WILIAM B. BOWERS.
William H. Bowers, East Peoria, retired railroad conductor, was born in Johnson County, Iowa, in November, 1850, son of John and Millie (Sparling) Bowers. His father was a native of Ohio (born March 1, 1827), and his mother was born in Indiana, in 1831. The latter is deceased.
Mr. Bowers was educated in the public schools, and was put in charge of a stationary engine in Indiana when he was only sixteen years old. This he operated for four years, and for ten years had the management of a saw and planing mill. Later be became a railroad man, and for fourteen years, was a conductor on the Lake Erie & Western Railroad. In 1894 he located in Tazewell County, and here he has since resided.
In matters political Mr. Bowers is a Republican, and has served as Mayor of East Peoria. Socially he is a Mason of high degree, and has taken the degree of the Mystic Shrine. For twenty years he has been an Odd-Fellow, and has long been a member of the order of Railway Conductors. In 1898, at Chicago, he was married to Mrs. May Smith, who was a native of Connecticut. The paternal grandfather of Mr. Bowers was Solomon Bowers. a native of Pennsylvania. His maternal grandfather was John Sparling.
Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Tazewell County - page 982