1995 – 10 Oct Newsletter – GRF

Sections in this issue:

1) Earliest Goings in America; By Carroll Heard Goyne, Jr.;
2) John Newton Gowen Became One Instantly In Revolutionary War;
3) Donna Gowin Johnston Scheduled To Speak at Nashville Conference;
4) Barney A. Gowen, Genealogist, Civic Leader, Dies at Age 93;
5) DEAR COUSINS.

All Gowen Manuscript Pages and Newsletters:   https://goyengoinggowengoyneandgone.com/gowen-research-foundation-pages-and-info/

GOWEN RESEARCH FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER
Volume 7, No. 2 October 1995

1)  Earliest Goings in America; By Carroll Heard Goyne, Jr.

By Carroll Heard Goyne, Jr.;  Editorial Boardmember
10019 Canterbury Drive, Shreveport, Louisiana, 71106

Historic Perspective The name Goyne is an ancient and widely cast name. It is found in the geography of Scotland in the name of Dumgoyne [Fort Goyne] Hill in Stirlingshire. At the base of Dumgoyne Hill is Glengoyne [Goyne Valley), and situated therein is the village of Dumgoyne. Also, there is a parish between Forfar and Aberdeen, Scotland by the name of Glengoyne. The Sunday Mail of Glasgow, in its “Discover Scotland” series, reports that Dumgoyne Hill derives its name from an Iron Age fort that sat atop the hill.1

Robert Goyen of Victoria, Australia [a GRF member] reports a record in Westminster [London] dated 1452, of the denization of a John Goyne, “born in parts of the land of Luque.” My computer CDÄROM encyclopedia shows that one Hernan de Luque accompanied Pizzaro to Peru in the 16th Century. I communicated this information to Robert, and he, in turn, passed it to a New Zealand researcher then in Spain.

She provided a map that locates Luque in the south of Spain.2

The ancient and modern name for the northwestern part of Wales is Gwynedd. Men of this region were a comparatively pure Celtic breed. They were called Ordovices by the Romans. The name Gwynedd is cognate with the Latin Veneti of Brittany and Italy. Prince Owen [Owain] Gwynedd once ruled this region. It was his son, Madoc Owen ap Gwynedd, who in AD 1170 is reputed to have discovered a New World; returned to Wales; recruited many followers; sailed again; and was never to be heard of again.3 Prior to this time, Maelgwyn [Maglocun] Gwynedd is referred to in Annales Cambriae as dying in AD 547. In Welsh, the “w” sometimes substitutes for a vowel, as seen in Llwyd vs LloydÄÄboth forms used today.

Thus, this region of Wales would appear to carry a form of the Goyne name. According to a history of Wales, the Gwyn/Gwynne name dates to “high antiquity.”4 A Goyne researcher in England reports that the early Goynes of Cornwall were miners who came from Wales.5

Emigrants Several Goynes arrived on these shores in the 17th and 18th centuries. The earliest to arrive in Virginia was William Gayne [born c1589] who arrived in 1620 on the Bona Nova. He appears to have been a “free man”, not encumbered by an indenture. In February 1624/25 he lived in “Elizabeth Cittie”.6 On 28 September 1633, Thomas Crompe patented 450 acres of land for transporting nine persons to Virginia, including John Gowing. By 1650 Thomas, Anne, and Edward Gaynes/ Guyne had arrived in Virginia. On 14 April 1653, William Hoccaday patented 1,000 acres of land for transporting 20 persons to Virginia, including William Gowin.7 In August 1657, Thomas Gowen, age 18, was transported from London to Virginia on the Globe of London.

[Newsletter, September 1989] In February 1686, John Gowing, of Berkshire, was reprieved for transportation for Jamaica, Barbados or Bermuda. On 2 May 1705 James Boughan, Jr. and John Boughan patented 2,000 acres of land for transporting 40 persons to Virginia, including Daniel Gowin.8

In March 1754, Thomas Goyne of Cornwall was sentenced to transportation for assaulting a J. P. on duty to preserve a stranded ship.9

The earliest Going to arrive in Maryland was Thomas who arrived in 1671. In 1672 Ann Goeing, wife of Esau, arrived in Maryland.10 In October 1699, William Goyne was listed in the inventory of Capt. John Ferry with 3 years yet to serve.11

Other Goings, having given names of James, Philip, Robert, Elizabeth, Mary, and Sarah, arrived in South Carolina from County Tipperary, Ireland in the early half of the 18th century.

