Methodist minister Littleton Fowler (1803-1846) was born to Godfrey and Clara (Wright) Fowler in Smith County, Tennessee. After moving to Caldwell County, Kentucky, Fowler converted to Methodism and started preaching in 1826. He lived in Alabama and Georgia before moving to Texas in 1837. Settling in Houston, he became responsible for establishing Methodist churches and other church activities in East Texas. Fowler organized the first Sunday School in Texas with Martin Ruter and laid the cornerstone of the Methodist Church in San Augustine with General Thomas J. Rusk. In 1838, Fowler married widow Missouri M. Lockwood Porter, with whom he had a daughter and a son, Methodist minister Littleton Morris Fowler. Fowler became superintendent of the Texas Mission in 1838 and recruited numerous local and Tennessee preachers, including Jesse Hord and Isaac L.G. Strickland. He also served as elder of the San Augustine District (1840) and of the Lake Soda Distrct (1842-1845) for the Texas Annual Conference; an agent of Rutersville College (1841-1842); and a trustee of Wesleyan College (1840s). After submitting a successful resolution to split the Texas Annual Conference, Fowler served as elder for the Sabine District in the new Eastern Texas Conference in 1845.
Source:
Spellmann, Norman W.
Composed of correspondence, receipts, and legal documents, the Littleton Fowler Papers, 1826-1883, concern Fowler family affairs, the activities of Methodist Missions, and education in Texas. The seven volumes of photocopied and transcribed correspondence includes letters to Littleton Fowler from his brothers, L. Campbell, J. W. Hanner, Nathan Bangs, Isaac L. G. Strickland, and others, as well as business letters to Fowler and missives between members of the Woolam family. Additionally, the collection includes one volume of photocopied and transcribed receipts, five legal documents, ten tributes to Fowler, and five of his commission certificates.
This collection is open for research use.
Littleton Fowler Papers, 1826-1883, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s "History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project," 2009-2011.