Greenberry Fowler was born in 1837, the son of William and Charity.

William Fowler (1810-after 1870) was likely the son of Jasper Fowler (1785-before 1849), son of Ephraim Fowler (1765-1822), son of Henry Ellis Fowler (1846-1808).

Charity Fowler (1822– after 1880) was the daughter of John Fowler (1787-before 1840), son of Ephraim Fowler, (1765-1822) son of Henry Ellis Fowler (1746-1808).

Thirteen-year old Greenberry Fowler’s name was listed in the 1850 Union County, SC census in the household of William and Charity Fowler.

Greenberry Fowler did not live in the 1860 household of his father. Greenberry Fowler was in jail under the custody of Sheriff Joseph Fant.

Frances George, age 14 or 16, was also in the jail. Was she Mary Frances George, daughter of William R. George and Matilda Fowler (1820-after 1880), daughter of Little Mark Fowler (1785-1862), son of John Fowler the Elder (d. 1818)?

Greenberry Fowler and Frances George may have been cousins. Did they go to jail for the same offense? I do not know if they were cousins, nor do I know if they were partners in crime. This is speculation on my part.

In jail in 1860. In the Confederate army in 1861.

Greenberry Fowler enlisted in Captain W.H. Sims’ Company H, 15th Regiment South Carolina Volunteers on September 11, 1861 at Mount Tabor in Union County. He was mustered into service, like so many of his Fowler cousins, at Lightwood Knot Springs near Columbia, SC on September 16, 1862. He was twenty-three years old.

There are four additional military records for Greenberry Fowler (GB Fowler): payroll records for Sept/Oct 1861; Nov/Dec 1861; Jan/Feb 1862; Mar/Apr 1862.

Then there is nothing. Total silence. No military records. No census records. No estate records. No mention in any newspaper. Greenberry Fowler disappeared into thin air.

Did he die in a confederate hospital? Did he die on a battlefield? Did he desert and go elsewhere to live a new life with a new name?

I do not know these things. I have searched and searched for proof of his existence after April of 1862 and I come up empty every time. I will continue my search in spite of believing that he was laid to rest during the war.

Greenberry Wix was born in 1875. His mother was Cordelia Fowler (b. 1855) and the sister of Greenberry Fowler. It was her tribute, perhaps, that she gave her first-born son the name of her lost brother.

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