While there are not too many more records for this family from the 1700's, none of them mention Michael again including the record of the family's losses in the 1798 rebellion in which Joseph and William Bowles' houses were burned down.  He next appears in the Vestry minutes of the Castletown Church in 1807.  So where was Michael in between?

It seems that Michael Bowles left Ballickmoyler as a young man and went to Manchester, England to find employment as so many young men did at that time.  With the Industrial Revolution underway in Manchester there was a great need for labourers and skilled tradesmen and there was a huge flow of people from Ireland partly for the employment and partly to escape the difficult times that represented every day life in Ireland.  Ballickmoyler was no exception to the rule as the White Boys, an agrarian resistance movement were active in that area by the 1760's. 

In Manchester, Michael married and when their second child was expected, probably finding it difficult to support his family, he enlisted in the 65th Foot Regiment of the British Army.  He served in various locations in England and in North America but he was in Manchester when his wife died following the birth of their third child, his first son, John.  Just a few months later he remarried and two more sons, Joseph and Michael, were baptized in the Cathedral. At some point in his military service from 1770 to 1792 he was transferred from the 65th Foot to the 29th Foot Regiment as his discharge papers from 1792 state that he had served with both regiments.  Such a transfer would have been an unusual event. The muster rolls of the 29th Regiment have been examined up to 1783 without finding any trace of Michael so his transfer would have been after that.  His 1792 discharge papers from the 29th were signed by Colonel Harrington who had been Colonel of the 65th Foot from 1783 to 1788 when he became Colonel of the 29th Foot.  Normally not a lot of troops would follow a Colonel when he was transferred but perhaps Michael was on the Colonel's staff in 1788 which could provide a possible explanation for his transfer about then.  Hopefully a future examination of the 65th and 29th Foot Regiment's rosters will help solve this question.

In 1792, at age 48, he was discharged at Nottingham so he had possibly moved his family there during his service.  He was still there in 1797 as he served an additional 6 months as a recruiter for the Loyal Nottingham Foresters from November 1796 to April 1797.  Page 214 of The Nottingham Date Book records that, as part of a nation wide effort to raise 60,000 troops to defend England from an impending French invasion, in November 1796 the government gave permission to James Murray, Esq. to raise a corps of 1000 men "all brave and spirited volunteers"  of which he was to be the Major and Commander.  It seems that Michael was immediately appointed to be one of his recruiters.  It was James Murray who signed Michael's discharge papers after his 4 month stint.  Michael's acceptance of his discharge was signed at Nottingham although his Commanding officer had signed them at Manchester.  Shortly after that Michael would have received news of the United Irish Rebellion of 1798 which swept through Ballickmoyler and in which the Bowles family homes were burned and soon he reappears back home in Ballickmoyler again.  The Michael Bowles mentioned in the Castletown vestry minutes in 1807 could either be Michael or his son, Michael Jr.

The above has not been 100% proven but the evidence is compelling:

Evidence that Michael Bowles of Ballickmoyler enlisted in the British Army

The discharge document dated Feb. 21, 1792 is for a Sergeant Michael Bowles "born in the Parish of Killaben in or near the market town of Carlow in the county of Queens, aged forty seven years and by Trade a cabinet maker" as "being worn out in His Majesty's Service" after serving for 21 1/2 years in the 65th Foot Regiment and in Colonel Lord Cathcart's Company of Colonel Harrington's 29th Foot regiment.  So this Michael Bowles was born at exactly the right place and in 1744 or 45 which fits with our Michael having been born shortly before his younger brother Joseph in 1747. 

He had enlisted in August 1770 at age 26 (born about 1744).  While most soldiers enlisted while still young and single, Michael enlisted at age 26 so it's quite feasible that he was already married prior to his enlistment and that he enlisted in order to support his family.

