Eilley Orrum Cowan was one of the very few women living in the Comstock Lode in 1859 when gold was discovered in Gold Canyon. Originally she came from Scotland as a Mormon Missionary only eventually to pursue dreams of her own when she reached America. She operated a boarding house in Virginia City washing clothes and making somewhat of a profit. According to local lore and myths she had obtained 10' of the lode as payment for room and board. However I read elsewhere that a man named Rogers and Eilley went in on half of a 20' claim as to where she purchased later on his half of it. Little did she know that this claim would be one of the richest in all the Comstock. Eilley was a dreamer she sought out wealth it was her dream to have all the amentities most miners did not have.

Lemuel Sanford Bowers also known as Sandy came from Missouri via wagon train and was working as a miner in and around Virginia City NV. He also possessed 10' to 20' claim right next to Eilley's. Both of them were hardworking individuals with allot in common. Sandy was a hardworking man he was mining at a labor camp moving westward along the Carson Pass when the Comstock Lode was just being developed with claims. Miners were coming from all over California to make there way across the sierras to stake a claim. When Sandy got wind that a water ditch from Dayton to Gold Canyon was being dug he went to the richest area of the Comstock known as gold canyon.

It didn't take long for the two of them to figure out that the blue mud they were digging into contained pure high grade silver. Some sold there claims but they did not rather deciding to work them for its rich ore. By 1859 after there strike the two became the first Comstock Millionaires upon marriage as both mines were a successful venue to own.

Sadly the curse if you wish to call it that or maybe just a bad strain of luck began when the Bowers tried to have there children of there own. In 1860 there first child John Jasper Bowers died at the age of two months old. They tried immediately after to have another child which was named Theresa Fortunatas who only lived for three months. Perhaps this is what was the catalyst in the Bowers wanting to adopt Margaret Persia Bowers and there trip to Europe for two years in 1861.

They traveled to Europe for over two years as the wealth continued to pour in from there mines. Eilley was always buying new furniture, statues and paintings as she had a dream to own a big home for there new to be family. Sandy was only 29 while Eilley was 33 years of age both a fairly young couple with allot of wealth so this trip to Europe was more like a shopping spree.

The newly married couple were living a life most only dreamed of traveling the world without having to even work in there own mines unlike most of the miners residing around Comstock Lode. Eilley and Sandy both had dreams of meeting Queen Victoria although they never were able to it was one of the reasons for there travels. However on there ship voyage home a mother had passed away being buried at sea leaving a little girl behind named Persia. Eilley had a kind heart and adopted this little girl one of the greatest gifts you can give to a child taking her in as a Bower. They would return in 1863 and began to build a more stable life where they could be close to there friends and the Comstock Lode.

Eilley had received land from her previous marriage which was across from Washoe Lake on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada near where a small stream came down off the mountains. Eilley felt this area would be a great place to build her dream mansion so that she could have guest from all over Virginia City, California and World visit to share celebrations of success. Sandy was a member of the Territorial Convention of 1859 so Eilley did ask of him to have this mansion built.

Now I want history buffs to understand that the land the mansion was built was used by the Washoe Tribe of the Paiute Indians for over 6000 years. The Washoe Valley which the mansion overlooks was used by the natives that made trips along the Ophir Creek and Franktown trails which resided behind this very mansion. The natives would take the trail heading up to Tahoe since they could hunt and fish. Some of the resources founder were mule deer's, waterfowls and Lohontan Cuthroat Trout's found in the lake. They also picked the pinecones off the Pinions for there nuts. They used large willow and tulle baskets to carry these pine cones in the area. There were also hot springs found near the mansion where they could clean the Pinion pine tar off the cones.
So long before Eilley even wanted her majestic mansion built this land served the Washoe people.

