McDowell Family

George Archibald McDowell

George Archibald McDowell
October 26, 1809 South Carolina - February 7, 1854 Texas

Married October 24, 1833 Berkeley, South Carolina go

Harriet Eliza Hamlin
September 25, 1814 Charleston, South Carolina - December 6, 1903 Edna, Jackson County, Texas
Married 2nd John Alexander Bolling on October 4, 1859 in Jackson County, Texas

Children:
William Behn McDowell February 14, 1835 - June 5, 1862 in Confederate Service

Mary Emma McDowell September 6, 1836 - November 12, 1913 m Edwin P. Clary

Elizabeth Hamlin McDowell November 8, 1837 - February 14, 1840

Julia Catharine McDowell May 7, 1839 - July 17, 1922 - married James Lowry Smith

Catherine Louise McDowell September 20, 1840 - September 15, 1885 married Leander Garrett

Eugene Butler McDowell April 25, 1842 - April 7, 1862 in Confederate Service

Anthony Butler McDowell July 25, 1844 - February 1, 1901 married Jessie White Billups

Susan Antoinette McDowell July 25, 1844 - May 20, 1864

George Lewis McDowell August 26, 1846 - August 25, 1847

Laura McDowell March 14, 1849 - September 18, 1853

George Archibald McDowell September 29, 1850 - April 2, 1853

William Henry McDowell May 25, 1852 - October 3, 1928 married Mary Louise Flournoy

George Archibald McDowell Cemetery

View of the West Carancahua near the George Archibald McDowell Cemetery

NAME	BIRTH	DEATH	INSCRIPTION
Garrett, Catherine Louise McDowell (d/o George Archibald & Harriet Eliza Hamlin McDowell; w/o Leander Garrett)	20 Sep 1840	15 Sep 1885	Weep Not, She Is Not Dead, But Sleepeth
McDowell, George Archibald (h/o Harriet Eliza Hamlin McDowell)	26 Oct 1809	07 Feb 1854
McDowell, Susan Antoinette (d/o George Archibald & Harriet Eliza Hamlin McDowell)	25 Jul 1844	20 May 1864
McDowell, George Archibald Jr.	1850	1853	no marker
McDowell, George Lewis	1846	1847	no marker
McDowell, Laura	1849	1853	no marker

Historic Texas Cemetery
George Archibald McDowell Cemetery
Written in 2003 by
Hugh Lawson McDowell
Texana Cemetery Association
Courtesy of Texas Historical Commission, HTC File

The George A. McDowell Cemetery is the last remaining physical evidence of the McDowell Plantation that existed in the mid-1800s on the east bank of the West Carancahua Creek in Jackson County, Texas. The cemetery is on private property alongside a gas pipeline right of way approximately five miles from the town of La Ward. The old plantation home stood approximately two hundred yards east of the cemetery. The cemetery is approximately 25' by 35'. Dense brush was removed and a wooden fence was constructed at the site in 2002. When fence construction started there was no sign of previous fencing, landscaping, or other cemetery decoration other than three overturned stones. As of this writing, the Texana Cemetery Association has plans to further restore the cemetery. It is not known if the fence encloses all markers.

Prior to moving to Texas in 1842, the McDowell Family lived near Cainhoy, South Carolina, in St. Thomas Parish. Cainhoy is a small plantation community about twenty miles north of Charleston. Mr. George Archibald McDowell, who is among those buried in the cemetery, married Harriet Hamlin on October 24, 1833. Both the bride and groom came from respected families who had lived in South Carolina for many years. The marriage of George McDowell and Harriet Hamlin produced children in South Carolina as well as Texas.

The following biographical sketch describes the arrival of the McDowell Family in Texas and the establishment of the plantation. This essay was written by Mrs. Jessie White McDowell on August 18, 1933 approximately three years prior to her death. Mrs. Jessie McDowell was the wife of Anthony Butler McDowell, thus the daughter-in-law of George Archibald McDowell.

