Dear Cousins
September 1989 - December 1993
September 1989
Would like to have the ancestry
of my g-g-grandfather James Burns Gowen, b1785 Bedford Co, VA, m1808 Annie
Price, d1880 Bedford Co, TN. Mildred R. Ayres, 904 St. Lukes Dr, Richardson, TX,
75080.
==Dear Cousins==
Need data on Wade Hampton Gowan,
b1856 SC, mc1876 Emme-line Frances Amos cs1880 Spartanburg Co, SC. Dennis Amos,
604 Ferndale, Rock Hill, SC.
==Dear Cousins==
Seeking information on my
great-grandmother Josephine Goin(s) who m1 Josiah Taylor in Bexar County, TX: m2
Mr. Priest, removed to White Deer, TX. Pamela N. Dillard 1109 Van Horn, College
Station, TX, 77940.
==Dear Cousins==
Seeking data on Etta Alma Goins/Goynes,
my grandmother who b1870 to William Goins and Julia Spell Goins ln Tyler Co, TX,
m1893 to Joseph Alexander "Zan" Gassiot; d1974 Coleman, TX. Betty Gassiot Brown,
116 Brush, Coleman, TX, 76834.
==Dear Cousins==
Will exchange data on James Goyne/Guynes
bc1755 VA. d1834 MS and his son, John Goyne b1776, m1800 Matilda Hall GA, d1840
MS. Evelyn Sandifer Hall, 4319 Colonial Drive, Shreveport, LA, 71119.
==Dear Cousins==
Tracking Dillard Gowen/Goen bc1791
SC, mc1818 Nancy, cs1830 Jackson County, GA and their daughter Jane Goins who
mc1849 John D. Tuck. Seems that Jane Goins Tuck was a Cherokee, and the Tuck
family disinherited John D. Tuck and his children. They were "shunned by the
Tuck family and their names marked out of the family bible." Fact or fiction?
Carolyn Tuck Sanders, 2108 Princeton Drive, Ennis, Texas, 75119.
==Dear Cousins==
In pursuit of James L. Gowens/Gynes
m1848 Rebecca Tru-lock, d1853 Worth County, GA and their son William Thomas
Gwines b1851, m1878 Mary Jane Thornhill, d1926 Worth County, GA. Gowens name
spelled five different ways in Old Trulock family bible. Carl C. Gwines, Rt. 1,
Box 4650 Sylvester, GA, 51791.
==Dear Cousins==
Searching for Amos Goyen/Goin who
mc1778 Mary Ann Baxter in NC: vc1780 Fairfield Co, SC, sdc1784 in Revolution.
Mary Ann Baxter Goyen m2c1785 John Byrns, v1789 Charleston, SC. Two sons, Amos
Goyen bc1780 and Jeremiah Goyen bc1783. Lucile H. Sanders, Box 53, Buffalo, TX,
75831.
October 1989
Will exchange Goyne data. Need
info on John Goyne who d1819 Jefferson, AL and his son John R. Goyne b1809 GA,
and his grandson George Washington Goyne b1849 Kemper, MS, m1872 Elizabeth
Byers, Lamar Co, TX, d1907 Hamilton Co, TX Charlie Blakley, 211 Gatewood Circle
W, Burleson, TX 76028
==Dear Cousins==
I am Lois Gowen Collins, daughter
of William Loyd Gowen who was born January 23, 1897 in Eddyville, IL. His
parents were Wi-ley Fletcher Gowen and Dora Ann Evans Gowen who had 11
children. Wiley Fletcher Gowen was born September 16, 1875 near Dorisville or
Harrisburg, IL and died September 3, 1897. He had two sisters, Mary Gowen and
Martha Gowen. Grateful for any help on this line. Lois Collins, 9713 Echo
Lane, Over-land, MO, 63114.
==Dear Cousins==
Need information on John &
Elizabeth Denham[?] Gowen/Goins/Gowens mc1835 Cumberland Co. [now Monroe Co.],
KY. Son John b1837 KY. Elizabeth Gowen bc1839 Bai-ley Elder in Benton Co, MO,
cs185O Carroll Co, MO. Need every-thing, glad to exchange data with anyone.
Theron D. Elder, 3156 N.W. 25th St, Oklahoma City, Ok, 73107
==Dear Cousins==
Searching for parents of James
Goyne/Goynes/Guynes b1755 Mecklenburg Co VA. Rev. soldier, Camden Dist, SC: v
St. Helena Pa, LA, Copiah Co, MS, Lawrence Co, MS; v1836 Kempner Co, MS.
Virginia R. Kerr, Rt. 1, Box 208-A, Mc-Comb, MS, 39648.
==Dear Cousins==
Will exchange data on Matilda
Gowen b1800 KY, m1831 John William Miller, Lawrence Co, IL: d1900 Crawford Co,
KS. She had brother, Thomas Gowen. Leva Joy Brantley, Rt. 1, Box 1440,
Fletcher, OK, 405/365-4381.
==Dear Cousins==
Interested in corresponding with
anyone who is researching the Goyne surname. They were in the following counties
and states: Georgia--Warren, Taliferro, Wilkes, Houston. Al-abama--Jefferson,
Coffee; Louisiana--Union & Morehead Pa. Arkansas--Union, Ashley & Drew. Texas-Fannin,
Gregg & Hunt. Sammy Duncan, 2107 Division, Greenville. TX, 75401.
==Dear Cousins==
Need parents and siblings of
Pleasant Goins/Gowen/Gowan/Goens/Gooing bc1799 TN or VA: he m1821 Temperance
Cooper in Dallas Co, AL. They had Andrew Martin b1823, David, William, Martha
and a daughter who dy: m2 Louisa Alice "Ally" Webb 1846 Shelby Co, AL. Had ch,
Matilda Jane, Margarette G, Martin B, Pheoby, Allie/Alice, and Susan. Pleasant
dc1863 Shelby Co, about the same time as his fa-ther who d in TN. Will gladly
exchange data. Fay B. Kitchens, 101 Jolly Roger, Monroe, LA, 71203.
November 1989
Kudos on two marvelous
newsletters. Obviously a lot of time and work went into them, and I'm much
appreciative of those efforts. Thanks to all involved.
The article on the Gowrie
conspiracy was of special interest. As an unconfirmed descendant of Sir Rohert
Logan of Restalrig, who paid a high price for his supposed involvement against
the Ruthven brothers, I recently started my own research into the conspiracy. If
Landa Beth Sloan would like the services of this historical writer and
researcher, I'm available. And I won't be playing devil's advocate, not
necessarily, since I'm a Gowen, too. Martha Hix, 13531 Norland Drive, San
Antonio, TX, 78232. 512/496-6621.
==Dear Cousins==
I received a copy of your
September newsletter from my nephew, Don Going of Peachtree City, Georgia. I am
a historian and a genealogy buff, and I have been tracing the family tree for
years.
I have only considered "Going' as
I felt this was headache enough--also I knew I had a first cousin who spelled
his name "Goings." I just thought he was one of the more stupid members of the
tree, ha! Your newsletter was very enlightening, and the search will be
broadened. Please add my name to the mailing list. Rev. M. Lee Going, 2027 Clark
Station Road, Fish-erville, KY, 40023.
==Dear Cousins==
Notice of Gowen Research Foundation
appeared in the Houston Genealogical Forum. I think I might belong in your
"family," but as yet I haven't found a solid connection.
My great-great grandfather was
named Gowen Harris. From the first I have felt that Gowen might be a maternal
name or pos-sibly from Maj. John "Buck" Gowen who was active in the area of
South Carolina where I have the first trace of Gowen Harris.
Gowen Harris is mentioned in the
deed records of Spartan-burg County, S.C. as early as 1804. He married Frances
F. Sharp. They moved to Greenville, S.C, then on to Lawrence County,
Mississippi, then on to Opelousas, Louisiana. Fanny and some children stayed
there while Gowen Harris went on to Brazoria, Texas where he died in March 1836.
I hope that some-one in the Foundation membership can help me and that this
turns out to be a family connection. Beverly T. Smith 1807 Cooper Lake Road,
Smyrna, Georgia, 30080, 404/435-7176.
==Dear Cousins==
I have just had a phone call from
Miller Abbott Gowen in Geneva, Switzerland. When it was mentioned in the
Foundation newsletter that he was underwriting the publishing of the Foun-dation
manuscript, I wrote to him to express my appreciation for what he is doing. In
my letter I mentioned that my daughter, Jimmie Dean Overstreet had just moved to
Geneva from Paris and hoped that he might give her a call. He not only called my
daughter, but took her to lunch and introduced his family--wife, two sons and a
daughter--and a cousin who was visiting from Scotland.
In his call he mentioned that
Jimmie Dean had found a house in Geneva, that her furniture had arrived and that
Murdock, her golden retriever was extremely happy in Switzerland chasing swans.
I was interested in the mention of
the Gowrie Tract in the September newsletter. My cousin George Brock, formerly
with Union Camp Corporation of Savannah who now owns the Gowrie Tract, is
familiar with the Tract which is located just south of here. I have written
Union Camp Corporation request-ing any information they might be able to supply
regarding the early owners of Gowrie Tract. We'll keep you posted. Hazel Dean
Overstreet, Route 1, Box 938, Odom, GA, 31555. 912/586-6634
==Dear Cousins==
My husband's g-grandfather Emanuel
Nash married Sena Goins around 1900. Also his g-g-g-grandfather's daughter,
Keziah Nash married Phillip Goins in 1815 in Louisiana. I would be glad to
exchange what I have on the Goins if it would help someone else, and perhaps
they could help me with some questions I can't solve.
Do you have the article "American
Families at Four Frontier Posts: Pensacola, Mobile, Natchez and Missouri" which
ap-peared in "Genealogical Helper," November 1983. These lists were written by
French officers trying to write English in the Spanish idiom. One entry reads,
"3 June-5 July, 1789, James Gown (Gowen?l. Another is "2 March 1792, Eduardo
Gones [Edward [Goens"]. Della Ford Nash, 2515 NW 26th St, Okla-homa City, OK,
73107
==O==
Thank you for the Newsletter. It's
exciting to be in touch with a group researching the family. I have been
researching the Cornish branch for a number of years, so it's great to find that
I am not alone with this work.
I am seeking the origin of the
Cornish Gowens and to compile a family tree of all the family living here in
Australia. I have achieved this with the two largest families here, the
descendants of Peter Goyne and Mary Ann Bowden Goyne, my group and Francis Goyne
and Elizabeth Gribben Goyne of Tasmania.
I am enclosing my family tree. You
will note where I have placed an asterisk the spelling changes from "Gowen" to "Goyne."
Initially I was working only in the Goyne/Goyen names, and when I discovered the
Gowen connection, I realized
d that I had much more work to do.
Then I had to have heart surgery, so l have not yet been able to travel the two
hours to the Melbourne Library and search through the close, patent and fine
rolls for Gowen entries.
I have on my computer all the
known descendants of Peter & Mary Ann Goyne, Francis & Elizabeth Goyne and John
& Catherine Goyne; list of ships that brought Goyne individuals out; various
family trees and three sets of Cornish data. I'll send you diskettes of this
data. Robert J. Goyne, 523 Sutton St, Se-bastopol, 3356, Victoria, Australia.
==Dear Cousins==
I was delighted to learn about
Gowen Research Foundation and its goals. Thanks so much for the newsletters.
Enclosed in my check for 1990 dues.
My first documented ancestor was
David Goings and his wife Susannah [Williams?l Goings who lived in Giles County,
Virginia after their marriage in 1803. There were 14 children and some of them
moved on to Delaware County, Indiana after he obtained a land patent there in
1824. Later he returned to Vir-ginia, riding horseback, to visit a daughter,
Mrs. Jacob Surface of Newbern, Virginia and another, Mrs. Rachel Burton in
Pearisburg, Virginia where he became sick and died April 26, 1840.
David was one of those persons
with swarthy skin and fine features [Melungeon?]. Some of his descendants
resembled peo-ple of Afghanistan or India.
I will gladly share my information
with other cousins inter-ested in their heritage. Hazel M. Wood, 3772 Baker
Street, San Diego, CA, 92117.
==Dear Cousins==
Need parents of Oscar Clayborn
Goins who was bl830 Grainger Co, TN; m1858 Esther Reynolds, Chattanooga, TN,
v1873 Murray Co, GA, m2 Nancy Florence Potter, d1903 Bradley Co, TN. I have
Goins information on several families, Melungeon information, Civil War,
Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and state military records. If anyone is
interested ln writing to me for more information, I will answer all letters.
Louise Goins Richardson, 2207 E. Lake Street, Paragould, AR.
==Dear Cousins==
Seeking parents and cs1840 &
cs1870 of John M. Goins, bc1811 NC, m1833 Polly Clippard Lincoln Co, NC, m2 Uary
----, v1834 v1860 Cleveland Co, TN. David Goings, Box 585831, Orlando, FL,
32858.
==Dear Cousins==
Seeking Martha Brister: m1822
Wiley Goings, Lawrence Co, MS. Would appreciate any information you might have
on this individual. James E. Bristow, 1200 Cherokee, Arlington, TX 76012.
==Dear Cousins==
Seeking information on Frederick
Gowen [Melungeon?], b1798 Patrick Co, VA, m1818 Nancy Comer Surry Co, NC [she
b1799 NC, d1872 Gibson Co, IN], v1819 Patrick Co VA, cs1820 Halifax Co, NC,
v1822 cs1830 Patrick Co, VA, v1833 Lee Co, VA v1835 Pulaski Co, KY, CS1850 Adair
Co, KY, w1872 d1872 Gibson Co, IN. Ch: William R, Polly, Allen, Larkin,
Elizabeth G. and Frederick. Brenda Wood, Box 218, Chandler, IN, 47610.
==Dear Cousins==
Seeking family of Hester Salina
Gowan/Gowin, Quaker, b1825 TN, mc1845 James Walter Harris, d1897 Rock Island Co,
IL. Had family in PA as late as 1878. Any help appreciated. Martha Hix, 13531
Norland, San Antonio, TX, 78212.
==Dear Cousins==
Can anyone identify "John Gowen,
Esquire died in Balti-more. In a fit of derangement, he committed suicide," and
why was his death notice carried in the May 16, 1834 edition of "National Banner
& Daily Advertiser" of Nashville, TN? Has anyone checked Baltimore newspapers
for their version of his death? Mary Gowin Trostle, 4515 48th St, Lubbock, TX,
79414.
December 1989
I was absolutely thrilled to
receive your letter and the mono-graph on my ancestor, Frederick Gowen and his
descendants. Other than a cousin living in a nearby town, I have never had even
so much as a name of another descendant of Frederick Gowen of Patrick County,
VA. Enclosed is some material about the more recent generations which I thought
you might like to add to your files.
I was fascinated by your article
on the Melungeon connec-tion. It was the first time I have encountered the term,
and I am eager to know more about it. I have seen my Grand-mother Gowen and all
of her siblings as I was growing up, and none had the Melungeon characteristics.
I have a photo of my
great-grandfather Fredrick Dempsey Gowen, and he is light complexioned and looks
somewhat like a Prussian. There are no stories on my side of the family of
people with the chocolate complexion, [but then genes, genetics and genealogists
do strange things.]
What is really strange is that a
few years ago I secured a copy of the papers relating to Frederick Gowen's
Revolutionary service. I was hoping that he was the father of my Fredrick
Dempsey Gowen, but when I began reading the papers I was shocked to learn that
he was a "free man of color." He was born in Brunswick County, Virginia and
after the war lived in Lawrence County, Alabama. Later he lived out his life in
White County, Illinois about 50 miles west of here. Brenda Wood, 6700 Gard-ner
Road, Chandler, IN, 47610.
==Dear Cousins==
Congratulations on a superb
organizational job. You've an-swered many "unknowns' for me already. I look
forward to ev-ery newsletter.
I will send you a listing of "our
side" of the family--four chil-dren, ten grandchildren and five
great-grandchildren-- after 60 years of marriage, happy ones, to the same
partners. Gladys Gowen Fendig, 204 Cater St, St. Simons Island,
==Dear Cousins==
I received your September and
October publications, and I am glad to support your efforts and have enclosed my
1990 dues. I am particularly interested in research of the Melun-geons and your
plans to continue the research of the origin of this early group of settlers.
While in Tennessee last month
researching my Goings fam-ily, I first learned of the Melungeons who used this
surname. In the McClung Historical Collection in the Lawson McGee Li-brary,
Knoxville I found several books and articles about Melungeons.
I hope you will publish frequent
articles regarding the Melungeons and their origin. I plan to continue
researching my Goings ancestors and the connection to the Melungeons. There may
be other readers interested in the same endeavor, and an ex-change of
information would be desirable. Evelyn L. Orr, 8310 Emmet St, Omaha, NE, 68134.
==Dear Cousins==
Thank you, thank you, thank you
for pointing me to Madge Howard of Montana. Today l received from her a large
en-velope full of wonderful information about my Hester Salina Goin [she spells
it Gowin.] and I'll Xerox copies for the Foun-dation files.
Madge Howard must be an amazing
woman. [Going strong at 83] still employed, not a quiver to her penmanship.
Would that I could . . .
A couple of months ago, I never
dreamed I'd ever find out about Hester. Thanks to you, today it's different.
Words can't ex-press my gratitude. Martha Rand Hix, 13531 Norland Drive, San
Antonio, TX, 78232.
==Dear Cousins==
Seeking information about the
parents of David Go-ings/Goins/Goans bc1783 mc1805 Susannah Williams, daughter
of George Henry Williams and Margareta Harless Williams, German settlers in New
River area of Giles County [later Mont-gomery] County] VA. They had 11
children. Most, including some married daughters, moved to Liberty Twp,
Delaware County, IN by mid 1830s. In IN and IA the Goings spelling
pre-dominated. Was he a Melungeon or French as previously guessed. Evelyn L.
Orr, 8310 Emmet, Omaha, NE, 68134, 402/571-3422.
==Dear Cousins==
Family tradition states that "Miss
Burns, cousin to Robert Burns, the Scotch poet," was married to the father [name
un-known] of James Burns Gowen, my ancestor. Does anyone know the details of
how Robert Burns and "Miss Burns" were related? Linda Lou McDowell, No. 31
Broadmoor, Texarkana, AR, 75502.
==Dear Cousins==
Who were the parents of my
ancestor, James Gowin, born 1844 IL, m1864 Sarah Parker, daughter of Arthasia
Parker in Ruther-ford County, TN? They were enumerated in cs1880 in Ruther-ford
County. Lela Gowin Buster, 230 Willowwood Rd, Level-land, TX, 79336.
January 1990
As a Gowen, I wanted to let you
know how delighted I am to re-ceive the newsletter. I never realized what a rich
and inter-esting history I am associated with. I am enclosing my mem-bership for
1990 and another as a gift for my brother, Neil O. Gowen of Loveland, CO. Lorna
M. Gowen, 218 S. Lafayette St, Denver, CO, 80209.
==Dear Cousins==
It has always been of interest to
me to find the town of Gowensville, SC listed on the state's map, and I have
intended to write someone there with the inquiry as to its origin. Your arti-cle
has answered that question in an excellent manner.
Now, another question. During
World War II and sometime thereafter, there was a Gowen Field somewhere in
Idaho. Do your or any of your staff know the history of this airfield? I am sure
it will be interesting to the members of the Foundation to also have an answer
to this.
You are off to a fine start, and I
sincerely approve of the membership fee as I am confident that we all want to
contribute to the success of the Foundation. I am enclosing my Contribut-ing
Membership as I certainly do not want to risk missing the newsletter or any
other mailing. Olen R. Gowens, Ashby Place, Ladoga, IN, 47954.
==Dear Cousins==
I received my first copy of the
Newsletter, and it is one of the biggest thrills in my 84 years. I am enclosing
my membership for 1990 and copies of proof of my descent from James Goyen who
was born in Mecklenburg County, VA May 30, 1755. My maternal grandmother, Julia
Roberta Guynes was a daughter of George Ross Guynes, son of John Goyne and
Matilda Hall Goyne. I was born in Mississippi. I last saw her in 1915 when my
family moved to Louisiana. I remember her well. Three of her children were
female triplets. Velma S. Beuerle, 3317 Clairmont St, Flint, MI, 48503.
==O==
Thank you so much for putting me
in touch with Beverly Smith of Smyrna, Georgia who is descended from Gowen
Har-ris, brother of my ancestor, James P. Harris. I called her immedi-ately, and
she had already put a packet of information in the mail to me.
I was able to send her information
on Gowen Harris in Mis-sissippi. She said Gowen Harris was married to Frances
Sharp who stated in court records they were married in 1801. The Sharp name is
going to help make my connection to the Gowen family.
I am very excited to have someone
like Beverly help me on my lineage, and it's thanks to you and the Foundation
that it has become possible. Rubie Harris, 4817 York, #226, Metairie, LA, 70001.
==Dear Cousins==
I was thrilled to be included in
your mailing list at the re-quest of my long-lost cousin Robert J. Goyen of
Sebastopol, Victoria, Australia. About 12 years ago my brother started
re-searching the origins of mother's family who came from Tasma-nia. He had
moderate success, and in 1987, through a cousin in Alexandria, NZ we
"discovered" Robert who was fully commit-ted to the family's history.
We filled in a few gaps in his
research, but he has provided us with our own heritage going back [through Goyen,
Goyne, Gowenl to the mid 1600s. I had concluded that we were a dying race, but
now I find I have literally thousands of cousins throughout the world! I am
enclosing my 1990 membership and am looking forward to the next edition of the
newsletter L. Roy Grigg, 12 Mere Rd, Taupo, 3300, New Zealand, Phone 86-601.
==Dear Cousins==
I am very much interested in
continuing to receive the Newsletter. I have been researching my Goins family
for about six years. Enclosed is my Pedigree sheet and a copy of a biogra-phy of
my great-grandfather Oscar Clayborn Goins. I have Goins information on several
families, Melungeon information, Civil War, Revolutionary War, War of 1812 and
state militia military records.
If anyone is interested in writing
to me for more informa-tion, I'll answer all letters. Louise Goins Richardson,
2207 E. Lake Street, Paragould, AR, 72450.
==Dear Cousins==
Recently I was in Pennsylvania
visiting my sister, Mrs. George Brenton Gowan and saw the Foundation Newsletter.
I have been researching my family for about 10 years. I am enclos-ing Gowan
family group sheets and will continue to send data to the Foundation. Please add
my membership. Marjorie A. Templeton, 204 S. Bentley St, Payson, AZ, 85541.
==Dear Cousins==
I was very interested in the
article of Gowensville, SC in the newsletter. I will send to you an old article
about the founding of Inman, SC which is very near Gowensville. The town was
founded by Charles McElreath Amos and a Mr. Gowan [as spelled in the article.]
It seems that Amos donated the land and that he and Gowan hauled the logs and
built the train station. They named the town "Imnan" after a railroad official,
perhaps to curry a little favor. The plan worked; the depot was officially
recognized by the railroad, and the town flourished because of the train-related
business. Naturally Amos and Gowan owned much of the land which was sold to
merchants and citizens. Smart businessmen! We wish the Foundation and staff
contin-ued success and the very best in the new year. Dennis R. Amos, 604
Ferndale Drive, Rock Hill, SC, 29730.
==Dear Cousins==
l recently purchased a facsimile
of the 1901 edition of "The History of Sanford, Maine 1661-1900" as a Christmas
present for my wife, Edna, a Gowen descendant. We have enjoyed pe-rusing its
pages and felt that you would also. You will notice in the enclosure 44 Gowens
listed in the index. Best wishes to the Foundation staff. Rev. Charles R
Monteith, Box 748, Rock-land, ME, 04841, 207/594-8701
==Dear Cousins==
Thank you for sending the Gowen
Newsletter. I have en-joyed it and am enthusiastic about family organizations
coor-dinating research and records. I am enclosing my membership and a list of
Gowen researchers who should be included if they are not already on your list.
I am president of Hawkins Family
Organization, and we produce a newsletter called "Hawkins. Heritage." We have
collected over 500 family group sheets of Hawkins who lived in Virginia before
1800, plus numerous other Hawkins. We use this collection to offer a pedigree
service worldwide. It has proven to be a very worthwhile service, and I hope
that Gowen Research Foundation will be offering something similar in the future.
Kathleen Briglio, 2261 Edgelow St, Victoria, B.C, V8N IR6 Canada.
==Dear Cousins==
l was born in Alabama, lived in
Tennessee and migrated to Texas. From Dallas I went to Arkansas and lived in
Dogpatch, Omaha and Harrison. I have lived a lot of my life believing that I had
very few relatives on my side of the family Imagine my surprise to learn that I
have "cousins by the dozens" and they are turning up all over the world. It's
amazing to learn that the Foundation has already turned up 2,000 of them. R.
Jonas Gowen, Rt. 3, Box 382, Mt. Vernon, TX, 75447.
==Dear Cousins==
Who were the parents of my
ancestor, Thomas Goin, m1835 widow Lucy Long Whitlock in Madison County, KY.
Court-house records show other names Goen, Goan, Gowing, Going, etc. in the
vicinity with first names of Joseph, John, Micajah, Frances, William [m.
Elizabeth Tatum], Jeremiah [m. Susannah Campbell]. Birth and death dates of
Thomas Goin unknown. He went off county tax records in 1849; Lucy shown as
family head c1850 in Madison County with six Goin children. One was my
great-grandfather. Beatrice Goins Dougherty, Box 388, Richmond, KY, 40475.
==Dear Cousins==
Seeking parents of my grandfather,
James F. Gowan of Bemis, TN, bc1885. I would be happy to correspond with any
family member who can find a relationship. Michael A. Gowan, 12726 W. Virginia
Ave, Lakewood, CO, 80228.