The mansion was built as a symbol of prestige, wealth and unique architecture. It was built by a J. Neely Johnson who was a builder and the ex governor of California. It would cost 350,000 dollars to construct making it one of the most expensive homes to be built in the state of NV during this time period. It was completed by 1863 with an Italian and Georgian architecture. Then there was the parties and all the get-togthers at the mansion. Miners, Ranchers and very good friends of the Bowers poured in to enjoy these parties that were held here. Samuel Clemens also known as Mark Twain even visited this grandiose mansion commenting on the areas beautiful scenery and the Bowers exquisite furniture.

Sadly only a year after the Mansions opening Sandy would not be able to enjoy it. As in later 1864 the great mining depression had hit the stock market hard so Sandy had no choice but to move back to Gold Hill leaving Eilley to care for the mansion herself. Although Sandy worked his own mine he realized that the mine was depleted and he developed in 1868 a disease known as Silicosis. This is when small dust particles with sharp shards enter into the lungs eventually causing internally bleeding and eventually suffocation. This was not an uncommon disease founder in miners if you look back at the ghost town of Delamar also known as the "Widow Maker" more then half of the town perished from this disease. Sandy was unable to hold onto his fortune or exploit the opportunities that can come from mining in the Comstock. Not everyone was lucky enough to find a claim that led to such fortunes. However not everyone was lucky enough to live to see there fruits of there labor either.

Rumor has it that around 1862 Sandy and some of his partners built a bridge that spanned across Washoe Lake to make it easier to get to there claims in Gold Hill. Not sure if this is even true but supposedly when Sandy passed on his funeral spanned across the lake all the way over Mt. Davidson which overshadows Virginia City to Butler Peak right down to Crown Point and Gold Hill. Technically Sandy's death may have been the largest funeral in NV mining history. With that said Sandy was buried behind the mansion in the woods in what would become the Bowers family cemetery.

This left Eilley with financial and emotional strains. The mine went bust she lost her husband and eventually in 1874 just 6 years after Sandy's death Persia Passed on. Eilley would host travelers at the mansion and auction off much of her valuable furniture she purchased in Europe. She was trying to prevent the foreclosure which would be inevitable by 1878. Prior to that she held the balls for the women's suffrage movement and annual Miner's Ball. The mansion in the 1870's reached its peak and popularity as public events continued on. Eilley was a lonely lady in a large house in a Sierra Fur Forest she did what she had to do in order to keep her beloved mansion. Sandy prior to passing on was the opposite he could have been happy living in a shack.

Little did the locals know of this but Eilley was said to be a Clairvoyant some called her a witch others had paid her for psychic readings after the foreclosure in 1878 when Myron Lake obtained it. Back in 1858 prior to the claim or even the building of the mansion she had ordered a legendary mail carrier by the name of Snowshoe Thomas to bring her back a crystal ball. When she struck it rich in 1859 only a year later rumor spread that maybe Eilley did have some sort of psychic gift. However in 1875 she predicted the great fire that burned down most of Virginia City. She would put the crystal ball to use like a gypsy traveling to all the local towns surrounding the Comstock giving the locals psychic readings. In a way this is one woman's tale that went from rags to riches only to go back to rags again. Sadly Eilley eventually went blind and deaf ending her career as a seer. She was impoverished dying in California in 1903 her ashes would be brought via urn to be buried next to Persia and Sandy in the family cemetery.

Further below on this page I have posted a much more in depth about Eilley and Sandy. These were two important people in the development of the Comstock. Today those mines still exist I know I have driven past them. Sandy Bowers original claim still exist today however it would become part of the "Consolidated Imperial" until the Sutro Tunnel Coalition Inc. had taken ownership of it. It is hard to believe the amount of history in this region knowing that the Bowers lived in the mansion ended up being buried behind the mansion and today those mines which still remain were once mined by the Bowers.

The mansion would fall into many different peoples hands at one point in time there were talks about turning the place into a lunatic asylum but it never transpired. Over the years the mansion sat abandoned becoming decrepit until Henry Riter acquired the property forming it into a resort in 1903. The resort would have pools and even a motel on site. People could come here to hike, swim in a spring fed pool and tour its rich history. Even women back in the day who were models would visit the grounds just to be photographed in front of its fountain is found on the Emerald Lawn in front of the mansion.

