What Does the last name Bowman mean?

Question

Okay, I'm black, and a lot of people say it's a german last name from the word Bauman. I've been trying to research my family history, and no knows where we came from! NOT EVEN MY GRANDMA! My grandpa passed away, and dad keeps saying I came from Africa! I don't think so, and then some other people say that every black person has INDIAN in them, and like uh...NO! please help me!!! please don't say go to ancestory.com, cuz u need a credit card, I'm 15!!

Answer 1

Ancestry has census records, which are a key part of research. The first thing to do is if Grandma knows the birth and death date of Grandpa, and HOPEFULLY, the names of his parents. If she also knows about when and where they died (his parents), that is also important. The names of their parents should be on the death certificates. How about if Grandpa has brother or sisters? cousins ?? Grandpa and his cousins will share the same grandparents. Someone might have old family pictures too.
At some point, you will locate one of the family who was alive in 1920.. which is the most recent census available. What you find on that record is the person, the immediate family, where they were born, AND birth place of parents. In other words, if grandpa happened to be 5 yrs old, living w/ mom and dad, it will show the birth places of dad's parents. Sometimes the parent is even living with the son and family. There have been census taken since 1790 until present, but more recent ones are confidential. And 1890 burned up. The tricky part is using other records to know what state or county you need to be working.
You are trying to work back to 1880... that one is fully transcribed online. In that, I hope we can pin down a black Bowman family that belongs to you. This is at www.familysearch.org (lds church site)..click on search, then census. Just for example.. I did a check, and find Samuel Bowman in Georgia. Samuel is age 42.. means he was born in Georgia in 1838.. and his parents also born in Georgia. What blew me away is Minnie Blackwell who is age 99, and supposed to be his mother (maybe his wife's mother) who also says she was born in Georgia. Do the math. While census records do have errors in them.. it is very possible to find the ancestor who actually came to the US, and about when. She does sound a bit old to be the mother.
Mostly, I want to give you an idea of WHAT IS USED to track back in records. You and I both realize that before 1870, the black families won't be found in the same records. It is a sad reality. However, I have found many white family researchers, who have family documents like wills or inventories that do give names and ages of the slaves involved. And most of these persons are willing to share the info.
Here is another place I like a lot... www.cyndislist.com which has both beginning research files, and connections to the info needed for African American research. Please stop by there.
I love nothing more than seeing someone young who really cares about finding their background. Maybe this info can get dad interested .

Answer 2

Bowman is primarily either a English surname meaning archer or bowman. Or it is an Anglicized variation of Bachman or Bauman. I grew up in the Pa, Dutch Country and Bowman was a common Pennsylvania German surname. So your Bowman could be either English or German. Surnames are not always an indication of ethnic origins. Most American blacks and many of the descendants of the the early white settlers have some Indian ancestry. When black slaves ran away they often found a safe haven among the Indians and where accepted into the tribes. That's why a lot of blacks claim Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole,or other southern tribal heritage. Also the Cherokee and other southern tribes owned slaves primarily in Oklahoma and Arkansas and after the slaves where freed at the end of the Civil War they became part of the tribe. There's a book I read a few years back called "Black Indians" I don't remember the author but it's worth a read if you come across a copy

Answer 3

Bowman Name Origin

Answer 4

Bowman Family Crest

Answer 5

There is very possibly more than one coat of arms for Bowman. The people who sell these based solely on a surname are very deceitful if they do not explain that it might be one granted to your direct ancestors and it might not. It is possible one of your direct ancestors was granted one but the companies that peddle them will only have one because they sell them to gullible people who do not understand that they might or might not be entitled to them. Coats of arms were granted to individuals who passed them on to their son. Not everyone with the same surname comes from the same root. Many have the same surname. For instance, there might be 10 for Bowman but that does not mean everyone with the name Bowman is any way related to the 10 that were granted one, much less be a direct descendant.

Answer 6

Bowman is a British or Irish surname, now I'm not saying that your name didn't come over from Africa with your ancestors, to be sure for that you would have to trace your roots, but I am telling you where that spelling of that particular name originated, which is Great Britain.

Answer 7

If you are just asking about the derivation or etymology of your name (and not getting into your family genealogy), German names were commonly Anglicized by immigrants to America. Some examples I found through Google under etymology are "Federlein to Federline, Friedmann to Freedman, Bauman to Bowman."

As for the meaning, Bauman, usually Baumann in German, I also found this. "Bauer is a German status name for a peasant or a nicknameh for the 'neighbor, fellow citizen,' with variants Baumann, Gebuhr, Pauer, among others."

Since you are black, that may not seem relevant to you. However, keep in mind that black slaves often assumed the name of their owner, so that would be the most likely source of your name. Perhaps your grandmother knows the name of the town she was born in or raised in. That might be a starting point if you decided to research your family genealogy.

You might want to try using this free public records search, although it isn't as complete as ancestory.com. http://snipurl.com/1dfek

Answer 8

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What Does the last name Bowman mean?
Okay, I'm black, and a lot of people say it's a german last name from the word Bauman. I've been trying to research my family history, and no knows where we came from! NOT EVEN MY GRANDMA! My grandpa passed away, and dad keeps saying I came from Africa! I don't think so, and then...

Answer 9

last names in ancient times were given for the family occupaion. So mostlikely a bowman would be someone involved with bows of some kind.

Answer 10

Your own parents won't tell you where you were born, or where they were born, or what? Start a family tree of what you can learn - birth names, dates, places, and of those passed on, their death dates and places. You can build your family tree right online at many places but especially the following two:

On ancestry.com's page if you keep reading there are online ancestry world trees & message boards that are free, all you do is sign up with a login name & pword. It's only access to census & other records that are by paid subscription.

http://rootsweb.com/ is another way to access zillions of others' online family trees, message boards, surname and location email lists, and much more - all free.

Most States' library systems subscribe to HeritageQuest online. The librarian gives you a login & pword you can use there or at home in your pajamas to search census images and many other historical records.

It's a start.