William Keating Gowen born about 1765 m. Mary Harrison Gowen
(Link to page on various William “Going’s” and other variations of last name. See this page to compare this William Goyens to other William Going variations that were in the VA, NC, or SC areas in the 1700s. List is not complete, but I’ve listed those I know about so far: https://goyengoinggowengoyneandgone.com/various-william-goings-different-ones/ ).
Parents:
- James Gowen b. abt 1740 – d. bef. 1804 m. Mary Polly Keating Gowen
Children:
- Ann Gowen born in 1802
- William Washington Gowen born 1803
- Barney B. Gowen born in 1809
- James Gowen born about 1810
Siblings:
- William Keating Gowen born about 1765
- James Gowen, Jr. born about 1767
- Mary Gowen, Jr. born about 1770
FACTS:
1806 South Carolina: Legislation passed for Gowen’s ferry:
A. A. 1806 Mrs Gowen’s ferry reestablished, and vested in William Keating Gowen.
Roads, Bridges, and Ferries.
569. Be it enacted, That the ferry heretofore established over Combahee river, and formerly vested in Mrs. Gowen, be reestablished, and vested in William Keating Gowen, his heirs and assigns, for seven years; and that the following rates of ferriage be and are hereby established, viz: For every man and horse, eleven cents; for every foot passenger or led horse, six and a quarter cents; for every four-wheeled carriage, forty-three cents; for every chair and horse, twenty-one and a half cents; for every loaded horse-cart, forty-three cents; for every empty horse-cart twenty-one and a half cents; for every ox-cart or waggon, loaded, sixty-two and a quarter cents; for every empty waggon, forty-three cents; for every head of cattle, sheep or hogs, six and a quarter cents.
https://books.google.com/books?id=WC5EAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA434&lpg=PA434&dq=%22William+Keating+Gowen%22&source=bl&ots=2cJq5S5h50&sig=Bo85rjGwos5Z1ysXiMEjwYiOnfo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiR3I_cqsjLAhUI5iYKHTHpB6UQ6AEIJzAD#v=onepage&q=%22William%20Keating%20Gowen%22&f=false
Info from THE GOWEN MANUSCRIPT:
William Keating Gowen, [James5, William4, ?] son of James Gowen and Mary “Polly” Keating Gowen, was born about 1765, probably at Combahee Ferry.
It is believed that he received some training behind the counter at his mother’s “Haymarket Tavern” and some business acumen from his equally practical father.
“William Gowen” appeared as the head of a household enumerated in the 1800 census of Beaufort District, page 86″
“Gowen, William white male 26-45
white female over 45”
The white female above is believed to be his mother.
About 1800 William Keating Gowen was married to Mary Harrison, a daughter of John Harrison and Elizabeth Harrison. Although he did not appear in the 1790 census as the head of a household, “William Gowen” was enumerated as the head of a household in Prince Williams Parish in the 1800 census of Beaufort District. John Harrison appeared in a consecutive entry in the census which also included the parishes of St. Peters and St. Lukes. The household of William Keating Gowen included “two females, ages 25-45 and five slaves.”
Harrison descendants state that Mary Harrison Gowen was a near relative to the Harrisons of Virginia. Legendarily she was a descendant of Benjamin Harrison, the ninth president who was a son of Benjamin Harrison, signor of the Declaration of Independence. In Prince Edward County, Virginia Thomas Gowing was enumerated in the 1790 census in an adjoining entry with Benjamin Harrison.
Benjamin Harrison, the eldest of six sons, was born at Berkley, Virginia and attended William & Mary College. His father and two sisters were killed by lightning. Benjamin Harrison was married to Elizabeth Bassett, a niece of Martha Washington. He was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1774. In 1782 he was elected governor of Virginia. He was reelected in 1791, but died in April 1791 of “gout of the stomach.” Benjamin Harrison and Elizabeth Bassett Harrison were the parents of seven children who lived to maturity. William Henry Harrison, their eldest, was later the twenty-third president of the United States.
John Harrison died during the first decade of the 1800s, and Elizabeth Harrison, a widow, was enumerated as the head of a household in the 1810 census of Prince William Parish of Beaufort District, page 122 with 23 slaves, according to the research of Hazel Dean Overstreet a descendant of Odum, Georgia.
William Keating Gowen appeared as the head of a household in the 1810 census with 21 slaves, page 277:
“Gowan, Wm. K. white male 26-45
white female 26-45
white female 10-16
white male 0-10
white male 0-10
white male 0-10”
St. Peters Parish in the 1800 census also included a James Gowen household, believed to be that of James Gowen, Jr.
In 1820 William Keating Gowen and Mary Harrison Gowen died, both on the same day! This information is revealed in a letter written by Mary A. “Mollie” Gowen Wingfield of Rome, Georgia July 29, 1941 to Adeline Evans “Addie” Wynn. Cause of death was not revealed. Perhaps the graves of William Gowen and Mary Harrison Gowen can be located in the vicinity of Beaufort. Combahee Ferry is no longer on the maps of the state, but it is believed to have lain on the Combahee River near where U. S. 17 crosses the Combahee River about 20 miles north of Beaufort.
Four children were born to William Keating Gowen and Mary Harrison Gowen:
Ann Gowen born in 1802
William Washington Gowen born in 1803
Barney B. Gowen born in 1809
James Gowen born about 1810
Goyen Family Tree 