"Another old family of Jackson County is the McDowells. Mr. George Archibald McDowell came from South Carolina to Texas, 1842, he was an educator. He had taught the St. Thomas Parish School near Charleston for several years. After living in Texas a year at Independence where he taught in the College, he decided to bring his family and make his home in Texas, so he wrote for his wife and children and slaves to come which they did in 1842. One son was born enroute at the home of a cousin in Mississippi. The family landed in Houston and were met by Mr. McDowell who took them to Independence where they lived until Mr. McDowell bought a section of land in Jackson County on the West Carancahua. There he built them a home and devoted his time to educating his sons and daughters and farming. He died in the early fifties leaving his widow with four sons and four daughters.

His two oldest sons Behn and Eugene were soldiers in the Confederate army belonging to Capt. Owens Company, Green's Regiment. Eugene, as well as his Captain, were killed in the battle of Shiloh and Behn died of pneumonia brought on by exposure. Anthony "Bud," the third son was in a school in Cameron taught by his brother-in-law, Professor J. L. Smith, who had married his sister Julia. He was a famous educator and well known and loved by citizens of South and North Texas who sent their sons and daughters to his fine College. When Professor Smith, in the last struggles of the war, learned that every boy of seventeen was to be conscripted, he sent Bud home. He was called Bud by all his family and friends. His home folks got him ready and he joined Capt. Blair's Co., Walkers Bat. and Hood's Brigade. After the close of the war, he returned home and was married in '67 to Jessie W. Billups, the second daughter of G. R. Billups one of Jackson County's oldest settlers, and I'll say here in my 88th year that Jessie Billups was a lucky girl to have won the love, as was said at the time, the pick of the brave young men of Jackson. The youngest son Henry also married into an old and prominent family. The daughters, too, married well and their descendants are respected residents of our largest cities. I have only told you a few of my memories of the McDowells which I hope you can use in your book."

Your cousin, (signed) J. W. McDowell
August 18, 1933

The cemetery contains three marked graves and almost certainly three unmarked graves and possibly more:

1. Broken Stone George Archibald McDowell Born: Oct. 26, 1809 Died: Feb. 7, 1854 Stone from G. Stoltz, Victoria, TX	2. Broken stone Susan A. McDowell Born: July 25, 1844 Died: May 20, 1864	3. Large Marker in several pieces Catherine L. Garret Wife of Major L. Garret Born: September 20 1840 Died: September 15, 1885 Weep not she is not dead but sleepeth. Luke VIII.52
4. Missing Grave George Lewis McDowell Born: 1846 Died: 1847	5. Missing Grave Laura McDowell Born: 1849 Died: 1853	6. Missing Grave George Archibald McDowell, Jr. Born: 1850 Died: 1853

Harriet E. McDowell, wife of George A. McDowell, was remarried to John Bolling after the death of her husband, George McDowell. Mrs. Bolling passed away in 1903 and is buried in the Memory Gardens of Edna, in Edna, Texas.

The A. B. McDowell Cemetery is the last remaining physical reminder of the Anthony Butler McDowell ranch and homestead on the banks of the West Carancahua Creek in Jackson County, Texas.

The ranch and farmland surrounding the cemetery were originally part of a larger tract that Anthony Butler McDowell inherited from the estate of his father, Mr. George Archibald McDowell, a pioneer fro Republic of Texas days.

The following biographical sketches describe the lives of two prominent early settlers buried in the cemetery.

A. B. McDowell
(1844 - 1901)

Anthony Butler McDowell was a native Texan, but had a parentage from both the paternal and maternal sides from the vicinity of Charleston, South Carolina. Mr. McDowell's ancestors were American patriots who had braved the dangers and hardships during the perilous days of the American Revolution.

His parents, George Archibald McDowell and Harriet Elizabeth Hamlin McDowell left Charleston and came to Texas by boat in 1842 with their children and slaves. The family originally settled near Washington-On-The-Brazos where Mr. George McDowell taught at the college in Independence, TX.

