Priscilla Dowell's Family--Part 2

In an earlier post I described the first three paragraphs of Priscilla Dowell’s will which was written the 23^rd day of September, 1859 and probated early in 1863. In it she first directed that her debts be paid and provided instructions for finding new homes for her slaves.

Then she turned to bequests for her European-American family members:

Bequests to Family Members  in Priscilla Dowell’s Will
Family Member		Relationship	Bequest
Rebecca McKinney		Sister	$1.00
Sally Dowell		Sister	$1.00
Elizabeth Dowell		Sister	$1.00 Household and kitchen furniture
Priscilla Jacks		Niece	$1.00
Nancy Rogers		Niece	$100.00
Heirs of Nancy Rogers and their ages in 1860:		Grand-Nieces and Grand Nephews	$2,400.00 plus interest “equally to the education of said children and in the amount to the age of 21 years or marriage of said heirs”
Hester Rogers James G Rogers Sarah Rogers Emma C Rogers Nancy Rogers John Rogers	12 11 8 6 4 1
Phillip Dowell		Brother	One third of residue of estate
John Dowell		Brother	One third of residue of estate
Heirs of Peter Dowell (deceased)		Brother	One third of residue of estate

In the 1860 US Census those heirs of Nancy Rogers were living in the Lower Division, Wilkes, North Carolina and used the Elkin Post Office. Nancy’s mother who was also Priscilla Dowell’s sister, Rebecca MCCINNY/MCKINNEY, age 76 was also living in the Rogers household. Rebecca, who was about six years older than Priscilla, really was born in Maryland. Rebecca, her daughter Nancy and Nancy’s husband R.W. Rogers were all listed as not being able to read and write. Their daughter Hester and son James were listed has having attended school in the year.

After seeing this information I went back to the census record for Priscilla. Sorry cousin Julie. It clearly shows that Priscilla could not read or write either. I guess the early 19^th century Dowells in our family line did not educate their daughters—at least this one family did not.

Next: What happened to Priscilla’s slaves after her death?

Priscilla Dowell's Family--Part 1

Priscilla Dowell was part of the Maryland Dowell family who migrated to North Carolina right after the Revolutionary War. Priscilla’s grandfather, Peter Dowell, Sr., and five sons settled in what was then Rowan County in the 1780s. Prior to 1770 Rowan County included what today are 20 counties in the northwest part of North Carolina as well as a big part of present day Tennessee. Wilkes County was formed in 1777.

Priscilla’s great-grandfather, Philip Dowell, “appeared” in Southern Maryland in the 1690s as a fully functioning tobacco planter. Although several researchers who have published pedigree charts of the Internet claim to know who Philip’s father is, they don’t agree and I have yet to see proof that support any of their claims. In 1702 Philip married Mary Tydings, the daughter of Richard Tydings—a former indentured servant who had come to Maryland from England in the middle of the 17^th century and subsequently had acquired substantial land holdings. Although Philip, or his father, is assumed to have come from the British Isles, the exact origin of the Maryland Dowells is unknown.

Through analysis of the Y-chromosomes of living descendants of three of Philip’s sons, we have established exactly what the results of a 111 marker DNA test would be if Philip himself could be tested. These results have established that the Dowells who appeared in Virginia in the first half of the 18^th century have not shared a common paternal ancestor with the Maryland Dowells for at least 3,000 years—long before surnames were introduced in Europe. Neither of these groups have DNA results that come close to matching the handful of Dowells currently living on the other side of the Atlantic who have been tested to date.

Priscilla’s grandparents, Peter, Sr., and Elizabeth (Owens) Dowell moved from Southern Maryland to Frederick County Maryland about a decade before the Revolutionary War. That area is now part of present day Montgomery County in the western suburbs of the District of Columbia. Her father, Philip, Sr., and four of his brothers played various roles in the Revolution. Whether it was because of war related travel to Carolina or the land bounties offered to veterans after the war, Peter, Sr., and five of his sons moved to Rowan County in the 1780s. My 4^th great-grandfather Richard Dowell was one of these sons and Priscilla’s father Philip was another.

