The chapter was named for John Bowie, born May 10, 1740, in the Parish of New Kirkpatrick, Dunbartonshire, Scotland. He immigrated to America in 1762 and landed in Virginia on June 8th of that same year. His first business was an engagement in traffic with the Cherokee Indians in that portion of their country which is called Tennessee. He married Rosa Reid, daughter of Colonel George Reid, and they settled on Long Cane Creek in Abbeville, South Carolina.

In 1777, he was commissioned Captain in the Fifth South Carolina Regiment. During the war, he was wounded at Savannah, October 9, 1779. He was a Major in 1781 and served until the close of the war. After the Revolutionary War, John Bowie served for many years as clerk for the Abbeville County Court.

Major John Bowie and his wife, Rosa Reid Bowie, are buried at Long Cane Cemetery in Abbeville, SC. The Major John Bowie DAR Chapter maintains the cemetery plot.