Evidence that Michael Bowles Remained at Nottingham from 1792 to 1797

His discharge papers were signed by his Colonel at Windsor where the 29th Foot Regiment was stationed in 1792 but he signed his acceptance of the orders at Nottingham.  That was possibly where he called home while he was stationed in Britain.  It's likely that his wife was living at Nottingham at the time of his discharge.  He remained in that area after that as almost 5 years later he was still there.  He re-enlisted for a 6 month term as a recruiter for the Loyal Nottingham Foresters from November 1796 to April 1797 and his discharge papers from that term were also signed by Michael at Nottingham although his Commanding officer signed at Manchester.

Evidence That Michael Bowles of Ballickmoyler Married Twice in Manchester Where He Baptized Several Children

There is a Michael Bowles on record in Manchester from 1768 to 1778.  The following records, other than the second marraige, have been taken from the registers of the Manchester cathedral.  The baptismal records state the parents names in each case:

1. Ann bp. Sept. 3, 1769

3. John bp. July 11, 1773

Considering the Bowles back in Ireland, there were three Bowles brothers who emigrated to Canada who have been traced back to Killaban but despite the fact that they were born when the rest of the Bowles family were baptizing their children at St. Mary's Carlow, there are no local record for their baptisms.  They are also not mentioned in any local land or church records until after 1801.  These three were:

John born about 1770, son Thomas born Ballickmoyler in 1809

Joseph born about 1780, daughter Eliza born Carlow in 1810

Michael born about 1780, son John born Ballickmoyler 1806

The years given for their births are very approximate as they are only based on their estimated ages in their death records in Canada.

Michael Bowles of Killabban's three sons born in Manchester:

John born 1773

Joseph born 1777

Michael born 1778

There is no certain proof that this is the Michael Bowles of Ballickmoyler or that it is the same Michael Bowles who served in the army but the details do fit.  Consider the following possibility:

Our Michael Bowles was born in Killabban parish, Ireland in 1744.  In about 1764 at age 20, he was trained as a cabinet maker but in a rural community his prospects would have been limited.  At that time, many Irish young men emigrated to the industrial city of Manchester to find employment.  Arriving there he found employment, met and married Alice Fletcher and had a child and with another one on the way in August 1770 he enlisted in the British Army in order to support his family.  He would likely have been sent to join his brigade overseas in Florida and then returned with them to England in December 1772.  Apparently he visited home as a third child was born in July 1773.  His wife died while they were still stationed in England and he remarried in June 1776 just before the regiment was sent to defend Quebec from the American Revolutionaries attacking Canada.  His second wife had his son 6 months later in January 1777.  He may have remained in England for a while when his regiment left as they had another boy in September 1778.  Alternatively he may have left in 1776 and then been wounded at Saratoga in 1777 when his regiment was badly defeated and the wounded were returned to England.  Possibly after 1778 he rejoined his regiment in North America and which did not return to England again until 1787.  That would explain why no further children were born during that period.  The regiment was then based in England until 1792 when he applied for his discharge after 22 1/2 years of service.  During that time he moved his family to Nottingham or at least he was there when he signed his discharge papers.  He was still in Nottingham in 1797 when the old soldier was signed on to a 6 month term as a recruiter for the Loyal Nottingham Foresters.  After that the family returned to Killabban at some point possibly after receiving news of the burning of the family homes in the 1798 rebellion. 

Movements of Michael Bowles' 29^th Foot Regiment during his time of enlistment

1770 North America: "Boston Massacre" New Jersey (Michael joined about Sept. 1770)
1771 North America: Florida (1771 and 1772)
1773 England: Dover
1774 England: Chatham (1774 and 1775)
1776 North America: Quebec - Montreal
1777 North America: Det. at Saratoga (Flank Companies)
1778 North America: Isle aux Noix
1779 North America: St John's (1779 to 1781)
1782 North America: Montreal (29th Foot becomes the Worcestershire Regiment)
1783 North America: Montreal (1783 and 1784)
1785 North America: Quebec Province
1786 North America: Quebec
1787 England: Worcester
1788 England: Scarborough
1789 England: Tynemouth and Dover
1790 England: Dover
1791 England: Guard duty at Windsor
1792 England: Windsor (discharged Feb 1792 at Windsor)