In Union County, South Carolina, there were two women named Zillah Hames. This is about the Zillah Hames the younger, niece of the other. Zillah Hames (b. 1812) was the daughter of John M. Hames (1791–1862) and Sarah "Sallie" Fowler (1790–1870). She was undoubtedly named after her aunt -- her father's sister -- Zilla Hames…
Exploring the Life of Sarah Adeline Sims: Local Historian and Artist
Her importance as a local historian cannot be overstated. She was an artist, a sculptor, a prolific writer, a modern woman in an antiquated time. She was Sarah Adeline Sims. Addie Sims was born on October 6, 1828 on the south side of Grindal Shoals on the Pacolet River in Union County, South Carolina. Her…
ZILLA HAMES (1793-after 1860)
Zilla Hames is my great great great grandmother. She was born in 1793, the daughter of William Hames (1759–1823) and Elizabeth Moseley (1763–1850). Her Hames family is the Charles Hames/Catherine Krugg line from Germany to Virginia to Union County, SC; her Moseley family is the John Moseley/Ann Williams line from European and British Isles beginnings…
WILLIAM FOWLER (1813-c.1833) Son of Godfrey
"William Fowler, son of Godfrey. died a young man; he was a school-teacher and surveyor." Godfrey B. Fowler from letter written to Glenn Dora Fowler William Fowler was the son of Godfrey Fowler (1773- 1850) and Nannie Kelly (1775 -1857). He was the next to youngest son in a family of six (or seven) sons.…
A Study in Contrasts: The $50 Life of Old ABEL and Slaveowner Thomas Chiles Perrin
A slave. A man who was seen as less than a man, who endured great misery inflicted upon his soul, whose hard labor profited only the ones who owned him. Captured in Africa and packed like human cargo into the bowels of a ship sailing for the Americas, or born into slavery to a woman…
TOLIVER JOSEPH BURTON (1841-1905)
In the mid-1800s, the Burton and the Ellis families of Abbeville County, SC were almost inseparable. So much, that Toliver Joseph Burton named his oldest son Robert Ellis Burton, and his second son, Ira O. Burton, named his son Walter Ellis Burton. Why? I think I know the answer: First, let me inform you that…
REUBEN FOWLER (1797-before 1870)
"I have heard that Lieutenant Ellis had a brother Reuben, and I know my father had a cousin Reuben called 'Little Reuben'." From a letter written by Godfrey B. Fowler My dad -- 82 years old -- can remember talking to his grandfather, Thomas Gillman Fowler, who was born in 1858. Thomas Gillman Fowler lived…
HEPSIBAH SAWYER (1830-1901)
Although I am seven years late to the game, I have decided to take the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge started by Amy Johnson Crow in 2014. The goal is to write about one ancestor every week. I have chosen Hepsibah Sawyer to begin my year's long journey because I like her name. In…
No Tears
I have led a charmed life. My life has been filled with good times, bad times, and everything in between. I grew up in a small town in a loving family. We knew our parents loved us, and so did our grandparents, great grandparents, and Effie. We did not have a lot of money, but…
The Murder of MARY ANN HYATT (1822-1851)
"How could you level your gun at the head which had often been pillowed in guilty affection on your bosom?" Judge John Belton O'Neal She was born two hundred years ago, and died a young woman, yet the story -- that of Mary Ann Hyatt -- caught my attention and tugged at my heartstrings as…
THE FOWLER FAMILIES OF UNION COUNTY, SC 