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Submitted: 9/13/20 • Approved: 9/14/20 • Last Updated: 9/14/20 • R17231-G0
1676
8 Sep 1747
James Bowdoin (I), son of the French Huguenot refugee Peter Bowdoin (born Pierre Baudouin). Father of Massachusetts Governor James Bowdoin (II), after whom BOWDOIN COLLEGE is named after a very healthy endowment from grandson James "Jemmy" Bowdoin (III)
The "Hon. James Bowdoin First of that name..." mentioned in the grave inscription refers to James I. He built the Bowden Vault prior to his death, and various family members, including the Governor and probably his father Pierre, were buried together (see excerpt from Winthrop memo below).
"Names of persons interred in the Bowdoin vault, in the Granary, Tremont Street, Boston:
-James I Bowdoin, 1747.
-Sarah, daughter of William Bowdoin, 1759, aged 4 years.
-Mrs. [Phebe Morton] Murdoch, mother of Mrs. William Bowdoin, 1760.
-Mrs. William [Phebe Murdock] Bowdoin, 1772.
-William Bowdoin, 1773.
-Balthazar Bayard, 1778.
-Mrs. Balthazar Bayard, 1780.
-James II Bowdoin, 1790.
-Mrs. James II Bowdoin, 1803
-Ann Elizabeth Palmer, daughter of William L. Palmer, 1808.
-Still-born daughter of James Temple Bowdoin, 1809.
-Elizabeth Bowdoin (Lady Temple), 1809.
-James III Bowdoin, 1811.
-Perhaps the 3 wives of James I Bowdoin.
-Perhaps Mrs. Bourn, daughter of Balthazar Bayard.
The memorandum from which this note is taken is in the possession of the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, and was drawn up by his brother, the late Mr. James Bowdoin, who obtained the information from the widow of James III Bowdoin, then Mrs. Dearborn."
Contributed on 9/13/20 by tomtodd
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Record #: 17231