BOWEN, JOHN (1815 - 1859), bishop of Sierra Leone
Name: John Bowen
Date of birth: 1815
Date of death: 1859
Parent: Thomas Bowen
Gender: Male
Occupation: bishop of Sierra Leone
Area of activity: Religion
Author: Bertie George Charles
Son of Capt. Thomas Bowen of the Court, Llanllawer, near Fishguard (Fenton, Pembrokeshire, 1903 edition, 312), was born 21 November 1815. His father’s family (originally from Haverfordwest) were landowners living at Leweston in Camrose and at Manorowen. His parents removed from the Court to Stonehall, and then in 1830 to Johnston Hall. In 1847 he inherited Milton, an estate in the parish of Carew, from his uncle, William Bowen.
His career, of quite exceptional interest, is sketched in the D.N.B., on the basis of his sister’s Memorials of John Bowen, 1862. After farming in Canada from 1835 to 1842, he set his mind on holy orders, took his degree at Trinity College, Dublin, in 1847 (LL.D., 1857), was ordained in 1846, and was preferred to a living in 1853, but devoted himself and his considerable means to missionary work, paying frequent visits to the Anglican missions in the Near and Middle East. In 1857 he was consecrated bishop of Sierra Leone, but died at Freetown 28 May 1859.