a. The name Dowdy was to be found
early on Montserrat and Sargant Daniel Dowdy, Dermond Dowdy and
John Dowdy junior were recorded on a census record of 1677-8
(Caribbeana,Vol 2, p.316).
b. The name is also found on
St Kitts in the mid 18th century. Isaac the son of John Dowdy
and his wife Ann was born on 22 January and baptised 13th February
1757. On Feb.16th, 1758 John, the son of John Dowdy junior and
Elizabeth, was buried. Thomas, the son of John and Mary Dowdy
was born at Palmeto Point and baptised on June 23rd, 1765. (Suppliment
to Caribbeana).
c. A Peter Dowdy was one of the
owners of the 75 ton brig Peggy registered in Montserrat in 1784
and which put in at St Kitts in June 1784 and January and Apri9l
1785. Peter and John Dowdy owned the 15 ton schooner True Blue
and Peter Dowdy was also part owner of the 100 ton brig Grace
during the same period (CO 243 1).
d. The minutes of the Montserrat
Council for 1787 contain a reference to a Nathaniel Dowdy and
also to "Mrs Crosby having represented to the Board, the
great difficulty she labours under from subsidising three destitute
orphans, the children of the late James Dowdy" (CO 152 66).
e. A 1799 inventory of the personal
estate of Matthew Dowdy junior appears on page 178 of "Ireland's
Only Colony; Records of Montserrat" by T. Savage English.
A 220 page typescript held by the Library of the Institute of
Commonwealth Studies, London.
f. In 1823, two brothers foreclosed
a mortgage on the property of Sarah Dowdy. She had put it up
as security for a loan from the Sempers to one of her relatives,
who was also kin to the Sempers. When the loan was not paid,
the Sempers claimed Dowdy's property. Fearing destitution and
arrest, she fled with her 20 slaves on an uncleared vessel to
the Dutch island of St Eustatius pursued by Dudley Semper. Mrs
Dowdy was defying the laws abolishing the transportation of slaves
between islands but the Sempers appear to have conspired with
their common kinsman to do her out of her property (from the
White Minority and Emancipation in Montserrat page 277 by Riva
Berleant-Schiller
g. References to Shiell and Dowdy
and runaway slaves in 1824 (CUST 34 502).
Source: http://alangullette.com/lit/shiel/family/FamilyNames.htm
Caribbean