In 1946 Henry Riter sold the mansion to the Reno Civic Club and Washoe Parks system where it would be turned into a public park for everyone to enjoy. Over those years over 500 families donated furniture for the mansion. Although much of the furniture inside are antiques it is not the original furniture that Eilley purchased in Europe. The site is scattered with old farm equipment, garage, foot cellar, wine cellar and of course the cemetery on the hill which is a reminder that at one time a family lived on these grounds.

There are rumors that the property is haunted I never knew anything about this fact until after I visited the site and researched it myself. I heard that a two year old child drowned in the bathtub in the mansion. I also heard she was buried in an unmarked grave. More then likely there are a few unmarked graves on the property from tragic incidents whether it would be from the early inhabitants of the Paiutes or from families that obtained the mansion for a short time.

I have also read that Eilley haunts the second floor of the mansion while others claim to see glowing apparitions at night near the cemetery. During my first exploration I found two eerie hand prints on the grounds. It makes you wonder if there is a playful ghost that surrounds this location of perhaps a child. Eilley was heavily into the supernatural this is one of the reasons I was so adamant about visiting this location was because I read about her metaphysical history. Which meant that I may be able if I already have not connect with her on the other side in simple terms.

I have also read that people see a partial apparition that haunts the mansion and experience various types of activities like cold spots. While others have heard voices and taken some pretty solid EMF readings here which make you question the theory that maybe that the Bowers perhaps never left this majestic haunting historical mansion that sits on a hill afterall.

Mansion of Sorrows

By Phyllis Doyle

Allison (Eilley) Oram, came from a large family of ten children. She was born on a farm in Forfar, Scotland, on September 6, 1826. Early in life she knew her future was not in Scotland on a farm. She was not happy with her slim chances of a good future in her homeland. To escape from what she must have considered a dismal life, she became a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. This was a way for her to leave Scotland and come to the United States.

In 1841, Eilley and her sister Betty found their way to Nauvoo, Illinois, which was the center of the LDS movement. At the tender age of fifteen, Eilley married a Scottsman, Stephen Hunter. Hunter was a missionary, widower, and forty-five years older than Eilley. After the assassination of Joseph Smith, Jr. in 1844, Eilley and Stephen moved to Salt Lake City.

Stephen had the notion that Eilley was unable to have children, therefore he took a second wife. This was not at all agreeable to Eilley, who promptly got a divorce. She was able to support herself by working in a general store.

In 1853, Eilley married Alexander Cowan. In 1855 they joined a mission which led them to Mormon Station in the Utah Territory. When the mission relocated to Franktown, Nevada, they resettled near Virginia City and purchased 320 acres of land. The land had a natural hot spring and great potential. Alexander took up farming. Eilley scouted around, found what she wanted in nearby Gold Canyon, and opened a boardinghouse.

When the Utah War (sometimes referred to as the Mormon War), and the Mountain Meadows massacre caused severe problems for the Mormon people in 1857 - 1858, Brigham Young recalled Mormon colonists back from the western areas. Alexander did not hesitate to return at Young's request. However, Eilley did not want to go.

With the help of Robert Henderson, Cowan's nephew, Eilley continued to run the boardinghouse. She hired men to work the farm in Alexander's absence. Cowan returned a few times to be with Eilley. In 1858 he returned to Salt Lake City to never return.

Eilley, keeping 13 year old Robert with her, moved to Johntown. More and more miners were coming to the Comstock lode and needed places to stay. Eilley opened another boardinghouse in Gold Hill. One of the miners who stayed there was Lemuel Sanford "Sandy" Bowers. Sandy, along with another miner, James Rogers, owned a 20 foot mining claim. In 1859 Eilley paid Rogers $1.000.00 for his half of the claim. Sandy and Eilley were married in August of the same year.

