Julia Cook is my great great grandmother. While researching her life, I often stumble upon family trees on-line that have her confused with another Julia Cook.  It is my intention to set the record straight with solid documentation to separate and define the three women named Julia Cook who were born in Union County, South Carolina in…

Many years ago, while researching my Henry Ellis Fowler family of Union County, South Carolina, I discovered a man and his family living between documented Fowler households in the 1870 Census. His name was Emanuel Fowler. Henry Ellis Fowler (1746-1808) came to Union County from a family of Quakers. The Quakers, although at one time…

Four women -- Darkas, Mahala, Dorcas Eleanor, and Charlotte -- are deeply embedded in my conscious thought. They lived long ago, yet it feels like they are always with me. I cannot explain the connection that I have with these women and their descendants, but it is real. They were the enslaved people of the…

As the War Between the States was nearing its end, in a cabin in the Carolina winter woods, a woman gave birth to a boy child. It was a blustery, cold winter day -- the third of December, 1864 -- when the boy child came into the world. He was given the name John. John…

Mary Hames was born in Union County, South Carolina circa 1835. Her mother, Lydia Fowler (1785-after 1850), was the oldest daughter of Ephraim Fowler (1765-1822), and Ephraim Fowler was the oldest son of Henry Ellis Fowler (1746-1808). The father of Mary Hames was Charles E. Hames (1782-1847), the out-of-wedlock son of William Hames (1759-1823) and…

It has taken years of research to find one answer to the question of "Who was William Fowler married to Rhoda?" It took years of searching to find a descendant willing to take a DNA test. The few weeks waiting for results almost seemed longer than the years of looking for my guy. And when…

I have spent many hours, many months, many years researching Richard Jefferson Fowler. I was convinced -- really hoping -- that he was the son of my Andrew Fowler (b. 1804) of Union County, SC. He seemed like a fairly good fit. Richard Fowler was born to Andrew Fowler and wife Mary Scisson in or…

The first things I noticed the first time I visited Foster's Chapel United Methodist Church were the old stone foundation and the old brickwork. Unlike many of the churches nearby whose original structures built of wood burned and were replaced over the years, this church looked old and true. I later discovered that Foster's Chapel…

"I couldn’t see the forest for the trees." "The answer was staring me in the face." "He was hiding in plain sight." There was his headstone -- in the graveyard at Bethlehem Methodist Church. The stone marking the grave of E. Jack Fowler stands tall. It almost feels as if it is guarding the final…

"My father's name was Joseph. He moved to Texas in 1852 and died the same year, and was buried at Rusk Court House, Cherokee County. I was then about twelve years old. My mother moved back to South Carolina the same year." ~~ Godfrey Butler Fowler Joseph Fowler was born in Union County, SC in…