February 1990
Enclosed is my check for
membership in the Foundation. I was startled and very pleased in the first
article in the November issue of the Newsletter. The article was about my
grandmother. Ursula Rains Gowen and her quaint grocery list. There is an er-ror
in the spelling of her husband's name. Correct spelling is Wilford Burleyson
Gowen, not Wilfred Burleson Gowen. This is from information in the family bible
recorded at the time of their marriage in 1826.
I gave copies of this and
considerable other information from the bible to Arlee Gowen when he visited me
15 years ago in Sheffield, AL. These names Wilford and Burleyson are fam-ily
names. My father was Wilford Hayes Gowen, as is my older brother and also his
son, Wilford H. Gowen III. My younger brother was Byron Burleyson Gowen. I am
intrigued by Dr. John Whittemore Gowen's abstract of the family and hope to have
access to more of it. Thanks for a very interesting article. Jacob A. Gowen,
846 Inglewood, Forrest City, AR, 72335.
==O==
I am 88 years old now and am not
carrying on any further re-search of the Melungeons. I am very glad to see
Evelyn Orr and the Foundation group continuing the research on them. I have
sold over 2,000 copies of my booklet on the Melungeons and have always enjoyed
being associated with them.
I grew up with them living and
working on my father's farm in Lee County, VA. He knew them well during his
youth. His step-sister married a man of that group. He was educated in a
mission school and became president of a local bank. His daughter succeeded him
in the bank.
A Goins man, a Melungeon, once
lived on our farm with his family. He was a large and strong man. His wife was
not a Melungeon. Other Melungeon families I knew in my childhood include
Gibson, Freeman, Collins and Sexton, all Anglo-Saxon names, but I have no doubt
that they have Portuguese ancestry a few generations back. I taught some of
their children in school. Bonnie S. Ball, 606 Wood Ave. East, Big Stone Gap, VA.
==Dear Cousins==
I received the Gowen Foundation
Newsletter yesterday, and I am delighted, thanks to you and Evelyn Orr. I have
been col-lecting information on the Melungeons for several years and have also
been working on my family genealogy. My ancestors were the Goins, Collins,
Mullins, Gibsons and Bunch. Most were from Newman's Ridge in Hancock County,
Sneedville, TN. My 4th-generation grandmother was Jane "Gincie" Goins, daughter
of Joseph Goins, Revolutionary War veteran. Jane was the wife of Solomon
Collins. I am enclosing a check for mem-bership in the Foundation. Miss Ruth
Johnson, 3705 Bloom-ingdale Rd, Kingsport, TN, 37660.
==Dear Cousins==
We think the Gowen Research
bulletin is fantastic. Herewith is our membership. We want to know more about
the Melun-geons. This sounds like a very interesting subject. We're glad to hear
about the Gowen Foundation Library. When will it be ready for members to visit?
Mrs. Roy E. Gooing, 3950 Home-dale Rd, #78, Klamath Falls, OR, 97603
==Dear Cousins==
Seeking information on my
grandfather, Lofton Sawyer Gowen, born October 28, 1975, Enid MS, married
November 22, 1899 at Memphis, TN to Elizabeth McNett. He appeared in 1906 in
Oklahoma City, OK. Any help appreciated. Terence G. Gowen, 3140 Old Toll Rd,
Calistogo, CA 94515.
==Dear Cousins==
Searching for Jenny Goen who
married Jordon Perkins in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana March 12, 1814. Marriage
li-cense gives no clue as to her parents. She was born c1795, perhaps in the
Carolinas. Occasionally descendants are enu-merated as "Indian" and later shown
as "white." Most of the men in my family are dark with blue eyes and black
hair. Any help with this long shot? Leila Ray Perkins Smith 1190 Ken-ley Rd,
Corrigan, TX, 75939.
==Dear Cousins==
Do you know where my
g-g-grandfather, Richard Goyn was born in Cornwall? There is no record of his
birth or christening. His parents were Richard Goyn and Sarah Job in St.
Agnes. Would like to hear from descendants of his siblings. Billie J. Salmond,
530 E. Woodland Lane, Bountiful, UT, 84010, 801/292-6457.
==Dear Cousins==
Seeking information on the family
of William Goyne, Sr. who moved to Wilkinson County [later Warren County] about
1790 or shortly before. He had sons--Hardy, William, Jr, Drury, John, Hiram
Davis and Tyra A. Goyne and daughters--Rebecca Dick and Alice King. His second
wife was Nancy Schroeder [?] bc1769 in Pennsylvania. William dc1916 in Warren
County. He seems to have been closely associated with Moses Goyne. Who were
his parents? Timothy D. Hudson, 2911-B Silver Spur Circle, Bryan, TX, 77901.
==Dear Cousins==
Does anyone know who the Bill
McGowan is who was on the "Today Program" about January 30? He was mentioned by
Willard Scott on his 102nd birthday. He lives at Dyersville, Iowa. Many of the
Gowan [and other spellings] family live to ripe old age. Jean Near, 14909 Tomki
Road, Redwood Val-ley, CA, 95470 .
March 1990
We visited Tonto Natural Bridge
last summer when my ne-phew William A. Gowan of New York came for a visit. The
bridge is located about 17 miles northwest of here. I do not have a Gowan
ancestry, but mv sister married George B. Gowan of Sayre, PA. That's where I
first saw the Gowen Newsletter and learned of the Foundation. I had read about
the Melungeons at our local genealogy library and the Gowen connection to them
fascinated me. I am enjoying very much my membership in the Foundation. Thanks
for adopting me. Marjorie A. Tem-pleton, 204 S. Bentley St, Payson, AZ,
==Dear Cousins==
I am a member of the Lebanon
Historical Society and the Cornwall Furnace Associates of Cornwall, PA. The
Cornwall Furnaces were owned by the Coleman family from 1776 until 1946 when the
property was turned over to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as an Historical
Landmark.
Mariana Winder Gowen married
George Dawson Coleman Novem-ber 2, 1918. She was a daughter of Francis Innes
Gowen and Alice Robinson Gowen of Philadelphia. She had a sister, Al-ice
Robinson Gowen and a brother, James Emmett Gowen.
I am interested in obtaining
genealogical information con-cerning Mariana Winder Gowen Coleman as she was
instru-mental in getting family support for turning over Coleman Memorial Park
to Lebanon. In this, the 350th anniversary of the founding of Lebanon, we wish
to honor the family for its contri-bution. Martha E. Sorenson, 320 Maple Avenue,
Jour-ney's End, Manheim, PA, 17545.
==Dear Cousins==
I can't thank you enough for
putting me in touch with Ru-bie Harris, Dilly Anderson and Beverly Smith who
turned out to be 4th and 5th cousins of mine! I know that they have already
sent you information on their families, so I am now taking my turn. Enclosed is
information and ancestor charts on my branch of the family; I am descended from
Pleasant Harris, son of Gowen Har-ris, [South Carolinian? who died in 1837 in
Texas] who we all believe is a Gowen, but just haven't figured out how yet. I
am enclosing a check cover-ing my membership and one for my sis-ter in Texas.
Steven M. Harris, 13823 Rampart Court, Baton Rouge, LA, 70810, 504/291-6395.
==Dear Cousins==
In the December issue of "Cornwall
Family History Soci-ety Journal" there was a report on your research project and
a note regarding the Gaelic word "Gowen" meaning "smith." In Welsh the word for
"smith" is "gof," pronounced "gove." Our surname is Cornish and is "An-gof,"
i.e. "the smith." I have con-siderable notes on the Angove family, variously
spelt and some on the Goffe family which is from the same root. I am therefore
interested in your research and would like further details. Mrs. Wendy Angove,
21, Bryn Siriol, Ty Isaf Estate, Caerphilly, Mid Glam, CF8 2A4, United King-dom.
==Dear Cousins==
I am the g-g-g-grandson of
Elizabeth Ellen Gowens, grand-daughter of Charles Gowens [Sharpshooter, January
Newslet-ter, and I am thankful for the proof copy of the manuscript which you
sent to me. I was given your address by Olen R. Gowens of Ladoga, IN. I didn't
know about the existence of the will of Charles Gowens which identifies most of
his children nor many of the interesting facts the mms contains. I have much
data on this family which does not appear in your manuscript, and I will send
all that I have to help. Greg A. Bennatt, Box 1716, New-port, OR, 97365.
==Dear Cousins==
Thank you for publishing a Gowen
newsletter so interesting and so worthwhile. Your efforts are very much
appreciated in this corner of southeast Georgia where so many descen-dants of
William W. Gowen [Hangman, February Newsletter] live. They are corrections,
however, that need to be made in your account before it is published in book
form. Rebecca Greene Gowen was NOT a granddaughter of Gen. Nathanael Greene.
Gen. Greene had only two sons--George W. who drowned as a youth and Nathanael R.
who moved from Camden County back to Rhode Island early in the 1800s taking his
children with him. Rebecca was one of 11 children of James Willow Greene and
Mary Larisey Greene of Colleton District, SC. In addition to the enclosed
corrections in the names of his chil-dren, the date of death for William W.
Gowen should be changed to read January 5, 1891. This date is documented in his
probate records. Eloise Yancey Bailey, Box 398, St. Marys, GA, 31558.
==Dear Cousins==
It was with great interest that I
read of your research of the Melungeons. My ancestors came off Newman's Ridge
in the 1830s. Surrell Nichols and Mary "Polly" Gibson Nichols were the parents
of my gggf Alford Nichols [1814-1909]. His dark complexion and black hair has
carried down to many descen-dants. During the past two summers I have made
trips to Han-cock and Hawkins Counties. The minute my son and I stopped at
Cumberland Gap National Park to ask for direc-tions to Mul-berry Gap, TN, they
pegged us for Melungeons. This was re-peated at the courthouse (where I found
very lit-tle data; it was destroyed in the 1930s.) Rosemarie Springer, 421 N.
State, Sullivan, IN, 47882.
==Dear Cousins==
I am researching Emily J. Goins,
born 1836 or 1838 who married James D. King, born 1826 or 1831. He was a farmer
in Gordon County, GA. Both are buried in Methodist Church Cemetery, Calhoun,
GA. Julia P. Hughes, 7950 Jefferson Hwy. #201, Baton Rouge, LA, 70809.
==Dear Cousins==
Would appreciate any information
on James B. Goin/Going, b1818 SC and his wife Mary Vaughn Goin, b1814 SC. Is he
de-scended from Drury Going and Sarah Baxter Go-ing? Hoyt Goin, 2506 W. 2nd St,
Russellville, AR, 72801.
==Dear Cousins==
Who was Pvt. Elijah Going and what
did he do to win the Confederate Medal of Honor? Pvt. Elijah Going, Co. B, 6th
& 7th Arkansas Consolidated Infantry Regiment was elected by his fellow
infantrymen to receive the medal. His name was pub-lished in the Roll of Honor
that was read in the first dress parade that followed in every regiment of the
Confed-eracy. The award was published at Richmond, Virginia August 10, 1864,
accord-ing to "War Department Reports," Series I, Volume 30, part 2. Mary Gowin
Trostle, 4515 48th Street, Lubbock, Texas, 79414.
==Dear Cousins==
Baptism of Samuel Goyne,
blacksmith of Morval, Cornwall sought. He m2 m1765 Elizabeth Tragvighan, St.
Germans, m1782 Sarah Web, Morval. He d1790 Morval. Suspect him to be a son of
Samuel Goyne & Mary Stout Goyne of Jacobstow, Cornwall. Edna Reynolds, 54
Parkhill Road, Boxley, Kent, DA5 1HY, England.
April 1990
I am enclosing for the shelves
of the Foundation library a copy of "Memoirs of James M. Gowin, First Atomic
Vet-eran." In addition to this 214-page book, I am sending a cas-sette tape
recording which provides additional information about my life and my
philosophy. I would like the Foundation to have these and to preserve them
forever.
I greatly appreciate receiving the
Newsletter and applaud all the efforts being made to preserve our heritage. I
am certain when we go back far enough the Gowins, Gowens, Goins etc. all have
some common ancestors. My great-grandfather, Shadrack Gowin was born April 17,
1791 in Virginia, and my grandfather, Drury Gowin, was born May 26, 1819 in
Wilson County, Ten-nessee. My father, James Madison Gowin was born May 11, 1841
in Crawford County, Illinois. My cousin, Donna Gowin Johnston of Casper,
Wyoming has done an out-standing job in writing the history of our family, and I
am sure she will be a great asset to the work of the Foundation.
I was born August 25,1915 in
Rutherford County, Tennessee when my father was 74, which is my age today. God
has al-lowed the two of us 148 years on this earth. My father was a Civil War
veteran, having served in the Thirty-third Indiana In-fantry Regiment. I served
in the 442nd Infantry in World War II and did occupation duty in Japan.
We arrived there immediately after
the second atomic bomb was dropped, and five of us requisitioned a truck and
drove the 30 miles to Hiroshima. We were appalled at this devastated city. We
could not drive through, so we parked the truck and walked through. We were the
first Americans to arrive there and had re-ceived no warning about radiation
sickness. There were some mighty dirty, sick-looking people there digging
around in the rubble. They paid us no mind nor we them. We were about four
hours walking across Hiroshima and about four hours coming back through. We
were amazed at the power of this bomb. It had severed 3-foot reinforced columns
just as smooth as a knife cuts cheese. We ate there twice, laying our food on
the tops of these severed columns.
On December 1, 1945 I was
hospitalized with an "unknown sickness" and on March 31, 1946 I was evacuated on
a hospital ship for home. During the next 44 years I have fought a con-stant
[losing] battle for my health. Since I am the first atomic veteran, I have
dedicated on my property at Craggie Hope, Kingston Springs, Tennessee an Atomic
Veterans Memorial so that America will never forget the horror and suffering
that has been unleashed. I will be glad to communicate with any person who is
interested in this project. James M. Gowin, Box 688, Craggie Hope, Kingston
Springs, TN, 37083 or 7347 Char-lotte Place, Nashville, TN, 37209, 615/352-4874.
==Dear Cousins==
Thank you for sending us your
Foundation Newsletter. We are adding your series to our collection and will make
it avail-able to our many patrons. All the best in your project in re-searching
the Gowen and related families. Let me add a sugges-tion from years of doing
the same thing with my family. You might consider putting the data on the
Personal Ancestral File software. This way, disks of the family data can be
sent to members around the world and new data can be selectively added in the
same fashion. Since the PAF software is the lead-ing product, is widely
available and only costs $35, we found it to be the obvious choice. With the
GEDCOM feature it allows your members to own IBM, Apple, etc. and still be able
to swap data disks. Hope this helps. Thomas J. Kemp, Librarian, His-torical
Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust St, Philadelphia, PA, 19107.
==Dear Cousins==
You mentioned the Melungeon
Newmans of Newman's Ridge in Tennessee. I am not aware of that group. Most of
the Newman researchers believe that Newman's Ridge was named for Walter Newman
who traveled to Watauga with Sevier during Lord Dunsmore's War. This Walter
Newman was a grandson of Walter Newman that founded Newmanstown, PA. There was
a later Newman line that settled at Watauga on which I have con-siderable
information. I hope that later this year I will have time to resume my research
on my Gowens/Goings line. Keep up the good work. You have generated a lot of
interest in the family. Kenneth L. Newman, 906 2nd Street N.E, Jacksonville, AL,
36265.
==Dear Cousins==
Taking into account that the only
areas of Britain that were not conquered by the Romans and later the Vikings
were Scot-land, Wales and Cornwall. There they continued to use the Gaelic
language, and so Gowens would be found in only those three countries.
This being so, then we were always
Cornish. In 1936, my mother asked a genealogist of the time to find for her the
origin of the name "Goyen." His story was that in 1066 among the followers of
William the Conqueror was a Norman no-bleman, Sir Hugh de Goy. His followers
were known as Goyens/Goynes. Goy, Goyen and Goyne are place names de-riving from
a place on the River Seine in Lower Normandy which is now spelt "Guyon." Sir
Hugh de Goy was granted land in Cornwall. There the Goyen name was pronounced
Gowen as the old Cornish language did not use the letter "Y."
I am enclosing [below] a copy of a
newspaper account of a collision at sea involving my g-g-grandmother and her
chil-dren while they were coming out in 1859 to join my g-g-grand-father already
here. Robert J. Goyen, 523 Sutton St, Sebastopol 3357, Victoria, Australia.
Collision at Sea--Loss of the Elizabeth Walker
The White Star ship Red Jacket arrived at Port Phillip Heads at sundown on Saturday and reached Hobson's Bay late yesterday evening. Her passage to the Equator occupied 28 days; thence to the Cape light and baffling winds. Capt. Kirby reports the loss of the Elizabeth Walker from collision with the Red Jacket. The following particulars were extracted from the log:
June 13, lat. 30.40 S, lon.
36.40 W at 1 a.m, clear moonlight, ship's course SE 1/2 S, rate of sailing 9
knots, all plain sail set and the port foretopmast studding-sail, the man on the
look-out reported a ship on the port bow. Orders were given by Mr. Robertson,
officer of the watch, to show the port light. On as-certaining the tack and
position of the ship the officer of the watch gave orders for the helm to be put
to port, as the strange vessel was nearly on a parallel on the opposite tack to
our-selves. The strange vessel then showed a flaming torchlight. At the same
time, it was discovered that she had put her helm to star-board, and was keeping
off the same as ourselves. The officer of the watch seeing, by the two vessels
continuing on the same course, that a collision would be in-evitable, ordered
the helm of the Red Star to be put to starboard, with the view of passing un-der
the stern of the strange vessel, and almost simultaneously, the helm on board of
the strange vessel was put to port, which luffed her across our bows, and a
collision took place. Orders were immedi-ately given to throw all aback. To
describe the con-fusion among the passengers at the first shock is unnecessary;
suffice it to say that the Red Jacket had cut into the main-hatch combings of
the other vessel, carrying away her mainmast, mizen topmast, yards, etc, the Red
Jacket losing foretopmast-studsail-boom, and some of the head gear being carried
away. On looking over the bows of our own vessel, I immediately saw the
dangerous position of the other one, as she was evidently filling very rapidly
with water, and called out to them on board to leave her at once. With much
difficulty the crew got on board the Red Jacket, and in less that eight minutes
from the first shock the strange vessel went down under the bottom of the Red
Jacket. At the earliest opportunity the crew of the strange vessel was
mustered. They were all on board, and with the exception of the man that was at
the wheel, they were all uninjured. The ship proved to be the Elizabeth Walker,
of Glasgow, from Buenos Ayres, with a general cargo. When repair was com-pleted,
sail was made with the in-tention to proceed on the voy-age and to put the crew
on board the first ship we found home-ward bound."
==Dear Cousins==
Searching for parents of William
Goin b1804 SC, married Lucitha ?, v1825 Campbell Co, TN, cs1860 Fannin Co, TX.
Ch: James, Mary, Irene, Elvis/Alvis, William, John, Elizabeth, Catherine and
Matilda. Mrs. E. E. Stufflebeam, 7916 Lazy Lane, Ft. Worth, TX, 76180.
==Dear Cousins==
Seeking documentation on Michael
Gowen, "servant" bc1640, a resident of tidewater Virginia and Prossa, "slave for
life" who were the parents of William Gowen. Michael Gowen and son, William
Gowen, "property of Mr. Stafford, deceased," were given their freedom in 1657 by
Stafford's sister who inher-ited them. I was shown this record several years
ago by cousin Dennis Pettit who is now deceased, and I can no longer locate it.
Chan Edmondson, Box 141235, Dallas, TX, 75214, 214/320-3161.
==Dear Cousins==
Need birth/christening date on
Samuel Goyne/Gowen who m1765 Elizabeth Trevigan. He was a blacksmith in Morval,
Cornwall and m2 Sarah Webb. If you can help the need is ur-gent. Robert J.
Goyen, 523 Sutton St, Sebastopol 3357, Vic-toria, Australia.
==Dear Cousins==
Will gladly exchange data on Drury
Goin/Going/Goins who was b1749 in what became Greensville Co, VA, mc1767 Sarah
"Sallie" Baxter who was bc1751 in Caswell Co, NC. He served as Rev. soldier
under Col. Winn in SC militia in 1781-82. He d1796 Chester Co, SC, age 47. Ch:
Martha [my ancestor], Eli-jah, Job, John, Isaac, James, Mary, Thomas Baxter and
Sarah. Linda Betts Essary, Rt. 1, Box 11, Floyd, NM, 88118.
May 1990
I am writing you for two reasons.
First, I have been asked to gather some material on the Melungeons for
presentation at the National Genealogical Society's National Capital Area Tenth
Anniversary Conference 6-9 June 1990. If your society has any sample handouts or
newsletters, we would appreciate having copies for display purposes.
I have a second interest because I
am a descendant of John and Ann Gowen Easley--l think. I cannot absolutely prove
that my ancestor William Easley of Boone County, MO [c1774-1844] was their son,
but have a great deal of circumstan-tial evidence to indicate that he was. When
I first in-quired about the parents of Ann Gowen many years ago [their names
were William and Sarah], the county clerk of Granville County, NC indicated in
her reply that the "Portuguese" were a research problem. My grandfather had
also used the term "Portuguese" many years be-fore when talking about the family
background, but in the con-text, "Let me tell you that the Portuguese had
nothing to do with it!"
As the "Portuguese" and the
Melungeons seem to have been connected groups in many areas, it seems likely
that it might be of benefit to my research to join your association. Can you
please provide me with information? Virginia Easley De-Marce, President,
National Genealogical Society, 4527 17th Street N, Arlington, Virginia, 22207,
703/525-0050. [Thanks, Cousin Virginia. Among the material being forwarded to
you is a copy of a letter written Nov. 28,1961 by Miriam Dozier of Austin, Texas
identifying the children of John and Ann Gowen Easley as "Millington, James,
Betsy, Ann, Mary and [possibly] William who witnessed a deed by Ann Gowen."]
==Dear Cousins==
Just recently, l learned of Gowen
Research Foundation, and I am so anxious to learn about my ancestry. My
membership is enclosed. Please send me all the back issues of the News-letter
that you have available and your invoice for the charges. Patri-cia Gowen
Little, Rt. 1, Box 180-D, Beaverdam, VA, 23015.
==Dear Cousins==
The Melungeon research of Gowen
Research Foundation made the front page of the "Dallas News" April 29. The
en-closed clipping is from ·Texas Sketches" by A. C. Greene, columnist. Dorothy
Heaner, 1007 Beachview, No. 201, Dallas, TX, 75218.
==Dear Cousins==
The Newsletters are very
interesting to me. My Foundation membership is enclosed. I am a DAR member on
my Stitt fam-ily's side, but have neglected my Goins research, and there's not
much time left since I am 75. My grandfather was William H. Goins who was born
in Gibson County, Indiana circa 1843. After four years service in the Union
Army during the Civil War, he was married to Laura Hall. His father was Thomas
Goins, born in SC. My mother, Hazel Goins was the only child of William H. Goins.
Correspondence welcomed. Mary Stitt Sirmay, 400 Glennes Lane, Apt. 212, Dunedin,
FL, 34698.
==Dear Cousins==
I am enclosing a check for
membership in the Foundation. An article appeared in our local paper about the
Foundation and its Melungeon research. This is so exciting to us since my
grand-father, two uncles and an aunt were of darker skin and carried Melungeon
genes.
My mother was Goldie Jane Gowen,
the 7th of 8 children. She was born in Adair County, Kentucky. The family lived
in Green County for a short time before moving to Louisville in the early
1900s. My mother and three of her sisters, Edna, Rosa and Irene were placed in
an orphanage. Later these sisters and their brother Harry moved to
Indianapolis. The name was then changed to "Gowan." Vesta, Lou Hannah and John
were the names of the other children. We believe they remained in Louisville.
Barbara J. Ludwig, 9848 W. Gardner Road, Bloomington, IN, 47403. [Thanks, Bar-bara.
Your grandfather, Jonathan Frederick Gowen was a son of Jonathan Gowen and
Hannah Beasley Gowen, according to the research of Jean Grider Fry. Jonathan
Gowen was a son of William Gowen and Betsy Moss Gowen. Everything we have on
your Jonathan Gowen is on manuscript pages 4012-13, copies enclosed
June 1990
May I present to you the
impasse at which I find myself in my research for the origin of our name, and
through it request aid from the members of the Foundation. Among the Cornish
families the name is pronounced "GO-en" [long "0"] re-gardless of the spelling
through the ages, the name has always had an "en" or "ne" ending. It seems to
be divorced from "Gowan," pronounced "GOW-an" [short "O"] prevalent in
Scotland. There are GAwens among the Cornish, never GowAns. "GowAn," in Gaelic
means "smith." "GowAn" in Celtic means "a forger of weapons."
Did "Gowen/Gowan" really mean
"Smith" to the early Cor-nish, or did the name derive from the low, marshy area
in Corn-wall called Gouyn-next-Nancalloth?
Are the Goyen families in other
parts of England related to the Cornish Goyens, or were they descendants of Sir
Hugh de Goy who accompanied William the Conqueror in 1066? Or did one of them
reach Cornwall? We must remember that in the original Cornish language "Y" is
pronounced as "W."
Did the Spanish sea-faring
Goyannes family spread to Corn-wall and become the source of Goyen/Gowen? If
the name is Celtic, then from which of the Celtic areas did it
origi-nate--Cornwall, Ireland, Scotland or Wales? Where were the blacksmiths
called "Gowens?"
