William Fowler Jr. (1625 - 1683)

Biography

William Fowler Jr. immigrated to New England as a child during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640).

William Fowler Jr was the son of William and Sarah Fowler, who emigrated from England to Boston, then New Haven Connecticut in 1637^{[1] [2]}

Before 1645, he married Mary Tapp, daughter of Edmund and Anna Tapp^{[1] [3] [4]}

About 1660, the family moved from New Haven to Milford^[2]

On 1 November 1670, he married Mrs. Elizabeth (Alsop) Baldwin, widow of Richard Baldwin^{[1] [3] [5]}

1683 died in Milford^[6][1]

His will is dated 3 October 1682 with a codicil written after his death, dated 15 June 1683, and agreed upon by all the heirs.^[7] His inventory was taken on 29 March 1683.^[7]

Captain William Fowler was an important man in the founding of Milford. He was one of the seven pillars of the church, a judge, and in 1643 a deputy to the general court.^[1]

He was one of the Seven Pillars of the church of New Haven and took the oath of fidelity in 1644. He served as Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Captain of the New Haven trainband and was appointed to raise troops as a defense against the Dutch. He built the first grist mill in New Haven colony which was purchased by the town on Jan. 3, 1659, for 100 pounds. In 1660/1661, he moved from New Haven to Milford around the time that his father died, where he was given lot #41. He was a Lieutenant of the Milford militia and admitted to the Milford Church in 1669. The same year, he was on the list of freemen at Milford.^[8]

Children

• Children of William and Mary (Tapp) Fowler:^{[1][2] [3]}

1. Sarah, b. ca 1645, m. 19 July 1665 John Smith, d. 22 January 1693/4^[3]
2. Joseph, bapt. 1 July 1649
3. Hannah, m. 21 November 1661 Daniel Buckingham^[3]
4. John, bapt. March 1649, m. Sarah Welch
5. Jonathan Fowler, b. 8 February 1650/1, m. Elizabeth Reynolds
6. Mark, bapt. 17 January 1655, m. Mary _______, d. 1686
7. Deborah, bapt. 4 March 1658, m. 10 May 1688 Jesse Lambert^[3]
8. Abigail, b. 27 November 1660^[3], m. 1685 John Elderkin, d. March 1713
9. William, b. 1664^[3]
10. Mary, d. 1685 unmarried
11. Mercy, b. 1 April 1669, m. John Betts (Bills?)^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Abbott, Susan Woodruff. Families of Early Milford, Connecticut. Genealogical Publishing Co., 1979. Page 280-281.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Fowler, Daniel W. Descendants of Capt. William Fowler, New Haven, Connecticut. Milwaukee, WI: Starr & Son, 1870. Page 13-14.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8} Connecticut: Vital Records (The Barbour Collection), Volume Milford, page 70 1630-1870 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011.) From original typescripts, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, 1928, which lists under FOWLER, FFOWLER, FOWER:
   • on page 70 Abigail, d. William Jr., b. Nov. 27, 1660
   • on page 71 Deborah, d. Capt. W[illia]m, decd., m. Jesse Lambert, May 10, 1683, and
   • Hannah, d. Sergt. William, m. Daniel Buckingham, Nov. 21, 1661, by Matthew Gilbert, Dept. Gov.
   • on page 72 Marcy, d. Lieut. William, b. Apr. 1, 1669, and
   • Mary, mother of Deborah and w. of William, was d. of Edmund & Anne Tapp and sister of Jane (Tapp) Treat, and
   • Mercy, d. Lieut. [ ], b. Apr. 1, 1669; m. John Betts, of Lebanon
   • Sarah, d. Lieut. William, m. John Smith, blacksmith, b. of Milford, July 19, 1665, by Mr. Ffenn, Magestrate and
   • William, s. Lieut William, b. [ ], 1664, and
   • William, Lieut. Widower, m. Elizabeth Baldwin, wid., Nov. 1, 1670, by John Clarke, Commissioner
   • on page 73 William, 2d Capt., 1677
   • William, Capt., s. William, [m.] Mary Tapp, d. Edmund & Anne, [
4. ↑ Torrey's New England Marriages to 1700 Volume 1, page 572 (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015, which states: FOWLER, William (-1683) & 1/wf Mary [TAPP]; 1645 or before; Milford, CT {Reg. 11:248, 106:147; Milford VR 156; Holbrook Anc. (1942) 141; Putnam's Mag. 5:299; Beard (1915) 11; Baldwin 83; Fowler 13; Flagg Anc. 246; Paul Anc. 84-5; New Haven Gen. Mag. 3:622; TAG 9:103
5. ↑ Torrey's New England Marriages to 1700 Volume 1, page 572 (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015, which states: FOWLER, William (-1683) & 2/wf Elizabeth (ALSOP) BALDWIN, w Richard; 1 Nov 1670; Milford, CT {Ackley-Bosworth 189; Milford VR 72; Johnson (,1) 200; New Haven Gen. Mag. 3:622; Bryan 19; Hinckley Anc. 14; Fowler 13; Nichols (,3) 45; Fairfield Fam. 1:488; TAG 9:169; Sv 1:109; Baldwin 83
6. ↑ Hale collection- Family Search file 3347 image 26 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99F5-3QNL?cat=koha%3A18917&i=25&lang=en&cc=2658554
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} “New Haven Probate Records, Vol. 1-2, 1647-1703”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L92K-G9NF-J  : 10 March 2021), New Haven, Connecticut, FHL microfilm 007626739, image 197-198. New Haven Probate Record, 1647-1687, Vol. 1, Part 2, page 100-102.
8. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #29788104

