Elizabeth Belfield Bowman, the daughter of Isaac Bowman and Mary Jane Chinn was born in 1801 at the old Bowman Plantation Stone Home in Shenandoah County, VA. She is the oldest daughter of her mother and the ninth child of Isaac. She grew up in a house of nine brothers, an older stepsister and two younger baby sisters. She was still residing at home when her father completed their new home, "Mount Pleasant", in 1813, on the old Bowman family plantation.

"Eliza", as she was known, married in 1820 to Joseph Murdock Fauntleroy, of Clark County, VA, near Greenville. He was born in 1791 the son of Joseph Fauntleroy and Elizabeth Fouchee Fauntleroy. At the time of his marriage Joseph resided in Frederick County, VA.

` There were ten children born of this marriage between 1823 and 1848: Three sons and seven daughters. One son died as an infant, another son was killed serving in the civil war and their eldest son lived a long and prosperous life. One daughter died as an infant with the others all reaching adulthood. There were numerous grandchildren to Eliza and Joseph.

In Eliza's father's will of 1824, Isaac Bowman named his daughter Eliza B., the wife of Joseph M. Fauntleroy, then of the county of Frederick in VA. He bequeathed her a legacy of 500 acres in Indiana (from his Illinois Grant) as the full share of his real estate legacy for her.

In 1827 Joseph M. Fauntleroy along with his sister, three of his brothers and other family members, moved from Virginia to New Harmony, IN. Here they all joined a group of people desirous of establishing a group community called the "New Harmony Society". Robert Owen had established this communal undertaking in 1825 as a communal living group, which was somewhat like the Shaker Society. Owen did not believe in God and the society lacked in structure, which resulted in the organization failure by 1829. Many of the founders were progressive educators and scientists.

While some of the Fauntleroy family remained in New Harmony, in 1833 Joseph and Eliza moved with their family to Montgomery County, TN. They settled near the Cumberland River, which was then the frontier. Here he built a beautiful home that he named "Castle Carmichael". The home was actually located on the Little West Fork of the Red River that runs into the Cumberland River. Today it is found off of Tobacco Road, at the end of Nussbaumer Road, and adjacent to the south end of today's Outlaw Field, the Clarksville, Tennessee airport

It was from here that around 1836 Joseph Fauntleroy notified Eliza's brother, John H. Bowman, concerning the sale of an exceptionally good farm and mill in Montgomery County, TN, very near the Fauntleroy farm. John H. and Mary Bowman immediately purchased this farm and relocated from their historic Bowman Station plantation tract in Mercer County, KY, to the Tennessee location near the Fauntleroys.

Joseph undoubtedly flourished in farm grain, tobacco and other crops prevalent in
the fertile area. The numbers of his slaves provided him the means to the affluence he achieved. Although Joseph was on the Little West Fork of the river it is not known if he had a mill but they were certainly close enough to the Bowman's mill to use the Bowman Mill services. The West Fork provided both the Flauntleroys and Bowmans an easy means of transportation to the Cumberland River docks.

Joseph's brother, Lawrence Butler Fauntleroy, was also in New Harmony, IN, and also moved to Montgomery County TN at the same time as Joseph. Here he met John H. Bowman's daughter, Jane Ann Matilda, and married her in 1837. This Butler Fauntleroy in 1837 became postmaster of New Providence, which is also near the Cumberland River vicinity where his brother, as well as John H Bowman settled.

Eliza B. Bowman Fauntleroy died in the year 1856, at almost 55 years of age, at her Montgomery County, TN, home. Eliza was buried in the Fauntleroy Cemetery that is located directly in front of their home "Castle Carmichael" and she rests here today with three of her children. Their extant tombstones remain visible on the farm today.
Three of her young daughters had not yet reached majority and were much too young to care for themselves. Not long after this their father married a Mrs. Vance of Clarksville, TN, to care for his young children.

Joseph M. Fauntleroy was a very prosperous man of wealth and with many slaves. He relocated in 1858 to the Paducah, KY Area taking his young children and slaves with him. Joseph died, 4 May 1868, in Paducah, KY, where he is buried.

Children:
1. Mary Elizabeth Fauntleroy (1823VA-1882KY) m. James T. Garrett
2. Emily Susan Fauntleroy (1825VA-1826VA)
3. John Butler Fauntleroy (1828KY-1915)
4. Emily Frances Ann Fauntleroy (1830KY-1855KY) m. Guildford H. Slaughter
5. Joanna Belfield Fauntleroy(1833KY-1855KY) m. Andrew Jackson Allensworth
6. Robert Bowman Fauntleroy (1836KY-1837KY)
7. Sallie Matilda Fauntleroy (1838KY-1912KY) m. Weldon P Griffin
8. Ellen Douglas Fauntleroy (1840KY-1923) m. David A Watts,MD
9. Robert Bowman Fauntleroy (1845KY-1864MS) Died civil war
10.Donna Inez Catherine Fauntleroy (1848KY-1926) m. R.W. Jacobs