My McCown Ancestry
JFW
Mic several years ago and assume correct:
Somewhere I read that the name McCown has its beginnings not only in
the name "McCoun", but from "Colquhoun." The Colquhoun clan of Scotland
was bitter rivals with the McGregor Clan in the 1100 and 1200's. I got
a kick out of this information because us three McCown families in
Mobile (Jack McCown, Tommy McCown & Helen McCown Wettermark) all lived
within a couple of blocks of each other, all right off McGregor Avenue.
GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT GRANDPARENTS:
James I McCoun
b. 1601, Scotland
d. March 12, 1706 in Down, Ireland
married 1624
Margaret Hamilton
b. c.1605, Scotland
GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT GRANDPARENTS:
James II McCoun
b.1637 in Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland
d. July 1, 1690, Boyne Ireland
married 1658
Elizabeth Montgomery
b.1639 in Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland
GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT GRANDPARENTS:
James III McCoun
b. 1660 in Linlithgow, West Lothian, Scotland
d. 1735 in West Lothian, Scotland
married
Unknown
GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT GRANDPARENTS:
Alexander McCown
b. 1680 in Mallymoney, Antrim, Ireland
married
Unknown
GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GREAT GRANDPARENTS:
Alexander McCown
b. 1713 in Ireland
d. 1802
married
Elizabeth Moore
b. 1730 in Waxhaw Settlement SC
d. 1802 in Chester SC
GREAT-GREAT-GREAT GRANDPARENTS :
Sampson McCown
b. c.1775 in SC
d. 1829 in Tuscaloosa AL
married Aug. 1798
Margaret Ellison Telford
b. 1777 in Chester Co., SC
d. 1850-55 in TX
GREAT-GREAT GRANDPARENTS:
James McCown
b. 11 Feb. 1808 in Livingston AL
d. 6 July, 1852 in Marshall TX
married 19 July 1832 in Greene AL
Elizabeth Harriet Greene
b. 20 Aug, 1811
GREAT GRANDPARENTS:
Jerome Greene McCown
b. 13 Nov. 1839 in Tuscaloosa AL
d. 12 Oct. 1915 in Marshall TX
married 2 Dec. 1873
Nancy Jemima Moore
b. 1849 in Snow Hill, AL
GRANDPARENTS:
James Moore McCown
b. 1880 in Marshall TX
d. 1943 in Mobile AL
married
Rosemary Hart
b. in Vidalia LA
d. 1980 in Mobile AL
James Mccown
I am also decended from Col. James McCown (1808 - 1852) through his son
James Alexander McCown (1847 - 1881).
A number of us have been looking at the ancestry of Col. James McCown and
his father Sampson McCown (1775 - 1829). It has been speculated that his
father was Alexander McCown (1713 - 1802) but we have not found any proof of
this.
If you are interested, I have some photos of Col James McCown, as well as
his children and wife. Email me at tla...@msn.com and I will send them to
you.
James Ross McCown
Oklahoma City
Mic Barnette
> Hello:
>
> I am also decended from Col. James McCown (1808 - 1852) through his
son > James Alexander McCown (1847 - 1881).
> > A number of us have been looking at the ancestry of Col. James
McCown and > his father Sampson McCown (1775 - 1829). It has been
speculated that his > father was Alexander McCown (1713 - 1802) but we
have not found any proof of > this.
Hi James and other McCown descendants..
I have been working on our McCowns since the 1970's. I have suggested
previously on several occaisions more intense work needs to be done in
Chester County, SC.
The work from Sampson McCown born about 1775 to present is very solid.
The connection of Sampson to Alexander, as I recall, is probably ok.
Seems like I have supporting evidence. I would have to go back and see
what our evidence is. It has been quite a while (years) since I have
worked my my notes.
(I just looked at the dates you have in your query for Alexander McCown.
He did die about 1802 but I would venture the date of birth you have of
1713 is probably very exaggerated).
The real problem comes in to play in that the records in SC, for the
most part, do not begin, at least in the county records, until about
1784. Lucky for us the deed records of Chester County begins somewhat
earlier (1772 or so) than they do for the rest of the state. Prior to
that date (1784-this is the end of the Revolution and the real beginning
of SC as a State or at least in county record keeping throughout the
state) people had to physically go to Charleston to take care of legal
business.
I am not real sure of what the distance between Chester and Charleston
is but it is pretty substantial when you are walking,riding a horse, or
even riding a boat, or whatever alternative mode of travel they used
back then. Today, it is a couple hours in a car.. It is probably in the
range if a hundred miles.
Another part of the problem is there were apparently two distinct McCown
groups in Chester County or the region. At least, it is claimed by
people who live in Chester today that there were two distinct and
unrelated groups there. If the two groups were related I do not know. To
my knowledge no one from the other group has participated in the DNA
project.
