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