Anthony Butler McDowell and his twin sister, Susan, were born in Washington County, Texas on July 25, 1844. When he was a small child, his parents moved to the Carancahua Community in Jackson County and established a large plantation. A. B. McDowell's father died in 1854 and is buried in a nearby cemetery.

In the dark period, which swept over the Southland from 1861 to 1865, A. B. McDowell's heart burned with Southern patriotism. He left school in Salado, Texas and shouldered his musket in defense of the Confederate cause as a member of Company C in Waller's battalion. After the Civil War, he returned to his home and pursued farming and stock raising.

In 1876, A. B. McDowell married Miss Jessie White Billups, the daughter of Mr. George Robert Landry Billups. The Billups family lived nearby in the Carancahua Community.

Anthony Butler McDowell and his wife, Jessie, established their home on the bans of the Carancahua Creek about one half mile downstream and on the bank opposite his father's old plantation home. Their marriage produced seven children.

The home and ranch buildings stood approximately 150 yards south of the A. B. McDowell Cemetery. The ranch house was a single story cypress structure with large front porch. The house was prefabricated and shipped to the home site by barge for final construction. Through the years, the home slowly deteriorated until it finally had to be destroyed in 1982. The Stone Family owned the property at the time.

When the railroad reached Jackson County in the late 1890s, the McDowell Family joined the migration from Texana and the Carancahua Community to the new town of Edna. There, A. B McDowell established a new cypress residence on Hanover Street. He also established and operated the town's livery stable directly across the tracks from the railroad depot.

In 1896, A. B. McDowell was appointed by the Commissioners' Court to fill the unexpired term of Sheriff and Tax Collector, made vacant by the resignation incumbent Ben Milby. Mr. McDowell was re-elected for three successive terms, twice without opposition. The last time, however, in November last, his health was declining so rapidly that he refused to qualify, and requested the Commissioners' Court to appoint his successor.

A. B. McDowell was 56 years old at the time of his death on February 1, 1901. The following is quoted from a newspaper obituary describing his life:

"Friday at 12 o'clock the long and useful life of Mr. A. B. McDowell drew to a peaceful close after a painful illness of several months' duration. As he breathed his last, he was surrounded by family, friends and the faithful priest, all engaged in earnest prayer. Kind, benevolent and accommodating, he made friends of all who came within the range of his association. His remains were taken to (the old home) by sorrowing relatives and friends to rest in the family burying ground on the Carancahua beside other loved members of his family circle who will greet and welcome his entrance in the land of eternal rest ...

In his official as well as his private life he was fair, just and liberal in all of his dealings with his fellow man. In him all men found a nobility of heart where narrow-mindedness, malice and prejudices found no fulfillment."

Buried with Mr. McDowell are three of his children who preceded him in death.

John Alfred Bolling
(1808 -1900)

The roots of John Alfred Bolling can be traced to the old family homestead in Virginia where he was born in 1808. Little is known of his life there.

About 1830, Mr. Bolling moved from Virginia to Warren County, Mississippi. He was married in Mississippi. At least one child, also named John Alfred Boling, was born in this marriage on April 21 1834.

While references to the senior Bolling are sketchy, it is known his son, J. A. Bolling, Jr., moved to Texas in 1859 and established a very successful footing in the cattle business. A home was built near the Carancahua Bay. Presumably the elder Bolling, the subject of this sketch, came to live with or near his son in Texas.

When the Civil War came in 1860, the younger Bolling joined the Southern Army serving in Company B, 2nd Texas Infantry until his death on the battlefield at Corinth, Mississippi on October 3, 1862, at age 28 years. The son left a strong widow and son, J. A. Bolling III, who carried on the family ranching business.