The two groups in Chester County had different arrival patterns. 1,
supposedly ours, came in by land from Pennsylvania and Virginia down the
Great Wagon Road. The second came in through the port of Charleston by
boat from Ireland. Are the two related? Were they related in Ireland? I
don't know. That is where a DNA test would be helpful.
Most of you may have come across a book called the McCowns of the
PeeDee. This group came into SC by boat from Ireland. They may or may
not be the same ones in Chester County (not ours). Again, are they
related to those who came to Chester in 1756 or not? Seems odd to me
that all these people with the same surname were congregating in the
same general area of the state. However, under the SC land settlement
authorities directing land granting from Charleston in their time-frame
the region where Chester is located is where they were settling
Scotch-Irish (Scots-Irish, if you prefer).
There was a McCown coming into Chester from Pennsylvania about 1756.
Supposedly, he is our guy and would presumably be the father or
grandfather of Alexander. Since there are no ages given in the records
and few records of any kind a careful study of the circumstances and
other data is necessary to give some sort of estimated age and
relationship between the various people active in the county.
What we basically need to do is sit down with the property descriptions
and plat out the land of each McCown deed and create/recreate
neighborhoods and carefully study the records of both McCowns and
neighbors in the community. This is called a neighborhood or cluster
study. I have had it on my agenda for years to do this but have never
had time to do it.
There is a power of attorney from a guy in Chester SC to his brother in
Virginia to allow the brother to take care of his inheritance from his
deceased father in Pennsylvania. We can presume we are off that guy in
SC. At least we know the DNA matches. But, what about the DNA of the
other McCowns in Chester SC or in the PeeDee area. If they are related
in Ireland or even back into Scotland the match we think we have may not
be valid. So, if that is the case, more DNA work would need to be done
to prove the guy in Chester SC is the son of the guy in PA and not just
another relative from Ireland/Scotland.
Which starts a whole new discussion about getting more SC as well as PA
and VA (and even Irish/Scottish) descended McCowns testing in the DNA
program. Plus McCowns in general.
Family Tree DNA has recently initiated a new 59 marker test. This should
be a pretty powerful tool for us when we have related extended families
descending from the guy in PA or even a common ancestor in Ireland/Scotland.
The 37 marker test should have been pretty good for us but I think the
59 marker test should be better. Maybe we need to start getting more
active in our testing (as well as our records researching). The testing
conducted thus far has simply proven those testing have or do not have
common ancestry. I am not sure many of the participants have taken the
higher resolution tests. As far as I know most have taken the lower
resolution tests (12 markers and maybe 25 markers). Since the initial
testing the 37 marker test came into being and now the 59 marker test.
The people who have already tested through FTDNA need only to pay the
difference between the test they already have taken and the cost of the
new test. They do not need to send a new sample. Their old sample is
sufficient for the upgrade.
What I have seen in posts on this mailing list and on the Internet may
or may not be right. As far as I know no one has done an extensive study
of our Chester County, SC ancestry earlier than Sampson to his probable
father Alexander. and from Alexander backward. We know there is a
connection between the Chester County people and the PA family.
Supposedly it is a direct lineal line however, like I just said, no one
has (really) worked it.
There are a number of McCowns in the Chester County during the
Revolution that supposedly served in the militia, etc. I am not real
sure how they all fit backwards to the guy who came in from
Pennsylvania. Also, to my knowledge no one has worked the descendants of
all those guys. The only one that is ever discussed is our Sampson born
about 1775.
I see (in the records) a McCown family down in Georgia in the early
1800s. My suspicion is he is out of the Chester County, SC McCowns but I
do not know that. I have never heard of anyone researching this family.
It is possible they daughtered out (meaning they ended up not having
sons in subsequent generations).
I live in the Dallas area. I think many of you others in the line of
Sampson McCown born about 1775 also live within a short drive of Dallas.
Maybe we could get together sometime this summer and discuss a strategy
on delving deeper into our line?
Maybe descendants from other branches might wish to do the same.
After all, I feel FTDNA's new 59 marker test might give us more bang
for our research efforts.
This short note turned into a dissertation <smile>.
MIC
Leonard J. McCown
At 09:01 AM 5/4/2006 -0500, you wrote:
Hello:
I am also decended from Col. James McCown (1808 - 1852) through his son
James Alexander McCown (1847 - 1881).
A number of us have been looking at the ancestry of Col. James McCown and
his father Sampson McCown (1775 - 1829). It has been speculated that his
father was Alexander McCown (1713 - 1802) but we have not found any proof of
this.
If you are interested, I have some photos of Col James McCown, as well as
his children and wife. Email me at tla...@msn.com and I will send them to
you.
James Ross McCown
Oklahoma City
leo...@mccown.org -- http://www.mccown.org
People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to
their ancestors. -- Edmund Burke, 1790
James Mccown
I recall that you, Steve McCown, Leonard, and I discussed this matter at
length a couple of years ago. At the time, we were skeptical that Alexander
was the father of Sampson.
But the recent discovery that the DNA of Mr. McCune, who is descended from
one of Alexander's brothers, matches my DNA exactly, raises the possibility
that Sampson may have been the son of Alexander.
We also know that my DNA matches that of the McCowns descended from the
Francis and John McCown lines.
We need to do the research that you refer to. And also try to find some more
records about Sampson.
Jim McCown
Mic Barnette
Are we talking about Mr. McCune descending from a brother of the
Alexander in Chester County, SC?
Sorry, our ancestors were not very creative in their naming of children.
EVERY family has kids with the same names as their own siblings. That
includes the ones in SC, VA and PA for the most part. Makes it very
confusing and difficult to work with particularly in the old records
with sparse information. This is the primary reason we need to map out
the land holdings and organize the people into family groups.
I recall reading where a McCune took the test recently but guess I did
not pay a whole lot of attention. My fault. I remember he matched our
group but not exactly how he fit in.
I probably need to sit down with my notes. (Badly, <smile>).
There are some deeds in Chester County. Seems like Alexander who died
1802-ish had a will and settlement and that is where we would get
information on Sampson being his son.
I know Sampson (born 1775-ish) and wife Margaret (Telford) sold some
land before leaving Chester County about 1802-ish. I don't remember if
the land initially came from Alexander or if Sampson bought it
elsewhere. By platting our the land we would know how far he lived from
Alexander or other McCowns/Telfords, etc.
I know there are a number of other McCowns in Chester County but I know
of no one that has actually gone into the records and proven up the
parents/siblings, etc of that generation.
Of course, you also know you descend from Joseph Telford, father of
Margaret Telford who married Sampson McCown born 1775-ish. Supposedly
this family came into SC from Charleston. Again, funny thing is, there
are a bunch of Telfords in Augusta and Rockbridge County, VA. I have
never looked but that are probably in PA, too. i do not know if there is
any connection between the VA Telfords and the SC Telfords. Funny thing
is they are moving right along with the McCowns.
I used to be in contact with a guy descended from Joseph Telford. At the
time there was no Telford DNA going on. I have not cheked to see if
there is a group now. I just checked.... There is a Tedford group. I did
not go to their website but will when I get a chance. I am willing to
bet there are some Telfords in the group.
I am in the beginning of a move from Richardson (northeast Dallas) to
probably Red Oak (in South Dallas) (about 45 miles one way) sometime
between now and the end of the month. After I get moved I will try to
locate my McCown notes and start working with them.
I have Sampson born about 1775 pretty well studied. It is from there
backward that is shakey. Off the top of my head I think I have Sampson
proven as the son of Alexander but would need to verify that with my
notes. Also, since I have Alexander's will, etc, I would have the names
of Sampson's siblings.
The thrust of my research through the years has been to study Sampson
and work my way backward in time. I have to admit that at no time have I
ever made a concerted effort to sit down and only work on that family.
In the past it was rather difficult to do so as most research was
conducted either on location or by correspondence (like we are doing now
with email).
The people coming in now starting to research are benefiting by the
research and correspondence of what has been done since the 1970's and
earlier. I visited the town of Chester, SC back in the 1970's when i
first began researching. I met Mrs Crowder who was a local researcher
and who wrote up a paper or article that has been used as gospel since
then. My own research was not as sharp and sophisticated in the 1970's
as it is now and I would like to revisit my work to sharpen it up and
see what I may have missed.
There is not a whole lot of new material out there. There same material
that was always there is now better organized and more accessible. There
is still a whole lot of bad (maybe I should say mis-information)
information out there that keeps getting perpetuated.
MIC
James Mccown
Yes, I refer to Mr. McCune, descended from one of the brothers of Alexander
McCown. His DNA test confirmed the connection between the six brothers line,
the Francis and John McCown line, and Sampson.
I didnt know you had a copy of Alexander's will. May I please have a copy of
it?
Thanks,
Jim McCown
>From: Mic Barnette <m...@barnettesbooks.com>
>Reply-To: mcc...@googlegroups.com
>To: mcc...@googlegroups.com, tla...@msn.com, mic Barnette
><m...@barnettesbooks.com>
>Subject: Re: My McCown Ancestry
Leonard McCown
This is how the line of Todd McCune goes from his grandfather on back:
George William McCune, 1893-1959; Henderson McCune, 1852-1920; George
McCune, 1822-1905; James McCune, abt 1774-1854; John McCune, 1754-1811;
George McCune, abt 1710-1779; Rev. Alexander McCown, Sr., abt 1680/90-?
Leonard
James Mccown
I wonder if any of the other "six brothers" spelled their names McCune.
>From: "Leonard McCown" <leo...@mccown.org>
>Reply-To: mcc...@googlegroups.com
>To: "McCown Family History" <mcc...@googlegroups.com>
>Subject: Re: My McCown Ancestry