There were three women named Lucinda Fowler born in the mid 1800s in Union County, South Carolina. I have attempted to distinguish them one from the other. I have done my best, but as you shall see, there are still lingering questions surrounding their lineages.
LUCINDA FOWLER (HAMES)
(1840-1923)
Given the name Lucinda Hames at birth, the life of this daughter of Theresa “Tracey” Hames is fairly easy to document. Still, there is confusion among researchers.. It is my hope that my research will bring clarification to her beginnings and her life.
Theresa “Tracey” Hames was born circa 1812, daughter of Charles E Hames
(1782–1847) and Lydia Fowler (1785–1852), daughter of Ephraim Fowler (1765-1822), son of Henry Ellis Fowler (1746-1808).
On April 20, 1861, Professor Thaddeus Lowe — who had drifted hundreds of miles off course — attempted to land his hot air balloon The Enterprise on the farmland of Pea Ridge. Two very brave women, Theresa Hames and her cousin Susie Palmer, took hold of the rope that Professor Lowe dropped to the earth, and pulled him out of the sky.
She was brave and strong and a capable woman. Tracey Hames raised seven Hames children with no husband in her household.
The name of daughter Lucinda Hames is in the image below in the 1850 household of Theresa Hames:
Who was the father of Lucinda Hames? Her death certificate tells us that her father was John Fowler.
There were a few men named John Fowler in Union County, South Carolina in the 1800s. I began looking for a John Fowler born late 1790s to early 1800s. I searched for a John Fowler who would have been close enough in age to catch the eye of a young Tracey Hames. This John Fowler also needed to live nearby.
I did not have to look far. In 1840, thirty-five year old John P. Fowler lived next door to the Charles E. Hames family in which twenty-eight year old Tracey Hames lived.
Was John P. Fowler the father of Lucinda Hames? Only DNA testing can answer that with any certainty. He was the right age and his proximity to Tracey Hames could not have been closer.
Who was this John P. Fowler? He was a son of Israel Fowler II (b. ca. 1780), son of Israel Fowler (b. ca. 1750), son of John Fowler (b. ca. 1720) of Isle of Wight, Virginia.
The Israel Fowler line — known as the Isle of Wight Clan — is not genetically the same as the Henry Ellis Fowler line, known as the Henrico Clan. Both Fowler lines were present in Union County in the 1700s and 1800s.
John P. Fowler married Mary “Polly” Wood in Union County. The family had moved to nearby Spartanburg County by 1855. Perhaps living near Tracey Hames was a little too uncomfortable for John P. Fowler.
Lucinda Fowler (Hames) married her cousin James A. Millwood (1835-1915) just before the Civil War began.
James A. “Jim” Millwood was the son of James Millwood (1797–1894) and Melinda (Milly) Fowler (1798–1894), daughter of Ephraim Fowler (1765-1822), son of Henry Ellis Fowler (1746-1808).
Lucinda Fowler (Hames) and James A. Millwood were first cousins, once removed; thus their children would have two lines of descent from the Henry Ellis Fowler line, and one line of descent from the Israel Fowler line.
As per the 1900 and 1910 census records, Lucinda Fowler (Hames) gave birth fourteen times; thirteen names are below:
- James Newton Millwood (1861–)
- Hix Millwood (1867–1918)
- Robert Lee Millwood (1868–1947)
- Beauregard Millwood (1869-)
- Edward T. Millwood (1871–1931)
- Isaac Millwood (1872–)
- Monroe Millwood (1873-)
- Charles Millwood (1874–1960)
- Mary J. Millwood (1877–)
- Samuel S. Millwood (1878–1949)
- Melvina Millwood (1879–)
- Rhoda Millwood (1882-1963)
- Virgil Millwood (1883–)
Lucinda Fowler (Hames) Millwood in Census records –1850-1910:
There is another document as further evidence that Lucinda Hames was one and the same as Lucinda Fowler: a delayed birth record for her son Charles Millwood.
On April 30, 1946, brothers Newton Millwood of Spartanburg and Robert L. Millwood of Beaumont Village in Spartanburg signed an affidavit stating that their younger brother, Charles Millwood, was born on June 8, 1874 in Union County.
Within the document is information that the mother of Charles Millwood was named Lucinda Fowler.
James A. Millwood died June 6, 1915 and was buried at the Mount Joy Church Cemetery in Kelton.
Lucinda Fowler (Hames) Millwood died almost a decade later, on September 16, 1923.
She was buried next to her husband at Mount Joy. She had lived her life in Kelton and it was there where she would stay.
There is a beautiful monument that marks their final resting place. They are not alone; they are surrounded by loved ones in their eternal sleep.
LUCINDA FOWLER
(b. 1838)
Lucinda Fowler was born in 1838, a daughter of John Fowler (1794–1875) and Elizabeth (1807– after 1880).
Who was this John Fowler, husband of Elizabeth, father of Lucinda? I do not know.
