GOWEN RESEARCH FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER Volume 7, No

GOWEN RESEARCH FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER Volume 7, No. 1 September 1995

Melungeons Face the Dilemma Of Finding Accurate Records

By Evelyn McKinley Orr Chairman, Melungeon Research Team 8310 Emmet, Omaha, Nebraska, 68134

Dr. Brent Kennedy's article about Melungeon research in Turkey continues to add credence to the possibility of Melungeon heritage from the Mediterranean Middle East. It may be that foreign archives and old sea charts will eventually reveal more than American records.

Finding accurate documented evidence in American archives is difficult. The traumatic history of the mixed bloods of the Southeast developed because of the world-wide social and po- litical standards of early time periods. In the Colonies many laws developed which placed a social stigma on individuals not considered to be Anglo-European. We now know some heritages were lost, and this presents a dilemma for today's genealogists seeking records for documentation of their genealogy. A good example of how this practice affected some nationalities from pre-Columbian days is outlined in the book, "Black Africans and Native Americans" by Jack D. Forbes, 1988.

According to Forbes, Virginia passed a law as early as 1705 requiring all Indians to be called mulatto. Also, see the December, 1990, issue of National Genealogical Society Quarterly, "Tracing Free People of Color in Antebellum South," by Gary B. Mills. Mills states that, "the term 'mulatto' is routinely being revised to read 'black.' Consequently, Indians and part Indians who left the tribal environment to live in the Euro-American society, families whose skin appeared to have shades of brown to census takers, and early transplants from Asia and the Middle East are now being identified by researchers as African-American."

Dr. James L. Guthrie's genetic test on the Hancock County, Tennessee Melungeons produced the following results: "A gene value closest to these Melungeons was found in people now living in Coastal Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean Islands, the Levant, and certain populations of Arabia, India, Africa, Eastern Europe." See, "Tennessee Anthropologist," Vol. XV, #1, 1990.

Foundation Editorial Boardmember, Robert J. Goyen, of Australia, a very perceptive historian, wrote in the March 1995 newsletter, that the 'Turks' were raiding the Cornish coast as early as the 1400s, and perhaps that is how his Goyens arrived there. He also suggests that we look at books telling of the de- velopment of ships and sea routes world wide.

The Spanish and English were competing for control of North America. The English won, so why would early American historians be interested in the possible survival of the Spanish/Portuguese Pardo 1569-1586 Colony. They certainly would not be interested in what happened to Sir Francis Drake's galley slaves in 1586. In today's social climate, historians and archaeologists are becoming more interested. And, hopefully they will envision a possible world-wide connection to our Melungeons.

After Jamestown, a mix of nationalities were brought to America as servants. The class caste system was strong in English society, and the American work ethic had not yet developed. So, prior to American slave laws, any of these people, our early 'Melungeons' included, could marry and mix socially. By the time laws were passed against people with dark skin, it was far to late for many of the early inhabitants of the colonies. People whose skin was shades of brown in the eyes of the social power structure were considered inferior. They often became known as free colored, mulatto or negro in the records. This could include the Negro, Turk, Moor, Portuguese, Native American and even the Chinese.

I feel compelled to comment on the similarities Dr. Kennedy found between the citizens of Turkey and the early Lumbee Indians of North Carolina. The Lumbees, who have always claimed heritage to the 1587 English Roanoke Island Lost Colony, did not have a tribal name until 1885. At that time State Senator Hamilton McMillan acquired the name Croatan Indian for them. Testimony in a 1915 court case revealed that the Lumbee Indians called themselves "Melungeans" before they were given the tribal name of Croatan. [See The North Carolina 1915 Supreme Court case of W. B. Goins vs the Board of Trustees, of the Indian Normal School.] It is not likely that all the ancestors of these early Croatans remained in North Carolina to become todays Lumbees.

As a result of massive discrimination, it became common for many people with shades of brown skin to claim to be white, or Portuguese or Turkish. People who were part negro would also claim this, and why not, they hoped to be more accepted. Given the social attitudes of the times, that claim may not have been of much help. It is also understandable why those in power would not believe the Appalachian Melungeons when they claimed to be "Portygee." And, it is understandable why we have confusion sorting out their heritage today. The search will go on for accurate nationalities.

