The McDowell Family of Franklin, Pennsylvania

The McDowell family is descended from Milesius, King of Spain, through the line of his son Heremon; the founder of the family was Colla Meann, son of Escha Dubhlein, or Doivien, brother of Fiacha Straivctine, first King of Connaught, of the race of Heremon, and son of Carbre Liffeachair, King of Ireland, A. D. 264. The ancient name was Doill, which signifies “blind.” The possessions of the sept were located in the present county of Donegal, many also of the family having settled in Antrim. The McDowells were among the most notable descendants of the royal branch of the Clan Colla. There were many descendants of the Ulster family among the Irish who in the early part of the last century, about 1710, settled in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia, in the territory now embraced in the counties of Patrick and Rockbridge.

A prominent member of the old family in Ireland during the last century was Patrick McDowell, R. A., born in Belfast in 1799. He attained highest eminence as a sculptor, among his most notable works being “Virginius and His Daughter,” “Eve,” “Psyche,” and the group typical of “Europe” in the Albert Memorial, Hyde Park, London. He died in 1870.

(I) William McDowell

William McDowell, the immigrant ancestor of the present American family, was born in Ireland, coming to this country in the early part of the eighteenth century and settling first in Chester county, Pennsylvania. In about 1731 he removed to Lancaster county, a part of which later became Franklin county, where he became the owner of an enormous estate, Parnell, upon which a fort was established. He was king’s magistrate for that part of the country before the revolution, being arbiter in all disputes between varying sects and between the colonists and the Indians. After having been King George’s confidential man, he became a Whig at the outbreak of the war and was a most ardent patriot. He continued in the capacity of recruiting officer for the colonies, and was a man of great prominence in that part of the country which prior to 1784 was embodied in Cumberland county. It was from this section that many members of the McDowell family and their descendants went forth to serve their country in various ways and helped to make its history. William McDowell had to flee his estate finally on account of Indian troubles, and on February 17, 1782, died in York county, Pennsylvania, near the town of Wrightsville, being buried at Donegal Presbyterian Church in Lancaster county. By his wife Mary he had nine children:

John McDowell, married Agnes Craig
William McDowell, mentioned further
Nathan McDowell, married Catherine Maxwell, and died June 2, 1801
James McDowell, married Jane Smith
Thomas McDowell
Jean McDowell, married Archibald Irwin
Margaret McDowell, married Robert Newell
Sarah McDowell, married William Piper
Daughter, married John Reynolds.

(II) William (2) McDowell

William (2), son of William (1) and Mary McDowell, was born in 1720, living and dying at Parnell, in Franklin county, on the vast estate which had been his father’s before him; this was at or near Bridgeport, in Peters township. He was a colonial recruiting officer; was appointed ensign, August 13, 1776, under Captain Whitesides, in Colonel Thomas Porter’s battalion; and in 1778 became justice of the peace for Peters township, being a man of great prominence in the county. In 1765, during an uprising of the “Black Boys,” who besieged Fort Loudon, he was given by Lieutenant Grant, commandant of the fort, the custody of the arms taken from the country people, and rendered a receipt for five rifles and four smoothbore guns to be held by him until the governor’s pleasure in their disposition could be known. At the same time four men executed a bond in £200 Pennsylvania currency to protect him against arrest or action at law. William McDowell died September 17, 1812, and was buried at Waddell’s graveyard at Lebinarten, Pennsylvania, near the old estate. By his will dated in 1807 and probated in 1812, he left several large plantations to his sons. He married Mary Maxwell, born 1728, died April 9, 1805. Children:

William McDowell, born 1749, was captain in revolution, married Elizabeth Van Lear, and died June 19, 1835
John McDowell, LL.D. at Johns Hopkins, born 1751, died December 22, 1820, unmarried
Susan McDowell, born 1752, married John Martin, died May 17, 1839
James McDowell, died young
Mary McDowell, married Mr. Magaw, died May 9, 1799
Nathan McDowell, born 1758, married Mary McLanahan, died February 1, 1830
Alexander McDowell, born 1760, mentioned further
Andrew McDowell, born 1762, married Nancy McPherson, died January 10, 1846
Margaret McDowell, born 1765, married Matthew Maris, died February 17, 1853
Nancy McDowell, born 1767, died June 6, 1848
Patrick McDowell, born 1769, married Elizabeth Davidson, died April 24, 1846
Thomas McDowell, born 1772, married Mollie Davidson, died August 4, 1851.

(III) Colonel Alexander McDowell

Colonel Alexander McDowell, son of William (2) and Mary (Maxwell) McDowell, was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1760. He was a soldier in the revolutionary war, being then in his early manhood; and some time after the cessation of hostilities with England became agent for the Holland Land Company, receiving the appointment from them of deputy surveyor in the year 1793. He became the most noted of all the surveyors in northwestern Pennsylvania; and was one of the most distinguished members of a family that has been prominent and numerous in the public and social life of that portion of Pennsylvania embraced by the counties east of the mountains since their early settlement. In 1794, after his appointment by the Holland Land Company, he came out to Venango county, Pennsylvania, in their interests, and became one of the earliest pioneers in this region.

Returning east, he was married in 1795 to Miss Sally Parker, a colonial belle of Philadelphia; and in 1797 he brought his young family out to Venango county, making his permanent home in Franklin, where he became one of the prominent men of the town from the first. In 1796 he received the appointment of justice of the peace from Governor Mifflin, and was an arbiter in all cases of difference between the settlers. He became well acquainted with the celebrated Cornplanter, whose land he surveyed and whose home he assisted in establishing to the lasting gratitude and friendship of the Indian chief; and through his kindly spirit and fair dealings won the esteem and loyalty of all the neighboring tribes. He and his little family were thus enabled to live in peace and security, fearing naught, though the Indians were oftentimes noisy and intoxicated in their encampments across the creek, whooping and yelling sometimes half the night.

At the time that Colonel McDowell established his home in Franklin the town had been laid out about a year, and there were but four or five families in the place. The McDowell family at first resided in a log house, the property of the Holland Land Company, which was located on the bank of the creek near the site of the present Venango mills. It was without windows or doors, as there was no carpenter in the place to construct these, and the openings were hung with blankets. Colonel McDowell erected a more commodious log house for his family on Elk street, below Eleventh, which was later weatherboarded and eventually became comfortably equipped and furnished, and (after the erection of a stone addition about the year 1803) was considered one of the two finest residences in Franklin. The first wall paper in the town was introduced by the McDowells for their home; the paper came from Philadelphia in sheets, and being thick and strong, lasted until the destruction of the old house in 1874; the design pictured boys and dogs in blue upon a light ground, and was greatly admired by the neighbors.

When the county was organized in 1800, Colonel McDowell was appointed one of the trustees to superintend its affairs, until commissioners were elected in 1805; he was then elected first county treasurer. In 1801 he was appointed first postmaster of Franklin. He had been one of the earliest patrons of Edward Hale at his trading post at Fort Franklin in 1798; and in 1801, as one of the town trustees, signed the lease of a part of the public square to him, “at the rate of one dollar a year until the ground which the said Hale has now in cultivation is wanted for public use.”

Colonel McDowell died January 4, 1816, at the age of fifty-six years. According to portraits yet extant, he seems to have been a gentleman of the old school, sedate, dignified, and well accustomed to the amenities of life and social usages. He was a Presbyterian, as his ancestors had been, and as many of his descendants have remained, and when as late as 1801 there had been no preacher in Franklin of any denomination he doubtless was instrumental in securing the services of a clergyman, presumably of his own creed, who arrived in the year named and preached at the homes of the citizens until a suitable structure was erected for church and school.

Mrs. McDowell, who had been Miss Sarah Parker, of Philadelphia, survived her husband nearly half a century, dying at the extreme old age of one hundred and two years. She was born in the Quaker City on September 11, 1763, and was the daughter of Captain Parker, who died in her early childhood. Her mother, who was a Miss Elizabeth Adam, and whose mother in turn was a Miss Sarah Jones, married again after Captain Parker’s death, her second husband being Thomas Skelly, a sea captain, who died in 1806. Sarah Parker resided with her stepfather in Philadelphia until the time of her marriage, being a noted belle in those days. She was small, slight and graceful, had great personal beauty, and was witty and charming. She exchanged her earlier life of refinement and ease for the privations attending a pioneer’s wife with the cheerfulness and philosophy of her courageous character, and lived to see the poverty and hardship of the first few years give way to the rich development of after days; having been at all times equal to the occasion and a helpful and friendly neighbor in her crude surroundings. She had brought with her into the wilderness where she came as a young wife, a chest full of the finery of her former days, silk and velvet gowns, laces and jewelry, keeping these as relics of her earlier life.

In the pioneer days she was energetic and resourceful to a degree: preserving and managing her little household with frugality, bartering with the Indians for provisions and matching her quick wits against theirs, winning their esteem and loyal friendship and that of her white neighbors as well. In the after days she had many reminiscences to relate of the town and its growth, describing the clearing by moonlight of the bushes and stumps from what is now the park; the purchase of fish from the Indian fishermen, and their rooted distrust of the white woman’s honesty until it was well proven; and telling how upon one occasion when a hen had eaten the few cucumber seeds which she had drying on a table for the next season’s crop, she cut open with a pair of scissors the craw of the fowl, recovered the seed, sewed up the wound with a needle and thread, which was apparently not heeded, and thus preserved both seed and fowl for her future household supplies.

After the death of her husband in 1816, Mrs. McDowell continued to reside in the old home; and in 1823 and 1824 was recorded as keeping house there with her three sons. In 1826 she donated to St. John’s Church a lot valued at seventy-five dollars. Her death occurred September 25 (or 27), 1865, at the home of her son (Thomas S.), where she passed the last few years of her life after leaving the old homestead (that was less than half a square away). Only two of her children survived her and she had lived until she was weary of life, peacefully passing away in the third year after she had attained the century mark. The town had grown strange to her and all of her friends were gone; she was undoubtedly the oldest person who ever lived in Franklin.

Colonel and Mrs. McDowell were the parents of nine children:

Elizabeth McDowell, born 1796; died December 23, 1809.
Susan McDowell, born 1798; died August 30, 1806.
Margaretta McDowell, born in Franklin in 1800; died at Warren, January 28, 1825. In December, 1819, married Archibald Tanner, born in Cromwell, Connecticut, February 3, 1786, died at Warren, Pennsylvania, February 15, 1861. Children:
1. Sarah Parker Tanner, born July 3, 1821; died June 3, 1849.
2. Laura Margaretta Tanner, born September 9, 1823, at Warren; died September 14, 1909; married, November 20, 1845, Judge Glenni W. Scofield, born March 11, 1817, died August 30, 1891. He was graduated at Hamilton College; read law and in 1842 was admitted to practice in Warren county, Pennsylvania; was a Republican, and served as a member of the Pennsylvania legislature; in 1862 was elected to congress and served twelve years; in 1878 appointed by President Hayes as Register of the Treasury, resigning in 1881 when appointed by President Garfield as Judge of the United States Court of Claims; served ten years in this capacity, and resigned in 1891, one month previous to his death. Children:
  1. Ellie G. Scofield, born October 28, 1850
  2. Archibald Tanner Scofield, born July 4, 1854, in Warren, married Kate S. Brecht, of that city, born January 3, 1869, and had children:
    1. Eleanor Margaretta Scofield, born November 10, 1889, died January 3, 1890
    2. Glenni William Scofield, born July 19, 1892
    3. Lawrence Stranahan Scofield, born March 11, 1894
    4. Herbert Latham Scofield, born June 8, 1901
    5. Archibald Tanner Scofield, born January 28, 1909
  3. Mary Margaretta Scofield, born May 2, 1857, died February 17, 1887.
Thomas Skelly McDowell, the first white male child born in Franklin, April 25, 1803, died there February 7, 1876; married January 30, 1825, Emily Nevins Ayres, born at Brownsville, Pennsylvania, March 9, 1808, died in Franklin, June 27, 1862. Children:
1. Margaretta Rachel McDowell, born July 11, 1827, at Franklin; died October 10, 1905, at Brooklyn, New York; married at Franklin, August 1, 1850, Elisha Burritt Gray, born April 20, 1823, in Kenton county, Kentucky, died at Franklin, August 5, 1890. Children:
  1. Emily Jane Gray, born May 18, 1851, married May 2, 1872, at Franklin, to Joseph Allen Fleming. Children:
    1. Burritt Gray Fleming, born February 13, 1873, died August 15, 1873.
    2. John Gray Fleming, born August 23, 1874, married Leonore McCarthy, May 17, 1898. Children:
      1. Emily Leonore Fleming, born August 13, 1900
      2. Burritt Gray Fleming, born July 31, 1903
      3. Margaretta Gray Fleming, born November 8, 1905
      4. Frederick McDowell Fleming, born March 5, 1911.
    3. Margaretta Anna Fleming, born May 1, 1879, married Marion Ellsworth Lafferty, May 29, 1902. Children:
      1. Margaretta Emily Lafferty, born February 26, 1903
      2. Marion Ellsworth Lafferty, born May 5, 1905.
  2. Anna Cynthia Gray, born March 14, 1853, in Trigg county, Kentucky; married in Maysville, Kentucky, June 4, 1875, Captain James Patton Newell, born in Center county, Pennsylvania, October 2, 1840, died at Carthage, Missouri, June 4, 1895. Children:
    1. Emily Jane Newell, born January 9, 1877, at Joplin, Missouri; married December 24, 1900, at Carthage, Missouri, Harry Wallace Blair, born July 7, 1877, at Maysville, Kentucky. Children:
      1. Harriet Blair, born October 8, 1903, at Washington, D. C.
      2. Newell Blair, born April 5, 1907, at Carthage, Missouri.
    2. James Patton Newell, born August 8, 1878, at Franklin, Pennsylvania; married May 8, 1900, at Carthage, Missouri, Jessie Maud Caffee, born September 12, 1877, at Carthage. Children, all born at Carthage:
      1. James Patton Newell, September 18, 1902
      2. David Caffee Newell, January 23, 1904
      3. John Warden Newell, December 11, 1907.
    3. Anna Gray Newell, born February 8, 1881, at Joplin; deaconess in Episcopal Church.
    4. Julia Porter Newell, born December 22, 1883, at Carthage; married May 8, 1900, at Carthage, Philip W. Chappell.
    5. Margaret Louise Newell, born October 27, 1885, at Carthage; unmarried.
    6. Ella Rebecca Newell, born June 27, 1887, at Carthage, where married, September 18, 1900, Ralph Putman.
  3. William Galbraith Gray, born August, 1855; died October, 1856.
  4. Margaretta Gray, born May 24, 1858, at Portsmouth, Ohio; married (first) at Franklin, Pennsylvania, June 1, 1880, Henry S. Church, born July 16, 1857, at Brooklyn, New York, died at Cheyenne, Wyoming, March 18, 1885. Married (second) August 6, 1891, at Hartford, Connecticut, Albert J. Bothwell, born at Galena, Illinois, February 18, 1854. Children, by first marriage:
    1. Katharine Gray Church, born May 6, 1881, in New York City; married November 8, 1909, Theodore Solomons. Children:
      1. Susan Eleanor Solomons, born February 15, 1911
      2. David Sexius Solomons, born June 22, 1912.
    2. Henry Seymour Church, born April 12, 1883, at New Brighton, Staten Island, New York; died, Denver, Colorado, February 23, 1909.
2. Emily Elizabeth McDowell, born August 16, 1829; died June 18, 1847.
3. Sarah Parker McDowell, born at Franklin, August 13, 1831, died at Robins, Iowa, October 14, 1893; married at Franklin, September 24, 1854, Royal Atwater, born in Vermont, April 30, 1829, died in Iowa July 7, 1885. He enlisted in 1861, serving in the Fourth Pennsylvania Cavalry during the civil war. Children:
  1. Elizabeth Atwater, born July, 1854, died 1854.
  2. Daniel W. Atwater, born November 9, 1856, married (first) October 7, 1878, Lillian Kent, who died December 31, 1888, married (second) February 4, 1890, Abigail F. Burns; he lives at Seminole, Pennsylvania, near New Bethlehem. Children:
    1. Henry K. Atwater, child by first marriage, born February 20, 1883, lives in Pittsburgh.
    2. Florence Atwater, child by second marriage, born November 13, 1891
    3. Ralph Atwater, child by second marriage, born August 7, 1894.
  3. Ayres B. Atwater, born May 30, 1858; married Chloe A. Marsh, October 12, 1887. He is a farmer at Robins, Iowa. Children:
    1. Olive B. Atwater, born September 14, 1888
    2. Donald Atwater, born June 11, 1890
    3. Josephine F. Atwater, born April 13, 1893.
  4. Louis C. Atwater, born March 12, 1860; died June 12, 1862.
  5. Laura M. Atwater, born January 7, 1865; married M. D. Pember, of Woodburn, Washington, October 1, 1884.
  6. Charles S. Atwater, born November 15, 1866; unmarried.
  7. Louise C. Atwater, born August 6, 1868; married, April 1, 1900, George Sines, a farmer of Pomerania, New Jersey. Child:
    1. Sarah Sines, born August 21, 1904; died same year.
  8. James R. Atwater, born September, 1870; married, April 9, 1904, Emily M. Hawks, lives at Wessington, South Dakota. Child:
    1. Flossie Ellen Atwater, born October 1, 1905.
4. Archibald Tanner McDowell, born May 31, 1834, at Franklin; died January 19, 1874, at Warren; married at Jamestown, New York, in August, 1860, Mrs. Frank Homer Tiffany, born at Jamestown, April 12, 1842, dying at Philadelphia, April 1, 1895. Children:
  1. Anna D. McDowell, born May 27, 1863, at Sinclairville, New York; married at Philadelphia, December 22, 1885, B. G. Anderson. Children:
    1. Anna Frances Anderson, born October 24, 1886
    2. Rose Delia Anderson, December 30, 1887
    3. Bertha Gertrude Anderson, April 22, 1890
    4. Ida Barr Anderson, April 25, 1892
    5. James Archibald Anderson, June 28, 1894
    6. Grant Herchelroth Anderson, January 21, 1896
    7. Raymond Gray Anderson, October 10, 1897.
  2. Bertha G. McDowell, born at Franklin, May 4, 1866; married at Philadelphia, March 4, 1884, E. L. Weckerly. Child:
    1. Anna Ray Weckerly, born December 29, 1884.
  3. William T. McDowell, born June 1, 1868.
5. Amy Elizabeth McDowell, born August 8, 1836; died September, 1849.
6. Josephine Cecelia McDowell, born at Franklin, June 28, 1839; married there, July 19, 1862, Philander Raymond Gray, son of Alanson Gray and Jane R. Tarvin, born January 14, 1837, in Campbell county, Kentucky. Mr. Gray enlisted in Company A, 121st Pennsylvania Volunteers, under Capt. George E. Ridgeway, going to the front with the army in 1862. After serving as first sergeant of the company he was promoted to second lieutenant for bravery at the battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, and complimented in a general regimental order for his conduct in that hard fought battle. In October, 1863, he was appointed to first lieutenant; was detailed as acting quartermaster of the 121st Regiment and commissioned in November; in February, 1864, was detailed quartermaster of the brigade, serving as such until the close of the war, when he was honorably discharged. In 1865, a few months after his return from the seat of war, he was elected sheriff of Venango county. During his term the Pithole oil excitement had its rise, lawlessness was frightfully prevalent, and the position of sheriff was really the most arduous in the gift of the people. How faithfully the difficult task was performed was familiar to every resident of Oildom. Mr. Gray was one of the pioneer oil refiners, selling his refinery to accept the superintendency of the Eclipse Lubricating Oil Works, Ltd., and remained with this company until January, 1885, when he removed with his large family to Elizabeth, New Jersey, and became identified with the Tide Water Oil Company of Bayonne, New Jersey. Up to the time of his removal from Franklin he was very prominent in the politics of Northwestern Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Gray’s family is somewhat celebrated for its size, there having been eleven children born to them, all of whom lived to celebrate with their parents their golden wedding on July 19, 1912, at Elizabeth, New Jersey. Children:
  1. Elisha Burritt Gray, born June 25, 1865, in Lewis county, Kentucky; married September 3, 1891, Haidee Reed, born September 21, 1854, in Canada, near Buffalo, daughter of Louis Reed and Emma Maywald, of New Brighton, Staten Island. No children.
  2. Philander Raymond Gray, born December 8, 1866, at Franklin; unmarried.
  3. William Ayres Gray, born May 24, 1868, at Franklin; married at Elizabeth, New Jersey, January 11, 1893, Margaret Byers Morrison, born at Elizabeth, January 13, 1873, daughter of James Morrison and Caroline Thompson Farnham, of that city. Child:
    1. William Ayres Gray, born September 17, 1894, at Elizabeth.
  4. Frederick Charles Gray, born February 12, 1870, at Franklin; married in New York City, July 6, 1903, Daisy Claire Wallace Huber, born at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, January 5, 1877, daughter of Philip Allen Huber and Katherine Elizabeth Grover, of Sunbury, Pennsylvania. No children.
  5. Fanny Josephine Gray, born at Franklin, Pennsylvania, December 17, 1871; unmarried.
  6. Alanson McDowell Gray, born at Franklin, October 24, 1873; married at Elizabeth, New Jersey, June 5, 1907, Caroline Henderson Koues, born in New York City, November 9, 1883, daughter of George Ellsworth Koues and Mary Parmly Toby, of Elizabeth. Children, born at Elizabeth:
    1. Alanson McDowell Gray, March 15, 1908
    2. Caroline Koues Gray, August 21, 1909.
  7. John Lathrop Gray, born at Franklin, February 6, 1875, married at Elizabeth, New Jersey, June 3, 1901, Harriet Hamilton Tyng, born May 26, 1879, at South Orange, New Jersey, daughter of Russell Degen Tyng and Harriet Matilda Cornell, of Elizabeth. Children, born at Elizabeth, New Jersey:
    1. John Lathrop Gray, March 20, 1905
    2. Harriet Mathilde Gray, October 21, 1906
    3. Cecelia Gray, September 16, 1909
    4. Penelope Royal Gray, November 28, 1912.
  8. Emily Jane Gray, born at Franklin, February 11, 1877; married June 24, 1903, at Elizabeth, Charles Douglas Galloway, born January 15, 1881, at Washington, D. C., son of Lieutenant Charles Douglas Galloway, U. S. N., and Anna Louisa Smith, of Washington. Children:
    1. Emily Gray Galloway, born July 13, 1905, at Camden, New Jersey, died May 15, 1908
    2. Jane Gray Galloway, born May 26, 1909, at Elizabeth.
  9. McDowell Gray, born July 17, 1879, at Franklin; married July 20, 1903, Florence Robbins, born December 6, 1883, at Doylestown, Bucks county, Pennsylvania, daughter of William Henry Robbins and Emma Lotte Yost, of Easton, Pennsylvania. Children:
    1. Audrey Meda Gray, born January 12, 1905, at Easton
    2. Evelyn Ayres Gray, born November 26, 1912, at Elizabeth.
  10. Thomas Tarvin Gray, born August 29, 1881, at Franklin; married December 6, 1905, at Philadelphia, Ella Moray Watson, born March 21, 1880, at Washington, D. C., daughter of Major Malbone Francis Watson, U. S. A., and Mary Eyvanc Codwise, of Dayton, Ohio. Child:
    1. Ruth Watson Gray, born September 4, 1906, at Elizabeth.
  11. Josephine McDowell Gray, born October 11, 1883, at Franklin; married in New York City, February 12, 1906, Hamilton Wainwright Weeks, born June 9, 1880, at Elizabeth, son of Edward Francis Weeks and Kate Pond, of Elizabeth. Children, born at Elizabeth:
    1. Hamilton Wainwright Weeks, March 18, 1908
    2. Philander Raymond Gray Weeks, March 21, 1910
    3. William Tubbs Weeks, July 18, 1912.
7. Jane Houston McDowell, born August 6, 1841, at Franklin; married January 27, 1871, at Franklin, James W. Sparks; died at Bayonne, New Jersey, February 23, 1900. Children:
  1. William Wylie Sparks, born December 6, 1871
  2. Estelle McDowell Sparks, born September 22, 1873, died April 27, 1899
  3. Joseph A. Sparks, born January 12, 1876
  4. Frank Owens Sparks, born June 3, 1878, died April 26, 1881
  5. Thomas Ayres Sparks, born September 11, 1881
  6. Margaretta C. Sparks, born May 28, 1885.
8. Helen Delia McDowell, born April 6, 1844; married R. Z. Newton; died July 30, 1879.
9. Fanny Galbraith McDowell, born August 26, 1846; died October 10, 1910, in Washington, D. C., where she held an important and trusted position in the Treasury Department for more than forty years.
10. Thomas Skelly McDowell, 2nd, born at Franklin, April 6, 1849; he has been chief engineer of Lafayette City Waterworks since 1883. At the age of fourteen years enlisted on June 29, 1863, as private in Captain Charles W. Whistle’s Company H, Second Battalion of Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, serving six months; was discharged January 21, 1864, at Pittsburg, at expiration of term of service, and is now a member of John A. Logan Post No. 3, G. A. R., at Lafayette, Indiana. He married at Dunkirk, New York, July 19, 1865, Jennie Day, born October 2, 1850. Children:
  1. Mary F. McDowell, born May 24, 1867; married at Lafayette, April 30, 1894, Charles F. Perrin. Children:
    1. Mary I. Perrin, born June 28, 1895
    2. Genevieve E. Perrin, September 28, 1899
    3. Paul J. Perrin, December 22, 1902
    4. John A. Perrin, July 8, 1904
    5. Charles F. Perrin, July 15, 1908.
  2. William A. McDowell, born December 20, 1868.
  3. Jennie E. McDowell, born March 10, 1870.
  4. Emily E. McDowell, born September 10, 1871; married at Lafayette, July 16, 1895, George F. Long. Children:
    1. Helen M. Long, born December 3, 1897
    2. George Long, born October 7, 1909.
  5. Sarah J. McDowell, born April 13, 1874; married at Lafayette, July 27, 1898, James E. Duffy. Children:
    1. John E. Duffy, born June 28, 1899
    2. Raymond M. Duffy, August 16, 1901
    3. Helen E. Duffy, October 6, 1903
    4. Ruth J. Duffy, January 31, 1905.
  6. Fanny E. McDowell, born December 21, 1877; married at Lafayette, September 12, 1906, James Duffy Jr.
  7. Archibald T. McDowell, born January 10, 1879; married at Lafayette, November 24, 1903, Mary Marcus. Children:
    1. Archibald McDowell, born April 17, 1905
    2. Eugene A. McDowell, born January 14, 1908.
  8. Frank E. McDowell, born December 1, 1880; married at Lafayette, October 18, 1904, Helen Marcus. Children:
    1. Edward F. McDowell, born January 9, 1906
    2. Robert M. McDowell, born October 13, 1907.
  9. Thomas Skelly McDowell, 3rd, born January 1, 1883; married at Lafayette, June 5, 1912, Florence Grady.
  10. Joseph A. McDowell, born September 14, 1884.
  11. Irene H. McDowell, born June 14, 1886.
  12. Vincent P. McDowell, born March 20, 1892.
Parker McDowell, born in 1805; mentioned further.
Major Alexander McDowell (2d), son of Colonel Alexander, served as a county auditor in 1832; was appointed by Governor Ritner, of Pennsylvania, in 1836, register, recorder and clerk of the courts of Venango county, and served until 1839, and also held a commission as major of state militia; born November 27, 1807, died at Franklin, December 8, 1875; married November 3, 1842, Anna Moffett, born in Philadelphia, August 20, 1821, died at Franklin, June 29, 1889. Children:
1. William Parker McDowell, born August 27, 1843; married Lydia A. Fry.
2. Sarah Parker McDowell, born at Franklin, July 6, 1845, died August 12, 1911; married at Franklin, September 29, 1864, George B. Fry, born February 18, 1843. Children:
  1. Marcus A. Fry, born June 12, 1869; died March 9, 1894.
  2. Amy L. Fry, born at Franklin, February 15, 1872; married at Jamestown, New York, December 14, 1899, Arthur T. Hjorth. Child:
    1. Sarah Josephine Hjorth, born July 6, 1902.
  3. George B. Fry, born at Franklin, July 10, 1878; married at Jamestown, New York, October 7, 1903, Bertha Alice Wampler, born January 4, 1878. Children:
    1. Edith Geraldine Fry, born June 17, 1906
    2. Robert Alden Fry, born February 26, 1910.
3. Eleanor Moffett McDowell, born at Franklin, March 31, 1847; married June 12, 1883, at Franklin, Thomas Matthews; she died May 7, 1910. Child:
  1. James Matthews, born April 14, 1884.
4. Thomas Moffett McDowell, born at Franklin, December 25, 1848; died August 30, 1907; married at Emlenton, Pennsylvania, August 24, 1882, Jennie Jones, born March 28, 1858. Children:
  1. Harry Y. McDowell, born February 26, 1883.
  2. Alfred B. McDowell, born January 4, 1885, at Franklin; married November 18, 1908, Cora Osborn. Child:
    1. James Paul McDowell, born November 2, 1910.
  3. Roscoe Richard McDowell, born at Franklin, June 4, 1887; married August 3, 1909, Elizabeth Nottrott. Children:
    1. Robert R. McDowell, born August 31, 1910
    2. Grace E. McDowell, born April 15, 1912.
  4. Emma E. McDowell, born June 14, 1890.
  5. Anna M. McDowell, born June 21, 1892.
5. Eliza McDowell, born January 31, 1851; died August 3, 1898.
6. Hattie C. McDowell, born May 1, 1853; died October 23, 1880.
7. Alexander H. McDowell, born at Franklin, February 24, 1855; married (first) at Franklin, October 21, 1881, Ada T. Lane, born February 25, 1857, died May 25, 1892. Married (second) at Grove City, Pennsylvania, November 29, 1895, May C. Cunningham, born June 27, 1870. Children:
  1. Hazel May McDowell, child by first marriage, born November 23, 1882, married Albro C. Holmes, June 17, 1903
  2. Grace L. McDowell, child by first marriage, born February 21, 1886, married Fred Martin, December 29, 1908, having one child:
    1. Marjory Martin, born August 16, 1912.
  3. Kenneth C. McDowell, child by second marriage, born October 16, 1897
  4. Ralph A. McDowell, child by second marriage, born March 11, 1906
  5. Richard Aigner McDowell, child by second marriage, born February 4, 1908.
8. Margaret J. McDowell, born April 24, 1857; died December 3, 1909; married Joseph A. Weikal.
9. Robert R. McDowell, born at Franklin, February 28, 1858; married at Wooster, Ohio, December 20, 1892, Mamie Faber, born at Wooster, December 17, 1872. Children:
  1. Robert F. McDowell, born September 28, 1893
  2. Ruth B. McDowell, May 16, 1896
  3. Dudley A. McDowell, December 9, 1902.
10. Charles T. McDowell, born at Franklin, March 22, 1861; married at Cranberry, Pennsylvania, March 22, 1883, Anna Miller. Children:
  1. Simon W. McDowell, born January 25, 1884, married, August 14, 1912, Lydia Jane Harland, born December 5, 1889
  2. Mary P. McDowell, April 3, 1885, married April 4, 1906, Arthur Claton Walter, born February 5, 1877, children:
    1. Esther Mary Walter, born August 10, 1907
    2. Guy Lowell Walter, October 8, 1910
  3. Gertrude McDowell, June 6, 1888
  4. Wilda S. McDowell, February 21, 1890
  5. Orrin C. McDowell, January 11, 1892
  6. Glenni S. McDowell, April 6, 1894
  7. Wilkin T. McDowell, January 6, 1900
  8. De Wayne McDowell, April, 1903.
11. Glenni S. McDowell, born at Franklin, March 31, 1864, drowned in Conneaut Lake, August 20, 1902; married at Sunville, Pennsylvania, October 20, 1886, Cora C. Richey, who died June 20, 1906. Children:
  1. Harold R. McDowell, born October 10, 1887
  2. Laura S. McDowell, born April 18, 1889, drowned in Conneaut Lake, August 20, 1902.
William McDowell, born; married Elvira McNutt.
Mary McDowell, born 1813; died March 16, 1821.
Sarah McDowell, born; married Alexander S. Hays, and died July 3, 1821.

(IV) Parker McDowell

Parker McDowell, son of Colonel Alexander and Sarah (Parker) McDowell, was born in 1805 at Franklin, Pennsylvania, where he died August 16, 1860. He was a merchant, and engaged in this and the lumbering business at or near Titusville, Pennsylvania, for a number of years, however, always making his home in the old homestead at Franklin. He married, May 15, 1839, at Titusville, Pennsylvania, Lavinia Titus, daughter of Jonathan and Mary Martin Titus, her father having been the founder of Titusville. She was born February 22, 1817, at Titusville, dying May 9, 1893, at Cambridge Springs. Children:

Mary E. McDowell, born May 2, 1840; died August 6, 1911.
Sarah Parker McDowell, born February 7, 1842; married at Titusville, February 20, 1868, James W. Rowland, born April 16, 1838, near Pulaski, Pennsylvania. Children:
1. Harry Willard Rowland, born December 25, 1868; married November 21, 1894, Louise C. Grimm, born January 19, 1872. Child:
  1. Darthea Louise Rowland, born November 27, 1897.
2. Fred James Rowland, born July 7, 1870; died February 1, 1892.
Alexander McDowell, born March 4, 1845; mentioned further.
Jonathan Titus McDowell, born September 11, 1846, at Franklin; married at Marietta, Ohio, June 1, 1870, Anna M. Jenvey, born at Winchester, England, August 26, 1849, died at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 31, 1912. Child:
1. Josephine McDowell, born October 10, 1871; married, October 15, 1895, Dory A. Smith, having one child:
  1. Harold McDowell Smith, born January 20, 1897.
Parker McDowell, born November 8, 1848, at Franklin; married at Sharon, Pennsylvania, June 4, 1879, Martha A. McClain, born November 7, 1857. Children:
1. William C. McDowell, born December 21, 1879, married Laura O’Brien, September 6, 1904
2. Alexander Walter McDowell, born August 7, 1883
3. Sarah Rowland McDowell, born June 5, 1898.
Lavinia McDowell, born January 8, 1856, at Franklin; married there, September 15, 1875, John Patterson, born March 17, 1849, in Mercer county, Pennsylvania, died at Franklin, June 7, 1894. Child:
1. Orrin James Patterson, born January 4, 1878, married December 20, 1905, Helen Marie Brannon, born in 1880, having one child:
  1. James Alexander Patterson, born December 19, 1906.

(V) Major Alexander (2) McDowell

Major Alexander (2) McDowell, third son of Parker and Lavinia (Titus) McDowell, was born at Franklin, Pennsylvania, on March 4, 1845, the date of President Polk’s inauguration. He received his schooling under William Burgwin, a capable teacher, and at the old academy on Buffalo street; at the same time learning the printer’s trade in the small establishment of the American Citizen, a weekly newspaper of commendable repute in its day. His father’s death in 1860 obliging him to quit school in order to assist in the support of the family, he became a clerk in the general store of the late George W. Brigham, an enterprising merchant of early days. Working at his trade in leisure hours fully occupied his time until August 23, 1862, when he responded to the call of his country and enlisted in Company A, of the One Hundred and Twenty-first Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Serving in this regiment as sergeant and severely wounded at the battle of the Wilderness, in December, 1864, he was brevetted major of the Twenty-first United States Veteran Reserve Corps, in acknowledgment of his gallant conduct. He continued thus until the close of the civil war when he was honorably discharged. He wore his well-won military honors modestly, sometimes facetiously declaring, “Me an’ Grant put down the Rebellion.”

