During the past few months, I have compiled what I believe to be a complete list of all men named Thomas Fowler who lived in Union County, South Carolina from 1798 to 1944. Although I have made every effort not to omit anyone, a few individuals may have escaped the historical record.
Each Thomas Fowler listed below links to his short biography. When a more detailed life story is available, you’ll also find an additional link offering a fuller account of his life and family.
INDEX
THOMAS GILLMAN FOWLER (1798-1880) son of Godfrey Fowler
THOMAS J. FOWLER (1836-1892) son of Thomas Gillman Fowler
THOMAS W. FOWLER (1871-1889) son of Thomas J. Fowler
THOMAS FOWLER (1833-aft 1860) son of William Fowler, son of Godfrey Fowler
THOMAS FOWLER (1859-) son of Ellis, son of Ellis, son of Henry Ellis Fowler
THOMAS FOWLER (1824-1911) son of John Fowler, son of Ephraim Fowler
THOMAS FOWLER (1854-1937) son of Morman Fowler, son of Stephen Fowler, son of Ephraim Fowler
THOMAS FOWLER (1858-1903) son of Gassaway Fowler
THOMAS W. “BUNK” FOWLER (1834-1861) son of Catherine Fowler, daughter of Big Mark Fowler
THOMAS G. FOWLER (1812-1887) son of John Fowler the Elder
THOMAS KELLY FOWLER (1854-1938) son of Little Mark Fowler
THOMAS FOWLER (1833-) son of John Fowler, son of John Fowler the Elder
THOMAS WILLIAM FOWLER (1829-1910) son of Willis Fowler
THOMAS FOWLER (1836-) son of Andrew Fowler
THOMAS GILLMAN FOWLER (1858-1944) son of Mary Fowler
THOMAS FOWLER (1839-) son of Lemuel K. Fowler, son of Israel Fowler
THOMAS FOWLER (1805-) son of Coleman Fowler
THOMAS GILLMAN FOWLER (1798-1880)
- Henry Ellis Fowler (1746-1808)
- Godfrey Fowler (1773-1850)
- THOMAS GILLMAN FOWLER (1798-1880)
- Godfrey Fowler (1773-1850)
Thomas Gillman Fowler — born in 1798 — was the first known Thomas Fowler born in Union County. He was the son of Godfrey Fowler, and grandson of Henry Ellis Fowler.
Thomas Gillman Fowler was married to Susannah Hames (1804-1863).
The Thomas Gillman Fowler home place in Jonesville, SC was built in the 1840s. After the death of Thomas in February 1880, his son Charles Ellis Fowler and family occupied the home.
Children of Thomas Gillman Fowler and Susannah Hames:
- Elizabeth Fowler (1821-1826)
- Gilman H Fowler (1822–1861)
- Gassaway Fowler (1827–1887)
- Charles Ellis Fowler (1828–1900)
- Elijah F Fowler (1830–1908)
- Martha Ann Frances Fowler (1834–1910)
- Thomas J. Fowler (1836–1892)
- Junius R Fowler (1841–1848)
- Susannah Adeline “Mamie” Fowler (1843–1901)
- Joseph K Fowler (1845–1887)
Thomas Gillman Fowler was laid to rest at Gilead Baptist Church Cemetery in Jonesville. He shares a headstone with his wife Susannah Hames who preceded him in death by almost two decades.
THOMAS J. FOWLER (1836-1892)
image courtesy from the collection of Fredrick Tucker
- Henry Ellis Fowler (1746-1808)
- Godfrey Fowler (1773-1850)
- Thomas Gillman Fowler (1798-1880)
- THOMAS J. FOWLER (1836-1892)
- Thomas Gillman Fowler (1798-1880)
- Godfrey Fowler (1773-1850)
He had red hair, blue eyes, and a “high” complexion. He stood five feet, ten inches tall. Before he became a soldier in the Confederate army, he was a farmer.
His name was Thomas J. Fowler.
He was a son of Thomas Gillman Fowler (1798–1880) and Susannah Hames (1804–1863).
Born on December 27, 1836 — into a family not ostentatiously wealthy but certainly prosperous — Thomas J. Fowler was educated and had all of the advantages of a comfortable lifestyle.
Whispers of war floated in the gentle southern breeze, and life was forever changed for Thomas J. Fowler –for all of the people of the south — when the first shot was fired at Fort Sumter in the early morning hours of April 12, 1861.
Thomas J. Fowler was twenty-four years old when he joined Captain W. J. T. Glenn’s Company 5th Regiment of South Carolina Volunteers at the Union Court House on April 13, 1861.
Though brave and courageous, typhoid fever would be his undoing. He had not recovered from his illness during his hospital stay at the camp in Centreville, Virginia. He was too debilitated for duty as a soldier.
Thomas J. Fowler was officially discharged from the Confederate Army on December 12, 1861. He was paid $51.03 the next day and sent home
After the war, Thomas J. Fowler married Mary, born in 1843, a daughter of Reuben Coleman (1802-1859).
Thomas J. Fowler and Mary S. Coleman had four sons and five daughters:
- Charles R. Fowler (1867–1926)
- John R Fowler (1868–1910)
- Emma S. Fowler (1870–1909)
- Thomas W. Fowler (1873–1889)
- Sallie Fowler (1875–1889)
- Addie Fowler (1878–1914)
- Robert Joseph Fowler (1879–1953)
- Annie Fowler (1882–1952)
- Etta Carrie Fowler (1883–1935)
Mary Coleman Fowler died September 29, 1885. Her husband with the red hair died on Christmas Eve: December 24, 1892. Their graves are marked by a single headstone at Gilead Baptist Church Cemetery in Jonesville.