It is just as wrong today to continue to ignore possible Turk, Moor or Portuguese heritage, or to record them erroneously, as it is for those who have Negro genes to deny their Negro heritage. And, it is wrong to classify the Native American as mulattos or blacks, and erase their Indian heritage. Most important is that today we are ALL Americans first, in one large melting pot, and we should all be proud of that.

James Knox Polk Goin Veteran Of CW Pioneered in Nebraska

By Beverly J. Ellison Nelson Editorial Boardmember 3391 W. Aksarben Avenue Littleton, Colorado 80123

Part 4, Continued from August

Still surviving is one known grandson of James Knox Polk Goin and his wife, Elizabeth Ann. Lester Conover of Denver, now 88 years old is an uncle of this writer. Only about 5'6", Lester is fine boned, a charmingly handsome man with dark olive skin and dark flashing eyes. His straight black hair is only faintly streaked with gray. A few years ago, when asked if Polk had ever related to him any stories of the family's origins, Les could remember some mention of a tale about a pirate. Polk had told this writer's oldest brother, Vernon Ellison, who lived with him the final years of Polk's life, that there was some Indian in the family's background.

Some years after Elizabeth Ann's death in 1915, Polk sold his farm at Liberty, Nebraska and moved to Beatrice where his house still stands. His last three years were spent under the care of his redhaired granddaughter, Hazel Conover Ellison, this writer's mother. Among the treasured mementos of the family are three mini-balls from the Civil War. The location of Polk's family bible is not known. As late as 1950, it was with a daughter in Colorado Springs when Hazel Ellison copied a record of his Civil War service from it. Hopefully, it still exists and all data will be preserved.

Children born to James Knox Polk Goin and Elizabeth Ann McVey Goin include:

Josephine Goin born December 11. 1867 Levi Goin born April 28, 1870 William Louis Goin born February 19, 1872 Phillip Goin born November 4, 1873 Margaret Ann Goin born October 27, 1875 Eli Goin born October 10, 1877 Etta Della Goin born December 22, 1879 Eleanor "Nellie" Goin born June 28, 1882 Maud Goin born April 10, 1885 Lula Bell Goin born February 6, 1889 Ethel Eldora Goin born November 10, 1891

Josephine Goin, daughter of James Knox Polk Goin and Eliza- beth Ann McVey Goin, was born December 11, 1867 at Tazewell. She was married to Harry Saddler.

Levi Goin, son of James Knox Polk Goin and Elizabeth Ann McVey Goin, was born April 28, 1870 at Liberty, Nebraska. He died there July 24, 1871.

William Louis Goin, son of James Knox Polk Goin and Eliza- beth Ann McVey Goin, was born February 19, 1872 at Liberty. He was married to Ada Mitchell. He died about 1950 at St. Helens, Oregon.

Phillip Goin, son of James Knox Polk Goin and Elizabeth Ann McVey Goin, was born November 4, 1873 at Liberty. He was married October 21, 1900 to Silby Norris. He died September 6, 1925 and was buried in Liberty Cemetery.

Margaret Ann Goin, daughter of James Knox Polk Goin and Elizabeth Ann McVey Goin, was born October 27, 1875 at Liberty. She was married there September 25, 1892 to John Frank Heaston. She died April 25, 1971 at Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Eli Goin, son of James Knox Polk Goin and Elizabeth Ann McVey Goin, was born October 10, 1877 at Liberty. He was married to Cora Heath.

Etta Della Goin, daughter of James Knox Polk Goin and Eliza- beth Ann McVey Goin, was born December 22, 1879 at Liberty. She was married January 16, 1897 at Marysville, Kansas to Virgil Moses Conover. Later she was remarried to Lee Dickerson of Sterling, Colorado. She died December 29, 1940.

Eleanor "Nellie" Goin, daughter of James Knox Polk Goin and Elizabeth Ann McVey Goin, was born June 28, 1882 at Liberty. She was married to Robert Gregory. She died August 16, 1978.

Maud Goin, daughter of James Knox Polk Goin and Elizabeth Ann McVey Goin, was born at Liberty April 10, 1885. She died two years later March 1, 1887.

Lula Bell Goin, daughter of James Knox Polk Goin and Eliza- beth Ann McVey Goin, was born February 6, 1889 at Liberty. She was married to George Kiechel. She died March 3, 1926.

Ethel Eldora Goin, daughter of James Knox Polk Goin and Elizabeth Ann McVey Goin, was born November 10, 1891 at Liberty. She died May 5, 1923 unmarried at Denver, Colorado.

Goin family researchers who have generously shared their knowledge include William Goin, Dr. Clair Calavan, Fielding "Bob" Goin, Anna Lee and Varion Goin, Carol Ledford and Dianne Stark Thurman.

Foundation Research Conference Scheduled in Nashville in 1996

Plans for the largest gathering of the clan in America on May 5-6-7, 1996 in Nashville, Tennessee were formulated in August by the Board of Directors. The event is planned in tandem with the National Genealogical Society's annual conference scheduled for May 8-11 during the remainder of that week so that attendees could make both events with one trip.

The GRF Conference will open with a get-acquainted party at 7:00 p.m, Sunday, May 5 for all members and guests. The following two days will be devoted to an intensive schedule of research and entertainment. Genealogists, geneticists, archaeologists and researchers will present lectures and documentaries, and a field trip to the archaeological excavations on the Gowen family farm and cemetery, now the site of the Nashville Metropolitan Airport, will be offered. More than 15,000 family artifacts were turned up in the dig. The Editorial Board will meet to map out plans for future research directions for the Foundation. Additionally there will be opportunity to research in Tennessee State Archives and other Nashville depositories. The Conference will end with the Foundation dinner on Tuesday night, May 7.

As arrangements are completed, locations and program details will be announced in subsequent Newsletters and on the Elec- tronic Library and other online services. The Conference Committee is presently soliciting nominations for speakers and entertainment suggestions for the gala event. Many volunteers are also needed to staff all the jobs connected with such an event. Please mark your calendar now and advise what you would be willing to do to make the Conference a great success.

Milton F. Gowen Donates Models To Maine Maritime Museum

Milton F. Gowen, a resident of Westbrook, Maine and a member of Gowen Research Foundation, was featured in a full- page spread recently in the "Westbrook American-Journal." Ten photographs of Milton F. Gowen and his maritime models were carried in the newspaper on the occasion of his donation of the models to the Maine Maritime Museum of Bath. Maine. Robert Webb, curator of the museum stated that the models would form an educational display at the museum. Included in the collection were models of the SS Portland, U.S.S. Wisconsin, SS Robert E. Lee, SS Bowdoin, Christopher Columbus' Santa Maria, a whale boat, U.S.S. Constitution, "Old Ironsides," a Maine lobsterboat, and the Portland Head Lighthouse.

Membership Campaign for 1996 Announced by GRF Directors

In its annual meeting in August, the Board of Directors developed a plan to expand the Foundation membership in 1996 with an intensive campaign on two fronts. Stepped up efforts were formulated to reach every new researcher and every former member in pursuit of any branch of the family. The campaign will enlist the aid of genealogical columnists across the nation and utilize online services such as Prodigy, America Online, Compuserve, Microsoft and Internet to publicize the research assistance that the Foundation offers.

To deal with an operational deficit, the Board also authorized an increase in the basic membership fee schedule from $12.50 to $15.00 per year, beginning January 1, 1996. However, 1996 memberships will be accepted at the $12.50 rate for the remaining four months of 1995.

Former members and new members are offered memberships which begin now and extend through December 31, 1996. Current members are offered the same bonus--16 months for the price of 12! Former members are receiving a complimentary copy of this Newsletter to advise them of the offer.

The Board feels an urgent need to reaffiliate all former members. They are the ones who provided the momentum for the Foundation in its early years, and they are possibly the ones who have the most knowledge of the family and of our heritage.

The Foundation now offers more benefits and more research tools to the family researcher than he has ever had before. Ten thousand pages of family data and research assistance have been assembled and are now available to any current member at no charge. Included are Gawan, Goan, Goen, Goin, Goines, Going, Gooing, Gowan, Gowen, Gowin, Gowine, Gowing, Goun, Gouwen, Goyen, Goyn, Goyne, Guynes, plus plural spellings. (Continued on Page 3)

Foundation Research Conference Scheduled in Nashville in 1996

Milton F. Gowen Donates Models To Maine Maritime Museum

Milton F. Gowen, a resident of Westbrook, Maine and a member of Gowen Research Foundation, was featured in a full- page spread of in a recent edition of the "Westbrook Ameri- can-Journal." Ten photographs of Milton F. Gowen and his maritime models were carried in the newspaper on the occasion of his donation of the models to the Maine Maritime Mu- seum of Bath. Maine. Robert Webb, curator of the museum stated that the models would form an educational display at the museum. Included in the collection were models of the SS Portland, U.S.S. Wisconsin, SS Robert E. Lee, SS Bowdoin, Christopher Columbus' Santa Maria, a whale boat, U.S.S. Constitution, "Old Ironsides," a Maine lobsterboat, and the Portland Head Lighthouse.

