"The name 'McQuown' is unique both for the spelling and its varied pronunciation in the United States. Its spelling has not been found in listings of medieval Clan names of Scotland or of Ireland. By analogy to the phonetics it may be pronounced McEwen, McCune, McCown, McKeon, etc. By reference to family legend and usage and a need to shelter identity during both the Colonial period and earlier Covenanting times the name possibly was modified from one or more of the medieval variations. Even during the Revolutionary War period and later, different spellings were used by members of the same family. Such differences are also encountered in examinations of early deeds, wills, census reports and marriage records. No doubt the level of literacy among family members, scribes and notaries contributed to the lack of consistency.
"A limited concensus among McQuowns of the last two centuries suggest the name to be derived from McEwen or MacEwen. A barrister named McQuown and his mother both residing in London stated in 1964 that the name originally was McEwen and that their branch of the family had migrated from Scotland to London some 200 years before.
"The publications of Clan names list McEwen with Sept variations such as MacCune, MacQunn, MacEwen, MacEwan, MacKeown, MacKeon, MacKewn, MacKuen and MacKune. As such there are two possible origins: Septs under the clan MacLachlan or separate MacEwen clanship out of the Highlands MacEwen of Otter. In either case the group was closely allied to the Clans McNeill and Lamont and MacLachlan. In the 12th century these clans were in possession of the greater part of Cowal (Argyll), on Loch Fyne. Around 1430 the McEwens and other alliances succumbed to the Clan Campbell and were landless thereafter. Another sept of MacEwan has been traced to the Clan MacDougall of the Argyllshire of Lorn. This lineage may not have survived as Ewan of Lorn had only daughters.
As a matter of interest the Gaelic version of MacEwen was spelled Mhic Eoghain.
With the immigrations of the Scotch-Irish, other variations of the name were introduced. Among these were: McQueen, McKuon, McCune, McCown and MacCowan. Although of Septs under the Clans Chatten, MacDougall and Colquhoun, peoples with these names frequently inter-married with the MacEwen's and its derivatives both in Ireland and in the Colonies.
It would appear that McQuown came to America from both Scotland and Ireland.
Examples of the inter-mixing of names, whether by marriage or otherwise, is recorded in a history of the settlements of the Scotch-Irish in Augusta and Rockbridge Counties, Virginia. A listing of names included: MacCowan, McCown, McCune, McQuon, McQuown and McKown. Similar variations, including McQuin, are recorded in western Pennsylvania, and in northern West Virginia, southern Virginia, North Carolina and eastern Tennessee."
Regarding the immigration to America of the McQuown ancestors of interest, the same reference includes the following "as recorded by The Reform Presbyterian Church in America, Perth-Amboy, New Jersey (Library File: 285.5 G467, Page 228) as copied by or for Boyd C. McQuown and sent by him to Albert N. McQuown Sr. of Austin, Texas in 1962":
"In 1685, George Scott, Laird of Pitlochie, was given his liberty in Scotland provided he transport to East Jersey many of the Covenanters who had refused to take the oath of allegiance to a tyrannical and profligate ruler. Thus authorized, he proceeded to gather his company from those confined in the tolbooth of Leith. Scott had to give security to land in East Jersey prior to September, 1686 and the penalty was to be 500 merks in case of failure in any instance.
"In May 1685 Scott chartered the Henry and Francis of New Castle, a ship of 350 tons and 20 great guns, with Richard Hutton as master.
