Education of William Fowler

The historical researcher, M. E. Laws researched the life of John Fowler through public records in England. He noted that though John was apparently a responsible and good soldier he never rose above the rank of Private. In his report he says, "It is surprising that a soldier of such good conduct should not have reached Non-Commissioned ranks; probably the reason was a lack of education which handicapped him" (Rogers 2). From this we deduce that John Fowler Sr. probably could not read or write.
Bridget was also uneducated and signed her husband's death certificate with her mark, being unable to sign her name.
With unlearned parents it is amazing that William was able to attain so much education. His parents must have encouraged him and sent him to school. William must also have been responsible for his own education, which was quite liberal including music, literature, and shorthand.
William could read and write music. He played many instruments including: The violin, the harp, the piccolo (or flute ) and the piano. William often found extra work as an entertainer at hotels and other places. He was an excellent musician as well as a good singer.
William's knowledge of literature probably came from reading a lot. He loved to read. He worked every day and didn't have as much time to read as he liked. So. he formed the habit of reading as he walked to and from his work. He would walk with his book in front of him and would glance up every so often to avoid the thick traffic on the sidewalk, but he still kept on reading.
"He learned the Pitman system of shorthand. His diary, under date of Sept 9, 1853, records in shorthand that he received the book of instruction from the founder, Sir Isaac Pitman, himself" (Stories of the LDS Hymns). William used this system when writing his diaries. It is also reported that William developed his own version of this shorthand and his later diaries can't be read (Catherine Cheney) .
William was a cutler by trade. A cutler was someone who made fine razors and high-class knives. A cutler would not necessarily forge his own blades, but would take the blades forged by someone else and finish them and mount them in handles, usually hand designed. Sheffield was the main town in England (apart from London) for cutlery and cutlery was the dominant industry of the town. Sheffield Knives had been being made for hundreds of years at this point and had a reputation for being of high-quality (Lambert).
William made a comfortable living at this trade. At the factory where he worked, men often got bits of hot steel from grinding, in their eyes. They went to William who had a steady nerve and a steady hand. William would take small tweezers and pick the bits from off the eyeball and then the men would go back to work. He was very tender, kind, and very good with those who had been hurt.
William grew to be a very active man of small stature. He was five feet five inches in height and had curly (wavy)light brown hair and blue eyes.