William Anderson Bowles

William Anderson Bowles

KentuckyConfirmed

1858–1936

Born

9 April 1858, Owsley County, Kentucky

Died

1940

Parents

Jas. Bowles

Married

Iona Belle Brock

Children

Alice Bagby, Ethel Maude NeSmith, Reynolds, William Anderson Bowles Jr., James Daniel Bowles, Robert Anthony Bowles and 1 more

Sources

44

Images

11

Life in the order the records give it

Birth1858

Born 9 April 1858, Owsley County, Kentucky S160S22

🔑 the date no longer rests on Find a Grave. The Owsley County birth register for 1858 records it on row 5 in a county clerk's hand at the time: "April 9th", child Wm. A. Bowles, Alive, born Owsley Co., Ky S160. S160 is cited ahead of S22.

Census1940

🆕 Dead by 1940: the Amarillo directory for that year lists his wife as “Iona B (wid W A)” S373; added 24 September 2026.

Death1936

🆕 His death is in the Texas death index as certificate 23075, Taylor County, 3 April 1936 S557. A different William Anderson Bowles, of Wood County, died in 1940; he is not this man. added 25 September 2026.

Record1907

🆕 A William A. Bowles was appointed postmaster at Potosi, Taylor County, on 15 May 1907, succeeding William L. Simpson Probable confirm or correct → S988. Evidence: the name and the family's town; his son William Jr. was 14. Weak: the register gives no age or other identifier. Know more? Use “Add to this record”. added 29 September 2026

Census1918

🆕 In 1918 James D. Bowles, 36, born in Arkansas, was a preacher at Rogers, Benton County, Arkansas, when the birth of his second child, Richard William Bowles, born 1918, was registered; the mother is Bessie Bagby, 31, born in Missouri Confirmed S1142.

Death1936

Died 3 April 1936, Abilene, Taylor County, Texas; buried Potosi Cemetery S22

Family parents, marriages, children, siblings

Parents1870

🔑 His parents are named on his own birth row, in words. The same register gives father Jas. Bowles and Maiden name of Mother: Lydia Williams S160

the first documentary statement of the parent–child link anywhere in this research. Before it, the tie to James Daniel Bowles and Lydia Williams ran through Find a Grave S22 and through a son William, 12, of exactly the right age on the 1870 Owsley household S157. ⚠ Ancestry's index of that register carries no date at all; the date exists only on the image.

Children1882

🆕 His son James Daniel Bowles Probable confirm or correct →, born 23 January 1882 at Cass, Arkansas, died 20 November 1941 at Michigan City, LaPorte County, Indiana; his wife was Bessie Alice. He married her as Alice Bagby at Aurora, Lawrence County, Missouri, on 12 June 1912, by the licence, read from the image S938; in 1925 he was a clergyman living in the parsonage at Abilene, Kansas, with his wife Bessie A. and two sons S939. The Indiana death index names his parents as Wm A. Bowles and “Ioma” S890, and his Find a Grave memorial agrees S891; he is in Atwood, Kansas in 1930 S892 and Crown Point, Indiana in 1940 S893. He is the eldest son in the 1900 household S140: re-read at full resolution on 29 September 2026, the line gives James D., born probably January 1882 in Arkansas, where the earlier transcription had James E., June 1882. Research status: PROBABLE, accepted by Earl 28 September 2026 pending more evidence. What is weak: the death certificate is read from its index only, not the image, and the link to his parents rests on that index and Find a Grave. added 28 September 2026.

Children1893

🆕 His son William Anderson Bowles Jr. Probable confirm or correct →, born 28 April 1893 at Elmdale, Taylor County, Texas, died 15 September 1957 at Pasadena, California, and buried at Rose Hills, by his Find a Grave memorial S899; the Social Security claims index names his wife as Evelyn J. Smith S900, and he is traced in the 1930, 1940 and 1950 censuses S901S902S903. He fits the William A., born April 1893 in Texas, of the 1900 household S140, and is probably the private William A. Bowles whose mother was “Bell Bowles” of Abilene in 1918 S773. Research status: PROBABLE, accepted by Earl 28 September 2026 pending more evidence. What is weak: no California marriage or death certificate has been read; his birth and death dates come from Find a Grave. added 28 September 2026.

