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- The picture in the scrapbook shows 4 generations starting with John Fred Sowers. The back row is Richard Allender being held by Mildred Allender, John Sowers (son of Fred and Florence), and William Graham being held by Mabel Graham. The ft w is Florence Sowers, Barbara Allender, John Sowers, Marjorie Graham and Fred Sowers.
Marjorie Graham remembers that John Fred Sowers gave his great-grandchildren pennies. He lived into his 90's. She remembers him staying at her house when she was a child and sitting on the front porch.
Notes from Mabel Sowers Graham say that he did not like the name John King and changed it so that he went by John W. Sowers all is life. He moved to Clark County, Ohio, when he was a child and to Liberty Township, Logan County, in 1884.
An article about John Sowers is found in Memoirs of the Miami Valley, Vol. III Biographical is found at the Logan County District Library (G 977.14 M533). The article is as follows;
The entire career of John Sowers, of Liberty township, has been devoted to the vocations of farming and stock-raising, and during the past 28 years he has occupied his present property of 150 acres. He is a native of Grant county, Ind., born Ju ne 23, 1861, a son of Samuel and Mary (King) Sowers, natives of Clark County, Ohio. The parents, after their marriage, moved to Grant County, Indiana, but in 1865 returned to Clark County, and about 1885 came to Logan County where they made the ir home until their deaths. They followed the peaceful pursuits of agriculture, and won the esteem and respect of their fellow-citizens by their honorable lives. Mr. and Mrs. Sowers were the parents of nine children, of whom five are living : Edward, Elmer, Grant, John and Laura. John Sowers secured his education in the public schools of Champaign County where his parents had moved when he was about seven years of age, and after leaving school, remained with his father on the hom e place until 1892. In that year he rented his present property, a tract of 150 acres on which he has operated for a period of 28 years. Mr. Sowers has met with success, both in general farming and stock raising, and has 45 acres in corn, feed ing his grain to his 40 head of hogs. Mr. Sowers was married May 18, 1887 to Mary Crowl, who was born in Champaign County, Ohio, October 7, 1862, daughter of William and Ann (Mc Caughey) Crowl, and to this union there have been born two childre n; Lulu, who married Oscar Hartman and had two children, Muriel and Grace Marie: and Fred, who married Florence Tilton and has two children, Mabel and Mildred. William Crowl was born in Washington County, Maryland, whence he moved to Urbana Ohi o. There he married Ann McCaughey, who was born in Washington County, Indiana, and they settled on a farm in Champaign County where they passed the remainder of their lives. Mrs. Sowers was their only child. Mr. and Mrs. Sowers are consisten t members of the Presbyterian Church. In politics he is Republican, and his service to his community have included official work as a member of the school board.
The Farm Journal Directory of Logan County, 1916, found at the Logan County Library, states that John W. and Mary E. Sowers are the tenants of a 150 acre farm on R4 West Liberty. It states they have two children, but son, Fred, had moved away . They had 4 horses and 35 cows. They had a telephone.
1910 Census for Liberty Township, Logan County Ohio, lists John Sowers as head on the family, living with his wife Mary, son Fred, daughter, Lulu, and brother Elmer. John and Elmer were both born in Indiana; everyone else born in Ohio. John'so ccupation was listed as general farmer and Lulu's occupation was listed as seamstress.
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