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James Fowler


Gender:
Male
Born:
January 4, 1798
Died:
October 8, 1873
Home Town:
Westfield, MA
Marriage(s):
Lucy Douglas Fowler (February 9, 1820)
Charlotte Whitney Fowler (October 6, 1841 or 1845)
Biographical Notes:
James Fowler was born in Westfield, MA, the son of Hon. Samuel and Jemima [Lyman] Fowler. He was the first president of the Hampden Bank and his great interest in education led him to become a trustee of Amherst College in 1826, holding this position for the next twelve years. His interest in education also motivated him to open the first evening school in Westfield, MA. Fowler was also active in the transfer of the Massachusetts State Normal School to Westfield, MA in 1844 and donated land for the buildings. He had six children, all by his first marraige. Fowler died in Westfield MA and was the last survivor of his Yale Class of 1807.

Education
Years at LLS:
1808
Other Education:
Graduated from Yale College in 1807.

Profession / Service
Profession:
Business
Admitted To Bar:
1809 in Litchfield County Court; Hampshire County, MA in 1810
Training with Other Lawyers:
He studied with the Hon. Jonathan Leavitt of Greenfield, CT and with John Ingersoll of Westfield, CT.
State Posts:
State Senator (MA) 1825-1827

Related Objects and Documents
Other:
help The Citation of Attendance provides primary source documentation of the student’s attendance at the Litchfield Female Academy and/or the Litchfield Law School. If a citation is absent, the student is thought to have attended but currently lacks primary source confirmation.

Records for the schools were sporadic, especially in the formative years of both institutions. If instructors kept comprehensive records for the Litchfield Female Academy or the Litchfield Law School, they do not survive. Researchers and staff have identified students through letters, diaries, family histories and genealogies, and town histories as well as catalogues of students printed in various years. Art and needlework have provided further identification of Female Academy Students, and Litchfield County Bar records document a number of Law School students. The history of both schools and the identification of the students who attended them owe credit to the early 20th century research and documentation efforts of Emily Noyes Vanderpoel and Samuel Fisher, and the late 20th century research and documentation efforts of Lynne Templeton Brickley and the Litchfield Historical Society staff.
CITATION OF ATTENDANCE:
Litchfield County Bar Association Records, 1808, Litchfield Historical Society, Helga J. Ingraham Memorial Library.
Secondary Sources:
Fowler, Christine Cecelia.The History of the Fowlers. Batavia, NY: Miller-Mac Printing Co., Inc., 1950.; Dexter, Franklin Bowditch. Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College with Annals of College History, Vol. 6. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1912. ; Yale College. Obituary Record of Graduate of Yale College: deceased during the academical year ending in June, 1873. 1873.; Boltwood, Lucius M. History and Genealogy of the Family of Thomas Noble of Westfield, Massachesetts. Hartford, CT: Press of Case, Lockwood and Brainard Company, 1878.; Coleman, Lyman. Genealogy of the Lyman Family. Albany, NY: J. Munsell, 1872.

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