Colonel Samuel McDowell

Male 1735 - 1817  (81 years)


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  • Name Samuel McDowell 
    Prefix Colonel 
    Born 07 Nov 1735  Pennsylvania Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died 25 Oct 1817  Danville, Mercer Co. KY Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Buried Bellevue Cemetery, Boyle Co. KY Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Notes 
    • Samuel McDowell was one of the Early Settlers of Augusta Co. Va.

      BIOGRAPHY

      From Wikipedia
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_McDowell

      He was a soldier and early political leader in Kentucky. He was the son of Captain John McDowell and grandson of Ephraim McDowell, a Scots-Irish patriot in the English Revolution of 1688. Captain McDowell relocated his family to Virginia in 1737.

      He was the father of Dr. Ephraim McDowell, the first physician in the world to successfully remove an ovarian tumor.

      Samuel McDowell participated in three major wars. He served under George Washington in the French and Indian War, served as an aide-de-camp to Isaac Shelby in Lord Dunmore's War, and was part of Nathanael Greene's campaign in the Revolutionary War. Following the Revolutionary War, he relocated to Kentucky and became a surveyor. Later, he was appointed one of the first district court judges in what would become the state of Kentucky. He became a leader of the movement to separate Kentucky from Virginia, presiding over nine of the state's ten constitutional conventions.

      Samuel McDowell was well-educated in his youth, at one time studying under Archibald Alexander. In 1743, his father died and he inherited the entire estate, according to the tradition of primogeniture, but chose to divide the estate with his brother and sister.

      At age twenty, McDowell participated in the French and Indian War. He was captain of a company, serving under George Washington at Braddock's Defeat at the Battle of the Monongahela. Later, he served in Lord Dunmore's War, participating in the Battle of Point Pleasant with future Kentucky governor Isaac Shelby. Shelby later appointed McDowell as his aide-de-camp. For his service in the war, he was awarded a large tract of land in Fayette County, Kentucky in 1775.

      At the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, McDowell was commissioned a colonel over a regiment from Augusta County. He participated in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse while serving under General Nathanael Greene. His son John also participated in this battle. The elder McDowell was present at Charles Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown.

      Following the war, McDowell presided over a 1782 convention that framed a constitution for the independent territory of Kentucky. He presided over nine of the ten conventions that drafted the first Kentucky Constitution.

      OBITURARY

      Washington Review and Examiner (Pa.) Nov. 5, 1817

      Another Revolutionary Patriot gone.

      Died near Danville (Ken.) on the 25th Sept. last, Col. Samuel McDowell, in the 85th year of his age. He was distinguished as a most active Whig during the Revolutionary War--was one of the first settlers of Kentucky--a member of the convention which adopted our constitution--was a judge under the district court system, and afterwards a circuit judge. He has left more than one hundred descendants; and was distinguished for his piety, unsullied integrity, practical patriotism and industrious habits. He lived long and usefully, died serene and happy.--Argus

      from Find A Grave
      http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=mcdowell&GSfn=samuel&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=19&GScnty=999&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=36872445&df=all&
    Person ID I10209  Master File
    Last Modified 5 Jul 2012 

    Family Mary MCCLUNG,   b. 28 Oct 1735, Coleraine, Londonderry, Ireland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Oct 1827, Mercer Co. KY Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 91 years) 
    Married 17 Jan 1754  Augusta Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Sarah McDowell,   b. 09 Oct 1755, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location
     2. Magdalena McDowell
     3. Major John McDowell,   b. 12 Dec 1757, Charles City Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 18 Jul 1835, Fayette Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 77 years)
     4. James McDowell,   b. 29 Apr 1760, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location
     5. William McDowell,   b. 19 Mar 1762, Virginia Find all individuals with events at this location
     6. Samuel McDowell,   b. 08 Mar 1764, Rockbridge Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 20 Jun 1831, Mercer Co. KY Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 67 years)
     7. Martha McDowell,   b. 26 Jun 1766, Rockbridge Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location
     8. Col. Joseph McDowell,   b. 13 Sep 1768, Rockbridge Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 22 Jun 1856, Danville, Boyle Co. KY Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 87 years)
     9. Dr. Ephriam McDowell,   b. 11 Nov 1771, Augusta Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 25 June, 1830, Danville, Mercer Co. KY Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 58 years)
     10. Mary McDowell,   b. 11 Jan 1774, Augusta Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location
     11. Caleb Wallace McDowell,   b. 17 Apr 1776, Augusta Co. VA Find all individuals with events at this location
     12. Andrew Reid McDowell
    Last Modified 31 Dec 2011 
    Family ID F6585  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart