Descendants of Thomas Fowler

 

Generation No. 1

 

1. Thomas3 Fowler (John2, Archibald1) was born 15 Sep 1785 in DE, and died 19 Jul 1855 in Madisonville, Hopkins Co. KY. He married (1) Lodema Naomi Tracy 27 Oct 1814 in Clark Co. KY, daughter of Charles Tracy and Sarah Noe. She was born 1785 in Montgomery Co. MD, and died 1834 in Clark Co. KY. He married (2) Mrs. Elizabeth Cane Haggard 13 Jan 1835 in Winchester, Clark Co. KY, daughter of Henry Cane and Ann Denison. She was born Abt. 1790 in Clark Co. KY, and died Abt. 1840 in Madisonville, Hopkins Co. KY.

 

Notes for Thomas Fowler:

These notes have been gathered over the years from mostly family members. They have not been annotated formally. I have many legal documents and original letters, etc, that verify most of what is written here.

 

Important to linking Thomas Fowler to Lucinda Fowler Embree: Thomas Fowler paid bond for both Hannah Fowler and Louduska Fowler in the 1830s when they married in Clark Co. KY (I have copies of these documents). Thomas also had a son whom he named Lewden (Louden), which ties him to the Lewdens of Delaware. Hannah and Laduska must have been sisters of Thomas and Lucinda

 

According to John Ballew in 1939, Thomas Fowler (Sr.) settled in Clark Co. KY between Winchester and Mt. Sterling. Mary E. Fowler said that he lived near Stoner Church on Stoner Creek, near Ruckersville; that he sold 200 acres of land for $40 per acre and bought 1,100 acres in Hopkins Co. in 1835. Ballew said that Thomas raised sheep and grain in Clark Co. and became an innkeeper for a time before he moved to Hopkins County.

 

ACCOUNT FROM DAVID S. FOWLER -- circa 1911:

"Thomas Fowler was born in Delaware and moved to Clark Co. KY when a young man and married a Miss (Lodema Naomi) Tracey. To them were born four (5) children. William, James, (Sarah), Thomas and Alvin. Naomi, as well as his oldest son, William, died in Clark Co. He married a second time but do not know who he married the second time (Elizabeth Cane Haggard. -- jRobbins). To them were born three children, John, Louden and Naomi.

(David did not mention James's family in his notes.)

"Thomas Fowler married a Miss Slaton. To them were born six children, Rozzie, George, Fannie, David, Thomas and Annie. His first wife died in 1857. Then, he married Martha Brown. To them were born five children, Denzil, Gus, Anna and Ethel. All of his living children are in Hopkins Co.

"Alvin Fowler married a Miss Brown. To them were born five children: James, Mollie, Charlie, Frank and Alvin. When the Civil War broke out, he enlisted in the Confederate Army. He was made Colonel of a regiment and was killed in Muhlenburg Co. in a skirmish in 1863.

"John Fowler married Bettie Powell in Clark Co. To them were born two children: Mollie and Mattie. He also enlisted in the Civil War under Bragg. He was in the Perryville fight, he was taken sick just after the fight, went home and died.

"Louden Fowler, when a young man, enlisted in the Confederate Army under Morgan. Was wounded in the battle, captured and put in Camp Chase (he was really in Camp Morton in Indiana). He stayed there till the war closed. When he came home he married Florence Thompson. To them were born three children: Lola, Emma and Willie.

"Naomi was married to Frank Bourland. To them were born five children: Henry, Augie, John, Edd and Minnie."

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- SALLIE FLETCHER HILL NOTES -

Source: Sallie Fletcher Hill notes, Aug. 4, 1965.

"When a young man he (Thomas) moved to Clark Co., Kentucky, and kept an inn. He married Miss Naomi Tracy. In 1939. Uncle John Ballew, son-in-law of James Fowler, told me the following: Thomas Fowler, Sr., father of James, settled in Clark Co., Kentucky, between Winchester (Clark Co.) and Mt. Sterling (Montgomery Co.) My grandmother Mary Emmeline Fowler Fletcher told me that that Thomas lived near Stoner Church on Stoner Creek, near Ruckersville. Thomas sold 200 acres of land for $40 per acre and bought 1,100 acres in Hopkins Co. Kentucky in 1835. Thomas raised sheep and feed."

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- JUDITH FOWLER ROBBINS NOTES -

Sunday, 3.10.2002

Thomas Fowler and Naomi Tracy from Clark County, Kentucky. Thomas, we know from his tombstone in Grapevine Cemetery in Madisonville, Kentucky, was born on Sep 15, 1785. The 1850 Census shows that he was born in Delaware. Naomi Tracy was born near Winchester, Kentucky, in 1785, the year her parents were married. Her parents, Charles and Sarah Noe Tracy, were from Montgomery Co., Maryland, and settled in Kentucky on the Big Stoner Settlement near Winchester in 1783.

On Jan 13, 1835, Thomas married Mrs. Elizabeth (Cane) Haggard in Winchester in Clark County. Elizabeth was about 20 years old when she married Thomas, who by then was 50. Thomas and Elizabeth moved to Hopkins County and had three children, Naomi, Louden and John. Elizabeth died on Aug 24, 1840, after only five years of marriage, and is buried in Grapevine Cem. Hopkins Co., Madisonville, Kentucky.

Thomas Fowler from DE was in the Clark Co. KY 1810 Census.

 

- 1850 CENSUS - HOPKINS CO. KY -

 

Fowler, Alvin KY — HopkinsCo. — District 1 — Pg. 111 - age 24

Fowler, James KY — HopkinsCo. — District 1 — Pg. 111- age 35

Fowler, Thomas J. — KY — HopkinsCo. — District 2 Pg. 121 - age 26

Fowler, Thos DE — HopkinsCo. — District 2 — Pg. 164 - age 64 (children: Louden, John and Naomi)

- more -

CAUTION FOR RESEARCHERS: There were two separate Fowler lines in Hopkins County in the 1850 census with many of the same family names; however, our family was from Kentucky/Delaware and the other from North Carolina.

 

- CIVIL WAR -

 

Thomas Fowler died in 1855 and was to miss the Civil War which turned the lives of his confederate sons upside down.

- Son Alvin was killed in the war.

- Son Louden was held in the Camp Morton Confederate prison in Indianapolis, IN. He had smallpox while in prison and never really recovered. (ref. Sallie Fletcher letter)

- Son John fought in the Battle of Perryville for Confed. Gen. Braxton Bragg. Just after the battle he became ill, went home, and died. (ref. Sallie Fletcher letter)

- Grandson, Alexander, son of James Fowler, was captured in Marshall County, Alabama, Jan. 15, 1865, and sent to Camp Chase in Columbus, Ohio. He probably died there.

- Grandson William F., son of James Fowler, was captured in Marshall Co. Alabama, Jan 15, 1865, and sent to Camp Chase. He returned to Ky. after the war.

- Son James moved to Union Co. Ky after the Civil War.

- Son Thomas remained in Hopkins Co. following the war.

- Daughter Naomi married Henry F. Bourland and remained in Hopkins Co.

 

CLARK COUNTY, KY: Thomas helped keep the roads passable in Clark County along with his neighbors. His name is on several legal documents pertaining to marriages, land transfers, etc. He was licenced by the Clark Co. courts to keep a tavern at his home: the Halfway House (probably half way between Winchester and Mt. Sterling.)

 

THE FAMILY SLAVES -

 

The 1860 census lists James, Alvin and Thomas J. as slave holders. They reported seven slaves between them. John and Louden Fowler are listed as landowners but have no slave lists.

- James: one 45 year old mulatto slave woman

- Thomas: one 38 year old female, black; one 28 year old male, black; and 1 three year old female, black. He owned one slave house.

- Alvin: one 43 year old female, mulatto; 1 forty year old male, mulatto, and one 14 year old male, Black.

 

Betty Wagner: "I have been under the impression that James Fowler had more slaves than one. Mary E.'s stories indicate that this was the case. Perhaps the status in 1860 when the census was made was not typical.

Betty also notes that Thomas Fowler and his family had many slaves according to early family letters. "I found the letter that ... regards a slave who wanted to come to Texas with Mary E. The letter is apparently from Aunt Mattie Ballew. It is in very poor condition and hard to read. I have Aunt Sallie's comments on the letter: 'No date or place but Ky., I'm sure. I believe it was written by Aunt Mattie Ballew (Nee Fowler) to Mother (Annie Fletcher). She speaks of John (her husband's name.) She said that -- Aunt Lucy got ready to come home with John but Grandpa would not let her come. -- I met Lucy, a slave who was devoted to Grannie (Mary Fletcher) in 1911. She told me how much she wanted to come to Texas with the John Fletchers in 1881 but Lucy was married to a young Negro man and he refused to come to Texas.' This letter must have been written in early 1880's. - Sallie Fletcher Hill ca. 1964. Later Lucy was freed but she came back. (Grandpa to Aunt Mattie would have been Thomas. Perhaps you are right about the Fowlers sharing slaves.)

