Killed in Action - Battle of Salem 1864

 

 Farewell Friends

Willie P.

Son of

R. & C.C. Fowler

Member of the U.S. Army

and killed in Battle

Aug. 7, 1864

Aged 18 years

Willie P. Fowler was buried in John Wheeler Cemetery, Crittenden County, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed February 2016 and provided by Jerry Bebout. The decedent's given name was sometimes spelled Wiley.

Willie  P. Fowler was one of two Union soldiers killed when 300 Confederate soldiers and guerrillas attacked Companies B and C of the 48th Kentucky Volunteer Mounted Infantry during the Battle of Salem on 7 August 1864. The Union soldiers numbered only 35.

Willie,  the son of Robert Fowler, an early tailor in Marion, and Cynthia Caroline Ragsdale, was born about 1846. His father died when he was about five years old and his mother then married Henry C. Wheeler. Willie P. was mustered into Company B, 48th Kentucky Vol. Mtd. Infantry on 26 October 1863. He was only 17 years of age.

Originally published 23 February 2016, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

 

Marriage Contract Noe - Wheeler

 

A marriage contract was often signed by parties planning to marry in order to protect assets from a previous marriage. These marriage contracts are usually recorded in the deed books in Kentucky. The following marriage contract between Randolph Noe and Mrs. Caroline Wheeler can be found in Crittenden County Deed Book M, pages 135-136.

“Whereas Randolph Noe of the County of Livingston and State of Kentucky and Caroline Wheeler of the County of Crittenden and State aforesaid contemplate an alliance in Matrimony and both parties being now Widowed and having children – Now, we make and ordain this as a Marriage Contract Should the same be consummated (viz) Caroline Wheeler shall have to keep, control, convey, and alienate, all and Several the property that she may hereafter acquire – It shall also be understood the Caroline Wheeler shall have the right to sue and be sued – to plead and be imploaded, in her own name the Same as tho no such alliance had taken place.  Signed, Sealed and delivered … this 28 day December 1874. [signed] Randolph Noe, Caroline Wheeler. Witness: J.A. Wheeler.

Acknowledged by Randolph Roe [sic] to be his act and deed and on same day the signature of Caroline Wheeler and her acknowledgment to same to be her act and deed … was proven by oath of J.A. Wheeler acknowledged and recorded 28 Dec 1874. [signed] James C. Jones, Clerk by H.M. Witherspoon, D.C.”

According to the 1880 Mortality Schedule for Crittenden County, Randolph Noe, age 75, died in January 1880. He was born in Kentucky, was a school teacher by occupation and had resided in the county for 5 years.[1]

Caroline Ragsdale was first married to Robert Fowler and a sketch of her life can be found in an earlier post here:  Robert Fowler Family

---

[1] U.S., Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850 – 1880, Ancestry.com, Randolph Noe.

Published 8 July 2021, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Thomas C. Leech (1826- 1894)

Thomas C. Leech, age 29,  married Miss Amanda B. Conner, age 19,  on 15 November 1855 in Livingston County, Kentucky. [1]  Prior to their marriage, Thomas had been living in John C. McGraw's hotel in Smithland. He listed his occupation in 1850 as a merchant. [2] The first child born to Thomas and Amanda was Henry, who died at the age of six months. In 1859, their second child, John, was born. In all, the couple had nine children, but only five were living when the parents died.

Henry

Son of

T.C. & A.B. Leech

Born

April 1, 1857

Died Oct. 25, 1857

 Henry was buried in Smithland Cemetery, Livingston County. His tombstone was photographed 5 February 2017.   Little Henry Leech's birth record lists his parents as Thos. C. Leech and Amanda B. Conner.[3]

A wonderful obituary for Thomas C. Leech appeared in the Crittenden County newspaper as well as in the Paducah News.[4]

"Mr. T.C. Leech, one of the leading citizens of Paducah, died Tuesday of last week of pneumonia.

