In the latter 1700s, both families were residents of Armstrong County, Pennsylvania. The Bowsers were the most numerous clan in the county. The old Hague Hotel, built by Mathias Bausser, was located 200 feet west of the Pennsylvania Railroad crossing on Market Street. Mrs. Margaret Bowser, wife of Jonas Bowser, visited her Uncle Mathias as a child and found Indian beads in the front yard of the hotel.

James Claypool came to settle in Armstrong County in 1791, but moved to Pittsburgh soon after. He returned a year later and purchased 400 acres in the North Buffalo Township. Both the Bowsers and Claypools purchased materials from a Samuel Houston who owned a dry goods store in Kittanning.

Following is a typical shopping list of the day:

About this Site:
This site is being presented, not for profit, but strictly for its educational and informational value. This site is not a vanity hisory site -that is, it does not embelish or gloss over information to make the Claypooles or Bowsers sound unrealistically saintly or withhold facts that have the potential of casting a negative light on either family.

This has less of an overall effect where the Bowser family is concerned, as they were, by all accounts, a family not connected with some of the more nefarious or notoious aspects of American or European history. The Claypooles, on the other hand, were part of the English aristocracy in the 1600s and so were affiliated with and, in some cases, descendent from people who were sometimes excentric at best and embarrassingly dispicable at their very worst.

They themselves were at one time slave owners and, when they were still in England, engaged in some of the excesses attributed to wealthy, aristocratic families.

Historical Background:
The Claypooles and Bowsers of Pennsylvania have been interacting since before 1839, when George Bowser was born to Jacob Bowser and Isabelle Claypoole-Bowser, which represents the first marriage between the two families. The Claypooles came to America from England in 10/06/1683; the Bowsers -or Baussers- from Germany in 09/28/1733.

The Claypoole family has a long history that includes many noble ancestors, as well as more ancient progenetors. The Claypoole name is found in William the Conquerer's Domesday Book, which was his general census of every blasted thing in England, the estimated value, and the amount of tax to be levied based on that value...William loved money. It also listed Claypoole properties, and they were taxed according to their land holdings and material substance. These people were social climbers who had the good sense to marry well and subsequently passed their wealth on to successive generations. They came to America seeking even more good fortune in the new frontier.

The Bowser family, on the other hand, was not wealthy and did not hail from a noble or royal background. They came seeking not fortune or wealth, but peace and freedom from the violence and chaos in Germany, sparked by religious and politcal upheaval, making ordinary living practically imossible.

While the Claypooles came to the new land in an unstressful manner, the Bowsers were more or less fleeing their homeland, hoping only to live without fear of persecution from despotic, monarchical leaders. They knew what it was like to be caught in the middle of vicious battles between the 'powers that be,' which included the Catholics and the Lutherans. Once here, the Bowsers finally had the opportunity to own property and grow financially. Through employing their purely industrious nature, they made considerable fortunes, which soon brought them to the attention of the aristocratic Claypooles as perfect marrying stock for future generations.