 

- HISTORICAL BACKGROUND -

 

By the time the Constitution was adopted, seven of thirteen states had abolished slavery: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Six retained it: Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Thomas Fowler was born in Delaware. Then, in the Ordinance of 1787 slavery was prohibited northwest of the Ohio River. As a result, Kentucky and Vermont, offshoots of Virginia and New Hampshire, were admitted to the Union in 1792, the former slave and the latter free.

In 1776, Kentucky became a county of Virginia. Indians attacked settlers with British weapons. After 1778 when George Rogers Clark captured three British forts in Kentucky, the attacks became less frequent. In 1792 Kentucky became a state and more farmland was opened to settlement. Opportunities in Kentucky were huge and superior pastures fostered horse breeding. Farms prospered as steamboats were introduced in the early 1800s. Farmers shipped huge cargoes of crops and livestock down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Thomas Fowler raised sheep. Kentucky produced 100% of the hemp used to make rope. After 1830, Kentucky was the leading producer of tobacco. A market for whiskey in New Orleans down the Mississippi River helped Kentucky to grow both in manufacturing it and producing rye, corn and other grains. Thomas also was a grain farmer, as well as a raiser of sheep. He was also an innkeeper in the 1830s.

Until the autumn of 1861, the Commonwealth of Kentucky remained neutral in the Civil War. Her governor, Beriah Magoffin, refused to furnish troops to either side of the war. Most Kentuckians remained loyal to the Union, including virtually all the legislators except one. But, between a fourth and a third of the men from Kentucky were Southern Sympathizers. April 19, 1961, Lincoln proclaimed a blockade of the main railway from Nashville in Tennessee to Louisville, Kentucky. By the same token, the Confederates refused to buy hemp fabrics produced by the farmers in Kentucky. Tennessee refused passage of cotton, rice and turpentine into the South. The Confederate Army took possession of Columbus, KY, and battle lines were drawn within the state. Johnston’s Cavalry was formed in Kentucky for the Confederacy.

The first Southern draft was in April, 1862. Most regiments were all men from the same area who chose their own leaders. Johnston was appointed by Jefferson Davis, but wasn’t a very successful officer. Lincoln freed the Confederate slaves on September 22 that year -- 1862. Son Alvin became a Captain and lead his neighbors and friends in skirmishes around Madisonville and other towns. (see Alvin Fowler story)

After the Civil War ended in 1865, the government freed the slaves without paying owners. Soldiers remained in the state of Kentucky longer than people thought necessary. Black troops were sent to sections that had supported the South. Southern markets couldn’t afford to buy Kentucky farm products. The steamboats replaced sailing ships and the shipbuilders didn’t need hemp to make rigging. Fortunes had been made and lost in Kentucky, those for the Confederate cause, losing the most. All loans were called in and many Confederate soldiers and families lost everything. Son James left Hopkins County after he lost everything for a new start in Union County. (see James Fowler story)

 

- COURT RECORDS ON BEING AN INN KEEPER -

 

- Jan. Court 1835 Winchester, Clark County KY. page 221. Information on Thomas Fowler: "On motion of Stephen Treadway and Patsey Ann Treadway his wife, it is ordered that Septimus(sp) Scholl, Sam'l Chons(sp), Leonard Beall, and Joseph Scholl be and they are hereby appointed commissioners who or any 3 of them shall allot to Elizabeth Fowler, late Elizabeth Haggard, the wife of Thomas Fowler, widow of Martin Haggard dec'd, her dower in the real estate of her deceased husband and make report thereof to this court, the said Patsy Ann Haggard being one of the children and heir of said Martin Haggard dec'd and make report thereof to the court."

- Aug. Court 1835 Clark County KY. page 244. "Amount of sale of the Estate of Martin Haggard dec'd was produced in court app'd of and ord'd to be recorded. Allotment of Dower of Elizabeth Fowler, late Elizabeth Haggard, was produced in court , app'd of and or'd to be recorded."

- Dec. Court 1835 Clark County KY. page 272. On motion of Thomas Fowler for leave to keep a tavern there not being a full court motion continued ..." (note: apparently, Thomas Fowler returned to the court on this matter in the following Jan. session:)

- Jan. Court 1836 Clark County KY. page 277. Leave is granted Thomas Fowler to keep a taavern at his own house in the county at the half-way house for the term of one year giving security whereupon he together with James Clark enter into and ack'd their bond in penalty of 100 pounds conditioned as the law directs."

- Apr. Court 1837 Clark County KY. page 339. On motion of Thomas Fowler leave is granted him to keep a tavern for the term of one year from the date hereof at his own house called the half-way house giving security whereupon he together with Asa Tracy entered into and acknowledged their bond in penalty of 100 pounds conditioned as the law directs."

- Apr. Court 1838 Clark County KY. page 406. Ordered that Thomas Fowler, Noah Miller, Will Benton and Ellis Dean or any 3 of them being first sworn do appraise in current money the ___(if any) and personal estate of Joshua Bartlett dec'd and make report thereof to the court."

 

The Filson Society holds these papers: 763. Wills, John P. Papers, 1831-1867. A\W741. .33 cu. ft.

Livestock agent and tavern keeper of Winchester, Ky. Papers include

correspondence, 1831-1860, regarding business matters; articles of agreement, 1840, concerning the Blue Ball Tavern; licenses, 1842-1862, for his hotel and tavern; receipts, 1851-1866; agreements, 1845-1847, regarding the sale of hogs; estate and land records; and an account book, 1857-1859, containing medical cures for animals.

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Thomas's father, believed to be John Fowler, sold land to Thomas Fowler, 1826 (page 343) 102 1/4 acres. Clark County, KY. He may have died soon after this or moved out of the state with one of his other children.

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Caleb Embree lived two farms from Thomas Fowler in the 1830 Clark Co. KY Census. According to Embree.ftw, Thomas's maternal grandfather was Thomas Sawyer. His paternal grandfather was Archibald Fowler. Perhaps his name, Thomas A. Fowler, came from a combination of their names Thomas and Archibald.

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Thomas Fowler may have lived in Maryland between the time he left Delaware and moved to Clark County, Kentucky. In the 1850 Census, his son, James, gives info that his father was born in Maryland. However, in the same census, Thomas himself and his son Thomas J. said he was born in Delaware.

 

 

More About Thomas Fowler and Lodema Tracy:

Marriage: 27 Oct 1814, Clark Co. KY

 

More About Thomas Fowler and Elizabeth Haggard:

Marriage: 13 Jan 1835, Winchester, Clark Co. KY

Children of Thomas Fowler and Lodema Tracy are:

+ 2 i. James4 Fowler, born 24 May 1815 in Clark Co. KY; died 16 Mar 1902 in Waverly, on farm, Union Co. KY.

+ 3 ii. William Fowler, born 16 Feb 1816 in Clark Co. KY; died 09 Oct 1847 in Winchester, Clark Co. KY.

+ 4 iii. Thomas J. Fowler, born 08 Nov 1823 in Clark Co. KY; died 02 Feb 1892 in Hopkins Co. KY.

5 iv. Sarah Fowler, born Bet. 1825 - 1829 in Clark Co. KY; died Aft. 1834 in Probably Clark Co. KY.

 

Notes for Sarah Fowler:

 

 

A Clark County Court record shows that in 1834, Book 26, Page 448, 1/9 Int. in 126 acres of land was transferred to Thomas Fowler from the following people: Wm. (dec;d), Thos., James, Sarah, & Alvin Fowler.

 

The 1830 census shows that Thomas had one daughter under the age of 5. This is a child that would have been born bet. 1825 and 1830.

 

We know that Lodema Naomi Tracy died in 1834 and Thomas married Mrs. Elizabeth Haggard 1.13.1835. . So ..... in 1834, Thomas would have been married to Naomi.

 

Naomi had children as follows:

James 5.24.1815

William 2.16.1816

Thomas 11.8.1823

Alvin 1826

Sarah was born, then, bet. 1825 and 1830 and not in 1826. That leaves 1825, 1827, 1828 or 1829.

