BIO: Calvin M. BOWER, Centre County, Pennsylvania

Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Wayne Barner 

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Commemorative Biographical Record of Central Pennsylvania: Including the 
Counties of Centre, Clearfield, Jefferson and Clarion: Containing Biographical 
Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens, Etc. 
Chicago: J. H. Beers, 1898.
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD, pages 59-60

CALVIN M. BOWER, a prominent lawyer and citizen of Bellefonte, was born in 
Haines township, Centre county, Penn., April 20, 1849 a son of Jacob Bower who 
was a prosperous and well-to-do farmer living near the village of Woodward.  The 
mother was a daughter of Jacob Motz, of Woodward; both parents being members of 
two of the oldest and most prominent families of that section of the county. 
   The subject of this sketch spent his early days as a farmer's boy, working on 
his father's farm during the summers and attending the public schools during the 
winter months.  In November, 1866, he entered the Aaronsburg Academy to prepare 
for college.  In the following spring he went back to his father's farm, and 
remained there until the fall of 1867, when he returned to the academy and spent 
the winter at his studies.  In the spring of 1863 he again returned to the farm 
and remained at work (except for five months spent in teaching a term of school 
in the neighborhood) until August, 1870, when he entered Central Pennsylvania 
College, at New Berlin, Penn.  During the time spent on the farm he was a 
faithful student, making use of his spare time in finishing his preparations for 
college.  He remained at college until October, 1871, when he came to Bellefonte 
to begin the study of law.  He entered the law office of Orvis & Alexander, then 
one of the most noted law firms in central Pennsylvania.  There he pursued his 
studies with the same zeal that characterized his school work, and in December, 
1873, he was admitted to the Bar of Centre county.
   Immediately upon his admission to the Bar he was offered and accepted an 
interest in the law firm with whom he had been a student, and in January, 1874m 
he became a member of the firm of Orvis, Alexander & Bower.  When Judge Orvis, 
the senior member of the firm, was appointed to the Bench, the remaining members 
of the firm continued the practice under the firm name of Alexander & Bower.  
This partnership continued for a period of eleven years, during which time they 
were engaged in most of the important cases tried in Centre county.  Mr. Bower 
was soon recognized as a careful and conscientious lawyer, and soon attained an 
influential position at the Bar.  He early acquired a large practice at the 
Orphans' Court, and was looked upon especially strong in this class of cases.  
The firm during its existence had a large practice, and taking an active part in 
the work soon became one of the leading lawyers of the county.  One of the 
strongest evidences of Mr. Bower's ability as a lawyer is the fact that when 
Judge Orvis retired from the Bench he chose him as his law partner.  The law 
firm of Orvis, Bower & Orvis, consisting of Judge Orvis, Mr. Bower, and Ellis L. 
Orvis, was organized January 1, 1885.  This partnership at once came into 
prominence, and was recognized as one of the leading law firms of Pennsylvania.  
Mr. Bower has always taken an active and prominent part in their practice, and 
his success has placed him prominently among the leading lawyers of the State.  
For many years he was concerned in the trial of many of the important ejectment 
cases tried in Centre county, and he is recognized as a well-equipped lawyer in 
this important branch of the law.  The records of the court in the central part 
of the State show the extent of his practice, and the supreme court reports, for 
years, attest his prominence at the Bar, showing that he frequently appeared 
before that tribunal in the leading cases from the courts to which his practice 
extended.
   Mr. Bower has always been an uncompromising Democrat, faithfully devoted to 
the principles of his party.  These principles, as laid down by Jefferson; 
Jackson and Tilden, have always found in him an earnest and faithful supporter.  
As early as 1875 he was chairman of the Democratic County Committee, and by his 
untiring work succeeded in effecting an organization that brought out a full 
party vote, resulting in a majority of 1,500 in the county for the Democratic 
nominee for governor.  He has frequently been a delegate to State Conventions, 
and in 1880 he was honored with a place on the Electoral ticket.  In 1894 he was 
