The 1795 Will of Joseph "P.G." McDowell

Will of Joseph McDowell of Pleasant Gardens*

In the name of God amen, I Joseph McDowell of the [Pleasant Gardens, marked out] State of North Carolina and the County of Burke and of the Pleasant Gardens do make my last will and testament [to Wit, marked out] in the manner and form following to wit,
My will is that my wife Mary McDowell have her lawful share of all my lands if she chooses during life. My further will is that she have my three slaves Cato Bine & Africa for her share of my slave property. My further will is that she have one of my best feather beds and furniture her own wearing apparel and my trunk. My further will is that she have two of my best work horses and a young black mare.
My will is that my son John have my six hundred acre tract of land lying on both sides of Pigeon river joining below the flower Garden in fee simple. My further will is that he have my half of the flower Garden place on Pidgeon river in fee simple.
My will is that my son George have the lower half of the old original six hundred and forty acre survey called the Pleasant Garden tract which is to be divided by a line running due North and South from the center of the said tract. My further will is that he have another two hundred and sixty acre tract joining the lower part of the aforesaid tract also another fifty acre tract on the waters of Garden Creek all of which lands I will to him in fee simple.
My will is that my son James have the upper half of the aforementioned six hundred and forty acre tract known by the name of the Pleasant Garden as soon as the life incumbrance expire. The meaning of this clause is, that the said James shall possess the aforesaid lands in whole, or, in part in proportion as it ceases to be incumbered. My further will is that he have that tract of land lying Bridge Creek joining the north end of the Pleasant Gardens tract containing one hundred acres more or less. All the preceeding lands I will to him in fee simple. I further will to my son James that tract of land lying on Buck Creek and known by the name of the McClewer or Chambers place containing two hundred and sixteen acres and that my Executors immediately procure a title to be made to my said son James by McClewer or Chambers according to their bonds now in my possession.
My will is that my daughter Ann have four hundred acres of land be the same more or less lying on both of the forks of French Broad River being my share of two tracts granted to me and James Miller. My further will is that three hundred and twenty acres of land lying on Richland Creek granted to my father and me and being my half of said grant be equally divided between my son James and my daughter Ann the aforesaid lands I will to my son James and daughter Ann in fee simple.
My will is that my executors shall sell the following lands to the best advantage for the benefit of my creditors and the education of my children, to wit, two hundred and sixty acres joining above the cherry fields lying on each side of French Broad River being my share of a tract of land granted to James Glasgow and me also two hundred acres of land lying on new found creek also seven hundred and fourteen acres of land lying in Cumberland which I purchased of Col. Joseph McDowell of Johns river and have his bond to make me a title and that my Executors have full power to make good and sufficient titles for said land, so sold.
My further will is that my Negro [word "man" marked out] slave Cate with her children Jean and her children Negro man Bob, James and Hannah Binahs child be kept with their issue as a joint property until my oldest child arrives at twenty one years of age. Then to be all valued and that a division take place between my four children as nearly equal as possible provided never the less it is my desire that my wife Mary have one of the girls whichsoever she chooses to wait upon her untill her day of marriage if that should ever take place. And my further will is that my Executors dispose of the aforesaid Negroes in the interium in such a manner as shall be most productive of benefit to my heirs at the same time it is my will that care be taken that said negroes be treated well. I further will that my Negro man Harry be sold at the discretion of my Executors. My further will is that one half of a tract of land containing [words "four seven hundred" marked out] seven hundred acres lying on Jonathan Creek on the west side of Pidgeon River be sold to the best advantage at such a time as my Executors may think most proper, and that the other half shall be vested in fee simple in the Heirs of a Col. Henderson of Greenbrier in Virginia they being entitled to it by virtue of an instrument of writing obtained of me about laying a land warrant they paying the _____ of taxes and their proportion of any cost and charges that may ___ in consequences of ___ of ___ with respect to said land.
My further will is that my cattle sheep hogs and geese together with my farming utensils be left in the care of my wife for the benefit of raising my children. That my bed furniture not ___ to willed to my wife be kept for the ___ use of my children and the remaining part of my household [word "furniture" marked out] affairs to remain with my wife to assist her in raising my children. The waggon & geers which I bought from Major Neely to be returned to him with some compensation for disappointment of sale provided he will again take it. But if he will not to be sold to the best advantage by my Executors.
My further will is that my Library be kept for the Joint of my sons. My further will is that my lands kept by way of legacy to my children be rented from time to time by my Executors in the most advantageous manner and that the profits arising from said lands be applied to the maintenance and education of my children. Also I appoint Joseph McDowell John Carson and James Murphy my Executors to this my last will and testament. The above will containing four pages and a part I declare to be my last will and testament published this 19th day of March in the year of our Lord 1795.

