Re: Joseph McGowan-MS or LA
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In reply to:
Re: Joseph McGowan-MS or LA
5/24/99
Do you know much about Mary McGowan?I noticed that you have one in your genealogy.
Since we are at an impasse, it would be most helpful if you could help us find the parent (or potential parents) and family of Mary Elizabeth McGowan in Hinds or surrounding counties.
Here are the details:
My Great Grandmother is Mary Elizabeth (Molly) McGowan, AKA Mary W McGowan, AKA Mary W. McGowen. She was born in /near Jackson, Hinds County, MS in the 1860s, probably in 1866, as she was having children in the years from 1888 - 1899.Her photos taken at the age of about 29 in 1895 in Titusville, FL and at about age 58 in 1924 is attached in .jpg files.
We believe she met her future husband John Isaac Turnage in Lacy, Drew County, Arkansas where she may have attended boarding school in the 1870s.
Based on family verbal history, we believe her parents owned a plantation (perhaps near Jackson) that was devastated during the Civil War, and they may have moved to Jackson just afterward or during the war. My grandmother, Mary Elizabeth McGowan's daughter Pearl Turnage Skill used to talk of her grandmother's stories of the devastation of the war (though neither my Mom nor I recall Mary Elizabeth's Mother's name).We recall stories of the trunks full of Confederate money that they had that were worth nothing after the war. They talked of trying to help the slaves from their plantation find a place to make a livelihood, and a number stayed on the plantation after they were freed.
Mary Elizabeth McGowan married John Isaac Turnage on 2 Dec 1887 in Union Parish, LA (Book 7, pg 741) where she signed McGowan, and the clerk put McGowen. Mary and JI Turnage lived in Farmerville, LA for a few years, then went to Titusville (1892), and then Miami, FL in 1896. She died in Washington DC around 1935/1936 while visiting one of her other daughters, Murel O. (Turnage) White.
Another verbal story passed along was that (We're not sure whether it was Mary McGowan's or JI Turnage's father) this father had been wounded in the Civil War and had a bullet lodged in his leg. The kids my grandmother's age would examine in the lodged bullet that protruded in the skin -- this was in the early 1890s before they moved to Florida.
We've been trying to find her parent's names, location, and descendants, and any family records. Since she never really stated her age, she could have been born in 1856 instead of 1866 although this seem a far stretch.She did live until 1935 and had her children between 1888 and 1890.
Our family tree research is blocked by not being able to find Mary McGowan's parents. Any suggestions?