The elder Bolling married Harriet Elizabeth McDowell (1813 - 1903), widow of George Archibald McDowell (1809 - 1854). The couple remained in the Jackson County the rest of their lives. The 1870 U. S. Census shows John Alfred Bolling and his wife, Harriet Bolling, living with the A. B. McDowell family on the McDowell Ranch.

Mr. Bolling died in 1900 and was buried in the McDowell Family Cemetery on the banks of the Carancahua. Descendants of Mr. Bolling still live in the Carancahua area as of 2001.

Other Burials

This cemetery also holds the remains of three of Mr. A. B. McDowell's children as follows:

Douglas McDowell (1887 - 1890)
Jessie McDowell (1877 - 1892)
Mary McDowell (1880 - 1880)

One additional known burial is visible at the site, that being the grave of Lydia Koch (1892 - 1918).

The McDowells in the War

Service Record of William Behn McDowell Service Record of Eugene McDowell

	Eugene McDowell to sister Julia Catherine McDowell Baylor University April 24 1861 Dear Sister It would be useless for me to plead for an excuse for not writing before this and I am truly ashamed for not writing. I have not heard from you all for some time. I don’t know whether you are starved out or not. We are not very far from it, but I had quite a treat yesterday as the anniversary came off then instead of on the 21st. We had quite a nice time, two anniversary speeches and several speeches declaring for war as it is said, it has truly commenced. I never seen such exciting
	and enthusiastic times before, in fact there has been one continual excitement for the three or four weeks there has been very near nothing done in school of the last six weeks. I am tired and sick of it. There has been but three teach in school for two weeks and half of them have been sick half of the time. Prof Willrich is laying at the point of death. It is not expected that he will recover. Poor old fellow, he has been sick for about two week. Mr Richard Burleson has been sick for three or four days. I don’t believe there is any other sickness but those two cases in school. Mr. Rufus Burleson has not been in school for some time. He is always off somewhere.
	I suppose you have heard that Indianola has been taken and fortified by the United States troops. A company of volunteers started here this morning to retake it. I don not know what number there was in the company. Seven school boys went with them and a great many more would go if they had a chance. If I had of had a horse, I would have went sure. I suppose there is great excitement down home. If there was any chance for me to get home without walking, I would go sure. I hope that there will be no fighting done at Indianola. If there will be, do not you think I ought by all means to be there to take a hand in it. I think I should be there to defend my country.
	I declare I do not know what to do. The times are so hard and without a cent, I have not seen a cent for some time, except what what I have borrowed from my Friends to pay my little necessary expenses. Little expenses did I say? They may be so but they are the most felt sure and they amount to a considerable sum in the course of time. I do not believe they are my friends who I borrow the necessary chink from, for I will declare someone is damning me nearly every day, but I am learning to shun them very well, and do not think that I shall incur any more such incommodious and disagreeable debts. I have run a debt about 20 dollars this session at the stores and have bought nothing besides my books and candles but one hat. Then I could not get one that was worth half price. Excuse bad handwriting and misspell words as I have been compelled to write in haste. Eugene B McDowell Images and transcription courtesy of Christine Smith Andrews

Caldwell Apr 30^th 1962

Dear Julia

My mood has been somewhat changed since I left. As I was leaving Cameron, I met a Mr. Newhart who informed me that young James Covington had just returned to this place from Moors Regiment and was in the fight. As he was well acquainted with Behn, I determined to come and see him. I reached this place this evening – found the road very heavy indeed – regret that I hadn’t started on horseback.

I send you a letter written by young Covington to his parents after the fight which you will read and resend. In addition to that he told me that he saw Behn & S----- the day he started for house (Apr 18^th) did not see Eugene or Mr. Clary thinks Eugene was wounded or ? . Col. Cowen was killed as stated in the retreat on Monday. Moors Regiment cause very near all being lost by being cut off from the main army at night. Col Owen was left on the ground to mercy of the enemy and I suppose his remains will never be identified. Dr Wolfork came on with Jas. C. and is now at home from whom all information has been received. Bro Ransom and Henry started yesterday for Corinth. They have gone in Debray’s regiment of cavalry.

