John William Fowler (1638 - 1683)

Born 1638 in England

Ancestors

Husband of Mary M (Batte) Fowler — married 1 Feb 1662 in Henrico, Virginia, Colonial America

Descendants

Died 1683 at about age 45 in Henrico, Virginia Colony

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Biography

John Fowler was a Virginia colonist.

John was a Friend (Quaker)

John married Mary Batte on 1 Feb 1662 in Henrico, Virginia Colony. ^[1]

John Fowler came to America somewhere between 1650 and 1660. In 1662 he received grants of land on the Appomatox River. In 1673 he received another grant of land from Sir William Berkley, Governor, for the transportation of eight persons to the colony. The territory in which John Fowler settled was then on the border of civilization. When the first colonist sought a site for a settlement in the vicinity in 1607, they found an Indian town near the mouth of the Appomatox, present site of Petersburg, and nearby was the village of Matoax, home of Pocahontus, one of Virginia's most romantic figures. Fort Henry was built by Governor Berkley in 1646, and many exploring expeditions went out from this frontier post. The nearby Indian trading post called Peters Point, established by Major Peter Jones, later grew into the present city of Petersburg. John Fowler settled just across the Appomattox from Fort Henry and there laid the foundation in America for the House of Fowler. John Fowler was no doubt a member of the Society of Friends before he came to America and perhaps he knew George Fox, the Puritan silk weaver who, at the age of 25 established the Society of Friends, who later came to be known as "Quakers." George Fox visited John Fowler's home on a visit to America in 1672, and it was from the vicinity in which John Fowler lived that so many of the members of that faith went forth to establish the Society of Friends in other sections. Godfrey Fowler, youngest son of John Fowler, was also a Quaker and was prominent in their councils.

Sources

1. ↑ Arthur, Glenn Dora Fowler, "Annals of the Fowler Family with Branches in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, California, and Texas", Austin, Texas: private, 1901, Archive.org, pp. 2-4

• Fowler Family History will of John Fowler

• Annals of the Fowler family, with branches in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, California, and Texas by Arthur, Glenn Dora Fowler (Mrs. J. J. Arthur), 1858, Published 1901

• HOUSE OF FOWLER by Grover Parsons Fowler, Page 33

• Encyclopedia of Quaker Genealogy, Vol VI, Virginia Yearly Meeting, Page 7

• Encyclopedia of Quaker Genealogy, Vol VI, Chuckatuck Monthly Meeting, Page 22, 29, 30

• Encyclopedia of Quaker Genealogy, Vol VI, Black Water Monthly Meeting, Page 93
• https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/vaden/454/