This is a transcription of the Urania E. (Brackett) Bowers biography from New Hampshire Women: A Collection of Portraits and Biographical Sketches of Daughters and Residents of the Granite State, Who are Worthy Representatives of their Sex in the Various Walks and Conditions of Life, The New Hampshire Publishing Co., Concord, NH, 1895, page 235.
Urania E. (Brackett) Bowers
FEW lives have been deeper and stronger in reform and philanthropic work than Urania E. (Brackett) Bowers. She was born in Amherst, Mass., September 13, 1835, the daughter of Charles and Lucy Brackett. Her ancestors came from Scotland, and settled in North Haven, Conn. John Brackett, her grandfather, was for six years in the Revolutionary war, and was at Saratoga when Burgoyne was taken. Mrs. Bowers’s youth was passed in Holyoke, and her early education received in the public schools of that city. Later she entered Williston Seminary at Easthampton, residing in the family of Hon. Payson Williston, a relative by marriage. Desirous of becoming a teacher, she entered the Normal school at Westfield. Her success in teaching in the Holyoke public schools proved the wisdom of her choice. In 1858 she was married to Dr. George Bowers of Nashua, a man who stood high in his profession, and whose noble principles made him a wise counsellor and assistant in all her work for humanity. Mrs. Bowers is one of the most active women of Nashua in the advancement of morality and religion. She was president of the W. C. T. U. of Nashua for five years, and was successful in establishing a reading-room for young women. It was largely through her efforts that a matron was secured on the police force. She went before both branches of the city government to present the necessity of such an appointment. She has been superintendent of the literature department in the state W. C. T. U. for three years, and local seven years, and was delegate to the Chicago World’s Fair convention as a representative of the county of Hillsboro. As a church member she is active, serving for several years as deaconess on the board of stewards in Pilgrim church. Her firm adherence to principle and determination to do what is right have made her successful in all her efforts for character-building. Her only child, Dr. G. A. Bowers, is a graduate of a university in Pennsylvania, and a successful dentist in Nashua.