"An Illustrated History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties." Interstate Publishing Company, 1906. p. 816. JOHN L. BOWEN postmaster, merchant, millman and prominent citizen of Sauk, came to Skagit county recently but has already by his business qualities put himself in the van of progress in his home community. That Mr. Bowen is not a man easily discouraged is shown by the will with which he set to work to recoup himself from losses during the financial distress of the early nineties. Mr. Bowen was born in Virginia, November 5, 1859, the son of Lorenzo D. Bowen, a merchant and farmer of the Old Dominion.; During the Civil War the elder Bowen was in the commissary department of Lee's army. He passed all his life in Virginia. Mrs. Sarah F. (Hopper) Bowen was likewise a native of the Old Dominion. Both are now dead. leaving six children: John L., Ella, William, Herbert W., Emmett and Elizabeth. John L. Bowen remained with his parents until nineteen, receiving a common school education, then left for Fort Benton, Montana. There he remained two years as clerk in a general store. He then removed to Alberta, Canada, and remained for ten years as manager for a large mercantile firm, receiving a handsome salary and commission on the business transacted. He went to Everett, Washington, in 1891, and engaged in the real estate business, but a year later resumed the mercantile trade and followed it eleven years. Mr. Bowen had spent some time in Dawson, directly after leaving Alberta, working for a mercantile house. He made money but later lost it in real estate business in the early days of the boom at Everett. He purchased lots and made the first payment on them, when competition and the general slump in values caused severe losses. In 1903 Mr. Bowen came to Sauk and bought the store of H. E. Hutchins. He joined with Henry W. Sullivan, J. E. Sullivan, Ralph Sullivan, H. J. Sullivan and C. W. Miley in building the Sullivan Shingle Mill of Sauk, and the store became a part of the property of the corporation. Mr. Bowen is secretary and treasurer of the company and the manager of the store. The capacity of the mill is one hundred and twenty-five thousand per day. In 1883 while living in Alberta Mr. Bowen married Miss Winifred Thompson at Calgary. She was born November 7, 1865, in Quebec, the daughter of Abram Thompson, a bookbinder of Glasgow, Scotland, who came to Quebec and married Miss Caroline De Tacey, a native of Paris, France. Mrs. Bowen's parents have been dead for many years. She lived with them until her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Bowen have five children: Frank, Conrad, Winifred, Olive and Stanfield. Mr. Bowen has a number of lodge affiliations, being a past master of the Masonic lodge and a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, a past grand of the Odd Fellows, a member of the Woodmen of the World and of the National Union. In church membership he is an Episcopalian, in politics a Republican. Mr. Bowen still owns property in Everett, consisting of three lots and an eleven-room house. The present business is prosperous and Mr. Bowen's energy and long experience in mercantile pursuits have contributed to building it up. As a citizen he is highly esteemed, and as a man is honored and respected by all. ******************* Submitted to the Washington Biographies Project in September 2007 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.