Children1895

🆕 His daughter Iona Belle Bowles Noonan Probable confirm or correct →, born 18 January 1895, died 10 September 1986, wife of Charles Francis Noonan; her Find a Grave memorial names the same parents S905. Research status: PROBABLE, accepted by Earl 28 September 2026 pending more evidence. The Iona B. Reah, 55, of Hermosa Beach in 1950, living with her sister Jean Julius S637, is this daughter: a 1936 directory lists her at Hermosa Beach as Iona B., wife of Glanton Reah, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce S940. What is weak: her dates and the Noonan marriage rest on Find a Grave alone, and whether Mrs Reah later became Mrs Noonan has not been checked. added 28 September 2026.

Children1902

🆕 His son John Wesley Bowles Probable confirm or correct →, born 26 June 1902 at Potosi, Taylor County, died 6 December 1960 at Abilene; his Texas death certificate names his father as W. A. Bowles and his mother as “Belle Broach” S904. His own 1942 draft card, read from the image, gives the same birth date, 26 June 1902; it says Abilene, the county seat beside Potosi S934. He married Ethel Maude NeSmith, as a daughter's Texas birth certificate names her S936. In 1940 his household is on the same census sheet as his brother Alfred's family S935, and in 1950 he is the John W. Bowles, 47, farming next door to Alfred S743. The same birth date is given for his brother Thomas L. Bowles; John Wesley's is now settled from his own draft card, so whether they were twins turns on Thomas L.'s date, which is not yet checked. Research status: PROBABLE, accepted by Earl 28 September 2026 pending more evidence. What is weak: the link to his parents rests on the index of his death certificate, whose image has not been read. added 28 September 2026.

Children1904

🆕 His son Robert Anthony Bowles Probable confirm or correct →, born 3 April 1904 at Potosi, Taylor County, died 27 February 1974 at Phoenix, Arizona; his wife was Geneva Annie Reynolds, as a daughter's 1932 Texas birth certificate names her S937. The Social Security death index gives 3 April 1904 and February 1974 S894; his Find a Grave memorial names his parents as William Anderson and Iona Belle S895. He registered for the draft S896 and lived in Amarillo in 1940 and 1950 S897S898, two doors from his brother Warren Debs S507. Research status: PROBABLE, accepted by Earl 28 September 2026 pending more evidence. What is weak: his Arizona death certificate has not been read, and the draft card gives 4 April. added 28 September 2026.

Children1942

🆕 His son William Anderson Bowles Jr. signed his own 1942 draft card at 4706 Klamath Street, Los Angeles, giving his birth as 28 April 1893, Abilene, Texas Confirmed S1022. This puts the birth date on a record in his own hand; Abilene is the Taylor County seat. added 29 September 2026

Children1917

🆕 His son William Anderson Bowles Jr. had registered for the First World War draft on 5 June 1917 in Precinct 9, Taylor County: aged 24, of Route 2, Abilene, born 28 April 1893 at Abilene, a farmer, single Confirmed S1082. The date agrees with his 1942 card. added 30 September 2026

Parents1920

🆕 William Jr. is probably the “Bales, William A”, 26, single, a farmer born in Texas to parents born in Kentucky, in Belvidere Township, Los Angeles County, in 1920 Probable confirm or correct → S1023. Evidence: his age, his birthplace and both parents’ birthplaces fit. Weak: the surname is spelled Bales. Know more? Use “Add to this record”. added 29 September 2026

Children1920

🆕 His son James Daniel Bowles was a merchant with a music store at 302 North 5th Street, Rogers, Arkansas, in 1920, aged 37, with his wife Bessie A. and two sons Confirmed S1026. added 29 September 2026

Children1930

🆕 His son Robert Anthony Bowles was single in April 1930, a roomer on Pierce Street in Amarillo and a presser in a dry-cleaning plant Confirmed S1027, so he married Geneva Reynolds between 1930 and 1932. added 29 September 2026

Children1932

🆕 His son William A. Bowles Jr. and Evelyn J. were living at 4838 South Huntington Drive, Los Angeles, in 1932, where he was a clothes cleaner Confirmed S1119. That address falls between the ones in his 1930 and 1940 censuses.