What little we know about Priscilla’s early life suggests she was probably the youngest of nine or ten children of Philip, Sr., and Priscilla “Nacky” (Owen) Dowell. Her age in 1860 according to the census was 70 and her birthplace was Maryland. One of these is probably incorrect. Priscilla’s family was probably getting established in North Carolina by 1790. Clearly many of her older siblings were born in Maryland but it is unlikely that Priscilla was born there. As I reported in an earlier post, Priscilla could not sign her own name to her 1859 will. Was this because she was illiterate? Were the Philip Dowell’s daughters not given even the most basic education although they came from a family of property? One cousin of mine has speculated about whether Priscilla could have suffered a stroke or other infirmity that prevented her from signing her name more elaborately that simply making “her mark”.

I have yet to discover additional circumstances of Priscilla’s life prior to 1859 with the exception of a bequest made to her by her father in his 1823 will. In that document Philip gave her “a Negro Girl by the name of Juda, and the Heirs of her Body.” Other enslaved persons transferred by this will to various of Priscilla’s immediate family carried the names that appear to be Siney, Lydia, Ginny, Catey, Timssey, Jacob, Joe, David, Richman, and Henderson. Is it mere coincidence that some of these names reappear a generation later?

To be continued.

Priscilla Dowell's Slaves: Part 2

Priscilla Dowell, to whom your were introduced in my Blog post on November 21^st appears in the US Census in 1860. Although the census gives her birthplace as Maryland, this may not be correct. Most of her older siblings were born in Maryland; but most of her extended family was already in Rowan County, NC during the middle 1780s.

Dowell

Name: Priscilla Dowell Age in 1860: 70 Birth Year: abt 1790 Birthplace: Maryland Home in 1860: Lower Division, Wilkes, North Carolina Gender: Female Post Office: Brier Creek Value of real estate: ______ Value of personal estate $5,500 Household Members: Name Age Priscilla Dowell 70

It is interesting that she is shown as owning no real estate but having personal property valued at $5,500. I am assuming that most of this $5,500 was the value of her 5 slaves.

The 1860 Slave Census was taken less than a year after Priscilla wrote her will. In that census Priscilla was listed as owning the following slaves:

Therefore it is reasonable to assume that the five slaves enumerated were the same as the five listed in her will. If that is correct we can put this information together with the names listed in Priscilla’s will:

Name	Age	Gender	Race
Jude	46	Female	Black
Henderson	18	Male	Black
Payton	16	Male	Black
Eloisa	12	Female	Black
Jo	1	Male	Black

It seems ironic that the 1850 and 1860 Slave Censuses were conducted so that each slave could be counted as two-thirds of a person in the apportionment of seats allowed to each state in the US House of Representatives. Priscilla Dowell was willing for the Executor of her estate to select good homes in this neighborhood and to sell her slaves at two-thirds their book value. Was this a coincidence? Was it customary? Was it a good faith gesture on the part of Priscilla to find humane placements for her slaves?

If Priscilla had no real estate of her own, these slaves were either household slaves or were loaned out to neighbors who had land to plant.

I will report more on this story as I am able to unravel it.

Geno 2.0 Is Being Unveiled

2.0 BETA

Last night I began to see results from the National Geographic Society’s Geno 2.0 project show up. So far only mitochondrial (maternal line) results are being displayed. My haplogroup was confirmed as H13a1a1 just as the Family Tree DNA (FTDNA) lab had shown a few years ago and 23andMe had confirmed three years ago. The lab testing for this new project is being conducted by FTDNA at their Houston headquarters.

The migration maps are really cool. National Geographic has always produced visually appealing and informative maps. Below is the HeatMap for Haplotype H. As you may know this is the most the most common one for Western Europe.

While this map is useful, I wish it were more specific and could break the results down at least to the H13 level. 

You can find out more about this new test at the project website for the Genographic Project which is being billed as “Geno 2.0: The Greatest Journey Ever Told: Your Story. Our Story. The Human Story.”

For a HeatMap of mitochondrial haplogroup U see CeCe Moore’s blog: YourGeneticGenealogist. 

Pricilla Dowell's Slaves

I am in the process of transcribing the will of a first cousin – five times removed that she wrote on the eve of the US Civil War. It was probated at the height of the war in January 1863 in Wilkes County, North Carolina. When this will is combined with other contemporary documents, an interesting story begins to emerge. Part of it I will share today. I plan to add more as I am able to uncover and organize it.

