DARlUS E FOWLER

Darius E. Fowler is now actively associated with the industrial interests of the community as a farmer, residing upon his farm two miles east of Hiawatha. His birth occurred in the far-off state of Maine, Somerset county being the place of his nativity, and February 27, 1836, his natal day. His parents were Charles and Eunice (Emery) Fowler, natives of Maine. The father was a farmer by occupation and a son of John Fowler, whose birth occurred in England. The maternal grandfather, Levi Emery, was a native of Massachusetts and married a Miss Ireland. Mr. and Mrs. Fowler were the parents of five children, namely: Sarah, wife of James Cleveland, now a resident of Kansas; Eunice E., widow of Albert Leighton, of Maine; Rose, who is the widow of Mr. Parker, and is now living in Maine; Darius E., who is the only son of the family; and Eliza F., wife of Charles Holbrook, who resides at Norridgewock, Maine.

The subject of this review spent the first nineteen years of his life in the Pine Tree state, pursuing his education in the district schools. During the summer months he assisted his father in the work of the home farm, following the plow from the time he was old enough to make a straight furrow. The opportunities offered in the Golden state, however, attracted him, and in 1855 he went to California by way of the Isthmus route. Hoping to gain a fortune in the mines he began his search for gold, but after eighteen months, on account of ill health, returned to Maine, where he remained until 1857. The broader opportunities of the west, however, attracted him to the prairies of Kansas, and making his way to Hiawatha he engaged in various pursuits, and later turned his attention to agriculture, pre-empting one hundred and sixty acres of land in Brown county, near Hiawatha. After the inauguration of hostilities between the north and the south he responded to the call of the government at Washington and enlisted, in 1861, with the boys in blue of Company C, Seventh Kansas Cavalry, under command of Colonel Jennison. They remained for some time in camp at Fort Leavenworth and were then sent south, participating in the battle of Corinth and in many important engagements with the division to which they were attached. Mr. Fowler continued faithfully at the front until the fall of 1864, when, on the expiration of his three-years term of service, he was honorably discharged, at that time holding the rank of sergeant of his company. On returning from military life he again came to Brown county. In 1894 he purchased from Dr. Seaburn the farm of one hundred and sixty acres, where he now resides.

In 1872 was celebrated the marriage of our subject and Miss Fannie Doolittle, who was born in Oneida county, New York, and in 1859 removed to Kansas with her father, Hiram Doolittle, and his family. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Fowler has been blessed with four children: Lulu E., graduate of Ottawa University; Everett M., who is also a graduate of the Ottawa University; Lillian E., a student in Ottawa; and Charles V. In his political views Mr. Fowler is a pronounced Republican, unswerving in the support of the principles of the party that perpetuated the Union during the Civil war and that has ever been the champion of progress and reform. He and his wife and family hold membership in the First Baptist church of Hiawatha and enjoy the warm regard of a large circle of friends and acquaintances.