History of Berwick, (Columbia County) Pennsylvania United States of America

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Thomas Bowman, M. E. bishop, was born near Berwick, Columbia county, Pa., July 15, 1817; son of John and Sarah (Brittain) Bowman. He was prepared for college at Wilbraham academy (Mass.) and Cazenovia seminary (N.Y.), and was graduated as valedictorian of his class at Dickinson college, Pa., in 1837. After studying law for a year he prepared himself for the ministry, and was admitted to the Baltimore conference of the Methodist Episcopal church in the spring of 1839. Then from 1840 to 1843, he was teacher in the grammar school of Dickinson college, and in 1848 was appointed principal of Dickinson seminary at Williamsport, Pa. He organized and presided over this institution for ten years, leaving it with a liberal property and about four hundred students. In 1858 he was elected president of Indiana Asbury, afterwards De Pauw, university, at Greencastle, Ind. Over this institution he presided fourteen years, leaving it much advanced in property, endowment fund, and students. During 1864 and 1865 he served as chaplain to the U.S. senate, and in 1872 he was elected bishop of the Methodist Episcopal church by the general conference, which met in Brooklyn, N.Y. As bishop he has presided over all the conferences in the United States, and over the conferences and missions of his church in Europe, India, China, Japan, and Mexico. He has dedicated over one thousand churches, of which at least one has been located in each state and territory of the United States, and one in every foreign country which he has visited. His degree of D.D. was conferred in 1856 by the Ohio Wesleyan university, and that of LL.D. by Dickinson college. He was retired by the general conference which met at Cleveland, Ohio, in May, 1896, and took up his residence at St. Louis, Mo.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Berwick, (Columbia County) Pennsylvania

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