Page:Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography volume 4.djvu/568

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VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY

Regiment. Pickett's division. He was cap- tured by the Federal forces, and was held a prisoner at Point Lookout for nineteen months. In an exchange of prisoners he was released, and at once returned to his old company. He won the rank of captain and a reputation as a sharpshooter, and at ( Gettysburg he was among the sharpshooters chosen to do scout work, and was among those Confederates who terrorized the Fed- erals with a deadly fire from the Devil's Den. Me was an active participant in many of the engagements of this struggle, among some of the most important being Williams- burg in May, 1862, and Five Forks in April, 1865. At the close of the war Mr. Bowe re- turned to Hanover county, and served there as deputy sheriff from 1865 until 1867.

In January, 1868, Mr. Bowe located in Richmond, Virginia, where he became asso- ciated with the real estate firm of Grubbs & Williams, which was later dissolved by mutual consent. Subsequently he formed a co-partnership as Williams & Bowe, and at the present time it is N. W. Bowe & Son. with offices at No. no North Sev- enth street. He was diligent and success- ful in business, and his operations added greatly to the improvement of the city. For many years he was a director of the Union Bank of Richmond, a position he voluntarily resigned a few years ago on account of the pressure of his large private business. At the time of his death he was a director of the F^ire and Marine Insurance Company of Virginia, and of the Atlantic Life Insurance Company of Virginia. He was a staunch Democrat, and while never active in politics, he manifested a deep interest in the vital questions of his time, and had clear and well defined convictions concerning public men and measures. He was an outspoken advocate of all measures looking to the pres- ervation of public morals, the diffusion of general intelligence and maintenance of law. He was an active and helpful member of Grace Street Baptist Church, of Richmond, and of the Commonwealth and Country clubs. No good work done in the name of charity sought his cooperation in vain. His nature was essentially charitable and kindly, and he rejoiced in the opportunity of doing good to others. The extent of his charities will probably never be fully known, so un- ostentatious were they.

Mr. I'owe married, in Henrico countv.

\'irginia, December 21, 1869, Emma Lewis Griffin, born at Mount Prospect, Henrico county, Virginia, November 15, 1848, daugh- ter of Edward and Martha Bowe (Cross) Griffin, the former a farmer of the county. She was the youngest child of her parents, and the sister of Julia Anna, who married Charles W. Venable ; Richard Rufus ; George Nathaniel. Children of \It. and Mrs. Bowe: i. Edward Venable, deceased. 2. Eva Vernon, born August i, 1872; edu- cated at Mary Baldwin Seminary ; married Gary Ellis Stern, lawyer, and has children : Gary Ellis, Dorothy Lewis, Edward Bowe, Venable Lane. 3. Stuart, born June 23, 1874; educated at Richmond College and the University of Virginia ; now a practicing lawyer ; married Edith White and has a daughter, Edith White Bowe. 4. Bruce, born August 9. 1876; educated in Richmond College ; now a member of the firm of N. VV. Bowe & Son; married Caroline Gillespie Milnes. 5. Anna \'enable, born March 27, 1878, educated at Edge Hill; married John Thomas Penn, a tobacconist of Martinsville, Virginia, and has children : Natalie Lewis, Ruth Venable, Emma Bowe and Anne. 6. Emma Lewis, born July 4, 1880; educated at Richmond Female Institute ; died unmar- ried, Octol^er 13. 1906. 7. Addie Williams, born September 21, 1882; educated at the Dorsey School, Washington, D. C. ; married Harry L. Hodges, lieutenant in the United States army, and has children : Evelyn Bowe and Harry Nash. 8. Charles Conway, born July 2, 1884; educated at Richmond College; now a real estate agent ; married Mary J3rewry, and has children : Jane Drewry and Mary Ursula. 9. Wythe Davis, born October 9, 1887; educated at Woodberry J'^orrest and the University of Virginia ; now engaged in the insurance business ; married Betty Booker Glinn, and has one child, Betty Booker. 10. Nathaniel Woodson Jr., born December 10, 1889; educated at Wood- berry Forrest ; now engaged in the real es- tate business, ii. Dudley Pleasants, born January 22, 1893; a student at Richmond College.

In his home and all the other relations of life Mr. Bowe was true to the duties and responsibilities devolving upon him, and his well spent life commended him to the con- fidence and regard of his fellow townsmen, which he enjoyed in an unusual degree. Per- hai)s the richest and most beautiful trait of