Marriage1880

Married Iona Belle Brock on 24 December 1880 Confirmed

the date in the family typescript S72; Find a Grave gives 1880; Iona was single in her family's household at Hilburn in the June 1880 census S166, which a December wedding fits S22S23

Open questions what is probable, weak or missing — confirm or correct it

Open question

⚠️ His death certificate says 9 April 1856; the Owsley County birth record says 1858. The memorial flags the discrepancy itself.

Photos & documents 4 photos · 7 documents

Photos (4)

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Documents (7)

Documents · 7 page images all documents

Retrieved from the UNT Libraries' Portal to Texas History, or — for the University of Texas Cactus yearbooks — from Texas ScholarWorks. Each thumbnail opens the full page scan, which can also be downloaded. The quoted text is the OCR that ships with the scan, copied verbatim; the page image is the authority.

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Kentucky, U.S., Birth Records, 1847-1911 — county register of **BIRTHS**, **Owsley County, Kentucky**, returns for **1858**, row 5; leaf tabbed "BIRTH" and flagged *Faded Page* (Ancestry coll. 1213, record 150077533, image KYVR_994052-0056) · full resolution 3736 x 3264 px, 56/56 DeepZoom tiles — page row 5, across the opening (cols 1-6 left leaf, cols 7-10 right leaf)

County birth register · 9 April 1858

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1880 United States Federal Census — Hilburn Twp, Madison Co., Ark., ED 104, p. 24 (Ancestry record 6421242) · **S187** — page p. 24

Federal census schedule · 16 June 1880

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1900 U.S. Federal Census — Justice Precinct No. 1, Taylor County, Texas; SD 4, ED 148, sheet 18 A, dwelling 288, family 302, enumerated 29 June 1900 by N. M. Everett (Ancestry coll. 7602, records 44269127 and 44269126 — one sheet, two hints, one pull; image 4118560_00039) · full resolution 3880 × 3688 px, DeepZoom level 12, 64/64 tiles — page sheet 18A, lines 38–50

Federal census · 29 June 1900

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1910 United States Federal Census — JP 7, Taylor Co., TX, ED 268, sh. 2A (Ancestry record 123373807) · **S186** — page sh. 2A

Federal census schedule · 16 April 1910

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1920 United States Federal Census — JP 7, Taylor Co., TX, ED 272, sh. 15A (Ancestry record 13175085) · **S188** — page sh. 15A

Federal census schedule · 27 January 1920

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William A. Bowles & Iona Belle Brock — family record typescript, page 1 (G4)

Family record · undated

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William A. Bowles & Iona Belle Brock — family record typescript, page 2 (G4)

Family record · undated

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In the record Generation 5 — the immigrants and the frontier

