mcdow

Fannin County TXGenWeb Miles Johnson McDow & Sarah Ann (Parrish) McDow
Article submitted by Linda Tredway Wright

Family of Miles Johnson McDow and wife, Sarah Ann Parrish Front row from left to right: Lillie, Miles, Carrie, Sarah, baby Callie Ethel, Lou Back row from left to right: Verna, John About 1895

Miles Johnson McDow was the son of Robert Johnson McDow and Sarah Ann or "Sally" (Segers) McDow. Robert J. McDow was killed during the Civil War; Miles was raised by his widowed mother. He was born August 15, 1854 in Georgia. His siblings are: Sarah Ann Tina McDow who married Robert Gideon Trout, John Carrol McDow who died in the Civil War, William Thomas McDow who married Louisa Jane Fortenberry, Lucinda Emmaline McDow who married Peter Walden, James McDow, Mary Elizabeth McDow who married Francis Marion Neeley, and Martha Forrest McDow who married John Runnion Jurrant Parrish. Most of these marriages took place in Marshall County, Alabama between 1867 and 1882.

Miles married Sarah Ann Parrish, daughter of William

A. T. Parrish and Ann McDowell (Terry) Parrish on November 14, 1878 in Marshall County, Alabama. Sarah was born November 16, 1855 in Greenville County, South Carolina. Sarah was also raised by her mother who was widowed during the Civil War. Sarah’s father died at the 2nd Battle

of Manassas fighting with Company C of the 48th Regiment of the Alabama Confederate forces; two more of her father’s brothers also died fighting with the same Company and Regiment. This Company C mustered in at Warrenton, Marshall County, Alabama on April 7th, 1862. Sarah’s mother

was a widow at the age of 35. Sarah was the oldest

child and she was 7 years old when her father died.Sarah’s siblings are John Runnion Jurrant Parrish,

Lou A. (Parrish) Kirkpatrick, and Pauline (Parrish) Smith. Miles and Sarah had eight children: Verna Elizabeth McDow born September 1879 in Marshall County, Alabama, John William McDow born in 1881

in Marshall County, Alabama. Lou Ann McDow was their first child born in Texas and she was born in February 1886. Lillie May McDow was born in September 1888

in Fannin County, Texas. Carrie Ella McDow was

born

in Fannin County,Texas in 1891. Miles Ivin was born December 25, 1893 in Fannin County,Texas and died

as a small child in February 1894. He is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in Honey Grove, Texas. Callie Ethyl McDow was born in 1894 in Fannin County, Texas, and

Ruby Aurelia McDow was born in 1898 in Fannin County, Texas.

The Miles J. McDow family moved from Marshall County, Alabama to Fannin County, Texas in October 1884 with other family members and friends. Miles and his brother -in-law, John Runnion Jurrant Parrish often invested in land and farmed crops of oats, corn and cotton as partners. Both John Parrish and Miles McDow were known for their honesty around Lone Star, Honey Grove, and Windom, Texas. They were pillars of the community and their families remained close throughout their lives.

Around 1917, Sarah (Parrish) McDow along with her brother John R. J. Parrish received an inheritance from some aunts living in South Carolina. With the approximately $1800 from Sarah’s inheritance, Miles and Sarah built a house just north of Honey Grove. Then in 1919, they sold out and moved to the valley in South Texas. On the 1920 census Miles, Sarah and Ethel C. were found in El Paso, Texas. Ethel was working as an office clerk in a retail department store; she was 25 years old at the time. However, Sarah died December 1, 1932 and Miles followed her in death on September 25, 1934. They are also buried in Honey Grove, Texas in Fannin County at the Oakwood Cemetery in the same plot with Sarah’s brother, John R. J. Parrish and his wife, Martha Forrest (McDow) Parrish who was Miles McDow’s youngest sister.

Miles and Sarah’s daughter, Verna E. McDow married G. Forest Fortenberry in Fannin County, Texas about 1900. Verna and Forest are also buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in Honey Grove, Texas. John William married Dezda Edwards. Lou Ann McDow married Charlie Clark. Lillie May married Norman Moore. Callie Ethel married Harry C. Slingerland and later married Harry Davis. Carrie Ella married Andrew Eugene Brown. Ruby married Charlie Carter.

Sources: 1860 Greenville County, South Carolina Census, 1860 Cherokee County, Alabama Census, 1870 Cleburne County, Alabama Census, 1880 Marshall County, Alabama Census, 1900 & 1910 Fannin County, Texas Census, 1920 City of El Paso, Texas in El Paso County Census, interview with Barbara McDow Caffee in 1998, records of Flora Donivan.

Article submitted by Linda Tredway Wright. Eemail: L3Wright(remove this spam block)@juno.com