The Other Henderson Dowell

[This is a continuation of a series of posts I have been writing over the last month about the interaction of White Dowells (my family) and Black Dowells who lived in Wilkes County, North Carolina in the 19th century. Many of their descendants continue to live in this area today.]

The Henderson Dowell (Black) who lived his entire life in Wilkes County, North Carolina, is often confused in pedigree charts with a man of the same name who may have lived his entire life in Tennessee even though he had Wilkes County roots. This other (White) Henderson Dowell was Priscilla Dowell’s first cousin-once removed on her father’s side and a first cousin-twice removed on her mother’s side of the family. The White Henderson, having been born about 1838, was about four years older than the Black Henderson (who was enslaved by Priscilla). Indications are that the family of the White Henderson Dowell had moved to Campbell County, Tennessee, prior to or soon after his birth. He appeared there as the 12 year old son of James and Nancy Dowell in the 1850 Census. In the 1860 Census he was enumerated in the same county with his mother and stepfather, William Ingram.

On January 20, 1861 the White Henderson married Hester Ann Lovett. The next year, on February 5^th they had their only child—James F. Dowell. A year later he enlisted at Flat Lick, Kentucky in the 3^rd Tennessee Infantry for a term of 3 years:

He was not to complete that tour of duty. He died in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on March 27, 1863: 

His widow, Hester applied for a widow's pension on June 29, 1867. That was not unexpected. However, where did the grandchild H. L. Wheeler come from who applied on December 8, 1868 for a minor dependent's pension based on Henderson's military service?

Additions and corrections are always most welcome to these posts. This is one of the main ways I learn new things.

Priscilla Dowell's Former Slaves Become Citizens

This is the fifth in a series of posts about the close interaction between the European-American family of Priscilla Dowell and the descendants of African Americans who were enslaved by her at the beginning of the Civil War. Priscilla was my first cousin—five times removed. Previous posts during November may be viewed by clicking on these links:

·  Pricilla Dowell's Slaves

·  Priscilla Dowell's Slaves: Part 2

·  Priscilla Dowell's Family--Part 1

·  Priscilla Dowell's Family--Part 2

I have yet to see documentation about what happened to Priscilla Dowell’s two one-time slaves Henderson and Payton immediately after she died. They would have been about 21 and 19 at the time her estate was probated in early 1863. Were they purchased by James GWYN/GUYN as was suggested as a possibility by Priscilla in her 1859 will? Circumstantial evidence suggests that might have been the case. Seven years later Henderson was enumerated as a “day laborer” living on one side of James Gwyn and Payton was listed as a “tenant” living on the other side in the 1870 US Census:

Remarkably all three gentlemen were listed as “Male citizens of the U. S. 21 years of age and upwards.” No one in their neighborhood was listed as being a “Male Citizen of U.S. of 21 years of age and upward whose rights to vote is denied on other grounds than rebellion or other crime.”

While the FamilySearch Wiki claims that “Only 15% of freed slaves used the family name of the former owner”, the former slaves in this corner of Wilkes County seemed to buck the trend. Henderson and Payton took the name “Dowel” in the 1870 census and “Dowell” in the 1880 census. This ambivalence about the correct number of “l”s at the end of this surname was common in records about the Whites of that name as well as the Blacks. Since oral communication was much more important than written, it seemed to depend on which record keeper wrote it down.

Literacy was becoming more wide spread, but it still had a long way to go to become universal. Henderson, Payton and their spouses were listed as not being able to read or write. All the adult members of the James Gwyn family were listed as being able to read and write. Could this be because the school teacher was boarding with them? I guess it could have been the other way around. Priscilla Dowell’s grand-niece Harriet Rogers, who at age 12 in 1860 was listed as attending school, was listed in 1870 as being able to read but not write. Her parents could neither read nor write.

Both Henderson’s bride Nancy (Hickerson) and Payton’s wife Malissa (Gwyn) also shared surnames with local White families. This may have indicated that for a combination of reasons slave owners and those who had been enslaved had more personal relations than in other parts of the South where plantation owners owned larger numbers of slaves.

Five years after the war, two of Priscilla’s five former slaves can be accounted for. But what about the other three? It would appear that the “Negro Girl by the name of Juda” who Priscilla inherited from her father in his 1823 will was the “Jude” aged 46 in Priscilla’s will and in the 1860 Slave Census. If that latter age is correct, “Juda” would have been about 9 years old at the time she was given to Priscilla. Could she have been the mother of Henderson, Payton, Eloisa and Jo? If so did Priscilla come to own them as “the Heirs of Juda’s Body” as stated in her father’s will? Family tradition says that Henderson and Payton were brothers. They both have descendants who can be traced down to the present. Were they full brothers or half-brothers? Were Eloisa and Jo also their siblings? Has anyone seen evidence as to what happened to Jude, Eloisa or Jo after the Civil War?

To be continued.

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.