Alanson (ə-lan'cen) M Bowen was the youngest child of farmer/postal carrier Alanson Bowen and wife Jane, born to them in Coweta County, GA on March 20, 1842. He had several siblings;

Mary Jane Bowen Dobson (March 1, 1830 - Feb 15, 1905)

John Henderson Bowen (June 18, 1827 - 1855)

Elizabeth Bowen Huckeba (Feb 26, 1832 - 16 Oct 1915)

Harrison Pinckney Bowen (Oct 20, 1834 - Oct 6, 1857)

Thomas J Bowen (Nov 23, 1837 - Jan 1850)

James M Bowen (Nov 23, 1837 - Sept 12, 1863)

The Bowen's moved from Coweta County, GA to Randolph County, AL sometime in the 1840s, not far from the Cornhouse community. Alanson's father was a well-respected member of his community, and was notorious for his Whig-Republican leanings.

Ironically, Alanson enlisted in the 8th Confederate Cavalry, Co H, on January 5, 1862. He and his brother James were already in the Alabama State Militia, and they mustered into Confederate service, James serving in the 53rd Alabama Partisan Ranger Regiment (Hannon's Brigade). Probably due to chronic privations and illness suffered throughout the conflict, but especially during the Atlanta Campaign and Wheeler's subsequent cavalry raid, Alanson deserted near Nashville by early September 1864, where he was incarcerated at a Union hospital. He was released to family custody at Murfreesboro, TN, upon signing an Oath of Allegiance dated February 10, 1865. A soldier card describes him as 5 feet 9 inches in height with dark complexion, hazel eyes, and brown hair.

After the war, Alanson married one of the girls next door, Harriet Mountoria Addington, and they had three children;

James H. Bowen (1868-1931)

Henry A. Bowen (ca.1871 to Sept 14,1895)

Thomas Bowen (ca.1872 to October 6, 1900)

Due to extensive fires in Randolph County, we may never know the real details of Alanson's death, but family lore says he died in the 1870s due to injuries sustained during the war.

Harriet's application for a Confederate widow's pension was denied, as Alanson's veteran status was disqualified probably due to his desertion.

At this point there is no way to ascertain the actual burial place for Alanson, nor has anyone discovered exactly which family members are buried at the Bowen Family Cemetery. The primitive stone markers have long been lost, but flowers still mark the graves of those buried there. In the 1990s, the landowner remarked the cemetery with two crosses.