John Fowler (April 27, 1756 – August 22, 1840)John Dean Wright, ''Lexington: Heart of the Bluegrass'' (University Press of Kentucky, 1982), p. 41. was an American planter and political leader in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. He was a

Jeffersonian Democrat Jeffersonian democracy, named after its advocate Thomas Jefferson, was one of two dominant political outlooks and movements in the United States from the 1790s to the 1820s. The Jeffersonians were deeply committed to American republicanism, which ...

who served as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from Kentucky in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

from 1797 to 1807. Fowler was also an early settler and civic leader in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

Early life and education

Fowler was born in

Chesterfield County, Virginia Chesterfield County is located just south of Richmond, Virginia, Richmond in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The county's borders are primarily defined by the James River to the north and the Appomattox River to the sout ...

, on April 27, 1756, to John and Judith (Hudson) Fowler.The ''

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress The ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress'' (Bioguide) is a biographical dictionary of all present and former members of the United States Congress and its predecessor, the Continental Congress. Also included are Delegates from ...

'' gives a birth date of 1755, but the ''Kentucky Encyclopedia'' gives the 1756 date. He attended the

common schools A common school was a public school in the United States during the 19th century. Horace Mann (1796–1859) was a strong advocate for public education and the common school. In 1837, the state of Massachusetts appointed Mann as the first secretary ...

.Fowler, John
in the ''

''. He fought in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, joining Captain Patterson's company in 1777 as a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

and rising to the rank of captain in 1783. Fowler studied at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...

in 1780; he was a member of the Williamsburg Lodge

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

.Fowler, John
in ''The Kentucky Encyclopedia'' (University Press of Kentucky, 1992), ed. John E. Kleber, p. 350.

Career

In 1783, Fowler moved to

. In October 1786, by act of the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...

, Fowler was appointed to serve as one of the trustees of the new city of

Frankfort, Kentucky Frankfort is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States, and the seat of Franklin County. It is a home rule-class city; the population was 28,602 at the 2020 census. Located along the Kentucky River, Frankfort is the prin ...

. In June 1787, Fowler joined Captain James Brown's company of Kentucky volunteers, which fought Indians. In 1787, Fowler was part of the Danville convention of 1787 (Kentucky's third statehood convention), representing Fayette County, then part of Virginia but later part of Kentucky. The same year, Fowler was elected to the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

. On 1788, Fowler was Fayette County to the

Virginia Ratifying Convention The Virginia Ratifying Convention (also historically referred to as the "Virginia Federal Convention") was a convention of 168 delegates from Virginia who met in 1788 to ratify or reject the United States Constitution, which had been drafted at ...

, which ratified the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...

. In 1788, Fowler, along with

Richard Clough Anderson Sr. Richard Clough Anderson Sr. (January 12, 1750 – October 16, 1826) was an American lawyer, soldier, politician, and surveyor from Virginia. Revolutionary War He was chosen to be a captain in the Hanover County, 5th Virginia Regiment on Janua ...

and

Green Clay Green Clay (August 14, 1757 – October 31, 1828) was an American businessman, planter, military officer and politician from Kentucky. Clay served in the American Revolutionary War and was commissioned as a general to lead the Kentucky militia ...

, established Lexington Freemason Lodge No. 1. From 1787 to 1794, Fowler served as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

in the Lexington Light Infantry, and fought against Indians. Fowler was a member of Kentucky Society for Promoting Useful Knowledge, which was associated with the Danville Political Club. Fowler was the treasurer of

Transylvania Seminary Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...

from 1789 to 1793. He was "gentleman justice" for

Woodford County, Kentucky Woodford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,871. Its county seat is Versailles. The area was home to Pisgah Academy. Woodford County is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metrop ...

from May 5, 1789 to 1794. From 1792 to 1794, Fowler served as

clerk of the court A court clerk (British English: clerk to the court or clerk of the court ; American English: clerk of the court or clerk of court ) is an officer of the court whose responsibilities include maintaining records of a court, administer oaths to witn ...

oyer and terminer In English law, oyer and terminer (; a partial translation of the Anglo-French ''oyer et terminer'', which literally means "to hear and to determine") was one of the commissions by which a judge of assize sat. Apart from its Law French name, the ...

, and clerk to the directors of public buildings. In the 1794 elections, Fowler was a candidate for U.S. Senate from Kentucky, but was eliminated on the first ballot in the Kentucky Legislature;

Humphrey Marshall Humphrey Marshall may refer to: *Humphry Marshall (1722–1801), botanist *Humphrey Marshall (general) (1812–1872), Confederate general in the American Civil War *Humphrey Marshall (politician) Humphrey Marshall (1760 – July 3, 1841) wa ...

received eighteen votes,

John Breckinridge John Breckinridge or Breckenridge may refer to: * John Breckinridge (U.S. Attorney General) (1760–1806), U.S. Senator and U.S. Attorney General * John C. Breckinridge (1821–1875), U.S. Representative and Senator, 14th Vice President of the Unit ...

sixteen, Fowler eight, and incumbent

John Edwards Johnny Reid Edwards (born June 10, 1953) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a U.S. senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2004 alongside John Kerry, losing to incumbents George ...

seven.Lowell H. Harrison & James C. Klotter, ''A New History of Kentucky'' (University Press of Kentucky, 1997). Fowler was elected to the

in 1797. He was reelected several times—he served in the Fifth, Sixth,

Seventh Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season e ...

, Eighth, and

Ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

congresses—and served a total of ten years, leaving office in 1807. After leaving office, he served as a member of the board of trustees of Lexington, and chairman of the board from 1817 to 1818. Fowler also served as the fourth

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

of Lexington, from 1814 to 1822. Fowler had large land holdings in Virginia and Kentucky. He was one of the founders of the Kentucky Agricultural Society. Sometime before 1800, Fowler established "Fowler's Gardens" on three hundred acres near Lexington. This large tract of land on the eastern edge of Lexington opened as a park in 1817, and the area was used for fairs, picnics,

barbeque Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...

s, political gatherings, and other events. In 1802, Fowler donated ninety-three acres of land near

Carlisle, Kentucky Carlisle is a home rule-class city in Nicholas County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,010 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nicholas County. It is located at the junction of Kentucky Route 32 and Kentucky Route 36, a ...

, to the Concord Presbyterian Church.

Personal life

Fowler married Millicent Wills of Virginia sometime before 1789, and they had five children. Millicent Wills Fowler predeceased him in July 1833. Fowler died in Lexington on August 22, 1840. He is buried in the Old Episcopal Cemetery in Lexington.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fowler, John 1756 births 1840 deaths American Freemasons American military personnel of the Indian Wars American planters College of William & Mary alumni Delegates to the Virginia Ratifying Convention 18th-century American politicians Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky Members of the Virginia House of Delegates People from Chesterfield County, Virginia Politicians from Lexington, Kentucky Virginia militiamen in the American Revolution