The only thing that could almost top my friend and family-filled Tennessee Christmas this year was returning home to discover one of my relatives sent a photo of an ancestor I had not yet seen.
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Some people collect baseball cards, I collect family photos.
I’m still searching for a photo of George and Martha Jane Watridge Williams, Mourning Adeline Cobb Watridge and Sarah E. Patterson Fowler.
Of course, if you have a lead on anyone who may have a photo of one of these, please let me know.
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| Photo/William L. Fowler, Jr.
Click to Enlarge Lewis M. Fowler around 1933 |
Back in October, I uploaded and blogged about some Fowler photos and a letter written by Lewis Fowler that was shared with me by a mutual Fowler ancestor, Jenny West.
I sent a copy of the photos to William Leslie Fowler, Jr., a Fowler relative I tracked down with the help of my mother. Leslie is the son of William Leslie Fowler, Sr., who was the son of Samuel Dalton Fowler, who was one of the sons of Lewis Fowler.
Samuel Dalton Fowler was a brother of my great-grandmother, Ruby Fowler Lovelace.
According to Ancestry.com, that makes Leslie Fowler, Jr. my second cousin one times removed. I still have a hard time figuring that out so I’m glad Ancestry.com does it for me.
Our mutual ancestor, Lewis M. Fowler, was born 14 July 1848 in McNairy County, Tenn.
Lewis married Sarah Elizabeth Patterson in McNairy County on March 27, 1868 when he was 19 and she was 16. It’s crazy to think this was only four years after the Civil War.
Lula M. Fowler
1873 – 1960
Oliver Wilson Fowler (Jenny’s great-grandfather)
12 Jan 1875 – 9 Jun 1951
Mollie F. Fowler
Sep 1876 – 1931
Thomas Monroe Fowler
26 May 1880 – 19 Nov 1937
Samuel Dalton Fowler (Leslie Fowler’s grandfather)
16 Jan. 1882 – 2 Oct 1913
Ruby Fowler (My great-grandmother)
12 Aug 1887 – 29 Jan 1952
Daisy Fowler
Jun 1893 – Dec 1976
Elender M. Fowler
1884 – after 1900
Mary C. Fowler
1871 – must have died as young child
“This picture of Lewis Fowler was taken in about 1933…it was taken at his old home place that backed up to old Highway 70. I don’t remember the name of the road it fronted on.
We had family reunions there for many years. As a child, I well remember Mollie’s (Lewis’ daughter) cakes and pies.
There were times when Grandpa Fowler rode in the car with my Dad and I. He always kept both hands on the door as if he was ready to jump out if anything went wrong.
I’m not sure if he ever had much faith in automobiles.”
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Lewis M. Fowler’s death certificate |
Lewis Fowler died on Aug. 8, 1938 at the age of 90 after a stroke. He was buried next to his wife in Zion Baptist Church Cemetery in Haywood County, Tenn. Now added to my “list of things to do” is finding his obituary, which I know must exist somewhere.
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| Photo/William L. Fowler, Jr.
Click to Enlarge l to r: Littie Fowler, William L. Fowler, Sr. and |
Leslie Fowler also sent a photo and some additional information about his immediate family.
From a little research online, I discovered his grandfather and Lewis’ son, Samuel Dalton Fowler, died Oct. 2, 1913 when he was just 31 years old. His grave can also be found at Zion Baptist Church Cemetery. According to family history, he took his own life. The reasons or other details were never discussed.
In addition to three young children, Dalton left behind his wife, Clyde Lorene Mann.
I’m going to take a slight detour here…
Clyde was a daughter of Henry Allen Mann and Alice Elizabeth Hall.
The name rang a bell since my paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Castellaw Williams, had a sister (Irene) who married a guy with an unforgettable name: Bear Mann. His actual name was Bertheerus so you can see why they shortened it.
Bear was a son of Grover Cleveland Buster Mann who was a son of Seth Henry Mann.
Clyde was a daughter of Henry Allen Mann who was another son of Seth Henry Mann so she and Bear were first cousins.
Sometime before 1917, Clyde married Ben Hilburn. They had three sons together: Morris (8 Feb 1917 – 7 Jun 1991), Bernard (7 Feb 1919 – 1 Jun 1993) and Elvis (12 Aug 1924 – 9 Oct 1989).
In the 1940 census, the Hilburns operated a packed house with lots of family. In addition to Ben (50) and Clyde (49), living in the household in Memphis were their sons: Morris (23), Bernard (21) and his wife, Irene, and Elvis (16); Clyde’s son, Leslie Fowler, Sr. (31), his wife, Mary Francie Trout Fowler (29), and their son, Leslie Jr. (11); Clyde’s cousin, John Mann, Jr.; Ben’s niece and nephew, J.W. and Lucille Cobb Trout (Lucille was the daughter of Harry and Bessie Mann Cobb and Bessie was Clyde Mann’s sister) and their infant daughter, Johnny Sue; and finally, Leonard Trout who was Mary Francie Trout Fowler’s father.
I’m used to seeing the occupation “farmer” in most of my genealogy research so it was nice to find something different for a change. They all had ’40s-era “city-jobs.” Ben worked in the toolroom at the railroad, Morris and Ben both worked for Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. Morris worked in the machine office and Bernard was a splicer. J.W. Trout was a pipe fitter and Leonard Trout worked for the Memphis Utility Company. Leslie Fowler, Sr. was the owner of a “Filling Station,” while his wife, Mary Fowler, was a stenographer for a wholesaler. John Mann, Jr. was delivery boy for a bookstore.
It’s really helpful for other researchers to be able to add photos and details like this to my ancestry research so if you have additional information about these or any other families, please let me know so I can share them here.
For more blog entries, visit my Blog Home Page or to check out the genealogy research about my specific family lines, like the Fowler family, go to my Haywood County Line Genealogy Website.