1800 Census, Burke County, North Carolina

McDowell, Charles: 2 [James R., Athan Allen], 1 [Charles Gordon], 0, 0, 1 [self]; 0, 1 [Sarah Grace “Sallie,”] 1 [Margaret “Peggy,”] 0, 1 [wife Grace Greenlee]

McDowell, Joseph: 1 [Hugh Hervey], 0, 0, 1 [self], 0; 3 [Clarissa Mira, Celia, Hannah], 2 [Margaret, Elizabeth], 1 [Sarah], 1 [wife Margaret Moffett], 0

McDowell, John: 1, 2, 0, 0, 1 [self]; 1, 2, 1, 1, 0

McDowel [sic], William: 0, 1, 3, 0, 1 [self]; 0, 2, 0, 0, 1

McDowell, Ann:* 0, 0, 0, 0, 0; 0, 0, 0, 0, 1 [self] 

*This is Ann "Annie" Evans, widow of "Hunting John" McDowell, and mother of Joseph "P.G." McDowell of Pleasant Gardens. 

(numbers indicate free white household members, in order: males 0-9 years, males 10-15, males 16-25, males 26-44, males 45+; females 0-9 years, females 10-15 years, females 16-25, females 26-44, females 45+) 

The Two Josephs McDowell

From History of the McDowells and Connections, by John Hugh McDowell, pub. 1918, C. B. Johnston, pp. 235-237:

Joseph McDowell, of Quaker Meadows, was a handsome man, wonderfully magnetic, universally popular, and of more than ordinary ability. He was a born leader of men, and was represented by the old men of succeeding generations to have retained to his death the unbounded confidence and affection of the old soldiers. Margaret Moffitt was a woman of extraordinary beauty, as was her sister, Mary.

After the battle of King's Mountain, in October, Joseph McDowell, of Quaker Meadows, remained in the field with 190 mounted riflemen, including the younger Joseph, as one of his officers, until he joined Morgan on December 29, and participated in the battle of Cow Pens.

Joseph, of Pleasant Gardens, was a brilliant man, of more solid ability than his cousin, of the same name. The late Silas McDowell, who died in Macon County, but lived during his early life first in Burke and then in Buncombe, in discussing in an unpublished letter, of which I have a copy, the prominent men who lived west of Lincoln County, reaches the conclusion that prior to the day of D. L. Swain, Samuel P. Carson and Dr. Robert B. Vance, no man in that section had, according to tradition, towered far above his fellows intellectually, except Joseph McDowell, of Pleasant Gardens, whose "light went out when he was in his noonday prime, and in the last decade of the eighteenth century." He was born February 26, 1758 and died 1795. His widow married Colonel John Carson, whose first wife was the daughter of "Hunting John." Samuel P. Carson, the oldest son by the second marriage of Mary Moffitt McDowell, was a member of the Senate of North Carolina in 1822, and was born Jan. 22, 1798 (See Wheeler's Reminiscences, page 89). Joseph, of Quaker Meadows, was born in 1756, was two years older, and therefore must have been Joseph, Sr. Wheeler records the name of Joseph McDowell, Sr., as having served successively from 1787 to 1792, inclusively, as a member of the House of Commons from Burke County, but not after a later date (See list of Burke Legislators, Wheeler's History, Part 22, page 62). Joseph McDowell, according to the same authority, was a State Senator, succeeding General Charles from 1791 to 1795, inclusively, and during that time did not serve in Congress, though he unquestionably served later. These and other facts have led the writer to believe Joseph Jr., served one term in Congress from 1793 to 1795, when he died, and that afterwards, and up to the time of his death, the elder cousin was a member. Joseph McDowell, Jr., was not in public life after 1792, unless he served one term in Congress before his death. It is not probable that he lived from 1792 to 1795 without holding an official position.

Joseph McDowell & Draper's Misstatement

From King's Mountain and Its Heroes: History of the Battle of King's Mountain, by Lyman Copeland Draper, pub. 1881, P.G. Thomson:

Joseph McDowell, Sr., of Scotch-Irish descent, was born in Ireland in 1715—reared a weaver, married Margaret O'Neil, and early migrated to Pennsylvania. He soon after settled in Winchester, Virginia, where his sons, Charles and Joseph, were born—the latter in 1756. A brother of the elder Joseph McDowell, known in after years as "Hunting John McDowell," early removed to the Catawba Valley, settling that beautiful tract, Pleasant Garden, sometime prior to 1758; and at some period not very long thereafter, his brother Joseph McDowell, Sr., followed to that wild frontier region, locating at the Quaker Meadows, where his family was reared.

Joseph McDowell of Pleasant Gardens, Burke County, North Carolina was my 4x great-grandfather. Extensive genealogical research on my mother's McDowell lineage has prompted me to offer corrections to Lyman Draper's misstatements regarding the various related Josephs McDowell. Draper's confusion is understandable in context of the numerous close relatives who shared the same name and served their country one way or another in the early years of the American republic. A re-write of the Draper excerpt may help to clarify the genealogy:

Joseph McDowell II, of Scotch-Irish descent, was born in Ireland in 1715—reared a weaver, married Margaret O'Neil, and early migrated to Pennsylvania. He soon after settled in Winchester, Virginia, where his sons, Charles and Joseph III, were born—the latter in 1756. "Hunting John" McDowell, son of the elder Joseph's own brother Charles (born c. 1697), early removed to the Catawba Valley, settling that beautiful tract, Pleasant Gardens, sometime prior to 1758. By 1762, Joseph McDowell II followed to that wild frontier region, locating at the Quaker Meadows, where his family was reared.