THOMAS W. FOWLER (1873-1889)
- Henry Ellis Fowler (1746-1808)
- Godfrey Fowler (1773-1850)
- Thomas Gillman Fowler (1798-1880)
- Thomas J. Fowler (1836-1892)
- THOMAS W. FOWLER (1873-1889)
- Thomas J. Fowler (1836-1892)
- Thomas Gillman Fowler (1798-1880)
- Godfrey Fowler (1773-1850)
Thomas W. Fowler was the son of Thomas J. Fowler and Mary Coleman. He was born on October 10, 1873 and died on September 24, 1889.
Thomas W. Fowler was fifteen years old at his death. The October 11, 1889 edition of The Union Times had a brief mention that Thomas J. Fowler had lost his wife and son of fever.
Mary Coleman Fowler had died in 1885, and I find no evidence of a second marriage; it is my thought that the newspaper report was slightly in error, and that the “wife” was a daughter: thirteen-year-old Sallie Fowler (October 11, 1875 and died September 12, 1889).
Thomas W. Fowler and his sister Sallie Fowler died twelve days apart. Although the Thomas J. Fowler family had moved from Jonesville to Trough Shoals (Pacolet Mills) after 1880, the children were buried at Gilead in Jonesville near their mother.
THOMAS FOWLER (1833-AFTER 1860
- Henry Ellis Fowler (1746-1808)
- Godfrey Fowler (1773-1850)
- William Fowler (1813-c. 1833)
- THOMAS FOWLER (1833-after 1860)
- William Fowler (1813-c. 1833)
- Godfrey Fowler (1773-1850)
Godfrey B. Fowler from a letter written to Glenn Dora Fowler: “William Fowler, son of Godfrey. died a young man; he was a school-teacher and surveyor.”
If one is to believe the letter Godfrey B. Fowler wrote, it must be assumed that William Fowler lived long enough to complete his education and become a teacher and surveyor. He was also old enough to marry, and I put forward, without any solid evidence, that he married a woman named Nancy and they had two children before his death.
In the 1850 census, Nancy Fowler lived in the household with Godfrey Fowler and wife Nannie. There was also a 17 year old young man named Thomas Fowler in the household.
It is my theory that William Fowler married a woman named Nancy, had a daughter named Mary Fowler circa 1830, a son named Thomas Fowler circa 1833, then died in or about 1833, putting his age at twenty (plus or minus), making him a relatively young man at his death as per the letter from Godfrey B. Fowler.
I’ve not found Nancy Fowler in 1860, but Thomas Fowler lived in the household with William B. Hames and family.
William B. Hames was the brother of Susannah Hames –wife of William Fowler’s older brother Thomas Gillman Fowler.
I think that is a rather confusing explanation of the relationship, but the families lived near each other and were related, even if only through marriage.
Thomas Fowler was missing in 1870. Did he fight and die in the Civil War? The woman whom I believe to be his mother —Nancy Fowler — was in the household of Milligan Fowler, a brother to William Fowler.
Rather than being in a relationship with Milligan, I believe her to have been merely a sister-in-law needing a place to live. More research is needed to confirm all of the above speculation.
THOMAS FOWLER (1859-)
- Henry Ellis Fowler (1746-1808)
- Ellis Fowler (1770- after 1850)
- Ellis Fowler (1810-after 1870)
- THOMAS FOWLER (1859-)
- Ellis Fowler (1810-after 1870)
- Ellis Fowler (1770- after 1850)
Ellis Fowler, Jr. was born about 1810. He was the son of Ellis Fowler (b. 1770), and the grandson of Henry Ellis Fowler (1746-1808).
He is found as head of household in census records in 1830, 1840, 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. He always lived next to or very near to his parents Ellis Fowler, Sr. and Mary.
Ellis Fowler may have had a first wife who died young. By 1841, he was married to Sarah Clark (daughter of Winnifred Clark) and they had children:
- Elizabeth (b. 1841)
- Martha (b. 1846)
- Juliet (b. 1847)
- Jesse (b. 1849)
- Nancy Ann (b. 1854)
- Thomas (b. 1859)
- Purchase (b. 1860)
- Lotty (b. 1863)
There is no trace of the boy Thomas after the census of 1860. One fragile line on a fading schedule — a moment’s acknowledgment that a child named Thomas once drew breath in a house alive with other voices.
This may be all we ever know of him—a boy who stepped briefly into the light, left no echo, and slipped from the world before the next decade turned. Vanished into the great silence.
THOMAS FOWLER (1824-1911)
- Henry Ellis Fowler (1746-1808)
- Ephraim Fowler (1765-1822)
- John Fowler (1787-1840)
- THOMAS FOWLER (1824-1911)
- John Fowler (1787-1840)
- Ephraim Fowler (1765-1822)
Thomas Fowler was born August 4, 1824 in Union County, SC. He died January 26, 1911 in Easley, Pickens County SC.
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 (1823–1911) and they had the following 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, but his mother Nancy was in the home, as was his sister Rebecca (who later married Felix Burgess) and his brother John. There was an 8 year old child named Mary in the household, possibly the daughter of his sister Rebecca.
In 1860, Thomas Fowler and his wife Sarah Elendar Hames lived in the Kelton area of Union County, SC. They had a son, Gillman, age 6, and a daughter Mary, age 4.