Retiring from the army in 1865, Major McDowell became the partner of Nelson B. Smiley, a talented lawyer and journalist, in publishing the Venango Citizen, the Republican organ of the county. Mr. Smiley retired in 1867 to attend to his extensive practice, selling his interest to the Major; who also retired, on January 1, 1869, having decided to engage in other business. He wielded a ready pen, printed a vigorous paper, and would certainly have climbed high had he remained in the profession. With the view of adopting a legal career, he read law for a while; but his change of residence to Mercer county prevented the completion of his studies and his admission to the bar. That he would have excelled in the learned profession, particularly as an effective pleader, all who know the Major’s ability and temperament feel assured.

Removing to Sharon, Pennsylvania, in 1870, to manage the James Bleakley banking interests, he acquired control in 1872 and built up a strong financial institution. For thirty-five years he conducted the business under the title of A. McDowell, Banker, and in 1907 reorganized it as The McDowell National Bank, with a capital stock of $150,000, Alexander McDowell, president, and Harry B. McDowell, cashier. The history of the bank during its long career has been marked by steady progress, unvarying courtesy, and rigid fidelity. Today it ranks among the most substantial and popular in Northwestern Pennsylvania.

Shortly after locating in Sharon, Major McDowell was elected school director, filling this responsible position acceptably ever since. At the organization in 1886, in his adopted city, of the Protected Home Circle, a mutual benevolent society, he was elected supreme treasurer, holding the office uninterruptedly to the satisfaction of his associates and the great advantage of the order. Its marvelous growth to a foremost place in fraternal systems is largely owing to his competent oversight and sound judgment. From the beginning he took an active part in advancing the best interests of Sharon and of Mercer county, giving liberally of his means and personal efforts to promote the general welfare. Nor has he forgotten his native heath, where no visitor is more welcome, especially those boyhood friends now facing toward life’s sunset, who are always delighted to meet and greet one whose genial presence brings a flood of pleasant memories and hearty cheer.

Politically Major McDowell is and has ever been by training, habit, and experience a stalwart Republican, the kind who puts principle above expediency and despises trimmers and parasites. In 1892 he was elected congressman-at-large, serving his term with characteristic sagacity and zeal. Deprived of the nomination two years before by machine jugglery, public sentiment placed him on the ticket at the next opportunity and sent him to Washington by an overwhelming majority. Elected clerk of the House of Representatives in 1895, he served continuously until the Democrats gained the ascendancy in 1911, a record perhaps unequalled in national annals. Men of all creeds, classes, and parties have esteemed him for his staunch integrity, his invincible good humor, his oratorical power, and his splendid courage. He has a most charming personality, is generous and broad-minded, and has an exhaustless fund of pat stories. These qualities have all combined to make him a drawing card on the rostrum in many campaigns, speaking with telling effect, quoting pertinent passages of scripture, clinching solid arguments with apt illustrations, and rivaling Adam Bede’s best and brightest effusions.

Major McDowell is a Presbyterian and a Mason, a member of the G. A. R. Post of Sharon, Pennsylvania, and of the committee appointed by congress to take charge of the arrangements for celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg, in July, 1913. Although his hair is silvered and he is nearing three score and ten, he stands erect, his eye is keen, his hand clasp has lost none of its warmth, and the brave spirit retains its youthfulness and vim. He enjoys his comfortable fortune, helps the poor and distressed, is the soul of the social sphere, and never happier than by his own hospitable fireside. He devotes some time and thought to a big farm, where he raises fine fruits and bountiful crops. He keeps in touch with current events, is a typical American through and through, at peace with God and with his fellows everywhere.

On September 17, 1867, Major McDowell was married at Franklin, Pennsylvania, to Miss Clara Bleakley, who was born at Franklin on April 6, 1847. She is a daughter of Colonel James and Elizabeth (Dubbs) Bleakley, and has proved a worthy helpmeet to her distinguished husband. Major and Mrs. McDowell have had the following children:

James Parker McDowell, born February 19, 1869.
Lizzie McDowell, born November 15, 1872; married September 15, 1895, Edward Buchholz, born September 25, 1870. Children:
1. Edward McDowell Buchholz, born January 22, 1904, died in infancy
2. Clara Elizabeth Buchholz, born July 22, 1905
3. Mary McDowell Buchholz, born September 3, 1907
4. Harriet McDowell Buchholz, born May 31, 1909
5. Katherine McDowell Buchholz, born May 24, 1912.
Willis McDowell, born February 6, 1875. He is a lieutenant commander in the United States navy, stationed at the New Hampshire Navy Yard at Kittery, Maine. On June 14, 1899, he married Grace A. Delamater, born October 29, 1874, and has one child:
1. Percival Eaton McDowell, born April 10, 1900.
Mary B. McDowell, born August 22, 1876.
Clara McDowell, born January 3, 1880; married August 19, 1909, Glenn Carley, born October 23, 1876, having one child:
1. Clara McDowell Carley, born September 6, 1912.
Harry Bleakley McDowell, born April 19, 1882; married November 22, 1911, Grace Osborne, born April 6, 1883, and has one child:
1. Mary McDowell, born November 6, 1912.

See: Genealogy of the Allegheny Valley Pennsylvania

Source

Jordan, J. W. 1840-1921. (1913). Genealogical and personal history of the Allegheny Valley, Pennsylvania. New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Co.

This genealogy is based upon the source cited above. Only the structure and formatting have been changed for clearer presentation; the genealogical and biographical content has been preserved.

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