 

We could then look at the 1840 Census and find that:

Thomas had 3 daughters: Daughter One: under 5, Daughter 2: bet. 5-10, and Daughter 3: bet. 10-15.

 

Daughter One: (this has to be Naomi because she was born on Aug 24, 1835)

Daughter Two: bet. 5-10: ____________ ? This could be a child of Elizabeth Haggard & her former husband.

(this could not be Sarah because even if she was born as late as 1829, the youngest she could be is 11)

 

Daughter Three: This must be Sarah, born bet. 1825-1829

 

+ 6 v. Alvin Fowler, born 13 Jul 1826 in Clark Co. KY; died 23 Nov 1862 in Muhlenberg Co. KY in Civil War.

 

Children of Thomas Fowler and Elizabeth Haggard are:

+ 7 i. Naomi4 Fowler, born 24 Aug 1835 in Hopkins Co. KY; died 29 May 1875 in Hopkins Co. KY.

+ 8 ii. John Fowler, born 1838 in Hopkins Co. KY; died Abt. 1866 in Hopkins Co. KY.

+ 9 iii. Louden Fowler, born 21 Apr 1839 in Hopkins Co. KY; died 25 Sep 1874 in Hopkins Co. KY.

 

 

Generation No. 2

 

2. James4 Fowler (Thomas3, John2, Archibald1) was born 24 May 1815 in Clark Co. KY, and died 16 Mar 1902 in Waverly, on farm, Union Co. KY. He married (1) Winaford Fletcher. She died in Clark Co. KY. He married (2) Martha Ann Fugate 11 Apr 1843 in Hopkins Co. KY, daughter of Lewis Fugate and Nancy Ashby. She was born 03 Feb 1825 in Hopkins Co. KY, and died 17 Feb 1857 in Hopkins Co. KY. He married (3) Sarah E. Bourland 01 Jan 1858 in Hopkins Co. KY, daughter of David Bourland and Susan Browning. She was born 19 Feb 1839 in Hopkins Co. KY, and died 31 Mar 1890 in Union Co. KY.

 

Notes for James Fowler:

 

 

JAMES FOWLER, SON OF TH0MAS FOWLER

 

- ANNOTATION WRITTEN BY BETTY WAGNER -

 

"James, the oldest son of Thomas and Naomi Fowler, was born and reared in Clark County, Kentucky. He married Winifred Fletcher there but she and their baby soon died in childbirth. He then followed his father to Hopkins County and began farming. He married Martha Ann Fugate with whom he had five children, four of whom survived beyond age six. Martha then died at the age of 32 leaving behind James, three sons, and one daughter, Mary E., Louis, the youngest child, was six years old. James inherited Martha’s portion of the Stephen Ashby, Jr. property. James married for the third time to Sarafina (E. Bourland) and had nine more children, one of whom died at age four.

 

"When they were married, James was 43 years old and Sarafina was 19, only five years older than the oldest son, Bill. Mary E. later related to her family that she loved Sarafina and thought that she was a good stepmother. Sarafina was possibly much like an older sister. In accordance with custom Mary E. helped rear the younger half-brothers and sister, Colby, Martha, and Thomas. The wife of Thomas, Bettie Compton Fowler, stated in a letter to Sallie Hill in 1963, “. . . your Grandmother Fletcher (Mary E.) all but raised him and he loved her like a mother ever after. He told me after we were married that I was the only thing that had kept him in Kentucky .....He meant to go to Texas and see Sister Mary... but he fell in love with me...” Mary married in 1864 and soon was rearing her own children.

 

"James served as security on a loan for someone in his family. It could have been Alvin, since he was killed in a Civil War skirmish and wouldn't have been able to pay the loan, or one of his other siblings. At any rate, James had to pay the security. Exactly whose loan it was is not known at this time. The payment took all that James owned. He lost his farm and home and left Hopkins County sometime between 1864 and 1868. These dates are determined by the fact that the youngest child Louden was born in Hopkins County and died in Union County. James moved his family to raise a crop on Wabash Island in the Ohio River. The newlyweds, Mary E. and John Fletcher, were with them. Misfortune struck with a big flood and the family lost nearly all that they had on the island. Betty Ballew, a great-granddaughter of James, related in a 1963 letter to Sallie Hill, “When Grandfather Fowler lost practically everything he had on Wabash Island, he put what little he had left and his family on a boat and came to Uniontown. (Five or six-year-old Martha remembered the trauma all her life.) He didn’t even have enough money to pay for their transportation. Mr. Young chanced to be there, paid for their transportation, and took him home with him to work on his farm in Union County. Grandfather never worked for anyone else until he bought his own land. “ He eventually bought 100 acres of the Hearl farm."

 

- MORE ABOUT JAMES -

 

In the 1850 Census, James owned one female mulatto slave, age 18. James owned one 45 year old mulatto slave woman according to the 1860 Hopkins Co. slave list. A slave house sat on his property. Betty Wagner writes, "One black (mulatto) woman (former slave) was attached to Mary E. and wanted to go to Texas with her, but she was married and her husband refused to go. Her name was Aunt Lucy. At one point, James had a cook called Aunt Cena (or Sena)." James bought two slaves at his father-in-law's, Lewis Fugat's, estate sale, Feb. 13, 1854: Names were Lucinda ($4,200) and Manuel ($7,035).

 

After James's wife, Sarafina Bourland, died in 1890, James's son and daughter-in-law, Thomas and Bettie, took over the farm and James lived with them.

 

As the boys grew up they worked for James until they were 21, then they were free to go on their own. (Bettie Compton Fowler) In 1886 one son Louis who was helping to clear the land died when he was hit by a falling tree. Worth Salisbury, a great-grandson of James remembered him as tall and white-haired, with a Kentucky Colonel goatee.

 

Sources: Betty Ballew (letters), Sallie Hill (relating information from Mary E.), Bettie Compton Fowler (letter), and Worth Salisbury (letter)

 

Notes for Winaford Fletcher:

 

 

Died in childbirth.

 

More About James Fowler and Martha Fugate:

Marriage: 11 Apr 1843, Hopkins Co. KY

 

More About James Fowler and Sarah Bourland:

Marriage: 01 Jan 1858, Hopkins Co. KY

Children of James Fowler and Martha Fugate are:

10 i. William F.5 Fowler, born 19 Feb 1844 in Hopkins Co., KY; died 1925 in Boxville, KY Union County. He married David Ella Kelly 24 Feb 1867 in Hopkins Co. KY; born Dec 1845 in Hopkins Co. KY; died 09 May 1934 in Boxville, KY Union County.

 

Notes for William F. Fowler:

 

 

WILLIAM F. FOWLER, SON OF JAMES, GRANDSON OF THOMAS FOWLER

 

William F. Fowler, first child of James Fowler and Martha Ann Fugate, was born in late winter on Feb. 19th, 1844, near Winchester in Clark County, Kentucky. That was a year after Charles Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol" in London; the year Alaska was purchased from Russia and Whig John Tyler was serving as President.

 

1855. Eleven-year-old William's grandfather Thomas died. The boy was born into the pre-Civil War era when his family kept slaves, verified by 1860 slave lists. As well, over in Paducah, west of Madisonville, the last remnant of Kentucky's Original Native Americans marched through town toward Indian Territory.

 

1861. William was 17. The Civil War came. His family rallied for the Southern Cause and during the next four years, tragedy ruled his life. He surely watched while Union soldiers burned his Uncle Alvin's home to the ground on the farm adjoining theirs. A little later, his Uncle Alvin was killed in the war. Word came too soon that his brother Alexander had died in Ohio's Camp Chase Confederate prison and that his Uncle Louden was imprisoned in Camp Morton in Indianapolis. One must wonder whether he actually ever saw Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis while his beautiful Madisonville homeland was falling apart around him. When the war was over, his Uncle Louden came home to the ruins of their way of life. The newspapers reported that John Wilkes Booth tried to avenge the South by killing President Lincoln in Washington. He blamed the man for ending the way of life of the slave-holding Southern gentry to whom the Fowlers belonged. The Fowlers, who had grown prosperous in the Madisonville community, lost much of what they had owned, and the family scattered to the winds.

 

1867. Andrew Johnson had become President while the country was still reeling from the death of Abe Lincoln and Reconstruction began. The war behind the family and five days after his twenty-third birthday on Feb 24, 1867, he married David Ella Kelly - his rock, his life-time wife - in Hopkins County, Kentucky.

 

1870. William was a farmer and probably worked for his father James until 1865 when he was 21. He and David Ella (Tanny) owned $1,000 worth of real estate in Hopkins County in 1870, and had two children, Alexander, who was two, and Ella, who was three months.

