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Title: Stephen Bowers Papers,
Dates: 1859-1961
Collection number: MS.532
Creator:
Bowers, Stephen, 1832-1907
Creator:
Bowers, Demoss
Collection Size:
3 boxes
26 folders, 1 scrapbook
Repository:
Autry National Center. Institute for the Study of the American West
Los Angeles, CA 90065
Abstract: The collection consists of personal notebooks, diaries, correspondence, essays and drawings by Rev. Stephen Bowers, and newspaper
clippings.
Physical location: Braun Research Library Manuscript Archives.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection is open for research. Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit URL:http://www.autrynationalcenter.org/research_application.php
or contact library staff at (323).221-2164.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Braun Research Library, Autry National Center. All requests for permission to publish
or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Library Director. Permission for publication is given on behalf
of the Braun Research Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the
copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
[Item identification] Stephen Bowers Papers,, MS.532. Braun Research Library, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, CA
Donated to the Southwest Museum Library in 1916 by Stephen Bowers' son, DeMoss Bowers.
The collection are personal papers and manuscripts of Stephen Bowers, A.M., Ph,D. His papers were donated to the Southwest
Museum Library in 1916 by Stephen Bowers' son, DeMoss Bowers.
Braun Research Library staff. Revised by James Foster, 2008.
Biography / Administrative History
Reverend Stephen Bowers, A.M., Ph.D., was born on March 3rd, 1831 on a farm in Greencastle, Indiana. He was the son of David
Bowers and the father of DeMoss Bowers. He was a Methodist minister for 30 years and a Chaplain for the Union forces in the
Civil War (67th Indiana Infantry). Due to his archaeological interests, especially those focused on Indians around Santa Barbara,
Bowers came to California and resided in Santa Barbara and Ventura from 1894 to 1906.
On November 17, 1899, Governor Harry F. Gage appointed Bowers as a geologist with the United States Geological Survey. Bowers
also held the position of State Mine Examiner of California. He lectured on subjects ranging from the biblical to the scientific.
He also served as president of the Ventura Society of Natural History and was a member of the Academy of Sciences in Philadelphia,
Smithsonian Institution, and Philosophical Society of Great Britain. Bowers died in 1907 in Los Angeles, California.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists of personal notebooks, diaries, correspondence, essays and drawings by Bowers, and newspaper clippings.
The notebooks and diaries are mostly geological notes taken during his surveys in California. There is also one notebook written
during his time as a Civil War Chaplain and a printed pamphlet entitled "The Conchilla Valley and the Cahuilla Indians," written
by Bowers in 1888. Other writings include topics on Oklahoma Gold Fields and the Santa Barbara Indians. The scrapbook includes
newspaper and journal clippings and consists of articles about sermons, religion, and obituaries.
The collection is arranged in its original order.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Bowers, Stephen, 1832-1907.
Indians of North America--California.
Geology.
Picture-writing.
Archaeology.
Mines and mineral resources.
Cahuilla Indians.
Chumash Indians.
Religion.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
San Nicolas Island (Calif.)
Coachella Valley (Calif.)
Scrapbooks.
Letters.
Photographic prints and negatives made from items in Folder 22 in Braun Research Library's Photographic Archives, object ID
P.21936 to P.21940 and N.20181 to N.20195.