This page when complete will list every known pioneer to California with the surname Fowler. These will only be people who were in California before the Gold Rush news brought a million more.
John S Fowler, born 1818/1819 in New York married Jerusha Ensign (b 1820 MA), daughter of Elias Ensign and Jerusha Taylor. Elias and his wife Jerusha, their daughter Eliza, son John Warren Ensign, and daughter Jerusha (Ensign) Fowler and her then-four children: Thomas, George, John and Charles all embarked 4 Feb 1846 on the ship Brooklyn sailing from New York City, bound for California. They were all Mormon converts who were heeding the call of the church to go West, the ultimate destination of the Latter Day Saints, now Salt Lake City, had not yet been chosen. This ship arrived at Yerba Buena (now San Francisco) on 31 Jul 1846. Elias Ensign, Eliza Ensign and Charles Fowler had all died at sea on the voyage. John seems to have come to California before his wife, he was alcalde at Sacramento in 1848 and one wonders if he might not also be the same person as the overland immigrant of 1843.
John, his wife Jerusha, their three remaining children: Thomas, George and John; her mother Jerusha Ensign and brother Warren, are all found in the 1850 Census of Sacramento City, where John S Fowler is listed as a "Real Estate Dealer". John S Fowler or sometimes just "J S" Fowler, owned the City Hotel in Sacramento in 1849 and 1850 at least He ran for California State Assembly in 1849 but lost, and was nominated for Sacramento City Council but apparently lost again. He was in business in 1849 with H C Cardwell, E L Brown and John Harris as "Cardwell, Brown and Co". In 1850 he lost $10,000 in a Sacramento fire, but later that same year, with R Semple he was in the process of having a steamboat constructed.
Again in the special California State Census of 1852, John S Fowler age 33 is listed at Sacramento, as a Farmer, born in New York. Listed with him is his wife Jerusha, sons Thomas W Fowler age 12, George E Fowler age 10, John S Fowler Jr age 9, and Francis E Fowler age 1. Then there is also listed her mother Jerusha Ensign age 63 and brother Warren age 22
Bancroft does not seem to know that Jerusha with four children on the Mormon ship is the same person as the wife of this John who died in 1860 in Sacramento, aged 42.
Fowler, murdered by the Californians near Santa Rosa June 1846. He had been sent by Ide to go see Moses Carson (an elder brother of Kit Carson), who was working the ranch Sotoyome, owned by Henry Fitch there. Moses had some gunpowder and Ide thought that would be useful for the coming battle of the Bear Flaggers. There is little to no evidence that his first name was George.
Henry Fowler, he came overland to Oregon in 1843 and then to California in the Kelsey party. He was born in Illinois the son of William Fowler. In 1845 he worked for Sutter. He and his father bought a farm near Calistoga, he was later a resident of Napa City.
William Fowler, Henry's father, born in New York. He came overland to Oregon in 1843 and then to California in the Kelsey party. Went to Pope Valley, then to Sonoma, then worked at New Helvetia in 1847. With his son Henry, he bought a farm near Calistoga and died in 1865, aged 86.
William Fowler Jr, son of William and brother of Henry. Born in 1817 at Albany, New York, he came to California in the Kelsey party. Worked at Sonoma, New Helvetia, and San Rafael. While he had been in Oregon, he married Rebecca Kelsey, who divorced him in California. She was then married by Sutter on 28 Dec 1845 to Grove Cook who died 1856 at Santa Cruz. William married Malinda Harlan about July 1846, they had one son Henry in 1849. She died. I find him living in 1852 in Contra Costa County. This son Henry is possibly the same person as William Fowler born Dec 1848 found living in 1900 at Happy Camp, Siskiyou County, California.