FowlerMarthaAnn

The FOWLER Line Within The Vines. 2nd Generation Known American: MARTHA ANN FOWLER.
Part of The Fowler Family found in Volume I: Our American Immigrants of the Two Volume Within the Vines Historical Family Study. Arises from the Howard and Allied families ,which, like the corresponding Swope and Allied Families, provides the genealogical content for the Within the Vines Family study based on the Swope/Howard union occuring in Adams County, Pennsylvania in 1947. The Fowler Line is relevant to the historical Chapter "Texas and our Texans" and, through this daughter, its topic pages "Nacogdoches County" and also Henderson, Rusk County, Texas.

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1 Martha Ann "Marthy Ann" FOWLER**^1,2
Father	James FOWLER (1806->1860)
Mother	Mary (1810->1860)
Birth	Apr 1840, Tenessee [Born in Tennessee as shown in all censusí -including where she is listed as daughter- minus one entry in 1900 on Camp County Texas for her daughter Annie Mae Howard Amos married Smith in which her motherís birth state is given as Alabama.]
Death	25 Nov 1907, Pittsburg, Texas (Camp County)
Obits	Rusk County News Wed Dec 4, 1907 [Henderson, Rusk County, Texas] "Death of Mrs Howard. Mrs. M. A. Howard died Monday evening at the home of her daughter, Mrs. W. M. Amos. Mrs Howard resided at Hughes Springs and came here about 10 days before her death to spend a while with her daughter. She was 67 years old and had been in ill health for some time. Funeral services were conducted Tuesday afternoon at the residence of Mr and Mrs Amos by Revs. E. F. West and R. A. Morris. Burial at city cemetery. " Pittsburg Gazette [Camp County Texas] "Mrs Howard was for a long number of years a resident of Henderson and her many old time friends were grieved to learn of her death. She was a member of the Methodist Church and an earnest follower of Christ. The News joins the friends of the family in extending sympathy and condolence."
Burial	Graham Cemetery (Formerly New Cemetery), then called City Cemetery; Henderson, Rusk County, Texas [no record exists for this non denominational cemetery Howard Plot. The former Howard family monument is a pile of bricks. Her obit discloses the location of her grave and would include other members of her married family and is the only means to track her burial place] .
Religion	Devout Methodist
Description	Purported 2nd cousin to Sam Houston (unknown degree in some sources). Martha Ann and David Howard frequently entertained Sam Houston for days in their home, and he had his own dedicated pitcher in that home used only when he was present according to daughter's notes in the Howard folder of the Henderson Geneological Library. See Notes on Fowler/Houston connection.
Resided	Nacogdoches from at least 1850 until her marriage, then Henderson, Rusk County, Texas until 1907 and her final 10 days. She died in the home of her daughter Annie Mae in Camp County, Texas. See her adult home's description and locale. See also Census Entries and Deed Records through life span
Alias	Marthy Ann when spoken of by her son in law Lavender [married Julia]. " I married Julia Irene Howard of Henderson, the County Seat of Rusk County.She was the second oldest daughter of David Patterson and Marthy Ann Howard.Of my parents-in-law I shall ever cherish the fondest memories.Surely if any man ever had a Father-in-law and a Mother-in-law who were worth their weight in gold then I had much."³
Myth related to her: Martha Ann as Ghost	Martha Ann is said to be the ghost occasionally seen in the Howard/Dickinson home which was hers from marriage until late life. See Discussion on Martha Ann's ghost and the refuted and entirely mythical conditions leading to her ascribed "unsettled" death.
See also Sam Houston purported relationship, and Martha Ann Fowler and David Patterson Howard's Home Description below and following spouse and children entries.

Spouse	David Patterson "Dave" HOWARD^4,5SEE HIS DEDICATED AND FAR EXPANDED PAGE
Birth	1825, Virginia
Death	Between Dec 5 1895 Aug 13 1898, Henderson, Rusk County Texas
Father	David P HOWARD (1780-<1853) [P for Patterson?]
Mother	Harriet LOGAN (1780->1853) [Harriet M]
Marr	1 May 1856, Nacogdoches County, Texas Officiated by Holloway F. POWER^6,7

Children	Jonathan Patterson "Pat" HOWARD (1857-1896)
	William A. HOWARD(1858-1886)
	Benjamin M. HOWARD (1860->1900)
	Joseph R. "Joe" HOWARD (1863-1883)
	George W. HOWARD(1865->1900)
	Sarah V. HOWARD (Apparantly died as Child) (1867-1880)
	Julia Irene "Julia" HOWARD (1870-1916)
	Annie Mae HOWARD (1873->1952)
	Harriett Madora "Dora" HOWARD (1875->1930)

Doris (Diggs) Osborne [grand daughter of Martha Ann through son Jonathan Patterson "Pat" Howard] never met any of her Howard Aunts and Uncles [the children of Martha Ann and David Patterson Howard] but for two : Annie and Dora . She also met Julia's daughter Irene. The others were either dead or soon dead after her birth. What she recalls of the children, and what she heard of them, is recounted at their individual entries.

