Walter Wells Bowman^[1]

1870 -

• Name	Walter Wells Bowman
  Born	11 Aug 1870	Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [2, 3, 4, 5, 6]
  Residence	1871	Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [6]
  	Swedenborgian
  Christened	29 Jan 1871	Church Of New Jerusalem, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [5]
  Gender	Male
  Interesting	sports, football
  Residence	1881	Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [4]
  	Swedenborgian
  Eby ID Number	00002-432.3
  Died	Butte, Silver Bow, Montana, United States
  Person ID	I8122	Generations
  Last Modified	7 Nov 2024

  
  

  Father	Daniel Lewis Bowman,   b. 6 Jul 1844, Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 9 Aug 1896, Toronto, York Co., Ontario, Canada  (Age 52 years)
  Mother	Wilhelmine Louisa Stumpf,   b. 1842, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Married	22 Oct 1867	Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [7, 8, 9]
  Family ID	F2413	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Biography- Silver Bow County, MT - Walter Wells Bowman Made Available by: Colin Jose WALTER WELLS BOWMAN. Born Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, August 11, 1890. Walter Bowman, last heard of in Butte, Montana in 1929, was an outstanding soccer player and holds the unique record of being the first soccer player born outside of the British Isles to play in England's Football League. In those days the Football League was the top soccer league in England. Bowman grew up in Waterloo, a community located 50 miles north and west of Toronto that was originally settled by Mennonites from Pennsylvania. In the early days its twin city of today, Kitchener, was known as Berlin, the name being changed during World War One. A forward, as a soccer player, Bowman played for the famous Berlin Rangers of the day and was chosen to tour the British Isles in 1888 with a team made up of players from the Western Football Association of Ontario. This team did very well against some of the top British teams of the day. When the tour was over Bowman went to continental Europe to visit relatives. This team was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2003. A second tour was arranged in 1891 and once again Walter Bowman made the trip. This team was made up, not only of Canadians, but also of players from the eastern United States. The tour lasted from August 1891 to January 1892. When the tour was over Bowman signed to play for Accrington, one of the original members of the Football League. Late in the spring of 1892 he played five games and scored three goals for the club. On August 25, 1892 he signed to play for the Manchester team Ardwick, in the Second Division of the Football League. Ardwick went bankrupt in 1894 and as a result the famous Manchester City team were formed and took Ardwick's place. Bowman remained with the new team and played in a total of 47 games scoring three goals for the two clubs between 1892 and 1900. From then until 1929 there is no record of Walter Bowman. But in 1929 a reunion of the players who toured Britain in 1888 was arranged to take place in Kitchener. The Kitchener Daily Record of April 15, 1929 gives short biographies of the players and the biography for Bowman includes the following "last heard of in Butte, Montana."Walter Wells Bowman was the second of eight children born to Daniel Bowman and Wilhelmina Louise Gaukel. The others were Ira Emanuel, Ivan Hubert, Charles Ahrens, Jeremiah Hughes, Guy Alfred, Byron Bernard and Clarabelle Edith Lorena. In addition to Walter, his brother, Charles Ahrens, also moved to Montana to live in Great Falls. We know that Walter had a daughter named Madge and that the Polk City Directory of 1927 shows a Walter Bowman living at 437 South Arizona in Butte with his wife Dixie. It also shows a Marie Bowman, widow of Walter, and a teacher at Monroe School, living at 315 South Washington. We wonder if either might have been Walter Bowman the soccer player. If anyone should be able to tell us anything about Walter Bowman and his family in Butte, or when he died we would appreciate it. A book titled England, Their England, written by English journalist Nick Harris was published earlier this year, and it contains a lot of information on Walter Bowman. Colin Jose, Historian, Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame. ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/mt/silverbow/bios/bowman.txt ____________________ In the fall of 1888, a team made up of players from the Western Football Association of Ontario toured the British Isles with notable success. Many of the players who made this trip became very distinguished persons in later life. The year 1888 marked the beginning of England's famous Football League, and the Canadian team played Notts County, Newton Heath (now Manchester United), Blackburn Rovers, Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion, who were members of that league. They also played such famous clubs as Glasgow Rangers, Queens Park, Ayr (not Ayr United in those days) and Hearts, plus a team made up of some of the best Scottish players, but not the actual Scottish national team. The Canadians made quite an impression on the British soccer scene at that time, and the English papers, in particular, are full of praise for the players. Seventeen of the 18 players who made the trip were born in Canada. The only one who was not was David Forsyth, who was brought to Canada from Scotland at the age of two. Players who made the trip: Harry Bewell, Harry P. Bingham, Walter W. Bowman, Solomon Brubacher, Dr. William Burnet, Alexander Noble Garrett, Alex Gibson, Tom Gibson, Dr. Edward Payson Gordon, Fred Killer, Charles (Carl) Kranz, Tom W. Murray, Dr Wilfred Pirt Mustard, Dr. Henry Hempton "Harry" Pirie, Dr. Walter Proudfoot Thomson, E.W. Webster, David Forsyth. Canadian Soccer History-Canada in Gt Britain 1888. (2019). Canadiansoccerhistory.com. Retrieved 13 April 2019, from https://www.canadiansoccerhistory.com/Canadiantoursabroad/Gt%20Britain%201888.html?fbclid=IwAR2Nvf6ufO8L9T0wkGsbXhBsOSsCNVK8Lssm38AqtBifZzLsQ70xBVgUjkc

