Descriptive Summary
Bowden, Edwin T.
Bowden, Edwin Turner, Jr.,
papers
[ca.
1924]-2006
Materials are written in English.
2011-147
1 ft.
Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The
University of Texas at Austin
Comprising correspondence, military
and school records, writings, legal records, and photographs, the Edwin Turner
Bowden, Jr., Papers, [ca. 1924]-2006, document the military and academic career of
Bowden, primarily his service in the U. S. Army Air Force during World War II; his
attendance at Harvard, Yale, and Cambridge universities; and his tenure at the
University of Texas at Austin.
Biographical Note
The son of Col. Edwin T. and Allie Myrick Bowden, Edwin Turner Bowden, Jr.
(1924-2006) graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy before entering Harvard
University in 1942. From 1943 through 1946, he served in the U. S. Army Air Forces
as a weather observer in the American Theater of Operations, attaining the rank of
corporal by the time of his honorable discharge. Following the war, Bowden graduated
from Harvard in 1948, studied at Cambridge University on a Fulbright Fellowship from
1949 through 1950, and received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale University in
1949 and 1952, respectively.
Bowden taught at Yale until 1956, when he joined the University of Texas at Austin’s
Department of English. His teaching and research focused on American literature,
including the work of Henry James, Washington Irving, and Peter De Vries. From 1967
through 1986, Bowden also edited the English Department’s journal
Texas Studies in Literature and Language. As an editor
and author, Bowden published numerous works, including The
Themes of Henry James (1956), The Satiric Poems
of John Trumbull (1962), and Peter De Vries: A
Bibliography, 1934 to 1977 (1978). After his retirement in 1994, he
served as secretary of the Austin Paleontological Society and volunteered at the El
Buen Pastor Food Pantry.
In 1948, Bowden married Ann Haddon, and the couple had three children before
divorcing in 1969. The next year, Bowden married Mary Weatherspoon, with whom he had
two children.
Scope and Contents
Comprising correspondence, military and school records, writings, legal records, and
photographs, the Edwin Turner Bowden, Jr., Papers, [ca. 1924]-2006, document the
military and academic career of Bowden, primarily during the 1940s. The bulk of the
collection, correspondence to his parents, 1942-1950, 1970-1972, discusses his
activities while training and serving as a weather observer in the U. S. Army Air
Forces; his education at Harvard, Yale, and Cambridge universities; and his work as
a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. Additional correspondence,
1932-1993, illuminates Bowden’s work with writer Peter De Vries, the publication of
Introduction to Prose Style and other writings,
and his friendships with fellow servicemen. The collection also contains military
records and reunion newsletters related to his service in the U. S. Army Air Forces
as well as school records, diplomas, and college papers. Publications and printed
material include Bowden’s and his father’s stories recalling their service in the
First and Second World Wars, 1942-[1945]; copies and reprints of Bowden’s articles
and reviews, 1960-1988; and a resolution from the University of Texas at Austin
memorializing Bowden upon his death in 2006. Finally, marriage and divorce papers,
1948, 1969, document the relationship of Bowden and his first wife Ann Haddon, and
photographs, [ca. 1924-1950s], 1987, [ca. 1990s], depict Bowden from infancy through
adulthood as well as a painting by John Reese Rothgeb.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research use.
Index Terms
Subjects (Persons)
Bowden, Edwin T. -- Archives.
Bowden family.
De Vries, Peter, 1910-1993.
Subjects (Organizations)
Harvard University -- Students.
Yale University -- Students.
Cambridge University -- Students.
University of Texas at Austin. Dept. of English --
Faculty.
United States. Army. Air Forces -- Military
life.
Subjects
American literature -- History and
criticism.
World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- North
America.
Places
Austin (Tex.) -- History -- 20th
century -- Sources.
Preferred Citation
Edwin Turner Bowden, Jr., Papers, [ca. 1924]-2006, Dolph Briscoe Center for American
History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Separated Material
Some material has been separated to the Library Unit.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Laurel Rozema, May 2011.
Detailed Description of the Papers
Inventory
3W216
Correspondence:
3W216
Between Bowden and Peter De Vries,
1963-1993
3W216
To Bowden from Donald Weismann, along with draft and
published copy of Weismann’s Jelly Was the
Word, 1962, 1965
3W216
To Bowden, 1932, 1941-1949, 1958,
1967-1989
3W216
Concerning Bowden’s Introduction to
Prose Style, including a preliminary edition,
1955-1956
3W216
From Bowden to his parents,
1942-1950
3W216
From Bowden to his mother,
1970-1972
3W216
WWII Orders and related items, ETB, Jr. [military records and
reunion newsletters], 1943-1946, 1993
3W216
College papers, 1948, 1951
3W216
School records, 1931-1950
3W216
Marriage and divorce papers, 1948,
1969
3W216
Writings of Col. Edwin T. Bowden, Sr.,
1942-[1945]
3W216
War Stories [by Bowden], [1944]
3W216
Copies and reprints of articles and reviews by Bowden,
1960-1988
3W216
In Memoriam: Edwin Turner Bowden,
Jr., official resolution from the University of Texas at
Austin, 2006
3W216
Photographs of Bowden, [ca. 1924-1950s,
1990s]
3So14a
Diplomas, certificates, and a photograph, 1940-1952,
1987