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Douwe Isaac Ditmars' page
It's very likely that Elizabeth was one of the four daughters of Henry Fowler of Granville, NS. She is mentioned in his will, but by first name only, as they were all still children. There were other Fowler families near Clements Township, all apparently Loyalists. Several in Dighy had wills that don't include Elizabeth and others, who were property owners and/or on military lists, don't appear to have lived in the area long, if at all. Henry's daughter Margaret married Ward Sneedon of Clements. His daughter Sarah was very likely the Sarah Fowler who married Samuel Helms, then Thomas Hutchinson Ruggles. One of her daughters married Gilbert Fowler Ditmars, one of Elizabeth's sons. Hannah, the fourth daughter of Henry, hasn't been found in later records. One of the Loyalist Fowlers of Digby was Gilbert Fowler, suggesting a connection to the Ditmars, but Gilbert's family is well enough documented to eliminate him not only as Elizabeth's father but also an uncle. His brother Jonathan was named one of Henry Fowler's executors, and Henry calls him his "friend." Had he been a brother, he surely would have said so. This also suggests that Henry and the Digby Fowlers were not closely related. The Fowler family in Westchester County, NY, where most of the Nova Scotia Fowlers originated, were very numerous, but many of the local records were lost during the Revolution. A tome on the Fowlers, written by ------, is compiled in an extremely confusing way, but no likely Henry was found in it. He may have been the Coronet Henry Fowler of Westchester who is on a Loyalist militia list of 1777? Henry was called a gentleman in deeds and his will. His property in Granville was bought shortly after the Loyalists arrived, so Henry came to Nova Scotia with money and social standing. HIs estate was probated in 1788, but no death record or gravestone has been found for him.
children of Elizabeth Fowler and Douwe Isaac Ditmars:
i. Isaac bap. 30 July 1797, 1. Mary Spurr, 2. Elizabeth (Spurr) Ditmars
ii. John Henry
iii. Jane V(room?)m. Peter Boice
iii. Gilbert Fowler m. 1. Welthea Ann Ryerson, 2. Harriet Sophia Ruggles
iv. William m. Elizabeth Spurr
Her death is recorded on her gravestone in the Old St. Edward's churchyard. She died in February 1845 at the age of 72, making in likely that she would turn 73 in that year.
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all text and photographs © 1998-2005 by Doug Sinclair unless where otherwise noted