I would be grateful for any
suggestions that anyone could send me. Robert J. Goyen, 523 Sutton Street,
Sebastopol, 3356, Victoria, Australia.
==Dear Cousins==
l would like to correspond with
anyone having info on the Gowan family in NC and SC prior to 1800. I am
specifically looking for the parents of John Gowan who married Nancy xxx,
probably in Marion County, SC c1790. Mike Beck, 824 Hol-brook Circle, Ft. Walton
Beach, FL, 32548.
==Dear Cousins==
I'm doing my research from prison,
but my family has been very helpful. I am enclosing details of my branch. Here
I'm known as "Bugg."
"Bugg" was born in 1952 in Larue
County, Kentucky--the baby of the family and also the blacksheep. "Bugg" was
capable of doing anything he set his mind to. He wasn't afraid of work, he
could lay down beside it and watch it all day. To "Bugg" there was always an
easier way of doing things. I suppose being the age of eight and having to go
to the fields with his father and plow all day might have had something to do
with his nature.
"Bugg" was married in 1975 to
Julie, and to them two chil-dren were born. After six years of marriage, they
were di-vorced--on their anniversary. Julie managed to have her own business,
and "Bugg," well, he still thought money grew on trees. In 1984 "Bugg" was
arrested for growing marijuana. He was sent to prison for three months. After
his release, since marijuana was Kentucky's No. 1 cash crop, he went back to his
old habit of growing reefer.
He was busted in 1986 for the same
crime of cultivation and did two years at the Kentucky State Reformatory in
La-Grange. After he was paroled, he slipped out on the state and moved to
Florida. There he was stopped on a traffic violation and found to be on the
run. You guessed it, still doing time at LaGrange.
He makes parole again in 1992, and
this time, believe me, without a "green thumb. You don't have to print my
story, but you can if you want to. W. R. "Bugg" Gowen, No 91548, Box 6,
LaGrange, KY, 91548.
==Dear Cousins==
Please find enclosed my
application for membership in Gowen Research Foundation. I am a descendant of
William Gowen who was transported by Cromwell to New England in 1650. My
grandmother, Lura Edith Gowen Lewis is still around at 92. Good genes! George W.
Lewis, Jr, 22 Morningside Drive, Dover, NH, 03820.
July 1990
We went to the National Central
Library in Seoul last Friday. I took along a roll of microfilm of American
Revolutionary War files and actually forgot I wasn't at home in Dallas while
reading them. I hesitate to go back on the train here without more prac-tice.
Seoul is a 40-minute ride from Puchon, and it has 10,000,000 people. Only 1 in
10 of them owns an automobile. That means the other 9,000,000 are on the train!
Chan Ed-mondson, New Prince Hotel, Puchon, Korea.
==Dear Cousins==
Enclosed are copies of some of
the Melungeons who were in Hancock County, Tennessee as early as 1780. For some
rea-son or another, some of these families would have a child born in North
Carolina, the next one born in Tennessee, the next one back in North Carolina,
or possibly in Kentucky. They came and went, so to speak.
We have to remember that the
earlier writers, such as [Gov. John] Sevier was mystified about their origin and
stated that they were not white, black or Indian. One thing for certain, the
Melungeons are some of the most beautiful people in the world! Ruth Johnson,
3705 Bloomingdale Road, Kingsport, TN, 37660
==Dear Cousins==
I am enclosing "Hastain's Index to
Choctaw and Chicka-saw Deeds and Allotments" from Oklahoma State Archives. You
will note among the Choctaws who received tribal land between 1904 and 1910 that
69 family members by the names of Goin/Goins/Going/Goings/Goen were includ-ed as
grantees. Dawes Commission records show that a ma-jority of these 69 in-dividuals
are related to each other. Della Nash Ford, 2515 N.W. 26th, Oklahoma City, OK,
73107.
==Dear Cousins==
Thanks for the proofs of
manuscript pages 3901-14 dealing with my ancestor Charles Gowens [Revolutionary
sharp-shooter] of Henry County, Virginia and descendants. En-closed is a copy
of the family birth record of James Blair Gowens, his youngest son, from the
bible of Mary Frances Turner Dosh, granddaugh-ter of James Blair Gowens. You
will note the bible specifies month, day and year of the births of James Blair
Gowens, his two wives who were sisters and their nine children. Please in-clude
these in your next update. Greg A. Bennatt, Box 1716, New-port, OR, 97365.
==Dear Cousins==
Delighted to hear of the
Foundation [membership enclosed] and your kind offer to send back issues of the
Newsletter to new members.
Hopefully, someone knows of my
Goins and Helton fami-lies. Thomas Goins [b TN] and Orpha Helton Goins are in
Hamilton County, TN in the 1850 census and moved to Bledsoe County, TN before
the 1860 census. They raised their family and died in Bledsoe County. My ggm
Mary Goins [b1876] mar-ried John Douglas in Bledsoe County and died there in
1899. Have heard the Goins and Heltons may have been Indian or Melungeon. Can
anyone help? Kenny Ann Wood, 8718 S. 68 E. Avenue, Tulsa, OK, 74133.
==Dear Cousins==
Thanks so much for the information
on my ancestors Thomas Goin and Jemima Sinness Goin. Their daughter, Polly Goin
was married to Jacob Coots. Their daughter, Jestern Coots was my
g-g-grandmother. She married John George Castoe. My Goin, Coots and Sinness
families are Cherokee Indians. Do your records reflect this? Elaine C. Eltgroth,
Box 1220, Chester, CA, 96020.
==Dear Cousins==
It was a lucky day for me when I
learned about the Gowen Foundation and the Newsletter! The Goins family and the
Melungeons have been interests of mine for a long time. So it is wonderful to
be associated with a group of people who are in-terested in the same thing. You
know you are not wasting stamps when you write to a member of the Foundation. I
have received so many wonderful letters from the Newsletter readers and they
have been so helpful to me.
Virginia Easley DeMarce wrote to
suggest that I read "The Misty Blue Hills, A History of Cocke County, Tennessee"
in connection with my Nancy Bibee Goins. I replied that I would try to obtain
it through Inter-Library Loan. By return mail she sent me her copy of the book
with a note to keep it as long as I needed it. She's a wonderful research buddy
who has been so helpful to me with valuable suggestions. This is a wonderful
spirit, and I find it throughout the Gowen organization. Louise Goins
Richardson, 2207 E. Lake Street, Paragould, AR, 72450. P.S. I found my Nancy
Bibee Goins and her family in Virginia's book--right in the middle of the
Cherokee Indians.
August 1990
Thank you for the notice of our
reunion in the Newsletter. It brought us some new cousins, Isabelle, James and
Nancy Gowen from Westbrook, ME and John, Mary and Mary Anne Gowen from South
Natick and Brookline, MA. Family mem-bers from Kansas, Florida, Virginia,
Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Is-land, Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire,
totaling 65, turned up in Stratham for the occasion.
I am enclosing an item about
Angevine Gowen, civil engi-neer, historian and mapmaker. The Historical District
Com-mission is applying for a York Historical Landmark designa-tion for his
homestead which was part of the original settle-ment in the 17th century. When I
vlsited Mrs. Alice Freeman in his home in 1985 she showed me his "Cider Hill
Annals" the jour-nal he kept during his lifetime. I hope this has been turned
over to some historical assocation. If not, it should be placed in the Gowen
Research Foundation Library.
Mrs. Spiller of the Old York
Historical Society would like very much to be placed on the Newsletter mailing
list and to have all the back Issues. The Newsletters are a real joy to us. We
read every word---immediately! Margaret P. Tate, 34 Wash-ington St, Exeter, NH,
03833.
==Dear Cousins==
Thanks for the extensive family
information. I just received the most recent issue of the Newsletter with the
continuation of the article on my ancestors, Phillip and Jeremiah Goins. I spent
part of last Friday in the State Library and Archives in Austin and found
several bits of additional information which I am en-closing.
I would rather spend most of my
time in the Archives these days, however, my travel and work schedule is fairly
heavy, so I am not accomplishing as much as I would like. I am helping to
organize a family reunion on Saturday, September 1 in Amarillo, Texas for the
descendants of Josephine Goins and husbands (1) Josiah Taylor and (2) L. D.
Priest. The reunion will begin at 4:00 p.m. at Texas A&M Research & Extension
Center, 6500 Amar-illo Boulevard West. Things are moving along nicely with
this, but it too has helped to reprioritize my time. Pamela Harle Dillard, 1109
Van Horn, College Station, TX, T7845, 409/693-5146.
==Dear Cousins==
The annual Gowan family reunion in
Blakely, GA is sched-uled for Sunday, Sept. 9 at the Centerville Methodist
Church. We will have a covered dish luncheon. All descendants of John and Edith
Faulk Gowan and their families and guests are invited. For details, contact
Marion Gowan Aunspaugh, Rt. 3, Box~ 508, Blakely, GA, 31723.
==Dear Cousins==
We have just had a visit from a
New Zealand cousin, de-scended from the cousin of my g-grandfather. It is of
interest that in his branch of the family [the Melungeon genetic
charac-teristics of] dark skin, dark haur, acquiline features and blue eyes
predominate. The dark-skinned Huguenots from south-ern France who fled to
Cornwall become increasingly inter-esting. I am try-ing to get my doctor to help
me get my blood tested by a geneti-cist to see what my RNA-DNA reveals, but he
can't understand my interest. Robert J. Goyen. 523 Sutton St, Sebastopol 33S6,
Victoria, Australia.
==Dear Cousins==
I been working on the Gowrie
Conspiracy this summer. I started with the Lords Ruthven, Earls of Gowrie and
their vari-ous political intrigues. I am now thoroughly familiar with the
murder of Riccio, the Ruthven Raid and the published ac-counts of the Gowrie
Conspiracy against King James. I also have a good bit of information on their
genealogy, at least down to William Ruthven [alias William Gowenl, son of the
3rd Earl.
On page 628 of the Gowen
manuscript it is mentioned that the late Julia Catherine "Katie" Gowen Casey who
docu-mented her DAR eligibility through Lt. James Gowen, her g-g-grandfather
quoted her father as saying, "Katie, you have royal blood in your veins; you are
descended from the Earl of Gowrie of Scotland." She also referred to the Gowrie
Planta-tion, Gowrie Tract and Gowrie Island in Georgia. Is there any mem-ber of
the Foundation, perhaps in the Georgia branch of the family, who can add some
information about this mystery? Landa Sloan, 4320 Bellaire Drive South, No.
2I)l, Ft. Worth, TX, 76109
==Dear Cousins==
Thanks for the back issues of the
Newsletter. I have seen mention of more than one Thomas Goun. Do you have any
in-formation on my Thomas Goun who was born in Greensville County, VA about
1755? He served in the Revolulionary War as a private in Bynum's company. After
the Revolution, he claimed land in East Tennessee. He had three known sons:
Levi, Uriah and Isaac. He died in Claiborne County, TN in 1838. Does anyone
have anything on him? Beverly Ellison Nelson, 3391 W. Aksarben Ave, Littleton,
CO, 80123.
==Dear Cousins==
A videotape was made of the Gowen
Family Reunion held in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee August 5. Copies are available
for interested persons. Contact Don Lee Gowen 1310 Cantwell Ave. Decatur, AL,
35601.
==Dear Cousins==
I am enclosing for the Library
some bible records written about 1890 by Charles Isaac Evans II, grandson of
Sarah Mar-garet Easley Scogin who was descended from William Gowen and Sarah
Gowen, our colonial ancestors of Granville County, NC and Spartanburg County,
SC.
On page 502 of the Gowen
manuscript, Sarah Margaret Easley is given as the child of William Easley and
Sarah Gowen Easley. Was she, or did John Gowen Easley have a daughter around
the same time and of the same name? Esther Thomp-son, 703 East California Blvd,
Pasadena, CA, 91106.
September 1990
I am writing in hopes that your
organization may be able to pro-vide information on a member of the Gowen
family. The State of Tennessee is in the midst of planning for an expansion of
an airport runway used by the National Guard. This expansion will affect a
large undeveloped tract of land six miles southeast of downtown Nashville. I
have been asked to conduct archival re-search on the property to determine if
any historic archaeologi-cal sites might be affected by the runway construction.
In doing a complete deed analysis
of the property, it seems a William Gowen was given a 640 acre land grant from
the State of North Carolina on March 11,1788, Davidson County Deed Book A, page
161. William Gowen apparently died sometime before July 1790, and his wife Sarah
Gowen served as the ad-ministratrix of his estate, Davidson County Will Book 1,
pages 168 and 175. A 240-acre portion of this land was sold in 1807 by James
Gowen to Daniel Vaulx, Davidson County Deed Book G, page 199. A second tract of
200 acres was sold by William Gowen to John Gowen in 1818, Davidson County Deed
Book M, page 338. The remaining 200 acres, the area that will be af-fected by
the airport runway expansion, remained in the family until 1842 when Wil-ford B.
Gowen sold it to Jesse Collins, Davidson County Deed Book 5, page 153. In this
deed Wilford B. Gowen reserved an area of 5 square poles that 'includes the
family graveyard, the right of which is reserved in me and my representatives
forever."
An archaeological survey of the
area has located this Gowen family cemetery, and it seems the location may be
affected by the construction of the runway. A low stone-line wall encloses two
or three graves. Graves of other individuals were also buried there after the
State of Tennessee acquired the property in 1857 to be used as a mental
hospital. An effort is now being made to define the limits of the cemetery, to
determine precisely if the cemetery will be affected by the construction and to
learn the names of members of the Gowen family who might be buried there.
Any information your organization
might have on this fam-ily will be most helpful. If it is determined that the
construction of the airport runway will affect the cemetery, a legal process
called Termination of Use of a Cemetery will be followed in or-der to move the
graves. That process involves notifying family mem-bers and descendants and
gaining their input. Perhaps this can best be done through the Foundation
Newsletter. I hope that this matter is of interest to your organization and
that you will be able to help us. Steve Rogers, Historic Preservation
Spe-cialist, Tennessee Historical Commission, 701 Broadway, Nashville, TN,
37243-0442,6155/742-6716.
==Dear Cousins==
Since we are putting out the
"·Revolutionary War Period Bible, Family & Marriage Records Gleaned from Pension
Ap-plications,- I have access to a review of the laws pertaining to the
service-pension acts of 1818 and 1820. The act of 1820 was re-medial
legislation to prevent soldiers from feigning poverty to obtain benefits. The
law of 1820 required every pen-sioner from the 1818 act to submit a certified
schedule of his estate and in-come to the Secretary of War.
Within a few years, the total of
Revolutionary War service Pen-sioners was reduced by several thousand. An 1823
act of Congress resulted in the restoration of pensions to many whose names had
been removed under the terms of 1820 legislation. That's the reason why William
Going of Hawkins County, TN filed for a pension in 1819 and again in 1820. [GRF
Newslet-ter,. August 1990]
Congress passed other
service-pension acts in 1828, 1832, 1836, 1838, 1843, 1844, 1848, 1855 and
1878. A summary of these acts appear in the introduction to each roll [790] of
Se-lected Records from Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant
Application Files. This same information is in the in-troduction of "Index of
Revolutionary War Pension Applica-tions in the National Archives" by National
Ge-nealogical Soci-ety, 1976.
For a hundred years prior to the
Revolutionary War, British colonies in North America provided pensions for
disabled sol-diers and sailors. The Continental Congress passed its first pen-sion
legislation in 1776, followed by others in 1778, 1780 and 1783. The First
Congress of the United States passed an act in 1789. Other service-pension acts
were passed in 1792 and 1806. Not until 1818, did the U.S. Congress grant
pensions to Revolu-tionary War veterans, for service from which no dis-abilities
re-sulted--to officers and enlisted men in need of as-sistance. Pen-sions under
this act were to continue for life. Chan Edmond-son, Box 141235, Dallas TX,
75214.
==Dear Cousins==
We are suspicious of a census
record of 1870 in Smyth County, VA, Rich Valley Township which lists a Daniel
Going age 45, born in NC, living with Elizabeth, born in 1848 and two chil-dren:
William born ca1865 and Sarah born ca1868, also in Vir-ginia. While Daniel was
married to Margaret at this time, he was stationed in Virginia during the Civil
War and possibly could have taken another wife. We are interested in finding out
any information on the Daniel Going family listed above and his de-scendants
from the Virginia line.
Daniel Goins, sometimes known as
William Daniel Goins, died in the Confederate Soldiers Home in Raleigh. He
registered his name as Daniel Owens purposely because the policy of the
Con-federate Home was not to admit anyone who had living rel-atives to care for
him. Daniel had more than enough living rela-tives, but for some reason his
wives and families disowned him possi-bly due to polygamy? He died alone June
7, 1907. No family member came to claim his body, so he was buried in the
Con-federate Graveyard in Raleigh by the State of North Car-olina.
In Randolph County, NC Deed Book
53 is recorded the affi-davit of Flora McDonald, age 88, and Catherine McBride,
age 83 signed July 16, 1884 before Archabald Johnson, J.P. Johnson noted, " . .
. both known to me to be respectable and truth-telling women . . . state that
they are acquainted with Daniel Goins, late of this county and state, that they
have known his father, grand-father and great-grandather, that his
great-grandfather was a na-tive of Portugal and was always called a Portugan and
that he was the color of the natives of that place. He and his sons and
grandsons always exercised the right of and passed as white men in every
respect." Can any-one help? Ronnie & Cyndie Hoelscher, 4738 Kosarek, Corpus
Christi, TX, 78415.
October 1990
I was sent a copy of the March
1990 edition of the Newslet-ter and am happy to enclose my check for membership
in the Foundation.
I am seeking information on Col.
George A. Gowin who was born in NC about 1827. He came to Hamilton County, TN
about 1852 and was married there November 24, 1852 to Eliz-abeth McGill,
daughter of John and Elizabeth Patterson McGill. The Gowins had six children,
two of whom died in infancy. He is believed to have taught at Fairmount Academy
on Walden's Ridge before the War Between the States. In the 1860 census he was
shown as "school teacher;" in 1870 he was recorded as "physician."
During the war he fought with the
Union Army in the Sixth Tennessee Mounted Infantry, U.S.A. [commanding officer]
and afterwards was active in Hamilton County politics [nominated for Congress in
1880.]
He established the
"Unconditional," a newspaper in Harri-son, TN and was once editor of a weekly
newspaper, the "Monitor." He lived in Daisy, TN in his later years where he
practiced medicine and was a Methodist minister. His death date is unknown, but
it was between August 1881 and October 1883. George and Elizabeth Gowin, along
with two infant daughters are buried in Soddy, TN Presbyterian Cemetery. There
is a gov-ernment headstone for Gowin, but it contains no dates. One of my
objectives is to discover his date of death so that I can mark his grave
appropriately.
Also I am interested in the Gowin
family's connection to the Melungeons and hope that a Foundation member can
assist me. T. R. Williams, Jr, 6400 Middle Ridge Lane, Chattanooga, TN, 37343.
615/842-7285
==Dear Cousins==
The Newsletter announcing the
Preservation Committee and its work on private family cemeteries prompted me to
offer to serve on the Preservation Committee. My great grandfather, William
Benjamin Gowen is buried here in Hurricane Hollow in a small, unprotected
cemetery in a grove of oak trees on a pas-ture knoll with cattle grazing
around. Now, one of the items on "My agenda of Important Things to Do is to get
the Cemetery fenced and improved. It's a terrible thing that we haven't done it
sooner. Miriam Dendy, 1800 Ballard Drive, Huntsville, AL, 35801.
==Dear Cousins==
Thank you for the information the
Foundation sent from the Gowen manuscript on the Gowen individuals buried in the
fam-ily cemetery near the Nashville airport. It seems the cemetery will
probably be affected by the development of the new airport runway. To date, the
exact nature of the effect and how it can be mitigated has not been determined.
We will of course consult with you and other family members about any impact to
the cemetery.
Dirk Calvin, your Preservation
Chairman, and I visited the Gowen Cemetery and nearby Buchanan Cemetery, and the
graves enclosed by the stone wall are still evident.
There are quantities of pottery,
buttons, glass and bones--all items usually associated with a household site.
The artifacts all seem to date from the early to mid-19th century, the time when
the Gowens were living there.
Our research on the William Gowen
tract is continuing, and as new information becomes available, I'll be sure to
let you know. Steve Rogers, Historic Preservation Specialist, Ten-nessee
Historical Commission, 701 Broadway, Nash-ville, TN, 37243.
==Dear Cousins==
In connection with the
Foundation's interest in historic preservation, Evelyn Chase, a cousin in York,
ME sent the en-closed article and photos about Angevine Gowen's home [August
Newsletter] which is being considered as an historic landmark by the Historic
Commission.
It was interesting to note in the
last Newsletter that you have sold your business and are now giving full time to
the Foun-dation. In reading the paper I don't wonder that you have no time for
anything else. You and your associates are doing a great job. Congratulations!
I am enclosing my 1991 membership
and asking you to enter one for the Stratham Historical Society. This is my
gift to the Society which is now becoming actively interested in the fam-ily
heritage. Best wishes to all of you as you enter into an exciting new year.
Margaret P. Tate, 34 Washington St, Exeter, NH, 03833.
==Dear Cousins==
I have had so many inquiries, from
as far away as California, about the Melungeons and the Gowen Research
Foundation [Dallas Morning News, 4/29/90] that I plan to give your ad-dress in
my column sometime in November if its all right with you. Thus, the inquiries
can come directly to you. A. C. Greene, 4359 Shirley Drive, Dallas, TX, 75229.
==Dear Cousins==
Please add us to the Foundation.
We have researched the Goan family name in County Donegal Ireland and have cop-ies
of letters from that area dating back to the early 1800s. Our great-grandmother
was a Goan, and we were able to se-cure her death certificate. We have located
her descendants in several countries. Would our material be of interest to
you? Charlotte A. McShea, Ph.D, 5250 H35 North, Rt. 3, Box 290, Columbia, MS,
39429.
==Dear Cousins==
The last few issues of your
Newsletter have been passed along to me, and they contain more research ideas
than I can di-gest quickly. The August issue had Robert Goyen of Australia
mentioning his New Zealand cousin's interest in the Huguenots of France. This
is the first time that anything has rung a bell for me. My great-grandfather
Frank Gowen of Wiltshire married Ariadne Havell [perhaps DuHavell], thought to
be of Huguenot descent. Her father taught Greek at a private school in England
and gave all his daughters Greek names. Thanking you and Mr. Goyen for getting
me started at my roots again. It's a fascinating hobby, but not the easiest to
get "gowen" at. Robert Gowen, 909 Cumberland St, New Westminstcr, BC, Canada,
V3L 3H2.
November 1990
Let's just forget everything
that we have assumed about the Gowen family for the past 50 years and start
over. This may be a suggestion even more revolutionary than the ones I have made
before. I have just discovered that we are going to have to re-work every single
reference in the Gowen manuscript to Allen Gowen of Spartanburg County, SC and
Davidson County, TN. He was not the son of William Gowen and Sarah [Allen?]
Gowen as we assumed, despite his given name. other children attributed to them--particu-larly
those not mentioned in the will of William Gowen---may be a false assumption as
well.
With reference to Spartanburg
County Deed Book E, page 75, dated October 20,1796, Allen Gowen "of Davison
County, Tennessee" deeded 300 acres on the north side of the Tyger River
adjoining Thomas Fletcher to Burrell Bobo "of Spartan-burg County" for 150
pounds sterling. This land had been granted five years earlier to Joseph Gowen
De-cember 23, 1791 by Gov. Charles C. Montague. Allen Gowen had re-ceived the
land "by descent."
To my reading "by descent" means
that Allen Gowen was a son of Joseph Gowen, not a son of William. He may have
been a grandson of William Gowen, but thus far, this remains un-proven. We are
simply going to have to get into those SC land grants and find out who owned
what land.
I ask myself where the estate
record of this Joseph Gowen is--possibly in the same limbo with the estate
records for John Easley [husband of Ann Gowen] and her son Millington Easley? I
do know for certain that Brent Hol-comb's abstracts of Spartan-burg wills and
estates missed the will of William Gowen, which we know exists [you sent me a
copy.] It ap-pears to me to be very definite: someone needs to go through every
single num-bered estate packet for Spar-tanburg County to see what can be turned
up on the Gowen and Easley indi-viduals. Then, long-held assumptions could
stand or fall by documentation. Virginia Easley DeMarce, 5635 N. 25th Road,
Arlington, VA. 22207.
==Dear Cousins==
It was a pleasure to see the
article on the Goyne/Guynes family of Mecklenburg County, VA in the last issue
of the Newsletter. In 1969, I received a copy of a letter from Richard Goyne of
Pennsylvania in which he stated that his an-cestors were Huguenots who fled
France in 1685. He men-tioned a fam-ily tradition of three Goyne brothers who
settled at St Agnes, Cornwall as refugees. This copy, which I can no longer
locate, came to me through the courtesy of John Sands, Goyne family researcher
of 6144 N. 12th Road, Arlington, VA, 22205. Per-haps he could provide a copy
for your files.
Shortly I will undertake a review
of the package of Goyne/(Guynes material that you sent me, and I will give you
the benefit of any additional data that my files hold. Velma S. Beuerle, 3317
Clairmont St, Flint, Ml, 48503.
==Dear Cousins==
I live in Honolulu and am a Lt.
Commander in the U.S. Navy, stationed at Pearl Harbor. I received a
complimentary copy of the Newsletter recently, and you will never know how
excited I was to receive it.
One of my goals has been to
research my family history when I retire in another three years and have the
time and op-portunity to do so. Your Foundation opens up great possi-bilities
for me since you have so many researchers already in pursuit of my family.
