Ephraim McDowell

Ephraim McDowell

• Birth: Mar 3 1673 - Raloo Parish, Antrim, Ulster, Ireland
• Death: Mar 2 1774 - Timber Ridge, Rockbridge, Virginia, USA
• Father: Thomas McDowell, Ann Locke
• Married: Margaret Irvine
• Children: Mary Elizabeth, John, Margaretta, James

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The form of McDowell was adopted by those of the MacDougal clan who held lands in Galloway, to which they, the Black Gaels, had given its name.

The McDowells “were Presbyterians of the strictest sect — Coventers, and deeply imbued with the love of civil and religious freedom.”

There is no notice of indivdual names until about 1670. A Scotch colonist, McDowell, emigrated from Scotland to North Ireland to settle with others of his name and kindred and religion, during the Protectorate of Cromwell. It is not known in what degree this McDowell, who left the hills of his native Argyllshire, was related to the chiefs of the house of Argyll. “He was, so far as can be gleaned from vague traditions, one of the most reputable of the colonist who there founded the race known as the ‘Scotch-Irish,’ says Green, “the characteristics of which have since been splendidly attested by the heroes, scholars, orators, theologians, and statesmen all over the world.” The reference Scotch-Irish , is misleading and is based upon the residence in Ireland and not upon any mixture of Scotch and Irish Blood. Both sides of the house were Scotch.

This Scotch colonist, McDowell, had a son named Ephraim, who was born in the north of Ireland. At the early age of sixteen Ephraim McDowell was one of the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians who flew to the defense of Londonderry on the ninth of December, 1688, on the approach of McDonnell of Antrim, and one of the band who closed the gates against the native Irish. During the long seige that followed, Ephraim Mc¬ Dowell was “Conspicuous for endurance and bravery.” This was the memorable seige of 1689, in which Ephraim McDowell aided William III in resisting the beseiging forces of James II. He also fought at the battle of Boyne River.

Ephraim McDowell married Margaret, his first cousin, and daughter of James Irvine and Margaret Wylie. The Irvines, settled in Ireland at the same time as the McDowells. The names of Irvin, Irvine, Irving, Irwin, Erwin are identical — those variously spelled being branches from the same family. “The name was and is one of note in Scotland where those who bore it had intermarried with the most prominent families of the kingdom.”

It is thought that Ephraim McDowell's wife died in Ireland. Their children were Mary E.; John, who was born in 1714; Margaretta; and James. In times of peace we lose sight of Ephraim McDowell until with his two sons and his daughters, all of whom were about grown, he emigrated, from Ulster in Ireland to America and settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The exact date of his arrival in Pennsylvania is not known.
Source: Sketches of the Shelby, McDowell, Deaderick, Anderson families by Moon, Anna Mary; Publication date 1933

"Northern Ireland, or Ulster as it is called, has a unique bond with the United States. Many who came to be known as Scotch Irish in America came from this region. One of these people was Ephraim McDowell, great-grandfather of Dr. Ephraim McDowell. He was born in Londonderry, Ireland in 1673 and married his first cousin, Margaret Irvin who was the daughter of Robert and Margaret Wylie Irvin. Margaret died and is buried in a church yard in Raloo, Ireland.

Ephraim fought at Londonderry on December 9, 1688, at the age of 16, when McDonnell of Antrim approached the walls of Londonderry. He fought at the Boyne River, as well (Battle of the Boyne, 12 Jul 1690). Met John Borden who offered a 1,000 acres of land to anyone who would conduct him to his land grant. Offer accepted by John McDowell. Ephraim, John Greelee (son-in-law), and grandson James Greenlee were the first three settlers in that part of the valley.

At the age of 62, Ephraim migrated from Ulster to America with sons John and James and daughters Mary and Margaret. They sailed in May 1729 on the ship "George and Anne" and reached Philadelphia in September. They joined Ephraim's brother, 'Andrew, who had migrated in 1725'.

In 1737, Ephraim moved to Rockbridge Co, VA. He is credited with having built the first road across the Blue Ridge.

All the McDowells of Raloo are descended from Ephraim 'through his eldest son THOMAS who remained in Glencoe'. His brother-in-law Alexander Irvine was one of the 'Apprentice Boys' who closed the gates of Derry in the face of King James' Army.

An old man at the time of the Revolutionary War, he was one of the first to raise the sword of freedom for the Colonies. His grandson James McDowell was the 26th Governor of VA. His portrait hangs with the other past Governor's portraits in the Old State House in Richmond, VA. The County of McDowell in the southwest corner of West Virginia is named after him and in the City of Richmond one of the most common names is that of McDowell.

He is buried near Fairfield, VA ... in an enclosed cemetery on the road between Lexington and Staunton, VA.

Notes

He is of Scotch Irish ancestry.

