Evening star., 1897-04-30
The Venerable Clergyman About to
Retire to Private Life.
INTERESTING SKETCH OF HlS CAREER
He viii BE- Remembered as a
Great Builder Of Churches.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICES

| probably mark one of the scenes In the
closing of the long and useful official life
Of the venerable Bishop Thomas Bowman,
the oldest member of the episcopacy of the
Methodist Episcopal Church now living,
and q member of the board.
| Bishop Bowman has had much to do with
the American University thus far and he
has unbounded hopes Of it's success. He
| will continue to watch its progress with
keen interest, although he will soon go to
| Evanston. Ill, to spend the remainder of
his days in retirement. While the univer-
| sity fs Methodist in its general scope Bish-
| op Bowman hopes that all denominations
! will be represented in 1t; that each one will
endow a chair and carry on its own scheme
| of education, and SO contribute to make it
| truly the American University under Prot
| estant patronage.
Bishop Bowman spent last Sunday in Bal
| timore, where he preached to a large con-
gregation. and next Sunday he will off1ciate
| in the same capacity in Providence, r. l.,
| leaving there in time to reach Washington
| and be present at the meeting of the trus-
tees of the American University Wednes-
day, as above stated. From Washington he
| will go to Evanston. Ill. where for the
| future he is to make his home with his
daughter, Mrs. b. D. Caldwell. Bishop
Bowman has three sons, one in st. Louis
one in Denver and another in Chattanooga,
and two daughters. both married.
As a Church Builder.
Among church people Bishop Bowman
| will go down in history as the greatest
| builder of churches of his time. When he
went to st. Louis, twenty-five years ago,
| there were but three English-speaking
Methodist churches. one African church and
three German churches, and now there are
in that place fifteen English, six German.
one Swedish and six African churches. All
the increase has been largely due to his
efforts 1t is said that he has built more
than one hundred churches in Missouri
alone. But that is a small part of his
achievement in this line. His eloquence
has brought out contributions to build at
least 1000 churches, and he has dedicated
over LOO. No state or territory is without
a church that was dedicated by him. and
In some of the states there are many such.
There are not many counties in the United
States that he has not visited and held
services In. His missionary travels have
taken him into the thfckly settled and high
ly cultured sections of the east, into the
genial south andiafso across the great west
ern plains. and these latter when they con-
stituted the great American desert, and
the stage was the means of conveyance.
He visited the first Missouri settlements in
Oregon, and HQversed Washington and
Idaho when theyewena nothing but wilder
ness and the first hardy settlers could give
little thought tn religion. He went again
and found thriving populations and planted
churches among them.
Bishop Bowman is not quite eighty years
old, an age at which 1t is ordinarily no
surprise to be declared non-effective But
he Is in as perfect health as ever he was,
and absolutely without impairment of his
mental powers.s & Hsywas put into the nOn-
effective class AT sthe. late general confer
| ence for the reason that it was eonyenient
tS R,sda a. IS asta Il be bseaae necessary to retire
age, and, as he is two years younger than
Bishop Bowman, that could not be done
and leave the senior bishop among the ef-
fectives. So he was relieved Of many of
his duties Of the episcopate.
His Early Life.
Thomas Bowman was born near Berwick.
Pa. in 1917 His parentage in respect of
character. was of the best. and TO prop
erty and position it was equal to any in
that new region of country. Both his
! father and mother were devoutly religious.
| and Methodism was the embodiment of the
religious principle that most powerfully
appealed to them. They were prominent
among congenial people settled about them,
a circle of pioneers. who helped to plant
| Methodism in the Susquehanna valley.
There were good schools in the neigh
borhood of his home, and when he rad
acquired all the learning they were cap
| able of affording, and while he was still
| in his teens, his parents were able to SeEd
| him away to better schools. He spent
| year at Wilbraham Academy. MasSachu-
setts, and three years at Cazenovia Sem
mary, New York In the autumn of 1870
| he entered the junior class of Dickinson
College. at Carlisle, Pa. which at that
time had just come Lnler the control OF
| the Methodsts. He graduated a: :he head
of his class, carrying off the envied honors.
The law had for him superior attractions,
and he spent a year in the law school OF
the same college.
Theology Proves Potent.
At the end Of that time he abandoned
his law books and took up with theology,
and at the conclusion of his preparatory
studies in 1889, he Joined the Baltimore
conference. In the jurisdiction of that con-
ference he gained his first pastoral eX:
perience, and he soon became known as
an earnest and eloquent preacher But
Of high order for acadernlcal teaching.
and the faculty of his old college made Use
of him next as head Of the grammar school
of the college. In that position he re-
mained until 1S4S, when he was called to
organize and preside over the Dickinson
Seminary at Williamsport. Pa.
| He gave ten years to the work of build
| ing up this seminary, and succeeded. and in
all those years he did about as much
preac hing as he would had he been the
minister on the circuit. He often occupied
some of the leading pulpits of the country,
and sent for from near and FAR to
preach at camp meetings. Thus, when not
| more than thirty-five years old, he was
known throughout his church as ripe
SC holar and powerful orascr.
President of Universities.
In 1853 Rev. Mr.. Bowman was called TO
Greencastle, Ind.,' and made president. Of
the Asbury University Of that place. He
continued at the head Of the Greencastle
University for ia @mber of years, and
when finally he retired from 1t he did not
| cease to work. 4or Us interests. In later
years he inducRd IWCC DePauw to make
this university the heir and object Of his
munificent plaIY} for an educational plant
in the state. Having procured a change of
name from Asbury to DePauw University.
Mr.. De Pauw l@gelSn endowed the institu-
tion, and afterwafd bequeathed to 1t ST.,
$4,000. In this munificence he was in the
main guided by Bishop Bowman.
DR.: Bowman was a delegate from the
eenference Of Ehe Methodist Church in
1872. held in Brooklyn. N. Y. and by that
conference he fRas aected to the episco
pacy. Ever sinee hisVelection to the episco-
pacy he has been the most prominent figure
in his church. aAd:a foremost citizen of the
republic. His 1aborS have been various
and unceasing: end ip their performance he
has been called intb: every part OF the
world. Besides the holding OF conferences
In every section of this country. he has
been q delegate to conferences in Europe,
and especially noteworthy is 1t that he was
fraternal delegate to the British Wes-
leyan conference in 1878, He has