John
Graweere or Geaween?
These above names became
important to me in my Goins and Melungeon research, especially after
discovering the original court records were lost and the two
documents researchers used and referenced in their notes had
transcribed the name differently. Both transcribed the records from a
copy transcribed from the original record by Conway Robinson. One as
John Graweere and the other as John Geaween, so with the combined
efforts of other concerned researchers we obtained a copy of the court
case of John Graweere from the Virginia Historical Society, copied by
Conway Robinson who wrote the name twice, once as “John Graweere”, and
again as “said Graweere.”
This review of Colonial
records and names in those records question the accuracy of the
genealogy and all articles written using the name Gowen as a variant of
Geaween which presents a major problem for Gowen researchers who claim
the freed slave was John Gowen. Conway Robinson’s notes dispute their
claim because Graweere is not a variant of Gowen.
Copies of this court record
have been given to Librarians and to experts in historical handwriting
in four different states, all of whom concluded the word as transcribed
by Robinson was Graweere.
I will list a few examples of
the many reasons given for the conclusion on why the word is *Graweere:
The last letter in said word is an e-
example the word (the) was used in this court
record 27 times and the ending e
is identical to the ending e
as in Graweere. Also in the
document, the ending letters in the word *therefore are identical to the ending re in Graweere. The second letter is an r rather than an e as in Geaween (Gowen)because
several words in this record where the second letter is an r and one of
them is directly under the word Graweere and that word is brought, the r in brought is identical to
the second letter as in Graweere. Several words in said document end
with an n such as then and women and they prove the last
letter as in Geaween cannot be an n as claimed by researchers who used
Geaween a variant of Gowen and then use the Virginia Magazine of
History and Biography as their
reference.
Henry Read McIlwaine
(1864-1934) also transcribed the name as Graweere from Conway
Robinson’s notes, which is not a variant of Gowen. The reason
researchers ignored Conway Robinson’s transcribed copy from the
original record may have been because it was not on microfilm, or in
major libraries, but this begs the question why did they claim Henry
Read McIlwaine transcription was wrong?
According to my investigation
the Virginia Magazine of History used the transcription of the text
furnished for the earlier numbers by Mr. Lothrop Withington of London,
England, an accomplished antiquarian and genealogist who transcribed
the name from Robinson’s transcription as John Geaween so they
referenced (VMHB-Virginia Magazine of History and Biology).
Concerning
The African Angolans who arrived at Jamestown on a Dutch ship in
the summer of 1619.
A-1. John Gowen I
(originally "Geaween" and sometimes mistranslated "Graweere") was born
about 1615. By 1640, Gowen, described as a "negro", was the freed
servant of William Evans of Virginia. John Gowen, a hog
farmer, became a freeman in the first generation of British North
America. He had a son by an African-American woman named Margaret
Cornish about 1635. In 1641 John Gowen purchased the freedom of
his son Michael (originally "Mihill") from Lt. Robert Sheppard, master
of Margaret Cornish.
B-8. John Goyne (aka
Guynes) III, born 1776 in the Camden District of South Carolina, son of
James Goyne, son of William Gowen II, son of John Gowen II, son of
William Gowen I, son of Thomas Gowen, son of Michael Gowen, son of John
Gowen I.
Concerning this review: I do
not disagree with this family genealogy up to John and Mary Going then
to William and Catherine Going of Stafford, Fairfax, Lunenburg Counties
Virginia. I have followed part of this line using records, such as
Wills, military, court, land etc, and this line can be fully documented
up to William. Although the parents of William and Catherine are only
possibilities and there were two, an older John and a Thomas Going,
both were probably emigrants from England.
As the reader can observe for
themselves John Graweere son was not named in the record where
they were given their freedom, but a Surry County record names a Negro
Matthew after John Grashere name, this John must be the same person as
John Graweere who is recorded as the property of William Ewin/Evans in
1640:
”MICHAELL, a Negroe
KATHERINE his wife JOHN GRASHEARE a Negro, MATHEW a Negroe.” WILLIAM
EWINS/EWEN's James River land in Surry [known as the Colledge
Plantation by 1 March 1640/41],” was patented as follows:
part A - 400 acres
Tappahannah Territory patented 15 September 1619 by WILLIAM EWEN
part B - 1,000 acres
Tappahannah Territory patented January 1621/22 by WILLIAM EWEN, which
is the same land that is recorded in other records as Evans. (Surry
County Court Records (1700-1711) [p.219] 2d. Septr. 1701. At a Court
held at Southwarke for the County of Surry. Present. Mr. HENRY TOOKER,
Mr. WILLIAM BROWNE)
Notice Tim Hashaw agrees, but
adds Grasheare is a variant of Geaween.