"Thomas C. Leech, sr., was born near Smithland in Livingston county ... September 12, 1826. He was the second of nine children. His father was James Crawford Leech, one of the pioneers of Livingston county, who emigrated from Virginia. His mother, Miss Linda Glen, was [a] daughter of Col. Glen, a prominent citizen and first settler of Caldwell, now Lyon county. On November 15, 1855, Mr. Leech was married to Miss Amanda Conner, of Greenup county, Ky. The couple had nine children - four sons and three daughters, of whom five survive, besides he grief stricken widow. They are Mrs. Irene Cox, T.C. Leech jr, Will C. Leech, Louis Leech and Miss Mattie Leech, all of this city.  A brother, Mr. Wm. V. Leech, a leading citizen of Cape Girardeau, Mo., who has been at his residence for several days, and Mrs. Capt. Joseph H. Fowler his sister, are the only other living members of his immediate family.

"For 27 years Mr. Leech was in business in Smithland. Hereby fair dealing he amassed a considerable fortune. In 1882 he removed to Paducah and embarked in various financial enterprises, in all of which he was successful. At the time of his death he was President of the Paducah Banking company and was interested in other thriving corporations. He died comparatively wealthy, and every penny of his fortune was the result of hard work and honest labor."

Thomas C. Leech was buried at Oak Grove Cemetery, Paducah, as was his wife, Amanda, who was born 17 August 1835 and died 10 May 1895.[5]

---

[1] Joyce McCandless Woodyard. Livingston County, Kentucky Marriage Records Including Marriages of Freedmen Vol. II, Aug 1839-Dec 1871, (Evansville, IN: Evansville Bindery, 1994), 91.

[2] 1850 Smithland, Livingston County, Kentucky census, Ancestry.com, [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA, accessed 23 March 2017.

[3] Kentucky, Birth Records 1847-1911, Ancestry.com, accessed 15 February 2017.

[4] "Thomas C. Leech Dead," Crittenden Press, 3 January 1895, p. 3.

[5] Oak Grove online database of burials, http://www.paducahky.gov/oak-grove-cemetery#burial, accessed 16 February 2017.

Published 30 March  2017, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog,  http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

18 Year Old Soldier Died at Salem

Farewell Friends

Willie P.

Son of

R. & C.C. Fowler

Member of the U.S. Army

and killed in Battle

Aug. 7, 1864

Aged

18 Years.

Willie P. Fowler was buried in John Wheeler Cemetery, Crittenden County, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed February 2016 and provided by Jerry Bebout. The decedent's given name was sometimes spelled Wiley.

Willie  P. Fowler was one of two Union soldiers killed when 300 Confederate soldiers and guerrillas attacked Companies B and C of the 48th Kentucky Volunteer Mounted Infantry during the Battle of Salem on 7 August 1864. The Union soldiers numbered only 35.

Willie,  the son of Robert Fowler, an early tailor in Marion, and Cynthia Caroline Ragsdale, was born about 1846. His father died when he was about five years old and his mother then married Henry C. Wheeler. Willie P. was mustered into Company B, 48th Kentucky Vol. Mtd. Infantry on 26 October 1863. He was only 17 years of age.

Originally published 23 February 2016, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Distinguished Men of Kentucky

Periodically correspondents to Evansville newspapers reported on places and people on the far side of the Ohio River. The following article was signed by "Sojourner" and pertained to people living in Western Kentucky. This article comes from the 8 August 1888 issue of the Evansville Courier.

Crittenden Springs, Aug. 6, 1888 - Mingling with the old residents of this portion of Kentucky, I have gathered a number of "personals" concerning distinguished men which have been of interest to me and may be to your readers. Years ago the county of Livingston covered the territory of Crittenden, Caldwell and Lyon counties, in addition to that which it now occupies. It has been looked upon as a hilly section, not especially attractive, compared with the bluegrass region. The people here, however, are very proud of their locality and their history, and in many particulars they have good reason to be.

One of the oldest inhabitants grew enthusiastic as he told me of the men whom he once claimed as his neighbors, also those who were companions of his fathers. Among those he mentioned I remember the following:

Gov. James Alcorn, who grew up on a farm in this region, became deputy sheriff, and later sheriff of this county. He removed to Mississippi and in Ku Klux times attained national notoriety as Governor of the State.

Judge Wiley P. Fowler, celebrated for his broad intellectual culture, as well as his legal attainments. He was the father of Captains Dick, Gus and Joe Fowler, whose names have been familiar in Evansville for many years.

