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John C. Bowers

From Wikipedia
John C. Bowers
human
Ein sex anaa gendermale Edit
Ein country of citizenshipUnited States Edit
Name wey dem give amJohn Edit
Family nameBowers Edit
Ein date of birth9 February 1811 Edit
Place dem born amPhiladelphia Edit
Date wey edie5 October 1873 Edit
Place wey ediePhiladelphia Edit
Place wey dem bury amPennsylvania Edit
SiblingThomas Bowers Edit
Ein occupationorganist, businessperson Edit
Instrumentorgan Edit

John C. Bowers, Jr. (February 9, 1811 – October 5, 1873) na he be an African American entrepreneur, organist den vestryman at St. Thomas African Episcopal Church, deb a founding member of de first Grand United Order of Odd Fellows give African Americans insyd Pennsylvania. Na he be active insyd de anti-slavery movement insyd Philadelphia, wey he be involved insyd de founding of chaw organizations wey dey include de Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society.[1] "A fervent abolitionist den outspoken opponent of colonization, na [he] be much in demand as a public speaker."

Early life den career

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Na dem born John C. Bowers insyd Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to John den Henrietta Bowers.[1] Na ein poppie, John C. Bowers Sr. (1773–1844), be a secondhand clothing dealer, a vestryman den school trustee at St. Thomas African Episcopal Church, den one of de founders of de Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society.[2]

Na Bowers be organist at de St. Thomas African Episcopal Church

Na de younger Bowers sanso be a member of St. Thomas African Episcopal Church,[3] wer na he cam be de organist.[3][4] Na two of ein siblings pursue singing careers. Na Bowers train ein bro, Thomas Bowers, insyd de piano den organ; eventually na ein bro pursue voice training plus famed African American concert artist Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, wey na he embark on a solo career as a concert tenor.[5][6] Na dema sisto Sarah Sedgwick Bowers study as a concert soprano wey she tour professionally insyd 1856.

Na John C. Bowers train as a tailor den he cam be de proprietor of a clothing shop at No. 71 South Second Street, Philadelphia.[7] Na Martin Delany describe am as de owner of a "fashionable merchant tailor shop" togeda plus ein bro, Thomas, wey dey cater to upper class gentlemen den businessmen insyd Philadelphia,[8] while na Henry M. Minton dey characterize am as "de most prominent" of 15 tailors insyd de city.[9]

Community activism

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Na Bowers be a member of chaw literary societies.[10] Na he be one of de signatories of de constitution of de Philadelphia Library Company of Colored Persons, dem institute on January 1, 1833. Na de company ein object be "de collection of a library of useful works of every description, for de benefit of ein members, wey fi der successfully apply widout comparatively any cost, for dat mental good wich na dem no fi readily obtain elsewer". For a membership fee of $1, na African Americans of all classes be afforded an opportunity make dem further educate demaselves. Na de library ein members adopt a system of organized reading den weekly debate wey enable ein members to practice elocution den public speaking.[11] In spite of ein name, na de Library Company be a male institution. Na Bowers sanso support de education of women, writing to de Liberator insyd 1834 insyd praise of women dema literary groups.[12] Na Bowers be involved insyd starting de Gilbert Lyceum, dem institute on January 31, 1841, wich enable women den men make dem work togeda insyd literary den scientific pursuits.He cam be secretary of de weekly newspaper The Colored American insyd 1841.

As a member of de Library Association of Philadelphia, na he be a delegate to de first meeting of de American Moral Reform Society insyd 1837,[13] wer na he give a speech on temperance.[1] Na de society ein platform include "Education, Temperance, Economy den Universal Liberty".[14] Na Bowers sanso be a member of de Association for Moral and Mental Improvement.

Wen na de Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention of 1838 (dem know as de Reform Convention) meet make dem amend de state constitution to restrict suffrage to whites, blacks form dema own Committee to respond. Na J. C. Bowers be one of dat committee, along plus Robert Purvis, James Cornish, Robert B. Forten, J. J. G. Bias, James Needham, den John P. Burr. Na dem prepare den publish de "Appeal of Forty Thousand Citizens Threatened with Disenfranchisement, To the People of Pennsylvania", hoping e go convince white citizens no to approve de amended constitution. Na Bowers be active in raising money for de publication.[1] In spite of dema efforts, na de citizens of Pennsylvania ratify de new state constitution on October 9, 1838, wey dey disenfranchise free African Americans insyd Pennsylvania. Na dem no regain de franchise til na dem pass de 15th Amendment insyd 1869.[15][16] During dat time, na Bowers continue to lobby for African American suffrage.

