HUSBAND: Joseph McGOWEN, Jr.
Birth Date:  c.1769
Birth Place: Tyrrell Co., NC
Marriage Date: c.1790 
Marriage Place: Tyrrell Co., NC
Other Marriages: unknown
Military Service: unknown
Death Date:  c.1850's
Death Place: White Co., TN (?)
Place Of Burial: unknown
Father's Name: Joseph McGOWAN, Sr.
Mother's Maiden Name: Martha (Unknown)
NOTES: Joseph McGOWEN, Jr. was probably born about 1769 in the 
Gum Neck area on the Little Alligator River of Tyrrell Co., North 
Carolina. He was the son of Joseph, Sr. and Martha MAGOUND, as it 
was spelled in some records, and the grandson of our earliest known 
ancestors, William and Frances (HENDRICKS) MAGOWNE, Sr. While the 
descendants of Joseph, Jr. came to use the spelling McGOWEN, those 
back in North Carolina often used McGOWAN. The name, most commonly 
spelled McGOWAN in Ireland and Scotland, is of Celtic origins and 
is translated as the "Son of the Smith". About 1782, Joseph Jr.'s 
father moved his family from Tyrrell Co. to the South to Heron Bay 
on the southwest corner of Mattamuskeet Lake in Hyde Co., NC. There 
he rented a portion of a plantation from the heirs of Samuel Weston. 
Joseph, Jr. was married there some time in the early 1790s. His 
wife's name is unknown, but it seems that she was only about sixteen 
at the time of their marriage. Along the coast of North Carolina, 
large portions of Tyrrell, Hyde, Beaufort and Washington Counties 
consists of swamps, marshes, savannahs and lowlands and is barely 
above sea level. Surrounded by the Albemarle Sound on the North, 
the Roanoke Sound on the East, and the Pamlico Sound on the 
South, the waters were filled with a variety of fish and shellfish 
and the countryside was a haven for multitudes of waterfowl and 
wildlife. The name "Alligator River" suggests yet another sort 
of wildlife one might expect to encounter. Between Mattamuskeet Lake 
and the Pamlico Sound lies an area of higher ground, a very fertile 
and productive area; but even there, drainage ditches to the lake 
and the sound were necessary, as the name New Holland would indicate. 
Unfortunately, the amount of land available to each succeeding 
generation grew smaller and smaller as each farm was divided among 
the children. On Feb. 18, 1804, Joseph McGound bought 50 acres of 
land from Thomas BRIDGMAN, Sr. at a cost of 150 Pounds, on Heron Bay 
of Mattamuskeet Lake. Then, on March 8, 1819, he sold his 50 acres 
for $1,575, to Samuel and Ann TOPPING. The deed was signed Joseph 
McGOWEN. Shortly thereafter, he moved with his family and friends 
to White Co., Tennessee. They were accompanied by most of their own 
children. However, several daughters may have already married and 
remained in Hyde County.  Around this time there was a large 
migration of Hyde County families to White County, which not long 
before had been hunting lands of the Cherokee Indians. It must have 
been a difficult journey in those days, across the entire state of 
North Carolina, over the Applachian Mountains, and then across 
Tennessee.  The roads that existed were rough going, even in dry 
weather. Then there were many rivers and streams to cross, not to 
mention the wild beasts. It was a journey of about 500 miles, on 
foot and by wagon. They most likely left their old home in late 
Winter or early Spring and their trek probably took from six to 
eight weeks.  Then, when they arrived at their new homes, they 
would have time to clear land and plant a late crop before the 
first Winter in their new homes.  One can only imagine their 
difficulties, ...and their rewards. For anyone interested, you can 
read "The Uneven Yoke" by Lela McDowell Blankenship, a 
historical novel which describes the journey from North Carolina to 
Tennessee by three families and their lives as early settlers in 
White County. Around 1815, a toll road was constructed through the 
wilderness from Knoxville to Nashville, known as the Turnpike. 
In 1819 it was probably little more than a narrow path through the 
wilderness. The land where Joseph, Jr. and his family settled was 
in the South West section of White County, on the banks of the Caney 
Fork River, an area called Shady Grove. This land was in an area 
which was mostly cane break with good rich soil, so it was relatively 
easy for these early settlers to clear, till and plant a crop. Many 
of their old neighbors from Hyde County became their new neighbors in 
White County. On July 21, 1819, Joseph McGowen bought 200 acres from 
Harrison HOLLAND for $1200 in White County. In the 1820 census, two 
of Joseph's married sons, Amos and James, were listed and most of the 
family, along with Joseph and his wife, were living with James. In 
1830, Joseph Jr. and his wife are listed on their own farm and living 
with them were their unmarried sons Demsey Bryant and Walker. Amos, 
James and Samuel had their own farms.  By 1840, Joseph and his wife 
were again living with their son James. Amos, James, Samuel and Bryant 
all had places of their own. Walker had moved to Alabama about this 
time, and shortly thereafter, so did Samuel and his family. Wiley 
McGOWAN, the son of Joseph's younger brother James McGOWAN, was also 
living nearby in White County. The wife of Joseph McGOWEN, Jr. 
probably died sometime in the 1840's.  Exactly when Joseph, Jr. died 
is unknown.  In the 1850 White Co. Census, Joseph McCOWAN/McGOWAN, 
age 81 years old, was living with the family of Edward & Malinda 
GLEESON.
SOURCES: Hyde Co., NC Deeds & Census Records, White Co., TN Deeds 
and Census Records.

