My ancestor William Bowie was born about 1761 in New Kilpatrick, Dunbartonshire, Scotland. He was the ninth of ten known children of James Bowie, originally of Denny, Stirlingshire, and his wife, Margaret Tyre. William Bowie’s siblings were John, Margaret, Janet, Agnes, Christian, James, Elizabeth, William (born c. 1757, died as an infant) and Robert.
Brothers John and James Bowie both migrated to the
Americas. John Bowie was an officer, a
Major, in the US Revolutionary Army. He
married Rosa Reid, the daughter of another officer. John Bowie settled in Abbeville, South
Carolina, where he owned land and other property, including an enslaved Negro
woman named Cate, who was left along with any issue she had to his daughter
Rosa in his will. It is uncomfortable to
think of a not-so-distant relative being a slave owner, however I felt that it
was right to share what little I know of Cate’s story.