The article in the October issue
about the Melungeons by Ruth Johnson brought back many fond memories. I have
been to Newman's Ridge on several occasions to visit my rel-atives there. My
maternal grandmother, maiden name Rosie Collins, was born there.
I was born 21 March, 1952 in
Union, SC. My father is David Jackson Goins, Jr, and he was born in Lee County,
VA in Jan-uary 1925. My paternal grandparents are David Jackson Goins, born in
Lee County 19 August 1890, and Esther John-son Goins, born there 30 March 1903.
My g-grandparents are William Goins and Lucy Ann Smith Goins, but I do not know
where or when they were born. My mother's name is Ruby Elizabeth Willis Goins,
and she was born in February 1925 in Big Stone Gap, VA. My maternal
grandparents are Larkin Willis, born c1870 in Franklin County, TN and Rosie
Collins Willis, born c1870 on New-man's Ridge.
My membership application is
enclosed, and I would be glad to hear from Foundation members who might know
something about my Goins family. Larry K. Goins, LCDR, U.S.N, 734 Sanders
Circle. Honolulu, HI, 96818.
==Dear Cousins==
The latest Newsletter thrilled me
beyond measure. I am so glad that the Foundation is expanding for 1991. It is
ex-citing to see all the new things planned for the new year. I am sure that
with all of us working together we can find some "common de-nominators"
regardless of how our name is spelled or how it is pronounced. We all came from
one person or one source. Maybe Adam's last name was Gowen/Gowin/Goyne/Goins/etc.
I am enclosing a check for my
1991 dues in the Foun-dation. Note that I have "moved up a notch" and am now a
Con-tributing Member. I want to do all that I can for such a wor-thy
organiza-tion. Thanks for all the good you do in drawing back the curtain of
antiquity and in revealing more about our forebears.
It will be impossible for us to
know all our ancestors, but this we can know assuredly--God put us here for a
pur-pose and in-structed us how to accomplish it. God gave Adam dominion over
all the earth and enjoined him to care for this garden. We must never allow
another Hiroshima or similar event to con-taminate our garden or poison our
peo-ple. James M Gowin, First Atomic Veteran, Box 1075, Kingston Springs, TN,
37082, 615/352-4874.
==Dear Cousins==
I was pleased to see the sketch of
James Goyne of Mecklen-burg County, VA in the recent Newsletter. Your "hunch"
that there is a connection between this family and the Wilkes County, GA branch
will probably prove correct. However, to date, we have found no connecting
link. Un-fortunately, much printed material is not well documented, leaving us
to start at almost square one.
You will be interested in the
enclosed application of James Goyne for a Revolutionary Pension. The affidavit
which de-scribes his five periods of Revolutionary service in South Car-olina
and Georgia was sworn to by him at age 81 in Kemper County, MS Circuit Court May
19, 1836. Evelyn Sandifer Hall, 4319 Colonial Dr, Shreveport, LA, 71119.
==Dear Cousins==
I am seeking information on John
Wyeatt Gowan and wife Archie who lived in Arkansas City, KS and had at least two
children. They were living as late as 1910 and had a child named Lee Gowan. I
also need to locate information or descen-dants of Clara [Curry] Walker, a Gowan
descendant who was living in San Francisco in 1900 and had children named
Howard, Joseph and Annie. Advice from Foundation members on how to research
this family in S.F. would be welcomed. Phillip Gowan, Box 5777, Nashville, TN,
37208,
December 1990
The Tennessee State
Archaeological group has completed its initial survey of the William Gowen land
granted to him in 1783 and will return to their laboratories for the winter to
evaluate their findings. It is quite probable that the expansion of the
Nashville airport win continue as scheduled. The Gowen home-sites discovered by
the archaeologists consisted of two cemeter-ies, foundations to homes and
outbuildings, animal bones, pewter buttons, pipes, fragments of china and
pottery and metal farming implements.
The smaller cemetery is believed
to be a private cemetery of our Gowen ancestors, and the larger, which contains
50-75 graves, is thought to be a cemetery used by the Tennessee State Hospital
for the Insane which later acquired the property.
A detailed list of the findings
will be presented to Gowen Research Foundation by Steve Rogers of Tennessee
Histori-cal Society when the study is concluded. He was kind enough to of-fer a
suggestion that might benefit the Foundation. He com-mented that when Wilford
Burleson Gowen conveyed the last of the Gowen property he "reserved forever five
poles square" [162.5' square] for the family cemetery. Accordingly, the Air-port
Authority may seek to purchase this reservation.
It is my hope that proceeds
received would go toward the removal of these Gowen graves to the nearby Gowen
Family Cemetery at Lavergne and that this cemetery could be improved and
repaired. This consolidated cemetery could then be estab-lished by the
Foundation, perhaps in a public dedication. Dirk Calvin, 997 Liberty Church Pk,
Brentwood, TN, 37027
==Dear Cousins==
We are descended from Burgess
Going, son of Thomas Gowen/Going, the Thomas Gowen who made his will Febru-ary
7, 1797 in Randolph County, NC. We need to prove or disprove that this Thomas
Gowen/Going is the same as Thomas Gowen/Gowin/Going listed on polltax records in
Granville County, NC from 1753 to 1787; Thomas Going on polltax list in
Lunenburg County, VA, 1751; Thomas Goen/Goeing on polltax list in Goochland
County, VA, 1748; Thomas Going deed in Fairfax County, VA, 1744 and Thomas Gowen
who acquired land in Fairfax County, 1743. Were there two marriages with two
sets of children? The will men-tions only "younger chil-dren." Our Sustaining
Membership is enclosed. LaFay E. Gowan, 2157 Shadybrook Lane, Birmingham, AL,
35226.
==Dear Cousins==
I was very pleased and honored by
the report on my g-grand-father, Andrew Greene Gowen in the Newsletter. My
grandfa-ther, Andrew Greene Gowen, Jr. and his first wife, Mattie Rowe Gowen
were the parents of my father, Cecil Eu-gene Gowen, their only child.
My side of the family tree is
still growing. My wife, Debo-rah and I are expecting a baby in June. Having no
living natu-ral children at age 55,1 am very happy to be able to contribute to
the continuation of our proud family name and tradition. My sailing trip around
the world will be delayed another year, how-ever. We project departure now to be
January, 1992. En-closed is my Contributing Membership for 1991. Your Nevada
cousin, Gary E. Gowen, 845 S. Third St, Las Vegas, NV, 89404.
==Dear Cousins==
I found your address in an article
describing your Melun-geon research in the "Dallas News." The subject of "these
people" fascinates me. I can find nothing written about them, my dictio-nary
does not even contain the word. While ab-stracting vital statistics from
newspaper files for the Grand Prairie Genealogi-cal Society I found the enclosed
article about Jesse Jones, possi-bly a Melungeon, in the "Grand Prairie
Hustler," Vol. IV, No. 28, March 1906:
Jesse Jones of Pulaski, Tennessee
is nearly 110 years old, born of a Portuguese father and a Choctaw mother in
Raleigh, North Carolina, June 10, 1796. He fought in four wars, War of 1812,
Florida Indian War, Mexican War and Civil War and was honorably discharged from
each. He is erect, keen eyed, looks 50, expects to live to be 125, married six
times and has 32 chil-dren. His present wife is 48 and his youngest child is a
17-year-old daughter."
Can you recommend some reading
material that will give more about these mysterious people? Evelyn V. Horton,
Box 530037, Graud Prairie, TX, 75053.
==Dear Cousins==
My friend, Cyndie Coins Hoelscher
sent me a copy of the Newsletter. I was pleased to see the name of Wiley W.
Goynes, "unidentified," listed in the article on the descendants of James Goyne.
Wiley Williamson Goynes was my great-grandfather and a son of James Goynes and
his wife, Heather O'Brien Goynes. I am enclosing a list of the children of
Wiley Williamson Goynes who was born December 2, 1799. His daughter, Susan
Goynes, wrote that her grandfather's name was James Goynes. Wiley Williamson
Goynes is buried in the Goynes Cemetery in Live Oak County, Texas.
My grandfather, Augustus Sanders
Goynes, was born in Kemper County, MS in 1840 [or 1842]. My father Daniel
Goynes was born in 1884, and I was born in 1935 when he was 51 years old.
I loved the Melungeon story by M.
Ruth Johnson. I grew up in Live Oak County, one of 11 children, and I remember
my family doing many of the same things that she described.
I am enclosing an abstract of the
early marriage records of Atascosa County, Texas for the Foundation library.
You will note the many Coins and Goyne marriages in the 18OOs. I en-joyed the
Newsletter and am enclosing my Contributing Mem-bership. I publish "Fox
Nation," a genealogical history of the Fox family, and in addition, I am
researching several other fam-ily lines. Margaret Goynes Olson, 2234 Brighton
Drive, Corpus Christi TX, 78418, 512/937-2292.
==Dear Cousins==
I am interested in contacting any
person with information about Daniel Goin who was listed as a property owner
c1770 in the tax records of people living on the Upper Catawba River. This area
apparently later became a part of Burke Co, NC ref: "Abstracts of County Court
Minutes of Rowan County" by Jo White Linn. My Contributing Membership is
enclosed. Sam K. Goans, 8751 Wimbledon Drive, Knoxville, TN, 37923.
==Dear Cousins==
"North Carolina Genealogical
Society Journal,- Vol. Vll, No. 3, August 1982 carried an article, "Early
Settlement on the Catawba- by William Doub Bennett. Settler No. 26 in the list
of settlers on the Upper Catawba was Daniel Goin. A map is in-cluded, giving
general locations of land acquired by selected settlers there about 1770. "Don'd
Gowen" [Dan'l Gowen?l was included in "Lists of Scottish Rebel Prisoners
Transported to America in the Aftermath of Culloden" by Ransom McBride. This
article was printed in the same journal in its Vol. VI, No. 2, May 1980 edition.
Virginia Easley DeMarce, 5636 N. 25th Rd, Arlington, VA, 22207.
==Dear Cousins==
Each issue of the Newsletter is
fascinating and I compliment you and your staff for the marvelous job you are
all doing. I look forward to each month's issue and read every word, even
though I have yet to find a mention of my partic-ular branch of the family.
I am wondering how the library of
ancestor charts of the various lineages is coming along, particularly the
indexing. Do you have any staff members or professional researchers one might
engage to do searching for family members such as I. I am enclosing a renewal
of my Contributing Membership for 1991 and will and along my ancestor chart
shortly. Olen R. Gowens, Ashby Place, Ladoga, IN, 47954
==Dear Cousins==
Please place me in touch with
Caroline Reese Kimsey who researched "Pennsylvania Goan Orphans" in the November
Newsletter. I work with Wyoming State Historical Society in compiling
gravesites throughout the state. There is a chance that Ella Goan, one of the
orphans died in Wyoming on the way to California. I need to contact Ms. Kimsey
for documentation on her death.
Also, I wanted to let you know how
happy we are to have the Gowen Newsletter at the Library. We have a fine
genealogy collection and get many visitors. Additionally we interlibrary loan
our materials to anyone within the state of Wyoming. This has worked well for
those who wish to research in our sparsely populated state. Thus, donations
here receive a lot of mileage. Sharon Lass Field, Laramie County Library, 2800
Central Av, Cheyenne, WY, 82001.
January 1991
The Melungeon Research Team is
seeking information on the Sabine People of Lower Louisiana who apparently take
their name from the Sabine ["cypress" in Spanish] Parish and Sabine River which
serves as a boundary between Louisiana and Texas. The Sabine People are
described much in the same way as the Melungeons, and we are anxious to see if
our family name shows up among them.
As result of the mention of our
Melungeon research in sev-eral genealogical columns, we have had several
inquiries as to the origin of these little-known people living there in 'Cajun
Country. Foundation researchers are asked please to give our team the benefit
of any data turned up on the Sabine People. Evelyn McKinley Orr, 8310 Emmet,
Omaha, NE, 68134.
==Dear Cousins==
The article on Andrew Greene Gowen
in the November Newsletter was of special interest to me--he was my
grandfather. His son, James Vernon Gowen and wife, Mary Agnes Dean Gowen were
my parents. I am enclosing a check for three mem-berships with our appreciation
for the outstanding work you are doing. Hazel Gowen Stapleton, Box 158,
Folkston, GA, 31537.
==Dear Cousins==
I have enjoyed the Newsletters so
very much. As soon as they arrive, I sit down and read them through--nonstop.
My mother, Charity Gowens was a daughter of General Washington Gowens. I have
recently re-ceived some new material on all of the children of James Blair
Gowens and am in the process of putting it all into the computer. I use a
program called "Family Tree Maker" and will send you a copy of the diskette when
it is com-plete.
Please send the Newsletter to my
nephew, W. E. Ray 1401 Duke Drive, St. Louis, MO, 63136. I am enclosing my Con-tributing
Member-ship again. Evelyn Cordell, 207 13th Street, Ballinger, TX, 76821
==Dear Cousins==
The September Newsletter carried
an article about Maj. John "Buck" Gowen which was of great interest to me.
Names and places men-tioned indicate a close association with my Hand/Byler
line. In the Major's will he mentioned the children of his deceased son,
William Gowen as John Gowen, Mahulda Gowen and Matilda Gowen. My
great-grandmother, Mahulda Gowen Hand was born to Elkins M. Hand and Rachel
Kelly Hand January 31, 1817 in Rutherford County, Tennessee.
My g-g-g-grandfather Samuel Hand
was in the Spartanburg, SC area after the Revolutionary War in which he served.
He was married there about 1782 and had three children: Elkins M. Hand, born
October 12, 1783; Asenath "Affie" Hand, born March 10, 1786 and Temperance Hand,
born February 28, 1788. Nine children were born to them. James Campbell Hand,
Eliza-beth Hand, Jene Hand, William Bradford Hand, Asenath Hand, Samuel Hand,
Harriet Hand, Nancy Hand and Sarah Hand.
Mahulda Gowen Hand was married
November 23, 1834 to Al-fred Tyra Byler in Lauderdale County, Alabama. I feel
sure that somewhere there is a Gowen-Hand-Elkins-Byler connec-tion--most likely
in Carolina. Any help or research suggestions will be appreciated.
Enclosed is $25 as a Contributing
Member for 1991. I enjoy the Newsletter very much !! Carol A. Denney, 7112
Calumet, Amarillo, TX, 79106.
==Dear Cousins==
In conversation with Eloise Bailey
of St. Marys, GA, I was asked to provide you with come information on my branch
of the family for inclusion in the Gowen manuscript. Our line stems from the
union of William W. Gowen and Rebecca Greene Gowen of Beaufort County, SC and
through their daughter, Anne Elizabeth Gowen and Thomas Means Godley. Their
daughter Maybelle Pope Godley married Emory Franklin Dean, and their daughter,
Anna Watson Dean is my mother. I am enclosing family group sheets and some
additional data. Eloise has indicated that the material is to be added to page
606 in the manuscript.
I enclose our check for membership
for the year 1991. Many thanks for your efforts on behalf of the entire clan.
Cecil Franklin Jacobs, M.D, Box 90, Portal, GA, 30450.
February 1991
The Cornish Research Team is
now doing a recap of the data that we have collected from researchers in
England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. To facilitate
the data exchange, our team chairman, Robert J. Goyen of Australia has a
suggestion for researchers in the United States and Canada with Cornish Gowen/Goyen/Goin
ancestors. They are invited to forward a copy of their research in manuscripts,
on charts, com-puter diskettes or other forms to this address. I will compile
all the material, compare it with what we already have, eliminate duplicates,
and forward to Robert what is needed to update his computer files. In view of
the distance and postage involved, we believe this channeling procedure will be
more efficient for the researchers and the Foundation. Billie June Salmond, 530
E. Woodland Lane, Bountiful, UT, 84010, 801/822-6457.
==Dear Cousins==
Thank you for taking care of the
gift subscription for my sister, Doris Reeves of Paragould, Arkansas even though
my check went astray. This, to me, speaks well of the honesty and integrity of
the "Goins/Gowen/Goen etc. family.
I know that my sister will enjoy
the Newsletter. Every time I receive an issue, I put everything aside while I
look to see if there, perhaps, is another relative uncovered in the Newsletter!
What an interesting research you are engaged in and what a dy-namic family "we"
were and are! Keep up the good work. Ly-dia Goins Brown, 106 Yarmouth Lane,
Media, PA, 19063.
==Dear Cousins==
I am looking for information on
Pleasant Gowin/Gooing, born in 1798 in Tennessee and died in Alabama about
1864. The name was pronounced "Go-in," and he changed the spelling to Gooing.
He was married to Temperance Cooper in November 1821 in Dallas County, Alabama.
Three sons were born to them-- Andrew Martin Gooing, David Gooing and William
Gooing. Andrew Martin Gooing was married to Araminta Bar-nett November 30, 1848
in Perry County, Alabama. They had eight children, including Pleasant Thomas
Fillmore Gooing, born April 16, 1854 at Marion, Louisiana. He died February 3,
1932 at Parma, Idaho.
I would appreciate anything
pertaining to the Gowin, Gooing and Cooper lines. Barbara Bigelow Gooing, 3950
Homedale Road, #78, Klamath Falls, OR, 97603.
==Dear Cousins==
I am so proud of our cousin, Donna
Gowin Johnston who is doing such an outstanding job in digging so far back into
our family's history. Her research published in the Newsletter con-firms what I
have long suspected--that due to illiteracy and un-concern on the part of county
clerks--our name has been spelled haphazardly, every whichaway. I look forward
to her articles.
I am in doubt that I can complete
the Atomic Veterans Memorial Garden at Craggie Hope due to my health. If
possi-ble, I would like to have the Foundation's Preservation Team to take over
this project at "the end of my journey." If you can en-tertain the idea, I will
make you a deed before I depart.
I would like to invite all of my
"cousins" to visit this beauti-ful Atomic Veterans Memorial Garden among the
beautiful crags of Craggie Hope, the hallowed ground that I returned to from the
jaws of death and the pits of hell out of Hiroshima, Japan. James M. Gowin, the
First Atomic Veteran, Box 1075, Lovers Leap Road, Kingston Springs, TN, 37082.
Thanks, Jimmy,
for your very kind offer and
invitation. Dirk Calvin, head of the
Foundation's Preservation Team has
been asked to visit with you about
carrying out your wishes.
==Dear Cousins==
I am the daughter of Flora Estelle
Gowen Copeland who was the daughter of Andrew Greene Gowen and Laura Pierce
Den-mark. She was the sister of Julia Catherine "Katie" Gowen Casey who
corresponded with you in years past. After Mother's death in May, Julia Casey
Watson called and sent me a copy of "our" section of the Gowen manuscript.
After a number of tele-phone calls, I went to Kingsland, and Julia and I went
over our research. We are in the process of making corrections and addi-tions
which we shall have completed and mailed to you some-time in March.
My Mother past away May 12, 1990,
97 years of age. Her mind was clear, and she was alert and interested in the
family history. At Christmas 1989, one of her grandsons asked her some
questions about her life at Trader's Hill and the Swamp. This was the beginning
of several sessions of taped interviews which I will transcribe or copy for the
grandchildren [and the Foundation Library] one of these days.
While at Julia's, we went to South
Carolina to several points of genealogical interest and to Shelton Church where
Mary "Polly" Keating Gowen is buried. We are planning a research trip to
Beaufort, Charleston, Columbia and Raleigh in the spring and hope to turn up
more information on the family which we will forward to the Foundation. I am
enthusiastic about the goals of the Foundation and am enclosing my Contributing
Membership. Louise C. Herring, Box 457, Greenville, GA, 30222.
==Dear Cousins==
I have enjoyed the Newsletter very
much and hope that thru it I can contact a researcher who can identify the
parents of my Matilda Gowen, 1/4 Indian, born June 10, 1808 in KY. She came
with her parents to Lawrence County, IL "as a grown woman," according to her
obituary. She was married there in 1831 to John William Miller. They deeded
land there in 1835 to Thomas Gowen, a native of Rowan County, NC, whom I regard
as her brother. Thomas Gowen was married there to Susan Smith January 11, 1834.
John William Miller moved to Iowa
in 1865, then to Case County, MO for three years and finally to Crawford County,
KS where he died in 1876. Matilda Gowen Miller died there in 1901 at age 92.
At least 12 children were born to them, in-cluding: Nancy J, William Thomas,
Tobetha Jane, Patsey, Eliza-beth, Alexander, James Hamilton, Alecy C. and John
Harvey. Should anyone have information about Matilda and her parents, I would
be most grateful for a response. Leva Joy Brantley, Route 1, Box 1440,
Fletcher, OK, 73541.
March 1991
I belong to one of the Irish
contingents of the Gowen family. The enclosed chart shows my
great-grandparents, George Gowen and Mary Brennan Gowen leaving Queens County,
Ire-land during the potato famine of the 1840s. My grandfather, Thomas Patrick
Gowen was born to them in Philadelphia De-cember 3, 1849.
My father, Miles Joseph Thomas
Gowen was born to Thomas Patrick Gowen and Brigit Meehan Gowen in Phoenixville,
PA April 19, 1880. After marriage, he and my mother, Anna May Slowey Gowen
removed to Washington, D.C. in the early 1900s, along with his brother, Joseph
Patrick Gowen who settled in Riverdale, MD. Most of the rest of the family
remained in Philadelphia.
I was born here August 11, 1918,
and my wife, Lucille Mur-phy Gowen was born in Fredericksburg, TX. Our son,
Edward Miles Joseph Gowen, Jr. was born here March 26, 1946 and was married to
Catherine Josephine Byrne of Droghedz, Ireland. Their sons are: Thomas Patrick
Gowen, Brendan Miles Gowen and Shane Christopher Gowen.
Many of the Irish and Scotch
applied "Mc, Mac and O" [son of] prefixes to the name "Gowen." We left our
"Mac" in Ireland. I was glad to learn that the Foundation will undertake
research on the McGowens and O'Gowens when a documented relation-ship is
determined. Edward Miles Joseph Gowen, 1258 Cresthaven Drive, Silver Spring,
MD, 20903.
==Dear Cousins==
As you know, my grandfather, Frank
Gowan [surname changed] left me with all the records of his research of the
Gowen family. It was his wish that I carry on with the work he started, and
that is certainly my wish as well. Now, I am orga-nizing his materials so I can
begin where my grandfather left off and so I can share them with other Gowen
researchers.
I am enclosing a check to
establish a memorial in his mem-ory, and my Contributing Membership is enclosed
as well. I look forward to participating in the Foundation and will assist in
any way I can.
My grandmother, Anna Gowen has
told me about the ques-tions that have arisen in regard to the Gowens who may be
buried in the vicinity of Buchanan's Station with my grandfather in 1980 and
took photographs. Shari L. Southard, 5240 W. Las Palmaritas, Glendale, AZ,
85302, 602/842-4419.
==Dear Cousins==
When my ancestor, Louis A. Gowers
[or Gowen] died February 6, 1892, the doctor attending him [and apparently
everyone else] had trouble in determining his real name. Two death
certifi-cates, one in each name, were recorded for him in the City-County
Department of Health, Vanderburgh County, Evansville, Indiana [copy enclosed].
Each identified him as Louis A. Gow-ers or Gowen [Same Person]." He was buried
in Locust Hill Cemetery in Evansville by Smith Mortuary.
Ninety-nine years later, we still
don't know which is correct. Some members of our family go by "Gowers," and
some go by "Gowen." We have records showing that he was born in March 1835 to
Jacob Gower[s]/Gowen[s] and Ann Eliza Altemus [ditto] of Ripley, Ohio [Brown
County]. Jacob and Ann Eliza were both born in Pennsylvania, she in 1794, and
apparently Louis was their youngest child. His siblings were Washington,
Elizabeth, Angeline, James, William S. and Leonard A. Help to solve this
mystery would be deeply appreciated. Florence Gowers O'Neill, 1316 Forest
Drive, Gulfport, MS, 39507.
April 1991
The Newsletter of January 1991
may have shed some light as to what became of my great-grandfather, Nathan Gowin.
My grandfather, Charles Albert Gowin, his sister, Polly Gowin Clarke and their
mother, Louisa Gowin were deserted by Nathan Gowin. The family never knew where
Nathan Gowin went upon leaving the family. We assumed that the Civil War
divided the family, as it did many others of that time. The research done by
Ruby Gowin Walkup, my niece, encountered a blank and could not go past Nathan
Gowin. Perhaps now the "key" has been found. I now believe that Nathan Gowin
had more than one family--one in Illinois and another in Tennessee--due to
having been on the tax rolls of both.
My grandfather, Charles Albert
Gowin, was a Confederate soldier. He and his family were believed to have lived
in Whit-field County, Georgia near the Tennessee border after the war. The
family came west prior to 1872 and settled in Crawford County, Arkansas. His
wife, Serena Evatt Gowin died there March 22, 1874. His mother also died
there. Both were buried in Salem Cemetery. He was a Baptist minister and aided
in es-tablishing several churches in Crawford County. He later went to
Oklahoma as a missionary to the Indians. He died in 1903 at the age of 70.
I am enclosing two membership
requests, one for myself and one for my niece, Ruby Gowin Walkup. Tim Gowin,
Rt. 1, Box 5690, Stigler, OK, 74462.
==Dear Cousins==
I have been wanting to ask you if
you have a researcher that could look at the passenger records of Gowen/Goyen
families that entered America in the early days. Our Record Office has an index
of Australian immigrants and thus gives a starting point to trace families. It
still raises problems as it is on record that two families arrived out here and
then disappeared. Probably they didn't like the look of the place and remained
on board. They are not in New Zealand or Tasmania, so maybe they are either
sunk, in America or returned home to Cornwall.