The females were daughters of Robert Going. Elizabeth was married to Thomas Lamphier [Lanphier]; Mary was married to James Walpoole; and Sarah was married to Richard Franklin and E. White. All marriages were performed in County Tipperary, Ireland.12 [As an aside: a Lanphier Going addressed a letter, containing a list of building supplies, to Col. George Washington, New Castle, 16 October 1773.13]

John Gowing was an early settler of Lynn, Massachusetts. He was married to Johannah about 1684 and died in Lynn on 28 May 1720.14

Contemporary Research The many different spellings of the Goyne surname, in various records, is a cause of some confusion for researchers. If the researcher could but hear the name pronounced [i.e, with a short O, or with a long O), some division in the families might be determined. In this paper the name is spelled as it appears in each record. When not referring to a specific record, I have spelled the name
“Goyne”. While the name is most often seen in records spelled as a “sound alike” [e.g; Going/Goin/etc.], it is this writer’s opinion that one would not expect to see the name spelled “Goyne” unless the scribe was prompted to write it that way.

(To Be Continued)

1. Information provided by Jim Scott, Lang Brother, Limited,
Glasgow, Scotland, owners of Glengoyne Distillery,
Stirlingshire, Scotland. 2. Patent Rolls Henry VI 1429Ä1436,
Stafford, p 309. From correspondence between Robert Goyen
of Victoria, Australia [a GRF member], a New Zealand
researcher, and myself. 3. Caradoc of Llancarvan. Translated
into English by Dr. Powell, and augmented by W. Wynne,
Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, and added to by Sir John
Price. The History of Wales, London, 1812. 4. Nicholas,
Thomas, Annals and Antiquities of The Counties and County
Families of Wales, etc, Vol. I, London, 1872 [1875,1991). 5.

From personal correspondence with Edna Reynolds, Bexley,
Kent, England. 6. Hotten, John Camden. The Original List of
Persons of Quality, 1600Ä1700, Muster Rolls of Settlers in
Virginia 1624, 1880 [1962). 7. Nugent, Nell Marion. Cavaliers
and Pioneers, Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents & Grants,
1623Ä1666, Vol. I, Richmond: Press of the Dietz Printing Co,
1934. 8. Nugent, Nell Marion. Cavaliers and Pioneers,
Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents & Grants, 1695Ä1732,
Vol. III, Virginia State Library, 1979. 9. Coldham, Peter
Wilson. The Complete Book of Emigrants in Bondage,
1614Ä1775, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing County, Inc.,
1988. 10. Skordas, Gust, et al, Ed. The Early Settlers of
Maryland, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1968.

11. Barnes, Robert William. Baltimore County [Maryland]
Families, 1659Ä1759, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing
Co., Inc., 1989. 12. Langdon, Barbara R. SC Marriages, Vol.
III, 1671Ä1791, Implied in the Provincial and Miscellaneous
Records of SC, 1993. 13. Clark, Murtie June. Colonial
Soldiers of the South, 1732Ä1774, Baltimore: Genealogical
Publishing Co, Inc, 1983.

2)  John Newton Gowen Became One
Instantly In Revolutionary War

By Susan B. Liedell
Editorial Boardmember
148 Kate’s Path, Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts, 02675

Many members of the Foundation have to wonder and
speculate as to who was the original progenitor of their
surname, but not I. I can point to my sixth-generation
grandfather, John Newton Gowen as the very first of my
Gowen line. He may also be my most deceptive ancestor and
perhaps the most resourceful as well. The story goes that he
became a Gowen [pronounced with a long “o”] and a
Revolutionary on the same day.

The following is an excerpt from “The History of Franklin,
Massachusetts” by Mortimer Blake; published in 1879:

“Franklin was not only intolerant of royalists and their sympathizers,
but showed some special favors to British subjects
who succeeded in escaping from the British armies. Tradition
has it that more than one deserter found a safe hiding place in
the scattered houses of this precinct. John Adams, ancestor of
the Adams family in this town, was not the only victim of an
English pressgang who found refuge here and a home.

John Newton was perhaps a more striking case. He was a native
of England, born about 1755. He had regularly learned
the trade of ship carpenter, and had also served his full time as
a soldier in the British army. But he was impressed on board a
manÄofÄwar at the beginning of the Revolution and brought
to America.

