Archives of Maryland
(Biographical Series)
Jubb Fowler (1735-1817)
MSA SC 3520-13825
Biography:
Born in Anne Arundel County, MD, 14
November 1735. Son of
Benjamin and Helen (Bridgell) Mortimer Fowler. Wife unknown. One known
daughter, Frances. Died in Annapolis, MD, 9
September 1817. [1]
Like many other residents in Annapolis,
Jubb Fowler took on several responsibilities. In the 1760s he appeared
for the first time in Annapolis in James Brice's account books for
carpentery work. Fowler likely had a relationship with
the
Brice family, reporting two runaway indentured servants with Brice
in
1769 in The Maryland Gazette, and borrowing money from Sarah Brice. [2]
He
also offered his house at least once for the use of the meeting of Anne Arundel County's Levy Court. [3]
During this same period, he was reimbursed by the State for the care of Thomas
Walley,
who was orphaned during the Revolutionary War. The 1783 Tax List
describes
Fowler as a scrivener/clerk.
Fowler was first appointed as Messenger for the Governor and
Council on 6
February 1781 to replace the recently deceased Robert Reith. In the
1790s, he was referred to as the Messenger to the
Council and the Keeper
of the State House. [4]
His
duties as custodian of various State House offices included: laying the
fires,
scouring the floors, cleaning the privy, lighting the candles, and
tending to
the needs of offices and officials. While many of these tasks were in
keeping with the traditional responsibilities of messenger, Fowler is
the only Annapolis laborer of the period to have gained significant
upward economic mobility, according to archivist Dr. Edward C.
Papenfuse. [5]
Fowler maintained the title of Messenger up to his death. The Maryland
Gazette and Political Intelligencer remarked on his passing that he was of an advanced age, and "an old and respectable
inhabitant of this City."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] McIntire, Robert Harry. Annapolis
Maryland
Families. Baltimore, MD:
Gateway Press, Inc., 1979.
[2] Ridout, Orlando
IV. Building the James Brice House 1767-1774. Annapolis,
MD: Friends of the Maryland
State
[3] The Maryland
Gazette, 26
October 1797.
[4] MARYLAND
STATE
PAPERS (Series A) MSA S 1004-55-16508
MdHR 6636-41-84/4; MdHR 6636-82-33.
[5] Papenfuse, Edward C. In Pursuit of Profit: The Annapolis Merchants in the Era of the American Revolution 1763-1805. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1975, p.152, 250.
Archives, 2013
Return
to Introductory Page
|
This web site is presented for reference purposes under the doctrine of fair use. When this material is used, in whole or in part, proper citation and credit must be attributed to the Maryland State Archives. PLEASE NOTE: The site may contain material from other sources which may be under copyright. Rights assessment, and full originating source citation, is the responsibility of the user.
Tell Us What You Think About the Maryland State Archives Website!
|
© Copyright August 13, 2013
Maryland State Archives