Around the World

In 1991, while conducting Bowsher (Boucher) research in place of family origin in Alsace-Lorraine, France, I had acquired a carveed wooden cane from a man whose family (Viet) had married into Daniel Boucher family in Alsace-Lorraine. According to Viet family oral tradition, the cane had been passed from an Andre Boucher to an Anton whose son Andon Boucher had gone to America in 1750s.

In 1995, I had taken the A BOUCHER 1715 cane to the Bowsher Reunion in Cridersville, Ohio, to show the recovered family heirloom to the Bowsher family beloved historian, Kent Bowsher. As soon as I had mentioned the name Andon who’d come to America, Kent had turned in Burkhardt’s Boucher family history to the page which mentions the following, supposedly written in Daniel’s hand in the family bible: “Andon Boucher born June 12.. brought with him…1755.” Kent was so excited, nothing about this Andon had ever been uncovered! It was not known his relation to Daniel who’d come to America in 1752!

Then sadly Kent had said that Boucher bible once in possession of Rhuben Harpster had been misplaced, its present location unknown! Kent then informed me that next to bible’s loss, worst family heirloom loss was the missing original tintype photos of William and Jeremiah Bowsher, once in the possession of Rufus Dotson of Lima, Ohio. Kent had hugged me for the recovery of the came from Europe, and when I’d picked it up to leave it had been lying on a Lima newspaper with article about homes being purchased by St. Rita’s Hospital for an expansion. In news photo of homes to be razed, I had spotted a wrought iron fence, which I had been gathering to put around my Temple yard in Wapak!

While purchasing the fence from owner of home to be razed, she’d said, “Oh, you’re a Bowsher; we’re related to the Bowshers thru the Dotsons! We must get rid of all the stuff in the house, if you want you may search the attic for any Bowsher-related things might be there.”

I found the attic in state of disarray. I was about to leave… when in flashlight’s dim beam I had spotted amid pieces of photo album, a tintype phote. Flipping it over I was gazing at lost Jeremiah Bowsher photo! Second tintype was William Bowsher!

At the 1996 one hundredth Bowsher Reunion, I told Kent Bowsher how I had coincidentally located the lost Bowsher photos, he had reminded me how the cane had drawn my attention to news photo!