Because Australia was settled so
much later than America we have had to search in Cornwall for our ancestors
almost from the beginning. Your families settled in America a couple of
cen-turies earlier, and so your researchers are still searching Ameri-can
records for ancestors and have not yet reached overseas. My grandfather came
out as a boy and was still early enough to be given an original grant of land.
You are generations earlier, but yet we shall all be in pursuit of the same
European ancestors eventually. My Cornish research seems to be "up a gum
tree." My researcher there seems to have gone "walkabout" on me which is a
"fair cow." Robert J. Goyen, 523 Sutton St, Se-bastopol 3356, Victoria,
Australia.
==Dear Cousins==
I'm researching the Gowen/Goen/Goings
family in Ohio. Jason/Nathan Goings moved into Ohio from Virginia, bringing
along sons, Joel and George. They lived in Guernsey County, Ohio, then moved to
Shelby County, Ohio by the mid 1800s. The family is difficult to research. For
that reason, I was so pleased when another Gowen researcher sent me news of the
Foundation. My membership is enclosed. I am so glad now to have the help of
"dozens of cousins" in the search. Rosemary Dunne, 123 Corinne, Santa Cruz,
CA, 95065.
==Dear Cousins==
A recent article was published in
the quarterly newsletter of the Southwest Louisiana Genealogical Society [of
which I am a member] concerning the ancestry of the Goins. I am currently
doing research on my ancestors, the Ashworths and have records of marriages
between the Goings and the Ashworths. The Ash-worths came to Southwest
Louisiana from the Pendleton, SC area around 1804 and into Southeast Texas in
the 1820's. Some of them received land grants and were in various parts of
Texas, especially around Erath County area. We still have quite a few Goins
families in Southwest Louisiana. I am interested in ob-taining additional
information on these Goins families, espe-cially any connected to the Ashworths.
I will be glad to provide anything I have on the Goins. Hazel G. Standley, 308
Old River Road, Starks, LA, 70661, 318-743-5521.
==Dear Cousins==
In June 1990 you published some
researched by Della Ford Nash on Jeremiah Goins and his family. I am very
grateful for that publication. William Goins, brother to Jeremiah, is my
g-g-grandfather. I have several of the children, but not the parents. Could
you tell me where to look for Phillip Goins and his wife, Oti? Her name sounds
Indian. Were they born in Choctaw Na-tion? [Mississippi]. Myrtle Curry, Box
797842, Dallas, TX, 75379-7842.
May 1991
My earliest ancestor, Thomas
Goin [bc1750 VA] was also of mixed blood. I have not been able to connect him
with the Melungeons, but I know definitely that he was of mixed blood from an
1853 slander case in Claiborne County, Tennessee [Elijah Goin vs Sterling Mayse]
which was won by his grand-son. I am enclosing a copy of the transcript of the
trial.
I am also enclosing my family
charts and the first of a series of articles I wrote on the Goin family for the
"Reflection Quar-terly" of the Claiborne County Historical Society.
I am seeking ancestors and
additional information on my Thomas Goin/Goins/Goen/Going/Gowen. He was
proba-bly in East Tennessee as early as 1781. After 1801 he lived in Clai-borne
County and died there in 1838. The assistance of other researchers who might
have additional information is solicited. Carol Ledford, Rt. 1, Box 16,
Leicester, NC, 28748
==Dear Cousins==
My grandmother was Edaline Gowin,
daughter of William H. Gowin [b1838] and Frances Ann Whitaker. He was the son
of Thomas Gowin [bc1818 Madison Co, KY] and Lucy Whitlock. He was the son of
William Gowin [bc1788 Bedford Co, VA] and Elizabeth Tatum. Can anyone help?
Christine S. Agee, 416 Newby Road, Richmond, KY, 40475.
==Dear Cousins==
Enclosed are family charts on my
family line. I am greatly en-joying the Foundation Newsletters. My lineage has
been traced to Is[a]iah Going, b1795 NC who married Minta whom we be-lieve was
Indian, bc1800, according to the 1850 census. Most descendants live in Hancock,
Hawkins and Sullivan Counties in TN. Other related groups live in IN and ID.
Re-cently I heard of an unrelated line described in "The
Strongs-Goings-Deans-Campbells-Metcalfs and Other Families in Shelby County,
Texas" by Marjorie Johnson of Dallas, Texas. Please let me know if the
Foundation Library does not have this book. Jon Goins, 9404 Hunters Trace,
Austin, Texas, 78758.
June 1991
I am enclosing group sheets on
my Goins family. We have just installed the computer, and I am still learning
all it will do. Much of my data is not yet processed, and I will have more for
you later.
I am interested in finding
details on the husband[s] of Nancy A. Goins, daughter of J. B. and Sarah A.
Goins. She was born in Georgia, probably Murray County about 1836 and appeared
in the 1850 census of her father's household. She was married about 1855 to
Freddy King in Georgia and lived in the Calhoun area. Freddy King died before
1870, probably in Franklin County, Alabama. It is believed that Nancy A. Goins
King re-married, husband's name unknown. She died in 1920 and was buried in
Antioch Cemetery in Franklin County. Carrie M. McGee, 1303 6th Ave, Jasper, AL,
35501
==Dear Cousins==
The March issue of the Newsletter
mentioned William Goin and Thomas Goin, born 1750-60 and both enumerated in the
1830 census of Claiborne County, TN. My husband, Varion Elmer Goin is a gg-grandson
of this Thomas Goin. I am in the process of compiling the record of Thomas Goin
for the Foun-dation. We are familiar with the work of Dianne Thurman of
Wichita, KS and William H. Goin, III of Wyandotte, MI. Anna Lee Goin, 13811
Jefferson Hwy. 99E, Jefferson, OR, 97352.
==Dear Cousins==
Thanks for finding me. I don't
know how you did it, but thanks so much. I want to join the Foundation because
I am active in genealogical research and because my grandmother was a Gowin, a
descendant of Nathaniel and Sabra Midgett Gowin. I am most anxious to
correspond and share information with any and all of their descendants. Keep up
the good work. Larry A. May, 1548 Manor Drive, Salem, OH, 44460.
==Dear Cousins==
When you printed my family
information in the March Newsletter, I heard from a second cousin that I didn't
know I had--Capt. George A. Gowen, USN Ret, Asheville, NC. His letter appeared
in the October 1989 issue of "Dear Cousins," but at that time I had no idea that
I had family in North Carolina. It was great to hear from him. Thanks for
"reassembling" our family.
Capt. Gowen wrote of Arlee Gowen
and his service in Naval Aviation during World War II. We haven't read much
about our editor in the Newsletter. I think the rest of us Gowens would like to
know more about him.
I am enclosing five gift
memberships for other interested mem-bers of my branch of the family. Edward
Miles Joseph Gowen, 1258 Cresthaven Drive, Silver Spring, MD, 20903.
==Dear Cousins==
I am seeking information on N. B.
Gowan who purchased land jointly with Pleasant Linsey Gowan in 1890 in Buncombe
County, NC. N. B. Gowan sold his interest in 1896, but did not appear there in
the census of 1900. Where did he go? How was he related to Pleasant Linsey
Gowan? I would like to hear from any descendants. LaFay E. Gowan, 2157
Shadybrook Lane, Birmingham, AL, 35226.
==Dear Cousins==
Tomorrow I leave for the National
Genealogical Society Con-ference in Portland, but before leaving, I wanted to
send a few comments in your direction. I have read through most of the
Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina print-outs that you sent for review.
I note some confusion among
researchers regarding Revolu-tionary soldiers named William Going/Goin/Goins,
[there were at least two, most likely three] and I believe an ALERT should go
out to all the GRF researchers so that they can avoid ascrib-ing the activities
of one to another.
The [1] William Goin of Surry
County, North Carolina, age 72 in 1835, married to a white woman, has nothing to
do with [2] William Going, wife Elizabeth Going, who served in Capt. Dixon's
company, 10th NC Regiment 1781-72, who applied for a pension in Hawkins County,
TN nor [3] William Going, recorded in NC in 1793, who was married to Elizabeth
in Caswell County.
Has the Foundation obtained
complete copies of all the Gowen/Going [and variant spellings] Revolutionary
files from the National Archives? If not, let me know, about the time I re-turn
from Portland. Virginia Easley DeMarce, 5635 N. 25th Rd, Arlington, VA, 22207
July 1991
I have a 98-year-old cousin
who knew my g-grandfather, Madrey Goins before he died in 1910. She states that
he was a Confederate veteran and drew a SC pension for a disability re-ceived in
a leg wound. Madrey Goins was born about 1827, and his mother was Levicey [Chavis?]
Goins who was born about 1794. I found her grave marker, and it states that she
was about 93 years old when she died in 1887. My earliest documentation of the
family is in the 1840 census of Williams-burg County, SC where Madrey Goins
died.
Madrey Goins was married to
Lavenia Tucker. He had older brothers, John Goins and Wade Goins and younger
brothers, Henry Goins and Washington Goins. My grandmother, Ceny Goins was born
at Greelyville, SC in 1875, married Jessie Ben-jamin Browder and died in
Florence County, SC in 1932. I have found documents on my branch of the family
which have recorded the surname as "Gowens," "Goens," "Gowins," "Goings," "Goan,"
and "Goins."
To further complicate the matter,
the family lived in the com-munity populated by the mixed-race Redbones.
Charles James McDonald Furman, author and lecturer [1863-1904] spent many years
researching the origin of this mysterious, isolated people whose history
parallels that of the Melun-geons. He referred to them as a "mixed breed people
who were never slaves and who had Indian blood in their veins." He considered
them to be a branch of the Croatans and per-haps descendants of the lost colony
of Sir Walter Raleigh.
I have tried for the longest to
research this family, but noth-ing works for me, and I'm ready to pull my hair
out. Can any of the Foundation researchers suggest a way to find the pa-ternal
an-cestors of Madrey Goins? Mary B. Barr, Route 8, Box 148, Florence, SC,
29501.
==Dear Cousins==
I am interested in contacting
descendants of Choctaw Tom who was murdered in December 1858 on the Brazos River
in Palo Pinto County, TX. Members of his family were also slain while they
slept, but there were survivors. These survivors left Texas in August 1859 and
arrived in the Anadarko, OK area in September. I am sure there are 5th
generation descendants somewhere, and I would like to contact them. B. A.
Ledbetter, HC60, Box 409, Graham, TX, 76046.
==Dear Cousins==
I was delighted to see the
pictures of Jonathan H. Gowen of Patrick County, VA and his daughter, Mary Alice
Gowen of Adair County, KY in the Newsletter. My own Goin line also stemmed from
Patrick County. Will you please provide me with the address of their
descendant, Jean Grider Fry who supplied the photos. Thank you very much and
keep up the good work. Anna G. Dunkley, Rt. 2, Box 234, Westfield, NC, 27053.
==Dear Cousins==
I am seeking information about my
father, Sgt. Thomas E. Gowan. Many years have passed, and I have little to go
on. My attempts of securing information have failed, and his Army records were
destroyed in a 1973 fire. He was born May 11, 1914, in Spartanburg, SC, I
believe. He enlisted June 12, 1942 in the U.S. Army Air Corps.
He served in the intelligence
section of the 831st Bomb Squadron of the 485th Bomb Group and died April 20,
1944 flying from North Africa when his plane went down.
My mother is also deceased. All
she knew of his family was that he had sister named Ruth. I would like to find
his family, and I would like to know his blood type. Also I would like to know
if he was married and had other children. Even after all these years, I still
want some answers. Please let me know if you can help. Caroline Sue Hall,
48633 McFarland Road, Oakridge, OR, 94763.
August 1991
I can't tell you how much I
appreciate all the information you sent on my Going and Tindall lines. I plan
to copy the material you sent and send it on to a couple of other researchers
who have been a big help to me. Hopefully they will have something to add.
I am enclosing some ancestor
charts for the library. I was for-tunate that my g-g-grandfather, Thomas
Trusvan Booth, left a journal along with his bible and quite a bit of other
information that first got me interested in genealogy. I am so glad that he did
write down and preserve a lot of our history, and I am happy to share it with
you.
I am glad that the Foundation is
able to compile and safe-guard this valuable heritage. Cynthia Holsom-back
McMullen, Rt. 3, Box 621, Huntington, TX, 75949.
==Dear Cousins==
I am still waiting for a copy of
Paul Heinegg's book on "Free Afro-American Families of Colonial North Carolina"
to arrive from Saudi Arabia (he works for ARAMCO). He sent me a few Xerox
copies, and it looks as if his research will be useful and helpful on a lot of
families, including Gowen/Goings, etc. Vir-ginia Easley DeMarce, 5635 N. 25th
Road, Arlington, VA.
==Dear Cousins==
Many thanks for the revised
print-outs of the Queens County, Ireland section of the Gowen manuscript. My
family and I really appreciate all the information you have sent. We are all
quite amazed that we have so many interesting relatives, and we're de-lighted to
be able to give our children and grandchildren a record of their family
history. George A. Gowen, Capt, USN (Ret.), 694 New Haw Creek Road, Asheville,
NC, 28805.
==Dear Cousins==
My great-grandmother was Alice
Goyns. Her father was Richard Goyns from Cornwall, England. I have read with
much interest in Volume 1, No. 5 on the efforts of Robert J. Goyen to gather the
complete history of the Goyns in Cornwall. I am en-closing my check for a
membership in the Foundation and am looking forward to a profitable, enjoyable
association. Janet King, 27 N. Kealing St, Indianapolis, IN, 46201,
317/356-3379.
==Dear Cousins==
I was glad to see your article on
Drury Going and Sarah Baxter Going in the July issue. He was my
g-g-g-g-grandfather, and I have been researching him and his descendants through
his son, Isaac Going for eight years now.
For the past 18 months my search
has intensified, and I have accumulated so much interest-ing data that I plan
now to compile it all for publication in a vol-ume of Union County, South Car-olina
family histories. I am also working on the families of Vaughn, Palmer and
Tucker.
Since, according to Page 3722 of
the Gowen manuscript [Greensville County, VA section] you do not have a record
of the children of Isaac Going and Rebecca Palmer Going, I am en-closing dates
and facts on their 11 children, all born in Union District.
All birthdates came from the Isaac
Going bible, now de-stroyed. The dates were copied from it in 1879 by Thomas
Baxter Going in Alabama and sent to my g-g-grandfather, William George
Washington Going in a letter, copies of which still exist.
I am interested in sharing and
receiving any more informa-tion which you might have on this branch of the
family. Fredrick M. Tucker, Box 214, Duncan, SC, 29334.
September 1991
I am researching Basil Goins,
bc1780 VA, m1 Betsy[?]. Their children: Albert bc1805, William bc1806, John
bc1808, J. Bazzil bc1810, Washington Joshua bc1813 and Jefferson bc1813.
J. Bazzil Goins m1829 Sarah
"Sally" Downs, Hall Co, GA. They were enumerated cs1840 Cass Co, GA; cs1850
Murray Co, GA. Where were they in 1860 census? J. Bazzil Goins d1862, and
Sally Downs Goins moved along with their 10 chil-dren to Franklin Co, AL [later
Colbert Co.] where she d1892. I have in-formation on this family and also the
family of Washington Joshua Goins to share. Please let me know if anyone has
"seen" J. Bazzil and Sally Goins in cs1860. Carrie M. McGee, 1303 6th Ave,
Jasper, AL, 35501
==Dear Cousins==
I wanted to suggest that
Foundation members be on the lookout for "The Diary of Clarissa Adger Gowen of
Ashtab-ula Plantation," 1865. This diary was retained by her granddaugh-ter,
Clarissa Walton Taylor who collected other ac-counts of life in the
Pendleton-Clemson area of South Car-olina from 1776 to 1889. The book was
compiled by Mary Stevenson Adger [1852-1900] of Pendleton and was published by
Founda-tion for His-toric Preservation, Box 444, Pendleton, SC, 29670, according
to "Genealogical Books in Print" edited by Nettie Schreiner-Yan-tis.
I am presently researching the
James Gowen who was over-seer of the plantation of the famous and tragic Maj.
Pierce But-ler at Darien and St. Simons Island, Georgia. His wife, the fa-mous
English actress, Fannie Kemble made the plantation well known in her book,
"Journal of a Georgia Plantation." I re-gard this James Gowen as a brother to
my g-g-grandfather, William W. Gowen [1803-1895].
I believe Mr. John Christian,
Woodbine librarian has addi-tional information on the activities of James Gowen.
He re-cently sent me a map of Camden County which has the illu-sive and
mysterious Gowrie Island marked on it. I'll keep you posted if I learn anything
of interest on these Gowens. Hazel Dean Overstreet, Rt. 1, Box 938, Odum, GA,
31555.
==Dear Cousins==
John Going, c1735-1801 and his
wife Elizabeth Going, c1738-1816, of Henry County, Virginia are my 6th
grandpar-ents through my Goins line and also my 6th grandparents through my
Minor line. He owned a plantation that lay astride the Henry-Patrick county
line. I have made two recent trips to Henry County and have found the general
location of his land. Ac-cording to the deeds, it lay on both sides of
Blackberry Creek in Henry County and on Polecat Creek in Patrick County. In
1792, John Going was granted permission in Henry County Chancery Court to built
a gristmill on Black-berry Creek, and I am hunting for this millsite.
The land of Shadrack Goins lay
very close to that of John Going in Patrick County, suggesting a relationship.
Eleven children were born to John
Going and Elizabeth Go-ing: Elizabeth Going, Zephaniah Going, John Going, Jr,
Simeon Go-ing, Littleberry Going, Claiborne Going, Isaiah Going, Zachariah
Going, Nancy Going, Zedekiah Going and Susanna Going.
Elizabeth Going was married to
Hezekiah Minor Septem-ber 19, 1795. Their son, Zachariah Minor, who was married
to Agnes Sizemore, was my 4th grandfather. They removed to Rockingham County,
North Carolina before coming to Hawkins County, Tennessee where they died
Zephaniah Going, my 5th
grandfather, was a Revolution-ary soldier and was at Yorktown when Cornwallis
surren-dered in Oc-tober 1781. He was married June 10, 1790 to Elizabeth Thomp-son.
They lived in Henry County, Rocking-ham County, Roane County, Tennessee and
Hawkins County where they also died. They had 13 children, 10 daughters and
three sons. Their son, Isaiah Going who married Arminta Lindsay, was my 4th
grandfa-ther also.
I know very little about the other
nine children of John Go-ing and Elizabeth Going. I need help from other
cousins to fin-ish this puzzle. If you have information, please write. Jack H.
Goins, Rt. 2, Box 275, Rogersville, TN, 37857.
==Dear Cousins==
While I was in the library at Ft.
Wayne, Indiana, I met Chan Edmondson of the Foundation who told me you might be
able to help me with my Gowan research. My g-g-grand-parents were James C.
Gowan, b1795 in VA and Lucinda Margaret True [?], b1806 in VA. I found them on
the 1850 census of Harrison County, IN with ch: Jahue b1830, Mary A. b1832, John
b1834, James E. b1836, Lucinda b1838, Levina b1841, Rezin b1843 and Miriam
b1845.
James C. Gowan d1874, and Lucinda
Margaret Gowan d1880. Both were buried in Gowan Cemetery in Jefferson Co, Mo.
The sons of James C. and Lucinda were said to be stonema-sons, car-penters and
farmers and were all in Harrison County in 1850.
My g-grandparents were James E.
Gowan, b1836 in IN and Susan Robertson who m1864 in Jefferson Co, MO. Their
chil-dren were Jane, Carrie, Sopha, Leonard, Eugene [twin died], Margaret and
Irene Anna who m1899 John Ruff.
I would be very appreciative of
any help the Foundation re-searchers can give. I am interested in finding when
and from whence my Gowan family came into the U.S. Mary Al-ice Fritch, 708 W.
Main St, Flat River, MO, 63601.
==Dear Cousins==
We just learned of the Foundation
and are happy to en-close our check for membership in the organization. Our Ida
Bell Goins was born in Stokes County, NC [about 1900]. Her father was John Goins
and her grandfather was Frederick Goins. Can anyone help us to make a
connection to the main-stream of the family? We would like to correspond with
Cherokee or Catawba Indian members of the family. Dr. Wayne & Victoria Allgaier,
515 West C St, Brunswick, MD, 21716.
==Dear Cousins==
I am searching for Alexander
Goines, my grandfather. He was born in January 1854 in TN [or KY] to John
Goines and Mary J. Thompson Goines. "Alexander Goyens" was m2 to Eme-line F.
Hankins February 13, 1878 in Massac County, IL. She was born in January 1856 in
Illinois to Irvin B. Hankins and Mary J. Cartwright Hankins.
Alexander Goines, reportedly a
Cherokee, was enumer-ated in 1990 in Scott County, MO. Children born to them
in-clude: Frank Goines, b1883; Arrie Goines, b1889; Alice Ida Mae Goines, b1893,
my mother who was m1914 to John Campbell in Scott County. Help is sincerely
appreciated. Catherine L. Short, 13722 Suntan Avenue, Corpus Christi, TX,
78414, 512/949-8391.
==Dear Cousins==
Many thanks for your letter and
the information on the Goins of Hall County, Georgia. Should you uncover the
ances-tors of Basil Goins, please let me know. Having roots for 14 genera-tions
in the little French settlement of Natchi-toches, Louisiana, I am very
accustomed to finding people of mulatto descent. Julia H. Callihan, 12236 Lake
Sherwood Ave, N, Ba-ton Rouge, LA, 70816.
October 1991
Thank you so much for the
information you sent on my Gowan family. I was so excited to find my family in
Claiborne County, Tennessee after encountering a dead end in Indiana on James C.
Gowan and Elizabeth Margaret True Gowan.
Do you have a William & Mary
Robertson that show up with the Gowans in Tennessee or later in Indiana? Their
daughter Susan married James E. Gowan in Missouri.
There is a Gowan Cemetery in
Jefferson County, MO. I'm sending a copy of the tombstone inscriptions for the
Foundation Library. Mary Alice Fritch, 708 W. Main St, Flat River, MO, 63601.
==Dear Cousins==
My wife and I have recently
returned from a research trip to Patrick, Henry, Halifax, Pittsylvania and
Lunenburg Counties, Virginia. We found the patent issued to John Going that
Donna Gowin Johnston referred to in her article about Shadrack Going in the
February 1991 issue of the Newsletter.
The patent dated February 14, 1761
conveyed 400 acres to John Going. Five months later he deeded to his two sons,
John Going, Jr. and William Going, 100 acres each, "this being part of the 400
acres granted by patent bearing date February 14, 1761."
Each of the deeds read, "I John
Going, Sr. and Mary, his wife for an in consideration of the natural affection
and love which we have and bear unto our well beloved son . . ," according to
Lunenburg County Deed Book 6, page 378-379.
Accordingly, this means that the
children, beginning with Zephaniah Going, born in 1757 whom we had previously
as-cribed to John Going, Sr. are actually the children of John Go-ing, Jr. and
Elizabeth Going.
This new alignment brings on many
questions which will re-quire patience and a clear head. Did John Going, Sr.
and Mary Going have other children besides John Going, Jr. and William Going?
Was John Going, Sr. a brother to Shadrack Going? The names of their children
were very similiar and they traveled to-gether from Virginia to North Carolina,
to Tennesse and Ken-tucky. What happened to the other 200 acres that were
patented to John Going, Sr. Help! Jack Harold Goins, Route 2, Box 275,
Rogersville, TN, 37857.
==Dear Cousins==
It was a pleasant surprise to
learn that Gowen Research Foundation existed. I joined up right away, and now I
have a greater hope of locating my early Goins ancestors. I especially
appreciate the help of Arlee Gowen and Louise Goins Richard-son.
My line of Goins has lived in Clay
County, [SE] Kentucky since around 1830. The first to arrive was my ggg-gf
Addison "Adam" Goins bc1816. He met and m1839 Unice Jones in Clay County. I am
trying to find what city/county/state he was from and who were his
parents/siblings. Clay County cs1850, cs1860 and cs1870 enumerated him as "bNC,"
but cs1880 says "bTN." The five censuses from 1840 to 1880 record the surname
five different ways--Goines, Gowen, Gowens, Goins and Goings. Any leads will be
appreciated. Harold Goins, 5571 Chatfield Drive, Fairfield, OH, 45014.
==Dear Cousins==
I am trying to trace Nancy
Katherine Goins b1850 MS. She m1 Terrall and had a daughter, Frances Katherine
Terrall, b1873. She m2 Stephen John Stuckey in AR c1875, and they had five
children. One was Pharbia Ann Stuckey who married John Wesley Brawley, my
husband's grandfather. I would appreciate any help you can give. Aleene
Brawley, No. 5 Kells Circle, Vidor, TX, 77662.
November 1991
Such a wonderful surprise to
receive your draft of Section 78 of the Gowen manuscript pertaining to my Goins
family. You people are doing a marvelous job. It is great that we can all work
together on the Goins/Gowen line without "building" a lineage lacking proper
documentation. I cannot yet document beyond Thomas Goin and Lucy Matlock Goin,
my great-grand-parents, however I do believe that his parents were William Going
and Elizabeth Tatum Going. With teamwork we can find the answers.
I am enclosing for the Foundation
Library a copy of my book, "Through a Vale of Shadows, Bea's World War II Po-ems."
I just had to honor my brave generation in some way. Beatrice Goins Dougherty,
Box 388, Richmond, KY, 40476.