The Comstock Lode hit and made many people suddenly rich. Sandy and Eilley found themselves owners of one of the richest strikes of silver ore in the state of Nevada. Fortunately for them, the lode was easy to access and remove, because it was so close to the surface -- hence, they did not need to put a high investment in to have it extracted. Their claim brought them over four million dollars. That would be the equivalent of almost $100 million today). During the highest yield from the mine, they received $100,000 a month. The Bowers became one of the richest families in the United States -- the first millionaires in the state of Nevada.

In June of 1860, Eilley and Sandy were blessed yet again with the birth of their first child, John Jasper Bowers. The baby lived just two months. The following year a daughter, Theresa Fortunatas Bowers, was born. Theresa died at the age of three months.

Not long after their second child died, the Bowers decided to build themselves a magnificent home on the 160 acres Eilley and her husband Alexander Cowan had purchased. Eilley had received the land from Cowan in the divorce settlement.

While the mansion was under construction, Sandy and Eilley set off on a tour of Europe to purchase items for their new home. The tour included London, Scotland, Paris, and Florence. Luxurious furnishing, paintings, statuary, dresses for Eilley, jewelry, silverware, and other household items were purchased.

Returning to Nevada in April 1863, Eilley and Sandy not only had a beautiful mansion to come home to, they had brought back from Europe with them a baby girl. Many speculations and rumours swirled around society as to who the baby's parents were and where she had come from. The Bowers apparently paid no attention to the gossip and had named the baby Margaret Persia Bowers. Eilley always called her Persia. The happy parents never spoke about the baby's parentage, possibly because there was nothing unusual about it. The baby did strongly resemble Eilley.

The completion of Bowers Mansion with all it's beautiful appointments and adornments was a dream come true for Eilley. To her this lovely and well furnished home meant prestige and respectability. The home was designed with a combination of Georgian Revival and Italianate architecture. The architect's design was based on a model that Eilley herself had created, from memories she had of styles in her homeland of Scotland. Eilley and Sandy even had stone cutters from Scotland hired for the construction.

Marriage to Sandy, and their new home filled with expensive and beautiful furnishings gave Eilley the status of being one of the new millionaires of the Comstock Lode mining boom. This "respectability and prestige", along with her beautiful little daughter gave Eilley what she had always wanted. Eilley was content and happy.

For six years the Bowers family had a life of contentment and happiness. Then tragedy struck at Eilley once again. Sandy, at the age of 35, died suddenly. He had a lung disease, Silicosis, which was caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust from the mines.

Unknown to Eilley, Sandy had not been financially wise. It was soon discovered that Sandy had not handled their financial affairs properly. Loaning out large sums of money without securing collateral, mortgaging their stock, and other ill-planned negotiations, left Eilley destitute.

Sandy was buried on the hillside up behind the mansion in a quiet and shady little pine grove. Wooden steps, curving up the hillside in a peaceful and nostalgic pattern, led to the graveside far above the home Eilley and Sandy so lovingly created.

To survive and try to save her home, Eilley tried many different ventures. She opened up part of her mansion as a resort, she did laundry for the Comstock miners, she held seances for society people, billed herself as a seeress, she held huge parties for society people, and anything she could think of to earn money.

During this time of sharing her home with so many other people, she thought it best to send Persia to Reno to live with friends and attend school there. In July of 1874, an outbreak of four deadly diseases hit Reno, typhoid, malaria, diphtheria, and cholera. Eilley was notified that Persia was ill with a severe fever. Rushing to be with her beloved daughter, Eilley arrived in Reno to find out Persia had already died. Eilley was now further devastated and totally alone. Persia was buried beside Sandy on the hill behind the mansion.

Eilley was unable to hold on to the only thing she had left, her beautiful mansion. The bank foreclosed on Bowers Mansion and sold it in auction on November 27, 1876, for $10,000.00. Sandy and Eilley had spent well over $630,000.00 to build it. Eilley moved to Virginia City and continued her "seeress" career. In 1880, after the decline of the mining industry, she moved to San Francisco.

Shortly before 1900, Eilley returned to Nevada. Her health was failing and she could no longer continue her scrying business. Unable to support herself, she was placed in the Washoe County poorhouse. Due to a legal dispute between California and Nevada as to which state should pay for her care, Eilley was given $30.00 cash and sent to San Francisco -- it had been decided California should see to her welfare. Eilley died in Oakland at the King's Daughters Home on October 27, 1903.

