THE FOWLERS OF SUPERIOR TOWNSHIP

     George W. Fowler and Hester Halstead of Superior Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan, had three daughters:  Sarah Ann, Mary Ann and Delphine E.

     George W. Fowler, was born on the 14th of July, 1817, in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, and Hester (sometimes written as Esther) Halstead, in Olcott Beach, Niagara County, New York, on February 4, 1824. George was in Michigan by 1837-39 and the Halstead family before 1834, when Hester's father died in Superior Township on March 11 of that year. George and Hester were married probably in 1839 or 1840.

     My great-grandmother, Delphine E. Fowler, was born on the 4th of May, 1851. She was the youngest of the three girls. Sarah Ann and Mary Ann were twins born on August 12, 1842. She married John A. McDougall on the 16th of March in 1870.

     Delphine was about 4'10" tall. John was a red-headed Scotsman who stood 6'4". They must have made an interesting looking couple. The union produced 11 children over the next 23 years. Alice, their third child and second daughter, died at 11 months of age in 1876. All of the other children grew to adulthood, although daughter Nellie Amrhime died two years after her daughter, Carrie, was born in 1900, at the age of 23. The Fowler and McDougall families were neighbors in Superior Township, where both John and Delphine were born. John was born on June 14, 1843 and died on October 26, 1920. He was the son of George S. McDougall and Mary Muir, both born in Scotland. I have written about George and the Muir family in the past (see my website www.relativesintheattic.com for a link to the article). John A. served in the Civil War in the 17th Michigan Infantry, Co. E as a Sgt. He injured his shoulder and had trouble with it for the rest of his life.

     Delphine died on 26th of September, 1941, at the age of 90 years, 4 months and 22 days. My late Aunt Phyllis (my father's sister) remembers that in her later years Delphine lived with her youngest son, Arthur Franklin (Frank) and his wife Beulah, in Ypsilanti. They owned a boarding house and she had her own room in the back. She wore very thick glasses which magnified her eyes. The most recent census (1940) shows Delphine with Arthur and Beulah, but nothing about it being a boarding house. Another aunt says she was bald and wore a wig.

     The Fowler family originally came from Canada, which makes it more difficult to research. I looked on Ancestry for family trees that might guide me, but with the misinformation I found - rather quickly - I am hesitant to spend too much time relying on them, even to begin a valid search. 

     Examples: One tree has Mary Ann (Delphine's sister) married to Albert D. Herrick - which she was. But they have her maiden name as Hale. When I take a closer look at the information included on the tree, they do have him marrying a Mary Ann HUSTON, but in New Hampshire. Now it is true that Albert was born in New York, but I can't imagine New Hampshire is correct. Albert was born on the 30th of August, 1833, but by 1860 he was already in the Michigan area. This couple eventually spent their later years in the Battle Creek area of Michigan. Albert died on January 1, 1925 and Mary Ann died on April 1, 1920.  Hester, Mary Ann's mother, was with them on the 1900 Census and then back with Delphine's family by 1910, in Superior Township.

     Albert and Mary Ann Herrick had five children, three surviving to adulthood, as best I can tell. Mable, George, Alice, Hubert and Wainard.  Wainard died young. I have been unable to find Mable or Alice. Hubert married Hattie B. Russell and George married Mabel Black and had two sons. I have not researched these people any further at this point.

     Sarah Ann, married Andrew John (Jack) Huston. One tree has her maiden name Hartsook. Jack was born in Michigan (probably Wayne County) in 1835. He died on April 16, 1902 and is buried in the Cherry Hill Cemetery, in Canton Township. A great many McDougalls, Hustons and Fowlers are buried in this cemetery. I have visited the cemetery and have pictures of some of the tombstones. I cannot find where Sarah Ann Huston is buried, nor even exactly when she died. She appeared on the 1920 census with her son, Oliver A. Huston, in Superior Township. She had another son, Ernest C. Huston. Oliver and his wife, Amelia Louise Reinhart, had eight children. Ernest C. may have been married twice, Alice Cole, and Cora Bell Rippy. He and Cora had three children.

     This was a frustrating search. And, of course, just a LITTLE research answered a few questions, but brought up more. I don't understand why people can't see obvious problems with their public trees. Two children, same name, born a year apart, both still living - tells me something is wrong. One child in the middle of several children in a family born in a different state, with no evidence of the parents having moved.

     But a good lesson - beware of information on a public family tree. AND, why, when you ask for further information or verification, don't they answer. Most irritating and it says to me they haven't a clue and were more interested in adding names than being accurate. It is one of the reasons I do not want my family tree there - I have a website!