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BOWDEN Family History
This interesting name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and has two possible sources. It can either be topographical, describing a "dweller by the top of a hill", from the Olde English pre 7th Century phrase, "bufan dune", meaning "above the hill"; or it may be locational from any of the places called Bowden or Bowdon. Bowden in Devonshire and Derbyshire, and Bowdon in Cheshire are composed of the Olde English elements "boga", arched or rounded, and "dun", hill; hence, an "arched or rounded hill"; while Bowden in Leicestershire, recorded as "Bugedone" in the Domesday Book of 1086, comes from the Olde English female personal name "Burcge" (masculine "Buga"), and "dun"; hence, "Burcge's hill"...Who have we missed?
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Generations of Bowdens were born in Balleen Freshford, Kilkenny, Ireland. My cousin, Betty Bowden, lives on the farm now. My grandfather and his brother arrived in the States. My grandfather, John, was a horse trainer and built the family home in Binghamton, NY. John married Delia Driscoll (from County Clare) in the U. S. and they had six very smart children!
My great great grandfather, Miles Bowden, came to the U.S.A. from Ireland in 1851. I don’t have any information prior to that. Any information about Bowden’s in Ireland would be helpful
My father and grandfather were James Bowden from Drogheda, Ireland. Any relatives still there?
Areas of Origin for BOWDEN
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