I found the Thomas Fowler family in Davidson, Iredell County, North Carolina in the 1870 census. What motivated them to pack up and move far away from family and friends in a decade filled with a long civil war, and the starvation, devastation, and reconstruction that followed?
Thomas Fowler and wife Sarah Elendar Hames, son Gillman, daughters Mary Susannah, Lou Ella, and Anna in Iredell County, North Carolina:
As long as the journey was from Union County to Iredell County, the journey the Thomas Fowler family made between 1870 and 1880 was even longer. They made the move to Liberty township in Pickens County, SC during the decade, a distance of 135 miles traveling on the roads of today.
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 were in Sugar Hill, Gwinnett County, Georgia in 1900, and in Easley, Pickens County South Carolina by 1910. The family had moved every ten years or so, and not just around the corner. 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.
THOMAS FOWLER (1854-1937)
- Henry Ellis Fowler (1746-1808)
- Ephraim Fowler (1765-1822)
- Stephen Fowler 1800-1866)
- Morman Fowler
- THOMAS FOWLER (1854-1937)
- Morman Fowler
- Stephen Fowler 1800-1866)
- Ephraim Fowler (1765-1822)
Morman Fowler –son of Stephen Fowler, grandson of Ephraim Fowler, and great grandson of Henry Ellis Fowler — was Head of Household in the 1870 Union County Census. He was married to a woman named Angeline.
There was a nine year old son, Thomas Fowler, in the household.
Who was Angeline? I am still researching this woman. I have several theories but no proof.
My top five guesses as follows:
- Angeline Owens b. 1845, daughter of Will Owens
- Angeline Fowler b. 1846, daughter of Daniel P. Fowler
- Angeline Millwood b. 1846, daughter of Jefferson Millwood
- Angeline McKinney b. 1843, daughter of Barney McKinney
- Angeline Weir b. 1848, daughter of Joseph Weir
One thing that I am sure of is that the Thomas Fowler in the 1870 census was the son of Morman Fowler. This Thomas Fowler was laid to rest at Philippi Cemetery in Union County.
If you learn one thing from this post, know that the Thomas Fowler who lies at Philippi is NOT the son of Gassaway Fowler and Elmira Smith.
How do I know this?
THE DEATH CERTIFICATE FOR THOMAS FOWLER WHO DIED SEPTEMBER 17, 1937, AND WHO WAS BURIED AT PHILIPPI, CLEARLY STATES THAT HIS FATHER WAS MORMAN FOWLER.
As Thomas Fowler is the only child of Morman Fowler who seems to have a documented line of descent, I shall follow this line down to present day.
If we are to take his headstone as the gospel truth, Thomas Fowler, son of Morman Fowler, was born October 12, 1854.
About the year 1889, Thomas Fowler married Sarah “Sallie” Moore, born in 1869, and the daughter of Leander Jackson Moore (1826–1915).
Thomas Fowler and Sarah Moore had four children. One of the children did not live past infancy. Perhaps the name was recorded in a family bible, but it is unknown to me. The three children who carried on the family name and their children are below:
- Clyde Thomas Fowler (1896–1989) married Clara Austin (1902-1985)
- Curtis Ross Fowler 1921–2004
- Marie Fowler (1925–1994)
- Jessie May Fowler (1897–1986) married Wallace Thomas Alexander (1897-1958)
- Melvin Albert Alexander (1919–1981)
- Francis Alexander (1922–2007)
- Madeline Alexander (1925–1991)
- Wallace Thomas Alexander (1931–2018)
- Daughter Alexander
- Son Alexander
- Rosa Mae Fowler (1908–1985)
THOMAS FOWLER (1858-1903)
- Henry Ellis Fowler (1746-1808)
- Godfrey Fowler (1773-1850)
- Thomas Gillman Fowler (1798-1880)
- Gassaway Fowler ()
- THOMAS FOWLER (1858-1903)
- Gassaway Fowler ()
- Thomas Gillman Fowler (1798-1880)
- Godfrey Fowler (1773-1850)
Gassaway Fowler was the son of Thomas Gillman Fowler (1798-1880), son of Godfrey Fowler.
Although a Union County native by birth, Gassaway Fowler and his wife Elmira Smith lived much of their married life in Fairfield County, South Carolina. Both Gassaway and Elmira died in Fairfield County and it is there where they rest in peace.
Gassaway and Elmira Fowler had a son named Thomas Fowler, born circa 1858 in Fairfield County.
I have seen many family trees on-line that have Thomas Fowler of the Philippi Cemetery as the son of Gassaway Fowler. This is wrong. Please do your research and stop the spread of incorrect information! There is no evidence that any of the Gassaway Fowler family ever lived near the Philippi Cemetery, nor were any of them ever buried there.
The son of Gassaway Fowler was “William Thomas” Fowler, “Thomas” Fowler, and “Tom Fowler” in early census records, and later “Thomas William” Fowler in his marriage announcement of 1883:
A son and daughter of Gassaway Fowler married a son and daughter of William M. Hart:
Thomas William Fowler — son of Gassaway Fowler — married Ida Alice Hart, daughter of William M Hart.
Frances L. “Fannie” Fowler — daughter of Gassaway Fowler — married Thomas Charles Hart, son of William M. Hart.
From the Hart Family Bible:
Ida A. Hart was born Dec 26, 1863.
Alice Fowler died March 17, 1886.
Ida Allice Hart was born December 26, 1863, married Thomas William Fowler in 1883, and died March 17, 1886.
The paper trail seems to end for Thomas William Fowler after the death of his young wife.
Except……. something caught my eye……..
Speculation —
Thomas W. Fowler was a policeman in Columbia SC. His illness and subsequent death were announced in The State newspaper in 1903.
Thomas W. Fowler, the policeman, was born in Fairfield County in 1858.
Thomas William Fowler, the son of Gassaway Fowler was also born in Fairfield County in 1858.
Jenkinsville in Fairfield County is located about thirty miles north of Columbia in Richland County. It was more than feasible that Thomas W. Fowler born in small-town Jenkinsville would have sought work in the big city of Columbia.
And there is more. Thomas W. Fowler, the policeman, married Carrie Louise Bagley, the daughter of Samuel J. Bagley (1814–aft 1880) and Rebecca Jane Croslin (1833– aft 1910).
Carrie Louise Bagley was born in Fairfield County in 1873.
Carrie and Thomas W. Fowler had five children:
- Iola L Fowler (1892–1921)
- Julia Blanche Fowler (1894–1974)
- Thomas Wales Fowler (1897–1938)
- Maude Fowler (1899-1971)
- Boliver Norman “Bob” Fowler (1901-1953)
And, finally. After his death in 1903, Thomas William Fowler, the policeman, was buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Columbia.
So was William Franklin “Frank” Fowler (1862-1892), born in Fairfield County, son of Gassaway Fowler and younger brother of Thomas William Fowler.
Call it speculation—good speculation, born of shadows, records, and the quiet logic of blood. I am willing to bet the farm that the boy born William Thomas Fowler in 1858, son of Gassaway Fowler and Elmira Smith, turned his name like a coin in his hand and stepped into manhood as Thomas William Fowler.
He first drew breath in the red earth of Fairfield County. In time he took a bride from neighboring Union County, a young woman whose life burned briefly—snuffed too soon, perhaps in the perilous hour of childbirth.
The man with the handlebar moustache carried his grief like a folded letter. He waited. Then, when the seasons had turned enough to soften the ache, he chose a second wife—this one from his own homeland of Fairfield, a woman whose steadiness matched the long arc of his days.
Together they moved to Columbia, where he pinned on the badge of the law. She kept the hearth, raising their three daughters and two sons beneath the slow-turning Carolina sky.
And so his story closed on the third day of February, in the year 1903—a life renamed, reshaped, and rooted in the soil that first knew him.
Prove me wrong.
THOMAS W. “BUNK” FOWLER (1834-1861)
- Henry Ellis Fowler (1746-1808)
- Mark Fowler (1780-1862)
- Catherine Fowler
- THOMAS W. FOWLER (1834-1861)
- Catherine Fowler
- Mark Fowler (1780-1862)
From the Union Daily Times, December 1960:
Thomas W. (Bunker) Fowler was the son of Mrs. Katherine Fowler and was born near Jonesville on May 21, 1834. During his childhood he attended the public schools taught on the outskirts of the present town limits of Jonesville and near Gilead Church, with William Meng his principle instructor.
He was the first soldier from the Union District to fall in the War Between the States, being killed at First Manassas.
Shortly after the secession of the state, he was employed in the store of D.B. Beardon as a clerk.
With the slow means of communication in those days, the climax came when it was learned on April 14, 1861 of the siege of Fort Sumter. On that afternoon Capt. Clark, the conductor of the Southern train from Charleston to Spartanburg got off his train, waving a South Carolina flag and scattering circulars telling of Fort Sumter being fired upon and calling for volunteers.
“Bunk” Fowler was one of the first to determine to answer the call of his state and left the next day to join the Pea Ridge Company, 5th Regiment in Charleston. This command remained on the coast for defense until the latter part of May when they returned home. Upon arriving home, the group enlisted in the army of Virginia and were ordered to Virginia in June arriving at Manassas on the 20th of July.
On the morning of the 21st of July, 1861, he approached a cousin of his, John D. Long and told him that he had a presentment that he would be killed on that day and that he wished to give him his knife and the $30 in money he had brought with him in order that it might be returned to his mother. So to satisfy the young man, Mr. Long took the possessions and on that day — July 21, 1861 — Thomas Fowler was killed in the First Battle of Manassas true to his presentment. He died in the arms of Dr. Jim Long, who was a private in the same command.
“Bunk” came from a family long renown for bravery, being a great nephew of the famous Sergeant Jasper of Revolutionary fame.
He was buried temporarily on the battlefield by members of his company. Later his remains were brought home and on November 30, 1861, the funeral was conducted at his mother’s home in Jonesville by Rev. A.A. James. He was buried in Gilead Cemetery, in the presence of an old comrade who had assisted in his first burial — Elias Mitchell. Although on crutches he again assisted in the burial.
After the war a stone was erected over his grave by members of his company with the following inscription:
There is no mention of his father in the newspaper article, but we know that his mother was Catherine Fowler, a daughter or daughter-in-law of Mark Fowler and Elizabeth Moseley.
