wife Jewel, 21; Yolanda, 2.
  4. S5161930 U.S. Federal Census — Solomon A. Bowles household, Precinct 7, Taylor County, Texas. Ancestry record 60799617. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Solomon A., 42, farmer, married at 29; wife Jewel, 30; Yolanda, 12; Dixon, 10; Lorene, 8.
  5. S5171940 U.S. Federal Census — S. Alfred Bowles, Precinct 1, Taylor County, Texas. Ancestry record 157946148. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed S. Alfred Bowles, 52, born Arkansas, farmer, owns his farm. Only his own line is on this sheet; the household continues overleaf.
  6. S542Texas, U.S., Birth Certificates — no. 59962, Potosi, Taylor County, 1917. Ancestry record 105690361. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Yolanda Bowles, born 29 December 1917, the first child of Alfred Bowles, 31, farmer, born Arkansas, and Jewell Ross, 19, born Potosi. His age, 31, fits a birth in August 1886, not the 1887 on his death certificate (S514).
  7. S569Abilene, Texas, city directory, 1958, p. 61. Ancestry record 402929895. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Bowles Soloman A (Jewel), home 1357 Sycamore. The Ancestry index reads the house number as 357; the page says 1357.
  8. S658Texas death certificate, 1974, Taylor County, state file 46202. Ancestry record 1077623. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Jewel Ross Bowles, widowed, of 1357 Sycamore, Abilene; born 28 September 1898, Texas; died 8 June 1974, Abilene; parents W. D. Ross and Lula Greenway; buried at Potosi.
  9. S684U.S. World War I draft registration card, 1917, Taylor County, Texas. Ancestry record 17120033. Image examined, read 26 September 2026. Confirmed Solomon Alfred Bowles, farmer, Abilene Route 2; born 11 August 1886, St. Paul, Arkansas; claimed exemption on grounds of conscience.
  10. S685U.S. World War II draft registration card, 1942, Potosi, Taylor County. Ancestry record 12474670. Image examined, read 26 September 2026. Confirmed Solomon Alfred Bowles, Potosi, Taylor County, Texas; born 11 August 1886, Cass, Arkansas; contact Mrs. Jewel Bowles. The back of the card is not on this image.
  11. S7431950 U.S. census, Taylor County, Texas, ED 221-57A, sheet 75. Ancestry record 195175579. Image examined, read 26 September 2026. Confirmed Alfred S. Bowles, 65, born in Arkansas, farming on his own account, with his wife Jewel, 52, born in Texas. Next door: John W. Bowles, 47, farming, with Ethel, 45, and Verna, 19. The index leaves Jewel out; she is on the image. John W. is John Wesley Bowles, Alfred's brother: his 1940 household is on the same census sheet as Alfred's family (S935), and his own draft card (S934) gives the same birth year. Updated 29 September 2026: this note first said how he was related was not known.
  12. S744Texas birth index, 1920, p. 128. Ancestry record 150336837. Image examined, read 26 September 2026. Probable “Bowles, Alfred, Inf. of”, Taylor County, 1 February 1920, certificate 11378. An index entry that does not name the child; the certificate itself has not been read.

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