Annals of the Fowler Family, with Branches in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, California and Texas . By Mrs. James Joyce Arthur ( Glenn Dora Fowler Arthur ), Member Executive Council, Texas State Historical Association, a real Daughter of the American Revolution a Colonial Dame of America. Austin: Ben C. Jones &Co. 1901. Pp. xvi, 321.
The mechanical execution of the work is good throughout, and its fine illustrations add much to its value.
Genealogy in Texas is almost an untrodden field, and the author bravely assumes all the risks of pioneer work in this line in the Lone Star State. With pardonable pride of ancestry, she has unquestionably made out a good case for the Fowler family. In her hands the subject of genealogy (as generally treated, a dull one) is not without interest even to the general reader. The perusal of this volume will undoubtedly repay the student of Texas history by its suggestive allusions to our pioneer characters. There is an old Texas tradition that a man's real usefulness never begins till he has crossed the historic boundary rivers of the Republic. Accordingly, Mrs. Arthur does not fail to note the years when some of her distinguished ancestors entered the sacred dominions of Texas. To illustrate: J. H. Fowler, later congressman of the Republic, crossed Red River in 1817, followed by his brother, Judge Andrew J. Fowler, father of the author, to become a Texas congressman also. Rev. Littleton Fowler, Methodist missionary to Texas, crossed the Sabine in 1837, became chaplain for the Senate in the Second Congress, and subsequently an ardent advocate of annexation, which measure he lived long enough to see accomplished.
A native Texan and well read in the affairs of Texas, the author reflects throughout the work ardent patriotism of the typical Texan and the hopeful spirit of the Christian as well. The book, on the whole, is a creditable production, and destined to an honorable place in the literature of Texas.
C. W. Raines .
How to cite:
Raines, C. W., "Annals of the Fowler Family, with Branches in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, California and Texas", Volume 005, Number 3, Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online, Page 253 - 254. http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/publications/journals/shq/online/v005/n3/review_11.html
[Accessed Tue Dec 2 21:04:47 CST 2008]