The McDowells and Irvines of Castle Irvine and of Bonshaw Castle, nine miles from Lockerbie, Dumfrieshire, Galloway, Scotland) often intermarried and manufactured linen in a linen mill along the Ballywallog river in Glenoe, near Larne, County Antrim, Northern Ireland from 1584 until declining business forced their emigration to America....by the years 1724 and 1729.

Ephraim McDowell was one of the apprentice boys who shut the gates to Londonderry at the siege of Londonderry at the age of 16, and later fought at the Battle of Boyne River, in 1690. His brother, John, supposedly died during the Siege, but may have been confused with brother Charles, of which little is known, other than the fact that the three brothers were present at the Siege of Londonderry in 1689. In Ireland, young Ephraim became a blacksmith in Glenoe, near Larne in Antrim. It is there that he married his first cousin, Margaret Irvine, the great granddaughter of the 10th Laird of Drum Castle in Scotland. Long, long ago, a visitor to Glenoe, wrote, "Passing down the one long street of that village, bordered on each side by tall stone houses, once the property of the Irvines and the Mc Dowells, we come on the blacksmith shop of Ephraim McDowell, which looks as if he had laid down his hammer but yesterday. I followed the narrow rocky street until I came to the linen mills, once belonging to the Irvines, Wylies, and McDowells. The Ballyvallog furnished the water power that turned these wheels of many mills, so sadly silent now. It is a narrow stream and runs across a beautiful brae, falling 75 feet into a well-shaped opening in sold rock into a pool. From this the water leaps over an immense stone that crosses the space at the bottom of the opening of this well, formed by nature and just opposite the waterfall.

In Londonderry Ephriam met and married Margaret Irvine, daughter of James Irvine, a neighbor of the McDowells. They had four children: James, Mary Elizabeth, Margaretta, and John. Ephriam's wife, Margaret, died in Ireland.

In the 1720's/30's (in the old age of Ephraim) the family came to Virginia via Pennsylvania to Rockbridge County, VA near Lexington. They arrived in Rockbridge County in the fall of 1737. They possibly arrived in Pennsylvania, on the good ship "George and Ann" on 4 Sep 1729. There were a number of McDowells on the ship; many from County Longford, Ireland, a John McDowell of Dublin; a James McDowell, who had several children too died on the trip and were thrown over board, the first on 8 Jun 1729; a John McDowell; and, the sister, brother and wife of Andrew McDowell. The relationship of John McDowell, the immigrante and Joseph McDowell, the immigrante (John and Joseph were brothers) to Ephraim is not proven, however it is believed they are nephews or sons of a cousin of Ephraim.

Ephraim served in the Augusta County militia until 1743, when he was exempted from further service due to his age (70 years). He lived in Augusta County until his death, having accumulated an estate which was regarded as very large in those days. He was esteemed by all for his intelligence, usefulness and probity, wielding a singular and beneficent influence among the intrepid and independent spirits by whom he was surrounded, and retaining the possession of his faculties to the last.

Ephraim, although already an old man in his sixties, was credited with building the first road through the Blue Ridge Mountains to connect the Shenandoah valley with the tidewater country. He was nearly 7 feet tall and of stalwart frame, and it is said, of a terrible countenance. Even in his old age, he busied himself in shrewd business dealings accumulating great land wealth and establishing schools and churches.

The date of his death is probably 1770 as family tradition has it that he died at age 98. Ephraim died NOT until the break of the American Revolution and NOT until he had heard the praises bestowed on his grandchildren for their bravery, at the Battle of Point Pleasant, in 1774. Ephraim died in Timber Ridge on the Borden Tract, Rockbridge County, Virginia.

A staunch Scots-Irish Presbyterian, Ephraim is buried at the site of Maryland Tavern owned by his son, Capt John. A monument erected in the mid 1800's, by the children of his great-grandson, Governor James McDowell of VA, shows that he died 'about 1780'.

Links

• http://home.comcast.net/~davidmartin/ppl/a/b/abc80ae0c8a698883d5.html
• http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~jmbhome/1mcdowell.htm

Sources

1. Genealogy of the Greenlee Families in America, Scotland, Ireland and England with Ancestors of Elizabeth Brooks Greenlee and Emily Brooks Greenlee.  Also Genealogical Data on the McDowells of Virginia and Kentucky.  by Ralph Stebbins Greenlee and Robert Lemuel Greenlee. Chicago, Illinois, Privately Printed 1908

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• Updated from FamilySearch Family Tree via brother Charles McDowell by SmartCopy: Apr 17 2015, 19:10:38 UTC

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"Northern Ireland, or Ulster as it is called, has a unique bond with the United States. Many who came to be known as Scotch Irish in America came from this region. One of these people was Ephraim McDowell, great-grandfather of Dr. Ephraim McDowell. He was born in Londonderry, Ireland in 1673 and married his first cousin, Margaret Irvin who was the daughter of Robert and Margaret Wylie Irvin. Margaret died and is buried in a church yard in Raloo, Ireland.