==Dear Cousins==
I am enclosing a copy of a letter
written by my gggf Miner Steel Gowin which was published in the "Journal of the
Illi-nois State Historical Society" in 1916. In it, he states, "I was born in
Wilson County, Tennessee October 1, 1823. I was brought by my parents,
Nathaniel Gowin and Sabry [Midgett] Gowin by covered wagon and oxteam across
Kentucky and In-diana into southwestern Illinois until we reached the country
now known as Jersey County [then part of Greene County.]" Accordingly, he
preceded his older brother, Shadrack Gowin, normally considered the first of the
Gowins into Illinois.
I am enclosing my ancestor chart
showing descent from James Alexander Gowin and Rebecca Adams Gowin of
Greensville County, Virginia, grandparents of Nathaniel Gowin. Additionally I
am enclosing a stack of Gowin documents that may be helpful to fellow Gowin
researchers. Larry A. May, 1548 Manor Drive, Salem, OH, 44460.
December 1991
I recently learned of your
organization from my cousin, Rev. Richard Goins of Ottumwa, Iowa who sent me a
copy of your September Newsletter. I found it to be most interesting, and my
membership is enclosed.
I am the granddaughter of Amanda
Goins Snider [born 1873] of Daviess and Bates County, MO. She was the
granddaughter of Granville Goin [born 1838] of Claiborne County, TN and Daviess
Co, MO. He was the son of Daniel Goin [born 1807] of Campbell and Claiborne
Counties, TN. I am most anxious to learn the parents of Daniel Goin. Jeraldine
Webb, 1318 Do-mador, San Clemente, CA, 92672.
==Dear Cousins==
I am seeking information
concerning the parents and grand-parents of my g-grandmother, Melissa Belle
Gowen/Gowins who married John Quincy Adams, a full-blood Choctaw in Rains
County, TX September 1, 1889. John and Melissa were the parents of Lear Belle
[my grandmother], Betty, Ben, Myrtle, Lula, Henry, Carl, Sam and Bob. Melissa
died July 3, 1930 in Rains County. According to the 1880 Soundex, her father
was Samuel Gowen bc1817 TN. Her mother was Martha Gowen bc1835 TN. A sister,
Lucinda was married to Clay Gowen, a cousin. They lived near Jacksonville in
Cherokee County, TX until their deaths in the 1930s. I would appreciate ANY
infor-mation on this family. Peggy A. White, 109 Underwood Drive, Hopkinsville,
KY, 42240.
==Dear Cousins==
I am looking for descendants of
John Gowen, bc1850 Stokes Co, NC to Jonathan Henry Gowen and Hannah J. Beasley
Gowen. He was married in 1877 in Adair County, KY to Harri-ett Coomer, daughter
of William R. Coomer and Delilah Coomer. After she died, he moved "out west."
If anyone knows anything of John Gowen, please contact Jean Fry, 1734 Salem
Church Rd, Cave City, KY, 42127, 502/773-4862.
January 1992
I have read of Melungeons
before in other writings, find-ing the different theories about their origin a
puzzle. I have been a member of several genealogical and historical societies
since my retirement from a police profession in 1982. Identi-fication in my
profession was as important in my profession as it is in my family history
research.
Linking ancestors and descendants
by DNA testing is a fas-cinating subject. I read in "The Blooding" about a
geneti-cist in Britain who solved two crimes by developing a match-ing "genetic
fingerprint."
Recently I wrote "The National
Geographic" regarding identifying Indian skeletons found in Florida from their
bone marrow, and a reply was received from Joseph M. Blanton, Jr. His reply
indicated a great interest by the magazine staff in this subject. The article
by Joseph Judge on the expedition of Capt. Juan Pardo in the March 1988 edition
of the magazine reflects this interest.
If the Foundation researchers
should encounter any strange writings from the early days which are unreadable,
Dr. Barry Fell of The Epigraphic Society, Inc, 6625 Bamburg Drive, San Diego,
California, 92117 probably would be able to translate them for you. He has
written "America B.C," "Saga Amer-ica" and "Bronze Age America" all covering
early explorers in America from other lands, before Colum-bus. He has trans-lated
rock writing and pictographs which were previously con-sidered "just scratches."
I hope to read some day that the
Foundation has solved the mystery of the Melungeons. It is similar to the
Istrouma [Aye Strome] Indians who lived near Baton Rouge and spoke ancient
Welch. Joseph Edward Noble, Jr, Box 77, Bush, LA, 70431
February 1992
I was so glad to find my ancestor, Joseph Going, son of William Going and Anester Going, in the article about the 14th Virginia Regiment in the August 1991 Newsletter. Will you please tell me who turned in this data. I would like to write them and share what I have on the family. Emma Lou Mc-Daniel, Box 53, Stafford, KS, 67578.
March 1992
I understand that your
organization publishes a newsletter relating to the Gowen/Goins family and that
you have estab-lished a "one-name" study devoted to the surname.
I am enclosing a family group
record relating to the family of Lewis F. Gowens [b1817, m1837, dc1905] and
Lucretia Rice Gowens of Anderson County and Franklin County, Ken-tucky. I
would appreciate any information held by the Foun-dation or its members relating
to my ancestors and their 10 children. Please send Foundation membership
information. Carl E. Moore, Jr, Box 2344, Chicago, IL, 60690.
==Dear Cousins==
I am enclosing a copy of my Goins
pedigree for the Foun-dation Library along with my renewal for 1992. Can you or
any member give me additional details on my Bedford County, Vir-ginia ancestors,
Isham Goins and his wife Ann Burns Goins [m1785] and their son Isham Goins and
his wife Susannah Bratcher Goins [m1802].
I have been told that the elder
Isham Goins had only one child, Isham, but I do not have any proof to
substantiate this. I am at a complete standstill on this. Shirley Giuliano, 15
W. Grove St, Pine Hill, NJ, 08021
==Dear Cousins==
I was recently given a copy of
your Newsletter by a relative of mine, 93-year-old Lottie Bell Guynes Whitley of
Dallas. I was thrilled to become acquainted with the Foundation. My mother is
the great-granddaughter of Novell Guynes of Kaufman County, TX. He was the
great-grandson of James Goyne fea-tured in the October 1990 Newsletter. I am
at-tempting to prove up my generations back to James Goyne for a DAR membership
for my mother. I would like to hear from any researcher who is a DAR member
with a similar line. Cynthia Hudson Reed, 1752 Willowbrook Lane, Simi Valley,
CA, 93065.
==Dear Cousins==
I have been trying to research my
gg-grandparents Frank "Eri" Goin and Abigail Chamberlain Goin. Their son, James
F. Goin was born May 29, 1841 in Littleton, NH. He died Febru-ary 18, 1891 in
Burlington, VT. Would love to hear from any researcher that can help. Gordon
Richmond, 364 Tunnel Road, Vernon, CT, 06066.
April 1992
I am seeking assistance with my gggm Ruth Gowen/Gowan who was born in Vermont December 24, 1814. She was mc1834 to Hezekiah E. Mason of Moriah, NY. They removed from there to Scott County, IA about 1845. In 1863 they moved to Worth County, Missouri. She died there August 22, 1866. Children born to them include: Otis, Jonathan, Hezekiah, Sarah [my ggm], Sophia, Eliza, Jane, Ju-lia, Martha, Carrie and Laura. Help on this family would be greatly appreciated. Janet Reid, 16237 Patricia Way, Grass Valley, CA, 95949.
May 1992
I need to know what happened to
Frederick Goins/Gowen after 1827. At that time he was married to Vicey Gibbs,
and they were living in Sumter County, SC. He was a son of Jerry and Edy Goins/Gowen.
Vicey Gibbs Goins/Gowen was
enumerated as the head of the household from 1820 through 1880, with no mention
of Frederick. She died in 1887. Was there a divorce? Did he die early?
Surely someone out there must know something about him. I will appreciate any
help. Mary B. Barr, Route 8, Box 148, Florence, SC, 29501.
June 1992
I found the address of the Foundation in "Genealogical Helper." I am searching for the parents and siblings of Han-nah Gowen who was married in 1806 at Wilmington, MA to John Stiles, Jr. He was born in 1786 in Lyndeborough, NH. His fam-ily originally came from Boxford, MA. He died in 1845 in Win-hall or Brattleboro, VT. I have no dates of birth or death for Hannah Gowen Stiles. Can anyone can help me? Cheryl Koopman, 2639 Ome Ave, Dayton, OH, 45414.
July 1992
I am descended from James
Goyne1, John Goyne/Guynes2, James Guynes3, Norvell Madison Guynes4, Missouri F.
Guynes Griffey5, Cassie Griffey Woodall6 and Ocea Woodall Allen7. I have made
several helpful contacts since joining the Foundation. I would love to hear
from anyone who might have documenta-tion on the births, marriage and death of
James Guynes3 and his wife Martha Whittington. Cynthia H. Reed, 1752
Willow-brook Lane, Simi Valley, CA, 93065.
==Dear Cousins==
I am seeking information about the
ancestry and descen-dants of Daniel Gowen/Goan/Goins [bc1752] who was married
about 1770 to Susannah Inman [bc1754], daughter of Ezekiel Inman and Hanna
Hardee [?] Inman, probably in NC. By 1800 they were in Jefferson County, TN
where he died September 6, 1810. Probable issue were Daniel Goan, Fanny Goan,
Shadrack Goan, likely others.
Contact with any descendant of
this union would be wel-comed. I have collected considerable about the Inman
lineage and allied lines and will share. Willis T. Finley, 307 Fairview Dr,
Longview, TX, 75604. 903/759-0415.
August 1992
In the March 1992 Newsletter, Velma Beuerle wrote donating three items for the Foundation Library. One of these items was identified as "The Guynes Family" by Judge Jasper Felix Guynes. That information is really a part of "A History of the Sharp Family," Eron M. Sharp, Memphis, TN, 1962, available from the Public Library, Forest, MS. I wrote to Mrs. Beuerle, and she asked that I write to you to clarify this. Cynthia Hud-son Reed, 1752 Willowbrook Lane, Simi Valley, CA, 93065.
September 1992
I wish to appeal to the readers
of the Foundation Newsletter for their assistance in locating my Gowen parents.
Having been placed for adoption at 11 months old, I have no recollection of
them, and I do not know their first names. I was born in California April 1,
1970. My brother, Thomas Gowen was born September 17, 1969. We have two
brothers, slightly older than us, Kenneth Gowen and Phillip Gowen.
My adopted name is Matlock, and I
was reared in Staton, Cal-ifornia. My adoptive parents have told me that
shortly after I came to the Matlock home, that my birth mother would park her
car in the neighborhood and sit, apparently hoping to catch a glimpse of me.
Fearing that it would be disruptive, they did not invite her in. Afterward, she
moved to Florida, we have learned. My first search was to locate my three
brothers, and it was successful. Now, they join me in the search for our
parents. We would be grateful for any clue that anyone could provide. Glen
Gowen [Matlock], 14681 Adams, Apt. 3, Midway City, CA, 92655, 714/379-0611.
==Dear Cousins==
I need help. Does anyone,
anywhere have information on Jeremiah Goen enumerated in 1800 as the head of a
house-hold of 14 in Clarendon County, Sumter District, SC? Did Jeremiah have a
son, Jerry or is the Jerry referred to later, the same Jeremiah? Glad to
exchange data. Mary B. Barr, Rt. 8, Box 148, Florence, SC, 29501, 803/665-4935.
==Dear Cousins==
I am searching for information on
my ancestors who went by the name of Goins/Gowens, in particular Stephen Goins
who was born in 1833 in IN[?] and resided in Michigan until ap-proximately
1910. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Stephen L. Allen, 17655
Osbourne Ave, Chino Hills, CA, 92789, 714/597-1473
==Dear Cousins==
I am a descendant of Richard
Gowing/Gowin/-Gowen/Gowan who was born January 8, 1776 in Pittsylvania County,
Virginia. He was "bound out" as an orphan to Thomas Wilkerson there in April
1787. He was married July 4, 1807 in adjoining Caswell County, North Car-olina
to Mary "Polly" Bennett. They were the parents of Thomas Dodd Gowan, Mary Gowan,
Martha W. Gowan, Major Redul Wilson Gowan, Dr. Richard A. Gowan, John Paxton
Gowan, Ann B. Gowan, Rachel Gowan and Rev. George A. Gowan of Georgia. He died
in Caswell County in 1844.
I am enclosing my membership for
1993 along with an an-cestor chart and family data chart for the Foundation
Library. Can anyone help me with the parents of Richard Gowan or any
information on his family? Edgar Gowan Lowrance, 742 Lynn Dee Drive,
Winston-Salem, NC, 27106.
==Dear Cousins==
October 1992
Enclosed for the Foundation
Library are copies of every Gowan death certificate on file in the state of
Tennessee for the years 1908-1941 [the only years that such records are pub-lic].
Very soon I'll have similar packages for GRF on "Gowen" and and other
spellings. If anyone out there wants a copy of these, I'll make up one for $3
[for the entire package]. Phillip Gowan, Box 5777, Nashville, TN, 37208.
==Dear Cousins==
Under separate cover I am
forwarding for the Foundation Li-brary a copy of "Our Kith & Kin" which I
published in 1986. The volume includes narratives on Pleasant Gowen/Going/Gooing
[bc1788], his two wives, Temperance Cooper Gowen and Alice Webb Gowen and their
descendants. The surname underwent a change prior to the Civil War, and now
most family members use the name Going. Helen B. Was-son, 326 Kenwood Ave,
Baton Rouge, LA, 70806.
==Dear Cousins==
Members of Gowen Research
Foundation are invited to "Worlds Collide--European Explorations in the Interior
Southeast" October 9 at the Frank H. McClung Museum, Knoxville, TN. The exhibit
examines Indian life in East Tennessee in the mid 1500s, European exploration
into the area and the consequences of this contact both locally and world-wide.
Four issues will be addressed.
The first is the question of European contacts before Columbus. Featured will
be the Bat Creek Stone from Loudon County and a runic stone from the Nashville
area. The Bat Creek Stone, on loan from the Smithsonian Institute, is thought
by some to show an ancient form of Hebrew writing.
On more solid scholarly ground,
the exhibition will next ad-dress the 16th century Spanish incursions into the
interior: Hernando de Soto, Tristan de Luna and Juan Pardo. Actual Spanish
artifacts recovered from sites in East Tennessee will be exhibited as well as
replicas of Spanish armor. The mysterious Melungeons may find their origin
during this time. Jeff Chapman, Director, The Frank H. McClung Museum, 1327
Circle Park Drive, Knoxville, TN, 37996.
November 1992
Oti, a full-blood Choctaw woman
who was married about 1795 to Phillip Goins in Choctaw Nation, mentioned in your
June 1990 Newsletter is of great interest to me. My father spoke many times of
Oti Montro, an Indian woman [or princess] as his ancestor. Your June 1990
article was summa-rized in the September 15, 1991 genealogy column of the
"Jackson Clar-ion-Ledger" written by Nancy Parker.
Robert McGowan, an official of
Marion County, MS was my fifth-generation grandfather. His daughter Cynthia Mc-Gowan
was married to Henry Sones. Their daughter, Mary Sones was married Richard
Boone. They are my great-grandparents.
I would like to have a copy of
this Newsletter and any in-formation your files might hold regarding the
McGowan-Goins-Montro relationship. Your consideration of this re-quest is
deeply appreciated. Margie Bailey, 358 Purvis Road, Columbia, MS, 39429.
==Dear Cousins==
Earlier the Foundation had a query
about the Redsticks being the same as the Redbones, the mixed-bloods. I found
the answer to this question on this trip when I purchased "Tennessee's In-dian
Peoples, from White Contact to Removal, 1540-1840" by Ronald N. Satz. He deals
exten-sively with the Redsticks The name was attached to a group of Creek
Indians who did not re-sign themselves to living along-side the white men. They
be-came the militant branch of the Creeks that were led by Chief Tecumseh who
were defeated in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. They became known as "Redsticks"
sup-posedly after Tecumseh gave their leaders bundles of sticks painted red to
count the days until the time of their planned concerted uprising. Evelyn
McKinley Orr, 8310 Emmet, Omaha, NE, 68134.
==Dear Cousins==
I wish to appeal to the Foundation
members for assistance in locating my biological Gowan family. I was an adoptee
and only recently learned that my natural father was Robert Alexan-der Gowan, an
American Indian born April 29, 1931 in Dupuyer, Montana to William G. Gowan and
Florence Salois Gowan. He, a Korean War Air Force veteran, died in Great Falls,
Montana July 21, 1960 at age 29. His mother, a Cree In-dian, died four months
later, November 24, 1960 and was buried beside her son in Calvary Cemetery,
Havre, Montana.
Siblings of Robert Alexander Gowan
include: Walter, William, Jim of Jasper, AL, Roy, Arnold, Ruby [Mrs. Brian
McBride of Chinook, MT], Eva [Mrs. Dale Tuttle, Havre, MT], Betty and Joyce
[Mrs. Frank Nordgulen, Havre, MT].
Anxiously awaiting any information
any researcher can pro-vide about my family. Cherie Welling, 2005 Capitol Ave,
Sacramento, CA, 95814, 916/446-0200.
December 1992
Thanks for carrying my appeal
for help in locating my bio-logical Gowan family in the November Newsletter. I
now have some very good news to share with you . . . just a few days ago I made
phone contact with one of father's brothers, Jim Gowan.
When I reached Jim Gowan, I asked
if he had a brother by the name of Robert Alexander Gowan. When he answered
"yes," I went on to explain that I am Robert's daughter. Need-less to say, Jim
was very surprised to hear from me, but within a few minutes he was telling me
about all of my sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles and cousins!
It was wonderful to discover that
I have six siblings on my father's side of the family. Along with three
siblings on my mother's side, that makes a total of nine brothers and sisters.
For an adoptee who grew up as an only child, this is a dream come true!
Jim said that he will soon send me
a picture of my father and a list of all my relatives addresses so that I can
begin to contact everyone. He also invited me to the upcoming Gowan family
re-union to be held in June 1993 in Montana.
At the reunion I will be sure to
tell everyone about the Foundation and let people know that they, too may be
able to discover other family members.
This is the first time I have felt
part of a family. Thank you so very much for your help in the search for my
family. Cherie Welling, 2005 Capitol Avenue, Sacramento, CA, 95814.
==Dear Cousins==
Whilst searching the IGI Index of
Spain for Luque, the dis-trict from which John Goyne gave as his hometown when
he was given "Letters of Denization" [naturalization] at Westmin-ster, England
January 17, 1461, I came across the in-teresting en-try in the Spanish county of
Navar of a town called "Itrugoyen."
I have checked in the IGI [we now
have a Mormon centre here], and there is a good mention of the name Goyen, but
the dates are all in 1800s. My thought is that this explains the ap-pearance of
the name Goyen/ne in England in the 1400s as the activities of Spanish Goyens,
but my belief remains that the Gowen/Goyen families in Cornwall remain as
descen-dants of a [Celtic] Gowen ancestor. Robert J. Goyen, 523 Sutton St,
Sebastopol 3356, Victoria, Australia.
January 1993
I am a direct descendant of the
Gowen family which arrived in York in the 1650s. They located on the bank of
the York River, and the old homestead is still there. I remember visiting there
when I was young to see my great-aunt Julia Gowen. My grandmother was a Gowen.
Here the name is pronounced with the "long o" though it is pronounced with the
"short o" in places close by.
Cape Neddick is a section of the
town of York which was settled in the 1600s. I have lived here all my life [84
years]. I shall go to the library at the first opportunity to see what I can
find on our genealogy here and give the Foundation the benefit of anything I
find. Flora Woodford, 1324 U.S. Route 1, Cape Neddick, ME, 03902.
==Dear Cousins==
I am seeking information about
Berry and Nancy Goins who were enumerated in 1840 and 1850 in Russell County,
AL. Also need data on Henry Goins, regarded as their son, and his wife
Elizabeth Goins who were recorded in the 1850 and 1860 census of Chickasaw
County, MS. Any help on these families will be greatly appreciated. Frances
Fleming, 1827 S. Garrison, Carthage, MO, 417/358-2342.
==Dear Cousins==
I am in search of information on
Capt. John Rains and his wife Christianna Gowen Rains. I seek their parents and
place of marriage in Virginia. He was born 1742-52 in Orange or Culpepper
County. She died in 1826, and he died in 1834 in Davidson County, TN. John
Rains/Reins appeared in Montgomery County, VA in 1778, along with Meredith Reins
and Richard Reins. Joy Q. Stearns, 618 Greenwood Circle, Mt. Olive, AL, 35117.
==Dear Cousins==
Enclosed is my 1993 renewal. I
keep hoping that someday soon I'll find something in the Newsletter on my
grandfather, William Harrison Goins. He was born in Gibson County, IN in May
1843. His Civil War papers show his near-est post office as Petersburg, IN in
adjoining Pike County where he was enumerated in 1860. His father was Thomas
Goins, born in South Carolina. I am the youngest of my family which are nearly
all gone, so I have no family sources.
I have been successful with three
other lines, but the Goins have stymied me for the past 15 years. I must solve
the problem soon. I am 77 and losing the use of my hands to arthritis. It is
difficult for me to write. Can anyone help? Mary Sirmay, 400 Glennes Lane,
Apt. 212, Dunedin, FL, 34698
February 1993
I am descended from [1] William
Shadrach Goan [my father, 1884-1942], [2] Daniel W. Goan, [3] Shadrach Goan [4]
Shadrach W. Goan and [5] Daniel Goan of Burke County, NC. I am new at this and
was beginning to think that I was the only Goan researcher left.
I was in the Independence, MO
library and had spent about five hours there with no luck at all. As I was
about to leave, I spotted a display of dozens of newsletters from all over. I
picked up a blue one, Gowen Research Foundation Newsletter, and read through
it. I found nothing on my Goans, but for some reason I asked the librarian if
she had more. She showed me the file, and B-I-N-G-0 ! There was my "Daniel
Goan, Citizen of the State of Franklin" in the ban-ner headline, the next
generation I was looking for.
I bought a book called "Thomas
Jarnigan, 1746-1802," but couldn't make a connection until I found your
Newsletter. There I found his daughter Martha Priscilla Jarnigan who was
married to Daniel Goan, Jr. Enclosed is a copy of the Goan family mate-rial
from "Thomas Jarnagan, 1746-1802" for the Foundation Library. Also included are
the wills of Sythia Goan, widow of Shadrack and Susannah Goan, widow of Daniel
W. Goan, 1752-1806.
Does anyone have any information
on the children of Sythia and Shadrack? Names mentioned in the enclosed will
are Jane Goan Ervin, wife of Valentine Ervin; Fanny Goan Whalen, wife of T. B.
Whalen; Anna Goan Falkenor and Sythia Goan Copeland. I am so excited to learn
about the Foundation and the Newsletter. I am enclosing my check for a
membership. Please send all available back issues. I am en-closing my
ances-tor chart on all that I have documented so far. I would like to hear from
anyone whom I might be able to help or vice versa. Bonnie Dean Goan Good, Box
331, Wellington, MO, 64097, 816/934-2503
==Dear Cousins==
Need help! Welcome any
information on the parents and family of William H. Gowen, b1860 TN, wife's name
Tennie. They had at least two children, William G. Gowen and Jessie Mae Gowen,
b1902. She was married to James V. Marion of Stoddard County, MO. By 1910
William H. Gowen was living in Pemiscot County, MO. Lauretta Allen Dickherber,
Box 634, Arnold, MO, 63010.
==Dear Cousins==
I am seeking information about the
ancestry and descendants of Thomas Going/Goin [bc1750] and wife; Isaac Goin/Goins
[b1793] and wife Temperance Alice Gray; Alfred Goins [bc1833] and wife Hannah;
Thomas Goins [b1862] and wife Nancy Collins [b1869] to Conoway Collins.
Thomas and Isaac lived in
Claiborne County, TN. Alfred and Thomas [b1862] lived in Hancock County, TN.
Thomas later moved to Knott County and Letcher County, Kentucky.
Thomas Going/Goin was listed in
the 1783 census in Greensville County, VA. In later records he was in Claiborne
County and was listed as a founder of the Big Barren Primi-tive Baptist Church.
He was veteran of the Revolutionary War, and his known children were Levi, Uriah
and Isaac. Pat Goins Rice, 300 Cooper Run Road, Shepherdsville, KY, 40165.
==Dear Cousins==
In addition to the Melungeon
Documentary Research committee members mentioned in the January Newsletter, we
have some new additions deserving of special mention.
Dr. Michael and Susan Abram,
directors of the Cherokee Heritage Museum & Gallery in Cherokee, N.C. have
agreed to serve. The Abrams bring to us an immensely rich back-ground in Native
American history, culture and lore. Their expertise in western North Carolina,
early home of the Melungeons, should prove extremely helpful.
G. F. "Nick" Fielder, Tennessee
State Archaeologist, has also joined the committee. In addition to having
directed the archaeological work on the Melungeon Gowen farm at Nashville, he
has a vast knowledge of the state's archaeological resources and the on-going
work of other archaeological projects throughout the state.
Dr. Chester DePratter of the
University of South Carolina's Institute of Archaeology & Anthropology and a
nationally recognized expert in Southeastern Native American and European
settlements, has also come aboard. With the addition of these outstanding
scholars, we simply couldn't have a stronger committee.
Dr. Jim Guthrie, upon review of
his previous work, feels that the genetic data may indicate a higher "Arab
component" than he had previously thought. He suggests that our geneticists
scrutinize the data with this possibility in mind.
John Swift, an eighteenth century
Appalachian silver miner, employed as his miners a group of dark-skinned men
known to the Anglos as the "Mecca Indians."