The urn containing the ashes of Alison "Eilley" Oram Bowers was sent to Washoe County, Nevada. Eilley's ashes were buried alongside Sandy and Persia on the hill behind her beloved mansion.
*******

Bowers Mansion is currently owned and operated by the Washoe County Parks Department. Some 500 Nevada families have donated period furniture housed in the mansion. The park blends the historical site with recreational facilities such as a spring-fed swimming pool, picnic areas, and a playground. Tours of the mansion are given in summer and autumn.

Eilley Orrum, Nevada Millionaire

Jun 21, 2005 - © Elizabeth Gibson

Eilley Orrum was born in 1827 in Scotland. When 15, she decided she would not accept a life of drudgery and chores. Some Mormon missionaries had come to Scotland. She allowed herself to be converted so she could go to America to seek a better life. She accompanied her married sister and left for America in 1842.

She went with the Mormons to Nauvoo, Illinois, to establish a colony there. She married Edward Hunter, a church elder, who had a prosperous farm. Eilley became quickly dissatisfied with the life there, as she believed she was destined for greatness and riches. However, she stayed there five years. At that time, local settlers revolted against the Mormons and killed their prophet Joseph Smith. Brigham Young took over the colony and led them to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Eilley didn't like this valley any better, as a vision told her that her destiny would be in the mountains. In 1852, Brigham Young proclaimed that plural marriage was allowed as long as the first wife gave consent. Her husband had brought three "nieces" with them to Salt Lake City. At this point, Eilley discovered that her husband had secretly married them back in Illinois. Eilley refused to give her permission, even though it was a moot point. He would not divorce them. So she divorced him. She moved in with her sister and got a job at a mercantile. A short time later she met and married Alexander Cowan and moved to his cabin at the age of 25.

In the spring of 1855, church elders sent a delegation to the farthest western section of Utah territory. They arrived at the Washoe Valley near Lake Tahoe later that year. Once again, she became dissatisfied when her husband showed no ambition beyond farming. She set up a boardinghouse to cater to the prospectors.

In 1858, Brigham Young called the Mormons back to Salt Lake City to join a battle against the U.S. Army. She took the opportunity to divorce again and stayed behind at what was known as Genoa. She also received some property in payment for her boardinghouse fees. She staked some of her own claims in promising outcrops. She had been tutored by none other than Ethan Allen and Hosea Grosch, who are generally credited with discovering the Comstock Lode. The miners had been looking for gold and finding only small amounts. Finally an assay determined that the ugly gray rock being discovered and tossed aside was silver. And there was a lot of it.

She married Lemuel Sanford "Sandy" Bowers, who had claims near hers. In the spring of 1860, she finally had a baby, a boy she named John Jasper. The baby was very sickly and didn't thrive. He died from a cold two months later. Meanwhile, Virginia City was thriving and Eilley's business was doing very well. The Bowers' claims were doing so well they erected a 20-stamp mill to process the ore faster. She hired her brother-in-law to manage the mill.

Eilley could now see the riches she saw in her dreams. She started building her mansion near present-day Carson City. She had another child, Teresa Fortunata, who did much better than her son. But she also died at a very young age. The Bowers had left on a European vacation. Just before docking at London the child died.

Eilley toured Scotland to visit her mother. She spent quite a bit of money remodeling the old homestead. She bought lots of new furniture for herself. She visited Paris and stocked up on beautiful clothes. They went on to Italy to order several pieces of artwork. She tried several times to visit the queen of England, but was turned away because the queen did not receive divorced people nor those without social standing. She was not able to catch up with French emperor or the Italian king either. This was very discouraging to Eilley, as she was a legend in her own mind.

