Richard McGowen, Enslaved Boy of Ray City
Richard McGowan (or McGowen), an African-American resident of the Ray City area for nearly 80 years, was enslaved from his birth in Duplin County, NC about 1845 until the South’s defeat in the Civil War.
Research on the ancestry of Richard McGowan conducted by Bryan Shaw resulted in an outline which in large part formed the material of this blog post. Special thanks to Bryan for his contributions. His sources were the Will of William M. McGowan, Jr. 1792; U.S. Census records from 1790 through 1920 from Duplin County, North Carolina, and Berrien County, Georgia; also the Slave Schedule of 1850, 1866 Duplin County Cohabitation Record, tax digests of Berrien County, Georgia, and the estate papers of Hardeman Sirmans. Additional sources for this post include the 1860 Census Schedule of Slave Inhabitants of Berrien County, GA; 1866 Marriage of Freed People, Duplin County; 1867 Berrien County Loyalty Oath and Voter Registrations; 1894 Colored Voter Registration, Rays Mill, GA; Roots, rocks and recollections by Nell Patten Roquemore, and the 1930 U.S. Census records of Berrien County, GA. Information which is stated as fact is documented, and presented as most likely or probably. That which is conjecture is presented as a possibility. The history is presented in chronological order.
The McGowan Family
The origins of the family of the enslaved boy, Richard McGowan had their roots in Duplin County, North Carolina. Richard McGowan is believed to be the descendant of enslaved people owned by the William M. McGowan, Jr. family of that county. Willliam M. McGowan, Jr. was born about 1745, son of William McGowen, Sr. of New Hanover County, North Carolina. William Jr. married Mary Dickson in 1767, and by their union they had 10 children: David (c1770), John (c1772), William (c1773), Robert (c1775), Edward (c1777), Michael (c1779), James (c1781), Joseph (c1782), George (c1789), and Alexander (c1790).
William McGowan, Jr. purchased and settled on land in the Grove Creek Swamp area between today’s Kenansville, North Carolina and North East Cape Fear River, north of Highway 24. One biography suggests his land was south of the swamp, however the McGowen African-American cemetery with many unmarked graves is located on the north side of the swamp, between Highway 11 and Sarecta on the Sarecta Road (GPS Coordinates: 34.810733 N 77.996659 W ). The white McGowen family (sometimes spelled McGowan or McGowin) owned hundreds if not thousands of acres of land in Duplin and Hanover counties, NC. It does not appear that they had large tracts of land under cultivation, as only a small number of enslaved people were enumerated as their their “property”. This was consistent with most white North Carolina farmers at that time.
Upon his death in 1792 the will of William M. McGowan, Jr. provided for his estate to be distributed among his children, including the distribution of the people he enslaved. He willed that his estate be kept intact including the enslaved people until his children were schooled, and all of his debts were satisfied. However he did specifically identify one enslaved person, Will, to be included in son John’s portion of the estate. He also left a “negro wench named Roze” to his wife Mary. He also “lent” Mary one negro boy named Dick and one negro girl named Nancy, both to be distributed amongst the children upon Mary’s death. His will states all the people he enslaved who were not otherwise identified should also go to Mary to work his estate until his affairs were settled, and to be sold off when his minor children reached the age of majority or were married. Was this boy named Dick the son of Will and the grandfather of Richard “Dick” McGowan?
Following the death of William McGowan, Jr. his widow and children continued as landowners and enslavers in Duplin County, NC. In the 1800 census, son John McGowen is shown as the “owner” of 12 “slaves”. Son William McGowen enslaved five people, son Robert McGowen enslaved four, and widow Mary McGowan enslaved eleven people.
By 1810, John McGowen enslaved 13 people, William McGowen enslaved eight, Mary McGowan enslaved nine, and James McGowen enslaved three people.
The 1820 census of Robert McGowen enumerated 13 enslaved people, and William McGowen kept three people enslaved. The enumeration of James McGowen does not list any enslaved peoples
By 1850, the the sons of William M. McGowan, Jr were the only McGowens in Duplin County who were enumerated as “slave owners.” These were William McGowen, James P. McGowen, and Joseph McGowen.
