San Joaquin County
Biographies
JOSEPH M. FOWLER
JOSPEH M. FOWLER, of Elkhorn
Township, was born July 26, 1825, in Westfield, Massachusetts, his parents
being Royal and Harriet (Smith) Fowler; the father a native of Massachusetts,
and the mother of Connecticut. Royal Fowler was a farmer by occupation and a
contractor and builder as well. He was one of the builders of the Erie canal
and one of the contractors on the Boston and Albany railroad; he died in
Westfield, Massachusetts, August 27, 1875, at the age of eighty-six years. In
tracing the genealogy of the Fowler family we find that they are of Scotch
descent. They emigrated first to England, where they were the inventors of the
first steam plow used in England; thence to America.
Joseph was raised on a farm and remained
at home until he was about eighteen years of age, when he went into a machine
shop as an apprentice, remaining three years, at the expiration of which time
he took a contract for building power and hand planers. After finishing this
contract he joined a company for California. They sailed from New York February
28, 1849, on the schooner John Castner, which was chartered by a party of
eighty and took them to Point Isabel, about five miles from the Rio Grande.
There they took a passage on a Government steamer for Fort Brown and Hamargo, landing
on Mexican soil; and there they were delayed a week by cholera, which took the
lives of two men. Fifteen of the party, including Mr. Fowler, procured riding
mules at Mier and left for Monterey. They went by El Paso and Saltillo, camped
on the field of Buena Vista, following General Taylor’s line as far as it
extended, and through Chihuahua and Tucson, the Eighty-Mile Desert, down the
Gila river to the Colorado, across the Colorado desert, etc. Here they had
trouble with the Indians, who threatened great disruption. At that time they
were waiting for a pack-train of provisions, and had been out of food for two
days. On several occasions on the journey they were without food from three to
five days at a time. Their route from Chihuahua through was without a road or
guide. From Los Angeles they took the coast route for San Juan, where they
spent the Fourth of July. They arrived at the mines at Jamestown on the 8th.
There they went to mining and remained
about two months; then mined in other places, following that occupation for
several years, until 1856. In the meantime Mr. Fowler’s brother had taken up
land and he helped him harvest during the harvest season. He was very
successful in mining; at one place he took out $12,000 in three or four days
from a place 2x6 and two feet deep. Soon after he left the mine in charge of
one of his partners. Returning after an absence of four weeks he found the
place in such a condition that he was disgusted, mounted his mule and returned
to this valley. He took the steamer for the States, in 1856, via the Isthmus.
In the fall of the same year he returned and went to work on the ranch with his
brother. In August, 1857, he went once more to the East and was married. In the
spring of 1858 he returned via the Isthmus, bringing his wife. He and his
brother took up their land in 1854 and since 1858 Joseph has been a constant
resident of the same. About 1863 he purchased his brother’s interest; his
brother is now a resident of San Diego County. Mr. Fowler now owns one section
of land located about twelve miles from Stockton on the Davis road. He does
general farming business and is also director of the Lodi Bank. He is the owner
of 1,440 acres of land situated about five miles east of Merced.
Mr. Fowler was married, in 1857, to Miss
Eliza Brumley, a native of Massachusetts. They have seven children, namely:
Royal, Warren, Ellen, wife of Thomas Jordan; Mary, Myrtle, Addie and Ernest.
Mr. Fowler is a member of the Lodi Grange and Pioneer Society.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
An Illustrated History of San Joaquin County,
California, Pages 520-521. Lewis Pub.
Co. Chicago, Illinois 1890.
© 2009 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County
Biographies
Golden Nugget Library's San Joaquin County
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