History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century/4/Thomas Bowman
THOMAS BOWMAN was born at Wiscasset, Lincoln County, Maine, May 25, 1848. He came to Iowa in 1868, making his home at Council Bluffs, where he engaged in commercial business. In 1875 he was elected treasurer of Pottawattamie County and was twice reëlected, serving six years. He was chosen mayor of Council Bluffs in 1882 and in 1885 was appointed postmaster, serving until 1889. In 1883 he acquired a controlling interest in the Council Bluffs Globe, a Democratic daily of which he assumed the editorial management. He was nominated by the Democrats of the Ninth District for representative in Congress in 1890 and was elected over Judge J. R. Reed, the Republican candidate, by a plurality of 1,285. He was not a candidate for reëlection, serving but one term.