unanimously nominated by his party for President Judge of the 49th Judicial 
District, then comprised of the counties of Centre and Huntingdon.  In the 
disastrous campaign of that year he was defeated with the rest of the Democratic 
candidates, but he ran 1,529 votes ahead of his ticket in the district.  When 
Mr. Bower was nominated, one of the Democratic papers in the district said, "The 
nomination comes to him without a contest.  His eminent position at the Bar in 
this section of the State makes him the natural candidate of his party, and he 
is conceded by Democrats and Republicans alike to be the strongest Democratic 
nominee to be found in the district."  In the following year the Democratic 
County Committee instructed the delegates from Centre county to present Mr. 
Bower's name before the State Convention for the nomination of Justice of the 
Superior Court, and passed a resolution instructing the delegates to use all 
honorable means to secure his nomination.  Huntingdon and other counties took 
similar action, and it soon became evident that there was a strong sentiment in 
his favor in various sections of the State.  His friends made a strong fight for 
his nomination, and he was only defeated by an unfortunate ruling of the 
chairman of the Convention, which gave the nomination to Judge Magee, of 
Pittsburg, by twenty-eight majority.
   Mr. Bower is a prominent and an active member of the Reformed Church.  
Frequently he has been a delegate to Classis and Synods, and has filled various 
other positions with credit to himself and honor to the Church.  While he is 
thoroughly devoted to his Church, he is interested in the cause of religion 
without regard to denominational lines.  He has also been active in Sunday-
School work, and is at present district and county chairman of the State 
Sabbath-school Association.  He has also been an active worker in the cause of 
education.  For years he has been a member of the board of trustees of Franklin 
and Marshall College, at Lancaster, Penn., and as a mark of appreciation of his 
work for the college, and his literary attainments, that institution some years 
ago conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts.  He owns one of the finest 
libraries in Bellefonte, and by earnest and careful study he has become as 
prominent in literary circles as he has in his profession.  Judge Orvis, when on 
the Bench, fittingly recognized Mr. Bower's legal and literary attainments by 
appointing him a member of the examining committee; and he is in point of 
service the oldest member of that committee, having been reappointed by Judges 
Hoy, Furst, and Love, and is the President of the Board.
   Mrs. Bower is a daughter of John Meyer, of near Rebersburg, and a lady of 
culture and refinement.  She is particularly noted for her love of plants and 
flowers, and the home of the family on the extreme eastern end of Linn street is 
one of the finest in Bellefonte.   The grounds surrounding the house are one 
mass of vines and flowers, all under the immediate care of Mrs. Bower.  The only 
child, John Jacob Bower, is a student of Franklin and Marshall College, a member 
of the class of 1898.
   Socially, Mr. Bower is of a retiring disposition, absorbed in his books and 
his profession; yet he has acquired a large circle of acquaintances and formed 
strong friendships.  He is a representative of one of the oldest families in 
Centre county and his ancestors on both sides were some of earliest settlers in 
the eastern end of Penn's Valley.  Many of the Bowers and Motzes still reside in 
that section of the county, and some of them own and occupy the lands where 
their ancestors settled about the time of the Revolutionary war, the title 
thereto not having passed out of the family name in which it was originally 
acquired.
  Jacob Bower, the great-grandfather of Calvin M., and the son of John and 
Catherine Bower, came into what is now Haines township from Hanover township, 
York county, in 1776.  He married Christena Nease, daughter of Philip Nease.  
John Motz, the great-grandfather of Mr. Bower on his mother's side, came to the 
site of Woodward from Penn township, in what is now Snyder county, in 1786.  He 
bought land under date of April 29, 1785, and is credited with being the first 
settler on the town site named.  Shortly after locating, he built a mill, and in 
a small scale manufactured soda.  He was highly educated, a sculptor by 
profession, and had to leave the Fatherland in consequence of his devotion to 
the cause of liberty.  At his death he left quite a valuable collection of books 
on Church history, astronomy, etc.  His wife's maiden name was Mary Whitmer.