mowery1

Although there are no definite records that the family came from Germany, it is known the Mowery's were members of the German Lutheran Church, and German was the language spoken at home up until the time Adam was married. The first generation of this family we know for sure is Frederick, and he is believed to have been born in Pennsylvania in about 1750. The name Frederick Moura is listed in the index of Berks County Soldiers in the American Revolution by Raymond E. Hollenback, but there is no further evidence that this is the same ancestor. Later Frederick moved to North Carolina with his wife, Susanna, however we don't know if they were married before that or if she was born in North Carolina. They are recorded in the 1790 Rowan County census, living in the Salisbury District. They are also found in the 1800 and 1810 census and on the 1778 and 1788 tax lists. The year of Frederick's death is thought to have been 1814 since only his widow is listed as the owner of the 152 acres in Rowan County.
Some of the many spellings for Mowery are Maurer, Mowry, Mowrey, and Moura. This leads to some confusion, but our family spelling from Frederick is confirmed by the record of all four of his children being baptized in the Organ Lutheran Church in North Carolina. Our second generation Mowery is Peter who was the oldest of Frederick and Susanna's children. The only information we have on him is that he was married twice, and it appears his first wife, Dolly Coleiron, was the mother of his nine children. Peter left a will dated July 1, 1848, and is buried in the Lowerstone Church Cemetery, Rowan County, North Carolina.

Miles Mowery, oldest son of Peter, was born in 1820 in North Carolina. While living in Union County, Illinois, in 1850, his cousins, Noah and John, were living adjacent to him in the Mill Creek area. Miles and his wife, Christina Boger, moved between North Carolina, Illinois, and Tennessee for several years. Their oldest, Adam, was born in 1844 in North Carolina; daughter, Mary, was born in 1846 in Tennessee; daughter, Martha, was born in 1848 in Illinois; and the youngest, Daniel, was born in 1852 in Tennessee. We do not know when Miles or Christina died, but in the 1860 Weakley County census, they are absent with Adam, who was only 16, recorded as the head of house.
Adam Mowery was born May 3, 1844, and christened in the Lower Stone Lutheran Church. He carried the burden of supporting his younger siblings, which led to a hard life. He was a good worker and was known as a fine carpenter and bricklayer.

When he was about 18 years old, he enlisted in the 6th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment, Company "L" of the Union Army which was organized at Dresden, Weakley County, in July 1862. This Company along with "I", "K", and "M" were part of the 1st West Tennessee Infantry but later transferred to the 6th Cavalry in July 1863. From the company descriptive book, he is said to have been 5 feet, 7 inches tall, with black eyes and black hair. On another page he is described as 5 feet, 10 inches tall, with hazel eyes and black hair. He was listed as absent without leave twice - once on March 8, 1863 at Crocket, Tennessee, and on August 1, 1864 at Grand Junction, Tennessee. Most of the action seen by the 6th Cavalry were skirmishes in and around small towns in Mississippi, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The regiment was mustered out of service July 26, 1865.