(Continued on Page 3)

Feeling that he had a right to his freedom, he succeeded in
communicating a plan of escape to some of the Yankees in or
near Boston, who promised him assistance.

On a stormy and dark night, while his ship was blockading the
harbor, he slid overboard undetected, and, guided by a beacon
light which had been burning two or three evenings, he swam
ashore, a distance of three miles. When he landed he could
neither walk nor stand, but his waiting friends carried him to a
shelter till he was recruited [sic] sufficiently to flee into the
country. On his way to Dedham he was stopped by a sentry
who questioned who he was. He answered promptly, ‘John
Going,’ and so he was, as rapidly as possible, until finally he
reached Franklin. The name which served him once so well
he retained, and was known among our fathers as John Going,
now modernized into Gowen.

He married, according to the town records, 14th June, 1786,
Mary Cook of Bellingham, and had four sons – Benjamin,
Asa, John and Luther. Luther remained in town on the
paternal farm, married a neighbor’s daughter, Elvira Metcalf,
and had also four sons — Warren, George, Charles and
Horace, of whom the third is still a resident of Franklin, and
the son of another keeps the Franklin House. The others have
gone.”

This history of Franklin was written while Charles Gowen,
son of Luther and nephew of Benjamin, Asa and John, was
still alive and living in town. Presumably, therefore, it is
accurate as to the number and names of the sons of John
[Newton] Gowen. The mother of the boys was not Mary
Cook, however. The births of John, Jr. [9 Aug 1780]) and
Luther [14 Aug 1782] are recorded in the vital records of
Franklin. Their mother is listed as Lydia -. I believe she was
the mother of all four boys. Since she died 18 November 1785
[Franklin Vital Records] and John married Mary Cook 14 June
1786, it was probably easy for people to assume the young
boys were Mary’s. The town of Franklin was split from Wrentham
in 1777 so the births of Benjamin and Asa may have
been missed or recorded elsewhere.

My g-g-g-grandfather was Benjamin Franklin Gowen. He was
born 18 February 1777 at Franklin. He died in Worcester,
Massachusetts, 18 September 1865, according to his death
certificate. Descendents of Benjamin, Asa and Luther, as
much as I know, are listed on the enclosed charts for the
Foundation Library. Benjamin’s birthdate and place would
appear to make him the eldest son of John [Newton] Gowen
and I am assuming it to be so.

According to the town history, a number of Franklin people
moved to Union, Maine. Benjamin Franklin Gowen was
probably one of them. The IGI records the birth of a couple of
his daughters in Maine, and census records there include some
of his sons including my gÄgÄgrandfather, Albert Nelson
Gowen. The latter settled with his wife, Eliza Ring in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. Of their three sons, Harry Nelson
[b1855] died in infancy; Fred Herbert [b1857] married Grace
Benedict and eventually settled at Little Falls, New York and
Frank Leslie [b1859] married Eva K. Grant and remained in
Minneapolis. Fred Herbert Gowen was my great-grandfather.

Much of the data pieced together to form this conclusion has
been in my files for a long time, so it is useful to go over “old”
material once in a while. I am grateful to Ora Ring Doty, also
a descendant of Benjamin F. Gowen, and Yvonne M. Gowen
for information and encouragement over the years. It would
be most interesting to hear from anyone who would like to
share information, claim kinship, confirm my supposition
about Benjamin Franklin Gowen’s origins or let me know
wrong I am!

3)  Donna Gowin Johnston Scheduled
To Speak at Nashville Conference

Donna V. Gowin Johnston, Editorial Boardmember of Casper,
Wyoming, will speak to members and their guests at the Foundation’s
Genealogical Conference and Family Reunion to be
held in Nashville May 5-6-7, 1996. Mrs. Johnston, who began
researching her Gowin family in 1958, will discuss
“Overlooked Genealogical Sources.”

She is a genealogy instructor at Casper College and librarian
of Casper Family History Center. In 1983 she published “Our
Crawford County, Illinois Heritage,” a 700-page hard-bound
volume which includes the four branches of her Gowin family.

She traced them from colonial Virginia to present-day
kinsman all across the nation, utilizing many unique sources.

In the process she discovered that many of the diverse
spellings of her surname reassembled themselves in Virginia
into one family.

