William Benjamin Gowen

 Farming

Born:May 4, 1821, Rutherford County, Tennessee
Died:October 1, 1881, Madison County, Alabama
Buried:Rogers Cemetery, "Hurricane Hollow", Madison County, Alabama

Notes:

•  Son of William Gowen (1765 - 1820) & Mary Polly Crutchfield (1792 - ) - Ancestry.com

•  Wives and Children:
Sina Catherine Bradshaw (1832 - 1900)
     No Children listed from this marriage
Francis Gowan (1831 - )
     Manerva (Minerva) Gowan (1856 - )
Mary Ann Elizabeth Nunley (1828 - 1872)
     Jeremiah B Nunley Goins (1847 - 1904)
     Mary J Goins (1849 - 1928)
     Eliza C Gowan (1850 - )
     Sarah Burleson Sallie Gowen (1851 - 1932)
     James Carroll Gowen (1852 - 1921)
     Harriet Goins (1854 - 1877)
     Manerva (Minerva) Goins (1854 - )
- Ancestry.com

•  Married Mary Ann Elizabeth Nunley, Aug. 5, 1821, Rutherford County, Tennessee. - Ancestry.com

•  "In the 1880 census of Madison County William Benjamin Gowen reported that he was born in Tennessee, that his father was born in South Carolina and that his mother was born in North Carolina. He was a great-grandson of William Gowen and Sarah Gowen who had come to Ft. Nashboro, Tennessee in 1779, settling on 640 acres of land where the Metropolitan Nashville Airport now stands. William Gowen was killed there by Indians in 1790.
     William Benjamin Gowen, regarded as a son of William Gowen and Mary "Polly" Crutchfield Gowen, was born May 4, 1821, according to his tombstone. He was born in Rutherford County, Tennessee. It is believed that the "white male, 15-20" enumerated in the 1840 census of the household of Mary "Polly" Crutchfield Gowen in Rutherford County was William Benjamin Gowen.
     William Benjamin Gowen was married about 1846, to Mary Elizabeth "Betty" Nunley, according to Tulah Catherine Gentry Reddick, a granddaughter.
     In the census of 1850, he was enumerated in Davidson County, Tennessee as a 30-year-old bellowsmaker in Civil District 5. Additionally the family was composed of 22-year-old Mary and three children. Two other bellowsmakers were living in adjoining households. Six days earlier the two older children of William Benjamin Gowen had been counted in the home of their grandfather, Jeremiah Nunley, Sr. from Davidson County, this represents quite an accomplishment considering transportation facilities of Middle Tennessee in 1850. In any event, the two children have the distinction of being enumerated twice in the 1850 census.
     The household of William Benjamin Gowen was recorded in Grundy County, Tennessee on July 21, 1860, page 22. He was reported as a 'house carpenter' with assets of $1,400 in reed estate and $640 in personal property. Also enumerated in the household were 32 year-old Mary Gowen and seven children. It is believed that Mary Elizabeth Nunley Gowen died during the decade and that William Benjamin Gowen was remarried, wife's name, Frances.
     William Benjamin Gowen, 'resident of Madison County' purchased 80 acres of land from George M.D. Rogers and his wife, Margaret E. Rogers, paying $750 for the tract which was located in Section 4, Township 3, Range 2 East. George D. Rogers had been a bondsman for the marriage of Sarah Burleson 'Sallie' Gowen, daughter of William Benjamin Gowen.
     The log cabin that William Benjamin Gowen built on his property was still standing almost 100 years later when it was destroyed by a cyclone. When the site was visited by Arlee Claud Gowen in June 1982 the chimney was still standing.
     The household of William Benjamin Gowen was enumerated June 12, 1880 in the census of Maysville Township. The family, living on a farm located 'west of Hurricane Creek' included 'William Gowan, 59, farmer; Francis Gowan, wife, 49;' 2 daughters and a grandson.
     William Benjamin Gowen was married for the third time after 1880 to SinaCatherine Bradshaw Gowen. Tulah Catherine Gentry Riddick stated that she was named for her 'Grandmother Sina Catherine.' On July 16, 1880, one month after the 1880 census was taken, William Benjamin Gowen wrote his will, mentioning 'my beloved wife, Sina Gowen.'
     William Benjamin Gowen, 'old and respected citizen, near Maysville' died October 2, 1881, according to a brief obituary published in the October 5 edition of the Huntsville Democrat, page 3. His tombstone shows the date as October 1, 1881. He was 60. He was buried in Rogers Cemetery 'in Hurricane Hollow,' according to Tulah Catherine Gentry Riddick of Huntsville, age 89, who was interviewed by Miriam Riddick Dendy in November 1981.
     Tulah Catherine Gentry Riddick stated that William Benjamin Gowen was reputed to be a good man, faithful in his church attendance and a hard worker. He tanned hides, made shoes for all of his family. He hewed the logs and made shingles for their house 'on their land in the hollow.' He was a wood worker and made coffins as well.
     The coffin he most regretted having to build was for 'baby sister Mandy' who was killed when she was riding horseback to church. Her horse stumbled over a log, throwing her to the ground. She miscarried and died shortly afterwards. Tulah Catherine Gentry Riddick advised that Mandy was married to Bill Ivy.
     Rogers cemetery contained only 10 marked graves when visited in June 1982 by Arlee ClaudGowen and was in an unkept(unkempt) condition. It was located 200 yards west of the farmstead of William Benjamin Gowen in a grove of oak trees on top of a half-acre knoll. The tombstone of William Benjamin Gowen was the only one remaining upright, the others having been toppled by cattle.
     Sina Catherine Bradshaw Gowen, at age 67, appeared living alone in the 1900 census of Hurricane Township, Precinct 21, Madison County, Enumeration District 121, page 8 . She died in 1900 and was buried in Rogers Cemetery beside her husband in an unmarked grave.
     Children born to William Benjamin Gowen and Mary Elizabeth 'Betty' Nunley Gowen include: Jeremiah Benjamin Nunley Gowen, born May 30, 1847; Mary Jane Gowen, born in 1849; Eliza C. Gowen, born in 1850; Sarah Burleson 'Sallie' Gowen, born February 14, 1851; James Carroll Gowen, born July 12, 1852; Manerva (Minerva) A. Gowen [twin], born June 10, 1855; Harriett Elizabeth Gowen [twin], born June 10, 1855 and William R. Gowen, born in 1858." - Gowen


Related Links:

•  Ancestry.com - Page owned by plhicksms and can be viewed only by an Ancestry.com paid subscription. (Originally found at http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/41247247/person/19598163670.)

•  Find A Grave - Page created by Thom Rigsby.

•  Gowen - Article titled "William Benjamin Gowen, 1821-1881" by Arlee Claud Gowen, Gowen Research Foundation for The Heritage of Madison County, Alabama, by The Madison County Heritage Book Committee, John P. Rankin, Chairman, page 213.

•  Roots Web - Extensive collection of information