1. S22FindAGrave memorial 63936320, William Anderson Bowles (1858–1936), Potosi Cemetery — findagrave.com/memorial/63936320.
2. S23FindAGrave memorial 63936483, Iona Belle Brock Bowles (1865–1947), Potosi Cemetery — findagrave.com/memorial/63936483.
3. S72Coffman and Bowles family record — typescript, undated. Four typed sheets compiled within the family and kept by Robert William Coffman (1906–1990), Earl's grandfather; passed to his son David and photographed 16 September 2026. Covers David Emily "Dee" Coffman & Mary Jane Wright, William Anderson Bowles & Iona Belle Brock and their eighteen children, and James Daniel Bowles & Lydia Williams and their ten. Family testimony, not a vital record — weighed as such. It agrees with the registers on Lydia Mae Bowles's birth to the day and on Iona Belle Brock's dates exactly, and it supplies two marriage dates and twenty-two names that no record here had. It also contradicts itself on William Anderson Bowles's birth year (1858 on one sheet, 1859 on another) and gives Mary Jane Wright's death as 1934 against 1935 elsewhere. Those conflicts are recorded, not resolved.
4. 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.
5. S1571870 U.S. Federal Census — James Bowles household, Travellers Rest Precinct, Owsley County, Kentucky. Ancestry collection 7163, record 22213199. Enumerated 30 June 1870 by A. J. Herd, Ass't Marshal; post office Travellers Rest, page No. 34, dwelling 224 / family 220, lines 1–10. Read from the image at full resolution, 22 September 2026. Bowles, James, 39, M, W, Farmer, personal estate $150 and the real-estate column empty, born Kentucky; Lydia, 35, keeping house, born TENNESSEE; then Emily 13, William 12 (farm labour), James D 10, Nancy 8, Sarah 6, Joanna 5, Martha E 2, and Lucinda, 4/12, born within the year — month FEB. 🔑 The whole family stands in one frame — the couple the 1856 Owsley register created S143, with eight children, fourteen years on. 🔑 Lydia's Tennessee birth is now in a second clerk's hand, corroborating the Hawkins County, Tennessee of the marriage register. 🔑 William, 12, is William Anderson Bowles to the month — a boy born 9 April 1858 is exactly 12 on the 1 June 1870 census day S160. 🔑 Lucinda at four months is the link to Arizona. The "born within the year" column gives Feb, and her own 1920 death certificate, filed in Phoenix by her husband, gives 27 February 1870 S158. 🔑 He owned no land in 1870. The real-estate column is empty — a fact an index cannot show, and a plain one beside his father's $1,200 twenty years earlier S155. ⚠ Its age column is the third to exclude 9 July 1831. Age 39 on 1 June 1870 requires a birth between 2 June 1830 and 1 June 1831. With 1850 (19) and 1863 (32), three independent enumerations agree with each other and disagree with the tree, whose date carries no primary citation. The tree is now corrected to 1830–31 (22 September 2026) — none of the three states a day. ⚠ Emily, William and James D are all marked cannot read, cannot write; only James D attended school within the year. ⚠ No other Bowles household appears on the page. 🔑 SUPPLEMENT, 22 September 2026 — the empty real-estate column is a LOSS, not a constant. The 1860 Travellers Rest sheet [S171] gives James Bowls $500 in real estate; here the column is empty and personal estate has fallen from $200 to $150. He held land in 1860 and held none in 1870, and that is a fact about the decade, not a transcription constant. S157's transcription otherwise holds in every particular. ⚠ The page gives no reason for the loss.