 

1883. By this time, three more children has joined this Fowler household: James, Laura and Maud, and they had all moved to Union County, Kentucky -- an unlikely place name, as his family fought for the Confederate Cause against the "Union."

 

1900. The census for Union County, Waverly District, revealed that he owned free the house in which he was living on a 40-acre farm, which he owned; that he and Tanny had been married for 33 years.

1920. William retired from farming and he and Tanny moved to a house in Boxville. Son Alex moved his family onto the farm and these are the years that J.D. Fowler, father of this writer, can remember best. The grandchildren called him William Pappy or just Grandpa Fowler. J.D. words ...

 

J.D.'s words: "Grandpa (Fowler) owned a farm in Union County on Griggs Road between Waverly and Boxville, near Hermon Valley. It was on a side road off 141 close to Ky 60 called "Griggs Road." My dad (Alex Fowler) had a brother (James), whom I knew little about, and two sisters, Laura and Maud. [Another sister, Ella had moved to California before he can remember.] James was Bobby Fowler's dad. Grandpa raised Bobby at his house in Boxville. Bobby and I played together a lot at Grandpa's house. The land all around was coal mining and farm land. Boxville had a school and two groceries. There was a grocery in Herman Valley, too. That was even closer to Grandpa's farm.

 

"When we moved to Grandpa's farm, the house had two rooms upstairs separated by a cubby hole and two living rooms downstairs, each with chimneys. Mom and Pop slept in one of the living rooms. There were stairs leading upstairs from both rooms. In back of them was a dining room and kitchen. There was a smoke house and a wood house in back of that."

 

1881. A LETTER FROM WM. F. FOWLER TO NIECE MARY ANN FLETCHER HILL

 

Waverly, Ky. March 17th, 1881

Dear Niece,

"I suppose you think I am not a going to answer your card. I received your card the second Sunday after you left. I would have answered sooner but I had no paper, envelopes nor stamps.

 

Annie, I have no news to write. We are all well and all of our relations. I was glad to hear that you all landed safe and sorrow to hear that Ida and Bettie was not well. I suppose you have got a home but have not got possession of it yet.

 

Tell your Pa I am done sowing oats and tobacco beads. Tell him I lost five of my best hogs from colora. My wheat is no account. The last of the old man’s (James's) sowing is also no account. He is a going to plow it up.

Annie, tell your Ma Tannie has got twenty-two little chickens — no more rest for her this spring and summer. I had a hard time trying to get ground to cultivate.

 

I have sharpened my pencil and turned over. Annie, tell Maggie Ella received her letter this morning. She and the rest of us was glad to hear from her but was sorrow to hear of Ida and Mattie’s fall.

Jimmie is as fat as old tailor cone.

Tommie is as bad as ever.

Ella has gone to school.

Elick is deviling Tom.

I have not seen Louis for a coon’s age. I suppose he is well.

 

Tell your Pa I have been thinking about going to Nebraska to a portion called Elk Horn Valley. Land is only worth from two and one-half to five dollars for acre with ten years time. 6 percent interest. After the third year all a person has to pay is taxes for three years from time purchased.

 

Well, my pencil is short and Tom is hurrying me to get done writing. I will draw my failure to a close. Excuse me for not writing sooner. Answer soon. Give my love to all, yourself included. Tell all to write. W. F. Fowler"

 

Notes for David Ella Kelly:

 

 

1845. Before Christmas, David Ella Kelly, daughter of John D. Kelly and Mary Ann Robertson of Madisonville, Kentucky, was born. Soon, she had two little sisters, Henry Ann and Elizabeth. Her father died when she was three and her mother married David Cardwell of the same county. Eight stepbrothers and stepsisters followed.

 

1867. On Feb 24th, "Ella" married William F. Fowler. The 1900 census records that she was the mother of eight children, five living - Alex, Ella, James, Laura and Maud - and that her parents were both born in Kentucky (Hopkins County). Little is known of her life before she was a grandmother. She was called Ma or Tanny by those who knew and loved her:

 

2000. Great Grandson Wm. Ed Railey -- "Ma Fowler's [given] name was David E. She peppered everything." He said that they used to say she would kill herself eating pepper, that "she did" when she was 90! He said that she lived with his grandparents, Maud Fowler Raley and Edd Raley, that she carried a walking stick that tapped the floor all the time until they put a rubber tip on it, that she was tall and slender, that she was hard of hearing and used a hearing phone that she held up to her ear, that the house is still standing where she lived when she died.

 

Granddaughter Ilyne Raley Tapp -- "I remember "Ma" very well and "Pappy" a little. "She was small when he [Wm. Fowler] died. She said " Ma" lived with her parents -- Maud Fowler and Edd Raley -- after Pappy died, and off an on with her "Aunt Lolly" (Laura Fowler, who married Will Davis). The1910 Kentucky Miracode Index mentions a visit #0125 in Union County, KY, to the residence of Edd Raley (misspelled Baley). He was white, born in KY and age 33. He was listed as the husband. Relatives living there were: Wife Maud, 28. born in KY, Father-in-law William Fowler, 64, born in KY, Mother-in-law Tannie (misspelled Fannie), 59, born in Kentucky.

 

"Ma and Pappy are buried at Boxville Cemetery on Daddy's (Edward Raley) lot. It is about 8 miles out of Morganfield, they are on the first lot as you go in, on the right. Our house can be seen down the road a little ways on the right. It was built by my dad after a fire destroyed the original house.

 

"Ma loved white syrup. She liked to sit on the swing on the front porch where she would look up the road at the cemetery. I remember her sitting there the day she died, saying, 'Wish I was up there with Bill.' " Ilyne had come home for lunch from Boxville School, the only school she ever attended, and kissed her grandmother goodbye before she went back. Ma died that afternoon before Ilyne returned from school and wasn't even sick. "Just old age," Ilyene said.

 

"There was a fence to climb over between our house and Aunt Lolly's. Ma used to go back and forth over it. We were always afraid she'd get out there and get hurt. I remember one day my mother was doing the wash and told Ma to take off her "drawers." Ma said, 'My drawers aren't dirty!' Mother plopped her down on the bed and took them off from under her long dress [good-heartedly!]. Funny, the little things we remember."

 

Grandson J.D. Fowler -- "Bobby [Fowler] and I played in Grandma's front yard a lot. One time somebody gave us both a pocket knife and we whittled limbs on some trees and trashed up the ground. Grandma took them away from us and we never saw them again. Another time Bobby and I stopped up a woodpecker's hole in a tree there. The bird died. I felt so bad about that. One thing for sure, Grandma always made us mind."

 

Submitted by Judith Fowler Robbins Indianapolis, Indiana Sept. 24, 2001.

 

More About William Fowler and David Kelly:

Marriage: 24 Feb 1867, Hopkins Co. KY

 

11 ii. Alexander Fowler, born 18 Mar 1845 in Hopkins Co. KY; died Abt. 1865 in Camp Chase Prison Camp, OH.

 

Notes for Alexander Fowler:

 

 

Fowler, Alexander, Private

Company A - 13th Kentucky Confederate Cavalry

Captured at Marshall Co., AL, on 15 Jan. 1865. Sent to Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio.

 

12 iii. Mary Emmeline Fowler, born 29 Nov 1846 in Madisonville Twp. Hopkins Co. KY; died 12 Jul 1933 in Palo Pinto Co. TX. She married John Calhoun Fletcher 13 Nov 1864 in Hopkins Co. KY (see marriage certificate); born 22 Oct 1836 in Jefferson Co. MO; died 29 Oct 1892 in Navarro Co. TX.

 

Notes for Mary Emmeline Fowler:

 

 

Marriage License

To any Minister of the Gospel, or other person legally authorized to solemnize Matrimony. You are permitted to solemnize the rites of Matrimony between John C. Fletcher and Mary E. Fowler the requirements of the Law having been complied with. Witness. The signiture of the Clerk of the Hopkins County Court, this Eighth day of November 1864. F.W. Campbell Clerk by Dick Littlepage, DC.

Marriage Certificate

This is to Certify that on the 13th day of November 1864 the rites of Marriage were legally solemnized by me between John C. Fletcher and Mary E. Fowler in the County of Hopkins, in the presence of James Fowler, R._. Fugate and others. Jno. Nash, Minister, Christian Church.