Surry County,Va records show
that William Evans who was John Geaween’s master in 1641 patented 400
acres in Sept 15,1619 (two weeks after the arrival of the White Lion
based on headlights. Four Africans are named as attached to Evans
household at a early time: John “Grasheare”,Mathew” “Michael” and
“Katherine” as calculated by the ages of the children of Michael and
Katherine. John “Grasheare” is a variant of John
“Geaween(1619-
(the Black Mayflower and the
Origin of the Melungeons, part 1 Melungeon rootsweb list)
The problem with the above
statement “John Grasheare is a variant of John Geaween” is, this name
Grasheare is a common surname today. Only Grashear is found at
WorldConnect. No Graweere or Geaween One example is:. Loot
Grashear born mid 1800’s
ID: I555
Name: Loot
GRASHEAR
Given Name: Loot
Surname:
GRASHEAR Sex: M
As previously stated the
original court records are lost. What did survive was the abstracts of
the records by Conway Robinson, Esquire, who transcribed them before
the fire in Richmond destroyed the original. Robinson’s transcribed
records are not on Microfilm, they are printed in two places:
1-McIlwaine's Minutes of the Council, and 2-The Virginia Magazine of
History and Biography. Thus the original court records of John Graweere
and his unnamed son obtaining their freedom is forever lost, so the
Angolian genealogy and the Melungeon Gowen, Goins is based on a copy
from the copy from the original record. This copy by Robinson and
McIlwaine transcribes the name as Graweere which is not a variant of
Gowen after all.
We owe a debt of gratitude to
Robinson for copying the original records before they were destroyed
when the court house burned. I have the page in question from
Robinson’s notes - Henry Read McIlwaine (1864-1934), ed,
Minutes of the Council and General Court of Colonial Virginia,
1622-1632, 1670-1676, with Notes and Excerpts from Original Council and
General Court Records, into 1683,now Lost (Richmond : The Colonial
Press, Everett Waddy Co., 1924)and as previous stated Henry Read
McIlwaine transcribed the name from Conway Robinson's notes as John
Graweere.
From other court and land
records the original name may have been Grasheare and has nothing at
all to do with Gowen, Goins or variant, but from both Robinson’s notes
and McIlwaine the word appears to be Graweere and may have been a
mistranslation of Grasheare who was named in the court record
below.
“THO: ROBINSON, DANIELL
BRIDGMAN, RICHARD BRADLEY, MORGAN GLOVER, SAMLL HUBY, FRANCIS ALLEN,
MAURICE PRICE, LAUR CARVER, ELIZA his wife, MICHAELL, a Negroe
KATHERINE his wife, JOHN GRASHEARE a Negro, MATHEW a Negroe…” (Surry
County Court Records (1700-1711) [p.219] 2d. Septr. 1701. At a Court
held at Southwarke for the County of Surry. Present. Mr. HENRY TOOKER,
Mr. WILLIAM BROWNE),
An 1659 record shows wm EWIN/
EVANS was probaly dead and wife MARY probated his holdings. see
attachment.
A
Blizzard hits Surry County!
by Dennis Hudgins
”In this item I will provide
detailed references which will put together some facts about an early
negro family in Surry County, Virginia. Their last name is unknown at
this time but it is not far-fetched to say that they could have been
the progenitors of the Blizzard family. The headrights for MICHAELL, a
Negroe & KATHERINE his wife belonged to WILLIAM EWINS/EWEN by 30
September 1643 and their children in June 1659 [RABECCA? about 20
yeares old, FRANCIS about [8 or 10] yeares old, AMOS about [9 or 7]
yeares old & SUSANNA about [5] yeares old] were probably raised on
the Surry County Colledge Plantation. By the age differences, there may
have been another child not accounted for in the 1659 Surry record.”
Note: the missing child is Mathew and probable son of John, so this
creates a strong possibility that the freed son of John Graweere name
was Mathew.
This above appears to be the
same record as this one below from the VMHB, but notice the name
changes WILLIAM EWINS/EWEN to William Evans and JOHN GRASHEARE to
John Geaween.