Gov. Charles Morehead, who was elected Governor of the State on the Know Nothing ticket in 1856.

Mr. John Bass, whose father was a long time county jailer at Old Salem. His older brother[1], ambitious for advancement, went to a commercial college at Cincinnati, and from there to Fort Wayne, Ind., and secured a position and afterwards an interest in a manufacturing establishment. Through the war excitement the business became demoralized and he entered the army and was killed at Shiloh.  His younger brother, John, went to Fort Wayne after the war to see what remained of his brother's affairs. His energy elevated him to proprietorship in the establishment and he ranks among the lending business men of the state. His father, now 80 years of age and very feeble, enjoys a comfortable home with his millionaire son. My informant thinks Mr. Bass was a delegate-at-large to the Democratic convention at St. Louis, and says he is a gentleman of high order of courage. [Mr. Bass was a delegate from the State at large, and is elector for his district on the Cleveland ticket. He employs 3,000 workmen, never had a strike and is an ardent tariff reformer. - Ed. Courier]

Roger Q. Mills was a farmer boy near Old Salem till he was grown, when he sought a home in Texas. He is now one of the most widely celebrated men in the country through his connection with the great tariff discussion. He is spoken of in very high terms by his old neighbors.

That portion of the Livingston territory now known as Lyon county derived its name from one of its old families, one of whom Gen. H.B. Lyon was a prominent figure in the Confederate army. His wife is now a guest at the Springs. A county adjacent to this original Livingston section was the birth place and boyhood home of Jefferson Davis, mention of this fact suggesting naturally its counterpart, viz, that Abraham Lincoln, his great antagonist, was also born on Kentucky soil.                Sojourner

---

[1] Sion S. Bass (1827 - 1862).


Published 3 December 2015, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Tombstone Tuesday - Fowler

Father - Mother

James M. Fowler

Nov. 27, 1805

July 22, 1886

Terricy Williams Fowler

Feb. 2, 1810

Feb. 9, 1887

John Fowler

Born

Dec. 30, 1836

Died

Dec. 29, 1881

Husband and Father thou hast left

Here thy loss we deeply feel

But 'tis God that hath bereft us

He can all our sorrow heal

John Fowler was a son of James M. and Terricy Fowler. All are buried in Pilot Knob Cemetery, which was formerly known as Fowler Cemetery, Crittenden County. The cemetery is likely on land formerly belonging to the Fowler family. Tombstones photographed 9 April 2014.

James M. Fowler and Terricy Williams married 14 October 1827 Livingston County, Kentucky. John Fowler married Sue Stephens 23 April 1862 Crittenden County. 

Published 19 August 2014, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog,  http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Along the River Front ...

Nearly every town along the Ohio and Cumberland rivers that had a newspaper, had a column covering news of boat arrivals and people who were connected to the rivers. The Evansville, Indiana newspapers had one of the best columns, in my opinion. The titles changed - sometimes being called "River News," other times "River Intelligence" and, in the case of the Evansville Courier in 1895, "Along the River Front."  The following sketch comes from the 23 January 1895 issue of the Courier, but was reprinted from the Paducah News.

"Just 40 years ago on January 11, 1855, Jos. H. Fowler, a 24-year-old wharfboat clerk, and Miss Mattie E. Leech, a belle of Smithland, were married at the capital of old Livingston [County]. Among the witnesses to that ceremony were the groom's father, his stepmother and his four brothers; the bride's mother, her six brothers and a host of relatives and kinspeople. Of all that number, only three are now alive, the couple that were united that winter evening and one brother of Mrs. Fowler, Colonel W.T. Leech, of Cape Girardeau.  The wharfboat clerk has grown to be Captain Fowler, of Paducah, superintendent of two steamboat lines and proprietor of several wharfboats, but not a single member of his family has survived the two score years since his wedding. He has neither a brother, sister, uncle, aunt or parent. In fact, he is the only living representative of the Fowler line. One of the most honored and prominent names in the history of western Kentucky and of the establishment of navigation of western waterways. His wife, a handsome matron, like the stout mariner himself, is still in the prime of life, but only a few of the friends and invited guests of Smithland, who were present at their union, are above the sod, and these are dying fast."