On the 1850 Census Slave Schedule, Joseph McGowen was enumerated as enslaving 26 unnamed people: female, 65; female, 58; male, 45; male, 44; female, 39; male, 37; male, 26; female, 24; female, 22; male, 19; male, 18; male, 17; male, 16; male, 15; female, 14; female, 14; male, 14; male, 11; female, 7; male, 6; female, 5; male, 5; female, 3; female, 2; male, 2; and a female 9 months. James P. McGowen enslaved three people: – female, 50; male, 7; and male, 3. William McGowen enslaved one 18-year-old man.
In addition to the people enumerated in 1850 as enslaved by the McGowens, it appears that two enslaved boys, Richard and Peter, had been sold by James, Joseph or William McGowan to a Duplin County neighbor, James Dobson. James Dobson could have purchased the enslaved boys from any of the three McGowens, but as the enslaver of 26 people, Joseph McGowen would be the most likely candidate.
Marriages of the Enslaved McGowans
and the Parents of Enslaved Boy Richard McGowan
The parentage of the enslaved boys Peter and Richard McGowan cannot be determined with certainty. Records of the Freedman’s Bureau in post-bellum Duplin County, NC provide evidence that their parents may have been Thomas and Malvina, who were enslaved by the white McGowans.
As an almost universal condition of slavery, the people who were enslaved by the William M. McGowan family were denied the civil and religious convention of marriage. According to Reginald Washington, African American genealogy specialist at the National Archives and Records Administration, “Slave marriages had neither legal standing nor protection from the abuses and restrictions imposed on them by slaveowners. Slave husbands and wives, without legal recourse, could be separated or sold at their master’s will. Couples who resided on different plantations were allowed to visit only with the consent of their owners. Slaves often married without the benefit of clergy, and as historian John Blassingame states, “the marriage ceremony in most cases consisted of the slaves simply getting the master’s permission and moving into a cabin together.”
Almost immediately after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, federal authorities decreed that marriages of enslaved African-Americans were legitimate and had legal standing. In some areas the newly created Freedman’s Bureau began issuing marriage licenses to former slaves. Within a year, the North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation providing for the recognition of the marriages of formerly enslaved couples. According to Learn NC, “The North Carolina office of the Freedmen’s Bureau published announcements outlining the provisions of the law: Any couple who appeared before a Justice of the Peace or Clerk of the Court and stated when they began living together as husband and wife, would be issued a certificate and would be considered lawfully married. Bureau officers worked to make all freedmen in their districts aware of the new rules and of the deadlines for complying with them. In response, tens of thousands of freed couples reported their marriages to county courts.”
On August 18, 1866, a formerly enslaved couple giving their names as Thomas McGowen and Malvina McGowen went before the court of Duplin County, NC for “Acknowledgement” of their marriage and registered their date of “commencement” as 1826.
Records of Thomas McGowen in the 1866 Marriage of Freed People, Duplin County, NC
There was also another Thomas McGowen in Duplin County who, on August 11, 1866, registered his marriage to Malvina Pearsall. For this couple, the date of “commencement” was 1855. This Thomas McGowen appears to be the possible son of Thomas and Malvina McGowen who “commenced” their marriage in 1826. An interesting note about this couple is that in the 1870 U.S. Census they are living on or near the farm of John Quincy McGowen and Alexander D. McGowen, sons of Joseph McGowen and grandsons of William M. McGowan.
Was the older Thomas McGowen actually the father of Richard “Dick” McGowan? It is certainly a possibility.
The Dobson Connection
The first “slave owner” who can be identified with a high degree of certainty as having enslaved the boy Richard McGowan is James Dobson, of Duplin County, NC. James Dobson was a son of Hezekiah and Elizabeth Davis Dobson. The Dobson property was just to the southeast of the lands owned by the descendants of William M. McGowan, near Kenansville, NC. In fact, the Dobson Family cemetery is east of Kenansville on the south side of Highway 24 just east of North Dobson Chapel Road.