 

MARY EMMILINE FOWLER

 

Mary grew up in a large, prosperous household. Her mother was the second of

three wives of James Fowler. She loved her half-brothers and half-sisters and

maintained correspondence with some of them and their families until her

death. Mary received a good education for her time. Her husband John had to

compete with a rival for her hand. After John's death Mary supported the

family of eight children by running a large boarding house in Ennis, Ellis

County, Texas.

 

As her seven daughters married Mary lived with her son Hal who never married.

She was a small, spry, entertaining person, full of spice and wit who was

adored by her children and grandchildren. She and Hal lived near Frank and

Annie in Village Bend and later near Whitt. Mary and Hal eventually lived in

Palo Pinto, Texas where they ended her days. -- Betty Wagner

 

Mary Emmiline Fowler Fletcher was famous in her family for always wearing a

perky, little, black hat. This picture (separate) was made in Texas in the 1920's. The

persons pictured are Mary Emmiline, her son, Hal, and her oldest daughter,

Mary Ann Fletcher Hill.

 

Mary Emmiline is buried in the Whitt, Parker County, Texas cemetery in the

Frank and Mary Ann Hill plot. Her son Hal lies beside her.

 

Notes for John Calhoun Fletcher:

 

 

Source: Betty Wagner, Texas.

John died of typhoid fever at such an early date that only one of his grandchildren could even know him. Most memories of his character come from his oldest child, Mary Ann. She considered him to be a gentle, tender-hearted man who greatly enjoyed his children. His family related how he liked to watch his animals eat after he fed them. His wife Mary tried to keep his breakfast warm while he fed and watched his animals.

 

John's family returned to Hopkins County, Kentucky, from Missouri when he was quite young. When he was 16 his father died and John became head of the household for is mother, Margaret McIllheny Fletcher. John lived for a time with the Fowler family as a young man and fell in love with Mary. His mother died before he married. They married at the end of the Civil War and moved to Union County in 1872 where he farmed near Waverly, Kentucky. John and Mary bought a farm known as the George McClure land, near McClure Chapel. In 1881 John, Mary, and their six children moved to Ellis County, Texas, where two more children were born. John died after only 11 years in Texas, leaving Mary to support the family of six children. Mary Ann and Sallie had married by that time.

 

Worth Salisbury, a grandson of John, remembered him as having white hair, piercing blue eyes, rather frail, of about 5'8" height. He also grew a beard. Worth recalled him as having a very gentle, inviting appearance. Worth's mother, Sallie Salisbury, thought a picture of Eugene Fletcher, John's nephew, looked so much like her father that she had the picture enlarged.

 

More About John Fletcher and Mary Fowler:

Marriage: 13 Nov 1864, Hopkins Co. KY (see marriage certificate)

 

13 iv. Theodore Fowler, born 15 Sep 1848 in Hopkins Co., Kentucky; died 14 Jul 1854 in Hopkins Co., Kentucky.

 

Notes for Theodore Fowler:

 

 

Kentucky. Six-year-old Theodore is buried next to his mother in the Browder Cemetery outside Madisonville, Kentucky. His tombstone is hardly readable. Their stones lie along a side fence line of the cemetery. It is believed that he died of consumption.

 

14 v. Lewis Fowler, born 19 Jan 1851 in Madisonville. Hopkins Co. KY; died 18 Feb 1885 in Union Co. KY.

 

Notes for Lewis Fowler:

 

 

Louis was killed by a fallen tree on his father's property. He was the youngest son of Martha Ann Fugate and James Fowler. He was a full brother to William F. and Mary Emmeline Fowler.

 

Children of James Fowler and Sarah Bourland are:

15 i. Colby A.5 Fowler, born 18 Nov 1858 in Hopkins Co. KY; died 04 Nov 1935 in Union Co. KY. He married Louisa Compton 1890; born 1868.

 

Notes for Colby A. Fowler:

 

 

"I had a couple of uncles on the Fowler side who had farms on Casey Creek -- Uncle Tom and Uncle Colby. They lived close to grandpa's farm. [Pop farmed on Grandpa’s farm.] They both had peach orchards. Uncle Colby was no good at planting trees so Uncle Tom had to help him plant his trees. Bobby and I used to go over there to my uncles's [on Casey Creek] and feedsack seine to catch fish." -- J.D. Fowler

 

More About Colby Fowler and Louisa Compton:

Marriage: 1890

 

16 ii. Martha E. Fowler, born 16 May 1860 in Madisonville, Hopkins Co. KY; died 01 Jan 1934 in Union Co. KY. She married John D. Ballew; born 1857; died 1956 in Union Co. KY.

17 iii. Thomas David Fowler, born 24 Jun 1861 in Hopkins Co. KY; died 16 Aug 1928 in Union Co. KY. He married Betty Compton 1891 in Union Co. KY; born Nov 1868 in Ky; died 1969 in Kentucky.

 

Notes for Thomas David Fowler:

 

 

The 1900 census for Union Co. KY puts Tom's father, James, living with him. See 1963 letter to Miss Sallie Hill in Dallas from Bettie Fowler in which Bettie says that after James moved his family to Union Co., his sister, Mary Emmilene, practically raised him and he loved her like a mother. She said that all of James's sons worked for him until they were 21. Tom is the son that stayed on his father's place after the rest of the children moved onto their own farms.

 

Notes for Betty Compton:

 

 

Betty lived to be 100 years old! She is a sister to Virgie Bicknell and Ben Compton.

 

More About Thomas Fowler and Betty Compton:

Marriage: 1891, Union Co. KY

 

18 iv. David Fowler, born 23 Jun 1862 in Hopkins Co. KY; died Infant in Union Co. KY.

19 v. Louden Fowler, born 12 Aug 1864 in Hopkins Co. KY; died 13 Sep 1868 in Union Co. KY.

20 vi. James E. Fowler, born 20 Feb 1867 in Hopkins Co. KY; died 16 Oct 1868 in Union Co. KY.

21 vii. Alice Fowler, born 24 Aug 1870 in Union Co. KY; died 12 Jun 1947 in Union Co. KY. She married S. Benjamin Compton; born 1866.

 

Notes for S. Benjamin Compton:

 

 

Brother to Betty Compton Fowler and Virgie Compton Bicknell. In 1954 Ben Compton was living with Yancey Fowler and Jean McClure rented a room from Yancey then too when she went to work at the hospital on 10.5.1954.

 

22 viii. Sarah Fowler, born 31 Mar 1872 in Hopkins Co. KY; died 04 Sep 1958 in KY. She married Wilbur Grant Cromwell 24 Dec 1890 in Union Co. KY; born 01 Oct 1862 in Union Co. KY; died 10 Oct 1940.

 

Notes for Wilbur Grant Cromwell:

 

 

Truman Curtis Griggs' uncle.

 

More About Wilbur Cromwell and Sarah Fowler:

Marriage: 24 Dec 1890, Union Co. KY

 

23 ix. Alvin Nace Fowler, born 15 Oct 1874 in Union Co. KY; died 14 Jan 1953 in Union Co. KY. He married Alice Wolfin; born May 1876 in Kentucky.

 

Notes for Alice Wolfin:

 

 

Second cousin to Curtis Griggs

 

 

3. William4 Fowler (Thomas3, John2, Archibald1) was born 16 Feb 1816 in Clark Co. KY, and died 09 Oct 1847 in Winchester, Clark Co. KY. He married Martha Ann Washington Curtis 11 Nov 1843 in Winchester, Clark Co. KY, daughter of John Curtis and Katherine Garrison. She was born 19 Oct 1822 in Clark Co. KY, and died 04 Jul 1897 in Next to Lot#96 Winchester Cemetery, Clark Co. KY.

 

Notes for William Fowler:

 

 

Notes written by David Fowler in 1911 or 1912, record that William was the first son of Thomas and Naomi Fowler of Clark County, Kentucky, and that William and Naomi died in Clark County. Actually, this researcher saw William's tombstone in 2002 and it gave his birth as 1816. He would have been the second son because his brother James was born in 1815.

 

Other notews: I visited James's son, William's, grave in May of 2002 with my 4th cousin, Betty Sue Haynie Straup. William's wife was Martha Curtis, who later married Ambrose Dillard Rash. Thomas and Naomi had one daughter Mary Rosa Fowler. Naomi died in 1834 and is buried in Clark County, too.

 

When Thomas wrote his will, he referred to land left him by his granddaughter Rosa. See court records regarding Rosa in Clark County, Kentucky.