6. S160Owsley County, Kentucky BIRTH REGISTER, returns for 1858 — Wm. A. Bowles, born 9 April 1858, with both parents named on the row. Ancestry collection 1213 (Kentucky, U.S., Birth Records, 1847–1911), record 150077533, image KYVR_994052-0056; the leaf is tabbed BIRTH and flagged Faded Page. Read from the image at full resolution — 3736 × 3264 px, 56/56 DeepZoom tiles, 22 September 2026. The register runs as one table across the opening. Row 5: Date of Birth April 9th (the year 1858 stands at the head of the column and is carried down by ditto); Name of Child Wm. A. Bowles; Male; Alive; Place of Birth Owsley Co., Ky; Name of Father: Jas. Bowles; Maiden name of Mother: Lydia Williams; White; Residence of Parents Owsley Co., Ky. 🔑 9 APRIL 1858 STOPS RESTING ON FIND A GRAVE. The date does not move. What changes is who wrote it: a county clerk, at the time, in a statutory register, where before it stood on Find a Grave parent links S22. Weigh primary over derivative: this outranks S22 and is cited ahead of it. 🔑 It is also the FIRST DOCUMENTARY STATEMENT OF THE PARENT–CHILD LINK IN WORDS. Until this row, James Daniel Bowles and Lydia Williams were tied to William Anderson Bowles by Find a Grave and by inference from the 1870 household S157 — a son William, 12, exactly the right age. This register states it outright, at the birth, naming the father and the mother's maiden name on the child's own line. 🔑 A third independent document for the maiden surname Williams, and the second written in Kentucky at the time S143. Note the column heading: it is "Maiden name of Mother", not spouse — Ancestry's index renders it as Spouse: Lydia Williams, the same fact with worse provenance. 🔑 Ancestry's index carries NO DATE AT ALL, which is why this hint looked like a duplicate of what the tree already held. The date exists only on the image. ⚠ Only one Bowles appears anywhere in the father column of this page — it is otherwise Davis, Abner, Warner, Young, Prewit, Wells, McGuire, Kincaid, Beatty, Williams, Boothe, Bryant, Sizemore, Creech and others — so there is no second candidate on the leaf. ⚠ The 1856 date on his Texas death certificate is untouched by this and remains the outlier; it is now outvoted by a birth register, the 1900 Texas census S140 and the 1870 Kentucky census S157.
7. S1661880 U.S. Federal Census — Matilda Brock household, Hilburn Township, County of Madison, State of Arkansas. Ancestry collection 6742, record 5406340, image 4239811-00834. SCHEDULE 1.—Inhabitants, enumerated the Eighteenth day of June, 1880 by Aaron L. Thompson, Enumerator; page 27, S.D. 2, E.D. 104, stamped 554; dwelling and family 228/234, lines 11–17. Read from the image at full resolution — 3888 × 4560 px, 22 September 2026. Brock, Matilda, 33, head, MARRIED, Keeping House, born Kentucky, both parents Ky; Iona B. 14 (Ky), Mary E. 11 (Ky), Ellen 9 (Arkansas), Ida C. 7 (Ark), John B. 6 (Ark), James B. 3 (Ark). 🔑 Age 33 is the fourth age column to exclude 9 January 1848. Reference day 1 June 1880; 33 puts her birth between 2 June 1846 and 1 June 1847. With 1860 (13) [S165], 1870 (23) [S153] and 1900 (Jan 1847, age 53) [S138], four independent schedules close the year on 1847 and the day remains unattested by any document. 🔑 She heads her own household and the tick is in the MARRIED column, not Widowed — while Solomon heads a separate household at Eureka Springs, Carroll County, sixty miles north, fourteen days earlier [S168]. These two sheets must be read as a pair. ⚠ This is NOT early widowhood: the pension index dates his death to on or before 23 May 1904 [S152]. 🔑 The Kentucky-to-Arkansas move narrows to 1869 × July 1870. Mary E., 11, was born in Kentucky; Ellen, 9, in Arkansas, and the 12 July 1870 sheet already has the family in Madison County with both then-living daughters Kentucky-born [S153]. The wider December 1865 × December 1874 bracket closes to a little over a year. 🔑 It settles S153's one open reading. The eldest daughter here is Iona B., 14, born Kentucky; four in July 1870 and fourteen in June 1880 is the same child, so the 1870 line-28 given name is Iona B. and Sara B., Jane B. and Ancestry's Imma M. can be retired. 🔑 A sixth child, James B., 3, born Arkansas — Ancestry's index truncates its household list at "John B. Br" and he is not in the tree. ⚠ No month, no day. ⚠ The page gives no reason for the split household, and no separation, desertion or estrangement should be inferred from it.