.........................................................

WIFE: (Name Unknown)
Birth Date:  c.1774
Birth Place: Tyrrell Co., NC (?) 
Other Marriages: unknown
Death Date:  by 1850
Death Place: White Co., TN (?)
Place Of Burial: White Co., TN (?)
Father's Name: unknown
Mother's Maiden Name: unknown
NOTES: Nothing know about the wife(s) of Joseph McGOWEN, Jr.
SOURCES: Hyde Co., NC Census Records, White Co., NC Census Records.

.........................................................

1st CHILD: Amos McGOWEN
Sex: M
Birth Date:  c.1795
Birth Place: Hyde Co., NC
Spouse's Name: Louisa (Unknown)
Marriage Date:  c.1818
Marriage Place: Hyde Co., NC
Other Marriages: unknown
Military Service: unknown
Death Date:  by 1850
Death Place: Arkansas (?)
Place Of Burial: Arkansas (?)
NOTES:  Migrated West in 1840's. Amos probablt died in Arkansas. 
His wife and their twelve children were in Wright Co., MO in 1850. 
See: Amos McGowan Family Group Sheet.
SOURCES: Hyde Co., NC Census Records, White Co., TN Deeds, Census 
and Tax Records.

.........................................................

2nd CHILD: Daughter McGOWEN
Sex: F
Birth Date:  c.1798 
Birth Place: Hyde Co., NC
Spouse's Name: unknown
Marriage Date: unknown
Marriage Place: unknown
Other Marriages: unknown
Death Date: unknown
Death Place: unknown
Place Of Burial: unknown
NOTES: May have married and remained in Hyde Co., NC. No further 
information.
SOURCES: Hyde Co., NC Census Records

...........................................................

3rd CHILD: Daughter McGOWEN
Sex: F
Birth Date:  c.1800
Birth Place: Hyde Co., NC
Spouse's Name: unknown
Marriage Date: unknown
Marriage Place: unknown
Other Marriages: unknown
Death Date: unknown
Death Place: unknown
Place of Burial: unknown
NOTES: May have married and remained in Hyde Co., NC. No further 
information.
SOURCES: Hyde Co., NC Census Records.

............................................................

4th CHILD: James McGOWEN
Sex: M
Birth Date:  c.1801
Birth Place: Hyde Co., NC
Spouse's Name: Nancy MORRIS (c.1808-1882)
Marriage Date:  c.1825
Marriage Place: White Co., TN
Other Marriages: Widow Nancy (MORRIS) McGOWEN remarried in 
1845 to Leroy HELTON.
Military Service: unknown
Death Date:  1840
Death Place: White Co., TN
Place Of Burial: White Co., TN
NOTES: James helped farm part of the 200 acres his father bought in 
1819. He married Nancy MORRIS in the mid-1820's. The names of her 
parents are unknown. On Oct. 10, 1832, James was deeded tracts of 60 
and 30 acres on the waters of the Caney Fork by his father for "love 
and affection." He died intestate at his farm shortly after the 
1840 census. His brother Amos was named as his administrator of his 
estate on Dec. 9, 1840, and he held the estate sale in Jan., 1841. 
The principal purchaser was Nancy, his widow. On Nov. 16, 1845, Nancy 
was remarried to Leroy Helton, a widower, who was born ca. 1811. He 
became guardian of James' minor children. The McGowen children were 
raised with the Helton children from Leroy's first marriage. Leroy, 
at the age of 50, served as a private in Co. H, 25th Regt. Inf., TN 
Vols. from 1861-1862. Nancy died in 1882 in White County and Leroy 
died in 1892 in Warren County, Tennessee. Many of McGOWEN and HELTON 
children later moved to Oklahoma.  
SOURCES: Hyde Co., NC Census Records, White Co., TN Deeds, Census 
and Estate Records.

.............................................................