Desc of Martha Ann Fowler Howard

Martha Ann Fowler is the purported 2nd cousin to Sam Houston (unknown degree in some sources). Martha Ann and David Howard frequently entertained Sam Houston for days in their home, and he had his own dedicated pitcher in that home used only when he was present according to daughter's notes in the Howard folder of the Henderson Geneological Library. See Notes on Fowler/Houston connection.

Martha Ann Fowler and David Patterson Howard's
Home Description

The home in which Martha Ann Fowler Howard resided in Henderson was built by her husband and brother in law in 1855/5, and is found on South Main Street, about 1/4 mile from the square of the town. Martha Ann, widow, sold it to the Dickinsons in 1905, they expanded it, and it is now on the historic register, and is called the Howard/Dickinson home. When the David Patterson Howards lived in the now Howard/Dickinson home with their many children and "Uncle Loge"[brother and business partner to David Patterson Howard] , there were two large bedrooms with trundle beds, the boys sleeping with the uncle, and the girls with their parents. The home included a basement, highly unusual in the East Texas area and reminiscent of the Virginia homes that the Howard brothers knew as boys and young men. The family took most of their meals in the basement in a sort of "summer kitchen", and reserved the formal dining room for other, social occasions. The land included 7 acres, with orchards, and on it was also a brick kiln [the first in East Texas] , with mechanism that was patented, and within which the bricks that were used to build many of the older, first buildings of Henderson were made. For a brief period of time on first being orphaned, the three Howard children of Martha's son Pat and Fannie his wife lived in this home. Doris [Diggs] Osborne states her mother Mamie Howard Diggs had fond memories of early staying with Martha Ann and David Howard , her grandparents, after her parent's Pat and Fannie's deaths.

Notes on purported Sam Houston Kinship

Martha Ann Fowler and David Patterson Howard's home is now the historic Howard/Dickinson home on South Main in Henderson Texas, viewable by appointment, [see description of Martha Ann and David's home above ] and it is in her brother-in-law Dave's room of that house that the Sam Houston trunk provided by someone unrelated to the Howard family and given to the Rusk County Historical Association is kept.
The purported relationship to Sam Houston by some degree of cousinship is relative to Martha Ann Fowler Howard, the family file of Henderson's genealogical library indicating that cousinship was first degree but offering no proof or primary record for that relationship. Their daughter, who mentions this cousinship in that file, reports that a special pitcher was kept for Sam by Martha Ann and utilized only during his frequent visits to the home. Having spent many hours unravelling Sam Houston's geneology [and that of his three wives as far as those genealogies are known] , I do not believe this is a fact, and suspect if there was any cousinship it was far more distant and perhaps to be found in the Tennessee of Martha Ann's birth. Any relationship to Sam Houston has not been found by me, and no Fowler has yet been encountered in the Houston line thus far unravelled. Her cousinship, if it exists, may be through Martha Ann's maternal line, and since Martha's mother is not yet identified by surname, this could be very hard indeed to ever define.

Census, School, and Deed Records mentioning Martha Ann Fowler

Martha Ann Fowler was born ca 1840 in Tennessee according to all census entries in which she is mentioned as daughter or self. Only adult daughter Annie Mae stated her mother was born in Alabama consistently throughout her own adult census records. Census dates and her age in them would indicate Martha Ann Fowler was born by April of 1840.
In 1850 Martha Ann was age 10 and living in Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches County, Texas with her family where she is found under her father's entry

1850 Census, James Fowler , Cabinet Maker, Head of Family

Martha Ann born circa 1840 in Tenn,

In 1854 Martha Ann was attending school in Nacogdoches, as she is shown in the 1854 School Census of Nacogdoches County , School District 20th Union, along with her siblings George W and Mary E, and with James Fowler entered as parent or gaurdian²⁸.
In 1856 at a new age 17 [outside chance 16 if I am incorrect on census approximation of her birth month] Martha Ann Fowler married David Patterson Howard in Nacogdoches and then resided with him in Henderson, Rusk County, sharing their home with Dave's brother James Logan "Logan" Howard. From 1860 to 1900 she is found in census of Henderson , Rusk County, Texas, and was residing on South Main in a Virginia style brick home on 7 fecund acres [See Description of Martha Ann Fowler and David Patterson Howard's home above].

