Thanks to the excellent help from subscriber Deborah jscomtc@msn.com I was able to obtain a copy of the PATE material in the following book. "A History of the Fowler Family of Southeastern North Carolina." Complied and Published by: Richard Gildart Fowler Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN): 87-401578 Matilda Amanda Pate b 22 Dec 1823 Butler Co AL, married Rufus Alexander Fowler about 1840 in Butler Co AL and died 6 Jan 1862, Smyrna, Milam Co TX. The material has been transcribe and is included below. One note of caution. There was not an Alexander Pate enumerated in the 1830 census of Butler Co AL. This line MAY PERHAPS be descendants of Abemelich Pate. The spelling variants of Abemelich are numerous. Two variants, "Bemlick" and "Benelive" appears in the material IV-2-3-2-1 Alexander was born in North Carolina July 2, 1820. He married Matilda Amanda Pate who was born in Butler Co Ala Dec 22 1823, probably the daughter of Alexander Pate of the 1830 Census of that county. These Pates were likely also to have been a North Carolina family, perhaps even Columbus Co. Alexander only had a couple of years in Alabama to make the acquaintance of Matilda and it is merely reasonable to expect that they were fellow pioneers. She died at Symrna Texas Jan 6 1863. He died Dec 29, 1869 also at Symrna. On a leaf of the family bible their first children were inscribed as Thomas Bemlick (probably Benelive - a Pate name). (Feb. 13 1843), Josiahor Dennis (Mar. 15 1846), Susannah Frantches (Aug 23, 1848), Daniel Dougher (later rendered as Docher and Dozier) (Nov. 27 1850) were born in Butler Co., and the rest Elizabeth Jane (Mar. 7, 1856 - Nov. 12, 1863), Martha Ellen (Mar. 30 1858 - May 28, 1948) were born in Guadeloupe Co after the 1851 move to Texas. Ma! tilda Pate had sisters Elizabeth (m. George Worcester), Susannah (m. Eli Hardcastle), Amy (m. James Hardcastle), Nancy (m. Joe Loftin) and a brother Joe all of whom made the Texas trek; probably also a brother Elijah who did not. Elias Hardcastle sent them instructions for the route through Texas to his place at Sullivan's Port on the Brazos where they rested for a few days. Alexander kept an accurate record of the cost of the ferriage over the 16 rivers they crossed between Butler Co and Prairie Lea in Guadalupe Co. They finally reached the west bank of the Colorado River of Texas on the 2nd of November 1851 after a 1O week trip. They were the first of the Alabama-North Carolina Fowlers to migrate to Texas. By 1861 the family had moved to Milam Co where they paid Confederate taxes in succeeding years, and where the twins Clara and Emma were born (Dec.20, 1860). Fanny (Susannah Frances) married Jordan Lafayette Ely 29 Oct 1863 (children: W C 25Jan1865, Annie Laurie 20Aug185! 7, Jordan A 18Nov1869, Rebecca Matilda 23Dec 1871, Emmanuel B 8Oct 187 3, Hosea Albert 11Oct1875, Jay Gould* 14Nov1883, Claudia Florence 24Dec 1887, Emmet Yates 20Jul1893). Martha Ellen married R D York and has a son J D York of Vancourt TX. Clara married George Dallas, then Pierce Pittman with: children Estelle (m. Wm Gregg) and Vida, then a third husband and then a ____ Luton. Emma married 1st J F Needham (children: Carrie, m 1st Hal Wright m 2nd ____ Gray of Houston TX; Lillian; Oren; Exie; Willi) and 2nd R E Watts. *Said to have been named after Jay Gould who was building the railroad through Milano and boarded with them just before his son was born. He promised to send $100 in gold to the family if it was a boy and they would name it after him, and he was as good as his word. Transcribed from pages 46 and 47 Joel