In May 1862, she returned to New York. On the ship, a young widowed woman went into labor and died in childbirth. After attempting to find the girl's people, Eilley took the baby home and named her Margaret Persia. Then she kept herself busy decorating her mansion with the fine items she bought in Europe. She spent the next several years establishing herself as the Queen of the Comstock, throwing lavish parties and associating with the right people. She met Comstock magnate MacKay and banker Sharron.

Her husband spent much of his time at their old shack at Gold Hill, tending to mining business. It was there he later got sick from a lung ailment. He died there on April 21, 1868. She paid for an elaborate funeral and a silver casket. Eilley soon found out her husband had made a bunch of bad loans, most of which could not be collected. At the same time, the mines weren't producing what they used

used to. She had to sell stock to pay for further development. Eventually, she sold enough stock, she no longer had majority interest. Mr. Sharron's bank now owned her property.

She wanted to build a large resort near the mansion, but she didn't have enough money. A friend came up with a scheme to sell tickets for a lottery in which her mansion was the prize. As it turned out an unsold ticket was picked. So she still kept the house and the money. She put the money towards her outstanding debt. Now she had enough to refinance her house and build her resort.

She gave a huge grand opening in which marching bands played, the dance hall was opened, and food and wine flowed freely. Not long after this her daughter Persia died from scarlet fever at the age of 12. She threw a big picnic for the Miner's Union afterward to drown her sorrows.

She had always claimed to have "second sight" and had, in fact, predicted the Yellow Jacket mine fire in 1874. She started calling herself the Washoe Seeress. She predicted that the next big mines would be in the northern part of the vein. Unfortunately, she didn't have any of her own money to invest. She added on 18 rooms to her resort and took in borders, but she still had a net loss. She was even doing "readings" in her "peep-stone" for money.

Ultimately the bank foreclosed on her mansion. After New Year's 1877, she was forced to leave the mansion. The bank allowed her to occupy a small cottage on the property. She continued to read people's fortunes and even moved to San Francisco for a short time to read fortunes. She moved into the Home of the King's Daughters, a Masonic facility in San Francisco. She stayed there until 1903, when Henry Riter brought the mansion and allowed her to move back in. Unfortunately, she died, at 76, before she could return. She died still believing that a resurgence of the Comstock was just around the corner.

(SOURCE: Eilley Orrum, Queen of the Comstock, Swift Paine, Alta, California: Pacific Books, 1949.)

Above Persia Bowers Eilley and Sandy's beloved adopted child!

Myth #94 - Searching for "Sandy" Bowers
by Guy Rocha, former Nevada State Archivist

Lemuel Sanford “Sandy” Bowers was many things to many writers. Virtually all we know about Sandy Bowers, believed to be the first Comstock millionaire, was written after his death at Crown Point Ravine in Gold Hill on April 21, 1868.

Editor Myron Angel in his History of Nevada (1881) characterized Bowers as “an ignorant, easy-going frontiersman . . . .” An anecdote--probably apocryphal--in the pioneer history makes the Gold Canyon miner appear to be a lucky, good-hearted buffoon who just happened to strike it rich in 1859 and frittered away his fortune with his wife and business partner “Eilley”.

In editor Hubert Howe Bancroft’s History of Nevada, 1540-1888 (1890), we find that Bowers was an “illiterate Irishman” who married Scottish-born Allison Orrum Cowan in 1858. Actually, the couple was married on August 9, 1859, shortly after the major discoveries at Gold Hill where they had adjoining claims. “The Bowers became famous alike for their riches and their ignorance of their uses of wealth,” according to Bancroft’s work, and reference is made to a trip the couple took to Europe where “they remained three years abroad.”

The voyage to and from Europe, wrote Grant H. Smith in The History of the Comstock Lode, 1850-1920 (1943), lasted only eleven months. Smith, citing Eilley’s testimony in an 1865 court case, noted that the Bowers left San Francisco on the steamer Golden Gate on May 1, 1862, returning to Nevada Territory in April 1863. He referred to the couple as “. . . simple, unlettered folk . . . .”

