Samuel A. Bowman
That in considering the status of Mr. Bowman as a representative citizen and valued official of Lawrence County there can be no application of the scriptural aphorism that "a prophet is not without honor save in his own country." is evident when it is stated that he is a native of this county, a scion of one of its sterling pioneer families, and is at the present time serving in the office of county auditor.
Mr. Bowman was born at Southpoint, on Little Solida Creek, Lawrence County, Ohio, on the 16th of November, 1876, and the same place figures as the native heath of his father, Thisle M. Bowman, who was there born on the 2d of April, 1842, his parents having been numbered among the early settlers of Lawrence County and his father having contributed worthily to the social and industrial development of this section of the Buckeye State. Thisle M. Bowman became one of the substantial and representative agriculturists of his native county, and he also follows the trade of cooper for some time. He was a man of distinctive business ability and of sterling character, so that he ever commanded secure place in popular confidence and esteem, as shown by the fact that he was called upon to serve as deputy county auditor and also as deputy sheriff. His death occurred in 1904, and his loved and devoted wife, whose maiden name was Lucy Pemberton, and who was born at Southpoint, Lawrence County, in 1845, was summoned to eternal rest in 1902. The names of their nine children are here entered in respective order of birth: Ames N., Charles W., Dora C., Samuel A., Lucy F., Emma L., Roscoe H., Thisle M., Jr., and Shirley O.
The present county auditor of Lawrence County attended the public schools of his native place until he had attained to the age of eighteen years, and he then put his scholastic acquirements to practical test and utilization by entering the pedagogic profession, of which he became an able and popular representative as a teacher in the schools of this section of the state. He continued his effective services as a teacher until he had attained to the age of twenty-seven years, and thereafter, from 1904 to 1910, he had charge of the rural free mail delivery on Route No. 2, from Ironton. He resigned this incumbency when he became a candidate for the office of county auditor, to which he was elected in 1910, by a majority that emphatically attested his hold upon the confidence and good will of the people of his native county. He assumed his official duties October 16, 1911, and his administration has been marked by scrupulous care and circumspection, so that he has fully justified the popular choice which placed him in office, the while he is one of the popular and progressive citizens of Ironton, the judicial center and metropolis of Lawrence County.
In politics Mr. Bowman is a stalwart advocate of the principles and policies of the republican party; his religious faith is that of the Baptist church; and he is affiliated with the local organizations of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the Knights of the Golden Eagle, and the Loyal Order of Moose. Though he is a bachelor, Mr. Bowman is the owner of a residence property and two additional city lots in Ironton, and he is also a director of the South Side Building & Loan Association of this city. He is a man of high ideals and utmost rectitude, and is justly proud of the fact that he has never touched intoxicating liquor in any form. He has greatly enjoyed his experience as a teacher and his success in the profession has been on a parity with his recognized zeal and enthusiasm. Mr. Bowman greatly enjoys all outdoor sports, and through the medium of the same finds his chief recreation, the while he is distinctively popular in both business and social circles in his home city.
From "A Standing History of the Hanging Rock Iron Region of Ohio" by Eugene B. Willard, Daniel W. Williams, George O. Newman and Charles B. Taylor. Published by Lewis Publishing Company, 1916