Dr. Ahmad Hassan, University of
Ontario, has found evidence that the 16th century Spanish were purposely
recruiting young men of Moorish origin to fill the ranks of their New World
armies. He quotes Fernand Braudel's classic work, "The Mediterranean," "In the
sixteenth century, Seville and the An-dalusian hinterland, still half-Moslem and
hardly half-Christian, were engaged in sending their men to settle whole areas
of Spanish America. Carlos Pereyra has described it, "What more convenient way
to rid the Iberian peninsula of the 'Mudejars' than to ship them off to
America." Ethnic cleansing is nothing new! Brent Kennedy, 750 Ralph McGill
Blvd. NE, Atlanta, GA, 30312.
==Dear Cousins==
Enclosed is my membership
application. Capt. John Rains and Christianna Gowen Rains are my 7th generation
grand-parents. Their daughter, Susannah Rains Quimby and Bur-well B. Quimby are
my 6th generation grandparents. I located the GRF Newsletter file in the
Birmingham Library and had just enough time to read two or three before closing
time. But it was enough to get me going again!
I have quite a bit of notes and
material on Capt. John Rains, certainly a colorful character in early-day Middle
Tennessee. Additionally I have his probate file, and as soon as I can put all
this into chronological order, I will forward a copy for inclusion in the
Foundation manuscript along with my ancestor chart.
I had always looked for my Gowen
ancestors in Virginia, birthplace of Capt. Rains and had no idea they were
Carolinians. Did Capt. Rains influence the whole Gowen family to come to Middle
Tennessee, and did they use New River, Virginia as a "stepping off" point?
I am enclosing the names of some
other Rains-Gowen re-searcher-descendants. Elizabeth Rains Webb [included]
wrote and privately published a history on the family of Capt. John Rains for
the 1976 Bicentennial. Joy Quimby Stearns, 618 Greenwood Circle, Mt. Olive, AL,
35117.
March 1993
Michael Duggan Gowen, my
great-grandfather was born in 1840 in Lisheen, County Cork, Ireland and died
in New York City in 1911. He emigrated to the U. S. as a young man. His
wife, Elizabeth O'Connell Gowen was born in 1841 in Bally-hooley, County Cork,
I do not know if they were acquainted in Ireland, and I do not know the date and
place of their marriage. They were the parents of my grandfather, Gen. James
Bartholomew Gowen who was born September 25, 1872 in New York City.
Sometime in the future,
probably after retirement, I intend to do some work on my Gowen ancestors.
At present, I have a limited knowledge of genealogy. Could you [or any
Founda-tion member] steer me in the direction of a starting point for
in-formation on the family and any specific data on Irish Gowens. James Gowen
Boatner, 3008 Sevor Lane, Alexandria, VA, 22309, 703/836-8300.
==Dear
Cousins==
This past Christmas I entered
all the information I had gath-ered on my ancestors and put it into book
form, along with copies of birth and death certificates, marriage licenses,
newspa-per articles, etc. I am enclosing a copy of "Like Snowflakes--No Two
Alike" for the Foundation Library. The
Foundation has my permission to
use this information. Can you advise me how I should go about obtaining a
copyright?
As you can see from the
enclosure, I grew up around Hale and Crosby counties and have been to
Lubbock many times. I used to go up to the 20th floor of the Great Plains Life
building and watch Waylon Jennings when he was a disc jockey for KLLL in the
early '60s. I love West Texas and still have many friends and relatives
there. Peggy A. White, 109 Underwood Drive, Hopkinsville, KY, 42240.
==Dear
Cousins==
I am seeking information on
Martha J. Johnson who married Thomas Goin February 9, 1859 in Claiborne
County, TN. Thomas descends from Thomas Goin/Going, Levi Goin and Pleasant
Goin. Daughter of Pleasant, Marlena Goin married James P. Johnson June 20,
1868 in Claiborne County. Are
Martha and James siblings? I have
not been able to identify the parents of James P. Johnson. Joyce Locke, Box
474, Portales, NM, 88130
==Dear
Cousins==
The tax lists of Chickawsaw
County, MS show other Goin individuals in addition to my Henry Goin and his
daughter Nancy A. Goin. Other taxpayers there in 1840-50 include Me-shack Goin
[he appeared in cs1850 as bc1815, TN], James Dudley Goins [he received a land
patent in 1845 in what is now Clay County, MS], William Goens, John Goen and
Dillard Goen. These names appear several times in Chickasaw County records
1840-50. Can anyone advise me of any relationships among the above? Frances
Fleming, 1827 S. Garrison, Carthage, MO, 64836.
==Dear
Cousins==
I am enclosing an obituary for
Fred Goin, 79 of Buffalo, WY. This appeared in the "Casper Star-Tribune."
It is a very rare occurrence for this surname to appear in this locality.
Hope everything is going well
for the Foundation. I'm really looking forward to coming to Houston in '94.
The report on the DNA findings will be tremendously interesting. Donna Gowin
Johnston, 1413 Westridge Terrace, Casper, WY, 82604.
==Dear
Cousins==
I just finished writing to Mrs.
Pat Goin Rice of the Ancient Kentucke Historical Society to see what their
organization might hold on the Melungeons.
We need to maintain a
Melungeon information exchange with all interested organizations. Perhaps we
can discuss this at the next meeting of the Melungeon Documentary Film
committee in Knoxville.
John and I are immensely enjoying
our motorhome trip. Fol-lowing our wonderful visit in Lubbock, we traveled on
to Ari-zona where we found lots of wide open spaces and plenty of elbow
room. At this moment, you and Bonnie are in Hong Kong with all of its crowded,
teeming millions. Quite a
contrast, I'd bet. Evelyn McKinley
Orr, 8310 Emmet, Omaha, NE, 68134.
==Dear
Cousins==
At the suggestion of
Phillip Alan Gowan, Foundation di-rector of Nashville, I am enclosing
ancestor charts showing our descent from Richard Gowan and Susan Peacock Gowan
and their son Garrett Hubert Gowan.
I am seeking the death date for
Garrett Hubert Gowan and the date of the marriage of his daughter Mary May
Gowan to Iver-son Gayden Thompson, my ancestors. I have looked for it in Ft.
Worth, but it was not in Tarrant County, so I believe they prob-ably were
married in Clay County which I understand you have researched. Can you or
any Foundation member supply any information about Mary May Gowan Thompson?
I am enclosing from "Texas
Biographical Sketches" a copy of the biography of John D. Blassingame and his
wife Malinda Holder Blassingame who removed in 1855 from South Carolina to
Grayson County, TX. You will note that one of their chil-dren was named Wynn
Gowen Blassingame. There must be a connection with Maj. John "Buck" Gowen of
South Carolina. Hallie P. Garner, 8923 Woodshore Drive, Dallas, TX, 75243.
==Dear
Cousins==
It is amazing how you can collect
and organize such a vast amount of data on the various branches [and
spellings] of our family. We were delighted to see how our great-grandfather
William Benjamin Gowen connects to his great-grandfather William Gowen who owned
the Gowen Pre-emption now used by the Metropolitan Nashville Airport.
Speculation is that the wife of
William Gowen was Sarah Burleson since "Burleson" was a much-used name among
sev-eral branches of our family. However much we would like to peg the agnate
line as "Burleson," no good genealogist puts down an assumption without
documentation. Can anyone out
there help us on the Burleson-Gowen
connection? Sally John-ston, Box 892, Jacksonville, AL, 36265.
==Dear
Cousins==
I recently learned about Gowen
Research Foundation and am enclosing ancestor charts and family group sheets
for the Library. My line descends from Daniel Goins, his son Isham Goins,
born at Rose Hill, Lee, VA Nov. 15, 1802 and his son John Goins born August 17,
1817 in Claiborne County. TN. John Goins was married to Isabelle Peverly. He
died February 20, 1885 at Jellico in Campbell County, TN, I would be glad to
exchange data with any interested researcher. Loraine Tieman, 2617 W. Columbine
Road, Phoenix, AZ, 85029.
April 1993
I am certainly in shock from
your letter received today. But I accept your invitation to speak about my
research in Cornwall on the Goyen/Gowen family at the Research Conference in
Hous-ton in May '94. I will be meeting Robert and Brian Goyen April 15 in
Australia for a two-month visit and will coordinate my pre-sentation with
theirs.
There is no need to be concerned
about my travel expenses as I don't have to come very far. I also have
relatives near Hous-ton [Devers], and they have a reunion every June--so two
birds as we say. Billie June Salmond, 530 East Woodland Lane, Boun-tiful, UT,
84010.
==Dear Cousins==
Being a descendant of Ursula Gowen
who was m1705 to Richard Cowling in St. Agnes Parish, Cornwall, I was interested
to find the family of William Goyen in the 1900 census of Mar-quette County, MI.
William Goyen, b1846 "in England"
had been married to Katherine Goyen for 33 years. He had come to the USA in
1865 and was an "iron ore miner." [St. Agnes Parish in Cornwall was a mining
center and furnished miners and mining experience not only to the United States,
but to Australia and South Africa as well.]
Katherine Goyen, born in Kentucky,
was the mother of 12, seven still living. Six, Arthur T, 19; Robert C, 16;
William H, 22; Edward, 14; Albert S, 10 and John F, 8, of the seven were still
liv-ing in the Goyen household along with eight boarders and a ser-vant. I
thought some of Foundation members would be inter-ested in this family. Gladys
M. White, Box 523, Quin-nesec, MI, 49876.
==Dear Cousins==
I am presently doing research on
my family and learned re-cently that some of my surnames are among the top
Melungeon surnames. I have Mullins, Moore and Myers that I am tracing and would
be glad to correspond with anyone who is on a paral-lel track. My Mullins came
to Tennessee from North Carolina and possibly Virginia prior.
Joseph Mullins b1700s VA; Burl
Mullins b1790 NC, moved to Grainger Co, TN, then Jefferson Co, TN, then Bedford
Co, TN. Burl Mullins moved on to Howard Co. and Jackson Co, MO. His son [or
gson] William Maston Mullins is my g-grand-father.
I am very interested in your
Foundation and in the Melun-geons. Debbie Lee Woolf, 9421 Kimbrough Ct,
Stockton, CA, 95209.
==Dear Cousins==
My subconscious just put together
a connection. Tell the re-searchers looking in Goochland County, VA, Bedford
County, VA and Madison County, KY to compare their data on William Gowen and his
wife Anastasia Sullivan Gowen, mc1755. I be-lieve they are the same individuals
in all three locations--despite the fact that she is listed as "Anna Statia
Gowen" and "Honesty Gouwen" in Goochland, "Anester Going" in Bedford and as the
head of a household in the 1820 census of Madison." Virginia Easley Demarce,
5635 N. 25th Road, Arlington, VA, 22207.
==Dear Cousins==
I am enclosing a check to
"elevate" my membership. When each Newsletter arrives, there is always
something that sends me back researching. I love researching, and I love
history, so I have enjoyed digging into the theories on the Melungeons--Phoenicians,
Carthagenians, Portugal, Spain, the Moors and lately the Catawba Indians. My
personal theory is that the Melungeons were a combination of Juan Pardo's
Portuguese sol-diers and Catawba Indians
My great uncle William Tanner
Caldwell, grandson of William J. Goyne, b1819, GA, had Melungeon
characteristics. He had olive skin, straight black hair, dark eyes and aquiline
features. Family tradition declared the Goynes to be "part French, part
Indian. My sister inherited the Melungeon genes in our family.
We plan a vacation in June in
northwestern South Car-olina, and we hope to get in some research while there as
well as to visit the Catawba Indian Reservation. I am enclosing some of my
research for the Foundation Library, and will perhaps have some more for you
upon return. Also I am en-closing some clip-pings from the "Houston Chronicle"
writ-ten by Leon Hale [classmate of Arlee Gowen at Texas Tech, School of
Journalism, class of '43].
I have a Long Lost Cousin, Trudy
Hester, Rt. 8, Box 138-B, Longview, TX, and later 1329 Panners Pl, Billings, MT,
59105 with whom I used to collaborate on the Goyne research. She is also a
descendant of William J. Goyne and would swim the Buf-falo Bayou to get to the
Houston Conference in '94 if she knew about it. Can you help me find her again?
The Newsletters are always
interesting, and I re-read them frequently. The work you are doing is SO
appreciated! Gwen Caldwell Quickel, Box 806, Lake Jackson, TX, 77568.
==Dear Cousins==
It was exciting to learn about
Gowen Research Foundation while researching in the Idaho State Library! My
membership is enclosed. I am interested in linking and sharing information that
I have about the Goins family.
My ggg-grandfather was William
Goins who married Kiza Sinkler [St. Clair?]. Their children are: Margaret Goins
who married c1856 Daniel Goins in Moore or Randolph County, NC; Duncan Goins who
died in 1862 in NC in Civil War; Ed-ward D. Goins, a Civil War vet of NC 30th
Inf. Regt, emi-grated to OR in 1874, m1 Mary Jane Wicker in IN, m2 Clara Butcher
in OR; Reed Goins, my ancestor m1869 Harriett Pridgeon, emigrated to OR; Thomas
Goins m1867 in Nash, NC to Elizabeth C. Prid-geon; Richard Goins; George Goins,
lived in MS; Colon Goins; William Baxter Goins m1873 in KS to Sarah Wood; Salley
Goins d1876 IN; Alice Goins d1925 Brazil, IN unm; and Joseph Goins, killed in
Brazil, IN in 1893.
My questions are: Does anyone know
the parents of William Goins b1814 NC? Assume his parents were Edward Goins and
Celia Cofer Goins. Edward Goins reported as "a man of culture and a noted
teacher and educator, supposedly fought in the War of 1812. Any information on
any of the above will be greatly appreciated. Cheryl Allen, 9857 W. Alliance,
Boise, ID, 83704, 208/378-0714.
==Dear Cousins==
I have every issue of your
publication since its first edition, and I have recommend the Newsletter to
other Going/Gowen family researchers.
The article in the March issue
entitled, "Horrible Gowan Family Event Recorded in Salem, Kentucky" was a real
surprise. This kind of nonsense has no place in a genealogical publica-tion. I
wonder how many other subscribers were as disappointed as I in your lack of
consideration for the family surname and in your general lack of good taste.
If the piece had been true, it
would have been acceptable; be-cause it is fiction, it degrades your publication
with its one line "surprise" ending; a total insult to the reader.
Many of your readers send in
material that would be more interesting reading. They mention sending in
accounts of their family histories in "Dear Cousins." My suggestion is that you
print more of these and that you use a byline with each article. We wish to
read about real people and to contact real people in our mutual family
research. Rosemary Dunne, Box 687, Amherst, VA, 24521.
Upon reflection, we concur.
Apologies to the very large and respected Gowan family. We wish now that the
author had cho-sen the surname McGillicuddy "to protect the inno-cent."
I wanted to express my
appreciation for the "Family Re-search Directory" which I downloaded from the
Electronic Li-brary last night. I am very excited about this book which you
edited. Our local LDS is having our annual research workshop next month, and I
am doing a class on what your type of online resources offer.
I sat down and scanned your list
of surnames. and boy, are you right; "some of them are yours!" There are so
many--over 3,000 surnames other than "Gowen"--that I am going to com-pose a form
letter to let people know about your outstanding service. I noticed many
surnames that friends of mine are re-searching, and I shall share this
downloaded file with them. I wanted to tell you how valuable this file is and
to thank you for making it avail-able to researchers nationwide. Wendy Dolphy,
Box 636, Janesville, CA, 96114, 916/253-3502.
==Dear Cousins==
While researching an unusual plant
which my son James Madison Calavan III had grown, I discovered it to be "Cupressus
Goveniana." "Manual of Cultivated Plants" written by Dr. Lib-erty Hyde Bailey
reveals that "it was named for James Robert Gowen, secretary of the Royal
Horticulture Society, 1845-1850." Have you any information about this
distinguished member of the family? E. Clair "Cal" Calavan, 5550 Mon-tero Rd,
Riverside, CA, 92509.
==Dear Cousins==
Thanks very much for publishing my
request for information on my Goins ancestors.
I was overwhelmed with the amount
of data that you and various members sent. With this I was able to correct a
number of mis-takes in my records.
My line of Goins lived in Hancock
County, TN. Alfred Goins was in the 1870 census with wife Hanna and family. In
1880 he appeared with his second wife Malvina. My grandfa-ther, Thomas Goins.
age 18, appears there. Any additional data would be most welcome. Pat Goins
Rice, 300 Cooper Run Rd, Shepherdsville, KY, 40165.
==Dear Cousins==
Ocean Springs Genealogical Society
will be featuring the Melungeons at our June meeting with information we have
gathered, including the research the Foundation is doing. We were wondering if
Foundation members would be willing to provide photocopies of photographs or
drawings illustrative of the Melungeon features. We would be glad to pay any
costs in-volved. Thanks for keeping me informed of the Foundation's progress.
I mention the Foundation from time to time in my ge-nealogy column. Regina
Hines, 158 Lafayette Circle, Ocean Springs, MS, 35964.
May 1993
Thanks very much for the
print-out on William and Anas-tasia Sullivan Gowen of Goochland County,
Virginia. This material was of much interest to me because it agrees with a
"gut feeling" I had after my initial research into the amcestry of my ancestor
James Burns Gowen who is now regarded as their grandson.
I appreciate the fact that
"outsider objectivity" of both you and Dr. DeMarce independently arrived at this
same conclu-sion. I have also found some common threads from the Stuart and
McDonald families which carried over into the Gowen family. Watch how often the
name "Iona" turns up among the Gowen, Stuart and McDonald women. Thanks for all
your good efforts. Sandra K. Wood, 'Swale View,' Low Row, NR Richmond, N. Yorks,
England, DL11-6NE.
==Dear Cousins==
I am especially interested in the
archaeological work being done on the Gowen farm at the Nashville Airport. My
grand-father Frank Maxwell Gowen made trips to Nashville during his lifetime and
searched diligently for the graves of our an-cestors. I accompanied him on a
trip in 1980 and took pho-tographs. I became the custodian of all his records
upon his death. It was his wish that I carry on with the work he started.
I was glad to hear that Dr. Guy
Weaver who was the ar-chaeologist in charge has accepted an invitation to appear
on our Conference program in Houston in 1994. I am enclosing my Conference
reserveration and am looking forward to this im-portant event. I am enclosing
my Sustaining Membership and an addi-tional check to be used as a memorial to
Frank Maxwell Gowen and his research. I'll be making a serious effort to
de-vote more time to the Gowen research. Thank you for your continued
outstanding efforts. Shari Lynn Southard, 5240 W. Las Pal-maritas, Glendale,
AZ, 85302
==Dear Cousins==
I have every issue of your
publication since its first edition, and I have recommend the Newsletter to
other Going/Gowen family researchers.
The article in the March issue
entitled, "Horrible Gowan Family Event Recorded in Salem, Kentucky" was a real
sur-prise. This kind of nonsense has no place in a genealogical publica-tion.
I wonder how many other subscribers were as disappointed as I in your lack of
consideration for the family surname and in your general lack of good taste.
If the piece had been true, it
would have been acceptable; be-cause it is fiction, it degrades your publication
with its one line "surprise" ending; a total insult to the reader.
Many of your readers send in
material that would be more interesting reading. They mention sending in
accounts of their family histories in "Dear Cousins." My suggestion is that you
print more of these and that you use a byline with each article. We wish to
read about real people and to contact real people in our mutual family
research. Rosemary Dunne, Box 687, Amherst, VA, 24521.
Upon reflection, we concur.
Apologies to the very large and respected Gowan family. We wish now that the
author had cho-sen the surname McGillicuddy rather than Gowan "to protect the
innocent."
==Dear Cousins==
I am enjoying the Foundation
Newsletter very much. When you have space, I'd appreciate it if you could print
this query. I am descended from Richard D. Goin[s] who moved to Laurel County,
KY from Claiborne County, TN about 1850. He was born in 1801 or 1802 and
married Elizabeth Ferguson. I believe he is the son of Levi Goin of Claiborne
County. Anyone who might know something about this family is requested to write
to Wayne Onkst, 3855 Laura Lane, Erlanger, KY, 41018.
June 1993
I was recently sent an article
about the Choctaw research being done by the Foundation. I am trying to find
information about the wife of my Goyne/Guynes ancestor, James Goyne/Guynes. He
was the grandson of James Goyne of Mecklenburg County, Virginia. His wife was
Martha Ann Whittington, possibly the daughter of Zachariah M. Whitting-ton.
Family stories say she was Indian or part Indian.
Does the Foundation [or any
member] have the list of Mis-sissippi Choctaw residents or a copy of the 1831
"Armstrong Roll" census of Choctaw Nation. If so, I would like to know if any
Whittingtons are listed. Cynthia Hudson Reed, 1752 Willowbrook Lane, Simi
Valley, CA, 93065.
==Dear Cousins==
Do you have in the Foundation
Library an article published in "Irish Ancestor" from about 14 years ago
entitled "Going of Munster." It contains a great deal of information on the Go-ing/Gowan
family back to the first Crusade and traces through French Huguenots to Holland,
England and back to Ireland.
My Going ancestor came from County
Tipperary, Ireland, was Protestant and had a family tradition that he was
Spanish and that the name "Going" was Gonzales at one time. Figure that one
into your Melungeons! Robert Going, 41 Market St, Amsterdam, NY, 12010,
518/843-3501.
==Dear Cousins==
Our check is enclosed for
membership in the Foundation. We were very grateful to a distant cousin for
sending us a copy of the Newsletter.
My husband, Burr V. Miller, Jr. is
a g-grandson of William Thomas Goin [b1837 KY] and Elizabeth Ann Cannon Goin
[b1835 MS]. The parents of William Thomas Goin [names un-known, but regarded by
some as part Cherokee] were born in Georgia, and some family members believe
that they are buried in Poplar Bluff, MO.
We would pleased to hear from
anyone with information on this branch of the family, and we will be glad to
share informa-tion with Foundation members. Amy Miller, 6062-D Thor-oughbred,
Waldorf, MD, 20603, 301/932-9576.
==Dear Cousins==
I was so thrilled to learn of the
Gowen Research Foundation, and my membership is enclosed. I have been working
on my Goins line for about three years and have hit a brick wall. My
great-grandfather Daulphus V. "Doc" Goins has been most elu-sive; I have not
been able to locate him for the first 16 years of his life. Now, with the
Foundation, I have hope.
I recently acquired the Personal
Ancestry File program and am in the process of feeding all of our Goins research
into the computer. I will send you a diskette for the Electronic Library as
soon as it is finished.
If there are any members who are
seeking data from this area of Kentucky and Tennessee, we would be glad to
obtain it for them. We re only about 40 miles from Campbell and Claiborne
Counties and visit the libraries and courthouses there quite of-ten. Brenda
Goins Martin, 26 Oaklawn Drive, Corbin, Ken-tucky, 40701, 606/528-0498.
July 1993
I am sure you have been
"covered up" with newspaper clip-pings of the Associated Press story headed "Men
Say Melun-geon Mystery Solved," but I am enclosing two more. I was in
Asheville, NC for a meeting and found the article datelined "Sneedville, TN" in
the "Asheville Citizen-Times." Then when I returned home to Idaho Falls and
opened the "Shelbyville [TN] Times-Gazette," my hometown newspa-per, there it
was again.
It is good to see the Melungeons
getting such widespread attention, but is the mystery really solved? Elizabeth
H. Mor-fitt, 353 Westmoreland Drive, Idaho Falls, ID, 83402. Eliza-beth, the
jury is still out on the Melungeons. Con-firmation from the academicians will
be required.
==Dear Cousins==
Congratulations for the satellite
transmission of our Elec-tronic Library. Under your guidance and leadership the
Foun-dation is a recognized leader in genealogical research. You are to be
commended for your foresight in getting ge-nealogy into space. Larry A. May,
1548 Manor Drive, Salem, OH, 44460.
==Dear Cousins==
I found mention of the Foundation
in Everton Genealogi-cal Helper and hope that one of your members might assist
me with my Gowen family. I have searched for years for my Gowen an-cestors with
no success.
My g-gf James C. Gowen was born in
1854 in Vermillion County, IL. He was married in 1875 in Henry County,
Mis-souri to Margaret Catherine Beinroth. James C. Gowen was the son of Jackson
and Martha Gowen. Jackson Gowen was born in Illi-nois in 1823 to Isaac and
Delilah Gowen. Isaac Gowen was born in 1797 in Virginia. Any help will be
appre-ciated. Helen Ledford, Route 1, Novinger, MO, 63559.
==Dear Cousins==
To answer your question about the
Red Sticks, the name Ba-ton Rouge is French, and its application as a place name
can be traced back to 1686, with the first recorded contact between Eu-ropeans
and the Houma Indian tribe. In that year the French ex-plorers LaSalle and
Tonti descended the Mississippi and met the Houma at their ancestral homelands
on the high ground of pre-sent-day West Feliciana Parish and Wilkinson County,
Missis-sippi.
At another village located on the
site of our present state capital, the Houma had erected a cypress pole to mark
the boundary with their neighbors to the south, the Bayougoulas In-dians. This
pole was stained red by the blood of sacrificial ani-mals, and the French called
the Houma village and the later white settlement Baton Rouge [literally, "Red
Stick." Kevin P. Scrantz, Vermilionville, Box 2266, Lafayette, LA, 70502.
800/992-2968
==Dear Cousins==
Congratulations upon your
accomplishments with the Elec-tronic Library. I would like to discuss with you
the possi-bility of your transmitting our magazine on the Satellite. James
Py-lant, Editor, American Genealogy Magazine, Box 1587, Stephenville, Texas,
76401.