Swift Paine, in his work Eilley Orrum Queen of the Comstock (1929), wrote of Sandy Bowers in 1859 that he “. . . had come from Missouri several years before as a teamster”, was “[s]pare, boyish, unlettered, [and] given to roistering . . . .” Paine later admitted to taking great liberties with the facts and inventing conversations and events for dramatic effect.

In a modest biography of Eilley Bowers entitled The Mistress of the Mansion (1950), author Alice B. Addenbrooke described “Sandy” as “enterprising . . . although uneducated.”

Perhaps the most sympathetic account of Lemuel Bowers is found in An Editor on the Comstock Lode (1936) by journalist Wells Drury. Drury interviewed Dr. Simeon Bishop, his own father-in-law and a close friend of the Bowers. “’Two better people than Sandy Bowers and his wife never lived, exclaimed Dr. Bishop . . . They were plain folks, both of them, though she was somewhat more pretentious than he’.” Dr. Bishop continued that “[h]e was a frontiersman; his ancestors had been pioneers of Kentucky. . . . He was a gentleman without trying, and without knowing why.”

Contrary to writers who exaggerated the cost of constructing the ostentatious Bowers Mansion in 1862-1863, Drury stated that the figure for the construction of the residence in Washoe Valley was actually $300,000. Grant Smith argued that the Bowers Mansion “. . . cost far less than $407,000 as claimed by several writers.   Bower’s wealth has been a juicy morsel for sensational writers who knew little of the facts and cared less.”

Singling out Eilley and Sandy Bowers out as poor money managers in the midst of the Comstock’s first great depression in 1864-65 is not fair. Literally thousands of people on the Comstock, in San Francisco, and elsewhere suffered heavy losses in the stock market and in the resulting foreclosure and sale of mining properties. Barbara J. Jefferies in her study, “Sandy” Bowers’ Widow The Biography of Allison “Eilley” Bowers (1993), made no reference to Sandy being ignorant and unlettered when she noted how financially devastating the mining depression was to virtually everybody.

The meager primary documentation on Sandy Bowers and his life indicates that most writers relied more on folklore and fantasy than fact in writing his story. According to the 1860 U.S. Census for Gold Hill, Utah Territory, L. S. Bowers was 27 and a native of Illinois. His passport documents that he was born in Madison County, just northeast of St. Louis, Missouri, on February 24, 1833. A letter at the Nevada Historical Society in Reno dated October 11, [1862] and signed “Mr. L. S. Bowers” from Liverpool, England to John Oram, his brother-in-law, in Scotland was probably written by Eilley. However, Sandy’s last will and testament, subscribed by L. Sanford Bowers on April 15, 1867 and attested to by former California governor and Nevada Supreme Court Justice J. Neely Johnson, includes Bowers’ signature. It can be inferred that Sandy had some rudimentary education and, in all fairness, was not ignorant.

No more fitting epitaph for Sandy Bowers can be found than a line from the obituary published in Virginia City’s Territorial Enterprise:   “By his death the State has lost a good and useful citizen, and the working men of the country a true and sympathetic friend.”   Hundreds attended his Masonic funeral and the body was transported to Washoe Valley. Today he is buried on a hillside behind Bowers Mansion near the graves of his daughter, Margaret Persia, and his wife, Eilley.

Guy Rocha, October 2003

Portrait of Samuel "Sandy" Bowers, n.d. Courtesy of Bucket of Blood Saloon, Virginia City, NV
Photograph: Bowers Mansion, ca 1870. Courtesy of Bowers Mansion Park, Washoe County Parks and Recreation Department.

(Published in Sierra Sage, Carson City/Carson Valley, Nevada, October 2004)

Sandy Bowers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lemuel Sanford Bowers (nickname: "Sandy") (February 24, 1833 – April 21, 1868) was an Irish American teamster,^[2] miner and owner of the Crown Point Mine near Gold Hill, Nevada.^[3]^[4] Bowers and his wife were the Nevada Territory's first millionaires.^[5] Their home, the Bowers Mansion, was the first of the stately homes built in Nevada with the wealth from the Comstock Lode.^[6]

Biography

Bowers was born in Madison County, Missouri in 1833.^[7] He was described by Samuel Clemens as "miraculously ignorant".^[5]