Published 1 August 2013, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog,  http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Tombstone Tuesday - Harriet and Jerry Parker

Wife
Harriet
Parker
1842 - 1928

Husband
Jerry
Parker
1839 - 1921
Gone But Not Forgotten

Buried in Smithland Cemetery, Livingston County, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed 4 February 2011. They are buried in the African American section of the cemetery.

The death certificate of Harriet Parker shows she was the daughter of Tom and Mariah Fowler. She was born 12 December 1842 and died 15 March 1928.

According to the death certificate of Jerry Parker, he died 20 May 1921 at the age of about 82 years. His parents were unknown.

Tombstone Tuesday - Isaac & Desdemonia Fowler

Fowler

Isaac Fowler

1830 - 1893

Desdemonia

His Wife

1830 - 1897

Our loved ones

Buried Smithland Cemetery, Livingston County, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed 3 January 2011.

Isaac Fowler and Desdemonia Stone, both persons of color, married 25 December 1867 Livingston County, Kentucky. The 1880 Livingston County census shows them living in Smithland with their children Eddie and Gertrude. Gertrude Fowler Brooks, who died 3 June 1950, is also buried in Smithland Cemetery, but without a tombstone. Edgar (Eddie) Fowler died in Paducah 11 March 1923 and is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery.

 



Wedding Memories - 1855

 

Joseph H. Fowler and Miss Martha E. Leech were married in Livingston County, Kentucky 11 January 1855. Forty-nine years later they were living in Paducah when an interview with Joe Fowler appeared in the Paducah Sun on 11 January 1904. This article, which was accessed through Chronicling America, provides a good view of western Kentucky wedding traditions in the mid-1850s.

Captain Joe Fowler is one of the few citizens who fully appreciate the difference between the present time and 49 years ago. Today is the anniversary - the 49th - of his marriage. The ceremony was performed at Smithland, Ky., and was a very elaborate affair, and strictly in keeping with that time, although Captain Fowler himself admits it would appear somewhat out of date to the present generation.

"You see," explained Capt. Fowler today, "I'll never forget my wedding day. I worked on the wharfboat at Smithland then. I came to Paducah some times, and then returned to Smithland - whichever Watts, Given & Co., for whom I worked, preferred. At noon on my wedding day, 49 years ago, I quit work. There was a colored barber at Smithland who fixed young fellows up when they married, and I was told the proper thing to do was to turn myself over to him. This belief he shared, and although if I had known as much before as I did when he got through with me, I should have never submitted.

"We didn't have any bath tubs in those days in Smithland, and neither was there any of those perfumed soap you see nowadays. We used a common wash tub and lye soap - lye soap mixed with meal bran. When meal was sifted they saved the bran and put it into the soap. That is, they did all this in Smithland.

"So it was in a common wash tub that this colored factortum operated on me, and it was a steamboat brush and common lye soap that he used on me. I was over six feet tall, but was very thin. Therefore, when that fellow got through with me I was as red as a lobster and in places where my skin fitted pretty tight over my bones, he thoughtlessly took skin and all. I didn't miss it, however, until I put on my clothes. That's the reason my wedding day will always remain green in my memory as a very uncomfortable affair.

"That evening we had the wedding. I was quite a swell affair, and six people stood up with us. It took place at the home of my brother -in-law, and the next night we had at my own house an 'infair.' They don't have them 'infairs' these days, but they had to come 49 years ago, and mine was one to be long remembered.

"I guess such ways wouldn't suit the folks who have grown up in late years." sighed Captain Joe. "but they will always have a tender place in the hearts of us old people. I go back now and think with a great deal of pleasure of those happy days - and yet I'm not so old," declared the captain.

It is somewhat pathetic to realize that Captain Fowler is the last of his family and his wife is the last of hers. Forty-nine years ago today, when they were married, she had a mother and six brothers, and he had a father and four brothers. Today not one, including the six attendants at the wedding, is alive.

Captain and Mrs. Fowler will not formally celebrate the anniversary this years, but with their family and friends look forward with a great deal of pleasure to the golden wedding next year, if both are spared and enjoy their present good health, which everybody in Paducah hopes they will do.

Joe H. Fowler, son of the esteemed judge, Wiley P. Fowler, and Esther A. Given, died at Christmas time 1904. His widow, Martha Leech Fowler, died in 1921. Both are buried at Oak Grove Cemetery, Paducah.

