NINE GENERATIONS OF MILITARY SERVICE
Charlie Bowers join the military January 13, 1882. He had worked as a tipper in the Premier Pocahontas Collieries Company in McDowell County, West Virginia. This company was a coal mine or pit. Charlie Bowers was the Great, Great, Great Grandson of William S. Dula.
Edward Dula is the 5th generation of Captain William S. Dula. He was the maternal uncle of Raymond Alexander Bowers Sr. He enlisted in the Army on September 12, 1918 at the age of 34.
Raymond Alexander Bowers Sr. was born in May 1917. In Wilkes County. At the age of 24, he registered for enlistment in the Army on October 26, 1942. He made the rank of Corporal and remained in the service for six years. He was stationed in Hart Island, New York, and spent some time in Germany.
After the Army, he married Ina Catherine Barber Bowers (Kitty), and they had two sons. His son Raymond Bowers II joined the Army. His son James Dudley Bowers became an Emergency Medical Technician. Raymond Bowers passed in 1971 at the age of 55.
Raymond is the 6th generation of Captain William S Dula. He was the father of Raymond II, the grandfather of Michele Bowers Felix and the Great Grandfather of Darien Bowers, Merquay Eason, and Jaden Eason
Raymond Alexander Bowers II was born on January 18, 1948. He was drafted into the army at the age of 18 and dedicated fifty years to his service. Throughout his career, he was stationed in Korea, Germany, and Okinawa, as well as various locations across the United States. Beginning as a Private 1st Class, he retired as a Sergeant First Class after serving at Fort Riley in Junction City, Kansas, until his passing.
I remember the day Raymond Alexander Bowers Jr., known as "Boy," was drafted into the Army. As he packed, Aunt Kitty wept. Though I was just a little girl, I can still vividly recall the memory. Living with Aunt Kitty, Uncle Raymond, Boy, and his brother James Dudley "Chucky" Bowers, Boy's departure deeply affected me. He taught me to walk and cared for me when my mother worked.
On the day he left for Fort Bragg, we accompanied him to the bus stop at the end of Second Street Hill. His wave from the bus as he departed left us in tears.
I treasured every letter from him and, when I was old enough, I wrote back, sharing family news and following his journey across the United States and abroad.
Raymond Bowers II, son of Raymond Sr., father to Michelle B. Felix, and grandfather to Merquay, Darien, and Jaden, represents the seventh generation descended from William S. Dula.
Raymond Bowers II
Michele spent her entire life moving from one military base to another. Raised in a military family, she fully understood the sacrifices involved when serving one’s country. Despite this, she joined the Army Reserves after high school, and at the age of 20, she was deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Desert Storm. She served as an Army Patient Administrative Specialist for eight years. Michele continues her service to the military community by working as a Veteran Service Officer with the Los Angeles County Department of Military and Veteran Affairs.
Michelle Bowers Felix is the daughter of Raymond Alexander Bowers II and the granddaughter of Raymond Bowers Sr. She is the eighth generation of Captain William S. Dula.
Darien Bowers was born in South Carolina. He participated in the ROTC program in high school. He served as an Army Private First Class for 2 years at Fort Carson, Colorado. Darien is a 9th-generation descendant of William S. Dula.
Jaden Eason was born in Georgia -Army Specialist Culinary Specialist currently serving (2024) in Fort Bliss Texas, previously completed tours of duty to Korea and Germany. Jaden is a 9th-generation descendant of William S. Dula.
Merquay Eason was born in Junction City, Kansas at the U.S. Army base, Fort Riley. Merquay chose to join the Air Force. This was not a popular decision as far as his grandfather was concerned. But he was proud that he was going to serve his country. Merquay is the son of Michele Felix and the grandson of Raymond A. Bowers II, the great grandson of Raymond Bowers Sr., and the 9th generation of Captain William S. Dula.
stories submitted by Wendy Barber
The inscription on William Dula's headstone reads:
" In memory of Captain William Dula -born September 1755, died January 16, 1835. Captain Dula was a patriot and soldier in the Revolution and served in more than one engagement in the War for American Independence, He was a kind husband and father, ever ready to extend charity to the poor and much esteemed by those who knew him."
William volunteered for the Patriot Army when he was 17 and reenlisted several times to serve for the entire 7 years of the Revolutionary War. He was known as Captain William for the rest of his life. He fought the British in Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and probably other places, helping to build forts and fighting Indians.
After the war, he and his family moved to Patrick County VA where they lived for three years on part of the lands of his wealthy brother-in-law Russell Jones, before moving to Wilkes Co., NC. The area in Wilkes where they lived was later renamed Caldwell County. William served one enlistment under Captain Hopkins, another under Captain Laird, and another under Captain Jeremiah Beazley who was also from Orange County.
He later married Jeremiah's sister, Theodosia Beasley McMullan in Wilkes County, NC April 5, 1790, when he was 34 and she was 33 years old. Theodosia was the daughter of James and Anne Reynolds Beasley. Her mother's parents were Cornelius and Martha Reynolds.
Although illiterate, Captain William was a good farmer and had remarkable business sense. His fortune in his later years was the largest in Wilkes County, even surpassing that of his friend, General Lenoir.
In 1830 he owned land amounting to some 5,000 acres or more of valuable farmland, divided into several separate plantations. He traveled to Tennessee to buy horses to resell in North Carolina. There were no mules in Colonial America. His records show that he sent his cattle to pasture in the mountains for the grazing season, At the time of his death, his fortune was said to be the largest in Western North Carolina. He had 50 grandchildren and 150 great grandchildren. William and Theodosia settled at Dula Hill in Happy Valley.