My third great-grandmother, Annie Plunk Fowler Robison (c. 1829-after 1880), married twice, raised children from two families and spent most of her life in McNairy County, Tennessee. Until recently, however, I knew little about her beyond her first name.
My great-grandfather, Jim Lovelace, in chair with his children, from left, Hobert Lovelace, Blanche Lovelace, Guy Lovelace (my grandfather), Marie Lovelace and Jack Lovelace. Their mother, Ruby Fowler Lovelace, died in 1952.
My great-grandmother, Ruby Fowler Lovelace
Annie Plunk Fowler Robison (c. 1829-after 1880) married Oliver Fowler (1826-1858). Their son, Lewis M. Fowler (1848-1938), married Sarah Elizabeth Patterson Fowler (1851-1920). Their daughter, Ruby Fowler Lovelace (1887-1952), married James Luther “Jim” Lovelace (1885-1968). Ruby and Jim were the parents of my maternal grandfather, Guy Clinton Lovelace (1916-1997).
The mystery begins when I try to go further back from Annie and identify her parents.
Annie and Oliver Fowler
Annie was born in Tennessee about 1829, although her reported age varied from one census to another. She married my third great-grandfather, Oliver Fowler (1826-c. 1858), in McNairy County, likely in 1848.
McNairy County’s earliest surviving marriage records begin in 1861, so the 1848 date came from a reconstructed index, family record or another source, but the original county marriage book no longer survives.¹
The 1850 census provides the first clear picture of the young family. Oliver was about 24 and Annie was 21. They were living in McNairy County’s 8th Civil District with their son, Lewis M. Fowler (1848-1938), and infant daughter, Mary Jane Fowler (c. 1850-after 1860).²
Oliver died about 1858, when he was only about 32. Annie was left a widow before she was 30, with Lewis about 10 and Mary Jane about 8. The precise date of Oliver’s death remains uncertain. My earlier family page gives both 1858 and 1859, and I have not found a surviving death, probate or cemetery record that resolves the discrepancy.
Annie’s second marriage
By 1860, Annie had married Francis Calloway Robison (c. 1815-1880), who appears to have gone by Calloway.
This is where one major error entered the earlier version of the story. Calloway’s first wife was not Charity Fowler. The evidence supports Mary Louisa Malone Robison (1823-1855) as his first wife. A FamilySearch profile for their son Isaiah H. Robison (1853-1943) identifies his parents as Francis Calloway Robison and Mary Louisa Malone.³
Calloway brought seven children from his first marriage into his marriage to Annie. Annie brought Lewis and Mary Jane. By the 1860 census, they also had an infant son of their own, Elisha Robison (c. 1859-after 1860).
That meant their household contained two adults and 10 children, ranging from infancy to about 18. Annie, still only about 30, suddenly found herself helping manage a remarkably large blended family.
Annie and Calloway had at least two more daughters: Penah S. Robison (c. 1860-after 1880) and Mary L. Robison (c. 1863-after 1880). The census evidence therefore identifies at least three children born to Annie and Calloway — Elisha, Penah and Mary — rather than the five claimed in my original account.
By 1880, most of the children had left home. Penah and Mary remained with Annie and Calloway, along with two of Calloway’s grandsons. Calloway died in June 1880. Annie was still living when the census was taken, but I have not found a reliable record of her death or burial place.
The clue that revealed Annie’s maiden name
Annie’s maiden name was discovered through the death certificate of her daughter Mary L. Robison. An Ancestry.com researcher using the name “paulsan11” noticed that Mary’s death certificate identified her mother as Annie Plunk.
Mary was buried at Holly Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Haywood County, where many members of my family are buried. Her death certificate provided the crucial link that transformed “Annie Fowler” into Annie Plunk Fowler Robison.⁴
A child’s death certificate can provide valuable information about a mother’s maiden name, but its reliability depends on who supplied the information and how well that person knew the family. The original certificate should therefore be examined to identify the informant and verify the exact spelling.
Who were Annie’s parents?
Identifying Annie’s parents is much more difficult.
Before 1850, the federal census usually named only the head of each household. Everyone else was recorded as a number within an age and sex category. A girl such as Annie therefore appears in the 1830 and 1840 censuses only as an unnamed mark in a column. Those records can identify possible families, but they cannot establish a parent-child relationship by themselves.⁵
If Annie was born about 1829, she would have been an infant or toddler in 1830 and about 11 in 1840.
The 1830 McNairy County census included several Plunk households with girls of the appropriate age. George Plunk’s household contained two girls younger than 5. One of three men named John Plunk also had two girls younger than 5, while Joseph Plunk had one. Any of those girls could theoretically have been Annie.⁶
The 1840 census helps narrow the possibilities, but it still does not answer the question. George Plunk’s household included a girl between 10 and 15, exactly the age range in which Annie would have been. Several John Plunk households also contained a girl between 10 and 15. Joseph Plunk’s household did not, ruling him out.⁷
George Washington Plunk (c. 1799-before 1880) and his wife, Frances “Fannie” Jarman Plunk (c. 1809-after 1840).
George and Fannie Plunk
The most interesting candidate remains George Washington Plunk (c. 1799-before 1880) and his wife, Frances “Fannie” Jarman Plunk (c. 1809-after 1840).
The census pattern works: George had two girls younger than 5 in 1830 and a girl between 10 and 15 in 1840. Annie’s estimated age fits both entries.
There is also evidence that George’s wife was a member of the Jarman family. McNairy County death abstracts identify George Plunk and a woman whose maiden name was Jarman as the parents of Mariah Plunk (1834-1915) and Alfred Monroe Plunk (1836-1918). This confirms the existence of the George Plunk-Jarman household and establishes two of their children, although it does not name Annie among them.⁸
George and Fannie are therefore credible candidates for Annie’s parents, but nothing can be found that proves it as a fact.
Annie’s descendants in Haywood County
Whatever Annie’s parentage, her direct line from McNairy County to Haywood County is much clearer.
Her son Lewis married Sarah Elizabeth Patterson in 1868. Lewis and Sarah eventually moved their family to Haywood County, where they settled near Poplar Corner Road.
Their daughter, Ruby Fowler Lovelace (1887-1952), married James Luther “Jim” Lovelace (1885-1968) in 1905. Ruby and Jim had eight children, including my maternal grandfather, Guy Clinton Lovelace (1916-1997).
My second-greatgrandfather Lewis Fowler at his Haywood County homeplace about 1933; photo credit: William L. Fowler Jr.
An unfinished story
The records reveal more about Annie than I once knew.
She was born in Tennessee about 1829. She married young and had two children with Oliver Fowler. She became a widow before she was 30 and then entered a second marriage that created a household of at least 10 children. She remained in McNairy County through at least 1880, while her son Lewis eventually carried her family line into Haywood County.
What the records do not yet reveal is equally important. They do not identify Annie’s parents with certainty. George and Fannie Plunk remain strong candidates, but several John Plunk households also fit the early census evidence.
For now, the most accurate conclusion is that Annie almost certainly belonged to the large Plunk family network that settled early in McNairy County. Determining exactly where she fits within that family will require something more substantial than matching census ages — perhaps a deed, estate settlement, church record, family Bible or DNA evidence connecting her descendants to one particular Plunk branch.
For more of my genealogy research, visit rscottwilliams.info.
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