8. S373Amarillo, Texas, city directory, 1940, p. 113. Ancestry record 377859274. Image examined, read 24 September 2026. Confirmed “Bowles Iona B (wid W A) r3 912 Buchanan” — Iona Belle Brock Bowles, widow of William Anderson Bowles, at the address of the 1940 census (S185). Also Ancestry record 377859273 (the same page, filed under Iona). The index turned “wid W A” into a listing for W. A. himself; the page shows he was already dead. Three other Bowles on the page (Robert A., Thomas L., Warren D.) are not shown to be kin.
9. S5071950 U.S. Federal Census — Warren D. Bowles household, 3907 E. 12th, Amarillo. Ancestry record 193903606. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Warren D., 39, dry cleaner; wife Opal; four sons. At 3903, two doors away, Robert A. Bowles, 46, also in the cleaning trade.
10. S557Texas, U.S., Death Index, 1903–1940 — p. 2520: William A. Bowles, 1936. Ancestry record 4626946. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed “Bowles, William A.”, Taylor County, died 3 April 1936, certificate 23075. The same page has a different William Anderson Bowles, of Wood County, d. 1 September 1940, cert. 43995; he is not ours.
11. S6371950 U.S. census — Hermosa Beach, Los Angeles County, California. Ancestry record 259470630. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Dwelling 230, 1906 Pacific Coast Highway: Iona B. Reah, 55, head, born Texas, visiting nurse; Harry Julius, 68, brother-in-law; Jean Julius, 59, sister, born Arkansas. The Ancestry index calls Jean never married; the page lists Harry as the head's brother-in-law.
12. 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.
13. S773U.S., Army Transport Service Passenger Lists, 1910–1939 — transport Orizaba, Hoboken: Co. D, 111th Ammunition Train, 36th Division. Ancestry record 123188075. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, September 2026. Probable Line 132: Bowles, William A., private first class, service no. 1480433, Company D; person to notify Bell Bowles, mother, R.R. #2, Abilene, Texas. The sailing date is blank on the page. “Bell Bowles” of Abilene fits Iona Belle, but no other record yet names a son William A. A 1900 or 1910 household, his draft card, or a Texas service card for 1480433 would confirm him.
14. S890Indiana death certificate index — James Daniel Bowles, 20 November 1941, Michigan City, LaPorte County. Ancestry collection 60716, record 359388 (primary index row). Parents Wm A. Bowles and “Ioma”; spouse Bessie Alice. The index row for his mother (record 750359388) reads “Ioma Breck”. Probable Read from the index only; the image has not been examined. Record 750359388 is the mother row on his certificate, not a death record for Iona. Accepted as PROBABLE by Earl 28 September 2026.
15. S891Find a Grave memorial 141771549 — James Daniel Bowles (1882–1941). Gives birth 23 January 1882, Cass, Arkansas, and parents William Anderson Bowles and Iona Belle. Probable A compiled memorial, not a record.
16. S8921930 U.S. census — James Daniel Bowles, Atwood, Kansas. Ancestry collection 6224, record 33508136. Probable Read from the index only; the image has not been examined.
17. S8931940 U.S. census — James Daniel Bowles, Crown Point, Indiana. Ancestry collection 2442, record 55453072. Probable Read from the index only; the image has not been examined.
18. S894U.S. Social Security Death Index — Robert Anthony Bowles. Ancestry collection 3693, record 6116135. Born 3 April 1904; died February 1974. Probable Read from the index only; the image has not been examined.
19. S895Find a Grave memorial 32204228 — Robert Anthony Bowles (1904–1974). Born 3 April 1904, Potosi, Taylor County, Texas; died 27 February 1974, Phoenix, Arizona; parents William Anderson Bowles and Iona Belle. Probable A compiled memorial, not a record. His Arizona death certificate has not been read.
20. S896U.S. WWII draft registration card — Robert Anthony Bowles. Ancestry collection 2238, record 20532523. Gives his birth as 4 April 1904. Probable Read from the index only; the image has not been examined. The day differs by one from the Social Security index.
