Jemima was the daughter of Tunis and Catharine (Drake) Newkirk; born in Bullitt County, Kentucky. She was the namesake of her maternal grandmother.

She married Thomas L. Bowen on May 5, 1816 in Bullitt County, Kentucky. Their first four children, Drake, Elisha, Charles and Catherine were all born in that county.

Jemima and Thomas Bowen were part of the large group of Newkirk and Drake families, including her parents, who loaded covered wagons to make the long trek from Kentucky to Missouri. Jemima's fifth child Martha, was born in February of 1832 along the route, in Indiana. In March of the following year, Jemima's husband died, also in Indiana. At the age of 36, she found herself a widow with five children, ages 1, 4, 8, 11, and 12 living out of a covered wagon.

excerpt from "The Newkirk Family Record, A Brief History & Record of the Tunis and Catherine (Drake) Newkirk Family", by Mrs. Preston Hutchison and Miss Naomi Woods, pg. 51:

"So, Jemima made the move westward to Missouri with her people, the Newkirks. Yes, she was, indeed, a pioneer woman . . . such a young widow making the move westward over the Wilderness Trail in a covered wagon with her five small children. The first record we have of her is that she settled near her brothers, David and Peter Newkirk, who no doubt helped her build a home.

Jemima helped organize the first school, a log school house which they built just across the road from her home. In Morgan County Deed Book 3, page 169, it is called "Mount Pleasant" school, but everyone referred to it as "Bowen School". This was February 19, 1840. Later, the school was moved south and called "West View"."

Jemima never remarried. She died at the age of 51. Jemima (Newkirk) Bowen is buried in the Newkirk Cemetery in an unmarked grave.