Introduction

In one of his petitions for land, dated 3 Jul 1798 in York (Toronto, Ont.), John Morden, UEL made a claim for land on behalf of his wife “Eve Bowman, daughter of Jacob Bowman of Stamford” (petition).

A little reading about Jacob Bowman of Stamford revealed a fascinating story about the hardships endured by Loyalists during the American Revolution. It also revealed that Bowman and Lampman family genealogies already claimed that the very same Eve Bowman married, not John Morden, but Matthias Lampman of Ancaster Township.

Those conflicting findings were the genesis of this attempt to reconcile the matter of the marriage of Eve Bowman of Stamford Township. Did she marry John Morden as his petition states or is there other evidence showing she married Matthias Lampman?

As you read, you will notice web links sprinkled throughout the narrative. These will be used to provide images of original source documents, images of extracts from various publications used as references, and other background matters. The basic text will not be cluttered with footnotes or references in the interest of readability.

The article is organized under the following headings:

1. John Morden and Eve Bowman
2. Discovery and Tracing of a Competing Claim
3. Matthias Lampman and Eve Bowman
4. Four Eve Bowmans and their husbands
5. Finding a Second Jacob Bowman
6. Discussion and Conclusions

1. John Morden and Eve Bowman 

John Morden was discovered by working backwards in time through the Morden genealogy from the author’s first cousin Carl Eugene (Gene) Morden. The line of ancestry was found to be: Gene Morden à Garnet Morden à Fraser Morden à Egerton Morden à James C. Morden à John Morden UEL, an easily-uncovered, all-male, direct-line ancestry.

 John Morden, UEL had come to Canada from the Mohawk Valley after the end of American Revolution in 1783. He received and occupied 100 acres of land as a settler in the Bay of Quinte area. In 1796, he travelled to Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Lincoln County, Ont.). He petitioned for, and received, an additional 100-acres of land as a United Empire Loyalist on 7 Jul 1796.

On 9 Jan 1797, John Morden submitted a petition for a town lot in Newark. Apparently, he wanted to sell his farm in the Bay of Quinte and stay in Newark. This petition was denied on 7 Apr 1797. The authorities were having difficulty provisioning the existing residents in Newark and didn’t want its population to increase.

A further petition for land from John Morden was discovered. It was dated 7 Apr. 1797 and it was written from Mount Dorchester (now Stamford Township, Welland County, Ont.). In it, John petitioned for land on behalf of his wife “Eve, daughter of Jacob Bowman”. His petition was read 15 Apr 1797 and an Order in Council for his grant was made 12 May 1797. Notations were made on the 15 Apr 1797 document: "see a subsequent petition" and "see order dated 5 July 1798".

John and Eve returned to Ameliasburgh without his scrip for 200 acres of land by right of his wife. The next year he went to York and, on 3 July 1798, he petitioned for 200 acres of land for his wife Eve, “the daughter of Jacob Bowman of Stamford”. This was approved by an Order in Council dated 5 July 1798.

In sum, John had gone to Newark in mid-1796 to acquire his scrip for an additional 100 acres of land in Ameliasburgh. This was granted by an Order in Council on 7 July 1797. He attempted to resettle in Newark in early 1797 and was denied. He went a few miles south of Newark to Mount Dorchester (Stamford Twp.). There, he met and married Eve Bowman, daughter of Jacob Bowman and petitioned for a further 200 acres of land in her right as the daughter of a Loyalist in May of 1797.  This was granted by an Order in Council on 12 May 1797. A marriage record has not been found. One can only surmise that his marriage occurred between the summer of 1796 and the spring of 1797.