Sowell, A. J. (Andrew Jackson), 1848-1921

Andrew Jackson Sowell was in some ways a third-generation Texan, although he was a member of the first generation of his family born in the state. His paternal grandfather John Newton Sowell (1780-1838) moved his family from Tennessee to Missouri and then to Texas, settling in Green DeWitt’s colony near Gonzales in 1830. During the Texas Revolution, he was one of the “Old Eighteen” in Gonzales and aided the Texan cause by making and repairing guns. Sowell’s uncle, also named Andrew Jackson Sowell (1815-1883), participated in several engagements during the Texas Revolution, serving at the Alamo garrison but departing to obtain supplies prior to its fall. Members of the Sowell family were among the earliest settlers in Guadalupe County, Texas.

Sowell’s maternal grandfather William Suddarth Turner (1787-1871) arrived in Texas with his wife and children in 1837 September. A veteran of the Creek War and War of 1812 who served under Andrew Jackson, Turner served in the Vasquez and Woll campaigns in Texas in 1842. He eventually settled in Seguin and was elected coroner of Guadalupe County in 1846. Sowell wrote in his History of Fort Bend County that his grandfather was a descendant of James Turner, the twelfth governor of North Carolina, an assertion that further research indicates may be incorrect.

Sowell’s father Asa Jarmon Lee Sowell (1822-1877) was born in Davidson County, Tennessee, near the Hermitage, the home of President Andrew Jackson. Although too young to fight in the Texas Revolution, Asa later served with Capt. Jack Hays’ Texas Rangers. He also served as a district clerk (1846) and chief justice (1870-1874) in Guadalupe County. Asa Sowell married Mary Mildred Turner (1829-1873), also a native of Davidson County, Tennessee, on 1844 August 29 in Seguin, Gonzales (later Guadalupe) County, Texas. The couple had nine children.

Andrew Jackson Sowell was born near Seguin on 1848 August 2. From 1870 November until 1871 June, he was a Texas Ranger in Company F of the Frontier Battalion, serving under Capt. David P. Baker. During his service, he participated in the Wichita Campaign in northwest Texas, enduring a harsh winter and participating in several Indian fights.

Drawing on his own experiences as a Texas Ranger, events in his relatives’ lives, family history, and interviews, Sowell wrote numerous books and articles about the early history of Texas. His books include Rangers and Pioneers of Texas (1884), Life of Big Foot Wallace (1899), Early Settlers and Indian Fighters of Southwest Texas (1900), History of Fort Bend County (1904), and Incidents Connected with the Early History of Guadalupe County, Texas (undated). Sowell also wrote feature articles for various publications, and in the 1910s he contributed the “Frontier Days of Texas” column to the San Antonio Light newspaper.

Andrew Jackson Sowell married Mary Lillian Tinsley (1855-1902) in Seguin on 1872 February 15. The couple had five children: Fountain Lee (1873-1930); Almedia Mildred (1875-1899); Adaline Willis (1877-1968), who married J. J. T. Hill; Emma Henriette (1882-1902); and Franky (1884-1884).

Although he traveled extensively around Texas, usually to visit relatives, in his later life Sowell lived near his daughter Adaline Sowell Hill in Center Point, Kerr County. Andrew Jackson Sowell died at Santa Rosa Hospital in San Antonio on 1921 July 4.

References

Ashton, Dorothy C. "Andrew Jackson Sowell." Handbook of Texas Online . http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fso07 .

Baumgartner, Dorcas. "John Sowell Family." In The History of Gonzales County, Texas, by the Gonzales County Historical Commission. Dallas: Curtis Media, 1986.

Cox, Mike. Introduction to Life of “Big Foot” Wallace, by A. J. Sowell. Austin, Texas: State House Press, 1989.

Daughters of the Republic of Texas. Daughters of the Republic of Texas Patriot Ancestor Album . Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing, 1995.

Sowell, Andrew Jackson. History of Fort Bend County, Containing Biographical Sketches of Many Noted Characters . Houston, Texas: W. H. Coyle and Co., 1904.

Sowell family biographical files, Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library, San Antonio, Texas.

Sowell, Russell Lee, comp. Genealogical Record: Ancestors, Descendants, Relatives . Castroville, Texas, 1983.

From the guide to the Andrew Jackson Sowell Family Papers Col 14817., Circa 1880-circa 1954, (Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library at the Alamo, San Antonio, Texas)

Born to Asa J. L. and Mary (Turner) Sowell in Seguin, Texas, Andrew Jackson Sowell (1848-1921) moved with his family to Sowell's Valley in Hays County during the 1850s. He later joined the Texas Rangers, scouting and fighting in the campaign against the Wichita Indians in 1870 and 1871. After his service, Sowell became an author, writing books about Texas history and the Rangers, including Rangers and Pioneers of Texas (1884), Early Settlers and Indian Fighters of Southwest Texas (1890), The Life of Big Foot Wallace (1899), and History of Fort Bend County (1904).

Source:

Ashton, Dorothy C. " Sowell, Andrew Jackson ." Handbook of Texas Online . Accessed April 12, 2011.

From the guide to the Sowell, A. J. Papers 88-357., Undated, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)

Born to Asa J. L. and Mary (Turner) Sowell in Seguin, Texas, Andrew Jackson Sowell (1848-1921) moved with his family to Sowell's Valley in Hays County during the 1850s.

He later joined the Texas Rangers, scouting and fighting in the campaign against the Wichita Indians in 1870 and 1871. After his service, Sowell became an author, writing books about Texas history and the Rangers, including Rangers and Pioneers of Texas (1884), Early Settlers and Indian Fighters of Southwest Texas (1890), The Life of Big Foot Wallace (1899), and History of Fort Bend County (1904).

Source:

Ashton, Dorothy C. "Sowell, Andrew Jackson." Handbook of Texas Online. Accessed April 12, 2011.

From the description of Sowell, A. J., Papers, Undated (University of Texas Libraries). WorldCat record id: 752194225