How many Fowler men from Union County, South Carolina enlisted in Holcombe’s Legion Cavalry Company D during the Civil War? Four. William Goode Fowler, George W. Fowler, John Tipton Fowler, and Thomas Fowler.

I will now discuss Thomas Fowler who was born August 4, 1824 in Union County, South Carolina.

He was the son of John Fowler (1787– after 1840) and Nancy (1800–after 1870). He was the grandson of Ephraim Fowler and great-grandson of Henry Ellis Fowler. He married Sarah Elender Hames (1833–1911), a daughter of Mark Hames (1787–1865) and Margaret Page (1790-).

Sarah Elendar Hames gave birth five times. Only the names of four children are known to me. Her eldest son was perhaps named after her brother Isaac A Hames who died in the Civil War in 1862.

Their children:

  • Isaac Gilmer Fowler (1852–1938)
  • Mary Susannah Fowler (1857–)
  • Lou Ella Fowler (1861–1920)
  • Anna Fowler (1868–1913)

Thomas Fowler and his wife, Sarah Elendar Hames had their own household in 1850. His father John Fowler had died after 1840. However, his mother Nancy was in the home. His sister Rebecca (who later married Felix Burgess) and his brother John were also there.  There was an 8 year old child named Mary in the household, the daughter of his sister Rebecca?

thomas-fowler-1850-census
1850 Census Union County, SC

In 1860, Thomas Fowler and his wife Sarah Elendar Hames lived in the Kelton area of Union County, SC. Son (Isaac) Gillman, and daughter Mary (Susannah) were in the household.

thomas-fowler-1860
1860 Census Union County, SC   ( Kelton Post Office)

Thomas Fowler joined the Confederate army after the Civil War commenced. He was accompanied by his Fowler cousins and many of his neighbors. He enlisted in Company D 7th Cavalry Holcombe’s Legion on the 10th of December, 1861 at Camp Hampton. He was mustered into military service on December 17th.

Thomas Fowler was a good soldier. There were no long furloughs for sickness, and it does not appear that he was wounded in battle. He was ill at least once in 1863, and he was dismounted in 1863 because he lost his horse.

Thomas Fowler made it all the way to the end of the war. He was at the surrender at the Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.

After the war ended, the Thomas Fowler family moved to Davidson, Iredell County, North Carolina . What drove them to move far away from family and friends? This move occurred during a decade filled with a long civil war, along with the resulting starvation, devastation, and reconstruction.

Thomas Fowler and wife Sarah Elendar Hames , son Gillman, daughters (Mary) Susannah, (Lou) Ella, and Anna in Iredell County, North Carolina:

The journey from Union County to Iredell County was long. However, the journey the Thomas Fowler family made between 1870 and 1880 was even longer. They moved to Liberty township in Pickens County, SC during the decade. Today, this journey covers a distance of 135 miles on the roads.

The family headed by Thomas included Sarah Elendar Hames, and daughters Mary Susannah and Anna.  Son Gillman had married Susan Wilson; daughter Lou Ella had married Jasper Rufus Oates.

Thomas Fowler, his wife and daughter Anna moved to Sugar Hill (near Buford), Gwinnett County, Georgia in 1888. It was here that I found and joined the military with the man, for Thomas Fowler applied for an Indigent Pension in 1904.

While living in Gwinnett County, Georgia, he applied for his service in the South Carolina 7th Cavalry during the Civil War.  Both Thomas Fowler and his witness, Calvin M. Whitlock, mistakenly stated they were in “Company B” of the 7th Cavalry. 

Both men enlisted in Company D. Later, it was combined with other cavalry regiments. These regiments were then designated as Company C.   The Pension Office made note of this and found the name of Thomas Fowler in Company C.

Thomas Fowler was required to answer questions to determine his eligibility when he applied for the pension.  I have created a summary of the document.  The words in italic are his own:

“I reside at Buford P.O. in Gwinnett County. I have been a resident of Georgia for 16 years since 1888.  I was born in August 1825 in Union County SC.

“I enlisted in December 1861 in Union County SC in Company B 7th South Carolina Cavalry. I remained in the regiment until April 1865 at the surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.  I was present at the surrender.

“I can earn $10 or $15 per annum by my own labor.  My occupation since 1865 has been farming.  I am applying for this pension on grounds of infirmity and poverty.  I have heart  disease, old age, and general debility. 

“I have a mule and buggy and wagon worth $30.  In 1894- 1902, I possessed about the same as now.

“I resided in Gwinnett County during the years 1894-1902.  I have returned (for taxation) 1 mule, 1 cow, and 85 acres of land.  The land belongs to my wife.