 

Notes for Martha Ann Washington Curtis:

Martha was living with her mother in the 1850 Clark Co., Ky Census in Winchester, as listed:

 

P. Herndon 48 F W B. VA

Martha Fowler 26 F W KY

Mary R. Fowler 3 F W KY

John Berry 8 F W KY

 

Martha remarried and was in the 1860 Census for Clark Co., Ky, as listed:

 

Ambrose D. Rash 37 M W KY Minister

Minister

Martha A. Fowler 37 F W KY

Bettie A. 14 F W KY

James P. Herndon 28 M W KY Druggist

William 11 M W KY

 

Bettie A. and William are Ambroses's children from his first wife (Agness Sutherland). James P. Herndon is Martha's half brother.

Source: John Bounds papers

 

Winchester in Olden Times

(ca. 1825-1840)

By I.N. Massie

 

Serialized in the Clark County Republican, April 28 - May 19, 1916.

(Some years ago the late Mr. I.N. MASSIE, father of our good citizen, W.R. MASSIE, the shoe man, wrote his recollections of Winchester, and they are so interesting that we are publishing them. They show that we were quite a manufacturing center at one time.--Editor, Clark County Republican)

 

I have been asked to write a brief history of the number of manufactures that were in Winchester in the early part of my life.

 

1st. Elija HERNDON was a cooper and market master--made churns, pails, buckets, tubs, barrels, washing machines, and nearly everything that could be made of wood.

 

This man was a contemporary of the Fowler-Curtis Families.

 

Martha Fowler, from Win. Cem. Co. 1857 (38) (333) Lot #96. Her first husband was William Fowler, who.died in 1847. Martha, William and Ambrose Rash are all buried side by side in the Lot #96 row.

 

More About William Fowler and Martha Curtis:

Marriage: 11 Nov 1843, Winchester, Clark Co. KY

Child of William Fowler and Martha Curtis is:

24 i. Mary Rosa5 Fowler, born 1847 in Clark Co. KY; died 24 Jul 1852 in Winchester, Clark Co. KY.

 

 

4. Thomas J.4 Fowler (Thomas3, John2, Archibald1) was born 08 Nov 1823 in Clark Co. KY, and died 02 Feb 1892 in Hopkins Co. KY. He married (1) Mary Ann Slaton 15 Nov 1843 in Hopkins Co. KY, daughter of Arthur Slayden and Catherine Fugate. She was born 17 Dec 1823 in Elk Creek. Madisonville Twp. Hopkins Co. KY, and died 24 Apr 1857 in Madisonville Twp. Hopkins Co. KY. He married (2) Martha A. Brown 23 Jun 1858 in Hopkins Co. KY, daughter of Brown. She was born 1837 in Kentucky, and died Abt. 1870 in Kentucky.

 

Notes for Thomas J. Fowler:

 

 

Thomas owned three slaves according to the 1860 Hopkins Co. slave list: one 38 year old female, black; one 28 year old male, black; and 1 three year old female, black. He owned one slave house. Thomas would have been 38 when the Civil War broke out. Whether he fought in the war is unclear. The names of his children were taken from notes written by his son, David S. Fowler in 1911-1912 to Sallie Fletcher Hill. Source: Betty Sue (Malone) Wagner.

 

When Thomas moved to Hopkins Co. about 1830, he lived in the Bethlehem Community. The church was built on his land. The Fowler home, a two-story log house, burned about 1927. It was 3 mi. southeast of Madisonville.

 

More About Thomas Fowler and Mary Slaton:

Marriage: 15 Nov 1843, Hopkins Co. KY

 

More About Thomas Fowler and Martha Brown:

Marriage: 23 Jun 1858, Hopkins Co. KY

Children of Thomas Fowler and Mary Slaton are:

25 i. Martha R.5 Fowler, born 1845 in Hopkins Co. KY.

26 ii. George W. Fowler, born 1847 in Hopkins Co. KY; died 19 Nov 1894 in Hopkins Co. KY. He married Belle Nukolls; born 17 Aug 1855 in Kentucky; died 03 Sep 1954 in Hopkins Co. KY.

27 iii. Sarah Frances Fowler, born 1848 in Hopkins Co. KY. She married George W. Fugate 17 Dec 1867 in Hopkins Co. KY; born 26 Nov 1840 in Hopkins Co. KY; died 02 Feb 1916.

 

More About George Fugate and Sarah Fowler:

Marriage: 17 Dec 1867, Hopkins Co. KY

 

28 iv. David S. Fowler, born 27 Jun 1849 in Hopkins Co. KY; died 06 Sep 1934 in Hopkins Co. KY. He married Alice Brown; born 09 Aug 1865; died 17 Aug 1942.

 

Notes for David S. Fowler:

 

 

Located at the junction of hwy 85 & 70 in eastern Hopkins Co. built on Thomas Fowler land about three miles southeast of Madisonville.

 

29 v. Thomas F. Fowler, born Bet. 1851 - 1852 in Hopkins Co. KY. He married Mattie G..

30 vi. Annie E. Fowler, born 23 Jul 1854 in Hopkins Co. KY; died 24 Jun 1887 in Hopkins Co. KY. She married William D. Fletcher; born 14 Jan 1846 in Hopkins Co. KY; died 20 Dec 1929 in Hopkins Co. KY.

 

Children of Thomas Fowler and Martha Brown are:

31 i. Carrie D.5 Fowler, born 1862 in Hopkins Co. KY. She married C.T. Hicklin 18 Nov 1880 in Hopkins Co. KY.

 

More About C.T. Hicklin and Carrie Fowler:

Marriage: 18 Nov 1880, Hopkins Co. KY

 

32 ii. Denzel L. Fowler, born 1864 in Hopkins Co. KY; died 19 Feb 1922 in Hopkins Co. KY.

33 iii. Augustus Fowler, born 1865 in Hopkins Co. KY; died 11 Jun 1952 in Hopkins Co. KY.

34 iv. Amma (Amy?) Fowler, born 1867 in Hopkins Co. KY.

35 v. Ethel Fowler, born 1869 in Hopkins Co. KY.

 

 

6. Alvin4 Fowler (Thomas3, John2, Archibald1) was born 13 Jul 1826 in Clark Co. KY, and died 23 Nov 1862 in Muhlenberg Co. KY in Civil War. He married Quintina Brown 31 Jan 1848 in Hopkins Co. KY, daughter of William Brown and Mary Bourland. She was born 1827 in Hopkins Co. KY, and died 07 Jun 1881 in Washington Co. TX.

 

Notes for Alvin Fowler:

 

 

CAPTAIN ALVIN FOWLER

 

Alvin Fowler was a Confederate Captain in the Civil War. He was from Unit 10 Johnston's KY Cavalry. He died in the Civil War. Alvin owned three slaves according to the 1860 Hopkins Co. census: one 43 year old female, mulatto; 1 forty year old male, mulatto, and one 14 year old male, Black. By the 1870 census, Queen, his widow is the head of the household. She moved her family to Texas.

 

AL FOWLER, CONFEDERATE BUSHWHACKER

A History of Muhlenberg County

XXIII, R. T. Martin's "Recollections of the Civil War"

Source: Ancestry.com Database: A History of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky Records

1476-1485 of 2297

 

"During 1862 there was considerable excitement in Western Kentucky, caused by guerrilla warfare, recruiting, and bushwhacking. Companies of both Federal and Confederate armies were moving over different counties. Colonel Adam R. Johnson, of the Tenth Kentucky Cavalry, did some guerrilla work in various parts of the State. He lost his eyesight while fighting for the South. Detached companies from Johnson’s command made raids, and plundered many of the towns and villages along their course. Al Fowler, Jack Porter, Jake Bennett, Ray, Sypert, and others belonging to some of his companies were troublesome and caused considerable uneasiness for a long time. These guerrillas were often chased, scattered, and driven out of the State by Federal troops, but most of them would slip back in again. As a general thing they were in squads of from twenty to fifty men.

 

Al Fowler and Jack Porter, both residents of Hopkins County, living between Pond River and Madisonville, did a good deal of scouting among the natives while recruiting men for the Southern army. Some of the Muhlenberg boys joined them. Fowler was active in the guerrilla service.

 

During the latter part of 1862 Fowler made a raid into Muhlenberg County, and was followed by a company of Federals commanded by Colonel James H. Holloway, of the Eighth Kentucky Cavalry. Colonel Holloway and some of his soldiers crossed Pond River near Hugh W. McNary’s, and on reaching the McNary farm wanted to go into camp for the night. But McNary requested them to move farther up the road, explaining that some of his family were sick. McNary knew that Al Fowler and his men were in Muhlenberg, and suspecting that they were close by feared a fight would take place near his home. Colonel Holloway then marched up the road near the residence of Thomas C. Summers, where the town of Earles now stands, and went into camp at what was known as the Becky Summers house, a vacant house on the Greenville and Madisonville Road.