21. S8971940 U.S. census — Robert A. Bowles, Amarillo, Texas. Ancestry collection 2442, record 159403049. Probable Read from the index only; the image has not been examined.
22. S8981950 U.S. census — Robert A. Bowles, Amarillo, Texas. Ancestry collection 62308, record 193903615. Probable Read from the index only; the image has not been examined. His brother Warren D. Bowles's household two doors away is S507.
23. S899Find a Grave memorial 114180807 — William Anderson Bowles Jr. (1893–1957). Born 28 April 1893, Elmdale, Taylor County, Texas; died 15 September 1957, Pasadena, California; buried Rose Hills. Probable A compiled memorial, not a record; no California death certificate read.
24. S900U.S. Social Security Applications and Claims Index — William Anderson Bowles Jr. Ancestry collection 60901, record 647572468. Spouse Evelyn J. Smith. Probable Read from the index only; the image has not been examined.
25. S9011930 U.S. census — W. A. Bowles Jr. Ancestry collection 6224, record 90702266. Probable Read from the index only; the image has not been examined.
26. S9021940 U.S. census — W. A. Bowles Jr. Ancestry collection 2442, record 73681895. Probable Read from the index only; the image has not been examined.
27. S9031950 U.S. census — W. A. Bowles Jr. Ancestry collection 62308, record 257070183. Probable Read from the index only; the image has not been examined.
28. S904Texas death certificate index — John Wesley Bowles, 6 December 1960, Abilene. Ancestry collection 2272, record 23227833. Born 26 June 1902, Potosi, Taylor County; father W. A. Bowles; mother “Belle Broach”. Probable Read from the index only; the image has not been examined. “Broach” is read as Brock.
29. S905Find a Grave memorial 141783210 — Iona Belle Bowles Noonan (1895–1986). Born 18 January 1895; died 10 September 1986; parents William Anderson Bowles and Iona Belle; husband Charles Francis Noonan. Probable A compiled memorial, not a record; nothing else yet read names her parents.
30. S934U.S. World War II draft registration card T-11064 — John Wesley Bowles, Taylor County, Texas, 1942. Ancestry record 20532483. Image examined, read 29 September 2026. Confirmed John Wesley Bowles, Route 2, Abilene, born 26 June 1902, Abilene, Texas, aged 39, a self-employed farmer; contact Will Nesmith; signed “J W Bowles”. His own statement of his birth date. His death certificate (S904) gives Potosi, a Taylor County community beside Abilene.
31. S9351940 U.S. census — John Bowles household, Precinct 1, Taylor County, Texas (ED 221-22, sheet 22A). Ancestry record 157946165. Image examined, read 29 September 2026. Confirmed John Bowles, head, 37, born in Texas, farmer, in the same house in 1935; Ethel, wife, 35; two daughters. Ancestry indexes the name as “Banales”. The same sheet opens with Alfred Bowles's family.
32. S936Texas birth certificate no. 61843 (delayed filing, 1957) — a daughter of John Wesley Bowles. Ancestry record 108291474. Image examined, read 29 September 2026. Confirmed Father John Wesley Bowles, 24, born in Texas, farmer; mother Ethel Maude NeSmith, 22, born in Texas. Cited for the parents only; the child's details are not published.
33. S937Texas birth certificate no. 55790, Amarillo — a daughter of R. A. Bowles. Ancestry record 108545227. Image examined, read 29 September 2026. Confirmed Father R. A. Bowles, 28, born in Texas, cleaner; mother Geneva Reynolds, 19, born in Texas. Cited for the parents only; the child's details are not published.
34. S938Lawrence County, Missouri, marriage licence, p. 499 — James Daniel Bowles and Alice Bagby, 12 June 1912. Ancestry record 7909659. Image examined, read 29 September 2026. Confirmed James Daniel Bowles, 30, of Texas, and Alice Bagby, of Aurora. Licence issued 8 June 1912; married at Aurora on 12 June 1912. She is Bessie A. in the 1920, 1925 and 1930 censuses; Bessie Alice is the probable reading.
35. S939Kansas state census, 1925 — J. Daniel Bowles household, Abilene, Dickinson County. Ancestry record 8220096. Image examined, read 29 September 2026. Confirmed Tenure “Parsonage”: J. Daniel, 43, born in Arkansas, came from Texas, clergyman; Bessie A., 38, born in Missouri; two sons. His age fits a birth in January 1882.
