The McGOWANS of Kincardine-by-Doune

[DaughteredOut]

i'm beginning to get the general geography, but have much to still understand. thanks to all who helped.  but what is a moss? like a moor? with moss? i'm a yank remember; i live in new england; can't go there; feel free to assume i have no clue to what it's like on the edge of the highlands. i'm trying to form a picture of the place.  which leads me to the real question: who knows something of the McGOWANS of Kincardine-by-Doune?

i've read many messages posted here.  i see that at least a few of you have info on my line.  many of the conversations are quite dated, so i thought i'd start fresh.

the generation who emigrated from Scotland (abt 1774) were from Kincardine-by-Doune.  James McGOWAN, parish Kincardine was married to Margaret CLARK, parish Kilmadock. They settle in New York State. there they have a son, William, my ancestor. it would appear from user-contributed info that back from James is James, then John and his father another John.  info is pretty vague and missing a great deal and, often, just carried over from another person's contribution without any legit sources. any help would truly be appreciated.

if you have the McGOWANs as part of your ancestry i'd be glad to try to fill gaps states-side. THANK YOU ALL!

[JMStrachan]

Moss is the Scottish word for moor. It's where they dug the peat, which they used for fires.

[DaughteredOut]

thank you JM.  i think the term moss makes a whole lot more sense than moor.  it's peat after all.  moor is probably tied to anglo-saxon or norman or something.  what is it; etymology that looks at word derivation? thank you!

[jennywren001]

Hi,
This will probably sound really daft but this is what I'd do to get a feel of the McGowans in one place...go to FamilySearch and find all the McGowans born say between 1700 and 1810 in Kincardine-by-Doune there's only about 40. Print them out and cut them up then shuffle them about to get them into family groups. You might start to see patterns...then I'd go back to the 1841 census and see where those McGowans still living Kincardine-by-Doune fit into the picture.
Jen
Edit:you'll want to add in the 9 records from Kilmadock to get a better picture....

[DaughteredOut]

thanks Jenny.  just lost the message i was writing to you, ARRRRGH!  try again.  idea not crazy at all; started as soon as i read it. took eldest males, looked to birth patterns and naming trends.  you know; the way families keep naming their offspring with the same names.  i know i didn't get them all correctly, but i'd bet i'm close.  how to incorporate the Kilmadock + also, females is a little more problematic.  my 5Xgrtgrdmother was supposedly christened in Kilmadock parish; Margaret CLARK, abt. 1753.  i'm always looking for ways to keep the hunt fun, though it's still addictive.

[jennywren001]

I had a go too the George's had me flummoxed but I think one married twice - children's births don't overlap...means the George on the census was born in 1754 to John and Janet.  The statistical account of the late 1700s indicates most births were registered in the parish so you should get a fairly good picture always the odd one out though.
Jen

[DaughteredOut]

thanks again Jenny.  i felt the same about the Georges.  Walters seem to belong to John grouping.  Roberts everywhere.  Alexanders mostly unique.  Grizal should be easy.  You should see it when they come stateside!  would families swap out parishes?  like my Margaret CLARK/Kilmadock marries James McGOWAN/Kincardine; any brand loyalty?

[jennywren001]

Don't know about parish brand loyalty - do you mean would people prefer to say they were from one parish rather than the other? Or are you talking about marrying across parishes?  I don't know the statistics on the latter (someone will) but in my family I'd say there are more marriages (when they bother to marry ) where the banns have been called twice. 
Jen

[DaughteredOut]

thanks Jen.  thinking along the lines of wanting to be with mum for the glorious event (in say, Kilmadock), then can't travel, want child christened, Kilmadock Parish is the convenient choice.  i actually just hit pay dirt on a hunch i had.  now i have one more piece of my puzzle.

it's weird with the 5 hour time difference.