Ozias Bowen

Ozias Bowen (July 21, 1805 – September 26, 1871) was a Republican politician in the U.S. State of Ohio who was an Ohio Supreme Court Judge 1856–1858.

Ozias Bowen
Associate Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court
In office May 1856 – February 1858
Appointed by	Salmon P. Chase
Preceded by	Charles Cleveland Convers
Succeeded by	Milton Sutliff
Personal details
Born	(1805-07-21)July 21, 1805 Augusta, New York
Died	September 26, 1871(1871-09-26) (aged 66) Marion, Ohio
Political party	Republican
Other political affiliations	Whig
Spouse(s)	Lydia Baker Eliza M. McIntire Emmalie M. Wilson
Children	ten

Biography

Ozias Bowen was born at Augusta, Oneida County, New York. He lived in Fredonia, New York until age 15, when he was moved to Ashtabula County, Ohio. He studied law in Canton, Ohio, was admitted to the bar there, and began practice at Marion, Ohio.[1]

Bowen taught school and was a merchant as well as a lawyer. On February 7, 1838, the Legislature elected him Presiding Judge of the Second Judicial Circuit for seven years, to which he was re-elected. In this capacity, Judge Bowen was most famous for delivering a decision on August 27, 1839 that freed a fugitive slave named Bill Mitchell, sparking a battle between proslavery and anti-slavery forces known as The Marion Riot.[2] In 1856, Charles Cleveland Convers resigned from the Ohio Supreme Court due to poor health. Governor Chase appointed Bowen to the judgeship.[1] He was elected later that year with a plurality in a three-way race over Democrat Carrington W. Seal and American Party nominee Samuel Brush to the remainder of the term.[3]

Presidential elector for Lincoln/Johnson in 1864.[4] He died September 26, 1871 at Marion Ohio.[1]

Bowen's Marion, Ohio residence is owned by the Marion County Historical Association and operates it as the Stengel-True Museum.

Bowen married Lydia Baker, daughter of Eber Baker on February 17, 1833, in Marion. She died shortly after the birth of her eighth child.[5] Bowen married Eliza M. McIntire on March 15, 1848 in Marion. She had two children. Following Eliza's death, he later married Emmalie M. Wilson on April 20, 1871, in Branch, Michigan. They had no children.[5]

Judge Bowen's second home in Marion, Ohio is owned by the Marion County Historical Association and is operated as the Stengel True Museum. Bowen's first home in Marion on East Center Street is the oldest standing house on its original foundation in the city of Marion.[6]

Notes

1. Smith 1898 : 66
2. Life and Letters of Judge Thomas J. Anderson and Wife: Including a Few Letters from Children and Others : Mostly Written During the Civil War : a History Thomas Jefferson Anderson Nancy Dunlevy Anderson – January 1, 1904 P.86. https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=dDlAAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en>
3. Smith 1898 : 65
4. Smith 1898 : 196
5. "Ozias Bowen". The Supreme Court of Ohio & The Ohio Judicial System. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
6. Marion Made: The Ozais Bowen Homes |http://www.marionmade.org/2017/08/ozias-bowen-homes/

References

• Smith, Joseph P, ed. (1898). History of the Republican Party in Ohio. I. Chicago: the Lewis Publishing Company.

Legal offices
Preceded by Charles Cleveland Convers	Associate Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court 1856–1858	Succeeded by Milton Sutliff