I have researched and analyzed, and analyzed and researched this John Fowler. I have two thoughts on the matter of his origins:
In the 1840 Union County Census, there is a (G) after his name. There are scores of amateur researchers out there who interpret this (G) as the middle initial of John Fowler.
It is not.
Census takers of this era in Union County South Carolina used this method to distinguish between men with the same names.. In my 45 years of research of the Union County Fowler family, I have seen similar instances of an initial with parenthesis in census records, estate settlements, and other documents.
Example: Mark Fowler (E) was used to distinguish Mark Fowler son of ELLIS from Mark Fowler (J) … son of JOHN.
Therefore, I almost believe that the (G) meant that John Fowler (married to Elizabeth, father of Lucinda) was the son of Godfrey Fowler, son of Henry Ellis Fowler.
In 1850, this John Fowler (married to Elizabeth, father of Lucinda) was smack in the middle of the families of Godfrey Fowler and his sons:
- Milligan Fowler (son of Godfrey)
- Coleman Fowler (son of Godfrey)
- Godfrey Fowler
- Thomas Gillman Fowler (son of Godfrey)
- James Fowler (son of Godfrey)
- William Fowler (married to Rhoda) (possible son of John Fowler the Elder)
- Wade Fowler (grandson of Godfrey)
- JOHN FOWLER
- Joseph Fowler (son of Godfrey)
Only the presence of William Fowler married to Rhoda gives me doubt that John Fowler was a son of Godfrey. It is possible , perhaps, that John Fowler was the brother of William, both sons of John Fowler the Elder.
So, at least in my mind, I have the father of this John Fowler as either Godfrey Fowler, or John Fowler the Elder.
Twelve-year-old Lucinda Fowler was in the 1850 household with John Fowler, Elizabeth, and her sisters: Polly, Julia Ann, Mary Jane, Nancy, Lavinia, and Amanda.
In 1860, things became both interesting and confusing. Lucinda Fowler, twenty-two years old, was in the household with her parents John and Elizabeth Fowler, and her siblings.
The interesting part is not only the addition of an older Thomas Fowler, but more importantly the addition of three-year-old Walter Fowler and eleven-month-old Clemency Fowler.
The two younger children were not likely the children of an elderly fifty-six year old Elizabeth. The two children may have belonged to one of the older daughters, Mary, or Lucinda.
After this census of 1860, I find nothing more of Walter or Clemency Fowler……
……. unless Clemency — who was recorded as a male — was really a daughter named Clementine. This is the confusing part. I will explain more below.
Lucinda Fowler is highlighted in the image below; Clemency is on the last line:
Clementine Haile was born out of wedlock to Lucinda Fowler and Felix C. Haile. The date of her birth on her headstone at Gilead Cemetery is August 4, 1861. If true, she was conceived in November 1860.
Felix C. Haile was the son of Frances Haile and Milligan Fowler, son of Godfrey Fowler, son of Henry Ellis Fowler.
Felix Haile went west to seek his fortune in Texas. He left South Carolina and was counted in the Llano County, Texas Census on June 18, 1860. Unless Felix Haile came back to South Carolina for a short visit, his daughter Clementine must have been born before 1861.
Was Clementine Haile born in 1858 or 1859?? Was she the eleven -month old “male” child named Clemency in the 1860 census household of John and Elizabeth Fowler?
Susan Wright Fowler, widow of William E. Fowler — who was of the Israel Fowler line and who died in the Civil War — was Head of Household in the 1870 census. Her two sons , William Wright Fowler and Adolphus Fowler, a young boy Asa Lipsey, and Lucinda Fowler and her daughter Clementine were included as occupants in the home.
The 1870 census indicates that Clementine was twelve, putting her date of birth in 1858 rather than 1861. This evidence lends credibility that the Clemency of 1860 was Clementine.
Now, for the confusion! There was another Lucinda Fowler in Union County who could have been the mother of Clementine Haile.
LUCINDA FOWLER
b. 1847
Lucinda Fowler was born in 1847, or 1840, or 1845, or 1842 — all depending upon what census year one uses as a source. The 1850 census is the first one in which she appears as age three.
I find that the earliest census record for a person is usually the most accurate. Ages tend to become a little skewed as the years go by. So for this Lucinda, I am using 1847 as the year of her birth.
Lucinda Fowler was the daughter Matilda Fowler (1821-after 1880). I suspect that Matilda Fowler was the son of Mark Fowler, son of John Fowler the Elder, but this is pure speculation on my part.
Matilda Fowler, her children Sophia, Lucinda and John, Sophia Fowler and her daughter Erminia were in the 1850 household of William R. George (1819– after 1880).
William R. George was related to the Jasper family of Revolutionary War renown, the same Jasper family that had married into the Fowler family, at least one way through the Moseley family.
Was William R. George the father of Matilda Fowler’s children? I do not know. Lucinda and her sister Sophia used the Fowler surname more often than George; the two younger children John and Sarah used the George surname more than the Fowler surname throughout their lives. It would take extensive DNA testing to sort all of this out.