 

Fowler and his squad were south of the Summers place, and having located Holloway moved along a lane leading into the Greenville and Madisonville Road to where the Federals had gone into camp. It being night, Fowler and his men tried to slip up on the Federals, aiming to surprise and stampede them. But the Federals were ready for the attack, and when they were shot at returned the fire. Many said that the first volley fired by the Federals killed Fowler; others stated that the Federal picket killed Fowler. His own men believed he was accidentally shot by one of his own squad. After Fowler was killed his men were routed and scattered and left the county. Porter succeeded Fowler as captain of the company. Holloway passed through Greenville the next day, going east, carrying Fowler’s hat on the end of a long stick. Captain Fowler was with Forrest in the Sacramento fight and also took part in the battle of Fort Donelson. It is said that Fowler was the man who used his saber on John L. Williams at Sacramento.The brick residence erected by Thomas C. Summers at Earles in 1867 stands near the old store building and the abandoned log house, occupied by him during and before the Civil War."

 

A BIOGRAPHY OF ALVIN FOWLER

from

The Partisan Rangers of the Confederate States Army" edited by William J. Davis, Louisville, Kentucky, George G. Fetter Company 1904. A biography of Alvin Fowler, written by Polk Laffon. Pages 300-303. Provided by Betty Sue Haynie Straub

 

"Captain Al Fowler, the subject of this sketch, was born in Hopkins Co. Kentucky on the 17th of July, 1835. He enlisted in the Confederate Army in the fall of 1861, but had done valuable scouting service before the date of his enlistment.

 

He commanded the Confederate embryo soldiers in the assault in the battle of the Burnt Mill in Webster Co. on Sept. 15, 1861, the first battle of the Civil War fought in Kentucky. This battle fully illustrates the character of the man for courage, indomitable energy and unyielding determination. In this battle he captured 25 well-equipped and organized soldiers who were fleeing from Hopkinsville, KY, where Gen. S.B. Buckner invaded the state. Col. Jas. F. Buckner and Capt. Wm. Buckner were in command of the retreating forces and were made prisoners. Col. J.F. Buckner’s command was making its escape through Cap. Fowler’s neighborhood and he determined on its capture.

 

He had not a soldier nor a military equipment at his command, but from the surrounding towns and country he hastily summoned his friends by night from their quiet homes and pursued the fleeing foe and overtook them 14 miles from Madisonville, where they were encamped in a frame church. When morning dawned the retreating forces found themselves entirely surrounded and every avenue of escape closed up. After a sharp skirmish, which lasted an hour, Capt. Fowler’s men sheltering themselves behind trees, the crest of the hill and the bed of the creek, the enemy surrendered with all their guns and ammunition. Buck Madison was the only wounded on Fowler’s side.

 

From this time until his death, he, by his vigilance, bravery and activity, was a terror to the Federal forces in southwestern Kentucky. He enlisted and armed a battalion of fearless men imbued with the spirit and ready at all times to follow their leader in any deeds of daring. To his enemies he appeared never to sleep and night and day he might be expected to assail them at any moment. Every scheme that the ingenuity of the Federal officers could devise to capture him and his command proved ineffectual. At one time the “Dutch Cavalry” left Madisonville, where they were stationed, and gave it out that they were going to Henderson, but suddenly and rapidly returned, hoping to surprise him. He was in town and they knew it, but after a diligent search they failed to find him, he having sought and found safety under the floor of Lem Simon’s woodshop, where he remained until darkness enabled him to escape. The most amusing circumstance connected with this incident was the fact that Capt. A. Fowler, unknown personally to the Dutch Cavalry and wearing no uniform, helped the officers to place their pickets before he sought his place of hiding, and when he made his exit from the town he knew the exact route to take to evade the enemy.

 

Chagrined and mad at their failure to capture him and his command, his enemies were unchivalrous enough to burn down his home, appropriate and destroy his crops, devastate his farm and turn his wife and little children out of home and sustenance. How differently did Capt. Fowler act toward his Union neighbors. He was importuned to retaliate on them, but with firmness he declined and threatened to punish any of his command who interfered with private property in any way unless the necessity of his soldiers demanded it and such necessity was first to be submitted to him.

 

He was impetuous and under excitement was sometimes impulsive.. In the heat of battle he often emphasized his exhortation to his soldiers by a little profanity. On one occasion in the midst of the conflict when the battle was raging hottest, he exclaimed: “D——n them, boys, give them h—l.” At that instant he observed Major Scobee, who was then and is now an eminent divine in the Methodist church, standing near him. Capt. Fowler turned to him and apologized for swearing in his presence. Major Scobee replied: “Colonel, if it does you any good let them have it.”

 

Captain Fowler was with General (Nathan Bedford) Forrest at the battles of Sacramento and Fort Donelson as a private soldier, at which places he endeared himself to Gen. Forrest by his indomitable courage. After he received his commission as captain and while he was recruiting his command he was one of Gen. Adam Johnson’s chief friends and advisers and was present with him in many of his desperate enterprises. It is not within the scope of this brief notice of his life and career to enter into the details of the many battles and skirmishes in which he was engaged. He took a brave part under Gen. Johnson in the battles of Clarksville and Hopkinsville, where the Confederates were so eminently successful and there he distinguished himself by gallantry.

 

It is sad to note the untimely close of a life like that of Col. Fowler’s, but that career which had been so brilliant, so dazzling and so grand was fated to come to a sudden end. On the 23d of November, 1862, near Summer’s Store in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, in the night, he attacked with his command a superior force of the enemy and in this engagement lost his life. When the battle was raging furiously he ordered his men to lie down, and when day dawned he was found dead from a buckshot wound in the head. From the location and the character of the injury it is generally believed that he was killed accidentally at the hands of one of his own men.

 

Charles Ashby, a truthful Union soldier of Hopkins County, Kentucky, says he was in this fight, and with a comrade or two found Capt. Al Fowler the next morning and there was a pistol ball through his head cutting the band of his hat in two on both sides of his head; in addition to this there had passed through his chest two carbine balls, and it’s a mistake about his own men having killed him accidentally.

 

From whatever view point history may record Captain Fowler, it must set the seal of its approval upon his life and career, whether as farmer, citizen, soldier, husband or father. In that life he represented the highest type of civilization and manhood, and when his body was covered in the ground there was only buried all of the heroism that could die."

 

Notes for Quintina Brown:

 

 

Queen Fowler and her three surviving children are listed in the 1870 Madisonville, KY, Census -- Charles Augustus (also known as "Uncle Doc"), Mollie and Frank Ford. The 1880 Census shows that Queen, Charles and Frank (probably Mollie, too) lived in Brenham, Texas. source: Betty Sue Haynie

 

More About Alvin Fowler and Quintina Brown:

Marriage: 31 Jan 1848, Hopkins Co. KY

Children of Alvin Fowler and Quintina Brown are:

36 i. James E.5 Fowler, born 1848 in Hopkins Co. KY; died Aft. 1860.

37 ii. Naomi Fowler, born Jul 1850 in Hopkins Co. KY; died Bef. 1860 in Hopkins Co. KY.

38 iii. Charles Augustus Fowler, born 1852 in Hopkins Co. KY; died 1930 in Parrant Co. TX. He married Nellie Dixon 16 Jan 1876 in Unionville, Union Co. KY; born Jan 1862 in Kentucky; died 1911 in Texas.

 

Notes for Charles Augustus Fowler:

 

 

Source: Betty Sue Haynie Straup

In the 1900 Census

> from Brenham, Washington

> County, Texas, Charles is listed as a sculptor

> (stone mason, he was a

> headstone engraver).

 

I do know that by 1910, Charles and Nellie are

> either divorced or Nellie has

> died. I am under the inpression that Nellie

> divorced Charles because I think

> I have her in a later Census elsewhere. More on

> them later. End Source.

 

 

 

 

 

More About Charles Fowler and Nellie Dixon:

Marriage: 16 Jan 1876, Unionville, Union Co. KY

 

39 iv. Mary Jane Fowler, born 1855 in Hopkins Co. KY. She married William Augustus Wolcott 1880 in McKinney, Colin Co. TX; born in Ohio or Delaware.

 

More About William Wolcott and Mary Fowler:

Marriage: 1880, McKinney, Colin Co. TX

 

40 v. Frank Ford Fowler, born Jan 1857 in Hopkins Co. KY; died 16 Jan 1929 in Witchita Falls, TX. He married Carrie Lee Punderson 12 Jun 1884 in Washington Co. TX St. Peters Church; born May 1865; died 1915 in Texas.