“On 31 March 1641 the
Virginia Court ordered, that John Geaween being a Negro servant unto
William Evans was permitted by his said master to keep hogs and make
the best benefit thereof to himself provided that the said Evans might
have half the increase… And whereas the said negro having a young child
of a negro woman belonging to Lieut. Robert Sheppard… the said negro
did for his said child purchase its freedom of Lieut. Robert Sheppard…
the court hath therefore ordered that the child shall be free from the
said Evans”… (VMHB)
“On 31 March 1641 the
Virginia Court ordered, that John Graweere being a Negro servant unto
William Evans was permitted by his said master to keep hogs and make
the best benefit thereof to himself provided that the said Evans might
have half the increase… And whereas the said negro having a young child
of a negro woman belonging to Lieut. Robert Sheppard… the said negro
did for his said child purchase its freedom of Lieut. Robert Sheppard…
the court hath therefore ordered that the child shall be free from the
said Evans”…Henry Read McIlwaine (1864-1934), ed, Minutes of the
Council and General Court of Colonial Virginia, 1622-1632, 1670- 1676,
with Notes and Excerpts from Original Council and General Court
Records, into 1683.
Concerning The Africans who
arrived at Jamestown on a Dutch ship in the summer of 1619. Most of
them simply stepped off the ship into obscurity. John Geaween
(Graweere) is being recorded by said author as one from this group, but
where is this record? The census below shows the progression of this
group. If John was one of the 20 Angolans and still a slave in 1641
this would suggest they were all slaves instead of indentured servants
because all 20 if survived, would have completed their terms of
indenture before 1640-41 when John and his unnamed son were given their
freedom.
The following history from
census records sheds some light on the 20 slaves at Jamestown: “In the
space of 5 years immediately following 1619, the number of Africans in
the Colony was increased by two. The muster taken of the population in
1624-25 discloses the presence of twenty-two as compared with the
twenty brought in by the Dutch privateer, but one of these two
additions is accounted for by the fact that the Treasurer had landed a
negro in Virginia in 1619, and the other had been imported in the Swan
in 1623.1 The two children included in the lists of the muster, it may
be, were born on the North American continent. Their ages are not
given, which makes it impossible to state this with confidence.2 If
under five years, they were natives of the Colony, but if over five
years, they were born at sea or in the West Indies. 2 If born in
Virginia, two of the negroes forming the cargo of 1619 must have died.
Of this there is no record. The two additions to the original number,
as shown by the census of 1624-25, are accounted for by the two negroes
brought in by the Treasurer and Swan, from which it may be reasonably
inferred that the two negro children mentioned in the census of 1624-25
had been counted in the importation of 1619. If none had died in the
interval, the census of 1624-25 would have shown, in case the two
children had been born in Virginia, the presence of twenty-four instead
of twenty-two slaves in the Colony.”
Economic History of
Virginia in the Seventeenth Century: An Inquiry into the Material
Condition of the People, Based on Original and Contemporaneous
Records Bruce A. Phillips
Source: McIlwaine, ed.,
Minutes of the Council and General Court of Colonial Virginia, p. 477;
see also Hening, ed., The Statutes at Large, 1:552.
March 31, 1641-Suit of John
Graweere
[The suit of John Graweere
reveals that there were greater restrictions on the ownership of
personal property by black servants. In addition, Graweere's successful
petition to purchase his child indicates another difference between
white and black men. Graweere's decision to use the court to secure his
son's freedom indicates that he was one of the many blacks in Virginia
who knew how to use the colony's institutions.]
... John Graweere, who is
represented as an African servant of William Evans, was the father of a
child by a slave who belonged to Robert Sheppard. ...
In the above articles we have
two different pronunciations of a last name which changes the name,
Graweere or Gearween which some translate to Geaween. Thus from Geaween
to Gowen we have compounded and error which is why no documented
records exist of the possible freed son of Graweere. Hopefully
researchers will start over because other researcher have concluded
Mihil Gowen must be that freed slave of John, let us examine the
records of:
Mihil Goen
Part 2 is an examination of
the proposed father and sons listed as children of
Mihil(Michael?)Gowen, because records only show a son William.
Due to the widespred destruction of records in James City,
New Kent and Hanover Counties of Virginia it’s almost impossible
to trace one’s family in this area and Mihil Gowen is no
exception only four records of his existence remain but some have
turned him into a biblical Solomon. The children of Mihil as claimed by
articles written in the Gowen Research Foundation Newsletters by the
editor and others is wild speculation at it’s best.