J. McDowell (SEAL)

In presence of
Catherine Arthurs
John M Wilson
Robt Logan, Jurat
Copy attest
J.E. ____ Clk.

*A copy of this will is found at the North Carolina State Archives in Raleigh. The original is said to be in Burke County.

Joseph M. McDowell & Mary Queen, 1839

Source: Lumpkin County, Georgia, Marriage Book A-1, 1838-1849
(click to enlarge)

Georgia
Lumpkin County
To any Judge Justice of the Inferior Court Justice of the Peace or Minister of the Gospel  You are hereby authorized to join together in the holy Estate of Matrimony Joseph M. McDowell* and Miss Mary Queen and to make your return on this license to this office of their actual _ intermarriage and of the day on which the same was solemnized  Given under my hand this 16th of June 1839. 
M.P. Quillian C.C.O.
By Bessy Turner
June 16th 1839. I have this day Join together in the holy Bands of Matrimony Joseph M McDowell and Miss Mary Queen  Bessy Turner J.P.
____________

*I am speculating that this may actually be Joseph Moffett McDowell, son of Joseph "P.G." McDowell and Mary Moffett, claimed by many to have died young. Census data proves that both bride and groom, as well as their parents, were born in North Carolina. In 1822, sixty-one families moved to Georgia's Nacoochee Valley in Habersham County from Burke County, North Carolina, during the Georgia Gold Rush. Lumpkin County, just west of Habersham, was the area where the rush initiated, and was created in 1832 in conjunction with the seizure and survey of Native American lands. (White County was formed between the two counties in 1838 from parts of Habersham and Hall counties. Joseph and Mary McDowell's federal census data indicates they lived in White County 1860-1880 after residing in Habersham 1850, though they may not have physically moved.)
Another key to the theory is Joseph and Mary's third child, a son, my great-great-grandfather. Born 1847 in Habersham County, Georgia, he was named Adolphus Erwin McDowell. In 1848, James Moffett McDowell (born 1791), who had inherited McDowell House at Pleasant Gardens (in what by then had become McDowell County, North Carolina) from his late father P.G., deeded the property over to his late wife Margaret Caroline Erwin's brother Adolphus Lorenzo Erwin in order to pay off debts. The matching names of Joseph's son Adolphus Erwin and possible brother-in-law Adolphus Erwin are simply too blatant to pass off as random coincidence. The implication of a Pleasant Gardens connection is too strong to ignore. Research is ongoing. 

Update 12.22.16:

A "Letter of Dismission" in the name of Joseph McDowell is on file in the Georgia Wills & Probate Records 1742-1992. The item is in the Letters of Dismission: Administration, Guardianship and Executors, Vol. B, 1878-1932. His Administrator was J.M. Reese, probate date is 4 January 1886, and the place of record is Gordon County, Georgia. 
Joseph McDowell's possible nephew Dr Joseph Lewis McDowell, was born in North Carolina in 1812, and later made his home in Gordon County, Georgia. He was the first-born of Joseph "P.G." McDowell's own first, John Moffett McDowell, born at "Pleasant Gardens," Burke County, North Carolina, in 1787.