The 1850 Slave Schedule for Duplin County enumerated six people enslaved by James Dobson as: a female, 27; male, 12; male, 10; male, 8 (probably Peter McGowan); male, 6 (probably Richard “Dick” McGowan); and a male, age 2. That same year, James Dobson moved his family and enslaved people to that section of Lowndes County, Georgia which was later cut into Berrien County. About that same time, a number of families were relocating “from Duplin to Lowndes. Among these families were those of William J. Lamb, James Carroll, Jesse Carroll, William Godfrey, Andrew J. Liles, William Best, James W. Dixon and others. These all settled in or around the village then called Alapaha but now named Lakeland, Lanier County.” Among others coming from Duplin to Berrien in the mid-century were Robert Rouse, William Hill Boyett, John Bostick, Treasy Boyett Bostick and Mary C. Bostick.
James Dobson settled his family and enslaved people on land lot 333 of the 10th District, just west of Ten Mile Creek in what is now Lanier County. The 1856 Berrien County Tax Digest shows James Dobson owning seven enslaved people, valued at approximately $4500. That same year, November 11, 1856, Dobson sold two “negro boys,” Peter, about 13 years old, and Dick, about 11 years old, to Hardeman Sirmans who lived on the connecting land lot number 339 near present day Ray City, GA. In a bill of sale in possession of the Berrien Historical Foundation, James Dobson warrants that the two boys are of sound body and mind. The sale price was $1900.
1856 Slave Bill of Sale
Bill of Sale from James Dobson to Hardeman Sirmans for two enslaved boys, Dick and Peter, dated November 11, 1856. Image courtesy of the Berrien County Historical Foundation.
Received of Hardeman Sirmons One thousand nine hundred dollars in full payment for two negro boys, one named Peter about thirteen years old the other named Dick about eleven years old which negroes I warrant to be sound and healthy both in body and mind and I further warrant and defend the right and titles from of the aforesaid negro boys from and against the claim or claims of myself my heirs executors administrators and assigns and from the claim of all and any other person in witness whereof I the said James Dobson have herewith set my hand and seal this 11th day of November 1856.
James Dobson
The Sirmans Connection
The enslaved boy Richard McGowan was purchased by Hardeman Sirmans on November 11, 1856. This was just days before Berrien county was created from lands cut out of Lowndes County, GA including the lands of Hardeman Sirmans which lay just north of present day Ray City, GA. By the time Berrien County was created, Hardeman Sirmans was already a prominent citizen of the area. According to historian Folks Huxford, “Mr. Sirmans served in the Indian War as a private in a volunteer company of Lowndes County militia commanded by his father-in-law, Capt. (afterwards General) Levi J. Knight, August 15th to Oct 15 1838. He was 1st Lieutenant of the 664th militia district, Lowndes County, 1845-46, then served as Captain in same district 1847-1851. Mr. Sirmans was a member of the Masonic order, receiving his degrees in Butler Lodge, No. 211, F. & A.M. at old Milltown (now Lakeland) in 1858. He was the brother of Rachel Sirmans Mattox; she was the widow of Samuel Mattox who was hanged at Troupville in 1843. In 1847, Hardeman Sirmans married Elizabeth Knight, eldest daughter of General Levi J. Knight. Mr. Sirmans was a neighbor of General Knight, the original settler of Ray City.
The 1860 Census Schedule of Slave Inhabitants in Berrien County, GA shows Hardeman Sirmans enslaved three people: Male Mulatto, 25; Male Black, 16 (probably Peter McGowan); Male Black, 14 (probably Richard McGowan). The Slave Schedule showed Sirmans provided one “slave house” for the people he enslaved. No one had escaped enslavement by Sirmans and none had been freed by him.
With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Hardeman Sirmans, a State Militia veteran of the Indian Wars, enlisted in the Confederate Army with the Clinch County Greys. Sirmans spent most of the Civil War in South Georgia patrolling the southern counties in search of deserters. He probably had opportunities to visit his farm and oversee it to some degree. It appears that Richard McGowan remained with the Sirmans throughout the duration of the War.