At the age of 62, Ephraim migrated from Ulster to America with sons John and James and daughters Mary and Margaret. They sailed in May 1729 on the ship "George and Anne" and reached Philadelphia in September. They joined Ephraim's brother, 'Andrew, who had migrated in 1725'.

In 1737, Ephraim moved to Rockbridge Co, VA. He is credited with having built the first road across the Blue Ridge. He is buried near Fairfield, VA on the road from Staunton to Lexington, VA. Son, John, married Magdalene Woods, daughter of Michael Woods and Margaret Campbell. John was a surveyor, he also received a military commission from Governor Gooch. He was killed with eight of his men in a fight with the Indians on Christmas day, 1742. The common grave in which all were buried may still be seen enclosed by a brick wall, a short distance from Lexington, Va. Ephraim fought at Londonderry on December 9, 1688, at the age of 16, when McDonnell of Antrim approached the walls of Londonderry. He fought at the Boyne River, as well (Battle of the Boyne, 12 Jul 1690). Met John Borden who offered a 1,000 acres of land to anyone who would conduct him to his land grant. Offer accepted by John McDowell. Ephraim, John Greelee (son-in-law), and grandson James Greenlee were the first three settlers in that part of the valley. Buried in an enclosed cemetery between Lexington and Staunton, VA. All the McDowells of Raloo are descended from Ephraim 'through his eldest son THOMAS who remained in Glencoe'. His brother-in-law Alexander Irvine was one of the 'Apprentice Boys' who closed the gates of Derry in the face of King James' Army. An old man at the time of the Revolutionary War, he was one of the first to raise the sword of freedom for the Colonies. His grandson James McDowell was the 26th Governor of VA. His portrait hangs with the other past Governor's portraits in the Old State House in Richmond, VA. The County of McDowell in the southwest corner of West Virginia is named after him and in the City of Richmond one of the most common names is that of McDowell.

Ephraim's father, Abraham McDowal [1648] left Scotland with his father, Joseph "the Calvinist" and with his family during the period of the English Civil Wars (c.1650). In Ireland, young Ephraim became a blacksmith in Glencoe, near Larne in Antrim. It is there that he married his first cousin, Margaret Irvine, the great granddaughter of the 10th Laird of Drum Castle in Scotland.

After an extraordinary 118 day arduous voyage (May 29 to September 4, 1729, they finally arrived at the port of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is said that 'seven of his wife's (Margaret Irvine) brothers' also came to America at the same time.

Ephraim first settled in Lancaster County, PA for a time, then on down the Great Wagon Road in Virginia to Borden's Grant in Augusta and Rockbridge Co, VA, becoming the first settlers there. They are believed to have settled for a while near Carlisle, PA where his daughter Mary Elizabeth married James Greenlee. In Virginia, letters were sent to their kindred and co-religionists in Pennsylvania, Ireland, and Scotland. Soon Borden's Grant was filled with Scots Presbyterians. Their efforts resulted in bringing to this section other Scots and Scots-Irish families: McClungs, McCues, McCouns, McElroys, McCampbells, Campbells, McKees, Caruthers, Paxtons, Lyles, Irvins, Caldwell, Calhouns, Stuarts - names which have since illustrated every page of Southern and Western history.

Ephraim, although already an old man in his sixties, was credited with building the first road through the Blue Ridge Mountains to connect the Shenandoah valley with the tidewater country. He was nearly 7 feet tall and of stalwart frame, and it is said, of a terrible countenance. Even in his old age, he busied himself in shrewd business dealings accumulating great land wealth and establishing schools and churches.

The date of his death is probably 1770 as family tradition has it that he died at age 98. Ephraim died NOT until the break of the American Revolution and NOT until he had heard the praises bestowed on his grandchildren for their bravery, at the Battle of Point Pleasant, in 1774. Ephraim died in Timber Ridge on the Borden Tract, Rockbridge County, Virginia.

A staunch Scots-Irish Presbyterian, Ephraim is buried at the site of Maryland Tavern owned by his son, Capt John. A monument erected in the mid 1800's, by the children of his great-grandson, Governor James McDowell of VA, shows that he died 'about 1780'.

See photo: On the marker at the McDowell burial ground near Fairfield, VA, Ephraim's inscription reads: "Near this spot repose the remains of Ephraim McDowell, the first of his name in America who died about 1730..."...?

(www.mcdowellhouse.com)

The Battle of Point Pleasant-known as the Battle of Kanawha in some older accounts-was the only major action of Dunmore's War. It was fought on October 10, 1774, primarily between Virginia militia and Indians from the Shawnee and Mingo tribes. (Wikipedia.org)