- Historic Families of KY, 1889
??in the deposition of Mrs. Mary E. Greenlee, the daughter of Ephraim, her father, her brother John, her husband, and herself, are designated as composing the party emigrating to Virginia from Pennsylvania, and no mention is anywhere made of her mother, Mr. Foote is probably in error ; and the uniform tradition of the family is more likely to
be correct?that the wife of Ephraim McDowell died in Ireland, and that John McDowell had never been married
until he came to America. The exact date of his arrival in Pennsylvania is not known. The journal of Charles Clinton?the founder of the historic family of that name in New York?gives an account of his voyage from the county of Longford, in the good ship George and Ann, in company with the "John of Dublin," having many McDowells aboard as his fellow passengers. The " George and Ann" set sail on the 9th of May, 1729. On the 8th of June, a child of James McDowell died, and was thrown overboard ; several other children of the same afterward died ; also a John McDowell, and the sister, brother and wife of Andrew McDowell. The ship reached land, on the coast of Pennsylvania, on the 4th day of September, 1729. Whether or not the cononjecture that Ephraim McDowell was a passenger with his kindred on board this ship at that time is correct, it is certain that about the same time he and his family, and numerous other McDowells, Irvines, Campbells, McElroys, and Mitchells, came over together, and settled in the same Pennsylvania county.
In 1737 the family moved from Pennsylvania to Sewell's Creek and eventually to Rockbridge Co., not far from the current Lexington.
The families entered into an agreement with Burden in exchange for acerage and drew families to also settle, including names such as McClung, McCue, McCown, McElroy, McKee, McCampbell, McPheeters, Campbell, Stuart, Paxton, Lyle, Irvine, Caldwell, Calhonn, Alexander, Cloyd.
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