Hardeman Sirmans Home just north of Ray City, GA about 1910. The photo was taken after the death of Hardeman, however his wife, Betsy Knight Sirmans is seated at the table, center. Photo courtesy of Patricia Sirmans Miller and the Berrien County Historical Foundation http://berriencountyga.com/
Richard McGowan, Freedman
After the war, Richard McGowan remained on the Hardeman Sirmans place. The 1867 Berrien County tax digest shows the “Freedman” Richard McGowan was self-employed and that he paid the $1.00 poll tax. The Reconstruction Act of 1867 allowed all freedmen the right to vote and required states to draft documents providing for black male suffrage. But the poll tax quickly became a device for disenfranchising black voters. It was not until 1966 that Supreme Court rulings on the Twenty-fourth Amendment, ratified in 1964, outlawed the use of this tax (or any other tax) as a pre-condition for voting in federal or state elections.
It seems odd, but after the Civil War formerly enslaved people could not exercise their civil right to vote until they took the same Oath of Allegiance that was required of former Confederate soldiers. Among other formerly enslaved people of Berrien County who took the Oath of Allegiance were Moses Riley, Edward Ross, William Adams, Joseph Wilcox, Timothy Wilcox, Edmund Jones, James A. Adams, Alexander Wright, Allen Lewis, Richard Lewis, John Smith, Seaborn Hubbard, Rolin Alexander, Edward Swain, Benjamin Neasmith, Thomas Udderback, Richard Morehead, Henry Brown, John Thomas, George Houston, Frank Head, Hilliard Armstead, Samuel Rose, Jacob Thomas, William Watts, Aaron Wright, Austin Freeman, Daniel Freeman, Madison Daniels, Sandy Thomas, Andrew Wilson, and Thomas Howard.
1867 Oath of Allegiance completed by Richard McGowan in Berrien County, GA.
State of Georgia
County of Berrien
Personally appeared before me this 22nd day of July, 1867, Richard McGowan who states that he resides in the 3d Election Precinct of Berrien County, Georgia, and who makes oath as follows:
“I Richard McGowan do solemnly swear in the presence of Almighty God, that I am a citizen of the State of Georgia; that I have resided in said State for 19 years months next preceding this day, and now reside in the County of Berrien in said State; that I am 21 years old; that I have not been disfranchised for participation in any rebellion or civil war against the United States, nor for felony committed against the laws of any State or the United States; that I have never been a member of any State Legislature, nor held any executive or judicial office in any State, and afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof; that I have never taken an oath as a member of Congress of the United States, or as an officer of the United States, and afterwards engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or given aid and comfort to the enemies thereof; that I will faithfully support the Constitution and obey the laws of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, encourage others so to do. So help me, God.”
The said Richard McGowan further swears that he has not been previously registered under the provisions of “An act supplementary to ‘an act to provide for the more efficient government of the rebel States’ – passed March 2, 1867 – and to facilitate restoration,” under this or any other name, in this or any other Election District; and further, that he was born in ______ and naturalized by ___________ on the day of ________________,18__ in the ___________
Richard McGowan
Sworn to and subscribed before me date precinct & county aforesaid
A. Marochetti
Register of the Sixth Registration District
The 1870 census shows Richard McGowan, 23, and another African-American man, Tony Smith, 24, residing at the Sirmans residence. Both men were working as farm laborers.
About 1871, Richard had met and married Sally Thomas and they started their family with the birth of their son, Billy followed by Jesse, Henry, Aaron, and Minerva.
What became of the enslaved boy Peter is not known, however the 1870 census lists a Peter McGowen, age 80 and his wife Polly, age 60, living nearby. Furthermore, an 1867 Oath of Allegiance and voter registration completed by a Peter McGowan in Berrien County indicates he came from North Carolina to Georgia around 1849. This may be the father or relative of Peter and Richard McGowan, as he would have been about 55 at the time of Richard’s birth. The 1870 Census shows Polly McGowan was born in Georgia and the 1880 Census records her birthplace as South Carolina; either way she is most likely not kin to the boys.
By the 1880 census Richard McGowan, age 30 (probably 34) and Sally, 25 were still living near the Sirmans and Knight family farms, but in a separate household in Enumeration District 1144.
There is no 1890 census record for Richard McGowan; most of the 11th census records were lost after a 1921 fire, and a series of tragic missteps in the record handling left nothing. However, Richard McGowan is listed in the 1894 Colored Voter Registration for Ray’s Mill, GA, indicating that he remained in the community.