• Unless otherwise cited, information on this profile is derived from Genealogical memoir of the descendants of Capt. William Fowler... link; original sources sought.

See also

• Abbott, Morris W. The Bridge on the Wepawaug (Milford, Connnecticut, 1972) Page 21. Family Search (accessed 14 Nov 2025) Cenotaph stone: WILLIAM FOWLER 2ND. / OBIT 1682. / MARY TAPP HIS WIFE.

• Colonial Connecticut Records, Vol 2 p. 32, 115, 127 "Willm Fowler is established Lieutent for and to ye Train Band at Milford." 11 May 1671 p 32. "Deputies.. For Milford; Lt. Wm. Fowler, Mr. George Clark." 7 Aug 1673 p. 115. "... Councell of Warr in this Colony..." 26 Nov 1673 p. 127.

• Orcutt, Samuel. The History of the Old Town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642-1880 (Springfield Printing Company, Springfield, Mass., 1880) Reprint: Bowie, Maryland, Heritage Books, Inc., 1998, p. 693, 759.

• Baldwin, John Denison A Record of the Descendants of John Baldwin of Stonington, Conn. (Worcester, Massachusetts,1880) Page 10. HathiTrust (accessed 23 Nov 2025) "[Richard Baldwin's] widow m. Wm. Fowler, in 1670, and died in May, 1683."

• Chapman, Frederick William. The Buckingham Family; or The Descendants of Thomas Buckingham, One of the First Settlers of Milford, Conn. (Case, Lockwood & Brainard, Hartford, Conn., 1872) Page 14. Internet Archive (accessed 23 Nov 2025) "[Daniel Buckingham m.] 1st. To Hannah Fowler, daughter of Sergeant William Fowler"

• Cleveland, Edmund. The Genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleaveland Families (Hartford, Conn., 1899) Volume I, Pages 931-932 (Case, Lockwood, and Brainard Co. Hartford 1899). Note: E.J. Cleveland's account skips a generation between Capt. William Fowler and Jonathan Fowler (m. to Hannah Clark), but confirms birth of Capt. William Fowler in England and that his father was Hon. William Fowler.

• Pond, Nathan G. The Story of the Memorial in Honor of the Founders of the Town of Milford (Milford, Connecticut, 1889) Page 8. HathiTrust (accessed 14 Nov 2025)