1860 Henderson, Rusk County Census

My G G Grandfather

Martha A (Fowler) 30 f Tn My G G Grandmother

This is "Pat", my G Grandfather

Dave's brother Logan

1870 census of Henderson, Rusk county, Texas

Brother to the head of family Dave but listed as head of household. The house was built and belonged to both James L and David P Howard.

Husband to Martha

Martha A

. 31 f Tn

Wife and mother

1880 Rusk County Census head of household

M.A. 40 F wife Tn Sc Tn

Sarah appears to have died, as she is not on the 1880 census.
M. A. must be Annie Mae (named for her mother but known as Annie Mae? or with initials inverted?), as she is 7 years old here listed, and that is in line with a birthdate of 1873 (in Henderson, Rusk Co.)

The 1890 Census records were destroyed by fire.
By 1900 she is head of the family, a widow , living with her brother in law Logan , son George and daughter, Harriet M. The home was sold Oct 17, 1905 by her to Mrs Dickinson and according to the letters present at the Rusk County Library, this being one year after the death of her brother in law, and without discussion with her other children beyond Harriet M. who lived with her at that time, otherwise it might have "been kept in the family" (this from Annie Mae Howard Amos Smith letters dated 1952 and in the Howard file in Henderson's genealogical library). Annie writes "my mother sold the house because of bad health. We children were very disappointed because she sold it. Mrs. Dickenson and her lawyer came down and made an offer...telling her not to tell her family...Mother was in bad health and could not keep up the place, so they closed the deal for 1500$". Once in the new owners possession, the home was added on to. Many members of her family are presumed buried in what was then known as the New Cemetery , originally named Richardson Cemetery and also called the Old City Cemetery at one time (being now the Graham Hall Cemetery). The family plot is unmarked, being a pile of bricks now, and at one time a brick monument. All inscription is lost. She herself died in Pittsburg, about 45 miles north, while visiting her daughter and after having been in ill health.
1900 Henderson, Rusk County Census

Howard, Martha Head WF Apr 1840 60 wd 9-5 Tn Sc Tn

Rusk County Deeds in which she is named:

Deed (57-142)

Deed (57-149)

Martha Ann's Ghost:
The town of Henderson and the Rusk County Historical Association have an interesting myth involving both the house and the family. The story is both erroneous and maligning, and involves fratricide. The legend is that Pat Howard (my G G Grandfather and son to Martha Fowler and Dave Howard ) was the victim of accidental shooting by his brother George in the basement of the home in 1896, that it was referred to as ì a hunting accidentî, and that the corpse bore several bullet holes. The believers point to charred, darkened areas of wood near the bedroom fireplace as evidence of blood stain, and relate how Pat drug himself up to his parentís bedroom and died in his motherís arms, while telling tales of a motherís lament ìWhyíd you do it, George? Oh, Whyíd you do it?î . The female ghost said to be present in the home and wearing a white dress and golden bracelet when witnessed is said to be the distraught mother still inhabiting the home. The brother George, in this oral tradition, is said not to have been tried for murder, but ìremoved soon after, but not strait away, to the next county where he raised a good familyî. While it is true that Pat did die in 1896 within the year of his young wifeís death by appendicitis, review of records in Henderson show Pat Howard died in Beaumont, Texas and was sent home to Henderson to be buried, accompanied by a Mason from his Houston Lodge, and with heartfelt sympathy to the surviving parents and Patís three orphans prominently expressed in the Henderson paper where no mention of violent death is made. (See Pat Howardís entry for the death announcement in the Rusk County Newspaper in its entirity below). Patís daughter Mamie (my Grandfather Benís sister) told her daughter Doris (Diggs) Osborne that her father, Pat, died of pneumonia in the same year Patís wife died of appendicitis, and a natural but early death by infection is in keeping with the tone of his death notice in the Henderson papers announcing the event, although the cause of death is not mentioned in that paper. Likewise, George did not remove to another county. He is found on the 1900 census unmarried, a brickmason, and living with his mother and unmarried sister in the Howard home on South Main. It is my impression that the story gained impetus from stray embers that burned the wood floor of the bedroom seen by candlelight when local teenagers would enter the abandoned home , their high spirits and imaginations creating a story suitable to the old and decaying edifice, supported in daylight hours by a hazy group consciousness of gunshot death involving a Howard (the gunshot suicide of one of the Howard Children, Patís brother -Joe- which DID occur). I think all of this, in combination with the lack of direct ancestors to prevent the perpetuation of the local myth ed to this great local story in a small town. The ghost has been witnessed by several persons;. If it is Martha Ann, I believe she is enjoying the refurbishment of her Henderson home. I provided the Henderson Historical Association with the obit of Pat's death and they agreed that such a mythical, and ultimately maligning story of fratricide would no longer be included in their tour.

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