“During the years 1899-1902, we have been supported by what little we could do and living up what we had.  I don’t know how much my support cost for each of those years.  I earn about ¼ of a support.

“My employment during 1898, 1899, 1901, and 1902  was farming.  I received very little pay.

 “I have a wife and one invalid daughter.  My wife owns 85 acres of poor land worth $400.  It belongs to her, and I cannot sell it.”

Thomas Fowler stated that he was not receiving any pension and had never made an application for a pension.  He made his mark on the paper on July 19, 1904.  The document was witnessed by John  P. Webb

Calvin Mardonius Whitlock was the son of Jefferson Whitlock, (1811-1890) and a grandson of Bennett Whitlock (1790-1859). 

This family line of Whitlocks has  recently been proven by DNA testing to be from the paternal NEAL family. 

Calvin M. Whitlock was born in Union County SC on December 20, 1838.  He was undoubtedly well acquainted with Thomas Fowler. It is likely that the two men were related in one way or another.

Calvin M. Whitlock was in Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County Georgia in time to be enumerated in the 1880 census.  He may have influenced Thomas Fowler’s decision to move to Gwinnett County. Alternatively, other relocated Union County families might have been the reason he resided there for a number of years.

Four years before his own  1908 death, Calvin M. Whitlock served as a witness so that his former comrade-in-arms might obtain a pittance of a pension. The process forty years after the war ended seemed a cruel reward for surviving the war.

A soldier who spent four years dodging bullets on bloody battlefields all over the southern states had to endure a rigorous process and perhaps a humiliating admission that he was indigent and lived off his wife’s land.

Calvin M. Whitlock stated that he had known Thomas Fowler for over 50 years, and that Thomas Fowler resided near Buford in Gwinnett County Georgia. 

The two men had enlisted in Company B, 7th Regiment SC Calvary in December 1861.  He stated that Thomas Fowler was at the Surrender at Appomattox, Virginia.  Calvin Whitlock had been wounded on April 5, 1861 and although he was nearby, he was not at the surrender. 

It was his understanding that Thomas Fowler owned no property, but that his wife owned a homestead worth $400.  He stated that Thomas Fowler had possessed the same for the past seven years and had not conveyed away any of his property in the past four years. 

Thomas Fowler was a farmer and described as old and broke down:  “He is not able to support himself by labor of any sort on account of his poor physical condition.  He has made part of a support at home, and living upon his wife’s property.  He makes about half of a support.  He is old and broke down and not able to labor   He has a wife and an afflicted daughter.  They have no earning capacity more than housekeeping.“

Calvin M. Whitlock stated that he had no interest in the applicant’s pension.  He made his mark on the document on July 19, 1904.  It was witnessed by John P. Webb and J. W McWright.

The Thomas Fowler family made its final move, heading back to Pickens County South Carolina by 1910. The family had moved every ten years or so, and not just around the corner. It could be said that perhaps Thomas Fowler had wanderlust in his blood.

Thomas Fowler died on January 26, 1911 in Pickens County, South Carolina. His wife Sarah Elender Hames died three months later, on April 29. They are buried in the Oates Family Cemetery in Easley.

photo from Find A Grave

  • Henry Ellis Fowler
    • Ephraim Fowler
      • John Fowler
        • Thomas Fowler (1824-1911) m. Sarah Elendar Hames
          • Isaac Gilmer Fowler (1852–1938) m. Susan Katherine Willson (1857-1899); m.Rebecca A. Trotter (1862–1940)
            • John William Fowler (1875–1972) m. Mary Elizabeth Newton (1879–1913)
              • Henrietta Elizabeth Fowler (1899–1988)
              • William Newton “Bud” Fowler (1900–1959)
              • John Henry Fowler 1903–1993
              • Audrey Amanda “Cricket” Fowler
              • (1905–1990)
              • Samuel Robert “Bob” Fowler (1906–1990)
              • Isaac Fowler (1908–)
              • Flossie H Davis (1910–2005)
              • James Truman Fowler (1913–2003)
            • Walter Clarence Fowler (1877–1963)
            • Thomas Julius “Jude” Fowler (1879–1967)
            • Bessie Fowler (1884–)
            • Hugh Gilmore Fowler (1885–1964)
            • May Fowler (1887–1980)
            • Maud Fowler (1891–)
            • Frank Wilson Fowler (1893–1975)
            • Alma Fowler (1898–1990)
          • Mary Susannah Fowler (1857–)
          • Lou Ella Fowler (1861–1920)
          • Anna Fowler (1868–1913)

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