Frank Llewellyn Bowman (January 21, 1879 – September 15, 1936) was an American politician who represented

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

from 1925 to 1933.

Biography

Early life

Bowman was born in

Masontown, Pennsylvania Masontown is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. The population of the borough was 3,274 at the 2020 census. It is served by the Albert Gallatin Area School District. Masontown is ...

on January 21, 1879. He attended the public schools, and then moved with his parents to

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Monongahela River in North Central West Virginia and is the home of West Virginia University. The population was 30,347 at the 2 ...

. He graduated from the

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Ins ...

in 1902, where he was known to have been a brilliant student, winning the Inter-Society Oration and Debate prize, and where he had been a member of

Phi Sigma Kappa Phi Sigma Kappa (), colloquially known as Phi Sig or PSK, is a men's social and academic Fraternities and sororities, fraternity with approximately 74 List of Phi Sigma Kappa chapters#Chapters, active chapters and provisional chapters in North Am ...

fraternity.

Professional Years

After graduation, he worked as a teller in a bank at Morgantown from 1902 until 1904, when he resigned to take up the study of

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

, again at West Virginia University. In 1904 he became a member of the then-professional law fraternity,

Delta Chi Delta Chi () is an international collegiate social fraternity. It was formed in 1890 at Cornell University as a professional fraternity for law students, becoming a social fraternity in 1922. In 1929. Delta Chi became one of the first internat ...

.Like many early law-focused ΔΧ chapters, the West Virginia chapter allowed members of other general fraternities to join. Established as a chapter in 1902, it survived only until 1908, when, during the ongoing debate to become a "single standard" fraternity, it disbanded. Per th
Delta Chi history
, accessed 6 July 2016. He was admitted to the bar in 1905 and commenced practice in Morgantown, West Virginia. In addition, he pursued an interest in

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

mining, both as a shareholder and board member. Bowman was appointed

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

May 25, 1911, and served until April 14, 1915, when a successor was appointed. He was the city mayor in 1916 and 1917 but declined renomination for mayor. Bowman was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-ninth and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1925 – March 3, 1933) but was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1932 to the

Seventy-third Congress The 73rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1933, ...

. After leaving Congress, Bowman organized the Tropf coal company in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and served as president until appointed a member of the Board of Veterans Appeals of the Veterans’ Administration in 1935. He also served several other coal companies in the role of corporate attorney.

Personal life

In addition to his fraternal memberships during college, Bowman was a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, with involvement in both the Rotary Club, and also holds membership in the Knights Templar, belonging to Morgantown Commandery No. 18, Knights Templar, and Osiris Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Wheeling. He also belongs to the

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an Act of Co ...

, in all of which he was remembered by his biographers as "very popular." His religious faith is that of the Presbyterian Church. He married Miss Pearl Silveus of

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

on 3 June 1904, with whom he had two children. He served on the VA Board until his death in Washington, D.C., on September 15, 1936. He was buried in East Oak Grove Cemetery, Morgantown, West Virginia where his wife and parents were later also buried.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowman, Frank L.) 1879 births 1936 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in West Virginia Mayors of Morgantown, West Virginia 20th-century people from Washington, D.C. People from Masontown, Pennsylvania West Virginia University alumni West Virginia lawyers West Virginia postmasters Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia 20th-century West Virginia politicians 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives