geneology sos

[kiltted_lad]

i have been looking for my family line for a while and it seems i hit a wall when i found that some records have been destroyed. you see i am Scotch-Irish and trying to find out where my family comes from. We have gotten as far as the first generation to come to the US. but all we know is that they came from county down His name was John Cowan born about 1758. would anybody be willing to help me get to my Scottish roots so i can find which clan my family belongs?

[Marshal Moroni]

Kilted_lad,
I'm not an expert, but the folks at the LDS Family History Centers are experts. I know that they will not try to convert you, at our local LDS Stake Center about half of the staff at the Family History Center are not of the LDS faith.
They work together on Family History, they are a group of dedicated geneologists, and they love to help people find their family links

This is the best lead I can give you.

Good Luck and Best Regards,

Marshal Moroni

[SteveB]

K-Lad,
As my sig line notes my family is also from County Down, Northern Ireland. I had the good fortune of a cousin in possession of the family Bible, that had come over from Ireland, and had been passed down with the family entries in it. While at my cousin's home here in the States, I flipped through the pages and found to both of our delights the original Birth and Marriage certificates of my great great grandparents. This gave us the County, Parish and Townland of their births and the location of the Church of their Marriage. My spouse and I visited the church in 2000, and the church was able to help me further back on my tree to the MacNeil Clan.
I will try some online services in Ireland and Scotland of which I have memberships to see what I might find, but the name is fairly common.
I find the name most common in Drumballeyroney, Newry, and Dromore. All areas of heavy Scot immigration. The name Cowan is of Scot origin. BTW, your Cowans seem to be following the same pattern as my Spiers and MacNeils.
John Cowan came to the U.S.? Do you know of his wife or other family members? All would be helpful in tracking him down. Also where in the US did he appear? (IF he came to the US). There is a large number of John Cowans appearing in various records about 1770 in County Down.
Slainte

[pdcorlis]

I don't know if you've seen this thread - but there is plenty here to give you a foundation in genealogy searches...

http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/g...613/index.html

Best of Luck!

[SteveB]

K-Lad,
The LDS shows a John Cowan b:ca 1758 Co. Down. d:9 Dec 1841 in Cowansville, PA. Son of John Cowan and Jane McCulloch. John Cowan (father) was born ca 1728 Co. Down died: 8 Dec 1811 Sugar Creek, PA.of parents from Lankarshire (sic), Scotland. John Cowan married Jane McCulloch in Lank. Scotland, where she was born ca 1731.
This may be your family as it is the closest that I can find based on the info in your original post.
Slainte

[Charlie Mc.]

I understand your frustration. I am looking for Arthur Gwin (On the US censuses he spells his name guinn or guynn) also from county Down. He was born about 1781 and immigrated about 1800. I know he was Presbyterian but more then that I haven't been able to find out. Given that he is from County Down and Presbyterian I am figuring him for Scottish descent but have no way to prove this.

[davidlpope]

"would anybody be willing to help me get to my Scottish roots so i can find which clan my family belongs?"


If your ancestors, like some of mine, came from from Ulster Scots descent, there is a good chance that there will not be any connection to a highland clan. Most of the Scots who settled the Ulster plantations were Lowland or Border Scots and predominately Presbyterian. These Scots were from a quite different culture than the Highland culture that the modern "clan system" has its roots in and they often sought to reinforce the distinction between the "wild Highlanders" and themselves.

That being said, if your aim is to find a tartan for "your own" I'd suggest you consider the wide range of district tartans that are available. You could choose one of the modern Irish county tartans, the Ulster tartan, or, if you can locate the area of Scotland your family originated in, that district tartan.

The other option is to plug your surname into a "clan-finder" or consult a "sept list". A quick go at this type of inquiry results in the clans of Colquhoun and Macdougall having an association with your surname.

So, if you're just looking for a "clan tartan", that's a good place to start. Realize, though, that proving that YOUR ancestors were adherents of either of these clans is a much more difficult, time-intensive process.

Cordially,

David

[Phil]

Here are a couple of useful sites if you are looking for Co. Down ancestors - http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb....Afrontpage.htm and http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nirdow2/index.htm Scots began settling in Co. Down in Elizabethan times, quite separately from the later Plantation of Ulster. A couple of Scots, Montgomery and Hamilton from Ayrshire, pulled a fast one after the Irish Earls fled to the Continent and took over the O'Neill lands in Co. Down. Most of the people they settled on their lands came from the south west counties of Scotland, Ayrshire, Galloway, Kirkcudbrightshire etc. so these are the areas in Scotland where your ancestors most likely originated. By the way from Scotland.

[kiltted_lad]

thank you all so very much ill share this info with my mother so she can cross-reference with what she already has. you guys have been a real big help. thank you

[Arlen]

Ancestry.com is very useful if you do have specific names, marriage details and dates of birth. The cost isn't particularly prohibitive and it's certainly helped my mum get really far back.
That said, if you get back to a certain point you will have to start visiting specific records centres.