| BOWERS, MARMION HENRY (1829-1872). Marmion Henry Bowers, attorney and state legislator, son of Henry J. Bowers, was born on April 29, 1829, at Moore's Hill, Indiana. In 1851 he obtained a law degree from Indiana University, Bloomington. After practicing law in Indiana for a short time he moved to Burnet (then called Hamilton Valley), Texas, in March 1853, with $4.25 in his pocket and no prospects. He organized a school where he taught briefly before developing a law practice in Burnet. Bowers was narrowly defeated in an election for district judge in the fall of 1856. By November 15, 1856, he was practicing law in Austin, where he was at different times in partnership with Joseph J. Dennis and Alexander Stuart Walker.qqv During the summer after his move to the Texas capital, Bowers had a severe attack of what he called hemorrhage of the lungs. After marrying Mary M. Batterton in Indiana on September 16, 1858, he considered moving to Cincinnati to set up a law practice but decided it would be wiser to stay where he had an established business. On January 20, 1862, he enlisted in the Confederate service. He served with the Travis County Infantry in Flournoy's regiment, where he held the rank of captain. After his military service, Bowers was elected to the Tenth Texas Legislature (1863-64). In 1869 he was elected to the Texas Senate, where he served until his death. During the troubled days of Reconstructionqv he delivered a speech in the Senate, on June 20, 1870, that opposed Governor Edmund J. Davis'sqv newly legislated right to declare martial law. That speech was said to have helped overthrow the Radical Republican regime in Texas. Bowers was a devout Baptist and a Mason. He died in Austin on March 3, 1872, of consumption, after having suffered from the disease for much of his life. He and his wife had five children. |