Tombstone Tuesday - Mary Whyte Fowler

Mary Whyte
Daughter of
W.P. & E.A. Fowler
born Jan. 12, 1828
died May 20 [illegible]

Annals of the Fowler Family by Mrs. James Joyce Arthur (Glenn Dora Fowler Arthur), 1901, lists Mary's death date as April 20, 1833 and states she was the daughter of Wiley Paul Fowler and Esther Araminta (Given) Fowler. This tombstone is in Mills Pioneer Cemetery, near Salem, Livingston County, Kentucky. Tombstone photographed 20 March 2010. Click on the photograph for an enlarged view.


Published 20 Apr 2010, Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog, http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com/

Mills Pioneer Cemetery

Yesterday I visited Mills Pioneer Cemetery, one of the older cemeteries in Livingston County, Kentucky. It's located about two miles outside Salem, on Highway 723S. It's on a small hill on the left side of the road. The cemetery is easy to miss as it is badly overgrown with briers and bushes and there are many fallen branches obscuring the tombstones.

Originally, I planned to get close enough to photograph the cemetery marker, but the pull of the cemetery was too strong. Maneuvering over branches and twisting free of briers, I managed to photograph a few of these very old tombstones. It was impossible to get to the back of the cemetery or to determine its size.


In 1999 in the Crittenden Press, there was a list of burials in Mills Pioneer Cemetery (1824-1925). The earliest burial date in the list is for Mary Phillips, who was born 1788 and died 1827. The latest burial date on the list is that of Isaac Linley, who was born in 1855 and died in 1933. In fact, the latest three or four burials on the list are all for members of the Linley family.

Another early tombstone is this one for Mrs. Clara Fowler:

To the Memory
of
Mrs. Clara Fowler
Who departed this life
Aug. 22nd 1829
in the 50th year of her age

According to Annals of The Fowler Family by Mrs. James Joyce Arthur (Glenn Dora Fowler Arthur), 1901, Clara Wright married Godfrey Fowler, both of North Carolina, and they were the parents of Wiley P. Fowler, the well known judge of western Kentucky.



It is sad to see the condition of this cemetery. The clearing of this cemetery would be a worthy project for a civic-minded organization and a great way to honor the early settlers of Salem.

Information on other tombstones in this cemetery will be featured in later postings of this blog.

Copyright on text and photographs
by Brenda Joyce Jerome, CG
Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog
http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com

Tombstone Tuesday - R.E. Fowler

Fowler

Robert E.
Fowler
Feb. 4, 1832
Sept. 2, 1919

Buried Pilot Knob Cemetery, Crittenden County, Kentucky. Tombstone photgraphed 1994. Pilot Knob Cemetery was formerly known as the Fowler Cemetery and I suspect that this was land originally owned by Stephenson Fowler, who died in 1816 when this area was still part of Livingston County.

According to his death certificate, Robert E. Fowler was the son of J.M. Fowler and Terricy Williams. Robert E. Fowler left a will [Will Book 1, page 531] by which he left his entire estate to Will Fowler, R.G. Fowler and J.A. Fowler.

Fowler Family of Caldwell County

Some time ago I came across an intriguing document in a file marked "Miscellaneous Bonds" in the Caldwell County Clerk’s Office at the courthouse in Princeton. It states: "Know all men by these presents that I have this day taken Gincy Fowler daughter of J W Fowler decd and bind myself to Provide for Educate and use her in all respects as tho she was my Lawful child This I agree to do provided she marries with my approbation. Witness my hand this Feb 25th A D 1852." [signed] R.B. Snelling. James C. Weller, clerk of the Caldwell County Court, certified that this bond from R.B. Snelling to H. Tandy was produced in his office and acknowledged by Snelling to be his act and deed.

As this bond is a little unusual, what could have happpened to generate it? A little checking provided the answers.