Col. Joseph "P.G." McDowell, per Wheeler

From Reminiscences and Memoirs of North Carolina and Eminent North Carolinians, by John H. Wheeler, Columbus Printing Works, Columbus, Ohio, 1884, pp.84-85:

...Colonel Joseph McDowell was born on 25th February, 1758, at Pleasant Gardens, in Burke County. He was always called "Colonel Joe of the Pleasant Gardens," to distinguish him from "General Joe of Quaker Meadows."
He was a soldier and a statesman, and the most distinguished of the name.
He early entered the profession of arms. At the age of 18 he joined General Rutherford in an expedition, in 1776, against the Cherokee Indians, in which he displayed much gallantry and desperate courage. It is known that in a hand-to-hand fight he killed an Indian chief with his sword.
He was active in repressing the Tories, and took part in the battle at Ramsour's Mills, on 20th June, 1780, near Lincolnton, as mentioned by General Graham in eulogistic terms, for his conduct on that occasion, and materially aided in achieving a complete victory over a superior force.
At Cane Creek, in Rutherford County, with General Charles McDowell, he led the militia, chiefly of Burke County, and had a severe skirmish with a strong detachment of Ferguson's army, then stationed at Gilbert Town, and drove them back.
Immediately afterward he aided in measures which culminated in the glorious victory of King's Mountain.
This was the darkest period of the dubious conflict. Gates was defeated at Camden; Savannah and Charleston surrendered to the British; Sumter, at Fishing Creek, (18th August, 1780;) Cornwallis, in "all the pride and circumstance" of a conqueror, held the undisputed possession of Charlotte and its vicinity.
Ferguson, with strong force, was winning the attachment of the people from liberty to loyalty; while the Tories ravaged the whole country with vindictive fury.
There was not a regular soldier south of Virginia, and every organized force was scattered or disbanded. The time had come, and these brave men felt that they must "do or die."
Amid all these disastrous circumstances, the patriotic spirits of Cleaveland, Campbell, Sevier, and McDowell did not despair. They determined to attack the forces of Ferguson. They were all of equal rank, and as the troops were in the district of Charles McDowell, he was entitled to the command.
From a manuscript letter of Shelby, in my possession, he says:
"Colonel [Charles] McDowell was the commanding officer of the district we were in, and had commanded the armies of the militia all the summer before, against the same enemy. He was brave and patriotic, but we considered him too far advanced in life and too inactive to command the enterprise.
"It was decided to send to headquarters for some general officer to command the expedition.
"Colonel McDowell, who had the good of his country more at heart than any title of command, submitted, and stated that he would be the messenger to go to headquarters. He accordingly started immediately, leaving his men under his brother, Major Joseph McDowell."
The next day Shelby urged that time was precious and delays dangerous. The advance was made. Colonel Joseph McDowell, the subject of our present sketch, led the boys of Burke and Rutherford Counties to battle and to victory, (7th October, 1780,) and his command was on the right wing of the attacking forces, and aided greatly in insuring victory. Ferguson fell bravely fighting and his army completely routed.
The next important battle in which Colonel Joseph McDowell was engaged was the Cowpens, fought by Morgan and Tarleton on 17th January, 1781, in which he led the North Carolina militia, which terminated in a glorious victory of Morgan, whose name is preserved in gratitude for his services by the county town of Burke.
This ended the military career of our patriotic soldier.

His civil services were equally brilliant; from his elevated character, his acknowledged abilities, and popular address, he was always a favorite with the people. His name is preserved by calling a county for him erected in 1842. He was a member of the House of Commons in 1787 and 1788; also a member of the Convention that met at Hillsboro, 1788, to consider the Constitution of the United States, of which he was the decided opponent, and which was rejected by a majority of 100 votes. He was again elected to the Legislature in 1791 and 1792; in 1793 he was elected to represent this district in the Congress of of the United States.
Of the influence and the popularity of the McDowells there can be no more ample proof than that in 1787, 1788 and 1792 the Senator and both of the members of the House were of this family.
His presence was tall and commanding, of great dignity of demeanor, and of impressive eloquence. Scrupulous in his statements and faithful in all business transactions.
He married Mary, the daughter of George Moffett of Augusta County, Virginia. He died in April, 1795, leaving two sons, John and James, and one daughter, Annie, who married Captain Charles McDowell, of "Quaker Meadows."
His widow became the second wife of Colonel John Carson, whose first wife was Rachel, daughter of "Hunting John," of Pleasant Gardens, a sketch of whom we shall present when the McDowells are finished.