There are more than a few family trees on-line that have Lucinda Fowler (George) as the mother of Clementine Haile. I have been back and forth on this for years.
If Lucinda Fowler (George) was born in 1847, and if Clementine Haile was born in 1858, Lucinda Fowler (George) would have been eleven years old when her daughter was born. That is extremely young, even for that time.
Lucinda Fowler (daughter of John Fowler and Elizabeth) would have been twenty in 1858. This makes it more likely that she was the mother of Clementine.
Examining census records for Lucinda Fowler (George) and Lucinda Fowler (daughter of John and Elizabeth Fowler), I find the evidence below intriguing:
1850: Both Lucinda Fowlers were in households with their parents.
1860: Lucinda Fowler (George) is not found; Lucinda Fowler (daughter of John and Elizabeth Fowler) was in the household with her parents and a child named Clemency.
1870, 1880, and 1900: Lucinda Fowler (George) is not found; there is a household in each census year with a Lucinda Fowler and Clementine.
It is possible that Lucinda Fowler (George) “became” Mary Francis George.
In 1860, the William George family included Matilda , Sophia, FRANCES, John, Sarah, and a young man named Jacob Berry. William George’s occupation was tailor, and Jacob Berry may have been an apprentice.
Lucinda was born after Sophia and before John. In 1860, there was a Frances on the line between Sophia and John. This Frances was the same age as Lucinda would have been in 1860.
Was Mary Frances a daughter who was not counted in the 1850 household of William R. George, or did Mary Frances start life as a daughter named Lucinda? My guess, for what it is worth, is that Lucinda‘s name was changed to Mary Frances between the decade 1850 to 1860.
On the same page of the 1860 census, there was a Frances George (age 16) in jail under the care of Sheriff Joseph Fant. Coincidence? I do not know if this was the same Frances George, but I speculate that it was and that she had gotten into some trouble with her cousin Greenberry Fowler who was also in jail.
Before 1870, William George, Matilda, son John and daughter Sarah had moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. Mary Frances George had married John S. Steiker (1833-1911).
John Steiker was a tailor born in Germany. It is logical to think that his path crossed with that of William R. George in their shared profession. He met, fell in love, and married Mary Frances George.
The first child born to Mary Frances George Steiker was Florence Bertha Steicker (1869–1944). Years later, Florence married James Roscoe George (1863–1948). I have not researched this to see if her husband’s George family was the same as William R. George.
William R. George and Matilda Fowler George had moved into the household with their daughter Mary Frances and John Steiker before 1880.
Mary Frances George Steiker died July 13, 1927. If she had begun life as Lucinda Fowler, that secret went to to grave with her.
Clementine Haile married James Milton Kennett (1851–1905) before 1890. In the 1900 household of James and Clementine Haile Kennett, there were two elderly women — her mother Lucinda Fowler (born 1842) and an aunt, Orpha Fowler (born 1844).
Lucinda Fowler, mother of Clementine Haile, died in 1902. Her obituary was in the June 6, 1902 issue of the Union Times.
The absence of Lucinda Fowler in the 1910 Clementine Haile Kennett household is additional proof of her death in 1902. Orphie Fowler, the aunt, was listed as seventy-nine years old, and a widow with no children.
The inclusion of Aunt Orphie Fowler in both the 1900 and 1910 census records is what troubled me. Who was this woman?
“Orpha” and “Orphie” are common nicknames for Sophia. Was this woman Sophia Fowler (George), the sister of Lucinda Fowler (George)??
The answer is NO!
Orpha Fowler was the older sister of Clementine’s husband, James Milton Kennett. She was born Orpha Kennett about 1832, and she married Thomas J. Fowler (b. 1834)
Thomas J. Fowler was the son of Elizah Fowler (1807–1874) and Elizabeth Louisa Simpson (1808–1896). This Fowler family and the Kennett family lived near each other in Spartanburg County during the 1850s and 1860s.
Sometime after their marriage, Thomas and Orpha Kennett Fowler relocated to Draytonville, north of the Pacolet River in Union County in 1880. They had no children during their marriage.
Thomas J. Fowler died before 1900. Now a widow with no children, Orpha had moved into the home of her younger brother, James Kennett, and his family.
To summarize my research regarding the question of which Lucinda was the mother of Clementine Haile:
The age of Lucinda Fowler (daughter of John and Elizabeth Fowler) was a good fir, and the presence of an eleven-month- old child named Clemency in the 1860 census lend weight to the argument that this Lucinda was the mother of Clementine.
Lucinda Fowler (George) was the daughter of Matilda Fowler. Her father may have been William R. George. She would have been too young to have given birth in 1858/1859. It is very unlikely that she was the mother of Clementine Haile. It is very possible that her name was changed to Mary Frances George.
I leave you with two things: a request for any input or suggestions on my Lucinda Fowler research, and a chart below that helped me sort out these women:
The ages in black type are the census years in which the women named Lucinda appeared. The ages in red type are the ages Lucinda would have been had she appeared in a census.
THE FOWLER FAMILIES OF UNION COUNTY, SC 