She, a mother of four, credits the support of her husband and
her children in the outstanding success she has enjoyed as a
genealogist and a writer. At times they accompanied her on
research trips, and at times they took over her duties at home
in her absence. Her lecture will be beneficial, not only to
beginning researchers, but to seasoned genealogists who want
to leave no stone unturned, as well.

4)  Barney A. Gowen, Genealogist,
Civic Leader, Dies at Age 93

Barney Alexander Gowen, a sustaining charter member of the
Foundation, who served on its Editorial Board and assisted in
its organization, died in Camden, Georgia August 19 at age
93. He maintained a life-long interest in genealogy and
assisted in the research of the Gowen family history for over
40 years. He was a son of George Rhoan Gowen and
Courtney Carney Littlefield Gowen and a descendant of Lt.
James Gowen, Revolutionary soldier of Combahee Ferry,
South Carolina.

In 1926 he established Gowen’s General Merchandise in
Woodbine, Georgia. From 1928 to 1956 he was vice
chairman of the board of the State Bank of Kingsland,
Georgia. He was married to Ethel Veale June 28, 1932 at
Watkinsville, Georgia. In 1961 he was retired, continuing to
make his home at Woodbine. He was named as an executive
director of Boy Scouts of America in 1971.

He was a life-long resident of Camden County and was fully
involved in the welfare of his community, serving as county
commissioner, city councilman, chairman of the Board of
Education, Chief Registrar, and serving as a member the
Camden Industry Development Council, the Governor’s staff,
Georgia Industry Development Commission and the Lions
Club. He was a Mason [Shriner] and a member of the
Woodbine Methodist Church.

He is survived by his daughter, Anne Gowen Williams; son
Barney Alexander Gowen, Jr, four grandchildren and three
great-grandchildren; sisters, Thelma Hannaford, Estelle Sikes,
Annie Pearl Page and brother, Baynard Gowen. He was
buried in Pineview Cemetery in Folkston.

5)  DEAR COUSINS

I have really enjoyed the Newsletter and look
forward to its arrival each month. The series by Beverly J.
Ellison Nelson on the Goin family was super. Sterling Goin
was my g-g-g-grandfather. Things have been real busy in my
life right now, but soon I will be writing to some of my newfound
cousins for a genealogy exchange. I am anxious to get
their input on my side of the family. Thanks for giving us
something exciting to look forward to each month. My 1996
renewal is enclosed. Tammy Goin-Stone, Box 738, Ontario,
OR, 97914, 503/889-2292.

==Dear Cousins==

I read with much interest Beverly J. Ellison Nelson’s
article on James Knox Polk Goin in the September Newsletter.
He was a brother of my g-gf Proctor Goin who farmed near
him at Liberty, NE. Proctor Goin had one son, my
grandfather, Arthur Goin. Frances Ruth Ehlers, Box 603,
Abilene, KS, 67410.

==Dear Cousins==

Thanks very much for the complete genealogy
reports of our Gowens family. I was glad to receive the
additional information about my g-g-g-grandfather Charles
Gowens of Henry County, VA. I will share these reports with
other members of our family. We enthusiastically support
your efforts in this work and wish you continued success.
Norman Gowens, 7025 Harvey Dr, Waco, TX, 76710.

==Dear Cousins==

I am a descendant of James M. Thurston, son of John
Bart. Thurston of Greenville Co, SC. Another son, Elijah
Thurston was married about 1879 to Lettie Gowan. Because
of her unusual name, I regard her as a descendant of Maj. John
“Buck” Gowen who was married about 1759 to Lettice Winn
“Letty” Bearden, daughter of John Bearden and Lettice Winn
Bearden. Lettice “Letty” Gowen, daughter of Maj. Gowen,
was married about 1783 to Street Thurston. Can anyone
document a relationship between these Gowen/Gowan and
Thurston individuals? Pat Wells, 804 S. Salisbury Avenue,
Spencer, NC, 28159.

==Dear Cousins==

I understand that our membership is good through the
end of the year, but the Board made such a nice offer on
renewals, I thought I would do it now for 1996. I enjoy the
Newsletter, and I will have something to send you on my
Goings family soon. Jean Cathryn Kimball, 34 Meadowlake
Dr, Mexico, MO, 65265.