I have ancestry charts
prepared by the editor of GRF showing these assumed connections but no
supporting data to substantiate them and in fact there is not one
single record to show any of the proposed connections. If one accepts
Mihil date of birth as 1638 then Mihil would have been 3 years old on
March 31, 1641 when the unnamed son of John was given his freedom. If
this child was Mihil he became a slave again to Christopher Stafford
after his suggested father John Gowen obtained his freedom from Evans
in 1640-41 because Mihil was given his freedom in Christopher
Stafford’s York County will, dated 18 January 1654, after he served 4
more years to Stafford’s sister, Anne Barnehouse. This freedom was
completed on 25 October 1657, which was 16 years from the date John
Graweere son was set free in 1641. This begs the question if Mihil was
the freed slave of John, when and why did Mihil become a slave again?
These suggested children of Mihil
Gowen was jump started
by the editor of the (GRF)Gowen Research Foundation from Paul Heinegg
book "Free African Americans of Colonial North Carolina and Virginia.”
Note: these were only suggestions
from Paul Heinegg and his use of the word may and perhaps "John
Geaween" was the father of Mihil Gowen.
None of said authors
have shown any records to support this kinship. There is no record that
gives the age of Mihil. He may have been a brother, a cousin or no
close kinship to John
Graweene. Plus this John being a Gowen or variant is highly unlikely. Mihil may have
been 40 years old when
his son William was born on 26 August 1655, or he may have been 20, who knows. Even his
death date is not listed
on any record. We know from a record his land was escheated 11 Sept 1717 and he was
granted the land on
8 Feb 1668. He was probably
dead at the time of this survey by Christopher Jackson, James City
County and is mentioned on the escheat, Survey 24 November 1708 and is
said to contain 37 acres. Usually an escheat doesn’t occur until
someone in the area notices the land is vacated and taxes have not
being paid, which may be why we have 9 years between the likely death
of Mihil shortly before the surveyor of in 1708 escheat.
I will list the old records
for the readers to investigate.
“On 31 March 1641 the
Virginia Court ordered, that John Graweere being a Negro servant unto
William Evans was permitted by his said master to keep hogs and make the best benefit thereof to
himself provided that the said Evans might have half the increase… And
whereas the said negro having a young child of a negro woman belonging
to Lieut. Robert Sheppard… the said negro did for his said child
purchase its freedom of Lieut. Robert Sheppard… the court hath
therefore ordered that the child shall be free from the said
Evans”…Henry Read McIlwaine (1864-1934), ed, Minutes of the Council and
General Court of Colonial Virginia, 1622-1632, 1670-1676, with Notes
and Excerpts from
Original Council and General Court Records, into 1683, Now Lost
“ John’s child was
Michael,(Mihil) born about 1638.” This is obviously speculation on the
author’s part, but the word perhaps was not used in his articles,
therefore the reader
is left to assume it is factual genealogy.(GRF articles)
“Mihi (Michael?) Gowen, born
about 1638, was the “negro” servant of Christopher Stafford who gave
him his freedom by his 18 January 1654 York County will after 4 years service. Accordingly,
Stafford’s sister, Anne Barnehouse, discharged “Mihill Gowen” from her
service on 25 October 1657, and she gave him his child, William, born of “her negro” Prossa. He
patented “30 or 40 acres” in Merchants Hundred Parish in James City
County on 8 February 1668. He died before 11 September 1717 when his
land was mentioned again in James City County records listed below: (Abstracts of York County wills
and deeds, orders 1657-1659)
“His proven
child was:
William, born 25 August
1655, son of Prossa, baptized by Mr. Edward Johnson on 25 September
1655.
Other Suggested children by
said author was:
Daniel, born 1657?
Christopher born 1658
Thomas born 1660
These authors suggested white
wives for Mihil Gowen because the children belonging to Christopher and
Thomas Going were not recognized, as Negro and neither was Christopher
and Thomas by any records I have seen.
“Christopher Gowen and wife
Anne, son Michael born Jan 1679”,(Abington Parish records, Gloucester
County)
The case for Christopher
Gowen above being black is the record below mentioning Michael Gowen
male tithes. This Michael may have been the son of Christopher and Anne, but there is no record that
Christopher was the son of Mihil, or that he was black, even so there
is also a Michael Going in Culpeper County, Va.
“14 July 1720 Ordered… that
Peter Harrilson be Surveyor of the Lower Prect [precinct].. and that he
have Michl Gowing’s male Tithables, Mrs Mary Anderson’s Titables at the Quarter adjoining
to that, Geo. Butlers, Henry Tylers and his own tithables to
assist him. (The vestry book of St. Paul’s Parish, Hanover County,
Virginia page 93.)