The 1900 census lists the members of the Richard McGowan household as: Richard, age 66 born July, 1833 (probably 54 and born c1845); Sallie, age 55 born March, 1845 (probably 45 and born c1855); Minerva, age 25 born February, 1875; Barney age 9 born March, 1891; Maggie, age 7 born December, 1892; Charlie, age 5 born December, 1894; Fannie, age 3 born March, 1897; and Richard Jr., age 7 months born October, 1899. Sallie had given birth to 13 children, ten of whom survived. She probably lost three children sometime between the birth of Minerva and Barney. Richard and Sallie were living next door to their son Jessie and his wife and step children, still in the Rays Mill District. Other neighbors included Moses Lee, J. J. and Catherine Beagles, Hiram Beagles, and Elizabeth Beagles.
In 1910 the McGowan household consisted of: Richard, age 62 (see note regarding ages); Sallie, age 52; Barney, age 20; Maggie, age 18; Charlie, age 16; and Fannie, age 14. The McGowans were renting a home about 6 miles east of Ray City and just north of Highway 129, next door to Mary Elizabeth “Mollie” Truett and James R. Johnson, Sr. Richard, Barney and Charlie were farm laborers working as wage employees. The Beigles were still among the neighbors; ex-convict Thomas J. Beigles and his wife Mary Elizabeth Pearson Beigles owned a nearby farm. It was reported that Richard and Sallie McGowan had been married 30 years (actually 40) and she had given birth to 16 children, only 8 surviving. Richard Jr. appears to be among those who did not survive.
In the 1920 census, Richard, enumerated as Dick McGowen, age 76, was still renting in the Ray City area, farming and living with Sallie, 64; Maggie, 25; Fannie, 23; and a granddaughter, Florrie, 4. They were living next door to Martha J. Baskin Clements, widow of David C. Clements, and her adult children Grover C. Clements, Albert B. Clements and his wife Connie, and Alma Clements. Nearby was the household of Elick Wright, brother of Moses Wright.
At the time of the 1930 Census, Richard and Sallie McGowan and several of their children and descendants were still living near Ray City, GA. The family was enumerated April 25, 1930 in the 1300 Georgia Militia District of Lanier County, GA, which was cut out of Berrien County in 1920. Richard, enumerated as age 99, was probably about 86 years old. Sallie was reported as 76 years old. Residing with them was their daughter Fannie, reported as age 39, actually 33. The McGowans were renting a home near Ray City. Fannie was working as a farm laborer. Among the nearby neighbors were Americus McGee, Floyd Green, Caulie Pevy, Lucius J. Knight, and John and Wealthy Lee.
On August 6, 1930, just a few months after the 15th census, the Atlanta Constitution reported the death of Richard McGowan. The article even further exaggerated the longevity of the former slave, giving his age as 106. The article also unfortunately confuses Richard McGowen with his grandson, Philmore McGowan, who was the late husband of Molly Reddick McGowan Hall, a Ray City psychic of widespread fame.
It is understood that both Richard McGowan and Sallie Thomas McGowan are buried in unmarked graves in the cemetery at St John Baptist Church in the Barretts community, five miles south of Ray City, GA .
A Note on the Ages of Former Slaves as Reported in Census Records
Because enslaved people were deprived of civil and human rights – education, literacy, personal property – records of birth dates, marriage dates, family relations, genealogy or even place of residence may be very difficult to document. Remembering dates, and counting years was not easily achieved. It was quite common over the course of eight or nine decades for those vital dates to be forgotten, mistaken or inadvertently changed for no particular reason especially if not recorded in a family Bible. Census enumeration of enslaved people was typically only a count of heads. Furthermore, the ages and birth dates of any persons were not of particular consequence prior to the passage of the Social Security act in 1935.
Now regarding the age of Richard, Sallie and their children, It appears that the most definable age of Richard was when he was about 11 years of age in the 1856 bill of sale. He was certainly not born in 1833 as listed in the 1900 census. Probably 1845 is the more accurate birth date. He was listed as 24 in 1870, which appears to be about right. It is more probable that Richard was about 54 in 1900, and that he probably died about the age of 84 in 1930. Ages of Richard’s children are probably more accurate if figured from the date of their earliest recording in the census.
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