The 1850 Caldwell County census, page 742, shows Gincy Fowler, age 6 and born in Kentucky, living with Henry Tandy and family. No J.W. Fowler appears on the 1850 census so he must have died prior to that year. In my book, Caldwell County, Kentucky Marriages 1833 - 1853, there is a marriage for Rodger B. Snelling and Miss Elvira Fowler on 20 April 1843. Giving consent for the bride was her father, J.W. Fowler. Bingo! This tells us two things: R.B. Snelling had married Elvira Fowler, daughter of J.W. Fowler and therefore a sister to young Gincy Fowler. Also, J.W. Fowler was still living in 1843. Now we know he died between 1843 and 1850.

A search in earlier marriages shows that Joseph W. Fowler married Gincy Gray 8 September 1825 in Caldwell County and the will of Godfrey Fowler (Book A, p. 282, written 22 Dec 1816) identifies Joseph as his son.

Years ago, at the annual seminar of the Kentucky Genealogical Society in Frankfort, I bought a beat-up, falling-apart book from a used book vendor. The book is Annals of the Fowler Family and it was written by Mrs. James Joyce Arthur of Austin, Texas in 1901. There is no index, but a table of contents shows chapters on various branches of the family, including that of Godfrey Fowler Jr, who moved to Caldwell County about 1806. It was this book that provided the answers to my questions.

Because the author provided so much information obtained directly from the people involved, I want to include some of it here. Mrs. Arthur states that Joseph Wright Fowler and his twin brother, John Hopkins Fowler, who went to Texas, were the eldest sons of Godfrey Fowler Jr. and wife Clara Wright. Joseph W. and John H. were born 23 Dec 1796, possibly in Smith County, TN. Joseph W. married Ginsey Gray, who was born 26 April 1804 and died 25 March 1844. Joseph W. also died in 1844. They had nine children, including Elvira, who with her husband, Mr. Snelling, moved to Platte County, MO, returned to Kentucky and then went to California.

Gincey, the youngest child of Joseph W. Fowler, was born 7 March 1844 in Princeton, making her less than a month old when her mother died and only slightly older when her father died. Gincey married in Yreka, CA to William S.R. Taylor. She appears on the 1880 San Francisco Census in District 12. She was still living in 1899, when she wrote the author of Annals of the Fowler Family and stated that with her sister and brother-in-law, she moved from Kentucky for California. "We left St. Joseph, Mo. with ox teams, crossed the continent, and arrived in Yreka, Cal. in November 1852." So, that document or bond I found in the Caldwell County Clerk's Office must have been generated because Gincey was shortly to leave for California with her sister's family.

Another member of this family was Judge Wiley P. Fowler, who was born in Smith County, TN in 1799 and died in Paducah, KY in 1880. He is buried in Smithland Cemetery, Livingston County. Many of you will recognize the name of Wiley P. Fowler, a well-respected judge in Livingston County.

Miss Mattie Fowler of Paducah, KY stated in 1899 that she had been told her Uncle Joe (Joseph Wright Fowler) was a man of considerable wealth; that he owned the finest imported cattle of that day in Kentucky and imported silkworms at great expense just for the pleasure of seeing them spin.

Caldwell County has produced many prominent families and this Fowler family must be included among them.

Copyright on text and photographs
by Brenda Joyce Jerome, CG
Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog
http://wkygenealogy.blogspot.com

Robert Fowler Family of Crittenden County, Kentucky





A few years after their marriage in Logan County, Kentucky on 1 Feb 1841, Robert Fowler and Cynthia Caroline Ragsdale Fowler moved to Crittenden County. Robert opened a tailor shop and the young couple settled into their lives in the new town of Marion. Three sons, Gustavus, Henry A. and Wiley P., were added to the family - Gustavus in 1842, Henry A. in 1843 and Wiley P. about 1848.

Robert Fowler was involved in the activities of Marion and was chosen as a patroller within the town limits in 1846, 1847, 1848 and 1849. Several men in each district within a county were appointed to patrol their specific district, usually at night, to make sure that slaves were not venturing away from their owners’ homes without permission or a pass. Slaves caught without a pass were often dealt with severely.

By 1845, Robert had acquired two town lots in Marion and acquired two more lots within the next four years. Robert did not live to see his children grow up as he died 22 Nov 1849 at the age of 35 years. He was buried in Old Marion Cemetery, which is located on the corner of Moore Street and US Highway 60 in Marion. Buried next to Robert is his son, Henry A., who had died 28 Dec 1846. Caroline Fowler waived her right by law as Robert’s widow to administer his estate. Francis Ford was appointed administrator and began the process of settling Robert’s tangled business affairs.

