Lewis L. Bowling is the progenitor of the family that once lived on and owned the property at Rock Branch, also known as Ortin Heights, Putnam County, WV. He was the son of James Bowling, a Revolutionary War soldier, and Letitia Moore Gillaspie. Lewis was born about 1794 in Amherst County, VA. Lewis, his siblings, and his mother are named in father James’ Will signed 28 June 1835 which entered probate on or about the 20th day of March 1837. James Bowling died 12 November 1836 according to his widow “Letty’s” pension application.
Lewis L. Bowling married Frances Ann Penn in Amherst County, VA on 16 July 1827 and had two sons: Charles L, born about 1828; and James Seaton born August 1831, both in Amherst County. By 1840, Lewis, his wife Frances, and their two sons are enumerated in the 1840 Census of Kanawha County, West Virginia, just three years following the administration of Lewis’ father’s Will.
"Familysearch: Sign In";. 2025. Familysearch.Org. Year: 1840; Census Place: Kanawha, Virginia; Roll: 566; Page: 38; Family History Library Film: 0029689
By 1850, the area in which the Bowling family lived became Putnam County. All four family members are named and enumerated in the Federal Census. Also that year Lewis L Bowling appears on the 1850 Federal Slave Schedule. The slaves are listed by age but not by name. At that time, Lewis L Bowling owned just over 40 slaves.
I know not what became of Charles L Bowling prior to the 1860 Census, whether he died after 1850 or simply moved to another part of the state or country.
The son that remained on the estate was James Seaton Bowling. It is important to note that he married Martha A Tyree, daughter of Francis Tyree and Margaret McClung of Fayette County, on 19 May 1859 in Fayette County, which was officiated by John McElhenney (see history of the Old Stone Presbyterian Church, Lewisburg, WV). The marriage record was brought to my attention from an article by Shirley Donnally published in the Beckley Post Herald (20 Dec 1963) in which the marriage of James Bowling and Martha Tyree was purportedly recorded in the “old Richard F. Tyree Bible.” Of further note, Donnally states that this is the Tyree family that owned the Tyree Taverns along the James River-Kanawha Turnpike: Tyree Tavern at Ansted, owned by Col. William Tyree, son of Richard Francis Tyree; and the Old Stone House on Stonehouse Road, Sewell Mountain at Ravenseye, WV, approximately 10 miles west of Rainelle, WV, built by Samuel Tyree but ownership/operation accredited to Francis “Frank” Tyree, both sons of Richard Francis Tyree, according to “History of Fayette County, WV,” Peters & Carden.
On further inspection of the records at FamilySearch.org – records not on file/digitized at WVCulture.org – I indeed located the marriage in Fayette County, WV (4th line in the images below):
May 11, 1859, Fayette County, James S. Bowling, age 28, Single; Martha A. Tyree, age 19, Single.
Husband born Amherst County, VA; Wife born Fayette County (W)VA.
Residence: Husband: Putnam County, (W)VA; Wife: Fayette County, (W)VA. Names of their Parents: Husband: L & Frances Bowling; Wife: Francis & Margaret Tyree. CITE: 2025. FamilySearch.org. Accessed February 16. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89Z5-F876?cat=308753&i=142&lang=en. IMG 143, Line 4.
I surmise that James Seaton Bowling traveled east from the Rock Branch estate toward Virginia and back again often enough, possibly to school and/or on business, that he met his future bride during one of his stopovers in Fayette County (Old Stone House near Rainelle, WV). Travel by horse, which amounted to 20-25 miles per day, would necessitate overnight stays at various taverns en route, allowing the horse(s) plenty of rest before the next leg of the journey.
It is the James Seaton Bowling – Martha Ann Tyree family that continued in what we’ve come to know as the Bowling Mansion or homestead and is the branch that I traced. The births and deaths recorded at WVCulture include those individuals born to the many slaves of Lewis L. Bowling but have not been included herein. I have added some Tyree genealogy as some important events occurred in Putnam County concerning Martha Ann’s Tyree family members.
**Updated 8 Jul 2025 to add Death Records for the following:
Lewis Francis Bowling: “West Virginia Vital Research Records – Record Image”. 2025. Wvculture.Org. https://dach-image-proxy.digital-relativity.workers.dev/?film=567297&frame=00062
Frances Penn Bowling: “West Virginia Vital Research Records – Record Image”. 2025. Wvculture.Org. https://dach-image-proxy.digital-relativity.workers.dev/?film=567297&frame=00054
