Bowman-White House, About the Family

The Bowman family moved to Georgetown in 1885. The patriarch of the family, John Hanry Bowman, was employed as the Foreman of the Miners Sampling Works, and later as superintendent of the American Sister's Mine. The wealth Bowman accumulated allowed him to construct the Italianate house at 901 Rose Street in 1891-92 in which he, his wife Lavinia, and their two teenage daughters, Iorria and Mary Ellen (Mellie) lived.

In January of 1899, Iorria marriet J. E. Carnal under a bower of evergreens in the bay window in the library of the family home. The newlyweds moved to Welleston, Ohio where J. E. held the position of professor of music in the public schools.

Soon after his daughter's wedding, an ailing Mr. Bowman traveled to Texas for the benefit of his health. Unfortunately, he did not recover and died on November 15, 1900. His wife, Lavinia, passed away shortly thereafter on January 10, 1901.

Mellie and J .J.
After their parents death, Iorria and Mellier inherited the house and Mellie eventually obtained full ownership. She and her husband, John James "J. J." White, settled into the house after they wed at the Brown Palace in Denver on March 9, 1901. J. J., an attorney, was born in Nevadaville, Gilpin County in 1870, but spent much of his life in Clear Creek County and Georgetown in particular, where he served as the Police Judge (Mayor).

Mellier and J. J. soon began to remodel their new home. Originally the house had only tub and lavatory fixtures in a ground floor bathroom. Around 1907, most likely, a second floor bathroom was added over the dining room. The house was also repainted and new wallpaper was hung in the first and second floor hallways, and probably in the other major rooms as well.

In 1907, J. J. opened a branch office in Denver at the Cooper Building and the following year the family moved to Denver. The couple had four sons: John Bowman (June 11, 1902), Ralph (December 31, 1903), John James Jr. (February 25, 1909), and Melvin (November 17, 1916). While in Denver, the Whites rented the house to Mr. Ionides, a chemist for the for the Western Metals Company, and his wife.

In 1915 the family returned to Georgetown and moved back into their Rose Street home, where Mellie lived until shortly before her death in 1969. In 1974, Historic Georgetown, Inc. purchased the house from the Bowman-White family.