Faced with rearing two young sons, Caroline did not remain a widow very long. She married Henry C. Wheeler 15 Sep 1850 in Crittenden County.

The estate of Robert Fowler was insufficient to pay his debts. On 13 Apr 1852, H.C. Wheeler was appointed guardian ad litem for Gustavus and Wiley P. Fowler, heirs of Robert Fowler, in a law suit in which Francis Ford sued Caroline and her sons to sell the lot on which Robert’s tailor shop was located and also the lot north of the "mansion."

Little is known of Caroline and her sons until 26 Oct 1863, when Wiley P., Caroline’s younger son, was mustered into Co. B, 48th Kentucky Volunteer Mounted Infantry (Union). The 48th was composed mainly of men from the counties of western Kentucky and whose purpose was to prevent raids and roust guerillas out of the state.

On the 7th of Aug 1864, Captain Hiett, with 35 men from Companies B and C, 48th Kentucky Volunteer Mounted Infantry, was attacked at Salem, Livingston County, Kentucky by 300 Confederates and guerillas. Two soldiers were killed, one of them being Wiley P. Fowler.

Wiley P.’s body was removed to Crittenden County, where it was laid to rest in the John Wheeler Cemetery, just off Highway 506. He was 18 years old.

Caroline and Henry C. Wheeler and Caroline’s son, Gus Fowler, continued to live in Crittenden County. On 13 Apr 1871, Henry C. Wheeler died and was buried in the John Wheeler Cemetery.

Caroline Ragsdale Fowler Wheeler married as her third husband, Randolph Noe, on 31 Dec 1874. She was only 49 years old, but had already lost two husbands and two sons.

By this time, Crittenden County was changing. The population was slightly less than 9400 in 1870 and more and more people were leaving - going West, some to Indian Territory, some to Missouri or Texas and still others toward California.

After working as a dry goods salesman in Marion, Gus became a salesman in a grocery store belonging to a relative in Union County, Kentucky. After the Civil War began, the relative sold the business and Gus returned to Crittenden County, where he married Miss Jennie/Jane McKane in March of 1867. One daughter, Ida L. Fowler, was born to them.

Gus was involved in rebuilding the Crittenden County courthouse, which had been damaged during the Civil War. After completing this project, he was involved in cutting away timber to clear a route for a contemplated railroad.

In 1870, Gus and Jane Fowler, along with their daughter, Ida, were living with her mother, Elizabeth, in Caldwell County, Kentucky. Because of ill health, Gus left Kentucky and headed toward Colorado, leaving his wife and daughter in Caldwell County. By 1877, he had moved on to California and, in 1880, appeared on the El Dorado County, California census. He was listed as a miner, single and a boarder in the village of Shingle Springs.

It is not known if Gus and Jane divorced or if they simply lived separately, but Jane married Gabriel L. Spinks on 9 Feb 1888 in Henderson County, Kentucky. The marriage record does not indicate if Jane was divorced or widowed.

Gabby and Jane Spinks, along with Ida, who had married William R. Short, and Wm. and Leonard Short were all living together in Princeton, Caldwell County, Kentucky.

William R. and Ida L. Short and their family continued to live in Caldwell County until sometime before 1920, when they moved to St. Louis.

Sources:
Logan County Genealogical Society, Inc. Logan County, Kentucky Marriages 1790-1865, (Russellville, KY: privately printed, 1985), 32.
Crittenden County Genealogical Society. Crittenden County Kentucky Cemeteries, Vol V., (Evansville, IN: Evansville Bindery, 2006), 6.
Ibid., Vol. 1, 274.
Crittenden County, Kentucky County Court Order Book 1:319, 14 Jan 1850.
Brenda Joyce Jerome. Crittenden County, KY Marriage Records Vol. 1 and Abstracts of Wills Book 1, (Evansville, IN: Evansville Bindery, 1990), 30.
Kentucky Adjutant General's Report
Historical Souvenir of El Dorado, California With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Its Prominent Men & Pioneers. (Oakland, Calif: P. Sioli, 1883), 318.
Henderson County, Kentucky Marriage Book 20:607.