This record is used to make
it appear that Michael Going was black because of the statement male
tithables, meaning he had female tithables, but the facts are this
Michael may have owned female slaves because all negresses born in
Virginia, when above sixteen years of age, were rated as tithable
whether their labors were confined to the house or to the fields,
differing in this respect from the white female servants, who were not
listed if the work they were called upon to perform was exclusively
domestic (Hening’s Statutes, Vol. II, p. 296)
No proven records for any of
those connections including marriage records, or names of wives, etc,
etc. The only proven child of Mihil Gowen remains William by theslave
Prossa. Since nothing more is found on Prossa, she probably remained a
slave. If she and Michael had other children they too would have been
slaves. Another proposed
son of Mihil by said author and this unnamed white wife was Thomas
Gowen Going. Thomas Going family lived in Stafford County, Virginia,
where they owned land on Rattlesnake Branch of Pope’s Head Run in 1704.
In a book “southern lineage”
by Adie Evans Wynne is a complete different genealogy for the above
families and it is appropriate to enter it here: “A Thomas Gowen born 1617 “ On the 7th , 8th month 18
year old Thomas Gowen (1635)was listed as a passenger from Virginia out
of London by the New England Historical & Genealogical Register.”
The entry read: “These
underwritten names are to be transported to Virginia in the “Globe” of
London, Jeremy Blackman, Master, have been examined by the Minister of Gravesend, of their conformities
and have taken the oaths of allegiance and supremacies.” The term
“transported” was usually reserved for convicts who were to be banished
to the colonies by the crown because of criminality or heresy.
Thomas Gowen is mentioned as
bound for Virginia in “Our Early Emigrant Ancestors” by John Camdan
Hotten. The term “bound” was usually reserved for indentured Servants.
Thomas married in Golchester County, children born to Thomas include
Christopher Gowen born 1647, (Southern Lineages by Adeline Evans
Wynn-Gowen manuscript 002)
This is the same Christopher
Gowen listed as one of the sons of Mihil Gowen in articles written in
the Gowen Electronic Newsletters.
Was the following record used
to determine Thomas was a son of Mihil Gowen?
In an 8 May 1767 land dispute
a 70 year old deponent, Charles Griffith, related a conversation which
he had with Major Robert
Alexander 43 years previously in 1734. Major Robert Alexander, who
owned land adjoining the Gowens, supposedly said of them, “he had
a great mind to turn the Molatto rascals (who were his tenants) of[f]
his land” (NGS Quarterly page 20)
Thomas Going and his sons
owned 1215 acres of land along Alexander’s back-line, extending north
from Four Mile Creek. Alexander did not live on his land, but lived at
Boyd’s Hole opposite the Maryland Point, far to the south. Not
mentioned in this version of the deposition is “Thomas Going confessed
that Robert Alexander held the said line but he was of the opinion that
he [Alexander] would not be allowed to hold more than his papers
mentioned, therefore Thomas ‘Going’ had a legitimate complaint against
Robert Alexander, so if he Alexander could paint them as mulattoes he
would keep the land. Thomas Going also owned 653 acres of land along
the Potomac River, west of Little Spout Run. (Northern Neck Land
Grants) It is not clear which land Thomas dwelled on.
The case for the author
designating Mihil the father of Thomas may be fairly stated as follows:
If Mihil was of African descent, and if Thomas was called a “mulatto,” they must be related. The entire
case is predicated on accepting the statement of a 70 year old man
remembering a conversation from 43 years ago.
It appears that Mihil
Goen late of said County of Jas. City dyed seized of 30 or 40 acres….
from old French eschete,
which meant "that which falls to one," the forfeit of all property
(including bank accounts) to the state treasury if it appears certain
that there are no heirs, descendants or named beneficiaries to take the
property upon the death of the last known owner. This escheat is also
strong circumstantial evidence that Mihil son William did not live to
adult hood or else died before Mihil and left no heirs. Escheat, that
is reversals of land titles to the colony, in most cases this occurs
when no living heirs can be found and no records of a William Going,
Gowen etc, etc, has been located who is anywhere near the age of the
William Gowen son of Mihil Gowen and no one to my knowledge has a
proven connection to this son. No mention in this escheat record where
children or blood kin to Mihil were denied this land because they were
black, in fact there is no records that show any of these proposed
children of Mihil. If Mihil had other children by Prossa they would
probably have remained slaves and not have been known or mentioned by
the colony in this escheat. Plus the fact the colony allowed Mihil to
purchase his land through another escheat listed below.