  
  

• Sources

  [S3] Book - Vol I A Biographical History of Waterloo Township and other townships of the county : being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin..., 147. [S224] Census - ON, Waterloo, Waterloo North - 1881, Division 1 Page Number 14 Household Number 60. [S57] Vit - ON - Birth Registration. Walter Wells Bouman Date of Birth: 11 Aug 1870 Gender: Male Birth County: Waterloo Father's Name: Daniel L Bouman (hotel keeper of Waterloo Village) Mother's Name: Wilhelmina Stumpf [S302] Census - ON, Waterloo, Waterloo City - 1881, Waterloo Village 1881 Div. 1 Page 14. [S2] Church Records - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Church of the New Jerusalem (Swedenborgian), Vol 1 pg 49. Walter Wells, b. 11 Aug 1870, bapt. 29 Jan 1871 s/o Daniel & Wilh'a Bowmann [S2658] aaaaWaterloo Village 1871, Sect. 1 Page 37. [S5] Vit - - ON, Waterloo - 1858-1869 Marriage Register. Daniel L. BOWMAN, 23, Waterloo, same, s/o Henry & Amanda, married Wilhelmina L STUMPF, 24, Berlin, same, d/o William STUMPF & Nancy GAUKEL (Gankel?), witn: John AHRENS & Dr. Samuel HUGHES, both of Berlin, 22 Oct 1867 [S2] Church Records - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Church of the New Jerusalem (Swedenborgian). Bridegroom Name: John Moran Age: 24 Res: Phillipsburg Place of Birth: Ireland Names of Parents: James & Eliza Moran Bride: Name: Carolina Doering Age: 22 Res: Phillipsburg Place of Birth: Phillipsburg Names of Parents: Christ. & Cathar. Doering Witness(S): Name: David Doering Res: Phillipsburg Name: Henry Doering Res: Phillipsburg Date of Marriage: Aug. 6, 1867 [S7] News - ON, Waterloo, Kitchener - Berliner Journal (1859-1917), 24 Oct 1867. Married 22 Oct 1867 By Rev. Tuerk, Daniel Louis Bowman of Waterloo was married to Wilhelmine Louise Stumpf of Berlin.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 11 Aug 1870 - Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Swedenborgian - 1871 - Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Christened - 29 Jan 1871 - Church Of New Jerusalem, Kitchener, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Swedenborgian - 1881 - Waterloo City, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - - Butte, Silver Bow, Montana, United States  = Link to Google Earth