"On the eve of their banishment, twenty eight of them signed the following conjunct testimony bearing that now to leave their own native and covenanted land by an unjust sentence of banishment for owning truth, and standing by duty, studying to keep their covenant engagements and baptismal vows, whereby they stand obliged to resist and testify against all that is contrary to the WORD OF GOD and their Covenants, and that their sentence of banishment ran chiefly because they refused the oath of allegiance which in conscience they could not take, because in so doing they thought they utterly declined the LORD JESUS CHRIST from having any power in His own house, and practically would, by taking it, say He was not King and Head of His Church and over their consciences. And, on the contrary, this was to take and put in His room a man whose breath is in his nostrils; yea a man who is a sworn enemy to religion, an avowed papist, whom, by our covenants, we are bound to withstand and disown, and that agreeably to scripture: 'When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shall dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; Thou shalt in any wise set Him king over thee whom the Lord thy God shalt choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set a king over thee; thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not they brother.' (Deut 17:14,15) They then bore their testimony against the defections of the day and for preaching in the fields and houses, and then signed their names.
"As Wodrow has given these names of banishment, we have thought it proper to insert them here." Their names are all listed in the reference and included John McEwen, Walter McEwen, Robert McEwen and John McQueen.
"The charge for the transportation was 5 pounds Sterling for each adult and to each of those unable to pay for their passage was promised 25 acres of land and a new suit of clothes on the completion of 4 years of service; for children under 12 years of age 50 shillings; sucking children free; one ton of goods 40 shillings.
"These have been known in American History as 'Redemptioners'. Many of these passengers had endured much suffering.
"After some delay the ship sailed from Leith on 5 September 1685. We hear of no untoward events until after they had turned the 'Lands End' when fever began to prevail with virulence, particularly among the prisoners who had been confined in the great vault of Dunnotter. Many were sick when they came aboard, and the health of the others was endangered by the conditions of the provisions laid in by the captain. The meat began to putrify and was not edible. In a month the fever assumed a malignant type. Few escaped its ravages and three or four bodies were cast overboard every day. Most of the ship's crew except the captain and boatswain died. Pitlochie, who had freighted the ship, with his lady, died likewise and so enjoyed nothing of the gain of nearly one hundred prisoners gifted him by the council, and upwards of 70 persons died at sea.
"Death and unwholesome food were not the only evils the unfortunate covenanters had to encounter. The master of the ship was most cruel to the prisoners. Those who were placed under deck were not allowed to go about worship, and when they attempted it, the captain would throw down great planks of timber to disturb them and to endanger their lives. The ship sprang a leak twice and frequent storms added to their anxiety.
"After the death of Pitlochie (Scott), the prisoners fell into the hands of John Johnstone, his son-in-law. Captain Hutton began to tamper with Mr. Johnstone and urged him to carry the prisoners to Virginia or Jamaica, either place presenting better opportunity for disposing of them than New Jersey, and offered as an inducement to charge himself with the disposal of the prisoners and to account to him for them in the productions of the country. But the wind changed and they were forced to sail straight for New Jersey. They landed at Perth-Amboy in the middle of December 1685 having been at sea about 15 weeks.
"Before going ashore, Johnstone endeavored to stop them by urging them to sign an agreement to serve four years at that place in consideration of the expense incurred by the departed Scott. This they would not agree to, but joined in another protest against their banishment and recounted their harsh treatment during the voyage. When they came ashore, the people who lived on the coast had not had the gospel preached to them, were inhospitable, and showed them no kindness.
"A little way up in the country, however, there was a town (supposed to be Woodbridge) and a minister settled, and the inhabitants were very kind to them. When they learned who the prisoners were and their circumstances, they invited all who were able to travel to come live with them, and sent horses for the rest, and entertained them freely and liberally that winter.
"In the following spring, John Johnstone pursued them and had them all cited before a legal tribunal of the province. After hearing both sides, the Governor called a jury to sit and cognose upon the affair, who found that the panels had not of their own accord come to that ship nor bargained with Pitlochie for money or services, and therefore according to the laws of the country they were assailed. Those who had so agreed had their suits come before the Court of Common Rights, and Captain Hutton was remunerated.
"The prisoners then scattered throughout eastern Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut where they were kindly entertained and found employment according to their different trades. At different times, the persecuted Covenanters were banished to New Jersey, Delaware and South Carolina, but in the latter part of the 17th century this cruelty ceased.
"At this time no organized society of Covenanters had an existence in New Jersey."
Immigration of the Scots to the Colonies began as early as 1649 with settlements established in the coastal areas of Maryland. Others continued in sequence and localities as follows: Massachusetts prior to 1652; New Jersey in 1675; North Carolina in 1683; Pennsylvania in 1683; South Carolina in 1684; and Delaware in 1692. A few Scotch-Irish arrived prior to 1700, but the massive influx did not begin until 1710 to 1720.
William Penn (1644-1718), an English Quaker and a man of considerable legal skill and talent, persuaded King Charles II to grant to him wilderness lands in America in settlement of a debt owed by the King to Penn's father. In 1682 a territory west of the Delaware River and between New York and Maryland was granted, including considerable powers of authority. Penn opened the land in 1683 to immigrations of the Quakers from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and to the Palatines of the Rhineland and the Mennonites from Germany and Switzerland. Over the next several decades, they arrived by the thousands. In prior years, the area had been explored and only partially settled by a few Frenchmen and Hollanders. From the outset, Penn and his settlers were confronted by Indian raids and massacres, boundary disputes and warfare. Many of these were not settled until after the Revolutionary War.
James Logan, Irish born of Scottish ancestry and educated in England and a Quaker, was Penn's secretary and agent for the Penn Colony. He had noted the fortitude, character, tenacity and fighting capabilities of the Scots entering the Colony. By indirection and persuasive skills, Logan and others permitted the 'Ulstermen', in a sub-rosa sort of way, to be the advance guard for a Quaker civilization. In 1717 the Scotch-Irish came to Penn Colony by the hundreds. By 1729, they were immigrating by the thousands. They were disembarking at Lewes and New Castle (Delaware) and Philadelphia from ships inbound from Dublin, Belfast and Londonderry. Moving westward they settled in the then three counties of Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, Chester and Bucks. Many squatted on unwarranted land along the Maryland border, an area of dispute between Penn and Lord Baltimore. As the immigrations increased they pushed westward into the Susquehanna River Valley. The Colonial wars with the French and the Indians and among settlers continued for years. Between 1675 and 1779, the Susquehanna belonged successively to the Susquehannocks, the Delawares, the Six Nations and the Scotch-Irish.
During this early period (1683-1750), the Quakers, Mennonites and other European immigrants remained and settled the eastern portions of the Penn Colony, while the Scots and Scotch-Irish penetrated northward along the Susquehanna River and southward into the Cumberland Valley and the Valley of the Shenandoah in Virginia. In the latter area, the Scotch-Irish migrated from Pennsylvania to settle the William Borden Colony of August and Rockbridge Counties. After 1770 and later following the Revolutionary War the Scots and Scotch-Irish settled in what is now defined as southwestern Virginia, northwestern North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. Around 1800 many of the settlers followed Daniel Boone into Kentucky.
Many descendants of the Susquehanna Valley settlers, from Dauphin, Cumberland and York Counties, after 1760, crossed the Appalachian Mountains to western Pennsylvania to establish settlements in the then called counties of Northumberland, Bedford and Westmoreland. Following the War and with more settlers, these counties were divided and then re-divided into those names and areas which are familiar today.
Beginning around 1780, settlers migrated to the southwestern portion of Pennsylvania (Washington County) and into Wetzel, Marshall and Ohio Counties of West Virginia. By 1800 settlers advanced westward into Ohio.
All four settled first at Perth Amboy, NJ, then Woodbridge, NJ, and later in Penn Colony.
John fought in the Indian Wars.
He died about 1700.
John McEWEN II (aka McCOWN or McQUEEN or McQUOWN) was born about 1665 in Scotland, probably the son of John McEwen.
He immigrated as one of the "Covenanters," leaving Leith, Scotland on 5 September 1685 and arriving at Perth-Amboy, NJ in December 1685. He later settled in West Hanover township, Dauphin County, PA and Lancaster County, PA (near Virginia).
