Who is the mother for these McCowan children?

Question

Since the 1850 and 1860 census records don't include familial relationships and father Constantine had different wives in these census records, I'm not sure if the youngest three are the child of Agusta or Martha, or if they're children or stepchildren of Constantine. Can y'all see if you can find documents supporting which is their mother and/or marriage records for either wife that could help clarify? Thank you so much! Last name is also sometimes spelled McCowen, McCowin, etc.

* [[McCowen-68|Martin McCowen]]

* [[McCowen-69|Sarah McCowen]]

* [[McCowen-70|Cromwell McCowen]]

Please note that due to FamilySearch's anti-LGBTQ policies, I don't have an account there so if you use this as a source please provide as many details as possible to find the source elsewhere and not just a link to FamilySearch. Thank you so much!

Comments

p.s. The Johnson children appear to be grandchildren per the 1870 federal census so nevermind on that part

Answer 1

I added the marriage of Constantine to Augusta in a research notes section for you to review. Looking for the death of Augusta as that will help determine who the mother of the last three kids are. She was alive in the 1850 Census.

Comments

Thank you kindly! I don't have access to FamilySearch unfortunately. Did any of the records happen to mention race? White usually isn't mentioned, but non-white is often mentioned in a column or in the margin. Would definitely help to confirm a records match. Fingers crossed. You're definitely right; the records raised new questions!

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Hi K. Anyone (without reservations :-) can make an account on FamilySearch. But anyhow here is more detail of the marriage record.

<ref>"Indiana Marriages, 1811-2019," database with images,  {{FamilySearch Record|JCJB-P8Q}} (3 August 2022), Martin Mcgowan and Lola Hoover, 19 Dec 1870; citing Fountain, Indiana, United States, Marriage License, Indiana Commission on Public Records, Indianapolis; FHL microfilm 004540464. Name: Martin Mcgowan. Spouse: Lola Hoover. Married at Fountain, Indiana on 25 December 1870. Image available showing actual marriage date. Accessed 28 January 2023.</ref>

Edit to correct FamilySearch template, which will give a link from within a profile; give correct marriage date as opposed to licence date.

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Membership with FamilySearch is free. I would recommend you sign up.

I am not sure what happened to the research notes that I left. But I have reposted the marriage record I found. It is the official citation from FamilySearch and does contain an internet link to the source. It should not be modified.

I have included the FS Transcript in the research notes. There is an image of the original record in FamilySearch. It does indicate "Coloured" next to the names of Constantine and Augusta at the very start of the registration. The full text was not transcribed by FS. I am a firm believer of looking at the original document as very often the transcript will leave out details. Also transcripts can contain errors. A source without a document is always suspect.

I added the citation from FS for the 1850 Census in Research Notes as well. And included the FS transcript.

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I see no harm in adding extra information from the left side of the FamilySearch page, or from the image, to the official citation. The data there is factual, so cannot be copyright.

This provides helpful detail for people who do not have or want a FamilySearch account, for example (among other reasons) because creating one requires giving one's own birthdate.

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Lorraine, your notes are all still there, thank you so much! And thank you for confirming race on Agusta and Constantine's marriage record, I appreciate it! That helps a ton. I am not comfortable creating a FamilySearch account (as noted in the OP) because the account creation has anti-LGBTQ policies. Jim, thank you for the kind words and providing another reason someone might not be comfortable creating an account there. Sourced data is best, and I love it when people provide the source vs. a link to Ancestry (paywall) or FamilySearch (as above.) I love that WikiTree is accessible to everybody.

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(Lorraine, the notes were originally just on Constantine's profile, FYI :) Will it be Ok if I remove the 1850 details from the research notes since they're already included in the Biography?)

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My apologies, Its been a while since I visited your profiles and I did not reread your original post. Your comment above reminded me that the links were not welcome. I will remove the links.

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Of course, research notes are just a reference. And as profile manager its your call. But thanks for the ask.

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The links are fine, it's just nice to have non-FS details for people like me! :)

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Too late, I took them out. But you can always reverse the change. I did search for some time looking for a death record for Augusta, but no luck. Sometime between 1850-1860.