Lost children of the Civil War

It is always exciting when you find a member of your family you never knew existed. This has happened to me twice so I think it's worth mentioning to those who may be in the early stages of research and still trying to round up their family members. Both times it was a child born after the father "went off to war" and both times, the father died while on active duty. And, in my case, the two men were brothers.

Both were Fowlers, and I hope you will indulge me here when I write about my own family. What is important is not who they were, but how I found them. Many times I have received clues as to how to research from reading or hearing about how someone else did it. Perhaps this will help someone else "find their folks."

Things were pretty hectic from 1861 to 1865. Record keeping was difficult, important papers were burned or destroyed, and many women with young children found themselves widowed with nowhere to go and no way to live.

Some women were lucky and remarried right away, giving them a man in the family, a father for their children, and someone to work the fields and bring in the harvest. (My first case.)

But others were not, and were forced to "farm" their children out to family and friends. These were the hard ones, and involves my second case ... the most recent.

The 1860 census (prewar) showed nicely cohesive families, living within a stone's throw of relatives, many fairly wealthy, easy to find and record.

But the 1870 census (postwar) showed a different story. Family fortunes were lost, families were split up, and some were heading for greener pastures.

Zephaniah Fowler (son of Nathan and Elizabeth Pepper Fowler) and his young wife, Lucy Ann Norris, moved to Fayette County from Gwinnett County between 1853 and 1860. Lucy's parents moved there also, but who followed whom is unknown.

Zeph and Lucy had three small children by 1860, Nancy Caroline, John and Hester Elizabeth. In 1861, Zeph enlisted in the Confederate Army and went off to war. In 1863, he came down with a case of measles while he was in Tennessee and the disease proved fatal. Zeph died 10 March, 1863, and is buried somewhere in Tennessee. So Lucy was left with three small children to raise ... or so I thought. But ...

Browsing through the online cemeteries in Campbell County (now south Fulton), I came across a Nancy Caroline Fowler Vincent buried at Owl Rock Methodist Church. Her husband, George Martin Vincent, also was buried there. This had to be Zeph and Lucy's daughter and I now had information on who she married.

I scrolled down farther, and saw (much to my surprise) Joanna Fowler Waits, sister of Nancy Caroline Fowler Vincent, wife of Ephraim Waits. Huh? This was a child of Zeph and Lucy I didn't know about.

Scrolling through Campbell County marriage records I found another surprise. Lucy Norris Fowler had remarried in 1867 to a Green B. McFalls. A check of the 1870 Campbell County census showed Lucy and Green B. McFalls living next door to my GGgrandfather, John Fowler and his wife, Sarah Ann Norris. Well, of course. What could make more sense? And there, among the children, was Joanna, born in 1862, after Zeph went off to war.

What made me so happy was the fact that even the person who had given me the initial information on Zeph and Lucy did not know about Joanna. So, I had found something new. I fired off an e-mail to all my Fowler research buddies and added Joanna to the family tree.

The second case involved Zeph's brother, Kelly Fowler, who married Sarah Perry in 1853. Kelly and Sarah stayed in Gwinnett County and, by 1860, also had three small children, Elizabeth, Samantha and Nancy. Kelly also went off to war and was killed in action in Montgomery, Ala., 8 May, 1863. (Can you imagine the heartbreak in this family? Losing two brothers within two months of each other?)

Sarah was not as lucky at finding a husband as Lucy. By 1870, Samantha and Nancy were keeping house for other families, and Sarah and Elizabeth were nowhere to be found. There was a Mary Fowler, age 8, living with the Isham Gossett family, but since it was not my direct line and I had no record of a Mary Fowler, I didn't pursue the matter further.

Then, about a year ago, I was contacted by Charlene Nicolaides from Salt Lake City, who was convinced that her Mary Fowler, who married Mathias Boley Butler in Clarke County in 1884, belonged to our Fowlers. My cousin Vicky and I searched and searched, but we could not find any connection with the names Charlene was giving us. Contact faded and we forgot all about Mary.

But Charlene's persistence paid off. A few days ago I received a phone call from her. "You are my cousin!" she said, excitedly. "I found Mary and Sarah!"

Using the information she gave me, sure enough, I found them living in Clarke County, Athens area, in 1880. Mary was born in 1862, after Kelly went off to war. And, not only had Charlene found Mary and Sarah, she had found Elizabeth, Samantha and Nancy too. Elizabeth was listed as "Lizzie Vernon" and the daughter of Sarah Fowler. There was no husband in the household but Elizabeth was still listed as married, so I have no idea where he was. But we now knew the surname of at least two husbands ... Vernon and Butler. All three girls were working at the cotton mill, as were all the neighbors around them, so I'm assuming they lived in a mill village.

I was so excited that I immediately called Vicky to tell her the news. I am really looking forward to learning more about Charlene's family members, who were in Salt Lake by 1900.

So, there you have two examples of finding "lost children of the Civil War," born after the daddies left, and lost in the shuffle of putting lives back together. Digging, browsing and persistence sure paid off. I'm still doing a "happy dance."

I'm still looking for stories about your Atlanta area ancestors. Send them to The Citizen, Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; E-mail jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com.

Until next week, happy hunting!

(Judy regrets that time does not permit her to do personal research for others. She will willingly share research information on her own family lines, including collateral and allied lines.)