John A. Bowen was appointed the first paid Chief of Police for the city of Norwich on April 1, 1889. He spent a total of 35 years in the Norwich Police Department and retired on July 1, 1904.
John Bowen was born May 25, 1843, in Voluntown, CT., located then in Windham County and now New London County, CT. He was one of six boys and four girls born to Philip A. and Charlotte C. Gardner Bowen. His twin brother, James, died at sixteen months. At an early age, John’s family moved to Westerly, where he attended local schools until, at age eighteen, he volunteered to join Company G, 5th Connecticut Infantry Regiment.
During the Civil War, the 5th Infantry fought in 23 engagements, including Winchester, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. During the battle at Cedar Mountain, VA., he was taken prisoner on August 9, 1862. Bowen spent time in the Libby and Belle Isle prisons and was released in November as part of a prisoner exchange, after which he returned to his regiment. Two years later, during the siege of Atlanta, John was wounded in his right hand at Resaca, GA, in May 1864. He recovered and, after 4 years of duty, survived the war, mustering out on July 17, 1865.
Following the Civil War, Mr. Bowen joined the Norwich police force in 1869 as a patrolman, a position for which he was reportedly physically well qualified to serve. Following 11 years of good service, he was promoted to sergeant in 1880 and to 1st Sergeant in 1883. On Sept. 7, 1886, he was promoted again to captain of the night watch. In 1889, the Norwich Court of Common Council voted to make the Police Chief a paid position responsible for overseeing daily operations.
Mr. Bowen was a member of Somerset Lodge, No. 34, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he was Marshal. He was also a member of the Columbian Commandery, No. 4, Knights Templar and Sedgwick Post, No. 1, Grand Army of the Republic, in which he served as Quartermaster. He also served as Assistant Inspector of the Department of Connecticut.
John married Eleanor Arnold in 1865. They had a son, Philip Edwin Bowen, on September 24, 1866. Philip became a merchant in Webster, Massachusetts.
John and Eleanor are buried in Yantic Cemetery, Section 121 – Plot 3
Samuel L. Blinderman
1869-1910 Samuel L. Blinderman
Supernumerary Policeman Samuel L. Blinderman, shown wearing a Norwich police uniform in 1910. He came to the United States from Russia as a young man and served as a supernumerary on the police force. He also served in the superior court as an interpreter for Russian and Polish cases. He died of a heart attack on West Main Street while on duty at the young age of 41 on September 13, 1910.
NOTE: A “supernumerary” police officer is a specialized officer appointed to perform a specific duty.
The Norwich Police Department began in 1855, when a permanent “Night Watch” was organized for the city. Its chief duties were to light and extinguish the gas streetlights and generally “watch” and “patrol” the city through the night. In 1865, the Court of Common Council of the City of Norwich established a “Police Force.” It was designated the “Police Department of the City of Norwich.” This ordinance authorized and appointed a Police Chief (who was unpaid at the time), a Police Captain (who actually ran the day-to-day operations), seven Patrolmen, and six Supernumerary Patrolmen.
Paragraph 2a
Paragraph 3a
Paragraph 4a