Foundation Research Conference Scheduled in Nashville in 1996

DEAR COUSINS

Brent Kennedy's Melungeon article gave me goose bumps! Isn't he an exciting person, and aren't we lucky that he took an interest in his ancestry! I am really looking forward to the next installment! Donna Gowin Johnston, 1513 Westridge Terrace, Casper, WY, 82604. ==Dear Cousins== As new members of the Foundation, we are finding the Newsletters fascinating and are looking forward to each one. We believe that the Foundation will be of help in tracing our Goin line, and we enjoy the rewarding feeling of being a part of the larger family. Harold & Eileen Wasson, 104 Lochleven Rd, Severna Park, MD. ==Dear Cousins== I just learned of the Foundation through America Online. Please send me some information about the Foundation and a recent Newsletter. I would be interested in knowing what you might have online about my Gowan ancestors. Jenny Pennick Garner, 204 Superior Ave, Decatur, GA, 30030 ==Dear Cousins== Can anyone assist me with information on the Goins/Goings/Gowens of Lincoln County, North Carolina. I am seeking details on: Wiley Goins who was m1829 to Elizabeth Clippard and m2-1839 to Anna Gooldman. John M. Goins who was m1833 to Mary "Polly" Clippard. James Goins who was m1837 to Mary A. Kincaid. Sally Goings who was m1825 to Jeremiah Smith. Aaron Goings who was m1837 to Ann Leonard. I regard Wiley Goins as a brother of John M. Goins and Elizabeth Clippard as a sister to Mary "Polly" Clippard. I am interested in corresponding with anyone who has any data relating to these individuals. Madge W. Philbeck, 716 Georgia, Statesville, NC, 28677. ==Dear Cousins== I am in pursuit of John Going who removed from Georgia and died in Livingston County, KY c1820. His sons, all born in Georgia c1800, John L, Hirum B, Abner A and Absalom Jefferson Going, were farming their father's land in Livingston and Crittenden counties, KY until 1848 when they suddenly skedaddled to Missouri and Arkansas. The sheriff had discovered that they were counterfeiting. Help anyone? Jaymie Frederick, Box 361, Scobey, MT, 59263. ==Dear Cousins== I am seeking information on my gggm Elizabeth Ann Gowan/Gowen who was born in TN in 1844. She appeared as a five-year-old in the household of her parents John & Elizabeth Gowen in the 1850 census of Coffee County, TN. She was mc1870 to Phillip Roland. They were living at Honey Grove, TX in 1872. Later she was remarried to James K. McGregory. She died in 1951 in Electra, TX. Diana Grant, 736 South 1100 E, Salt Lake City, UT, 84102, 801/328- 3649. ==Dear Cousins== I am enclosing membership fees and a pedigree chart for my husband. After 34 years of marriage and 33 years of my ge¬nealogical excursions, meetings and hours at the computer, he still does not have the "obsession to discover." However, he does take a keen interest in hearing the recap of events. His grandmother was Caldona Goins, daughter of John F. Goins and Julia Ann T. Williams [m1860 Nashville, TN]

