Story County IAGenWeb

Mary Ellen Will (1846-1931), who married Jesse Bowen (1839-1920), was among the pioneers families in Story County. In 1928 she related many of her experiences to her daughter, Esther Bowen. You can read the notes from this interview at:

Pioneer Memories of Mary Ellen Bowen

Her daughter Annie Laurie Bowen Elder, began a book based on the pioneer life of her family, called "Prairies of Promise." While this is an incomplete manuscript, it is an interesting account of early settlers and includes references to many families in the Maxwell and Iowa Center locales.

"Prairies of Promise"

Chapters One & Two	The BOWEN Family Comes to Story County
Chapter Three	The WILL Family Comes to Story County
Chapter Four	Life in Iowa Center
Chapter Five	Life in Maxwell
Addenda	Annie's Research Notes & References
A Friend's Memories
Grant to David Bowen for 300 acres in Patuxent River
Bowen Descendants
Bowen Descendants From Probate Records
Letter from Annie Laurie Bowen Elder
Biography of Abraham Bowen
Bowen Genealogy by George Elbert Bowen
Letter from Ann Bowen to Annie Laurie Elder
Letter from Bernice Bowen to Mrs. Elder
Bowen Family by Mrs. F.M. Cooper Publ. 1887

Thanks go to Curt Larsen, great-grandson of Mary Ellen Will Bowen, for typing these accounts and giving permission for their publication on the Story Co IAGenWeb site.