 

More About Frank Fowler and Carrie Punderson:

Marriage: 12 Jun 1884, Washington Co. TX St. Peters Church

 

41 vi. Alvin Fowler, born Nov 1859 in Hopkins Co. KY; died Aft. 1860.

 

 

7. Naomi4 Fowler (Thomas3, John2, Archibald1) was born 24 Aug 1835 in Hopkins Co. KY, and died 29 May 1875 in Hopkins Co. KY. She married Henry Franklin Bourland 12 Mar 1857 in Hopkins Co. KY. He was born 18 Nov 1832 in Gallatin Co. IL, and died 26 Oct 1902 in Hopkins Co. KY.

 

Notes for Naomi Fowler:

 

 

Naomi Fowler Bourland is buried in the Grapevine Cemetery near the church in the oldest section. Her grave is near the road in front. Her tombstone reads that she died in 1875.

 

 

More About Henry Bourland and Naomi Fowler:

Marriage: 12 Mar 1857, Hopkins Co. KY

Children of Naomi Fowler and Henry Bourland are:

42 i. Henry Thomas5 Bourland, born 1858.

43 ii. Minnie B. Bourland, born 1860. She married W. W. Terhune 21 Jun 1879.

 

More About W. Terhune and Minnie Bourland:

Marriage: 21 Jun 1879

 

44 iii. Ellis Albion Augie Bourland, born 1863.

45 iv. John Franklin Bourland, born 1867. He married Pearl Smith in Arkansas.

 

Notes for John Franklin Bourland:

 

 

Source: Kathy Rogers

"John F. left home around 1882 when he was 16. The story passed down to me was that he was unable to get along with his stepmother, Sallie. Anyway, he made his way to Arkadelphia, Arkansas, where he met and married Pearl Smith. I noticed that there were other Bourlands living in Arkadelphia, so perhaps he went to live with a relative. He worked as a brakeman on the Railroad. In any case., the children of John Franklin Bourland and Pearl Smith were:" (See below:)

After marrying in Arkadelphia, he and Pearl moved to Little Rock, AR. They later moved to Arkansas City, Kansas. He died of a heart attack in 1920.

 

 

More About John Bourland and Pearl Smith:

Marriage: Arkansas

 

46 v. Samuel Edward Bourland, born 1869.

47 vi. William L. Bourland, born 1874.

 

 

8. John4 Fowler (Thomas3, John2, Archibald1) was born 1838 in Hopkins Co. KY, and died Abt. 1866 in Hopkins Co. KY. He married Elizabeth Powell in Hopkins Co. KY, daughter of Powell and Mary. She was born 1843 in Kentucky.

 

Notes for John Fowler:

 

 

John enlisted in the Civil War under Bragg. He was in the Perryville fight. He was taken sick after the fight, went home and died.

 

 

More About John Fowler and Elizabeth Powell:

Marriage: Hopkins Co. KY

Children of John Fowler and Elizabeth Powell are:

48 i. Mary E.5 Fowler, born 1862 in Clark Co. Kentucky.

49 ii. Martha J. Fowler, born 1864 in Clark Co. Kentucky.

 

 

9. Louden4 Fowler (Thomas3, John2, Archibald1) was born 21 Apr 1839 in Hopkins Co. KY, and died 25 Sep 1874 in Hopkins Co. KY. He married Florence W. Thompson 02 Jan 1866 in M. E. Church South, Hopkins Co. KY, daughter of Robert Thompson. She was born 11 Oct 1840, and died 28 Feb 1896 in Hopkins Co. KY.

 

Notes for Louden Fowler:

 

 

LOUDEN FOWLER, SON OF THOMAS FOWLER

 

Source: Cousin Dave Fowler: 1911-1912. "Louden Fowler when a young man enlisted in the Confederate Army under General Morgan. He was wounded in the Battle, captured and imprisoned in Camp Morton (Dave Fowler says Camp Chase in Ohio but this may be incorrect as war records show him at Camp Morton in Indianapolis.) He stayed there until the close of the war. When he came home, he married Florence Thompson.

 

LOUDEN FOWLER, CONFEDERATE POW

 

Louden Fowler was held at the prison camp during the Civil War. Camp Morton was located in Indianapolis on Nineteenth and Alabama Streets. Used in 1861 as a training camp for Indiana regiments, it was taken over by the Federal government in February 1862 to house Confederate prisoners of war. Colonel Richard Owen of the 60th Indiana regiment served as the first prison commandant over the non-commissioned rebel officers and privates. Credited with having the least illness and lowest death rate, the camp contained a prison hospital which was aided by local people's donations of clothing, bedding, and food.

 

"YESTERDAY'S TUCKAWAYS " - NEWSLETTER OF HOPKINS CO. KY

Camp Morton, Indianapolis, Indiana

and Louden Fowler

 

"In 1860 the railroad gave the state of Indiana 30 acres of land to the State Board of Agriculture to be set aside as a state fair site in Indianapolis. The board later bought additional land. With the coming of the Civil War the fairgrounds were converted into a barracks and were used during the fall and winter of 1861 and 1862 for a few Indiana troops. The camp was turned into a prison to accommodate those captured in Forts Henry and Donelson, and was named Camp Morton. At one time there were 6,000 prisoners there. What had formerly been sheds for horses and cattle or exhibition halls became barracks for prisoners. Apparently some of these barracks had no floors and during the winter could not be kept clean. The buildings were cheaply built and the snow, wind and rain came through. A part of the time fuel was insufficient. The enclosure was large, contained a number of trees, and the possibilities were good. During the first year the camp was under the control of the governor of Indiana but afterward came under the supervision of Colonel Hoffman, the commissary-general of prisoners. In 1863 Colonel A.A. Stevens of the Invalid Corps became commandant of the prison, and under him conditions improved.

 

Louden Fowler had enlisted as a private in Co. B, 10th Regiment Kentucky Cavalry on 13 August 1862 in Madisonville, KY for a period of 3 years; he served under General Morgan's Division. Louden Fowler was captured 9 June 1864 at Mt. Sterling, Ky., when John Hunt Morgan and his raiders made an attack on the Federals stationed there. Louden received a gunshot flesh wound at Mt. Sterling. He was sent to Military Prison at Louisville, Ky, and appears on a Prisoner of War Roll on 1 July 1864. On July 6 he left Louisville for Indianapolis and appears on a roll of prisoners of war there on 7 July 1874. He was released on oath on 3 Feb. 1865. During the time he was a prisoner, he had smallpox and never really regained his health.

 

Confederate soldiers received $11.00 per month pay until June 1864, when it was increased to $18.00.

 

Louden was 5 ft., 7 3/4" tall, had sandy hair, light complexion and blue eyes. When he was released from prison, he rode a house back to his home in Kentucky, with him came a young black boy, who lived with the family for a number of years.

 

Louden Fowler was born 21 Apr 1839 in Kentucky. He died 25 Sept. 1875 and is buried in New Salem Methodist Church Cemetery near Slaughters, Ky. He was on the 1870 Ashbysburg Hopkins schedule. He married Florence Thomson, 2 Jan 1866. They had three daughters: Lola Lee Fowler, m. C.C. Major; Emma Louden Fowler, m. Will Prather; Willie Marion Fowler, m. Robert Brown. Louden was the son of Thomas Fowler. --submitted by Emmalou Prather Anderson.

 

 

More About Louden Fowler and Florence Thompson:

Marriage: 02 Jan 1866, M. E. Church South, Hopkins Co. KY

Children of Louden Fowler and Florence Thompson are:

50 i. Lola Lee5 Fowler, born Abt. 1869. She married C. C. Major.

51 ii. Emma Louden Fowler, born 20 Sep 1869 in Hopkins Co. KY; died 16 Dec 1958 in Webster, Webster Co. KY. She married Wiliam Rector Prather 24 Apr 1895; born 01 Jun 1870 in Webster Co. KY; died 26 May 1955 in Webster, Webster Co. KY.

 

Notes for Wiliam Rector Prather:

 

 

Prather, William R

Volume: 26 Certificate: 12787

Death Date: 26 May, 1955 Death Place: Webster

Age: 084 Residence: Webster

 

William is the son in law of Louden Fowler.

 

More About Wiliam Prather and Emma Fowler:

Marriage: 24 Apr 1895

 

52 iii. Willie Marian Fowler, born Abt. 1873. She married Robert Brown.

 

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