Sylvia Lake Online

The REAL Theodosius Fowler

I received an email from Willis A. (Bill) Fowler. He had been to our website and generously offered to send a photo he had acquired of Theodosius O. Fowler. See the Story of Sylvia Lake on this site. Below is the photo and Bill's email message. Our community is lucky to have access to our history and we all appreciate Bill's generosity.

Update: A few days after posting this page, I received an email from Judy Fowler. She writes:

I have the Fowler Family History book, published in 1950. Here is a small part about T.O Fowler: Theodosius Oliver Fowler, born Feb 11, 1786 and died Oct 12, 1861. He married on Feb 10, 1820 to Amelia Silvie DePau, daughter of Francis and Silvie (Degrasse) DePau, who was Born in South Carolina and Died Dec 22 1887.

Both Amelia and Theodosius lie in the Fowler family vault in the churchyard at Eastchester, NY. In 1817, Theodosius was appointed Captain of the Militia in Jefferson Co., NY. In 1819, he had "moved away." His son, Degrasse Fowler enlisted in the Civil War at Derby, Ct. They had two sons, Degrasse and Theodosius Augustus Fowler. Hope this helps in your stories. Thank you, I do have much info on the Fowler's if interested.

How cool is that? I plan to ask: Did Amelia have a sister? If she did not, then the infamous "suicide of Sylvia" is a bogus legend.

The pamphlet, Fowler, A History of the Town 1807-1957 written by Helen Scott Cunningham, Fowler Town Historian, it states that Theodosius came to the area in 1814. In 1816, they began work on the mansion, built on the south shore of Lake Killarney (renamed Sylvia Lake in honor of Amelia Sylvia). The mansion took three years to build. Mrs. Cunningham says,

After a residence there of over twenty years Mr. Fowler sold the property to one Thomas D. Carpenter from whose heirs it was later purchased by John L. Parker. Then about 1872 the mansion was destroyed by fire, only the stones remained.

More information, sent in by various website visitors ... >


The REAL Theodosius Fowler I received an email from Willis A. (Bill) Fowler. He had been to our website and generously offered to send a photo he had acquired of Theodosius O. Fowler. See the Story of Sylvia Lake on this site. Below is the photo and Bill's email message. Our community is lucky to have access to our history and we all appreciate Bill's generosity. Update: A few days after posting this page, I received an email from Judy Fowler. She writes: I have the Fowler Family History book, published in 1950. Here is a small part about T.O Fowler: Theodosius Oliver Fowler, born Feb 11, 1786 and died Oct 12, 1861. He married on Feb 10, 1820 to Amelia Silvie DePau, daughter of Francis and Silvie (Degrasse) DePau, who was Born in South Carolina and Died Dec 22 1887. Both Amelia and Theodosius lie in the Fowler family vault in the churchyard at Eastchester, NY. In 1817, Theodosius was appointed Captain of the Militia in Jefferson Co., NY. In 1819, he had "moved away." His son, Degrasse Fowler enlisted in the Civil War at Derby, Ct. They had two sons, Degrasse and Theodosius Augustus Fowler. Hope this helps in your stories. Thank you, I do have much info on the Fowler's if interested. How cool is that? I plan to ask: Did Amelia have a sister? If she did not, then the infamous "suicide of Sylvia" is a bogus legend. The pamphlet, *Fowler, A History of the Town 1807-1957* written by Helen Scott Cunningham, Fowler Town Historian, it states that Theodosius came to the area in 1814. In 1816, they began work on the mansion, built on the south shore of Lake Killarney (renamed Sylvia Lake in honor of Amelia Sylvia). The mansion took three years to build. Mrs. Cunningham says, After a residence there of over twenty years Mr. Fowler sold the property to one Thomas D. Carpenter from whose heirs it was later purchased by John L. Parker. Then about 1872 the mansion was destroyed by fire, only the stones remained. More information, sent in by various website visitors ... >
If you click on the pictures, they will enlarge. Use your "Back" button to return to this page. Theodosius Oliver Fowler Back of Portrait	Email to Shari Barnhart, October 11, 2005 Dear Shari: Here's the photo of Theodosius. Since photography didn't start happening until 1849 we know this was taken sometime between 1849 and 1861 when Theodosius died at the age of 75. So I'm guessing he was in his mid to late 60's when the photo was taken. As near as I can determine from my research, my Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather Samuel Fowler, was probably Theodosius Oliver Fowler's cousin. Samuel was born in 1785. Theodosius Oliver was born on 2-11-1786. In "History of The Fowlers" published in 1950, it's easy to trace Major Theodosius' line all the way back to the 1400's. However, I get stuck at Samuel. The "History of The Fowlers" shows Theodosius Oliver marrying Amelia de Pau. I was born in Watertown and grew up in the Gouverneur area. I live in Auburn, NY, now. But I still have lots of relatives, Fowler and Durham, living in the North Country. I was given the photo of Theodosius by Beatrice Benjamin Kelsey, who was also related to the Fowler's. Bea told me the story of Silvia Lake shortly before her passing a couple of years back. She was well into her 80's but had a wonderful memory. Submitted by Willis (Bill) Fowler