He married Margaret Barnett in 1695 in PA [IGI].
Their children were:
He died 1 July 1750 and is buried at the Old Derry Church Yard, Dauphin County, PA.
John McEWEN III (later changed to McQUOWN) was born in 1700, the son of John McEWEN II and Margaret Barnett.
He married Susannah Condover (or Condoeur or Condour?).
Their children were:
He fought in the Colonial Wars, holding the rank of Captain.
He was a farmer in Lancaster and Dauphin Counties, PA.
He died in December 1770.
Thomas McQUOWN was born in Washington County, PA about 1744, the son of John McEwen III and Susannah Condover.
He married Margaret Sillik Galloway, a widow, in 1770. Her children with Mr. Galloway were John and Samuel.
Their children, both born in Washington County, were:
He died in 1794. His will dated 7 October 1794 at Strabane Township, Washington County named James McQuown [IGI].
James McQUOWN was born on 24 September 1784 in Washington County, PA, the son of Thomas McQuown and Margaret Sillik Galloway.
He was mentioned in the will of Thomas McQuown dated 7 October 1794 at Strabane Township, Washington County [IGI].
He married Sarah McGaw (or McGow?) in Washington County on 29 September 1805. "In 1810 they settled in West Alexander where he followed the trades of carpenter and cabinet-maker. In 1840 he was county surveyor. He purchased a farm of William Hawkins, which is at present {1882} owned by John G. Page."
"His father died when he was ten years of age, and he was thus early thrown upon his own resources. He learned the carpenter's and cabinet-maker's trades, which he followed for many years. He studied surveying, in which he became very proficient, and he at one time held the office of county surveyor. The latter years of his active life were spent in farming. The chief ambition or desire of his life was to accomplish whatever he undertook, and to excel in his work. His determination and native intellectual capacity, disciplined by reading and observation, were the mainsprings of his success. He was a member of the Associate Reformed Church in early life, and afterwards of the United Presbyterian Church. In politics he was a Whig, afterwards a Republican, advocating the principles of the latter long before the party was organized."
Their children, all born in Washington County, were:
He may have served in the military as there was the notation of the rank of Major.
He died in 1864 in Washington County. Sarah (born in 1785 in PA) died in 1858 aged 76 years.
Thomas McQUOWN was born in Washington County, PA in 1809, the son of James McQuown and Sarah McGaw (or McGow?).
Thomas was a carpenter.
He married Mary Gay (born about 1805 or 1810 in MD, her mother Anne being age 67 in 1850 PA census. Mary's brother Thomas lived in MI) in 1834.
Their children, all born in Washington County, were:
He died in 1848 in Washington County.
John Lilbert McQUOWN was born in Washington County, PA on 24 September 1837, the son of Thomas McQuown and Mary Gay.
He married Nancy Melissa Martin (born 17 June 1850 at Donegal township, Washington County, PA, daughter of Lewis Martin and Abigail Coe) on 24 February 1865.
Their children were (should be 5?):
He was a farmer in Washington County.
He fought in the Civil War, holding the rank of Major.
He died in Donegal township, Washington County, PA in 1873.
Agron Valerian McQUOWN (aka Aaron) was born on 11 November 1866 in Washington County, PA, the son of John Lilbert McQuown and Nancy Melissa Martin.
He married Mary Magdalene Chenoweth on 4 December 1887 at Purdin, Linn County, MO.
Their children were:
Following a divorce, he married Susan Rebecca Williamson at Tyler, WV on 9 August 1906. Susan was born at Friendly, Tyler County, WV on 17 June 1875, the daughter of William Mack Williamson and Julia C. Lewis. She died 17 April 1942 at Alliance, Stark County, OH.
Their children were:
They lived at various times in PA, WV, IL and OH.
He died at Alliance, Stark County, OH on 29 June 1939 and is buried there.