Fowler, Hannah (née Garrett)

last name (variants): Fowler
Birth: c. 1747 in Stonington or Charlestown
Death: August, 1811 in Brothertown, NY
Affiliation

Stonington Pequot; Charlestown Narragansett; Moor's Indian Charity School; Brothertown

Education

Moor's Indian Charity School (1763-1766)

Nationality

Pequot/Narragansett

Residence(s)
  • Lebanon, CT (from 1763-12-17 to 1766)
  • Kanowalohale, NY (from 1766 to 1767-09)
  • Montauk, Long Island (from 1767-09)
  • Brothertown, NY (from 1783 to 1811-08)
Marital status

Married David Fowler in 1766. The pair had nine children.

Biography

Hannah Fowler (née Garrett) was a Pequot woman who married David Fowler. The Garrett family boasted sachems and interpreters and was influential among the Stonington Pequots. Hannah grew up among the Charlestown Narragansetts, as her parents had affiliated with that tribe (a not-uncommon occurrence, given the close ties between the groups, especially in the realm of Christian spirituality). At Charlestown, Hannah received her basic education and was recruited for Moor’s Indian Charity School. She studied at the school from 1763 until she married David Fowler in 1766. Hannah and David’s marriage is especially noteworthy because it is the only instance where a female Moor’s student married a Native American missionary from Moor’s and joined him on missions — which had been Wheelock’s intent in admitting Native American women in the first place. Hannah assisted David on his mission to Kanawalohale from the time of their marriage in 1766 until his departure for Montauk in 1767. In 1783, the pair moved to Brothertown, where their house was the town center. Both Fowlers proved influential in town affairs, and their children and grandchildren also played a central role in the town’s administration.

Sources

Calloway, Colin. The Indian History of an American Institution. Dartmouth College Press 2010. Love, Deloss. Samson Occom and the Christian Indians of New England. Pilgrim Press 1899. McCallum, James. The Letters of Eleazar Wheelock’s Indians. Dartmouth College Press 1932. Sweet, John Wood. Bodies Politic: Negotiating Race in the American North, 1730-1830. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press 2006. Accessed via GoogleBooks. Szasz, Margaret Connell. Indian Education in the American Colonies, 1607-1783. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press 1988.