Born 1832, Died 1897
Married: Nancy Kaufmann
Perhaps the most influential politician in early Waterloo County was Isaac Erb Bowman. He was born on the family farm near where St Jacobs would be, the eldest son of John and Lydia Baumann. He attended Rockwood Academy and graduated as a teacher in 1850 at age 18, and followed this profession for some ten years. About 1857 he became Clerk and then in 1858 Treasurer in Woolwich township. In 1862 he was appointed postmaster in St Jacobs. About this time he became seriously interested in politics and in 1864 was elected as Liberal Member of Parliament representing the riding of Waterloo North. For thirty years he was the Liberal standard bearer in this area having only lost one election to the Conservatives in 1878. His success as a politician as well as a business man was attributed to his skill as an organizer and his fluency in both English and German. He was noted in Parliament "for his sound opinion, his courtesy toward opponents and his dignified bearing".
In the business field he operated a tannery in St Jacobs called "Bowman and Zinkan" with branches in Port Elgin and Southhampton. In the late 1860's he became involved in the formation of the Ontario Mutual Life Assurance Company (now Clarica) and in 1870 was named president of the company, a post he held until his death in 1897. At first he maintained a large home in St Jacobs but in 1886 moved his family to Waterloo where he resided adjacent to the George Randall home that in 1912 became the head office of Mutual Life (Clarica).
Sources:
A Century of Mutuality
Waterloo County Hall of Fame
Waterloo Historical Society, 1940 Volume 28, 1921 Volume 9, and 1932 Volume 20