The following is a descent line from Joseph McDowell I (1668-1738):

1 Joseph McDOWELL
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Birth: 1668, Ulster, Ireland
Death: 1738, Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania
Father: Thomas McDOWELL (1631-)
Mother: Anne LOCKE (1640-)
Spouse: Ann CALHOUN (1655-)
Marriage: Ireland
Children:
Charles (abt 1697-May 1754) (1.1)
Robert (1709-10 Oct 1770)
William (1711-)
Joseph J. (II) (27 Feb 1715-bef Nov 1771) (1.2)

1.1 Charles McDOWELL
--------------------------------------------------
Birth: abt 1697, Ulster, Ireland
Death: 4 Jul 1754, Anson County, North Carolina
Father: Joseph McDOWELL (1668-1738)
Mother: Ann CALHOUN (1655-)
Spouse: Rachel (abt 1702)
Marriage: 1719, County Tyrone, Ireland
Children:
John “Hunting John” (abt 1717-1796) (1.1.1)
Ann (abt 1720-)
Rachel (1722-bef Nov 30 1780)
Mary (1725-)
Hannah (abt 1727-aft 1790)
Elizabeth (1729-)

1.1.1 John “Hunting John” McDOWELL
--------------------------------------------------
Birth: abt 1717, Glenoe, County Antrim, Ulster, Ireland
Death: 18 Oct 1796, Pleasant Gardens, Burke County, North Carolina
Father: Charles McDOWELL (abt 1697-4 Jul 1754)
Mother: Rachel (abt 1702)
Spouse: Ann “Annie” EVANS (abt 1726-25 Apr 1814)
Marriage: abt 1746, North Carolina
Children:
Rachel Matilda (Jan 1756-Jan 1795)
Joseph “P.G.” (25 Feb 1758-aft May 1796) (1.1.1.1)
Ann “Annie” (abt 1759-1829)

1.1.1.1 Joseph “P.G.” McDOWELL
--------------------------------------------------
Birth: 25 Feb 1758, Pleasant Gardens, Burke County, North Carolina
Death: before May 1796, Pleasant Gardens, Burke (now McDowell) County, North Carolina
Father: John "Hunting John" McDOWELL (abt 1717-18 Oct 1796)
Mother: Ann "Annie" EVANS (abt 1726-25 Apr 1814)
Spouse: Mary MOFFETT (28 Feb 1768-6 Jun 1825)
Marriage: 3 May 1786, Rockbridge County, Virginia
Children:
John Moffett (9 Feb 1787-16 Jun 1855)
Elizabeth “Betsy” (1788-bef 1790)
George (30 Nov 1788-14 May 1804)
James Moffett (22 Jun 1791-29 May 1854)
Ann “Annie” (25 Oct 1793-1 Nov 1859)
Joseph Moffett (10 Jan 1796-22 Aug 1800)

1.2 Joseph J. McDOWELL (II)
--------------------------------------------------
Birth: 27 Feb 1715, County Tyrone, Ulster, Ireland
Death: before November 1771, Quaker Meadows, Burke County, North Carolina
Father: Joseph McDOWELL (1668-1738)
Mother: Ann CALHOUN (1655-)
Spouse: Margaret O’NEILL (abt 1717-abt 1790)
Marriage: abt 1740, Ulster, Ireland
Children:
Sarah Nancy (10 May 1739-bef 1800)
Elizabeth (1741-15 May 1825)
Hugh (1742-30 Mar 1772)
Charles (18 Oct 1743-31 Mar 1815)
Hannah (1747-24 Jan 1817)
Jane (1750-1838)
John (Aug 1751-24 Mar 1822)
Joseph “Quaker Meadows Joe” (III) (15 Feb 1756-11 Jul 1801) (1.2.1)

1.2.1  Joseph “Quaker Meadows Joe” McDOWELL (III)
--------------------------------------------------
Birth: 15 Feb 1756, Winchester, Frederick County, Virginia
Death: 11 Jul 1801, Quaker Meadows (family estate), Burke County, North Carolina
Father: Joseph J. McDOWELL (27 Feb 1715-bef Nov 1771)
Mother: Margaret O’NEILL (abt 1717-abt 1790)
Spouse: Margaret MOFFETT (26 Dec 1763-1815)
Marriage: 1783, Rockbridge County, Virginia
Children:
Sarah (5 Feb 1784-19 Aug 1827)
Elizabeth (6 Feb 1786-25 Aug 1821)
Margaret (26 Oct 1787-21 Mar 1808)
Hannah (24 Dec 1789-28 Aug 1850)
Hugh Hervey (20 Jan 1792-1864)
Celia (20 Feb 1795-28 Oct 1865)
Clarissa Mira (10 Jan 1798-abt 1863)
Joseph Jefferson (13 Nov 1800-17 Jan 1877)

[For additional sourcing, see blog entry of 10/24/07, Joseph McDowell Who's Who and other entries tagged "Joseph McDowell"]