==Dear Cousins==

Thank you so much for the information on the
Foundation and the back issues of the Newsletter. I am
extremely pleased with the quality of your publication. My
membership is enclosed.

I am also enclosing my limited research on my g-ggrandmother,
Louise Gowan/Gowen who was born about
1812 in VA or SC. She was mc1832 in SC to William Roland
Altom. He died about 1905. I would be pleased to correspond
with anyone who has information about them or their
descendants. Jenny Pennick Garner, 204 Superior Ave,
Decatur, GA, 30030, 404/378-5080.

==Dear Cousins==

Earlier this year, Dr. Brent Kennedy and his
Melungeon film crew made a trip to Turkey. One exciting
event of the trip was to form plans for Chesme, Turkey, and
Wise, Virginia, a home area of the Melungeons to become
sister villages. In September of this year, Dr. George
Culbertson, Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor of Clinch
Valley College of the University of Virginia, and Dr. Garett
Sheldon, Professor of History at Clinch Valley College,
traveled to Istanbul to meet with Dr. Kursun, noted historian
of Marmara University in Istanbul. Dr. Kursun recently
published his own work on the links between the Ottomans
and the Melungeons.

Drs. Culbertson and Sheldon also attended
ceremonies there commemorating Clinch Valley College and
the University of Istanbul as sister universities. The
Melungeons have come a long way since the dark days of
denying their heritage.

The Turkish research team continues to dig into the
cultural similarities. Early conquerors, who date back to the
Ottoman Turks and the Islamic Moors’ 700-year reign in the
Mediterranean, became the ancestors of many people found in
the Middle East and Mediterranean today. Their complicated
journey through history picked up a mosaic of nationalities,
some of whom, we feel, found their way to America. All this
can confuse family researchers today as it runs contrary to
long held beliefs that our early ancestors in America
descended from one nationality or some combination of North
European, Negro, Native American etc.

The word ‘Turk’ is also misleading, as many
historians believe that the early Christian countries applied the
generic name ‘Turk’ to all the marauding Islamic nations, not
just those from Turkey, and, indeed, this is the viewpoint of
Dr. Kennedy as well as the Turkish scholars involved. Of
course, in the 1500s all Islamic countries were subjects of the
Ottoman Empire.

Specialists in medicine, anthropology, archaeology,
history, linguistics and genetics on Dr. Kennedy’s Committee
reveal that some early folks who wrote about the Appalachian
Melungeons weren’t too far off the mark. They believed they
were much like a ‘mysterious race’ of their own. I am grateful
for the early detailed writers, such as Bonnie Ball and Jean
Patterson Bible who were among the first to recognize unusual
Melungeon traits. They gave me the idea to look into earlier
history.

Thank you, Arlee Gowen, for the support you give
the Melungeon search, for forming the Foundation’s
Melungeon Team in 1990, and the fair hearing given to all the
theories. Then, in 1992, we discovered Dr. Brent Kennedy.

His great personal efforts, many talents, ability to attract
experts in various fields and his non-profit Melungeon film
project has tremendously helped the Melungeons find
acceptance. We are proud to be working with Dr. Kennedy as
the search goes on. Evelyn McKinley Orr, Chairman,
Melungeon Research Team, 8310 Emmet Street, Omaha, NE,
68134.

Gowen Research Foundation 806/795-8758 or 795-9694
5708 Gary Avenue
Lubbock, Texas, 79413 Electronic Library/BBS 806/795-
2005

___________________________________________________________

NOTE:  The above information produced by the Gowen Research Foundation (GRF), and parts of the “Gowen Manuscript” they worked on producing.  It has tons of information – much of it is correct, but be careful, some of it is not correct – so check their sources and logic.  I’ve copied some of their information in the past researching my own family, only to find out there were some clear mistakes.   So be sure to check the information to verify if it is right before citing the source and believing the person who researched it before was 100% correct.  Most of the information I found there seems to be correct, but some is not.

Their website is:  Internet: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gowenrf

There does not seem to be anyone “manning the ship” at the Gowen Research Foundation, or Gowen Manuscript site any longer, and there is no way to contact anyone about any errors.   The pages themselves don’t have a mechanism to leave a note for others to see any “new information” that you may have that shows when you find info that shows something is wrong, or when something has been verified.

Feel free to leave messages about any new information found, or errors in these pages, or information that has been verified that those who wrote these pages may not have known about.