Hi Craig and Michael,
I have just seen your posts. Craig, it sounds as if you have made progress on the Antrim lines of Townsends and McDowells!
Michael, I am a descendant of Gordon McDowell, brother of Margaret referred to by Craig below and have been in touch with Craig about this topic in the past.
I had previously made the connection with the Gleno McDowells when visiting Ireland a number of years ago, but until I confirmed the connection with the Townsends, had not been able to tie down a direct connection with the McDowells there as there were so many.
My great auntie Lily (Elizabeth Mary McDowell) (daughter of Gordon's son Robert Henry McDowell, and grand-daughter to Gordon) visited Northern Ireland in the first half of the twentieth century and the family has always said that she was quite friendly with them and was the one in our line who maintained contact. The thing that originally got me looking in the Gleno / Carrickfergus area was that she had said that she had been to visit relatives in Carrickfergus who were related to the McDowells and that there were McDowells still living in the area who were related to us. She was apparently in contact with relatives in Antrim for many years and ended up marrying an Ulsterman, Ralph Lockhart. My Mother says that there were also McDowell relations who visited New Zealand in the 50's or 60's who were living in New York.
My great aunt was born in 1905 so passed away a number of years ago but the last information my Mother had about who the people could have been that she visited was that their surname was possibly Forsyth and they were from Carrickfergus.
Not sure if this is any help at all or whether this name is a red herring, but it was always one of my key starting goals of doing genealogy to find our Antrim McDowell link as well as who it was that our family remained in contact with for all those years.
Thanks
KESTON.
I have had