==Dear Cousins==
After 63 years, I have recently
visited with my Gowan rela-tives in Jackson, Tennessee. There I learned from
Forrest Gowan about the Foundation. And, on my return to Memphis, Texas, I went
to the library for a book on Switzerland, and the librarian surprised me by
producing a file of the Foundation Newsletters. I was fascinated by the story
of Martha Angeline Gowan who at age 13 assisted a Civil War soldier amputate his
leg. She was my great aunt! Her father, Pleasant Andrew Gowan was my
great-grandfather; Landon R. Gowan was my grandfa-ther; and Charles Ernest Gowan
was my father.
I was very excited to read about
the 1994 reunion in Houston I have a very special nephew, Brian Gowan who is
chaplain of Methodist Hospital there. He should be involved in some way.
I am enclosing two memberships,
one for my sister-in-law, Una Gowan in Spokane, Washington and one for myself.
She is the mother of four Gowan boys and two daughters. She was born in
Ireland, so she hopes the Gowans turn out to be Irish.
I lost my husband of 52 years in
December, and now I live alone four miles west of Memphis on a ranch. It seems
ironic that I thought I would have to go back to Tennessee to learn about my
ancestors when you, in nearby Lubbock, had the whole story all the time!. I
will be glad to add everything I can about the family to the Foundation
manuscript. Louise Gowan Fisher, Box 387, Memphis, TX, 79245, 806/259-2059.
==Dear Cousins==
I was so pleased to read the April
edition of the Newsletter which featured Daniel Goins my g-g-g-g-grandfather.
My line in-cludes Isham Goins and Granville Goin. My sister, Jeraldine Webb is
active in family history research and was mentioned in the article. She is now
busy preparing research on Daniel Goins and Elizabeth Pebley Goins. Her
research includes the Civil War service and pension records of four of their
five sons which she will be sending to the Foundation. I am looking forward to
up-coming editions. My membership is enclosed. Roberta Young 14614 McGee
Drive, Whittier, CA, 90604.
August 1993
Jessica Goings, my
great-grandmother was married to William Purvine [Purviance?] c1796 near
Chattanooga, Ten-nessee. They must have lived there for some years because my
great-grandfather, Charles Purvine, was born near Chattanooga in 1815. Later
they removed to Morgan County, Illinois where they farmed, died and were buried,
William in 1832 and Jessica in 1836. Charles Purvine then relocated, first to
Iowa and thence to California in 1849.
I would appreciate hearing from
any Foundation member who could help me learn more about Jessica and her
family. I will be happy to pay appropriate research and reproduction fees.
Bradley B. Garretson, 105 Danza Court, Orinda, CA, 94563, 510/376-5297.
==Dear Cousins==
Foundation members should be
advised that Fred G. Gowen, Director, Box 5000, Bath, OH, 44210 who is offering
for sale "World Book of Gowens" in a direct mail solicitation is not as-sociated
with Gowen Research Foundation. Arlee Gowen, edi-tor.
==Dear Cousins==
I am researching the Corbett
family of Davidson County, Tennessee, and am seeking information on Dr. James J.
Gowen and Martha T. Moore Gowen of Nashville. My great-grand-aunt was Jessie
Lee Corbett [1869-1907] who was adopted by the Gowens. Jessie Lee was listed in
the 1880 cen-sus of Davidson County as their adopted daughter. Were the Gowens
related to the Corbetts, and how did Jessie Lee come to be adopted by them?
Jessie Lee was born in Nashville
to John Ford Corbett and Frances Mary "Fannie" Revel Corbett. Fannie died in
1875 and John in 1877. John and Fannie had three other children, Cora Lee,
Lydia H, and William Stephen Corbett, my great-grandfa-ther. Cora lived in a
home for orphaned girls operated by Martha Simons and may have been adopted.
Lydia was adopted by a West family in Nashville. Will was adopted by John
Franklin Robertson and Alice Lou Hamlett Robertson of Crock-ett Mills,
Tennessee.
Jessie Lee was married to William
Perkins Freeman who was once her father's drugstore partner. Her marriage
license listed her name as "Jessie L. Gowan." Any information about any of the
above would be most welcome. Jeff Reece, 1550 N. Park-way, #610, Memphis, TN,
38112.
==Dear Cousins==
I am enclosing for the Foundation
Library a copy of "The Goyen Family Scrapbook" edited and published by Robert,
Lois and Brian Goyen. The narrative begins with John Gawen, our earliest known
ancestor who was christened Jan-uary 8, 1556 in Cornwall and progresses to the
present time. The various parish clerks spelled the surname in confusing
ways--just like the clerks do today.
Four generations from John Gawen,
his great-grandson, him-self a parish clerk, spelled his name "Gowen." A
century later the name became Gowyn. In the 18th century the name gener-ally
became "Goyne." By the middle of the 19th century when the wave of Cornish
emigration began, "Goyen" was the com-mon usage.
Cornishmen had little choice of
occupations at that time. They could risk their lives in the tin mines, face
the perils at sea as fishermen or resign themselves to poverty as sheepherders.
They saw opportunity elsewhere--in Australia, in New Zealand, in Tasmania, in
Canada, in the United States, and they left in droves. The book is concerned
with these emi-grating families and their descendants--their successes and their
failures. The 220-page book is $60 Australian, including shipping.
Now that the work of getting this
book printed is out of the way, I intend to concentrate on pursuing our country
of origin. In my earlier research, the name "Goyne" seems to have origi-nated
in Spain. I intend to have as good a look at Spain as the records available
will let me. Robert J. Goyen, 523 Sutton St, Sebastopol, 3356, Victoria,
Australia.
==Dear Cousins==
I do not know how extensively your
Foundation Newsletter is used elsewhere, but we have a definite need for your
publi-cation in our library. I have review each issue as it arrives and
photocopy various articles for interested researchers. One has requested
everything you publish on the Melungeons.
Our society hard binds every
worthwhile journal we receive in library-quality covers, and our members make
good use of them. Just to use your Electronic Library is justification for
ev-ery researcher to learn how to use a computer. I feel that it justi-fies our
society obtaining a computer for the genealogy room. Although I have no Gowen
ancestors, I find your arti-cles about various Gowens well written and
interesting. I am enclosing an article on the CSA Pension Applications of James
Munro Goins written by our vice-president Vicki Rumble, Rt. 13, Box 179,
Florence, AL, 35630. Darrell A. Russel, Natchez Trace Ge-nealogical Society,
Box 420, Florence, AL, 35631.
==Dear Cousins==
I am stuck at my g-g-g-fg Benjamin
Franklin Gowen. He is recorded as being 88 years, 7 months old at the time of
his death September 18, 1865 in Worcester, MA. Place of birth was listed as
Franklin, MA. He was buried in Hope Ceme-tery, Worcester. A daughter, Harriett
Gowen Mayers who died in 1902 also lived there.
Benjamin Gowen was enumerated in
the 1850 census of Old Town, ME. "M. Gowen, female, also lived in his
house-hold and is regarded as his wife. Her maiden name is sug-gested as Mary
Tiff. Children born to them include: Julia Ann, bc1806; Erastus, b1808;
Augustus, b1811; Harriett, b1813; Luther, b1816; Albert Nelson, b1822; Mary
Jane, b1825 and Alvina [Alvira], b1827.
Albert Nelson Gowen of Minneapolis
was my gggf. He had three sons, one of whom [Harry Nelson] died in infancy.
De-scendants of his son, Frank Leslie Gowen, b1859 remained in that area, but my
ggf Fred Herbert Gowen, b1857 married and removed to Little Falls, NY.
I would be thrilled to receive any
information about the an-cestors of Benjamin Franklin Gowen. "Desperately
Seeking" Susan B. Liedell, 1366 Rowe Rd, Schenectady, NY, 12309.
==Dear Cousins==
I found the Foundation Newsletter
in Penrose Library in Colorado Springs. You are doing one terrific job! Please
en-ter a membership for me and one for my cousin Sandra Olsson of San Antonio.
We are looking for additional
information on our ggm Ann Gowen who was born in 1844 in Maine. She is the
daughter of Isaac Gowen and Emily Gray Gowen and the gd of James Gowen. Marilyn
Kirkman, 2433 Virgo Drive, Colorado Springs, CO, 80906.
==Dear Cousins==
Thanks very much for the print-out
of the Foundation manuscript on the Washington County, Virginia Goin family. On
page 7531 I found my William Goin as the son of Isham Goin and the grandson of
Daniel Goin. This puts two more gen-erations on my chart! This break-through
eliminated a dead end for me, and now I am off and running again. Maxine
Stuffle-beam, 7916 Lazy Lane, Ft. Worth, TX, 76180.
==Dear Cousins==
I learned about the Foundation on
Prodigy Bulletin Board, and I am interested in the Goins [all spellings]
family. My great-grandfather was John Woodson Goins who was born in Grayson
County, KY May 15, 1847 [or 1852]. He was mar-ried first to Caroline Harrison
and second to Selia Maples, my g-gm who was born January 4, 1868.
Children born to them include:
Henry Harrison Goins, Prisilia Allifore Goins, Cora Lee Goins, Jehn Ell Goins,
Beu-lah Beatrice Angeline Goins, Willie Leroy Goins and my gm Bertha Augusia
"Gussie" Goins.
I am looking for the
family--parents--siblings of John Woodson Goins and will share information.
Will reimburse for copying/mailing costs. Irene Mendes, 11265 Evergreen Lane,
Hanford CA, 93230.
September 1993
Please enroll me as a member of
the Foundation. My sister, Rosalie Thomas Holben and I are thrilled with the
new informa-tion you are developing on our Goings line, being direct
descen-dants of Frederick Goings of Giles County, Virginia [1815-1860]. We are
fascinated with the possibility of being part of the Melungeon story and
heritage. Ramona Thomas, 112 "I" Street, Apt. 10, Eureka, CA, 95501,
707/442-7924.
==Dear Cousins==
I am descended from David Goings,
born 1783 through his son Frederick Goings, his daughter Rachel Goings Hickman,
her son James Henry Hickman and his daughter Effie Hickman Thomas. Her son,
Melvin Thomas was my father. I will send our ancestor chart later.
My father and his sister had a
neurological problem in their legs, as do I. I recently spoke with Dr. Brent
Kennedy of At-lanta who has dealt with this problem called Sarcoidosis.
Our doctors have been unable to
determine what the problem is, or in my father's case, was. I am told that the
disease is peculiar to the Mediterranean area.
I just found out last month that I
am descended from the Melungeons. If anyone is interested for DNA purposes, I
have a sample of my father's hair, and I can provide one of my own for genetic
testing if it will help prove a genetic link for us or any-one else..
My Foundation membership is
enclosed. Will you please place me in touch with anyone interested in the DNA
investiga-tion. Rosalie Thomas Holben, 10246 Empire Road, Mohave Valley, AZ,
86440, 602/768-5402.
==Dear Cousins==
I talked recently with Kevin
Smith, the compliance officer at the Tennessee Division of Archaeology. He
informs me that our draft report has been accepted and can now go to press.
This is the technical report, in two volumes, submitted to the Metro-politan
Nashville Airport Authority and the Division of Archae-ology. It is entitled
"The Gowen Farmstead Archaeo-logical Data Recovery at Site 40DV401, Davidson
County, Ten-nessee" by Guy G. Weaver, Jeffrey L. Holland, Patrick H. Gar-row and
Martin B. Reinhold. We will see that you get copies for the Foundation library
and distribution.
This past June, I presented a
paper at the 14th Meeting of the Midsouth Archaeological Conference, held at the
C. H. Nash Museum-Chucalissa, in Memphis. The paper was entitled "The Gowen
Farmstead: Patterns of Ethnicity and Class Structure at an Antebellum
Plantation, Nashville, Tennessee." I hope to pre-sent an expanded version at
the annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology in January. As
soon as the paper is finalized for publication, I'll send you a copy.
I look forward to each new issue
of the Foundation Newsletter. Guy C. Weaver, Senior Archaeologist, Garrow &
Associates, Inc, 510 S. Main St, Memphis, TN, 38105, 901/526-8008, FAX
901/526-3425.
==Dear Cousins==
It has been some time since I have
worked on my Goin line. I was able to get a fairly good copy of the
Revolutionary pen-sion application of Joseph Going with the advent of a newer
copier at the National Archives. It established that he died in 1822 in Howard
County, Missouri rather than in Madison County, Kentucky. I have asked the DAR
to correct the mistake on Laura Hathaway's application for membership in 1980.
The pension file also showed that
the Madison County attor-ney whom Joseph Going appointed to handle his pension
mat-ters continued to cash his checks long after Joseph died.
I am interested in corresponding
with anyone who might have information on Joseph's younger brother, Christopher
Goin. He was born about 1786 to William Gowan and Anasta-sia Sullivan Gowan in
Bedford County, Virginia. He was bound out to Enos Mitchell in 1800 by the
Overseers of the Poor, ac-cording to Bedford County Court minutes. June A.
Smith, Box 85, Belfair, WA, 98528
==Dear Cousins==
Jeremiah Goins, my ggf is causing
me to pull my hair out! He was in north Orangeburg County, SC in 1790 and in
Clar-endon County, SC in 1800. He is somehow related to Freder-ick Goins who
enlisted in 1779 and was killed in 1780 in the siege of Charleston. Jeremiah
Goins had a son named Jere-miah Goins who had a son named Frederick Goins. The
younger Frederick Goins was married to Livici Gibbs. If I don't find something
soon, I'll need to buy a wig. Can anyone save me from bald-ness? Mary B. Barr,
Rt, 8, Box 148, Flo-rence, SC, 29501.
==Dear Cousins==
I have received your packet of
information on Dillard Goen of Georgia and Texas.. Thanks very much. I am
sending you a packet of Gowen/Goins tax data research on Chickasaw County, MS.
You will note that Dillard Goins is right in the middle of them, c1844 which
fits chronologically between Georgia and Texas. Additionally Meshack Gowing was
lo-cated nearby, ac-cording to "The People and Land of Chicka-saw County,
Missis-sippi" by Imogene Springer. I found Me-shack Gowing a little earlier in
the 1837 tax records of Shelby County, TN. Can any-one one tell me anything
about Dillard and Meshack? Frances Fleming, 1827 S. Garrison, Carthage, MO,
64836.
==Dear Cousins==
I was happy to receive your
information on Dr. James J. Gowen and wife, Martha E. Moore Gowen--particularly
a copy of her will and the listing of W. P. Freeman as a business partner of Dr.
Gowen. These items have resolved any doubts I had about whether my Jessie Lee
Corbett was indeed Jessie Lee Gowen. I think the Gowens adopted Jessie after
the deaths of both of her parents.
I have two portrait photographs of
Jessie, both taken about 1903. One is a single portrait, and one is a photo of
Jessie with her sisters and brother. I will be happy to have copies made for
anyone interested. I will gladly pass along any addi-tional Gowen information I
receive from Jessie's descendants. Jeff Reece, 1550 N. Parkway, #610, Memphis,
TN, 38112.
October 1993
I am still collecting data on
descendants of Daniel Goins and Susannah Inman from NC and Jefferson Co. TN. We
know about the marriage of Daniel and Susannah in NC and their movement to
Jefferson County. From Susannah's will we know that Daniel died before her and
that she named children: Shadrack, Daniel, and Faney (Frances). It is believed
there may have been more children.
I have picked up on some family
information that there may have been about 10 children born to Daniel and
Susannah. I would like to hear from anyone with information about Goins born
between about 1780 and 1800 with the following names who cannot or have not been
accounted for: Ezekiel, William, Daniel and Shadrack (accounted for), Meshack,
Abednego, Han-nah, Jane, Sarah and Frances or Faney (accounted for but not much
is known about her). The names of males listed are much used Inman names. Any
information would be appreciated. Willis T. Finley, 307 Fairview Dr, Longview,
TX, 75604, 903/759-0415
==Dear Cousins==
My g-gf John Woodson Goins, Jr.
was born May 15, 1847 [or 1852] probably in Grayson County, KY. He was married
about 1873 in Laurel County, KY to Caroline Harrison. After the birth of two
sons, they were divorced and Caroline removed to Saline County, AR. John was
remarried to Selia Maples, daughter of Ed & Martha Maples. John, father of 12,
was killed in Ft. Smith AR June 21, 1912 when he was struck by a train. Selia
died July 17, 1940 in Saline Co, AR. Correspondence is invited from anyone with
information about siblings and parents of John Woodson Goins, Jr. My
grandmother told me that he had two younger half brothers, but I don't know
their names. Irene Mendes, 11265 Evergreen Lane, Hanford, CA, 93230.
==Dear Cousins==
Your Newsletter of April 1993 was
mailed to me by a family member. I believe I discovered on the first page a
mention of my g-g-gf William Thomas Goin. I have been seeking more in-formation
on him for some time.
The earliest information I had on
him was from the federal census of Tarrant County, Texas of 1880 where he was
head of a household at age 41. My father told me that his grandfather lived
with his family when he was very young. He remembered that the old man "looked
like an Indian."
We found the Newsletter
fascinating and very informative, and our membership is enclosed. Also we will
have a party of three to attend the Houston Research Conference. Doris Goin
Corn, 13046 Hwy. 110 N, Tyler, TX, 75704, 903/882-9008.
==Dear Cousins==
The Family History Library in Salt
Lake City will microfilm family records free for your Foundation members if
they are or-ganized and indexed. Upon request, the library will return your
original copy and one copy of the microfilm. Additional copies of the microfilm
are $9.00 per roll, up to four rolls. Vickie Monson, Acquisi-tion/Patron
Microfilming, 50 E. North Temple St, Salt Lake City, UT, 84150
==Dear Cousins==
I was in touch with Gowen Research
Foundation several years ago when we lived in Bedford, Wyoming. It was with
de-light that I noticed the write-up about the Foundation in the "Journal of The
Genealogical Society of Rowan County, North Carolina," Vol. 8, No. 3.
The article described the
Foundation's nationwide satellite transmission system operating in conjunction
with Texas State Genealogical Society, the first in the nation.
And thus I write. We have an
international satellite system and would be interested in knowing how we should
connect and start receiving "genealogy from space." Shirley P. Wagstaff, Box
1559, Bandon- by-the-Sea, OR, 97411.
==Dear Cousins==
Documented matrilineal lines from
genealogists are being sought by scientists Tho-mas H. Roderick, Ph.D., Dr.
Mary- Claire King and Robert Charles Anderson.
Thomas H. Roderick, Ph.D, is a
geneticist; Mary-Claire King, Ph.D, is Professor of Genetics at the University
of Cali-fornia, Berkley and Robert Charles Anderson F.A.S.G, is direc-tor of the
New England Historical & Genealogical Society Great Migration Study Project.
The study underway has three
objectives: (1) For the genea- logist, to define and document long matrilineal
lines and verify many of them through genetic analysis; (2) For the genealogist
and population geneticist, to gain further insight into the struc-ture of early
colonial populations, and to obtain further informa-tion on the genealogical and
genetic back-ground of im-migrants to North America; (3) For the geneticist, to
determine more pre-cisely the mutation rates of mito-chondrial DNA.
Lines extending back eight or more
generations will be most useful in this project. Matrilineal lines extending
back to colo-nial North America or further are of particular in-terest. Today,
these will be at least ten generations or more. Even longer lines, extending
beyond colonial times to Eur-ope or the British Isles, could be especially
valuable. Matrilineal lines of eight or more generations will be useful, no
matter the ethnic back-ground.
Dates and places should be part of
each generation. Male spouses in each generation should be included. Good
secondary sources, fully cited, will often suffice if primary evi-dence is not
available. It is hoped that those submitting lines to the project will also
agree to provide a small sample of blood [professional-ly drawn] at a later time
if their lines are chosen for mtDNA analysis.
For more information and to submit
genealogical informa-tion on matrilineal lines write: T. H. Roderick, Ph.D,
Center for Human Genetics, Municipal Bldg, PO Box 770, Bar Har-bor, ME,
04609-0770.
November 1993
I was pleased to receive the
Newsletter with an article about my ancestor Daniel Goin of Washington County,
Virginia. I have been doing research on his great-grandson William Thomas Goin
who is my great-grandfather. My grandfather was his son, William Arthur Goin.
My father, was the oldest of the 11 chil-dren of William Arthur Goin and Mary
Bessie Shaffer Goin, all of whom I remember well.
When I complete the work I am
doing on the family, I will send a copy for the Foundation library and for
inclusion in the manuscript. I am enclosing my Foundation membership.
Marybelle Goin Lovelady, 1009 W. 7th St, Tyler, TX, 75701.
==Dear Cousins==
I am relatively new to genealogy,
but in the last two years have jumped in aggressively and found it to be very
pleasurable, educational and rewarding. I am trying to document every
gen-eration of my enclosed Goen/Gowing 10-generation ancestor chart, for I am
interested in joining a few patriotic societies ac-tive in New York City.
I am lacking evidence to prove
that Charles Goen [b1837 New Ipswich, NH] was the son Noah Gowing [b1786 New
Ip-swich, NH] and Eunice Burton Gowing. I have tracked down Noah's will, and
Charles was listed as a beneficiary, but he was not listed as "my son Charles."
Does the Foundation [or any
member] or anyone on your computer network have information on these two
generations within your family records? I would be happy to accommodate any
costs involved. Tama Alexandrine Goen, 251 E 51st Street, #11A, New York City,
NY, 10022.
December 1993
I am conducting research on my
family tree which includes my maternal grandmother, Lillian Alberta Goins.
Today I came across an article in "National Genealogical Society Quar-terly"
referring to the work you are doing on the Goins/Go-ng/Gowen family.
I am a descendant of Stephen
Going, born c1778, of Patrick County, Virginia and his wife, Nancy Going, born
c1779, daughter of John Going. Both were listed in the 1860 census as "mulatto"
as were their children and some of their grandchil-dren.
I believe that Stephen's father
was James Going, died c1807 in Patrick County and that perhaps the father of
James Going was Shadrach Going. I am enclosing my ancestor charts for the
Foundation Library and a membership application.
I would like to correspond with
any researcher investigating any of these ancestors. Thanks in advance for any
information the Foundation can provide. Kevin E. D. Smith, Rt. 3, Box 310,
Boones Mill, VA, 24065.
==Dear Cousins==
I have plans to go to Scotland
next May and would like to do some research while there. The only book I have
on my branch of the family is Phillip Allen Gowan's "Gowan-Morley," and it
doesn't go back past 1800. Can the Foundation or some member come up with a
suggestion for a starting point to research for families who emigrated from
Scotland to Virginia and the Car-olinas?
Also if there is anything I can do
for the Foundation or any member while I am there, I will be more than happy to
do so. My 1994 membership is enclosed. I enjoy the Newsletter im-mensely.
Jack D. Gowin, Rt. 1, Box 361, Hector, AR, 72843.
==Dear Cousins==
I was privileged to have several
interviews with Van Doren "Vannie" Gowen [named for the Confederate general] in
his de-clining years. The last one came at age 88, shortly before his death
earlier this year.
He was one of the oldest living
descendants of James Burns Gowen, patriarch of the Bedford County, Tennessee and
Bed-ford County, Virginia clan. He was a son of Joseph Edward Gowen and
Josephine Elizabeth Newman Gowen.
Because his older sister had died
at age two, his mother dressed him as a girl for the first few years of his
life. To out-grow this "stigma," while growing up, he did all the he-man
things. He accompanied his father, who was quite a rounder, on tours of the
dancehalls during the East Texas oil boom.
It was great fun for the
father-son duo, until it suddenly ended. One night in a dancehall close to
Longview, his father was "conver-ted on the spot by Mrs. Penn." After that,
there was no more drinking-and-dancing, and Joseph Edward Gowen was in church
three times a week ever after.
During World War II, Vannie, who
had "never seen enough snow to supply a sno-cone stand," volunteered for the
Army's alpine ski patrol. He was sent to icy Minnesota for training. Most of
the ice the Texans had seen prior was "in a glass."
After six years on army skis,
Vannie wound up in Shreve-port, working for Gowen Sanitarium operated by his
grandfa-ther, Dr. James Daniel Gowen and uncle, Dr. Charles Richard Gowen. I'll
have more on my visits with Vannie for the Foun-dation manuscript in the
future. Linda Lou Fisher McDowell, 31 Broadmoor, Texarkana, AR, 75502.
==Dear Cousins==
In researching my branch of the
Gowan family I have run across two mysteries which I need help in solving.
1. Frank [Franklin] Gowan was born
March 8, 1896 to John Manning Gowan and Sarah McDougald Gowan. Frank served
overseas in World War I, and afterward, unable to settle down, travelled. Other
than a last letter to his mother, the family has not heard from him since 1927.
Most of his family now lives in Ontario, Canada.
2. Lucy [Lucinda] Arvilla Tylor
Gowan, daughter of Nelson and Lydia Tyler, was born in 1855 in Pennsylvania and
listed as a five-year-old in the 1860 census. She was married June 2, 1869 in
Ellington, Wisconsin in Outagamie County. They homesteaded in Yankton County,
Dakota Territory.
Three sons were born to them.
Walter Edwin Gowan, July 8, 1870 and Ezra Lewis Gowan, April 3, 1872 were born
in Dakota Territory. Lester Darwin Gowan was born October 9, 1873 in
Wisconsin. The family was enumerated in 1880 in Waukechon, Wisconsin in Shawnee
County.
The mystery is that no one knows
what became of Lucy. Lester told the story that when he was just a little boy,
he waved goodbye to his mother as she was driven away in a carriage. He never
saw her again.
In both cases, 1&2, the person
seems to have simply dropped from sight. Is it possible that someone, somewhere
knows the story of what happened to them? Jean Helen Gowan Near, 14909 Tomki
Road, Redwood Valley, CA, 95470.