His father George Bowman and grandfather Jost Hite were both well-known Virginian pioneers and the first to explore and settle Shenandoah Valley.
He and Newell were part of the party who pursued the raiders and, overtaking them at South Branch Mountain, killed one of them and rescued a Rachel Dellinger.
He was also a close friend of fellow frontiersman Daniel Boone and was part of the expedition which explored Dick's River.
[3] He later became a prominent landowner in Kentucky County eventually acquiring 8,000 acres (32 km2) six miles (10 km) southwest of Lexington and later constructed one of the first brick houses to be built in the state.
He often entertained former Revolutionary War veterans, most notably General Marquis de Lafayette when he stayed in Lexington in 1824.