Bowers and James Rogers registered their holdings for a 20-foot mining claim in Gold Canyon on January 28, 1859.^[8] In 1859, Eilley purchased Rogers' half of the claim for $1,000 (approximately $24000 today).^[9] Though she was married at the time to someone else, Eilley married Bowers on August 9, 1859,^[10] and ten months later, she divorced Alexander Cowan on grounds of desertion.^[8]^[11]

Their first two children, a son, John Jasper Bowers (June 28, 1860-August 27, 1860), and a daughter, Theresa Fortunatas Bowers (June 16, 1861-September 17, 1861) died as infants. Shortly thereafter, the Bowers decided to build a home and they travelled to Europe between 1861 and 1863 to purchase furnishings for their mansion and had a desire to meet Queen Victoria.^[12] The couple returned to Nevada in April 1863, accompanied by an adopted baby girl, Margaret Persia Bowers.^[13] With furnishings, they spent $407,000 (approximately $5696000 today).^[9]^[14] Though Bower could only read and write a little,^[15] every book in the Bower mansion library had his name on it.^[2] The Bowers Mansion in Carson City, Nevada, completed in 1864, is an example of fine homes built in Nevada by those who became rich as a result of the Comstock Lode mining boom.

By 1865, the Nevada mines were reaching the end of their heydey. Rich and miserable, Bowers preferred living in a shack while his wife preferred spending their millions of dollars.^[16] He moved back to Gold Hill, attempting to save their mine, with poor results.^[13] In early 1868, he tried to sell a portion of the mine but died on April 21 at the age of 35 from silicosis, a common lung disease amongst miners.^[8] Bowers is buried in back of the mansion at the top of a rise.^[17] His estate was appraised to be worth $638,000 at the time of his death.^[14]

The "Sandy Bowers Claim" still exists, though it became a part of the "Consolidated Imperial" before control was taken over by Sutro Tunnel Coalition, Inc.^[18]

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Although we do not require it we ask that each viewer donates leisurely or subscribes therefore we ask that you take the time to gift us even if its minimal. All proceeds go towards the cost to maintain our site, equipment, gear and other services. For years we have taken our donations and applied them towards many of the trips that you see visible on our site. We know that times are tough so we are not asking you to go broke donating to our cause therefore donate leisurely when you can. On an average PGS spends more then we ever receive from the volunteer work that we do. Our equipment does often break down due to the elements and more then often it needs dire replacement. Please use the donate button to gift The Paranormal & Ghost Society when its at your convenience or if you prefer to gift us yearly you can do so using the subscribe button. As a Gold or Platinum member YOU WILL recieve a copy of AngelOfThyNight Radio on disc which contains hours of stand up comedy, bloopers, entertainment and various paranormal topics. The more seasons we perform the more episodes you will recieve on disc. Since we are a nonprofit group there is no monetary gain even if you donate a dollar a month we thank you for your support and loyalty. I want our viewers to know the hardwork that comes with our explorations which go all the way from dangerous expeditions to being broken down in the desert. We have been a reputable Paranormal Group for over ten years and our work has been legendary. What promise will future years hold for us? Find out and help support our cause united as one not because we are asking but because we need your friendship and love for what we do within our society to contineously improve our explorations and services. We THANK each and everyone one of you for your membership with us!

If you have any questions you can email us at AngelOfThyNight@aol.com or if you prefer to donate using via postal mail contact us for our Po Box. If you wish to donate using paypal you can can do so at pondercorp57@yahoo.com Their are no refunds so we ask that if you are a member of our society or you are gifting The Paranormal & Ghost Society that this is something you are serious about and want to do even if its a one red cent. Once we recieve donations we apply them immediately towards the website cost, equipment and our budget immediately. AngelOfThyNight and The Paranormal & Ghost Society is a volunteer service composed of our staff who continues to bring our viewers this free site and its services voluntarily. It is important for our viewers to play some involvement with our funding so that we can continue to do so for many more years to come.

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