5th CHILD: Daughter McGOWEN
Sex: F
Birth Date:  c.1803
Birth Place: Hyde Co., NC
Spouse's Name: unknown
Marriage Date: unknown
Marriage Place: unknown
Other Marriages: unknown
Death Date: unknown
Death Place: unknown
Place Of Burial: unknown
NOTES: May have married and remained in Hyde Co., NC. No further 
information.
SOURCES: Hyde Co., NC Census Records.

..............................................................

6th CHILD: Samuel McGOWAN
Sex: M
Birth Date:  c.1808
Birth Place: Hyde Co., NC
Spouse's Name: Sarah MARKHAM (c.1815-c.1860's)
Marriage Date:  c.1828
Marriage Place: White Co., TN
Other Marriages: unknown
Military Service: unknown
Death Date: c.1850's (?)
Death Place: Marion Co., AL (?)
Place Of Burial: Marion Co., AL (?)
NOTES: Samuel moved his family from White Co., TN to Alabama. In 
1850 they were living ther in Marion County. Samuel died sometime in 
the 1850's and Sarah and the children were living in nearby Walker 
Co., AL in 1860. Besides her children, there was a child, George B. 
McGowen in Sarah's household, 1 year of age, probably a child of 
one of their daughters, possibly Nancy or Mary.
SOURCES: Hyde Co., NC Census Records, White Co., TN Census and 
Marriage Records, Marion Co., AL Census Records

.................................................................

7th CHILD: Dempsey Bryant McGOWAN
Sex: M
Birth Date:  c.1815
Birth Place: Hyde Co., NC
Spouse's Name: Rebecca CLARK (c.1815-c1896)
Marriage Date:  c.1838
Marriage Place: White Co., TN
Other Marriages: unknown
Military Service: unknown
Death Date:  c.1898
Death Place: Caldwell Co., KY
Place Of Burial: Caldwell Co., KY
NOTES: Dempsey Bryant McGOWEN was a child about four years old when 
his family moved to White Co. About 1837, he married Rebecca CLARK. 
She was born about 1815 in Tennessee, the granddaughter of Burgess 
CLARK, a Revolutionary War veteran. Bryant and Rebecca may have 
lived somewhere in Alabama during the 1840's since their daughter, 
Mary Jane, born c.1844, gives Alabama as her place of birth. By 1854, 
their family were back in White County. Around 1867, Bryant and his 
family left White County and headed for Missouri. On the way, they 
stopped in Caldwell County, Kentucky for to winter. They rented a 
farm and grew a crop of tobacco to refurbish before continuing their 
journey the next Spring.  Then, because one of their sons married 
and settled there, Rebecca refused to travel on. So the rest of the 
family settled there too and they bought a farm in Harmony Township. 
Rebecca died about 1898 and Bryant died in 1899. They are buried in 
the Lance Nichols Cemetery located in between Princeton and Dawson 
Springs, Kentucky.  Bryant's headstone was chisled by his son Amos.
SOURCES: Hyde Co., NC Census Records, White Co., TN Census Records, 
Caldwell Co., KY Deeds, Marriage and Death Records.

.................................................................

8th CHILD: Walker McGOWAN
Sex: M
Birth Date:  c.1818
Birth Place: Hyde Co., NC
Spouse's Name: Jane (Markham?) (c.1818-   ? )
Marriage Date:  c. 1838
Marriage Place: White Co., TN (?) 
Other Marriages: unknown 
Military Service: unknown
Death Date: unknown
Death Place: unknown
Place Of Burial: unknown
NOTES: Walker McGOWEN was born about 1818, probably in Hyde Co., NC. He 
married a Tennessee girl named Jane (possibly a MARKHAM) shortly before 
1840.  She was also born about 1818.  About that time, Walker and Jane 
moved to Marion County, Alabama.  Walker was a farmer and bought a farm 
there.  It is unknown when they died.
SOURCES: White Co., TN Census Records, Marion Co., AL Census 
Records.

.................................................................

ADDITIONAL NOTES: A JOSEPH McGOWEN was born about 1822, possibly in 
White Co., TN. It was there in Nov., 1841 that a Joseph MaGowen married 
Maximilla SHORT, born about 1827 in TN. She was the daughter of 
Burrel D. & Susan SHORT. Joseph and Milla next appear in the 1850 
census of Nacogdoches Co., Texas and in 1854 Max Amilla appears as a 
parent of Louisa in the school records there. They had moved by 1860, 
just where is unknown. Was this Joseph MAGOWEN also a son of Joseph 
McGOWEN, Jr.? 

SUBMITTED BY: John B. McGowan
DATE: February 8, 2003
E-MAIL: jmack@carolina.net

McGowan Family Home Page