FROM THE ACCOUNT BOOK OF JOHN BOWNE, FOLIOS 10 (verso) & 11 (Photostat copy)
DOCUMENT ID: BHHS 2018.2.02-01
DATE: No date; 1678 or later
This curious entry in John Bowne’s Account Book appears to be a marriage proposal in verse form, signed by John Bowne. It is not dated, and the main body of the poem is written upside-down, creating a clear separation with the other entries on the page. The text refers to his former love “going to her rest,” so it must post-date the death of his first wife Hannah Feake Bowne in the winter of 1677/78.
This is a mysterious document in many ways. It is not clear which of Bowne’s wives was the intended recipient—or alternatively, if it was intended for another woman whom he courted but did not end up marrying. Indeed, it is not clear that the proposal was ever delivered to its unnamed recipient. Likewise, the identity of “Dear P,” their deceased mutual friend whom Bowne credits with playing matchmaker for his first marriage, is unknown. (Bowne’s friend Phineas Pemberton, who might seem a likely candidate, outlived him.) Nor do we know why Bowne chose to memorialize this poem in his account book, rather than his diary. The very fact of a strict Quaker—a member of a sect so austere that they even frowned on whistling and humming—indulging in a pastime as “frivolous” as versifying is remarkable. This is the only known instance of Bowne writing or reading poetry, although he did copy some isolated verses from Scripture into the same account book. This seemingly out-of-character form of expression adds an intriguing human dimension to the character of John Bowne.