For 350th, History of Founding Families Explored in Bronxville - 'The Fowlers: A Living Legacy'

Written by Susan Kathryn Hefti

In support of the Town’s 350th Anniversary celebration, the Anne Hutchinson-Bronxville Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) hosted an October 24th lecture at the Bronxville Public Library on the history of the town’s founding families.

As Anne Hutchinson-Bronxville Chapter DAR Member Virginia Kathryn Hefti is a direct descendant of Henry Fowler - a signatory to the vaunted Eastchester Covenant - Town Historian, Richard Forliano, built his lecture - The Fowlers: A Living Legacy - around Hefti’s ancestors who, according to Forliano, remain “arguably the most influential family in the history of the town.”

Bringing to life the storied history of the Fowler family, the town historian shared with the audience the fact that in addition to signing the Eastchester Covenant - an historic 17th Century document still held in the town archives - Henry Fowler and/or his descendants: stood up to the tyranny of the British Crown long before the Declaration of Independence was ever written; served bravely in the American Revolution (e.g., Moses Fowler and Theodosius Fowler, et al); served on the Judiciary (e.g., Judge Caleb Fowler) and served as Town Supervisor for a cumulative twenty-four years - an historic record rivaled only by the family of the current Town Supervisor Anthony Colavita - to mention just some of the Fowlers’ centuries-long list of significant public contributions.

Along with Anne Hutchinson-Bronxville Chapter DAR Member Virginia Kathryn Hefti - the living legacy of this prominent historic American family - Fowler descendants Susan Bartlett (Anne Hutchinson-Bronxville Chapter DAR Treasurer) and Pieter Jacques (husband of Mary Hemings descendant and former DAR Regent Edna Bolling Jacques) were also introduced to the audience prior to the public lecture.

For more information on the town’s 350th Anniversary Celebration, please visit the 350th website.

Photo: Foreground L-R: Anne Hutchinson-Bronxville Chapter DAR Regent Valerie Fine Limekiller; Mary Hemings Descendant and Former DAR Regent Edna Bolling Jacques of Chappaqua; Anne Hutchinson-Bronxville Chapter DAR Member and Founder-Descendant Virginia Kathryn Hefti and Background L-R: Eastchester Town Historian Richard Forliano and Fowler Descendant Pieter Jacques of Chappaqua.Photo credit: The Anne Hutchinson-Bronxville Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.