The 1796 Will of "Hunting John" McDowell

Excerpt from “Hunting John” McDowell’s will, misspellings intact, dated 28 May 1796:

"... I also bequeath to John McDowell, my grandson, my part of the Flowery Garden and a hundred acres of land that I have entered adjoining the said place; further 640 acres of land upon Beaver Creek; also a negro fellow named Aaron.
I further bequeth to my dearly beloved [grand]*son, Joseph McDowell, 400 acres of land upon Johnathan's Creek, this forementioned land lying in Buncombe County. Furthermore, he is to have fifty pounds current money paid to him or his current guardian out of my estate.
I also bequeath my part of the Locust Grove, a tract of land of 640 acres lying in Buncombe County, to my dearly beloved grandson, William Whitson.
I also bequeath to loving grandsons, John and Thomas Whitson, 640 acres of land known by the name of Richland Creek, equal parts to each, below the lands of John Carson, Esq. on said creek.
To my beloved grandson, Joseph Whitson, I give and bequeath 320 acres of land lying upon the mouth of Ivie Mill Creek in Buncombe County. ..."

*Note: I believe that this is meant to read "grandson" rather than "son," especially since it is in a list of grandsons and mentions a guardian. It likely refers to the youngest child of Mary Moffett McDowell, newly widowed after the death of Hunting John's son Joseph "P.G." McDowell. This would be their son, Joseph Moffett McDowell, born 10 January 1796.

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.

Quaker Meadows & Pleasant Gardens

The McDowell House at Quaker Meadows Plantation,
built in 1812 by Captain Charles McDowell, Jr
near Morganton, Burke County, North Carolina

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

"According to tradition, the Quaker Meadows farm was so-called long before the McDowells or any other whites established homes in Burke County, and derived its name from the fact that the Indians, after clearing part of the broad and fertile bottoms, had suffered the wild grasses to spring up and form a large meadow, near which a Quaker had camped before the French-Indian war and traded for furs. On the 19th of November, 1752, Bishop [August Gottlieb] Spangenburg recorded in his diary (Vol. V. Colonial Record, page 6) that he was in camp near Quaker Meadows, and that he was "in the forest fifty miles from all settlements." The Bishop described the lowlands of Johns River as the richest he had seen anywhere in Carolina. But, after surveying the large area, he abandoned the idea of taking title for it from Lord Granville, because the Indian War began in 1753, the next year, and lasted nominally seven years, though it was unsafe to venture west of the Catawba until after 1763, and few incurred the risk of doing so before 1770. 'Hunting John' McDowell first entered 'Swan Pond,' about three miles above Quaker Meadows, but sold that place without occupying it, to Colonel Waightstill Avery, and established his home where his son Joseph [of Pleasant Gardens] and grandson James [Moffett McDowell] afterwards lived, and where, still later, Adolphus Erwin [brother-in-law of James] lived for years before his death. His home is three miles north of Marion on the road leading to Bakersville and Burnsville. The name of Pleasant Gardens was afterwards applied not only to this home, but to the place where Col. John Carson* lived high up the Catawba Valley, at the mouth of Buck Creek."

*John Carson (1752-1841) first married Rachel Matilda McDowell (1756-1795), "Hunting John" McDowell's eldest daughter and older sister of Joseph McDowell (1758-1795), of Pleasant Gardens. In 1797, widower John Carson married Joseph "P.G." McDowell's widow Mary Moffett McDowell (1768-1825).

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
--------------------------------------------------
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"]