It would appear that Priscilla Dowell was an unmarried woman of about 70 years of age. She is often reported to have been born in Maryland.  This birth location would be correct for her older siblings. However, if she was born about 1790, it is likely that she was born soon after her family arrived in North Carolina. Her grandparents and several uncles and aunts moved from Maryland right after the Revolutionary War. They were drawn there in part because of land grants being offered to soldiers in partial compensation for their service.

   

Apparently Priscilla was concerned about providing for her slaves because she took up their disposition right after she had directed that her just debts be paid. Bequests to her family members came later in the document. She seemed to have the best interest of her slaves in mind. While she stopped short of offering them their freedom, she appeared to be seeking a humane environment for them.

Item 2^nd   In order to secure a good home in this neighborhood for my negro woman Jude and her child Jo also the increase of said negro woman I will and desire that my Executor hereafter appointed permit said woman to select a home for herself and child or children and provided said person selected will pay two thirds of the valuation of said negroes at trader’s prices then my Executer to execute Bill of Sale and should it not suit the person selected by said negro woman to purchase or pay said prices, them  my Executor to select a home himself for said negro woman and child or children, provided nevertheless that it is my will and desire that said woman and child or children be sold for two thirds of the valuation of said woman and ___ children.

Item 3^rd I will and desire that my Executer sell my two negro boys Henderson and Peyton and my negro Girl, Eloisa to James Guyn for the rates of two thirds of their valuation at trading prices, and should it not ___ said James Guyn to take said negroes Henderson Peyton and Eloisa at said rates; then I desire my Executor hereafter appointed to select good homes in this neighborhood at a place or places when said sales of two thirds of traders prices can be obtained.

I will add information from census records that expand on this will in a subsequent post. I will leave you to judge whether Priscilla's views about her slaves were enlightened for her era. She was apparently illiterate as she signed her will with "her mark". 

I am in touch with descendants of Henderson, above, who took the surname Dowell. Some of them still live in the Wilkes County area and their family has used several given names down to the present generation that parallel the given names used by Priscilla's family. This challenges genealogists as they attempt to properly record these two families who share a surname as well as a history.

FTDNA Announces its Holiday Sale

The Holiday DNA Sale at FTDNA is becoming an annual tradition. If you are a current customer of FTDNA, you probably received notice of this sale within the last few hours. This is a chance for you to give an unusual gift to that person on your holiday shopping list who has almost everything already. It is also an opportunity to order kits for actual or suspected family members whose results might help you clarify your family tree. Both new kits and upgrades are on sale so it is a chance to extend your own results or those of a family member who has already tested. If you have ambitious genetic genealogical plans for 2013, this is a chance to stockpile kits for future family reunions. The kits have a long shelf life.

New Kits Current Group Price SALE PRICE Y-DNA 37 $149 $119 Y-DNA 67 $239 $199 mtFullSequence (FMS) $299 $199 SuperDNA (Y-DNA 67 and mtFullSequence) $518 $398 Family Finder $289 $199 Family Finder + mtDNAPlus $438 $318 Family Finder + mtFullSequence $559 $398 Family Finder + Y-DNA 37 $438 $318 Comprehensive (FF + FMS + Y-67) $797 $597 Upgrades Current Group Price SALE PRICE Y-Refine 12-25 Marker $49 $35 Y-Refine 12-37 Marker $99 $69 Y-Refine 12-67 Marker $189 $148 Y-Refine 25-37 Marker $49 $35 Y-Refine 25-67 Marker $148 $114 Y-Refine 37-67 Marker $99 $79 Y-Refine 37-111 Marker $228 $188 Y-Refine 67-111 Marker $129 $109 mtDNAPlus $149 $129 mtHVR1toMega $269 $179 mtHVR2toMega $239 $179 mtFullSequence Add-on $289 $199

To order this special offer, log in to your personal page and click on the Order An Upgrade button in the upper right corner. A link to the login page is provided below. ALL ORDERS MUST BE PLACED AND PAID FOR BY MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2012 11:59:00 PM CST TO RECEIVE THE SALE PRICES. Log In to Order an Upgrade. Click Here to Order a New Kit. Does anyone know if 23andMe or Ancestry also plan holiday sales this year?