Charlotte Fowler Wells
| Charlotte Fowler Wells | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | Charlotte Fowler August 14, 1814 Cohocton, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 4, 1901 (aged 86) West Orange, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Resting place | Rosedale Cemetery |
| Occupation | Publisher |
| Language | English |
| Alma mater | Franklin Academy |
| Genre | Pseudoscience |
| Subject | Phrenology |
| Spouse | Samuel Roberts Wells |
| Relatives | Orson Squire Fowler (brother), Lorenzo Niles Fowler (brother), Lydia Folger Fowler (sister-in-law) |
Charlotte Fowler Wells (née Charlotte Fowler; August 14, 1814 – June 4, 1901) was a 19th-century American phrenologist and publisher from New York. Along with her brothers, Orson Squire Fowler and Lorenzo Niles Fowler, her sister-in-law, Lydia Folger Fowler, and her husband, Samuel Roberts Wells, she was an early American popularizer of phrenology. Wells founded Fowler & Wells Company, published the American Phrenological Journal, and taught the first class in phrenology in the United States. She died at her home in New Jersey in 1901.
Charlotte Fowler was born in Cohocton, New York, August 14, 1814. She was the fourth in a family of eight children. Her father, Horace Fowler, was a deacon and judge. Her mother, Martha Howe, was an intellectual, who died when Wells was five years old, but her teachings left a lasting impression upon the daughter. Wells received most of her education in the district school, with only two winters of three months each of instruction in the Franklin Academy in Prattsburgh, New York, beginning in autumn 1831. She was otherwise self-taught, with a wide range of reading. Her older brothers, Orson and Lorenzo, were among the first to examine and believe the doctrines of Franz Joseph Gall and Johann Spurzheim. The increasing interest in the science of phrenology was greatly the result of the brothers' lifelong work.
Wells studied and became interested in Spurzheim's works, teaching the first class in phrenology in the United States, and thereafter, her life was devoted to promoting it. Urged by her brothers, she closed her school in 1837, and joined them in New York City in the family-run business of O.S. & L.N. Fowler, a lecture bureau, museum, and publishing house, where she served as proofreader, writer, business manager, and editor. She also maintained the organization's cabinet and was also instrumental in keeping the permanent offices from being abandoned. When Orson was in the field lecturing, and Lorenzo was establishing a branch in London, England, she had charge of the business in New York, and was considered instrumental in its success.
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