The 1850 Union County Census lends another layer of proof in surmising that Thomas W. Fowler was the grandson of Mark Fowler. A breakdown of the record below:
1850 Union County Census
- Mark Fowler age 70
- Elizabeth Moseley Fowler age 67
- Walter Gaines Fowler age 22
- Catherine Fowler age 45
- Orry Fowler age 44
- Mary Fowler age 42
- Huldah Fowler Leonard age 35
- Selina Fowler age 30
- William Leonard age 9 (son of Huldah Fowler)
- James Leonard age 6 (son of Huldah Fowler)
- George Leonard age 5 (son of Huldah Fowler)
- Michael Leonard age 2 (son of Huldah Fowler)
- Thomas Fowler age 16 (son of Catherine Fowler)
Benjamin Dixon “Berry” Bearden was born circa 1827, a son of James Bearden and Cassandra Meaders. He was a postmaster for the town of Jonesville, SC and opened a store there in 1857. He died in 1864, leaving a widow, Sarah, and five young children.
I found a document — the estate settlement of J.K.B. Sims, brother of Joseph Stark Sims. B.D Bearden was the administrator to the estate. The document was signed on February 15, 1860 by three men, one of the three being Thomas Fowler. I submit the possible evidence of the signature of Thomas W. Fowler:
…… “Shortly after the secession of the state, Thomas W. Fowler was employed in the store of D.B. Beardon as a clerk.”
The bell in my head clanged loudly as I remembered twenty-six year old Thomas Fowler, clerk, in the 1860 household of B.D. Bearden. Was this Thomas W. Bunker Fowler? Yes. No doubt.
Thomas W. Fowler’s name was added to the Union County census on July 25, 1860. Less than one year later –July 21, 1861 — this brave soldier was shot through his body by a round ball on a battlefield in Virginia. Thomas W. Fowler crossed the eternal river an hour later.
Thomas W. Bunker Fowler was a son of Union County, and it is there where he was laid to rest one hundred and fifty-seven years ago. He will not be forgotten.
THOMAS KELLY FOWLER (1854-1938)
- John Fowler “The Elder” (d. 1833)
- Mark Fowler
- THOMAS KELLY FOWLER (1854-1938)
- Mark Fowler
Thomas Kelly Fowler was the son of “Little Mark” Fowler and his second wife Mary O’Neal, a daughter of Barney O’Neal and his wife Nancy.
Both men –-John Fowler “The Elder” and Henry Ellis Fowler — had sons named Mark. The son of Henry Ellis was called “Big Mark” and “Little Mark” was the son of John.
John Fowler “The Elder” was almost certainly a brother of Henry Ellis Fowler. Both John and Henry were too close in age to be father and son, and it has been proven through yDNA testing of their descendants that they were of the same Fowler family line.
December 4, 1854 is the accepted date of birth for Thomas Kelly Fowler, although the year 1856 is likely to be more accurate.
Thomas Kelly Fowler married three times. His first wife was Ramoth Kendrick (1860-1893). Ramoth was the daughter of William Smith Kendrick (1829–1862) and Elizabeth Coleman (1831–1903).
The Union County, South Carolina couple married circa 1876, and their first two children, Mary and Wallace, were born near the town of Jonesville. The Thomas Kelly Fowler family was counted in the 1880 census with their two children and Mary O’Neal Fowler, mother of Thomas.
1880 Union County SC Census
The Thomas Kelly Fowler family moved to Greenville, Hunt County Texas in 1881. At least four more children were born to Thomas Kelly Fowler and Ramoth Kendrick after they arrived in Texas.
- Mary E. Fowler (1877–)
- Wallace Thompson Fowler (1879–1933)
- Ola Belle Fowler (1884–1958)
- Eula Fowler (1888–1957)
- Ambia Ethel Fowler (1889–1945)
- Bessie Lillian Fowler (1893–1957)
Ramoth died after the birth of her daughter Bessie, sometime between the years 1893 to 1895. Thomas Kelly Fowler married Emma Inez Hudson (1863–1915) in 1896.
Emma was the daughter of Thomas Hudson (1818–1896) and his wife Elizabeth (1829–1909). Emma was the widow of W. A. Milner (1852–1890). She had a son from her earlier marriage, Frederic W Milner who had been born in 1890.
Thomas and Emma had no children together. She raised the children of Ramoth; her own invalid son Frederic Milner died at age fifteen in 1906.
The Thomas Kelly Fowler family moved from Greenville, Texas to Houston. They lived there the rest of their lives other than two trips they made in search for a cure for Emma’s Bright Disease.
They had a brief stay in Palacios on the Texas coast and made another journey to Sulphur, Oklahoma where people with ailments went to smear mud onto their bodies from the sulphur waters in hope of a cure.
Emma suffered from Bright’s Disease two years before her death in 1915. Her obituary tells us that she was a teacher, a sweet-spirited Christian woman who would be missed by many. Emma Hudson Fowler was only fifty-two years old when she left this world.
For the second time, Thomas Kelly Fowler became a widower. For the third time, he took a wife. In 1919, he married Ella Virginia Duke (1879–1968).
Ella Virginia Duke was the daughter of Francis Marion Duke (1828–1908) and Susan Emma Evans (1850–1902).
Like Thomas Kelly Fowler, Ella also had two previous marriages under her belt. She had been married to James W. Henderson (1875–1927) and William Augustus Evans Sr. (1868–1948).
Ella Virginia Duke had a daughter with her first husband and two sons with the second:
- Gladys Naomi Henderson (1894–1972)
- William Augustus “Gus” Evans Jr. (1902–1990)
- Marion Law ‘PaPa Chick’ Evans (1903–1992)
Ella and Thomas Kelly Fowler had a daughter together, Ruth Neal Fowler (1919-1995).
