The Bowdoin Family History
The founding member of the Bowdoin family connected with the College was Pierre Baudouin, who was a member of a French immigrant colony in Dublin. Baudouin sailed from Wexford in the John of Dublin for America, probably in May 1686, went first to Salem, Massachusetts; then probably to a claim in the Casco Bay area of Maine; and then sometime prior to May 1690, to Boston, where he accumulated a small estate as a merchant and ship's captain. 1
James Bowdoin I
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Pierre and Elizabeth’s son, James Bowdoin I (1676-1747), became one of the wealthiest merchants in Massachusetts and added extensive lands and real estate to the family's holdings. Additionally, he exercised political influence as a member of the Governor’s Council and Justice of the Peace and of the Quorum. He outlived two wives, Sarah Campbell and Hannah Portage, and left his third wife Mehitable Lillie with “what was probably the largest fortune until then accumulated by a New Englander” 2 upon his death in 1747. The estate was divided among his surviving children; James Bowdoin II received two-sevenths of £82,000.
James Bowdoin II
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James Bowdoin II (1726-1790), a son of James I and Hannah Portage, carried on the family legacy in business and holdings. As a prominent member of the Massachusetts Council, he was appointed to lead the Massachusetts delegation to the Continental Congress, but failed to attend because of poor health. He also served as president of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention and was the second governor of the Commonwealth, serving from 1785 to 1787 and playing an instrumental role in quelling Shays’ Rebellion. He was an avid amateur scientist, a founding member and first president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Additionally, he authored several tracts, including A Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre in Boston.
Sarah Bowdoin Dearborn
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James Bowdoin III
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James Bowdoin III (1752-1811), the only son of James Bowdoin II and Elizabeth Erving, continued the family’s businesses, though his personal interests ran more toward land management and agriculture. He was involved in Massachusetts politics from 1786 to 1796 and was Jefferson's Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of Spain and Co-commissioner to France from 1805 to 1808, living in Paris. Bowdoin College, named for his father, was greatly enriched by his gifts and bequests, which included funds, lands in Maine, and his significant book, scientific and art collections.3 He and his wife, Sarah Bowdoin Dearborn (1761-1826), who accompanied him to Paris, had no children. Upon her death, the Bowdoin family portraits also came to the College’s collections.
1. From Governor Bowdoin and His Family, by Robert L. Volz, Bowdoin College, 1969.
2. Quoted from Sadik, Marvin S. Colonial and Federal Portraits at Bowdoin College. Brunswick, ME: Copyright by the President and Trustees of Bowdoin College, 1996.
3. Further information about the Bowdoin family documents can be found in Bowdoin Family Collection, 1687-1996 of the Library Archives.
Notes: The three James Bowdoins did not use roman numerals in referring to themselves; they are used as a convenience by the College and historians. All images courtesy and copyright of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art