Lilly McIlhaney Bowen

Ancestor Number

A012714 »

Date of Birth

Circa 1705

Place of Birth

Ireland

Date of Death

Before June 20, 1780

Place of Death

Washington County, Virginia

Spouse(s)

John Bowen

Children

Robert, Arthur, William, and John earned the rank of Captain. Reese was killed at the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780. Moses died on the Expedition with the Fincastle Troops.

American Revolution Service

In 1777, Lilly supported the cause of American Independence by loaning funds and providing food and military supplies

State of Service

Virginia

Donor

Lilly’s descendant Martha Elizabeth Bowen Nimmons was a Charter Member of the Wizard of Tamassee Chapter, NSDAR, and five generations of her descendants have been members of this Chapter.

Lilly McIlhaney Bowen, the daughter of Henry McIlhaney and Jane McGeehan, was born circa 1705 in Ireland, and she was of Scotch-Irish descent.

Lilly traveled with her mother, step-father Mr. Hunter, and siblings to Pennsylvania. Lilly was known as an expert spinner; she was also known for being strong, having a discriminating mind and energy of character.

Circa 1726, Lilly married John Bowen, the son of Moses Bowen and Rebecca Reese of Pennsylvania.

Lilly and John moved to Augusta County, Virginia, where they had a large landed estate, which Lilly managed after John’s death in 1760. Lily and John had several children, and their sons served in the Revolutionary War, fighting for American Independence. Her sons Robert (married to Mary Gillespie), Arthur (married to Mary McMurray), William (married to Mary Russell), and John (married to Rachel Mathew) earned the rank of Captain. Her son Reese (Louisa Smith) was killed at the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780.

In 1777, Lilly supported the cause of American Independence by loaning funds and providing food and military supplies; she is named on the Smyth County Revolutionary War Memorial in Marion, Virginia. John and Lilly owned enslaved African Americans, who made it possible for Lilly to have funds to loan and provide patriotic service.

After 1779, moving from Augusta County, Lilly purchased 800 acres from Colonel Patton’s Executors, along the Great Road on the middle Fork of Holston. It is said that the first missionaries to the Holston settlement held services in a ballroom named for her.

Lilly was predeceased by a few of her children, including Moses, who died on the Expedition with the Fincastle Troops; she died before June 20, 1780, in Washington County, Virginia.

This memorial was sponsored by Lilly’s descendants, Dr. Nora R. Field and daughters, Mari Noorai and Dr. R. E. Noorai, through her son Robert and his wife Mary Gillespie, the daughter of William Gillespie and Mary Yeomans Clendennin.