Ancestors, Siblings, and Descendants of Joshua Bowers (1830 - 1916) and Mary Ann (Tillotson) Bowers (1834 - 1919)

What prompts a man to leave his wife and infant daughter? Joshua Bowers did that in 1857. He left them in Halifax, Yorkshire, England, and sailed on a wooden ship to Wilmington, Delaware. He got a job in an iron foundry and a place to live. He sent for Mary Ann and Elizabeth to join him. After a perilous 35 day voyage, they arrived in Wilmington ion 1859. A century and a half later this couple has over 450 descendants, most of whom live along the Atlantic seaboard and California.