The GOWDY Family
in Oklahoma
John Norman Gowdy submission
John Norman Gowdy (born 1945, Elk City, OK)
brother: Roy Van Gowdy (born 1950, Elk City, OK)
father: Roy Earl Gowdy (born 1902, Norman, OK)
grandfather: William Newton Gowdy (born 1859, Darlington County, SC)
G-grandfather: William Alexander Gowdy (born 1826, SC)
GG-grandfather: James Malcomb Gowdy (details unknown)
GGG-grandfather: James Gowdy (details unknown)
The early Gowdys in the above lst lived in Kingstree, SC, in Williamsburg County.
This area was settled by a group of Scotch-Irish immigrants beginning in 1732.
William Alexander Gowdy fought in the Civil War. He was a member of the 14th SC regiment, which was involved in some of the bloodiest battles of the war. After the war,, he moved his family to Magazine, Arkansas. They lived there for about 30 years, then moved on to Norman, Oklahoma, in the late 1890's.
We are not sure whether our James Gowdy came directly from Ireland or whether we came to SC via Tennessee, Pennsylvania, or some other place in the US.
There was a Robert Gowdy who lived in Ninety Six, SC, before and during the Revolutionary War. He was a trader with the Indians and had two Indian daughters, in addition to a white son. He eventually owned a trading post at Ninety Six, SC, where several Indian trails came together. A Revolutionary War fort (Star Fort) was built at his fort. He traveled many miles, as far as Tennessee, to do his trading with the Indians. Unfortunately, we not been able to tie in with this Gowdy.
There were other Gowdys in the 1700's in Charleston, SC. One of these was a gunsmith who made guns for the Americans, then later the British, in the Revolutionary War.