Charles Calvin Bowman (November 14, 1852 – July 3, 1941) was a Republican member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Charles Calvin Bowman was born in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in and the county seat of Rensselaer County, New York, United States. It is located on the western edge of the county, on the eastern bank of the Hudson River just northeast of the capital city of Albany, New York, Albany. At the ...

. He attended Lansingburgh Academy in Troy, and learned the woodworking trade. He graduated in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

from

Union College Union College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the s ...

Schenectady, New York Schenectady ( ) is a City (New York), city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the United States Census 2020, 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-most populo ...

, in 1875. He was engaged in civil engineering work for the State of

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Danvers, Massachusetts Danvers is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the Danvers River near the northeastern coast of Massachusetts. The suburb is a fairly short ride from Boston and is also in close proximity to the beach ...

, in 1875. He organized the western shipping department of the Pennsylvania Coal Company of

Pittston, Pennsylvania Pittston is a city in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city lies in the Wyoming Valley on the east side of the Susquehanna River and on the south side of the Lackawanna River. It is approximately midway between Wilkes-Barre, Pen ...

, in 1876, which he managed the company until 1883. He served as general manager of the Florence Coal Co., in 1883 and 1884, later operating as an independent miner and shipper of

anthracite coal Anthracite, also known as hard coal and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic lustre. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the highe ...

. He served as mayor of Pittston in 1896, and served as a member of the city council for sixteen terms. He was a delegate to the Independent Republican State convention in 1890 and to the Republican State convention in 1898. Bowman presented credentials as a Republican Member-elect to the Sixty-second Congress, but his election was contested by his opponent George B. McLean. McLean argued that Bowman reported only $7,000 in campaign expenditures but actually spent more than $9,000. The House Committee on Elections found that this was not an error, but active fraud as evidenced by "erasures on check stubs and alteration of memoranda". As a result, the House declared that Bowman had not be elected. Bowman served from March 4, 1911 until December 12, 1912, when the seat was declared vacant. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1912. He resumed the coal business, and died in Pittston in 1941 at the age of 88. He was interred in Pittston Cemetery.

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The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, Charles Calvin 1852 births 1941 deaths People from Pittston, Pennsylvania Politicians from Troy, New York Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Members of the United States House of Representatives removed by contest 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives