Clubs. She served on several executive boards for community organizations such the Southern Federation of Colored Women and the Women's Educational and Missionary Association of Virginia, as well as the standing Committee of Domestic Economy, for the Hampton Conference. Legacy In 1925, the first branch of the Richmond Public Library to serve African-American patrons was named for Bowser. Personal life Rosa Dixon married fellow teacher James Herndon Bowser (who was a relative of Civil War spy Mary Bowser) in 1879. Two years later, she was widowed when James died from tuberculosis. They had a son, Oswald Barrington Herndon Bowser (1880-1935), who became a medical doctor in Richmond. Rosa Dixon Bowser died in 1931, aged 76 years. Her grave in East End Cemetery was mentioned in a 2017 New York Times essay about restoration efforts at "neglected black cemeteries". The Rosa D. Bowser School in Richmond (the home of the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia from 1991 to 2015) was named for her. References External links 1855 births 1931 deaths People from Amelia County, Virginia Educators from Virginia 19th-century American educators 20th-century American educators People from Richmond, Virginia Woman's Christian Temperance Union people 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers American women non-fiction writers 19th-century American women educators 20th-century American women educators