Na Bowers be concerned plus institutions for mutual relief, wey he help compile den publish a list of aid societies give African Americans insyd 1831.[17] Na Bowers be a founding member of Unity Lodge No. 711, de first lodge of de Grand United Order of Odd Fellows wey na dem established insyd Pennsylvania for African Americans, on June 5, 1845.[18][19]Na de Odd Fellows provide mutual aid, similar to insurance, plus practical benefits for events such as illness, death, disability, den widowhood.[20] Na Bowers be involved insyd dis "friendly society" for African Americans thru out de rest of ein life. Na he serve repeatedly as a Director, for three terms as Deputy Grand Master (1855, 1857, 1858), den for one term as Grand Master (1870).

Insyd an obituary for Bowers, na The Philadelphia Inquirer wrep: "na he be an active den enterprising citizen, warmly interested insyd all plans for de advancement of ein people, prominent insyd ein hostility to slavery."[21] Na dem sanso report ein death insyd San Francisco ein Pacific Appeal, an African American newspaper wey speak of am as "one of de very best representative colored men wey Philadelphia fi boast of."[18]

Personal

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Insyd 1835 na John C. Bowers marry Mary C. Collins, daughter of Cato Collins.[10] Na she teach Sunday school insyd de church.[10] She die a year after dema marriage.[1]

Bowers die insyd 1873 wey na dem bury am insyd Lebanon Cemetery insyd Philadelphia. Insyd 1903, na dem move ein remains den those of odas to Eden Cemetery insyd Collingdale, Delaware County, Pennsylvania – de oldest public African American burial ground insyd de United States.[22] Na dem move burials from Lebanon den oda cemeteries secof construction projects within de city of Philadelphia.[22]

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Winch, Julie (2000). The Elite of Our People: Joseph Willson's Sketches of Black Upper-Class Life in Antebellum Philadelphia. Pennsylvania State University. ISBN 0271020202.
  2. ↑ Foner, Philip Sheldon (1983). History of Black Americans: From the emergence of the cotton kingdom to the eve of the compromise of 1850. Greenwood Press. p. 310. ISBN 0837175291.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Jackson, Irene V. (1985). More Than Dancing: Essays on Afro-American Music and Musicians. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0313245541. john c.
  4. ↑ Nettles, Darryl Glenn (2003). African American concert singers before 1950. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 0786414677.
  5. ↑ Trotter, James M. (1881). "Thomas J. Bowers, Tenor-Vocalist; Often styled the "American Mario"". Music and Some Highly Musical People. readcentral.com. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  6. ↑ Appiah, Kwame Anthony; Gates, Jr., Henry Louis (2005). Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience. Oxford University Press. p. 598. ISBN 0195170555.
  7. ↑ M'Elroy, A. (1839). A. M'Elroy's Philadelphia Directory. Philadelphia: A. McElroy & Co.
  8. ↑ Delany, Martin Robison (2012). The Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States. Tredition. ISBN 978-3847207979.
  9. ↑ Minton, Henry M. (1913). Early History of Negroes in Business in Philadelphia. Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Yellin, Jean Fagan; Van Horne, John C. (1994). The Abolitionist Sisterhood: Women's Political Culture in Antebellum America. Cornell University Press. p. 110. ISBN 0801480116.
  11. ↑ Willson, Joseph (1841). Sketches of the Higher Classes of Colored Society in Philadelphia. Philadelphia: Merrihew and Thompson, Printers. ISBN 0-271-02021-0. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  12. ↑ Winch, Julie (1994). "You have talents – only cultivate them", Philadelphia's Black Female Literary Societies and the Abolitionist Crusade". In Yellin, Jean Fagan; Van Horne, John C. (eds.). The Abolitionist sisterhood: women's political culture in Antebellum America. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801480116.
  13. ↑ Porter, Dorothy (1995). Early Negro Writing, 1760-1837 (Revised ed.). Black Classic Press. ISBN 0933121598.
  14. ↑ Horton, James Oliver; Horton, Lois E. (1998). In hope of liberty culture, community, and protest among northern free Blacks, 1700-1860 (Reprint ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 221. ISBN 0195124650.
  15. ↑ Purvis, Robert (1838). Appeal of Forty Thousand Citizens, Threatened with Disfranchisement, to the People of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Preserving American Freedom.
  16. ↑ Dorsey, Bruce (2006). Reforming men and women: Gender in the antebellum city. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press. p. 151. ISBN 0801472881.
  17. ↑ "Institutions for Mutual Relief" (PDF). National Humanities Center Resource Toolbox the Making of African American Identity. I. 1831. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Philadelphia: Death of P. G. M., J. C. Bowers". Pacific Appeal. Vol. X, no. 11. San Francisco, California. 8 November 1873. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  19. ↑ Brooks, Charles H. (1902). The Official History and Manual of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows in America: A Chronological Treatise. Odd Fellows' Journal Print.
  20. ↑ Barga, Michael (5 September 2012). "Grand United Order of Odd Fellows in America". Social Welfare History Project. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  21. ↑ "Obituary". Philadelphia Inquirer. 1873-10-08.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Mengers, Patti (14 November 2010). "Collingdale's Eden Cemetery is oldest African-American burial ground in U.S. (With Video)". Daily Times News. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
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