He tells me a great deal more than I can write. The saddest part – the morning he left there were only sixty-two in the whole regiment fit for duty all from over heat and hunger. And when they got it, ate too much which gave them diarrhea and fever.

I shall start for LaGrange in the morning, which is fifty miles. The future will only tell how I will get through. Tell Willie and Jimmie howdy. I had like to have forgotten to mention that my eyes are paining me very much. As Jas C. was not personally acquainted with Eugene & Ed think you need not feel uneasy, for Behn was talking with him just before he started and if had been killed he would have mentioned it. Jas C. advises me not to go. He brought a Yankee Captain’s sword with Edward Coleman’s name engraved on it from Wisconsin. It is a beautiful thing.

Hope you are all doing well. Get back as soon as possible.

Yours as ever,

Jas L. Smith

(This is an old steel pin.)

Transcribed by Christine Smith Andrews

LETTER FROM JESSIE (MRS. ANTHONY BUTLER MCDOWELL) TO JULIA MCDOWELL SMITH REPORTING THE FATE OF JULIA’S BOTHERS, EUGENE AND WILLIAM BEHN MCDOWELL AT THE BATTLE OF SHILOH

April 30^th (1862)

Dear Julia

You will be grieved to hear the sad fate of our unfortunate brothers. After the second day of the fight at the Battle of Shiloh, Eugene was found to be among the missing. We did not bury our dead and it is not known whether he was killed or taken prisoner. Brother is very sick and has a bad cough. He was too sick to write. Mr. Clary and John Bolling wrote. They said he is much troubled about Eugene and says he does not expect to see him again. I can see no grounds for hope. He certainly was killed and we will never know more of him than we do now for no one in the Company can give any news of him.

We are just beginning to realize the horror of war. Our only consolation is that he died in a glorious cause. I dread to get the ------ news lest we hear something sad of brother. There was no medicine in the country and Dr. Woolfork said if the bad weather continued much longer, half the regiment would die. They want nurses very much. I wish it was in my power to go to Brother.

The Texans suffer much. They have the hardships to endure, and are rushed into the most danger. In my last letter, I think I told you that John Bolling was trying to [be] a substitute. He got ----- (Bob) but he was not received. John did not reach the regiment til the day after the battle. He writes the boys all look badly. They are completely worn out. They did not recover from the fatigues of their march before they had to fight and the next night after the battle they received orders to march on the following day. All that were well enough intended to go – which will leave Brother to be left among strangers. Mr. McDowell also was very sick. Mr. Clary marches through days and fought on without shoes. He said his feet were so sore he could scarcely walk and that the battlefield is a terrible place. They have all seen enough and do not want to be in another fight.

I expect you have seen the death of Capt. Owen in the papers. The bullet enters his stomach and passed out near the backbone. His death is not positive. He walked for hours after he was shot and was carried to a small house. As the enemy took the battlefield, all our wounded and buried our dead, nothing has been heard of him since.

Mrs. Owens does not believe he is dead. She and John Garrett are going in search of him. She says if the enemy has him, they will not refuse to let her nurse him.

Several of his company were killed. Mr. Kirk was one of them. George Baylor was seen to fall. It is not known whether he was killed or wounded. Tom Bolling’s arm was badly shot. L----- Wells was shot through the coat sleeve, J. Allen through the hat and George Simons had some of the hair shot off the top of his head.

Dear Julia, after such sad news it is with the greatest exertion that I write, but I know you must be anxious to hear something of our poor brothers. H-----t Mary says she is prepared to hear of cousin Sammie’s death. He has given himself up for his country and going into danger and some must die. We cannot expect all to come back.

Affectionately,

Jessie

Transcribed by Christine Smith Andrews

Copyright 2018- Present by Carol Sue Gibbs All rights reserved
Created Jul. 6, 2018	Updated Jul. 16, 2018

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