James L. (Lou) Poole 328 Forest Grove Drive, Richardson, TX Not For Publication
[email protected] Book 3, Chapter 3 Covington Family (Revised & Expanded) The Covington family is connected to the McCown family through the marriage of Mar- tha Wall Covington to James J. Gathings [Chapter 2] on 5 April 1838.1 Their daughters, Mattie (Martha Wall Texanna) and Emma Davis Gathings, both married James McCown [Chapter 1]. COVINGTON NAME The following discussion of the Covington name was taken from Covington’s Covington and Kin, and is apparently the result of earlier research by Vaden Covington. “Covington originates from ‘Kolbin’ which the Norseman, Turgesin brought with him when the invaded Northern Ireland in 831 A.D. It was translated by the Irish as ‘Covan.’ In the migration to Scotland the name became ‘Cova.’ In the further migration to England the name became ‘Cov,’ ‘Ing’ meaning people, and ‘Ton’ meaning town. Thus town of Cov’s people or Covington.”2 From the above source, it is apparent that the name ‘Covington,’ or its derivative (or antecedent), is known in Ireland, Scotland and England. As with any theory of the origin of names, there are not surprisingly different versions of the origin, any or all of which (at least in part) may be true. Given the above theory that the name migrated from Norsemen to Irishmen to Scots to Englishmen, Mr. Covington provides us with a sampling of the name origin from each country. Ireland. “The name Covington originated from the old Norse name Kolbeinn. In Ireland, it translated as Columban and by some scribes Colban.