“11 Sept, 1717 Inquisition,
Jas. City.. Mihil (Michael) Goen late of the said county of Jas. City
dyed seized of 30 or 40 acres…Escheat…survey, 24 Nov. 1708 by
Christopher Stafford Surveyor of Jas City Co. is found to contain 37
acres. in Yorkhampton Parish, Jas. City Co. (same as above, page 19)
11 Sept 1717-22 Jan
1718 37 acs. James City Co Yorkhampton Parish beg in at corner of the
land of Mihil Gowen, Hubbard & Francis Morehead, escheated from
Mihil Goen, dec’d, by inquisition under Edmund Jennings, Esgr. 11 Sept
1717. (Also NGSQ page 19)
According to those few
records on Mihil Gowen, from the time he first appears until his land
was escheated he never moved, only the Parish changed and eventually he
owned part of this
land formerly owned by Barnhouse.
A Goins researcher must
consider and investigate all Goins, Going possibilities and there was
another William Gowin in the same neck of the woods who was not the son
of Mihil because his son was born 1655.
“MR. WILLIAM HOCCADAY, 1,000
acres Yorke Co., 14 April 1653, page 89 of Patent Book No. 3 Near the
head of Ware Creek, North West by North upon a former devident and North West by North towards
Waraney Creek. Transportation of 20 persons: Alexander Watson, Wm.
Mackgahye, Andrew Sharpe, Jane Johnson, Randall ______, Isabell Grace, Mary Reeise (?), Tomasin Madero
(or Maders), Mary Graham, James ______, Edward Hodge, Richard Gillman,
Willm. Moline, Fra. Peppett, Richard Jones, Michaell Barrow, Richard
Moore, Joane Rivers, Ja. Nicholson,* Wm. Gowin. Renewed 20 November
1654.”
18 Oct 1670 p233 Bushrod
-Gowin
It is ordered that
GOWIN an INDIAN servant to Mr. Tho Bushrod serve his said master six
years longer and then be free.
So basically we have;
William Gowan, son of Mihill born 1655 a negro of York Co.,Virginia,
William Gowin born at least 1630, English or Irishman 1653 to York Co.,
Virginia ---Gowin freed about
1676, an Indian of York Co., Va.
From Pocahontas to Mihil Gowen
”While the mind cannot
contemplate the birth of the first Negro on North American soil with
the same emotions as those aroused by the birth of Virginia Dare, the event nevertheless was one which
cannot be regarded without a feeling of the profoundest interest when
we reflect upon its association with the great events which were to
come after. Whichever of these children, if either, was born in Virginia, it was the first of his
race who could claim a nativity in the soil and an absolute
identification with its history.” (Bruce Economic history)2
Calvin Beale describes Goins
as:“the most widespred and one of the oldest and most reliable
indicative surnames of tri-racial origin in the United States. The name
is found today among the Lumbee, The Melungeon, the Smilings, the Red
Bones, the Ohio Guineas and in various other parts of Ohio, Tennessee
and North Carolina where none of these terms are used. Some are white,
some Indian, and some Negro in current status today.” (Overview of the
Phenomenon of mixed race Isolates. Beale.)
These clans named by Beale
and Edward T Price were well known in their day, each clan had their
own history and legends. Since records show several clans labeled by
Price in the 1950 study of tri-racial Black, White and Indian clans in
the Eastern United States this begs the question. Why did the authors
articles in the Gowen Research foundation choose Melungeons and not one
of these other clans as descendants of to 20 Angolians and as Beale
stated they also list Goins etc, etc?
Bearing the name Goins, or
variant does not mean you are a Melungeon, or a descendant of Mihil
Gowen, even according to Y Chrome DNA your Gowen progenitor may have
been an Indian, an African, or a European. Discovering an Indian
ancestor does not make one a descendant of Pocahontas, or a black
ancestors son prove you forbearers were among those 20 Angolians at
Jamestown.
Searching for ones NA or AA,
or English Gowen progenitor is a monumental task, but those of us who
loves a challenge must undertake it using the available records. Some
may say why go to all that trouble, just claim Pocahontas, or some
other famous Indian chief, or claim my Goins family was a descendant of
the first African born on American soil, or first freed slave, without
any proven documentation. Through DNA and family research I have found
all of the above in my family tree. Good luck on your research journey.
Jack Goins