In 1964, I traveled to Bridgeport, Texas and interviewed Uncle John Goins, Caldona's brother. He was 96 years of age and blind, but his hearing was still good and his memory, outstanding. [Uncle John died at 102]. I have checked all the information he gave me and found it to be as he had said, at least, what I could find was a match. John F. Gowens/Goins was five, and his sister, Martha was eight when their parents, James and Mary [Kincaid] Goins and three siblings died of cholera in Lincoln Co, NC in 1847/8. The children were sent west by wagon train with two aunts, each aunt taking one child. While on the wagon train, one of the aunts received a marriage proposal, if she "got rid of the kid." John was promptly put off the wagon by the side of the road, and the next aunt, Harriet, picked him up. We find the children living with aunt Harriet Kincaid Smith and her husband John Smith and daughter Mary, age 2 in the 1850 Nashville, TN, census along with other Kincaids. Martha Goins was married to Morris Powell January 8, in Nashville. It is believed Martha was named for her grandmother; is her grandmother the Martha Goins, age 79 in the 1850 Lincoln Co. Census? John Goins, who worked to help support his aunt Harriet Kincaid Smith did not marry until November of 1860 in Nashville. Is Jeremiah Smith of Lincoln Co. who married Sarah Goins, a relative of John Smith, husband of Harriet? John Smith was tall, slender, fair skinned, light blue eyed, with chiseled features. Unfortunately, for Melungeon clues, he was married to a Cherokee girl, Julia Ann T. Williams, the daughter of "Cherokee Tom" Williams and his wife, Mary. As it turns out, half the children look "Indian" and half do not. He was a laborer, farmer and finally a prosperous grocer. One of John F. Goins, granddaughters, Flossie Hibdon Brown, widow of W. O. Brown of Ft. Worth, Texas, will be 98 soon. She is hard of hearing, but sharp and witty and writes me notes several times a year inquiring about the family; she is the only one I know of who is left of that generation. E. Carla Davenport, 767 W. Terrace Park St, Tulare, CA, 93274. ==Dear Cousins== I read and reread with enthusiasm of the recent adventures in Turkey of our own Brent Kennedy. I don't believe we have ever had one of our people attack the age old problem of our origin with such charm and vigor. I watched Brent's presentation at the National Genealogical Society Conference last year in Houston and was convinced of his skills to obtain grants and promote our people with dignity. This is the way fictional history becomes fact, and, who knows, he and his staff may just find some actual materials that can be or will be proven as factual. I speak to small local groups about the theories of our past. Usually near the beginning of each presentation, I enquire as to the listeners' knowledge of Melungeons. No knowledge is my cue to expound with great authority. Brent does not use this approach, but he is so skilled and charismatic that he can overwhelm the best of scholars in his audience. When I first read of Brent's new discovery of Melungeons, he was writing convincingly of their connection to the Sta. Elena complex. This was not a new theory, but I suspicion one of his early advisors, Eloy Gallegos, apparently of Spanish descent, was in favor of this as a primary possibility. His latest article in the Foundation Newsletter seems to tie some of the Sta. Elena survivors with a boatload of Turks dumped in North America by Sir Francis Drake. I also use this idea, but with little or no basis of fact. His discovery of the Piri Reis map is interesting for I have used this map in my presentations for many years, although I have no evidence of Piri Reis having any connection to our search. I do wish Brent would mention Melungeon names such as Mullins, Collins, and Goings along with Nash more in his presentations for we all want to share in the immortality. Some Melungeons also had dark brown to black eyes and not just blue as common with Berbers and Nashs. We proudly await the next chapter in his promotional skills to find our authentic historical origin. Jim Callahan, g-g- grandson of Mahala Mullins, 696 E. Freeman Ridge Rd, Nashville, IN, 47448

Membership Campaign for 1996 Announced by GRF Directors

For 1996, the Foundation will intensify its efforts to:

1. Preserve and promulgate the heritage of the family, dealing not with just a study of the "begats," but with the accomplishments and contributions of the family members as well.

2. To assist individual family members to find their "place" in the lineage and to understand the motivation for the actions and the sacrifices they made for the family.

3. To unite the familia in toto and to undo the divisive damage done by careless recorders who have brought about the spelling variations of our surname.

4. To instill in the younger generation an appreciation of their heritage and a knowledge of the effort expended to bring the family to its present position, and to make certain that young and old alike will mani- fest a family pride that will be handed down for generations to come.

If you concur with these objectives, please join this expanding effort. It is financially convenient, you are invited to "move up a notch" for 1996 on the schedule below. The form below may also be used to request gift memberships for members of your family. The Foundation will send gift cards acknowl- edging your thoughtfulness, both to you and the recipients.

Membership Application, 1996

Gowen Research Foundation 806/795-8758 or 795-9694 5708 Gary Avenue Lubbock, Texas, 79413 Electronic Library/BBS 806/795- 2005

I enclose payment as indicated below for [ ] New Membership [ ] Renewal Membership in Gowen Research Foundation.

$12.50 [ ] Member $25 [ ] Contributing Member

$100 [ ] Sustaining Member $25 [ ] Overseas Member [in U.S. dollars only please]

[ ] Please send a sample copy of the Foundation Newsletter to the family researcher(s) listed on sheet attached.

[ ] Please send Gift Membership(s) as indicated above to individual(s) listed on sheet attached.

Name(s)______

Address______Phone______

City______State_____Zip______

Sixteen Months of Membership For the Price of Twelve See Page 1 . . .