Thomas Kelly Fowler was the first of his family to leave South Carolina and head west to Texas. He became the Patriarch of the many Fowler descendants who would be born, live long lives, prosper in the Lone Star State.
Thomas Kelly Fowler died at home in Houston on December 12, 1938. He was laid to rest at the Concord Cemetery in Jacobia, Hunt County, Texas.
THOMAS G. FOWLER (1812-1887)
- John Fowler “The Elder” (d. 1833)
- THOMAS G. FOWLER (1812-1887)
I had to see his grave. So, one winter day not so long ago, I made my way to Browns Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery in Pacolet Mills, SC. It’s not a large cemetery and I found the Fowler headstones easily.
I know he is one of mine, but conclusive proof still eludes me. Was he yet another Thomas GILLMAN Fowler and who was his father? (He did have a son named Gillman…) Was he the son of Ellis Fowler (b.1770), or John Fowler the Elder (d. 1818), or Mark Fowler (1785-1862)? These three men are all from the yHaplogroup I-Lineage IV and represent my best guess.
Ellis Fowler (b. 1770) was the son of Henry Ellis Fowler (1746-1808). Ellis and his wife Mary (b. 1780) had many children, but documenting them has been a difficult task. One of the sons was named Ellis Fowler (b. 1810) but I only have speculated on the names of any other sons. This Thomas G. Fowler may have been one. The children and grandchildren of Ellis Fowler (b. 1770) were found in Draytonville and Pacolet — same location as this Thomas G. Fowler and his children and grandchildren.
John Fowler the Elder (d. 1818) — a brother of Henry Ellis Fowler –.had a son named Thomas who was named in John’s Last Will and Testament. Thomas G. Fowler is a good “fit” in the timeline to be the son of John Fowler the Elder.
It is also a possibility that Thomas G. Fowler was the son of Little Mark Fowler (1785-1862) who was the oldest son of John Fowler the Elder.
Mark Fowler was married to a woman named Nancy and they had many children — most are a mystery to me. Mark Fowler married a much younger Mary O’Neal after the death of his first wife Nancy and had even more children. Several of Mark’s children and grandchildren lived in the Draytonville and Pacolet areas.
Am I right? I have no idea. It is possible that this is a totally different line altogether. DNA testing will be the only way to confirm the lineage of this Fowler line. If a direct Fowler male descendant is willing to do this, please message me.
I still have many questions. Were there two wives — Martha Williams and Martha Owens? Or was Martha one woman?
There may have been a son, James Fowler, born in 1842. His death certificate lists Martha Williams as his mother. Martha, the wife buried beside Thomas G. Fowler, was born in 1829 and would have been 13 years old in 1842.
We all know dates often got mixed up. Is that what is going on here? Or was James Fowler born in 1842 even the son of Thomas G. Fowler of Pacolet SC?
What about the eleven year old James Fowler (b. 1849) in the 1860 census? James Fowler of the 1860 census fits within the family much better than the ten year gap between the birth of 1842 James and the next child in 1852. Like I said, I have many unanswered questions.
In the meantime, the descendants of …
Thomas G. Fowler (1812-1887) m. Martha Williams or Owens (1829-1903)
- James R. Fowler (1842–1925) m. Sarah Elizabeth Bridges (1852–1896)
- Robert G Fowler (b. 1878)
- Hester J Fowler (b. 1879)
- Tom L. Fowler (1882–1932). m. Pruana Morgan (1883–1919); m. Laura Effie McKee (1888-1973)
- James Everett Fowler (1903–1919)
- Flay Charles Fowler (1907–1973) m. Julia Beatrice McSwain (1908–1985)
- Charles Flay Fowler Jr (1927–1995)
- Jack Benjamin Fowler (1933–2003)
- Paul Horace Fowler (1908–1930) m. Annie Belle Rabb (1911–2004)
- Floyd Edward Fowler Sr 1928–1999
- Carah Bella Fowler (1911–1919)
- Maudie Fowler (b. 1914)
- Thomas Odell Fowler (1921–1921)
- Jack Thomas Fowler (1922–2007)
- Margaret Fowler (b. 1924)
- Louise Marie Fowler (1927– 2010)
- George Washington Fowler (1888–1955) m. Daisy Maria Poteat (1889–1952)
- Callie E Fowler (1908–1994)
- George “Roland” Fowler (1920–1975)
- Vernon Decatur Fowler (1925–1992)
- Francis Eugene Fowler (1931–2007)
- William Jackson Fowler (1889–1935)
- Martha Levada Fowler (1893–1926) m. J M Morgan (b. 1856)
- Vera Ada Fowler (1896–1969)
- Francis Marion Fowler (b. 1852)
- Mary M. Fowler ( b. 1853)
- Sarah J. Fowler (b. 1855)
- Gillman L Fowler (1862–1937) m. Ida Prudilla Petty (1875–1951); m. Emma Phillips
- Thomas Milan Fowler (1886–1929) m. Lillie A Dillard (1890–1984)
- Lois M. Fowler (1905–1906)
- Frank Ray Fowler (1908–1992) m. Nellie Lee Thornton (1905–1962)
- Doris Evelyn Fowler (1927–2002) m. Clyde Henry Coleman (1927–2005)
- Forrest Eugene Fowler (1928–2001) m. Edith Addis (1929–2018)
- Son Fowler (b. 1951)
- Wayne Fowler (1957–2016)
- Daughter Fowler (b. 1930)
- William Vance Fowler (1911–2001) m. Mary Dean Turner (1910–1999)
- Daughter Fowler
- Thelma Fowler (1913–1992) m. Roy Lee Crawford (1916–1984)
- Barney Eugene Fowler (1915–1993) m. Jonnie Belle Smith (1918–1993)
- Barbara Eugenia Fowler (1938–2013)
- Mary Lou Fowler
- Thomas Milan Fowler (1886–1929) m. Lillie A Dillard (1890–1984)
- Lucy A. Fowler (1865–1949) m. Theodore M Smart
- Lillie Pearl Smart (1882–1956) m. George Thomas Walker Allen (1878–1951)
- Grace Allen (1900–1973)
- Ernest Allen (b. 1903)
- George Allen (1904–1980)
- Lois Allen (b. 1908)
- Joe Allen (1915–1975)
- Jack Ray Allen (1923–1996)
- Lillie Pearl Smart (1882–1956) m. George Thomas Walker Allen (1878–1951)
- John W. Jackson Fowler (b. 1866)
- Susan Ellen Fowler (b. 1867)
- Martha F. Fowler (b. 1870)
THOMAS FOWLER (1833- after 1860)
- John Fowler “The Elder” (d. 1833)
- John Fowler
- THOMAS FOWLER (1833-after 1860)
- John Fowler
Who was this Thomas Fowler in the 1860 household of John Fowler and Elizabeth?