36. S940Los Angeles Directory Co.'s South Bay directory, 1936, p. 272 — Hermosa Beach. Ancestry record 1423030717. Image examined, read 29 September 2026. Confirmed Reah Glanton (Iona B), secretary of the Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce, house 1524 Monterey Boulevard. Ancestry indexes the place as Redondo Beach; the page is the Hermosa Beach section.
37. S988Record of Appointment of Postmasters — Taylor County, Texas, pages 787–788, Potosi. Ancestry record 728860. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 28 September 2026. Probable Postmasters at Potosi: Joel A. Holly (1898), William T. Woody (1904), William L. Simpson (27 February 1907), then William A. Bowles, appointed 15 May 1907, followed by Chester M. Lindley (date not read). The register gives no age or other identifier. Potosi was the Bowles family's town, and his son William Anderson Bowles Jr. was only 14 in 1907, so this is probably the father; that rests on name and town only.
38. S1022U.S. WWII Draft Registration Cards, 1942 — serial U1950, Los Angeles, California. Ancestry record 13423915. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Confirmed William Anderson Bowles, 4706 Klamath Street, Los Angeles, born 28 April 1893, Abilene, Texas, age 49; self-employed, W. A. Bowles, 3329 Eastern Avenue; contact Mrs Emma Smith. Signed by him. The same address as his 1940 census entry.
39. S10231920 United States Federal Census — Belvidere Township, Los Angeles County, California, sheet 8A, line 8. Ancestry record 168247. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Probable “Bales, William A”, 26, single, born Texas, both parents born Kentucky, farmer. The surname is misspelled; the age and birthplaces fit.
40. S10261920 United States Federal Census — Rogers, Benton County, Arkansas, enumeration district 20, sheet 3B, lines 60–63. Ancestry record 108742682. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Confirmed 302 North 5th Street: J. D. Bowles, 37, born Arkansas, parents born Kentucky, merchant, music store; Bessie A., 32, born Missouri; sons J. Daniel and Richard M. Read from the image.
41. S10271930 United States Federal Census — Amarillo, Potter County, Texas, enumeration district 188-9, sheet 10B. Ancestry record 61432195. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Confirmed Pierce Street: Robert A. Bowles, roomer, 25, single, born Texas, presser in a dry-cleaning plant, rooming with Vernon E. Hancock, a dry-cleaning proprietor. The entry gives his parents as born Texas, an error in a roomer’s line.
42. S1082U.S. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917–1918 — Precinct 9, Taylor County, Texas, card No. 54, serial 42-4-99-A. Ancestry record 17120035. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 30 September 2026. Confirmed 5 June 1917: William Anderson Bowles, 24, Route 2, Abilene, born 28 April 1893 at Abilene, a farmer, single; short, stout, brown eyes, light brown hair. The same name and birth date as his 1942 card [S1022].
43. S1119Los Angeles City Directory, 1932, p. 297 — William A. Bowles. Ancestry record 232305208. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 30 September 2026. Confirmed “Bowles Wm A (Evelyn J) clo clnr 4838 S Huntington dr”, a clothes cleaner. There are six other William Bowleses in the same column. His wife’s initials and his trade single this one out.
44. S1142Arkansas certificate of birth, Benton County, city of Rogers, registered no. 62, 1918. Ancestry record 150122413. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Confirmed Child Richard William Bowles, born 1918, second child of the mother, two living; father James D. Bowles, of Rogers, white, 36, born Arkansas, preacher; mother Bessie Bagby (written “Bogby”), 31, born Missouri. Richard may be living; he is given here by name and birth year only. The surname is written “Bowler” at one end of the line.