1. Joseph Dowdy - b about 1819 in Georgia (b TN in 1880 census). Appears as head of household in 1870 DeSoto MS census (Archbutta PO) and in Poagsville Tate Co MS in 1880 (father and mother b GA) A Sue Hunter age 21 is in the 1870 Dowdy household as a domestic servant.

married Martha ________ age 38 in 1870 b MS

2.i James DOWDY age 16 in 1870 (born about 1853 MS, another census says June 1846) - living Poagsville Tate Co MS in 1880 with wife and son Jimmy; Living Memphis, Shelby TN in 1900.

married Sallie WOODS age 25 in 1880 b MS; married in DeSoto County, Mississippi on September 9, 1871

3.i Jimmy DOWDY age 2 in 1880 b MS; Living with parents in Memphis, Shelby Co TN in 1900

3.ii Brackster DOWDY b. October 1880 or 1881, Living with parents in Memphis, Shelby Co TN in 1900. Untraced after 1900.

3.iii Walter DOWDY b. July 16, 1894 or 1895; Living with parents in Memphis, Shelby Co TN in 1900 ; Eventually moved to Benton Harbor Michigan and raised nine children: six daughters and three sons:

married Ora Lee MOORE on April 17, 1919 in Tunica Mississippi.

4.i Vivian DOWDY
4.ii Ora DOWDY
4.iii Della DOWDY
4.iv Rosie DOWDY
4.v Abbey DOWDY
4.vi Cecelia DOWDY
4.vii Walter DOWDY
4.viii Bill DOWDY
4.ix Joe DOWDY (father of source JoAnn Dowdy)

2.ii Mary DOWDY age 15 in 1870

2.iii Samuel DOWDY age 13 in 1870

2.iv Jackson "Jack" DOWDY age 12 in 1870; lived in Tunica MS in 1900 [however birthdate is 1865 in census]. Grandsons Laverne and Homer Wheeler and Grandaugher Eliz Wheeler living in 1920 HH in Tunica MS (on Bonnie Blue Road)

married Nancy_______ age 33; married for 16 years in 1900

3.i Mary E. DOWDY b June 1885
3.ii Lela DOWDY b May 1888
3.iii Martha DOWDY b Mar 1890 living with parents in 1910.Married ____ Ashley
3.iv Annie B. DOWDY b Feb 1892 living with parents in 1910. Married ____ ?Deberry. Her 2 children living in parent's HH in 1910
3.v Jesse DOWDY b Mar 1898
3.vi Esther DOWDY b 1902

2.v Andrew DOWDY age 6 in 1870; remembered by descendants of Jim Dowdy's son Walter Dowdy as an uncle of Walter.; living in Memphis, Shelby TN in 1900 (born Sept 1865). Stepdaughter Virginia Clancy age 8 in HH; Age 35 in 1910 census (born 1875). No wife. Nephew Walter DOWDY age 14 living in HH

married Caroline ______ b Dec 1871

(note: an apparently ?different Andrew Dowdy b 1872 was living in Tunica MS in 1920 with wife Annie and son Edward Dowdy, age 14. No other Andrew Dowdy fitting the above profile has been located in the 1920 census)

2.vi Emma DOWDY age 3 in 1870

2.vii Josiah DOWDY age 3/12 in 1870

2.viii Ed DOWDY age [8 or 9?] in 1880

2.ix Marthy DOWDY age 7 in 1880

1870 DeSoto MS Census - Archbutta Township

Andrew Dowdy age 45 born GA (indexed as Audine Dowdy)
Patience age 6
Duffe Charles Dowdy age 30 born GA

Thomas Dowdy age 33 mechanic born Virginia
Emma age 24
Johnia (f) age 1

DeSoto marriages:

Dowdy, T. B. (groom) m. Wright, Emma 15 Jun 1866
Dowdy, L. A. (bride) m. McCurry, W. G. 28 Mar 1867
Downer, N. J. (bride) m. Boggan, T. D. 14 Apr 1868

1880 Tate MS Census - Poagsville (Tate county was formed in 1873 from DeSoto, Marshall and Tunica Counties)

A Lucy Dowdy age 70 is living in HH of William Johnson. Enumerated as his mother. This HH is only a few doors down from Joe Dowdy and Jim Dowdy (of the lineage above)

Research Note: A Willis W. M. Dowdy family of some wealth migrated from Oglethorpe Co GA to DeSoto Co MS and appeared there in the 1860 census. This information may be a clue as to the migration origins of the above family, or may be a coincidence.

1860 Slave Schedule for DeSoto MS

Age of Slave; gender; race; Name of Owner; County; State

54 Male Black R J Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
17 Female Black R J Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
14 Female Black R J Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi

40 Male Black Felix Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
35 Female Black Felix Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
16 Male Mulatto Felix Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
14 Male Mulatto Felix Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
8 Male Mulatto Felix Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
8 Female Black Felix Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
5 Female Black Felix Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi

57 Male Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
40 Male Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
40 Female Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
35 Female Mulatto W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
35 Female Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
35 Female Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
30 Male Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
30 Male Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
26 Male Mulatto W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
25 Male Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
25 Female Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
18 Female Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
18 Female Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
17 Female Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
17 Female Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
16 Female Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
16 Female Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
14 Female Mulatto W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
14 Female Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
12 Male Mulatto W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
12 Female Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
12 Male Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
12 Male Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
11 Male Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
10 Male Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
10 Male Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
10 Female Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
9 Male Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
8 Female Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
7 Female Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
4 Male Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
4 Male Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
2 Male Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
1 Male Black W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi
1 Female Mulatto W W M Dowdy DE Soto, Mississippi

EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE

Hello Ken,

I don't exactly have a family tree, but here is the information that I was able to find out as I did my research.

My great-grandparents Jim Dowdy (born June 1846 in Mississippi) and Sallie Woods (born March 1850 in Mississippi) were married in DeSoto County, Mississippi on September 9, 1871, Jim was a farmer; he could read but could not write; his wife Sallie, like many people of that time, could do neither.

According to Census records, they had three sons: Jimmie in March 1878, Brackster in October 1880 or 1881, and my grandfatherWalter on July 16, 1894 or 1895(though his birth year varies on the census forms).

In the year 1880, Jim and Sallie lived in Poagsville, Mississippi, where Jim farmed and Sallie kept house. About twenty years later in 1900, they resided in Shelby County Tennessee; Jim was employed as a drayman, he hauled goods on a low flat bed wagon. Their youngest child, Walter, my grandfather was only 5 years old at the time. His older brother Brackster who was 19 worked as a cook. For reasons unknown, my grandfather Walter lived with his uncle Andrew Dowdy in a boarding house in 1910. All of the men in the house worked as laborers in factories, sawmills and brickyards, and as a teenager, Walter worked in a factory. A young woman named Annie Morris lived there too and was the boarding house cook.

When Walter was 22 years old, in June 1917, he registered for World War I. His registration card listed his occupation as a farmhand. A few years later he married Ora Lee Moore on April 17, 1919 in Tunica Mississippi. Eventually, they traveled to Benton Harbor Michigan and raised nine children, six daughters and three sons: Vivian, Ora, Della, Rosie, Abbey, Cecelia, Walter, Bill, and Joe. Their son Joe is my father.

Hope this information helps.

Joanna_Dowdy@discovery.com

PLEASE EMAIL ANY CORRECTIONS

Sources: Joanna Dowdy Joanna_Dowdy@discovery.com and the Dowdy Branches website editor

WANTED: DESCENDANTS TO FILL IN DETAILS