The census record below is the only proof of life I have for Thomas Fowler, born ca. 1833.
Everything thing else is speculation on my part. It is my theory that John Fowler in this 1860 census record was a son of John Fowler “The Elder” and his wife Fannie.
John Fowler married to Elizabeth once lived in the middle of the Godfrey and Nannie Kelly Fowler clan. I once thought that this John was a son of Godfrey.
It is the naming pattern of the children — in particular the name Vina — that leads me to believe that I am right in my theory. (John Fowler “The Elder” had a daughter named Lavinia).
Where was Thomas in 1850? I do not find him in any household in Union County.
Where was Thomas in 1870? Again, he was not in any Union County census record.
Did Thomas go to war and die on the battlefield? So far, I have found no Civil War military records that are a good “fit” for him.
So, for now, I have no answers. My research will continue.
THOMAS WILLIAM FOWLER (1829-1910)
- Willis Fowler (1795-1863)
- THOMAS WILLIAM FOWLER (1829-1910)
Willis Fowler was born February 15, 1795 in Union County. I have not yet determined the name of his father, although I suspect that he may have been the son of John Fowler “The Elder” and wife Fannie.
It is known from the 1817 Last Will and Testament of John Fowler “The Elder” that he mentioned sons John and Mark. In fact, he mentioned five sons, and three daughters, and “the remainder of my property to be sold and divided between those children which I have not given separate gifts unto.”
I believe that Willis Fowler was one of the sons not specifically named in the will.
Willis Fowler is found in several legal documents in the early 1800s. The document of 1822 below lists his name with John Fowler, Jr. and Mark Fowler. I am making an assumption that these three men were brothers, all sons of John Fowler “The Elder.”
Willis Fowler married Mary Susan James (1799-1855) in 1819. The Willis Fowler family is found in 1820 and 1830 Union County census records.
Many of their six sons and three daughters were born in Union County before the family moved to Meriwether County, Georgia. Willis Fowler and family are found in the Georgia census records of 1840-1860. Willis Fowler died June 3, 1863 in Meriwether County.
Thomas William Fowler — born in 1829 in Union County — was the fifth son of Willis Fowler. A young boy when his family moved to Georgia, Thomas would spend the rest of his life in Meriwether County. He married Cynthia Jane Avery (1838–1902).
The children of Thomas William Fowler and Cynthia Jane Avery:
- William Thomas Fowler (1860–1939)
- Mary Fowler (1862–1939)
- Anna Lee Elizabeth Fowler (1866–1942)
- Bethewle Jefferson Fowler (1870–1942)
- Andrew Jay Fowler (1872–1936)
- Willa Fowler (1872–1947)
- Dona Belle Fowler (1875–1911)
- Maxie LaFayette Fowler (1878–1941)
THOMAS FOWLER (1836-)
- Andrew Fowler (1804-)
- THOMAS FOWLER (1836-)
Andrew Fowler is a brick wall in my research. I do not know if he was the son of John Fowler (d. 1818), Ellis Fowler (b. 1770), or another Fowler man.
Andrew Fowler married Nancy Hames, the daughter of Charles Hames and Lydia Fowler.
Andrew Fowler and Nancy Hames had three sons, and two (or three) daughters before the untimely death of Nancy:
- James Fowler (1827–)
- Elizabeth Fowler (1831–) (a daughter or daughter-in-law?)
- Thomas Fowler (1836–)
- Nancy Fowler
- Malissa Fowler
- Lemuel Fowler
Son Thomas Fowler was fourteen-years old in 1850. His mother Nancy Hames had died and his father Andrew Fowler had married Mary Scisson — the young twenty-nine year old wife in this record.
“Nancy (Hames) Fowler who intermarried with Andrew Fowler, her since dead having her surviving Lemuel Fowler; Nancy who married ______; Malissa who married _____; James Fowler; Thomas Fowler “
More speculation:
The Thomas J. Fowler who enlisted in Company B of the SC 17th Regiment Infantry was the son of Andrew Fowler and Nancy Hames. He married Orpha Kennett on January 19, 1864.
Yes, it is speculation. But please read my work by clicking the link below to better understand the reasons for my speculation.
THOMAS GILLMAN FOWLER (1858-1944)
- Reuben Fowler
- Mary Fowler
- THOMAS GILLMAN FOWLER (1858-1944)
- Mary Fowler
Thomas Gillman Fowler is my great grandfather. He was born in 1858, and died in 1944.
Known all his life as Gil, my ancestor has proven to be a brick wall in my research. He was raised, along with other children, in the household of a woman named Mary Fowler , her sister Martha Fowler, and their father, Reuben Fowler (b. 1797)
Extensive DNA testing of the descendants of the three older “siblings” in the household of Mary Fowler — Thomas Gillman, John, and Alice — turned my research totally upside down. Thomas Gillman Fowler was the son (or grandson) of a Cook man. John Fowler and Alice Fowler were the children of a Whitlock man.
Not only did DNA testing prove that the siblings had different fathers, it also proved that they did not share the same mother.
Mary Fowler could have been the mother of Gil, and not the mother of John and Alice.
Mary Fowler could have been the mother of John and Alice and not the mother of Gil.
Mary Fowler could have been the mother of none of the children.
But it is 100% certain that MARY FOWLER WAS NOT THE MOTHER OF ALL THREE CHILDREN.
Thomas Gillman and John were raised as brothers in the household of Mary Fowler. Did they know that they were not related by blood?
When Gil’s family moved to Draytonville north of the Pacolet River before the 1880 census was taken, they moved into the neighborhood where the Francis Mabry family lived.
Francis was long dead and buried, but his widow Sarah Watts Mabry was living there with her children, which included daughter Lura. Perhaps this is where Gil met Lura for they were married in 1881.
Lura gave birth seventeen times, but only nine children lived to adulthood. There are many interesting stories within the family. The one that was probably the most heartbreaking was that of the son named Claude.
Son Claude H Fowler was born in 1883. He worked for the railroad and was living near Lockhart, SC when he was shot and killed in an argument at the local train depot in 1910. It was said in the newspaper that the argument was over one dollar. Claude is buried next to his parents at Gillead Baptist Church in Jonesville.
Thomas Gillman Fowler died on February 2, 1944, and was laid to rest at Gillead Baptist Church cemetery on February 4. His wife Lura Mabry Fowler, mother of his seventeen children, died June 12, 1957.
THOMAS FOWLER (1837-)
- John Fowler (1720) of Isle of Wight, Virginia
- Israel Fowler (1750–1810) Fannie
- Israel Fowler II (ca. 1780-bef 1820) m. Polly
- Lemuel K Fowler (1815–1895) m. Elizabeth Wright (1816–1896)
- THOMAS (OR CHARLES) FOWLER (1837-)
- Lemuel K Fowler (1815–1895) m. Elizabeth Wright (1816–1896)
- Israel Fowler II (ca. 1780-bef 1820) m. Polly
- Israel Fowler (1750–1810) Fannie
There was a four-year 0ld boy in the 1860 household of Lemuel K. Fowler and wife Elizabeth Wright. His name was Charles.
The son named Charles would have been about fourteen-years old in the 1870 household of Lemuel K. Fowler, but he is not found in the census record. Instead, there was a boy, thirteen-year old Thomas.
There is life-time documentation for Charles Jamison Fowler, son of Lemuel K. Fowler and Elizabeth Wright. He was born May 30, 1856 and died June 18, 1915. He married Gasena Fowler (1859- after 1910) (daughter of Hampton O. Fowler (1823-1890)
I find no documentation for a son named Thomas Fowler other than the 1870 census record. It is my opinion that the census taker made a mistake in recording the name of the thirteen-year old boy in the household. I believe that the boy “Thomas” was, in fact, Charles Jamison Fowler.
THOMAS FOWLER (1805-1944)
- Coleman Fowler (1794- 1855)
- THOMAS FOWLER (1806-)
Coleman Fowler was something of an anomaly in Union County, South Carolina. He belonged to neither the Henry Ellis Fowler line nor the Israel Fowler family, but represented a third Y‑DNA haplogroup in the county.
Adding to the confusion, the given name Coleman appears within the Henry Ellis Fowler line—especially among descendants of Thomas Gillman Fowler, son of Godfrey Fowler.
Coleman Fowler is thought to have been born in Virginia and later made his way to Union County, where he lived for a time before moving on to what is now Oconee County. He was a farmer and Methodist preacher.
Coleman Fowler married Eleanor (Ellender) McWhorter (1774-1841) in Union County circa 1794. They had five daughters and five sons, one son being Thomas, born about 1806.
Between 1812 and 1822, his name appears in several Union County records: executor of William Fowler’s will in 1812 (with Godfrey and Anne Fowler as witnesses); witness to the estate of Richard Page in 1817 (Israel Fowler, executor); and executor of Ephraim Fowler’s will in 1822.
Legal documents were not the only involvement of the three different Fowler lines in Union County in the 1800s. Martin Fowler (b. ca. 1899) — son of Coleman — married a daughter of Israel Fowler. There were other intermarriages within these families over the years.
I have not delved into the Coleman Fowler family line; I have not researched or documented the life of Thomas Fowler, son of Coleman.
Thomas Fowler lived in Union County through 1830, and moved to Cherokee County, Georgia by 1840. On-line family trees — of which I usually do not give a second glance — have his wife as Bathsheba Cook (1810-1880).
When time permits, I will begin my research on the Coleman Fowler family.
THE FOWLER FAMILIES OF UNION COUNTY, SC 