Vicksburg Evening Post clipping
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GENEROUS NEGROES
Interesting Reminiscences of the Late George F. Bowles, of Natchez.
Natchez, Miss., Feb. 16. The generosity of a negro named Robert Church, in making a liberal donation for the Confederate encampment at Memphis, has a parallel in the case of George F. Bowles, a negro who lived for many years at Natchez, and who died about one year ago at a ripe old age.
Bowles never tired of doing good among the poor white people, and his purse was always open to appeals for charity. He was a man of considerable wealth and it is stated that during the last ten years of his life he gave away fully $15,000 for various causes.
An instance in mind was the case of an old Confederate veteran who was rapidly declining in health from the inroads of a disease contracted in the army. For several months Bowles attended to every want of the old fellow, paying the bills from his own purse, and a few hours before the battle scarred veteran died Bowles told him that the local camp of Confederate Veterans was paying the expenses of his care, when as a fact there was hardly a dollar in the Camp's exchequer.
Bowles was a member of the Mississippi Legislature for several years, and he made a notable speech in behalf of the first bill introduced to pension Confederate Veterans, and induced every colored member of the lower house to support the measure. Each Winter in Natchez he distributed wood and coal among the poor people, and many instances are told of his unbounded generosity.
Interesting Reminiscences of the Late George F. Bowles, of Natchez.
Natchez, Miss., Feb. 16. The generosity of a negro named Robert Church, in making a liberal donation for the Confederate encampment at Memphis, has a parallel in the case of George F. Bowles, a negro who lived for many years at Natchez, and who died about one year ago at a ripe old age.
Bowles never tired of doing good among the poor white people, and his purse was always open to appeals for charity. He was a man of considerable wealth and it is stated that during the last ten years of his life he gave away fully $15,000 for various causes.
An instance in mind was the case of an old Confederate veteran who was rapidly declining in health from the inroads of a disease contracted in the army. For several months Bowles attended to every want of the old fellow, paying the bills from his own purse, and a few hours before the battle scarred veteran died Bowles told him that the local camp of Confederate Veterans was paying the expenses of his care, when as a fact there was hardly a dollar in the Camp's exchequer.
Bowles was a member of the Mississippi Legislature for several years, and he made a notable speech in behalf of the first bill introduced to pension Confederate Veterans, and induced every colored member of the lower house to support the measure. Each Winter in Natchez he distributed wood and coal among the poor people, and many instances are told of his unbounded generosity.
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Vicksburg Evening Post, “Vicksburg Evening Post clipping,” Mississippi State University Libraries, accessed April 18, 2024, https://msstate-exhibits.libraryhost.com/items/show/324.
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